mz-s

Just got back from a Norfolk cruise on the Magic - the cruise that was right after mine was supposed to go to Bermuda but was rerouted due to the current hurricane. Hopefully yours sails as expected! Bermuda is getting pummeled this year so far. It is a very special place and unlike any other cruise destination.

If I were getting offers like that I would cruise early and often. Once you slot into that tier of cruise line offers you're really sitting pretty.

The issue that places like Myrtle Beach are starting to experience.

That's up to your personal preference really, and how much space you want to take up. I prefer plug in - the battery powered ones I find are more for noise than air circulation. I have a small desk tower fan that easily packs in my carry-on and travels with me to any cruise ship or hotel room. https://www.target.com/p/lasko-desktop-oscillating-tower-fan/-/A-84195089?FORM=SSAPC1

Not enough information given.

The food decline is bad enough. Paying extra for it is twisting the knife.

I think it's society in general right now.

The charge for the third entree doesn't bother me, if I'm still hungry after 2 I can hit up the buffet or something. It's the serious decline in food quality that I have a problem with.

Any time CCL is criticized here people get very defensive and go on the attack, as if you have gone up and kicked their dog. A common reason for some of the ad hominem we see is the admission in post #16 of this thread - some people have a lot of their money tied up in CCL's success or failure. So I can sort of understand their defensiveness, but I never understand the need for ad hominem.

Because when you go through the embarkation process of the second cruise they can check you in at the pier. It just makes it easier on them if you do it before hand.

As usual the people that love it love the money it brings, and the people that hate it don't need the money it brings.

And I bet you have never lost money in a casino either, and everyone claps when you sit down in a restaurant.

I am glad that you had a good cruise. I recognize that food is subjective but on my most recent sailing that I just got off of on Sunday - I did not hear a single good comment about the food. Not even a lady I met on her milestone cruise had a single good thing to say. The best anyone said about the food was it was mediocre.

I have not been on the Sunshine in a year but sailed her 3x last year and have sailed out of Charleston something like 10x altogether. The ship is now the oldest in Carnival's fleet. It was renovated in 2012 but hasn't really been touched since. As far as the ship, it's fine. It mostly adheres to the typical Carnival experience right now. So if you are good with the Carnival product of the past year to 18 months you'll enjoy it. The main quirks are the oddly designed lounges and buffet areas, but that is well documented online. Charleston port is unique because it was never designed to accommodate a 3000 passenger vessel. But they get the most out of the facilities they have. Expect a reasonably pleasant embarkation experience. No, it won't be like Terminal F in Miami but they do a good job. Charleston and Carnival had plans for over a decade to build a beautiful new modern port in Charleston but it will not happen and the port will cease homeport operations at the end of 2024, which is sad.

when is the last time you have been on carnival? It is my experience that the food has seriously nose-Dived in quality over the past 12 to 18 months.

While I have no designs of beating the house, I typically do not pay for my Carnival cruises. But sadly even for free I do not have any further CCL cruises booked at this time.

Frankly given the performance of the stock over the past 5 years and Carnival's current level of service including the absolutely abysmal food I've experienced on several ships, I'd be embarrassed to admit I own the stock if I were you.

It's a shame that one of the pivotal ships in the history of pleasure cruising was not given a proper send-off before scrapping.

I hoped beyond hope some artifacts from the Cat's Lounge would make their way to eBay or somewhere, or even better yet reused on a future vessel.

They could institute a new fee for no-shows like dentists offices do etc.

I'd recommend you work with a Carnival personal vacation planner or a good travel agent who can help you with your rate code options. While waiting to book is certainly an option, it will more than likely cost you more money as rates increase and give you less choice in a good cabin etc.

It sounds like a lot because we read about two or three a week on here, but I wonder how many it is really.

1. Depends on the rate code you booked but generally no. 2. Yes, it is a rate code and sometimes the reduced deposit rates are more expensive than rates with higher deposits. In general you don't want to book Carnival cruises if you think you're going to cancel them. This isn't like a hotel room where there are often no penalties for cancelling. The Spirit still has substantially the same decor as it had when it debuted.

I was torn between Tropicale, the line's first new build, and Fantasy - the ship that started one of the most successful class of ships the industry has ever seen. In the end I decided on Fantasy.

The standard of service on Disney Cruise Line is unlike anything else I have personally ever experienced anywhere. I am not particularly well-traveled so that isn't saying much I suppose, but still. I was wowed.