cmukid87

I haven't sailed recent enough to answer 1.  

2. The condition was probably a little above average for a ship at that age.  I don't recall ever seeing any part of the ship that looked neglected or overly worn.

3. Food is pretty standard across all of the ships sans the new(er) ships.  We always enjoy Blue Iguana for breakfast burritos, arapas and huevos rancheros then tacos for lunch.  Guys Burgers is very popular.  Seaday brunch is also a very popular venue.  These are all complimentary.

On 4/24/2022 at 9:24 AM, KmomChicago said:

Our room is one of the forward picture window behind a secret deck rooms with more or less the Cap’n’s view of the sea. 
 

There is a slight noise problem. Every few minutes there’s a shuddering kind of banging sound that is obviously related to the ship’s movement. It is muffly, lol sounds like a cabin door banging on its frame a deck below and is accompanied by vibration. It’s not extremely loud and we slept through it last night but it’s not the tomblike silence I really love. We can also feel a lot of motion so this room might not be a good choice for everyone. 

There are only 2 closets  rather than the usual 3 and no couch, which is sort of irrelevant as it’s always made up into the teen’s bed anyway so we don’t use it for seating. There is room between the bed and bathroom for an easy chair but then perhaps it would feel cluttered which it doesn’t now. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What deck are you on?  We were on Lido way up front 3 weeks ago and those noises got LOUD, frequent and the movement was something I'd never experienced before on other ships.  The banging got to the point where all 4 of us would be woken up by it and we are all hard sleepers.

Bimini was a blast for us.  We rented a golf cart and explored the island.  We went into a couple of small, local shops.  We found a nice restaurant to dine at and got some drinks at another place.  I was so happy to be able to spend my money to help local businesses instead of a massive commercialized cruise port area where they couldn't care less about my $100 when there are 7k others willing to spend the same amount.

56 minutes ago, handbellplayer said:

 

4.      Using the Hub chat feature – do we activate it on board or ahead?  Can we set up chat between linked reservations?

 

Hub is only useful on the ship and chat is only activated on the ship.  If you have already linked bookings they will show up in your list of contacts.

Those rooms are wonderful.  I prefer deck 6 because I spend a lot of time at the different spots on deck 5.  One quick trip down the stairs to the Piano Bar, Red Frog, Ocean Plaza, Casino, Guys Pig'n'Anchor and Limelight Lounge.

18 hours ago, HectorAchilleus said:

It is my opinion that they will bring back FTTF before Diamonds, etc. They do not have the profit incentive to do otherwise. With new varients, etc, you may never see priority boarding for Plats & Diamonds (except for priority check-in) again

Highly doubtful.  If they do there will be a mixup of benefits for P/D and the FTTF to accommodate.  I'd imagine Carnival does not want to upset their frequent customers just to make a few bucks with FTTF.  Just a couple of upset P/D can completely offset the potential profit of FTTF.

9 minutes ago, a3593 said:

Thanks!!  Where is Ocean Plaza on the Magic?

Ocean Plaza is on Deck 5/Promenade.  Near midship just behind the casino.

22 minutes ago, Brandiwine1977 said:

Probably not, since you had already sailed, you were in that "contract".  It stinks though. 

 

That's what I'm expecting when or if I call.  I always thought $150 was steep but was willing to fork it over.  Glad they reduced it for kids that simply aren't eligible to abide by vaccination requirements.

Just want an opinion so don't trash me here.

We just sailed on Vista April 2.  Had our 4 year old who needed to be tested at the port and again the last day of the sailing.  We were charged $150.  During the cruise Carinval changed their charges to $60 for children 2-4.  Does this give me a leg to stand on to try to get the difference back?

My family of 10 was also on this sailing and you are hitting the nail on the head. 

I'll start with with our ***** moment.  Around day 4 my wife gets a letter in our mailbox saying she needs to being her travel documents to Guest Services for verification.  We don't get around to it that night so day 5 we get the same letter.  I get the documents but the line at guest services was long, go figure.  Later that night we get a call to our stateroom saying it's urgent that she brings her documents.  We finally get into guest services and my wife straight out asks the employee "so who messed up during embarkation?" to which she was answered with "this is a random CBP verification and it has nothing to do with Carnival".......nope.  Debarkation comes along and her S&S gets scanned and a big X shows up on the screen.  We have to wait to be escorted off the ship by a Carnival Officer.  Our group is escorted to CBP and the officer who was extremely nervous the entire time explained to the CBP that my wife was NEVER CHECKED INTO THE SHIP.  According to Carnival records she wasn't even on the ship, just her S&S was being used.  There was no record of her until night 5 when we provided documents.  So yes, this was 100% on Carnival and not a CBP thing.  Lied to again.  Extremely disappointing.

