WinstonsMom

59 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

It could be I'm juxtaposing our recent experience on Royal with CCL, it has been a while since I've looked at a CCL menu.

 Being presented with the dessert menu along with the app and entrée menu is standard on Royal now, so that could be the case.

Our next cruise is on the Ecstasy which doesn't have a steakhouse. Our tradition is to eat in the steakhouse on the first night because it kicks off our cruise with something very special. I don't mind the free wine (hooch is hooch LOL) and the first night in the MDR is often a bit chaotic. We're always seated by a window and so can watch as we're leaving port or heading out. We're cheapskates but the BDF wanted to try it so we did and were hooked. The upcharge is worth it!

I actually had second and third thoughts about the Ecstasy because it doesn't have a lot of the things we really like on it (steakhouse, serenity pool, dive in movies), but it is going where we want to go when we want to go and leaving from a port we can manage. So I'm trying to keep an open mind. I will miss our first night dinner though.

We've taken our Tommy Bahamas beach umbrella with us and used it on HMC. It will definitely travel with us when we next visit HMC. It's very lightweight with a carrying case (with a shoulder strap) so not too much of a pain to take with us. You can buy on Amazon but we bought ours at Costco and it was pretty cheap.

Finally figured out how to split it up. Here's all 9 days.

WOW. That's a lot of work. Thank you VERY, VERY much!!

Lisa

Some split up the files one page at a time and then they are small enough to attach.

Yes, please, do this so that the rest of us can see them as well.

Thanks!

Lisa

We have never been there so I can't give you a personal comparison, but from what I have read, though nice, Princess Cay doesn't compare to Half Moon Cay. :cool:

:D

I've been to both. Princess Cays is nice. HMC is heaven.

Lisa

The Old Port shopping and restaurant area is adjacent to the cruise terminal. Virtually everything in downtown Portland is within 3/4 mile of the terminal. In addition to sites mentioned, there is the Longfellow home and museum, the Portland Observatory for views of Casco Bay, Shipyard Brewery tours, the famous "lobsterman" statue, the director John Ford statue, the Victorian mansion for a restored Victorian home tour, the Eastern Prom walkway for more views of Casco Bay, the Casco Bay Ferry mailboat run to the islands of Casco Bay, and schooner cruises in Casco Bay.

If you are a hearty soul (the ocean in Maine is COLD, even in August), if you take the Eastern Promenade walkway, you will end up at East End Beach. Free but no amenities (except restrooms).

Lisa

After waiting a couple weeks to get a reply from Carnival corporate, I still have not gotten any response. I called again and was told that they are still looking at the situation, but also told not to expect anything to change. So I just want to get out the information that Carnival is keeping quiet. The 4K rooms on the Pride will have the doors removed in early Feb 2019 cabins dry dock. Carnival won't change the description of those cabins until after the dry dock. That means if you book a 4K cabin for a cruise on the Pride for anytime after mid-Feb 2019, you will NOT have the French doors in your cabin as advertised on the Carnival site. I will not be contacting Carnival any further regarding this situation and won't post about the subject on this thread again unless Carnival contacts me with further information.

I just looked at the website and on the Legend, the 4Ks are now described as an interior with obstructed views. Fingers crossed they remain classified as an interior room!

Lisa

We cruise in August on the Pride. I loved this review. TY! Is there still the same m’d in the dining room?

Ken is currently on the Horizon, I believe. Not sure when/if he will return to the Pride, but he was also the inaugural maitre d on the Vista and did return to the Pride.

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One thing that will be happening on the Pride is the removal of the French doors from all of the 4K cabins. They are being replaced by windows, so no more fresh air for these cabins after the Feb 2019 dry dock. If you have one booked for after the dry dock, call Carnival to see what your options may be.

What's your source for this update? That's my favorite type of cabin and I will be quite sad if the doors go away.

Lisa

Here are some more sail away views. I wonder what the asking price for that house is?

