shipty2

We are wondering the same thing as the rapid PCR at the airport in Houston is considerably more expensive. We are also sailing on Carnival. I hate to take time out of our one port stop to get a test but it is what it is.

No matter what the announcement is, someone will complain.

 

Carnival could say that they're going to give everyone a bag of gold bars as they board the ship and someone would complain that there's no one there to carry it to their cabin for them.

Best post ever on cruise critic lmao

Wear it! No one ever says "hmm he looks too good"

We ate there 3 time on the Vista. DH had a whole lobster every time. I had fish and chips and both were delicious.

We did get a pager so we went to sit down but there was never anyone else there.

We just sailed the Magic, and did the Chef's Table. It is our second Chef's Table event.

 

My recommendation (IMHO), do not book the Chef's Table on the Magic until they move it to a private and QUIET dining area!:eek: It was held in a very noisy part of the Galley!:confused:

The Chef had to YELL CONSTANTLY for any of us to hear him describe the dishes, and then it was hit and miss!:mad:

 

It was also VERY RUSHED, compared to our 1st Chef's Table experience!

 

Champagne was limited to 1 glass, prior to the "Canapes" (appetizers), being served. No napkins were offered during this part of the event....finger lickin' is not my idea of a special dinner!

 

Most courses during the dinner were served, BEFORE many of us had finished the previous course!:rolleyes: Again, a very rushed and less than ELEGANT experience!

 

Wine, although it was available, was not flowing as was the case in our 1st CT event. We had to ask for a refill a couple of times.:confused:

 

Overall, if I were able to remove the TIP, which I may still pursue, I would have at the end of the event. Instead it was added automatically to our S&S acct. If it were not added, I would have left 2 cents!:)

We did CT on the Magic and it was our favourite one yet . We just did CT on the Vista last week and the experience was also top notch.

We did the Chef's table experience on the Splendor last year and on the Magic this year and they had different menus.

In regards to what to wear at our first Chef's table DH wore a suit and so did two other gentlemen but on this last one he wore a shirt and tie without a jacket and was more dressed up than all the other men. Cruise casual seems to be the order of the day.

We just cruised out of Galveston on the Magic over Christmas week. We took the Galveston Express shuttle from Houston airport to Galveston and the driver dropped us right at our hotel for $25 a person. He also told us a little about the area on the way. He was excellent and the price ,we thought ,was awesome.

We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton on Seawall Blvd and would do so again in a heartbeat. We got 2 queen beds which is preferable for us rather than 2 doubles as can be common.

The room was spacious and clean and the hotel is a few minutes only from the port and the ocean is across the street.

We ate at Fishtales on Seawall Blvd and at Millers and both were fabulous with views of the ocean.

We just used Galveston express shuttle for our Christmas cruise on the Magic. They were awesome! On time and friendly with a very comfortable vehicle. We string one day ahead so took the shuttle for $25 per person and they dropped us at out Galveston hotel that was very close to the port. The people in Galveston were very very nice and polite. We would actually prefer to sail from Galveston based on our overly positive experience and this was our 21 cruise but the first one out of Galveston.

We just sailed on the Magic Chrisymas cruise and our cards were given to us already punched at check in. We went to the casino where the host gave us free lanyeards

I want to know this as well. Specifically the Ecstasy and the Magic

Really. Come on I have never thought once oh gee maybe I should grab some towels just in case my steward does not bring me any.

Lol I can picture thousands of passengers grabbing towels just in case they have substandard service from the room steward. Maybe I will bring my own toilet brush too just in case as well.

We have been on 20 cruises with luggage larger than that without issue.

Since the trend in cruising is to encourage the passengers to be motivated to eat at the dining venues that charge extra it would be counter productive to have really good food in the dining room. It is in the cruise lines best interest to crest menus that satisfy the masses and new cruisers but leave enough room for improvement so that others will be willing to pay for better food.

