rnr4thatsme

22 hours ago, lisiamc said:

We were very unhappy about the hair on the floor! The steward was a really nice person, and very overwhelmed by his job. We did not speak to the Head of Housekeeping, and instead just tried to make it easy for him to do a good job. 
 

We had eight friends in total on this cruise, and the ones in the other three cabins did not report any problems with housekeeping. Service for everything else, like coffees, cocktails, meals, etc. was good to very good.
 

Many of the servers we chatted to had worked for other cruise lines, and said that MSC was a good company to work for, and they liked it better than their previous companies. They might have been spouting the company line, but they seemed happy with their jobs. 

 

One thing that really impressed me was that no one pressured us to give them a good evaluation on the post-cruise surgery. In fact, no one even mentioned a post-cruise survey at all. When it arrived in the email, we were very happy to name and praise the people who had looked after us so well. 
 

At busy places like the Pool Bar at lunchtime, they were using the traditional Italian method of queueing up to pay, then taking the slip to the bartender to pick up the drink. It may lack a certain panache, but it’s efficient for serving a lot of people very quickly.

How did that work if people had the Easy Plus package since they weren't paying for individual drinks?

It's my son's birthday on our cruise and I was going to buy birthday cruise magnets from Amazon.

Enjoying the review!  A little grossed out by the hair on the floor!   Hope that's the exception, not the rule!

17 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I'm fairly confident it's Deck 3. I'm kinda wondering what might have prompted your question,

One time, we had a late arrival time and carried our own luggage on as there were no porters where we dropped off by the Lyft (in another port) and it was only a few stairs to get to our cabins.  But if embarkation was on Deck 1, it would add extra stairs for sure...

16 hours ago, eltigre said:

BirdTravels, you have done Breakaway, was it Caribbean? Roatan by chance? I am looking for  reasonably priced transportation to West Bay Beach area with a lounger, shade, pool. I can buy my own beverages & food or AI if reasonable. I will bring my own snorkel gear but need shower & change room with locker for my stuff. Too much to ask???? 🙂 

I highly recommend Rony's Tours - Sonia if available..  it was VERY reasonably priced, she picks you up at the terminal and will take you anywhere you want, as long as you want.  

Hi there!  Which deck is used for debarkation and embarkation in Long Beach for the Radiance?

On 10/19/2023 at 9:13 PM, Buffettfan 225 said:

I have fun times from the cruise, kids menu, and many photos of casino tables and slot machines from embarkation day. 

I'd love to see the fun times!

How does Carnival work with this - I recall they didn't do booking onboard anymore.  Do you get a code or something to get a discount for a future cruise after you disembark?   I am looking at booking a cruise in May 2026 which isn't released yet.  I'm cruising this December.  I'm wondering what the odds are I'll be able to get a discount on the 2026 cruise.

Hi there,

Can anyone tell me if it's far to walk to the Rideshare pickup area at Long Beach's Carnival port?  Is it well marked and easy to find?

Thanks!

Which breakfast options are open on port days?  TIA!

Loving this!   Doing this one soon!

@hard_eight agreed that the prices were getting ridiculous and now they aren't even always available?  Geez, it's just nice sometimes to NOT have to go to the bar for a drink or two if you are on your balcony enjoying the sunset or even a quiet night in.  Between the two of us, we could drink enough of the bottle that it felt like we got our money's worth even on a shorter cruise!

Thanks all!  Del Amo sounds like what I'm looking for... just looking for something to do while my husband and son go to the Automotive Museum etc, and we are staying near LAX the day after the cruise as we have an early am flight the next morning.  

Yes, but upon going on websites, some only have a few stores.  I was wondering if anyone had any favorite malls they could recommend nearby.

Hi there, can anyone advise if there is an outlet mall near LAX?  Or some type of general mall - not looking for upscale, but a larger mall with a good variety of stores that would be safe for an older female to visit alone?

Hello!   I am about 60 days from sailing, and there are 0 results for the Liquor category to pre-buy a bottle of liquor for the room.  It's a 4 day sailing, if that matters.  Is this something they no longer offer?  Thanks!

Thanks all for the suggestions!

Hey there..  thinking of doing a DIY food/drink day in Ensenada.   Any recommendations?  What about Taco Fenix and La Guerrerense?  Prefer not too far from port with do-able line-ups so we can hit a few, and prefer food cart type experience as opposed to sit down.  Most of the party isn't into wine - but craft brews, tequilas and margaritas would be great!  What are your favorites - how far away are they, and how long should we expect to be in line?  

Alternately, would you recommend this excursion instead of DIY: https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/ensenada/ultimate-local-food-teller-310062?selectedVariant=RD20231204004310062202312061115

Hi there, there are 3 of us going from our hotel near LAX to the cruise port, but it's a Monday morning.  Previously, I have done Uber to port from LAX area but only on the weekends.  Would Uber still be the way to go even though it's a Monday?   Or would we be better off returning to the airport for a Carnival transfer ($34 each Canadian).  Thanks in advance!

I'm Canadian but travel frequently to the USA, and I feel in Canada we are more inclined to use credit cards/debit cards over cash than most US cities I've been to.  I travel with just a debit card around my own city and have never had an issue.

Following...

20 hours ago, jeffregpuck said:

I'm curious...is it 100% automatic now?  Or do you still have the option to decline the upgrade?  I'm considering bidding, but I'm afraid the new cabin will be under the buffet or the pool.  According to  the customer service reps, you can still decline the upgrade, but I just don't trust them!  I'd rather stay in my deluxe balcony than get a mini suite or even suite under the buffet!

You can no longer decline the upgrade...  that changed at the start of the month.  So before you bid, be sure you are ok with ANY room of that category.

So with Princess FCD, you get immediate OBC?   What happens if you don’t use the FCD and it gets refunded?

If I’m in club class, will I have the same waiter night?  I’d like to tip a bit extra if I get good service (which I anticipate I will) but I would be better off to tip each night then?  If I was to leave $10 a night like a restaurant on land?  Under a glass like I do on land?

Got my upgrade today!  33 days out on Discovery Princess 4 day repo - paid $175 cdn (each) for upgrade from BB balcony to club class mini suite.  Think that’s fair as I was going to pay that to move to deluxe balcony but decided to chance it instead with this bid.  Was automatically charged as I made the bid after March 1.  To note, per the barometer on the bidding site, my offer was on the high side of “weak” as bidding started at $150.  Full price to upgrade would have been around $400.  I know some have gotten free upgrades on our sailing, but I’m a bit fussy about location and M1 was the only category I was interested in - more midship.