Buffettfan 225

Heck, after embarkation getting on ship day, from what I can tell, you can go through security too at ports with it. We carried standard “water” bottles back on in the shoulder tote bag.

Ask your wait team- I just said is the sweet and sour shrimp the stick kind or regular fried shrimp? They said the ines that look like shrimp. Waiters are wearing masks, and ours heavy accent Peru hardly could hear or understand him. Hope tou have a better wait team. A big p.s. I just tested positive after driving home this am, using a home test for covid. Prior to this cruise always wore masks, never got covid and fully boosted even after husband got covid and we had to cancel day before June cruise. I let my guard down not wearing mask on ship I now have it. So much for the “Funship” the cruise that keeps giving. Would I go again yes. But mask up.

Day four Carnival menu “at sea” cobb salad: fresh fruit plate I always use this as an appetizer order

Day three Carnival Radiance menu “Ensenada” In our option the weakest night and in future May do another option. regarding green salads - they seem to officially offer one dressing. I think our wait team mixed them up we got thin tart red dressing- having sailed recently knew it was red wine not raspberry which is much thicker like maple syrup. Waiter seemed ornery that I asked for raspberry, or Italian as disliked given dressing. Be clear when ordering- it took ten min to get lemons for shrimp after entree ordered. So think ahead- ask for say two dressings, more butter, lemons, sugar etc when they take order. The personal service has definitely evaporated in MDR. Seems more fast food place order all at once. I know there are cut backs but after 20years with Carnival things are noticed in MDR,- baked potato is a half small one, shrimp app 4 mini bland shrimp, and once/day room care. Tonight’s entrees

Day two Carnival Radiance menu “Catalina” Day Feast- first do not worry about clothes, all up to you. We saw it all- fancy for photos, polos, khakis, dress top. menu: Garlic shrimp- was afraid, but not overly garlicky. The crème brûlée this cruise was better quality but I always order melting cake as my go to.

Sea Day Brunch menu: I was not that hungry so ordered 2 kids pancakes. They were odd- about 1/2” thick dense heavy. Not like out on buffett. Meh. My husband had steak and eggs- he said a sirloin cooked great and was tender. Not filet level, but acceptable. The standard non fees orange juice was very good quality. I ordered banana pie and cookies for dessert. The pie is ok- not a lot of bananas. Cookies an excellent surprise one sugar with frosting, a chocolate chip with dab fudge frosting and a oatmeal. All warm from oven Cookies about 2-3”size. Good enough to order two and take to room.

I think that was what they were doing, and still offering thankfully. I really liked the chicken park, but disliked chilli flakes. A THING I found irritating, the salad dressing listed is dressing of the salad for that day on the side. No exceptions. I complained disliked it and waiter said see what he could do. ALSO- need your cell phones at dinner and QR code to capture full menu. We asked for a paper menu for parents. The menus are all available thru the Carnival Hub once onboard but must have Carnival Radiance wifi selected for it to work. My cell signal for calling, text and emails only worked Long Beach, Catalina and a bit in Ensenada from ship.

Yes, and was open for free lunch all days if recall. I will check my papers when home later.

We saw no issues when walked to town for antibiotics. The shuttle buses to town were at terminal. All shops open & Carnival tours running. Felt secure, they fixed some sidewalk potholes we noticed since March 2022. It is about 1.4miles walk- nice along boardwalk. Even just getting off ship for a sign photo and look at plants is a nice outside break. I did find a nice zip tote bag for gifts a lady selling on bridge- Said $20, told her would think about- she went to $18, then bought two for $30.

Here are the current menus from Aug 2022 in order for four day Carnival Radiance Day 1 Last two cruises the sweet and sour shrimp is now using traditional shaped shrimp, rice was very bland. Salmon was very moist according to my mom and said vegetables were wonderfully done. New item for my, the chicken parm- not dry, really liked, but could have skipped the chili flakes, I avoided them as not a spicy type food eater. They were not spicy per see, just left a long warm taste in mouth afterward, , not the sticks. Much improved. The rice was very bland.

We just pulled into Ensenada, will let you know the feel and what we observe as sailed same itinerary early March 2022 on Radiance. We will likely get off as know the area well, going to local pharmacy we have used and trusted over the years (I have a major painful sinus infection) and maybe purchase another bottle of vanilla.

Exactly as poster says. On Radiance now. We did muster immediately - they scan barcode on your boarding pass. Also room/cabin keys were not available until closer to 1pm or so- the room stewards put outside door in mailbox rack. Our platinum cards also were not available immediately but appeared prior to others in hall.

Catalina: Last cruise the two of us got off first call at approx 8:10am Feb 28, 2022. We picked a water shuttle seat on back right (as face fwd) and almost first off shuttle. Letting us be fourth in line for golf cart rental that is across street and easy 2min walk to first come first serve golf cart rentals. It is $60hr plus security deposit. They do offer military discount fyi if have proof. They allow 2hrs rental time and pro rate on 15min increments. Yoday we planned the same but I noted at 6:30am complete fog. So plan B leave at 10am. Really the fog had almost burned off by 9 so could have gotten off first thing. This cruise platinum/Diamond/handicap met in lobby near piano from 8-11. We checked in with Carnival employee and after ten min wait escorted to elevator bank they had locked out except for their use. From there boarded shuttle. We usually do things against crowd times, so disembarking late threw us off. The line for golf cart rental took 35 min. Plus some wait for the early carts to come back. Gave full your skipping the fork on road to Wrigley gardens. We stopped at Catalina golf course pro shop (park cart across on left side). Wanted to show parents old Wrigley Cubs locker room. They do have bathrooms there btw- but they are two sets of three steps, but a nice halfway point. We also bought canned soda from pro shop $3/beverage. The island does have a Vons food store- bought tortilla chips to eat with all the salsa options from Blue Iguana (ship has no chips!) plus ahem an “adult clear liquid pint” that happen to go in my water bottle. I had brought 3 water bottles off in a cooler and wish had brought 2 empty bottles😉 Having a Vons card also saved money off our purchases. With the crowd getting off shuttle our water bottles in shoulder soft cooler in my tote sailed thru security.