My wife thought Savannah was great but I am in your boat.  I think my wife gets enamored by things and our son (11) was all about Savannah and would participate in everything that she was doing.  I seem to have a eye for the details.  In comparison to all of my Carnival cruises she was 2nd worst (Jen Baxter being the worst in case you were wondering).  It's not that she did anything bad but she didn't bring the energy that others had.  The onboard arguments/quarrels were extremely awkward and the funsquad was almost nowhere to be seen across the ship.  My biggest complaint was an uncomfortable and awkward moment the last seaday in the Ocean Plaza for a trivia match that had Dean and Savannah came though.  It was towards the end and they basically aired their laundry of being a couple to everyone.  TBH that's your business and has no implication to passengers.  You could tell she was young, green, and immature and honestly I expected more from a CD on Vista.  She seems more suited for a smaller class ship.

The port times were extremely aggravating.  Having a total of about 4 hours in Grand Cayman, which used to be my favorite port, was disappointing.  You know it's bad when the last water shuttle was supposed to leave at 1:15 and there were buses of people being dropped off at 1:15, 1:20, 1:30.  We ran into the port area from our bus at 1:25 and found a LONG line waiting to get on a water shuttle.  3 shuttles later and we were finally onboard around 2:15 if I remember right.  Then of course was the Cozumel Debacle.  That turned me and my family off big time.  The misinformation and lies that were being said.  Things happen, we get it.  As cruisers we've bought into that possibility.  So why blame something that was not an issue.  

All in all we will sail Carnival again but will be much more careful to look at ship, homeport, CD, and ports of call.

Great news now move swiftly and remove restrictions for non-vaxed kids!

33 minutes ago, NauticaX said:

 

Same.  I saw noticed the "Carnival tours are free for guests ages 4 and under; however, guests are still required to reserve a ticket. but looking at my booking details I am still paying for my 2yr old on excursions.

 

I'm guessing this will have to be dealt with either at Guest Services or at the Shore Excursions desk.  

37 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

...but we had to PAY for our kid....this says they are FREE!

We leave Saturday and have one excursion booked through Carnival that I had to buy a ticket for my 4 year old.  Still shows it in my booking info.

Do it.  Grand scheme of things it's not that expensive.  $38 gets you an appetizer, entre, desert and gratuity is included.  The quality of the food in the steakhouse is much better than the MDR.
 

My favorite is the tuna tartare or beef carpacio for your appetizer.  The filet mignon or surf for main and cheesecake for the desert.  You will leave either stuffed or with a box with your desert in it.

A tiny, tiny, tiny island.  

But we loved it.  Just getting a golf cart and cruising around was a perfect day!

1 hour ago, zook388 said:

Not mentioned above is that Carnival charges like $150 for this testing to your room account, so be aware of that. I'm not sure of this but someone was complaining about it at a casino table I was sitting at.

Also, in case anyone is reading this with a less than 2 year old, they are exempt from all testing! I did Carnival Valor with my 14 month old earlier this month. We still had to go through the "unvaccinated" check in process and supposedly a doctor checked him out (didn't even really look at him as far as I noticed) but no test was needed prior to, during, or after embarkation or disembarkation.

I was aware of the charge although it's a pretty high charge considering tests can be had for $10.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Eye roll, I know, and I apologize in advance.

Looking for someone with experience with a child under 5 and what the pre-cruise testing looked like.  She is obviously not vacced but she has to take an antigen test at embarkation and again within 24 hours of debarking.  What does the test at embarkation look like?  I just want to know what to prepare for.

no

10 hours ago, vswan said:

Does this mean that a child under 5 will be able to do the Amber Cove area with shopping and pool?

It does state that at the end of the Carnival Tour guests are encouraged to return to the ship but are allowed to dine and shop the port area.

This was spectacular news to receive last night.  Sailing in 24 days and supposed to visit Grand Cayman.  Carnival had zero bubble tours listed.  Out of 3 ports there were 114 Carnival excursions and only 5 of them bubble tours and only 1 of those 5 sounded even remotely interesting.

You pay them either way.  Prepay now (required with this rate) or billed to your S&S account.  

Some of those rates were too good to pass up!

1 hour ago, Retiredmedic said:

You will getting on as I get off the ship.

And I will be getting on as they are getting off!  
Can't wait for Vista Spring Break!

We've sailed the L a couple of times although on Magic.  We love it.  We spend most to all of our time outside so having a larger balcony for the same price as a standard balcony was perfect.  I'd sit in the chair while my wife would lounge.

When you complete the online check-in you have to choose a boarding time.  It is a 30 minute time window for you to arrive to board the ship so they can attempt to control capacity, lines, etc.  I believe from that time they will assign you a boarding group.  

We try to get on pretty early.  I usually choose 11am boarding group so we can just get on the ship and start our vacation.

9 hours ago, accutulsa said:

How much do you have to spend in the casino to get these offers?

Hard question to answer.  I have gotten two or three casino offers in the past that I have never been able to use.  Candidly none of those offers came with any free play, though.

I spend a grand total of about 90-120 minutes on an entire week long trip.  I play $10 hands of blackjack and that's all I do.  Sometimes I win and sometimes I don't.