nybumpkin

Day 5 – Half Moon Cay Half Moon Cay, the private island used by many Carnival ships, is gorgeous. Soft white sand, clear, calm water, nature walks…. And we stayed on the ship. This was a decision we made before sailing. DH and I burn easily, so we need shade. All of the cabanas were booked ages ago, and when I checked for clamshells the week before sailing they were sold out. The main drawback of HMC is limited shade. The other drawback is that they use tenders – er, “water shuttles” – to get passengers to the beach. With limited chances for shade and having to tender, we decided our day could be better spent on the ship, where we could use the whirlpools and pools without crowds. Another plus: since we had the Cheers package, which can’t be used on HMC, we could enjoy or regular drinks without extra charge. It turned out to be a good decision. Early in the tendering process one of the tenders had an engine problem, which resulted in Carnival having to disembark all the people and board them on another tender. From what I heard, some passengers got ugly about it. The end result was that the tendering process was interrupted for a time and the passengers with the later tender tickets didn’t get ashore until 1:45 – and back aboard was 5:15. People I talked to who did make it ashore weren’t impressed with their day. The downside for us what that more people stayed on the ship than I think the crew anticipated, so we didn’t quite have the ship to ourselves as we had hoped. I did have a funny experience later in the afternoon. At 4:00 they had a trivia contest: “Name That Tune – the 70s.” Twenty songs, you had to give the song name and the artist for a total of 40 points. Now, DH and I are 70’s kids – this is our game. At the end of the songs, the entertainment host asked the players to shout out their answers. This one woman, who looked barely older than our 31 year-old son, kept shouting out wrong answers. When it was over, DH and I had 33 correct, and the woman sitting next to us also had 33. Then the younger woman swooped in, exclaiming “I have 38!” The woman next to us looked at us in amazement, but none of us was interested in making a deal of it – it just wasn’t worth getting “bling on a string.” (No ships on a stick, BTW – as I understand, they have issues with their supplier. So just funnel-shaped medals.)

Day 4 – Grand Turk We’ve been here a number of times. The first year we stayed on the beach near Margaritaville and didn’t care for it – too crowded and the water wasn’t great. The next time we went to Jack’s Shack and then became repeat visitors. Not crowded and the water’s great. Our sons loved seeing Topher, Jack and Janet’s Goldendoodle. As those who follow Jack’s Shack know, Jack has sold his share of the business to his partner and he will be returning to Canada at the end of the year. We figured we had to wish him well, so we made another trip down the beach. Janet has already returned to Canada (her granddaughter is starting school) and Kraken the Labradoodle went as well. Jack has Calypso with him, though. I think Jack’s ready to go – he mentioned how many of his friends have left Grand Turk. As much as we will miss Jack, though, I think he’s leaving the Shack in good hands. I ordered a rum punch – my favorite drink there – and it was well made. And while we didn’t have any food there, it looked and smelled wonderful. My one disappointment with our visit to Grand Turk was the duty-free shop. I used to come home with two bottled of Bambarra Rum – a product of the Turks and Caicos. Sad to say, the duty-free shop no longer seems to carry it. In its place was a different rum made in Turks and Caicos. After returning to the ship, I indulged in a pedicure – my first visit to the spa in 26 cruises. It was worth it. We also had a Diamond and Platinum party before dinner, with the string trio providing music. The drinks were plentiful. (I watched one guy line up six drinks in front of him. After dinner I saw him in Ocean Plaza, looking for someone to talk to. I made sure not to make eye contact.)

Day 3 - Amber Cove We visited Amber Cove in 2018. That time, we opted for an independent tour of Puerto Plata and a ride on the teleferico, the cable car to Mount Isabel. The hardest part of doing an independent tour is that the operators are not allowed to drive into the port and you have to walk to the outside road to join your tour. It’s a long walk, and its hot. If you opt for this (and our tour was well worth it), bring a bottle of water. This time we booked a Carnival excursion – “La Casa en la Playa.” Beach house. The description had us going to a private beach with open bar (not a full bar, just certain drinks) and lunch included. Debarkation was a bit chaotic – they called you down to the gangway based on your muster station or whether you had a shore excursion – and the pier is a long walk. There are guys with bicycle shuttles available if needed. There were about 20-25 people on this excursion; we had a 20-minute bus ride to the house. The house had a sitting area, dressing rooms, a large porch with picnic tables for lunch, a bar, and a very nice beach with chairs and umbrellas. Our time at the beach was about four hours. I had been concerned that being on the north shore of Hispaniola the swimming wouldn’t be great; I shouldn’t have worried. We enjoyed both the beach and the water, and the staff came around with drinks on a regular basis. Lunch was chicken, rice and beans, and fruit, all very good. In all, an enjoyable day.

Day 2 – Another Day at Sea This morning we went to the Sea Day Brunch in the MDR. I had salmon eggs benedict; very filling and very good. The eggs benedict on the Lido Deck can’t compare. DH went for an omelet. The rest of the day was spent with time on Lido and our balcony watching the sea go by. Our dinner was at the Steakhouse, booked before we sailed. I had the spinach salad, filet mignon chocolate sphere; DH had the lobster bisque, surf and turf and cheesecake. All well worth the upcharge.