John Heald just spent the week on the glory posting the menus and pics of food every night on his Face Book page.

We were on her in January and took pics of the food etc (new menus) and made a delicious video, we don't have the menus though. Here is our video

 

The video says it is not available

I bought gift cards for a wedding present awhile ago and from start to finish I had problems with them like you wouldn't believe. Never again. Carnival told me to contact the gift card company which it turns out is separate from them and the gift card company told me to contact Carnival. Round and round the roundabout I went for hours and hours on the phone.

After spending over 10 hours total the problem was resolved.:mad:

I know I am in the minority here but I have sailed both ships and wouldn't go on the Breeze again but if the price was right I would sail on the Valor a second time.

Why is that you may ask?

1)The décor of the Breeze was not interesting to us in the least. I like a ship that is not decorated like my home ie I love over the top Carnival-ie farcus décor or really beautiful finishes ie Disney dream décor. There wasn't one room on the Breeze where any of my family said 'Oh wow look at that!" It is all very nice and pleasant though-very much like a new Holiday Inn so not ugly just not interesting in any way.

2) That floor in the lido buffet area is slippery as hell so passing through I ended up with one foot on the carpeted area and one foot on tile to make sure I didn't fall and break a leg-no I am not elderly or infirm in any way

3)Trying to find a seat in the buffet area at lunch was problematic ie we had to get a table first then each go for our food.

4)Getting back on the ship took much longer than pretty much any cruise I can recall out of 20 cruises.

5)Room service took so long by the time it came (close to an hour 3 times) we were falling asleep.

I had no complaints about the Valor in any away. :)

We loved the Splendor layout! I loved the covered hot tubs. We sailed from New York in October so appreciated the covered lido area for the cooler start of our trip.

The staff was awesome too. In fact I may break my rule about not sailing the same ship twice just because we had the best cruise ever on Splendor.

The only negative I have was the rotisserie was disappointing-I would have rather had the fish and chips station in that area like other ships.

We loved the Splendor layout! I loved the covered hot tubs. We sailed from New York in October so appreciated the covered lido area for the cooler start of our trip.

The staff was awesome too in fact I may break my rule about not sailing the same ship twice just because we had the best cruise ever on Splendor.

The only negative I have was the rotisserie was disappointing-I would have rather had the fish and chips station in that area like other ships.

The vegetarian options now consist of vegetable pies/tarts/biscuits without enough protein. If I wanted to eat unhealthy food I would choose fried chicken but that isn't available either . Of course every night there is an Indian option which I do like to have once on a 7 day cruise not every night.

We attended the Chef's Table experience a few months ago and every single person there tipped the staff-in varying amounts of course at their discretion.

I looking at cruises on the Carnival website today when I noticed on their list of what every cruise includes that have " cozy linens" listed along with tv in every cabin. I know many are fans of the linens but really to list it as a feature I feel smacks of desperation in trying to come up with a longer list of perks. :rolleyes:

Hate it. Makes me feel like I am a kid that someone is trying to keep busy during dinner so that I don't act up. Seriously? It was a few very bad card tricks that was annoying. I didn't know if I was suppose to tip him or what.

 

Get rid of the so called magician in mdr, and pay to bring back drink coupon or chocolates with his salary.:D

On our 20th cruise we had a magician come to our table. We did like it but were wondering too if this was a tipping occasion .

I have sailed both and they are my two favourite ships out of 20 cruises but I give the Splendor a slight edge.

We have been on 12 cruises since 2007, all with carnival, and just got off Splendor 4 weeks ago - The Splendor was by far our most favorite ship!!

 

I have been on 20 cruises and the last one on Splendor was my fave too!!!We are actually breaking our rule about not repeating ships because the staff were awesome.

I pre paid tips for someone else as a gift for a cruise leaving in a couple weeks. They cannot seem to see this in their booking. Can anyone tell me where is shows up ? I have done it a few times but I don't remember where to find it.