 

$3,599,000.

Gotta love Google!

Loving the review, as I always do. Thanks for taking the time.

Lisa

here

 

Sailor-1959 here.

Well... I bit the bullet and purchased 100 shares, reinvesting dividends :cool:

 

Initially I planned to cruise with Princess... until I found out about their "formal" evenings.

That said I'm leaning toward Carnival even tho we're way past Party-Animals phase of life ;)

 

Sailor-1959

I believe that as long as you stay away from the short cruises, you will have no problem with not being party animals. My DHF and I are so far removed from party animals that we're practically dinosaurs and we always have a good time and never feel like things are too chaotic.

The only time I was denied the benefit was on an effectively free cruise ($50 cruise fare with $50 OBC included).

Delete the old reviews from your signature. Anyone can access your profile on here and then click on the link to see all the threads you've started. Doing so will bring up all those old reviews and also lists the forum in which they appear. You could even add a note to your signature to tell people to do look at your profile for all of your reviews and other content which you have created here. Easy Peasy!

Lisa

We took our beach umbrella to HMC last year without a problem. We plan to take it to Princess Cay in November.

Thanks. The water we'd be bringing is for the toddler's formula bottle. You're saying I should bring distilled water for him?

 

Unless the water you bring onboard is packaged in cans or boxes, it will be confiscated. You can order a 12 pack of bottled water through the fun shops before you sail and it should be waiting for you in your cabin. If you are a repeat Carnival cruiser, there will be a free bottle of water in your cabin; there will also be bottles of water to purchase in the cabin. We always buy a 12 pack of water and it works out just fine for us.

We have a lightweight Tommy Bahama beach umbrella that we took with us to HMC. Cost less than $25 at Costco and was easy to carry. We'll always take it with us from now on!

I'm right with you on the baked beans thing for breakfast. But, Carnival is not the only one that does that...NCL also has a breakfast, served at their 24/7 dinner, with beans. It's just odd to me. Obviously it's some type of tradition somewhere. :eek:

I *think* baked beans for breakfast is a UK thing. I like baked beans....but with hot dogs, not for breakfast!

Yes luggage drop off occurs after you enter the lot area - the porters will take your luggage and get it from your trunk. Usually a couple bucks just insures it doesn't get smashed along the way. In the photo below you can see the white trains with all the carts. There are 2 pending on the drop-off or self park area.

 

You can see on this photo below the map of the parking - Very easy and no walk at all to the ship. 2 sides for Carnival/Royal - we have done shuttle the last 3-4 times out of Baltimore so I forget which side is Carnival parking.

 

 

The Carnival parking is on the right in this picture.

Got it today and filled it out. Hit them hard on smoking in the casinos.

 

 

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I did this as well, in multiple places.

Thank you SO much for the Panama Canal pictures! I've always wanted to do a transit or partial transit and your posts (and Patti's pictures) have convinced me that it really is a must-do and that a balcony is also the way to go. Can't wait to read the rest of the review, especially since we will be back on the Pride in November when she makes her maiden voyage to the Princess Cays.

Lisa

Anyone know if they charge sales tax on Bottomless Bubbles package if you purchase while in port ? If so I'll wait until we are in international waters.

Pretty sure they don't charge tax on the package and instead charge tax on the drinks you actually consume until you are out to sea. Hence the few cents (that was mentioned above) that you get charged on each drink before you leave port.

Can anyone report if they've successfully loaded gift cards to their S&S account using the kiosk?

I was able to do so on the Splendor but then couldn't on the Pride. As with everything, YMMV! :)

Staff use master key cards issued to them that can open the safes. To protect their employees Carnival suggests using a card other than your room card.

2 years ago, the safe in our cabin was locked when we boarded. Security couldn't do anything about it. Maintenance had to come, drill out the lock in order to open it, removed it, and install a new one.

I have had both card-locking and key pad locking safes on the Pride.