Day 1 – Day at sea We have a fairly set routine: breakfast on Lido followed by coffee and cards on Promenade. This morning was no different; however, DH thought he’d get an omelet on Lido, and that wasn’t happening. Mobbed. It was the only morning that omelets were a problem, though – after the first day, they seemed to figure out the passenger flow. After cards, lunch on Lido. At 4 in the afternoons there was a “Name That Tune” trivia contest. Today’s was Elton John and Billy Joel to match the “88 Keys” production show after dinner. Now, I’m a huge fan of EJ and slightly less of BJ – and it showed. At the end I had 17 of 20 right. All of my EJ answers were right, but I missed 3 BJ answers. I guess I should have gone to more BJ concerts (8 for EJ, only 2 for BJ – and Elton was on the bill for those as well). Dinner was “elegant night.” No tablecloths on the tables, if that matters to you – it doesn’t matter to me. What did bother me was the number of people who didn’t seem to realize that 6:00 dining was a set time and didn’t mean 6:45. While it doesn’t create a problem for diners, it is a real problem for the wait staff. Some years ago when we had all three sons in tow with us, the oldest showed up for dinner 45 minutes late – we had been in Cozumel that day and he was using his cell phone to tell time, and it had switched to Central time. Our server took pity on him, handed him a menu, and said “entrée and dessert only.” After dinner was music again. We’ve seen “88 Keys” before. It’s a good show but we didn’t see the need to go again.

Day 0 – NYC For NYC cruises, our preference is to drive to the pier. Yes, parking is pricey – but for convenience you can’t beat it. We drove down the Taconic to the Saw Mill to the Henry Hudson Parkways to the West Side Drive. We were parked by 11:15 and, while check-in is a madhouse, we were aboard the ship by noon. (Priority boarding because we had a suite.) We left all our bags with the porter so I can’t tell you about going to the cabin early. Instead, we went right to Lido, got Guy’s Burgers, and ordered Funship Specials – after three years, they were good. Our cabin was 7365, a starboard Ocean Suite. A very comfortable cabin, midships with very little movement (which doesn’t bother me anyway). I would say the one downside of this cabin is the balcony – while nice itself, with two chairs, a lounge, and a table, it is directly above one of the deck 5 whirlpools – which tended to get loud on sea days. Sailaway was scheduled for 4:00 but didn’t happen until 4:45. Over the years I’ve seen that NYC sailaways are usually late. It generally takes about 30 minutes to the Statue of Liberty and another 20-30 minutes to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. We made it under the bridge with about 15 minutes to spare before dinner. Dinner was early dining in the Southern Lights dining room. We were seated at a 10-top in the center of the room with four other couples. I don’t think we ever had all 10 people at the table, but overall it was a good group. Our evening entertainment usually was music in one of the lounges. We didn’t make it to any of the productions or comedy shows.

Our last (Milestone!) cruise with Carnival was August 2019, a 4-day NYC-Bermuda cruise on Carnival Sunrise. At that time, we had two future Carnival cruises booked: a 2020 Journeys cruise from NYC on Carnival Radiance and a 2021 British Isles cruise on Carnival Pride. Then 2020 arrived – and the cruises departed. Radiance never even got to sail from NYC. We replaced Radiance with this 8-day cruise on Magic, and the British Isles will be replaced next year with Norway. Sailing was DH and me, 60-somethings. When we first started cruising 18 years ago, we were with our three sons – then 13, 8 and 4 – and spent many cruises with them afterward, right up to 2018. We booked an Ocean Suite; we hoped that the two younger sons would be able to sail with us this year, but they’re off on their own now. I’m about at retirement (come on, December!), but DH is a college professor who wants to work a few more years, so we’re still limited on sailing times. Next year is a summer schedule again. (I have teased DH that once I’m retired, I can sail anytime; maybe I can find a new sailing partner in the off season.) As with my other reviews, I will do a “what we did” review with photos followed by my “What I thought” section. As always, your mileage may vary. We had to do pre-cruise Covid testing. Signed up for $15 pp proctored tests that we completed two days before sailing; got results via e-mail and uploaded them to Verifly. It was fairly easy.

DH and I have done this type of tour twice on Carnival, and our son just finished a rotation as Chief Engineer on a US destroyer. I think the Engine Control Room is a much better tour than the engine room itself; the control room shows you not only engine operations but also things like fire control and HVAC, whereas the engine room is just a noisy space with - engines and generators.

We were off 8/11. Same schedule - either Lido or Atrium. The DJ also was on Lido, and of course when the movies were running there was no music.🙄

Hi nbsjcruiser - We didn't hire a taxi, but instead booked an independent tour. I think Puerto Plata is a safe place to visit. Here's a link to my review with pictures (Amber Cove starts at page 2):

cyntil8ting, did you think it was worthwhile getting? We're sailing the Norway cruise next June. We just had Cheers on Magic and it was worth it - but we had a lot of time on the ship (4 sea days and a port day when we stayed on the ship), and we also drank coffees and sodas.

