happy cruzer

Do we know if the menus are being tweeked from what was posted in the announcement on the Dream test of the menus?  Since I don't think you can see the menus in the Carnival app, any way to see if they are changed?

Thanks.

Regarding airfare.  If you fly out of Houston and the port is Galveston then allow lots of time to get to the airport.  Just because you are off of the ship at 10 does not mean you will be in the airport 1 hour early for a noon flight.  Two o'clock would be much safer.

So is it JiJi's or Bonsai that you had slow service in?  How about the deli and Cucino del Capitiano?

Getting my expectations set to be patient :).

thanks for the report.

The casino is no smoking as well as the interior of the ship.  There will not be as many options for entertainment but if you are in the casino most nights you will be happy on the smaller ship with a little better food and service.

Getting pretty serious about booking Thailand/ Viet Nam iten.  Still looking for opinions/advice....

Yeah, I guess I got side tacked when bikerunner said that you searched out the head sommelier.

We dealt with one sommelier who kept offering the only two red wines that he had by the glass on Apex.  Those were one the list but any others were out of stock.  So  that 's is why I post that you can not rely on negotiating your way to good service.  Just too much hassle for us.

So if they hide your wines, does that do a dis-service to others?

Jus too much hassle...

2 hours ago, bikerunner said:

nope, the sommelier will open bottles to have by the glass that are over the premium amount.  Last cruise I had Foley Pinot Noir, payed I think 1-2 dollars over the premium amount per glass.  Dont remember.   The sommelier made sure it was always available at the ensemble lounge for me to purchase by the glass and the main dining room when I ate there.  I search out the head sommelier, most times find him or work with one of the other ones, usually the first day to see what is available, I dont ask the bars waiters etc.  It's easier on ships that still have cellar masters to find him but not really hard tbh.  

ok.  Thanks for sharing. 

Not our experience but glad they made you happy.

Should cruisers have to search someone out and negotiate to get something acceptable?

In our opinion the bev  packages just don't really work for wine drinkers, except if you take advantage of the carry on with no corkage or buying by the bottle.  We will do it out of ports that make carry- on options limited, otherwise no by the glass for us.

On 6/4/2023 at 7:19 AM, prmssk said:

It greatly depends on what they have in stock which no one can even guess this far out.  But generally, the classic package just includes a handful of standard, pretty cheap reds.  If you are used to good red wine, you will be disappointed with the classic offerings. You can always just pay the difference for a better glass of wine (plus gratuity on that difference).  Your drink package also gives you a discount on bottles of wine.

 

As to where you can get wine, MDR probably has the most extensive wine list on the ship.  I think Cellar Masters has been removed from the Reflection but that also usually has a good wine list.  I'm not sure whether there is a good lounge/bar with the elimination of Cellar Masters that has a good wine selection but when you board I would ask at the various bars as their selection sometimes is different.

The discount for bottles of wine sounds good.  For classic I think it is 15%, but what about gratuities?  Supposed to be included for the package, but at they included for the purchase by the bottle?

Thanks.

You might look at Celebrity for Asia.

Thanks for posting the offer.  It is helpful for new bookings.  Price drops are another matter.

But when pricing out new options it is very helpful to see the "sales".

Thank you.

I would not count on the sommelier taking care of you.  Our last Celebrity cruise the sommelier just kept pouring the same two or three reds and not discussing the selections at all.

It is great when you get good service, but I am not sure it is guaranteed.  Fall back plan is to order by the bottle...

6 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

If it’s AI then no you can’t without repricing at current rates to cruise only . You can’t change on board 

Good point about the repricing.  I was thinking just a set difference in price not a total repricing.  Hummm,  I'll have to think harder now.

So if you reserve your cruise with the drink package and later decide you would rather just go with purchasing bottles can you cancel the package - pre cruise? during the cruise?  Thanks.

On 6/29/2023 at 5:13 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

We had an excellent dinner in the MDR last night. We started the evening with wine in the ensemble lounge and listened to live music.

We were seated immediately for dinner, around 6pm. I had the BBQ spring roll and the cream of chicken to start, both were excellent. For my main, I had the braised beef brochette and a side portion of the linguine. 

We then ran up to the top deck to watch the last of the sunset and our sail away. It was a nice, peaceful night! 

While I’ve been typing this, we’ve just been sitting off of Bonaire waiting to pull into port. The engines just kicked in though and we’ll be there for an early, 7AM arrival. I think we’ll plan on getting off the ship and heading to Sorobon beach. We’ll likely get back to the ship for lunch. 

Thank you for posting the pictures of the food.  Just looking at the menu I would have never guessed the food was a good as it looks.  The descriptions of the menu items are not very clear to me - I did not see beef mentioned on the briochet or shrimp on the linguine.  So I would not have known what to order.  Now I know to ask for more detail 🙂  Very helpful.

What is the corkage fee now?  I assume you can still carry on a reasonable amount?  Thanks.

May have to start a new thread since this is a bit old/off topic.  But anyway -

Anyone care to comment on the Asian itineraries?  Vietnam/ Thailand vs. Bali, Mayalasia, Thailand?

Any thoughts on Bali as embar/debarc port?  Cost of airfare impact?

Really torn between the two options.

Thanks.

Thanks.  I like O's air pricing but when you add the dev fee, it hurts a bit.  Some of the lines don't charge that and you might even get a lower price by doing the deviation.  But since we rarely do the premium/luxury lines, love hearing what others have experienced.

If you want to save on air fare, is one line that is being compared better than the other?  Lots of analysis on excursions, drinks, transfers, etc.  what about booking airfare including the air deviation options?

Thanks.

Unfortunately,  I just now found the offer which expired June 30.   I was interested in a cruise in April 2024 that had the offer for the land program for Bangkok.  I have a question in to see if the offer might be extended.

Anyone know for sure that the offer expired?  Anyone care to guess if it will come back at some point?

Thanks in advance.

It might be that the Cruise Critic demographic is changing with many people going to other social media?  But if you are a match for the demographic then the review provided might be more useful.

We got the change message too.  No changes made, what the heck is up?

Thanks for posting about getting the assurance that many got that message.

What was your experience with reservations for dining? for entertainment?

Not looking forward to making reservations before sailing and day of.  Hope it is easier than it sounds.

Thanks.

So getting a third entree will cost $5?? and that is a show stopper??

There are other options such as more appetizers or the buffet.  You can get what you want you just need to pay more.

And the final option is to go somewhere else where you can get unlimited entrees for no extra cost.

It is a change from the past; but things do change and you have adapt or ....

Back in the day, on Conquest they had a seafood spot upstairs from the buffet which served fried oysters at lunch at no extra charge.

No stat available, totally lost count of how many eaten over the 7 days.

Never tried the Guys's burger, looking forward to one or two.

On 6/21/2023 at 1:20 PM, slavigne5577 said:

Can you buy on first day and get discount first day in Galveston?

I will sail on Vista early in Sept.  Hopefully will remember to check out the tumbler deal the first day if not definitely on the second - and report back :).

We NEED recent information. HA!