If she can get to terminal, ask for wheelchair assistance and follow what we did above. You go along as family, it helps expedite boarding . They do have escalator to top, but no carryon bags- very strict on this. You could do the ramp yourself if doing carryons, and she could take escalator and meet you at top. There were lines at top, but handicap- wheelchairs used special line and even offer if want to stop for photos. We were A01 boarding group platinum and they called suites at approx.11, five minutes later groups A01 then by 11:15am groups A01-3. We left right on time at 5pm. We were port side balcony facing out (non pier side) and had good time watching as they were hot doggie doing circles, and after sailing start off near bow all the schools of fish must get disrupted as all the birds were having a feeding frenzy diving. We brought a small pair of binoculars to watch, and also watch the pier seals in Ensenada. # 1 thing to bring - lidded type commuter cups- I cannot tell you how many people were balance china cups of coffee going back to cabins. Same for cold beverages with the short plastic cups. #2 the sign n sail cards do have a hole punches in the, a lanyard does come in handy. Myself I asked for free stretchy cord at casino cage, and attach to my small crossover bag and pit card inside. More later- going into Catalina for planned golf cart self tour. We had planned 8am exit but was all fog until 9am. More on water shuttle service and how later. I also have menu screen shots of MDR so can post later.

Sailing this route for third time, and waiting for sail away. Just wanted ro comment on arrival to Carnival pier by the Queen Mary and traveling with mobility challenged parents (they now use canes, but more of the weebles wobble) so getting on board at this pier wheelchairs were needed. It is extra work, but appreciating them while still around and able to share a family cruise vacation. Process- stayed in Torrance at a Courtyard on Supelveda. No breakfast there, but nice they offer rooms that have balconies to enjoy. Plus free parking and Starbucks in lobby. Rime to pier 18min today, last cruise was 32 min. I used my waze traffic app which routed through downtown and much simpler to find Queensway into port. Having Seniors and us desiring to not tow their luggage did curbside bag drop off. The porters said “oh if need a wheel hair go to the mobility center right there pointing to just behind them. NOTE this is only for those desiring rentals. Instead one needs to walk to actual terminal building entrance, let a, employee know and they radio for wheelchair assistance. This is now outsourced. We waited maybe five min at 10:35. When we arrived they were letting anyone go to terminal- no boarding time slots needed. The wheelchair pushers expedited checkin- pushed them through whole process and sat them at end on a bench stating stay here, when your group is called we will come get you. Sure enough they did, zipped around line and took us to elevator. Elevator only holds two wheelchairs, pushers and we squeezed in. There is an escalator option but absolutely NO bags allowed fyi. Otherwise if doing carryons and no disability requires 3 ramps up. They dropped my parents right inside ship entry. From there we looped around central bar now walking, and immediately used boarding passes to get muster drill out of the way. A few months ago, they asked if knew how to don a lifevest, and scanned & we left. This cruise they required listening to demo for three minutes. I will post other comments as have a signal. Any questions?

I know this has been answered already, but can confirm Radiance issued $25 directly to our sign n sail card.. You put the card into a slot machine (not every machine will work though, only some accept promo credit. I cannot recall if needed a pin number to confirm it is the correct person. Then using the little window follow prompts that you are using promo balance. Then select $ amount you want spin with. If no credit win. Spin again, say you win $2.65 on spin. That is now actual money you can cash in. The machine will use your promo amount before using your cash credit. Keep an eye on your promo balance, or add in head. If just playing to use up casino credit, you don’t want to start playing with “winnings”. I can clarify more when sail next week on Radiance. Hope this is clear as mud 🤔

Anyone know if they docked at all, or just sailed off coast? Curious as sail Aug 22 on Radiance.

Thank you for taking time to post. We sail 2nd on four day- guess will see. What are they doing to comply with not visiting a forign port? stop and go port?

Same here sailing Radiance and wondering. This is a replacement cruise for us for our June anniversary, and husband testing positive covid two day prior.

yes, especially should be approved as it is their product that meets fire-retardant.

I tried this on last cruise on Carnival Radiance End Feb 2022. Brought a universal remote and hdmi cord to connect to tv in room. All inputs were disabled 😟 Good luck trying. It was not from lack of trying options,inputs etc. Plus we werent even streaming live, just trying ro get movie from my tablet ro the tv. Nothing worked, husband is very tech savy too. Gone are the days we brought a Nintendo portable and it worked.

Thank you so much. That is a relief. One less “senior thing” for me to have to worry about or explain how to do now.

My senior parents are so used to putting the doorhanger out for breakfast. Now does it require you waking up early to order breakfast and wait? Can it be arranged by delivery time?

Looking for the Junior, child or kids menu. I only have version from 2018. Thank you

following, any updates?