We're also Jack's Shack fans, and we loved Topher too. For those who don't know, Jack worked in marine construction; his last job was building the pier at Grand Turk. He and his wife Janet stayed there to open a tiki bar on the beach. What we like about it is the nice beach with much better swimming than you get if you stay on the beach near the ship. Add Jack's drinks and you have a winner. Also for those who don't know, Jack is retiring this year to return to Canada; Janet's granddaughter is starting school, and Janet has already returned. Jack is there to the end of the year, though, and his business partner will take over the Shack. We were just there last week - the team that will be there is really good and I have a lot of confidence that it will still be really good. (A new guy made my rum punch and I commented, "Jack has trained you well." He smiled.) Here's a photo of my rum punch:

The ones with aft suites are the Spirit-class ships, and even those do not have two bedrooms - just one bedroom, a sitting area, and a changing area. If he likes balconies, though, all three ships you named have very nice aft-wrap balcony cabins. If I was given the choice between an aft wrap and a suite, I'd go for the aft wrap. And that's after having had a suite on Magic last week.

We were on the August 3 sailing and wondered what happened to Ryan. He was CD when we sailed and we saw him the first sea day. Then he vanished and Cheeky Charlie took over; she never introduced herself as the "cruise director," but as an entertainment staff member. When we disembarked and saw her at the gangway, she mentioned that she was leaving the ship that day. Ryan must have still been aboard during the cruise - all I can figure is that he might have become ill. OP, thanks for posting your thoughts - spot on.

We disembarked this morning, and to be honest what I saw wasn't that much different than any summer cruises from NYC that we've done - and we've been doing them since 2004. There are always some jerks with no manners. The one DH lost it on this morning was parked on the forward stairs texting on her phone while we were trying to come down the stairs for self-assist. She honestly had no idea she was in the way. I don't think it's unique to NYC or summer.

On Magic this past week and had both a suite and Cheers. No sticker for either, but they had specific instructions for the suite perks (or, like water and cookies, just showed up). And Cheers was no problem - every time they rang us up the system showed "Cheers" on the receipt except the first day when Cheers didn't work (thank you, New York State. Texas too.)

Ocean and Grand Suites have jetted tubs - I don't think categories other than suites have tubs.

We just disembarked Magic today. Bacon was always available in the MDR for both breakfast and brunch, but it alternated by day at the Lido buffet. It's not as if we lacked for options, though.😃

We went to Jack's this past Sunday and spoke with Jack. Janet and Erin are back in Canada - as I understand, they wanted to be there in time for the start of school for Erin's daughter. Jack will be heading north toward the end of the year. Jack's staff is very good - I had a rum punch and commented to the guy making it, "Jack has trained you well." We enjoyed our visit very much. Kraken is also in Canada now, and Calypso is with Jack. Calypso is a very friendly dog, but different personality from Topher. Of course, Topher was one of a kind. As for chairs and umbrellas - When we were in 2018, it was $20 for an umbrella and chairs were free. Now it's $10 for an umbrella and $6 per chair - so for us, an increase of $2.

Just off Magic. All I saw was sugar straws, which didn't match what I was drinking. They did sell the stainless steel straws at the bars.

Some years ago we took a Baltic cruise out of Dover and flew from Toronto to Heathrow, also on Air Canada. We arrived on time, but our bags were still in Toronto - they never loaded them on the plane. Fortunately we had booked a few nights in London and a night in Dover before the cruise, so our bags had a chance to catch up to us. It took two days, though. Earlier this month we took a river cruise with another couple, meeting in Munich before the cruise. While our travels were uneventful, our companions were not as lucky. They were connecting through Toronto; first flight was delayed and they missed their connection. They couldn't get another flight to Munich from Toronto, so they ended up taking the train to Montreal to get a flight. Meanwhile, no one knew where their bags were. Since the flights had been booked through the cruise line, the line said they would give them 1200 euros to purchase clothing - so our first day together in Munich was spent shopping at TK Maxx. (Not a typo- that's what the chain is called there.) The cruise line also provided free laundry for them. One bag caught up with them in Passau, four days later. Another bag arrived in Vienna the next day. The third bag, which had wedges for the husband's bad back, is still lost.

I'm glad you found it helpful! I didn't respond earlier because we just returned from a Viking river cruise on the Danube. While I don't like to compare cruise lines (it's like apples to oranges, I've found) and I loved our Viking sailing, one thing I really appreciated about ACL was the variety of educational speakers and entertainment that boarded at the different ports.

Have a wonderful voyage(s)! We have several friends who will be joining on 1 July. Looking forward to more!

When I saw this story I wondered about the NYC homeport - I noticed nothing in the information I've seen said "year-round." Some years ago they tried putting Splendor in NYC year-round and it didn't work well; curious as to whether all these other ships planned for NYC has changed the equation. Our neighbors did several winter cruises out of NYC on NCL. I remember their teenage sons posting pictures of snowball fights on the Lido deck.😮

Ugh. I'm glad we went in 2013. 🤨