mz-s

It takes at least 2 sea days to get from Miami to the ABC islands so that's not an issue. But yes, I wouldn't scuba in Nassau if I were back in Miami the next day flying home.

I was all ready to buy $CCL, then all the reports of people getting their shareholder OBC denied because they booked with casino rates came in.

YMMV on this - I have had it explained to me by Casino and bar crew several times over the years that I need to be seated at a table or slot if I want my drinks covered under DOU and we're not supposed to order from the bar if we want it covered under DOU. I'm glad they took care of you but don't be shocked if on your next cruise things are different.

Glad to hear these imposters are just as good as the "real" ones in New Orleans! Which are themselves imposters of the real ones from France!

More dining options are definitely needed and should be a no-brainer. There's no reason why they haven't expanded Shaq's Chicken to their entire fleet since the restart for example. Be careful what you wish for regarding renovating lounges. Look at what Carnival did with the lounges on Elation for example.

Worth mentioning if you're just looking to get an arrival appointment, you can skip all this information and pick your arrival appointment. Then you can go back and add in this information later.

There is no Cheers on Day 1 for Texas departures...it doesn't exist...

They're not supposed to be parked in the halls.

On my last cruise on sunshine, on the days that bacon was on vacation the warden was still on duty doling out those disgusting half moons of ham.

Perhaps it's just that my wife and I are fairly young, but every time we've asked for paper menus or asked to be checked-in for dining at the front desk we are treated a little like pariahs because we're not using our phones. One thing that drew us to cruising is it is an unplugged vacation (we do not buy wifi, if anything we find free wifi or roaming on port days). I'm fine with checking in for a table on the phone - that's convenient, but we appreciate the option to check-in at the desk. But I do look forward to the FunTimes - and hopefully printed menus by default - returning.

I doubt they'll do much besides repaint the hull. That's pretty much all they've done to all the ships they've drydocked since the restart. But this drydock is a little longer than most of those have been so it seems like they've got a little more planned.

I guess to me, it's kind of hard to miss when you're just walking down the side of the ship on Lido and you smell it coming up from the balconies. It's a very pungent distinctive smell that is hard to miss or mistake for something else. How much illegal drug use is acceptable to be around you and your family on your vacations then, since we're on the topic?

Carnival no longer promises anybody's staterooms will be ready when you board, unlike before the restart. Not suites nor diamonds nor FTTF. It's a staffing issue. Carnival has cut too many stewards to guarantee it.

Apparently I need to cruise with you then! I've been on 4 Carnival cruises since the restart and smelled pot on every one of them.

I have noticed that since they announced the closure of the Charleston port, the prices have gone way up on the last cruises out of the port and availability is going way down.

They're supposed to be but it's not guaranteed.

I'm easy to please. I'd just like to pick out the bacon I want myself without feeling like I'm asking to borrow mom's tupperware.

I think the biggest issue is most of the bars have limited refrigeration space so they can't stock multiple brands of NA Beer and still have all the beers, seltzers, etc., that guests demand that are much more popular. If they had more refrigeration space I'm sure they'd stock more.

The last time I was onboard the only NA beer they offered was Heineken yes. If I were in this position, I'd be willing to argue my case to the embarkation crew that NA beer is nothing but a different flavor of soda and should be allowed to be brought on.

You need Value or Premium. You can pick which one. Value is probably fine. You can buy Value and if it's not fast enough you can upgrade to Premium at any time. Social is only for facebook, instagram, whatsapp, things like that. Bascially if it's not listed under Social then it won't work.

then they have no business running a cruise line. Okay one isolated incident you could say they need training. But week in, week out for years now - incompetence or maybe this is their new business model.

I agree that guests should complain because otherwise the company has plausible deniability. But I also disagree - the crew and the company knows what's going on. Otherwise we wouldn't be on our third or fourth "we're taking this seriously" tour from Christine Duffy. The crew may be ill-equipped or ill-trained to deal with it, but they know what is happening on the ship absolutely. If they know you're a good tipper before you even get on the ship, they know when somebody's smoking pot on Empress deck.

I see an excursion available for San Juan for my upcoming cruise called "Discover Scuba at Escambron Marine Park" that does not require certification nor does it contribute to certification.

I would strongly strongly not recommend a cruise excursion being your first experience with scuba. I just don't think there's enough time to learn it and be comfortable with it and feel safe. Doubly no to booking a third party tour for beginners scuba, unless you can find out who Carnival uses and book independently with them I guess. Depending on when your cruise is, it may be that the tour you're interested in is just not for sale yet. Carnival needs a "check back soon" button rather than just putting sold out for everything. I would say this is likely the case if your cruise is a year or more away. You might think about doing some beginners scuba classes in your area before your cruise so you're not limited to a beginners scuba excursion, if there's time especially if you could see scuba being something you plan to do more of in the future. However if people cancel, it will be available for booking online again. There is no waitlist or alert functionality however. You just have to keep checking regularly.

Small personal speakers are still OK for in-cabin use. Something like a Sonos Roam or Beats Pill. Large speakers, boom boxes, etc., are not allowed.