Eli_6

That is good to know. I have often wanted to book under my Mom's rate when she comes with us (she gets way better deals than I do...like a fraction of the price) but because she is elderly and has not been able to cruise at the last minute on our last two cruises, I am always scared to book under her rate knowing that due to her health, there is a chance she won't be able to sail...even though we always "intend" for her to sail and it often just doesn't happen.

I wonder if they have wine...

Trust me, I didn't sleep well! I think I just slept on top of the little comforter thing. And I was grossed out. I would have snatched sheets from the linen cart, but I never saw one. That's when I eventually just asked the room steward to GIVE me sheets and he screamed at me something to the effect that couldn't I see he was busy and he would get to it when he was free. He claimed the sheets had been changed. No way. They smelled like smoke and there were stains on them. I am nearly positive what happened is that everyone ended up debarking late because there was a huge traffic jam in Dover and the buses and taxis couldn't get to the ship (huge...like made international news) and we were in a suite so we were one of the first ones to get on the boat (and our hotel was within walking distance of the port) so they did a really fast flip and didn't take the time to change the sheets. Also, the room steward was taking his break during that time and only his assistants were working in the rooms. How do I know? We had a Vista suite and so got in our room early and the door to the adjoining balcony next to us that we also had booked was locked...but the room was open....just not the door in between. We asked for them to unlock the door in between the rooms and the room stewards (who were still in the process of flipping other rooms) told us they didn't have the key. Ther said the head steward was taking his break and couldn't be disturbed. To me, if you are head the head steward on the floor and not one of the helpers, you shouldn't be taking your break right when they are flipping the boat between cruises. Especially when the cruises are 9-12 days each. (As an aside: The unchanged linens were in the suite and not the other room. For some strange reason, that room actually did have clean linens...maybe because they didn't rush to get it done since it wasn't one of the ones with priority boarding. In general, the suite looked like it had not been cleaned well.) Honestly, that cruise was so bad that the sheets were the LEAST of the problems. Truly. We never had a working shower despite MANY calls to Carnival. They came at random times and would walk in without knocking. Never fixed it. We ended up using the other room's shower the entirety of the cruise. It would at times take HOURS to get off the boat due to not enough boats. (All but two of the ports were where you had to ride the life boats to get to shore because we were in the upper Scottish Isles, Ireland, etc.) And there was another even worse incident that I don't even want to go into. This is the only Carnival cruise I have ever been on that was truly terrible. So, long story short, this is why I know that sometimes when people complain, they aren't just being drama queens or Negative Nancies. Sometimes they have legitimate reasons to complain. And people can be on the same cruise and have completely different experiences. Whew...sorry I went on so long about all of that. I got on my soap box.

Nothing is out on the Firenze. Nothing is out on the Venezia for summer 2024. Nothing is out for Europe summer 2024. What is up? It seems like the only thing posted is Alaska, Carribean, and Australia. I have an FCC that has an expiration date of 08/03/24. My plan after learning this was to apply it to my Europe sailing for this year, but the FCC is double the price of that sailing (because I went from a suite to a balcony...cruise is booked up so can't go up to a better room) and the fine print also says that you can only use it on one booking and it can't be used towards OBC or port fees. When I look at the sailings available currently, there isn't much that warrants using it...at least not when the kids are out of school. I looked at the Greenland sailing, but frankly I don't really want to take a 2-week cruise with 8 sea days to spend two days in Greenland. Some of the unique Journeys cruises or Hawaii are also during the school year.

I just looked on the Carnival website and Legend is booked out until 2025 except that there are blanks for May through October 2024 which, to me, indicates that as of right now they intend for it to be in Europe...

Do you not still also get the free drink on the last evening? I thought platinum g9t everything gold got.

People are saying the Legend will be in Europe.

One can dream...

If it isn't out in the next month or so, I am going to start thinking they aren't doing it.

If someone makes penta-Diamond (1000 cruise days?), they deserve free drinks and wifi. At that point, they have spent nearly three years of their life on a Carnival ship.

Even if it isn't complaining, excessive lines at guest services often means there is something wrong. I mean, no one goes to guest services just to say "Hi" to the staff. I get that many things are due to problems or issues that are not Carnival's fault or responsibility (like "I left my shoes in the spa. Has anyone turned them in?" or "there is a drunk, naked guy streaking around the ship on the Lido deck") but sometimes they are--like "My toilet won't flush," "my shower doesn't work," "I don't think my sheets were changed from the last cruise," etc.

That's not a good sign if there are so many people complaining that you need an appointment...

I just read this entire thread and I have to say that no matter how much you say that other people's actions don't affect you, if nastiness is aimed directly at you, it does affect how you feel. In one instance, I watched a couple literally push my elderly mother with a walker out of the way and cut in front of not only her but a paraplegic in a wheelchair he was controlling with his mouth for an elevator and nearly knock her over. When I said something to them about the fact that people who were mobility impaired were waiting before them, I was called a "fat ass" by the man. I burst into tears as I had relatively recently had a baby and was sensitive about my weight. I am sure these type of situations are all the more sensitive for people who are LGBTQ or people of color, etc.

As an aside, I would like to point out that Valor is the ship that so many people keep jumping off of...Now we know why.

This was very similar to our experience on the Pride...only add sheets that literally weren't washed from the prior guests, a shower that never worked the entire sailing, and my son getting left with a bruise after an employee manhandled him. Then we came home with Covid. The only reason I am continuing to cruise with Carnival is because guest services did attempt to make it right. Here on CC, I was raked over the coals for sharing my experience. I am glad some other Carnival cruisers are seeing that, in fact, a cruise can literally be worse than being at home/work. It can be much worse.

It doesn't have to be in the same room, but someone on a linked booking would need to be over 25 for the 17 year old. The two 23 year olds are fine.

Not all Carnival cruises embark/debark from US ports...

I have never had anything extreme, but I have been there a couple of times when it was pretty chaotic.

This is a useful article: Can You Take Food Off a Cruise Ship? - Cruise Mummy

Also, sometimes there are long bus rides before you get where you are going. When you are traveling with kids or someone who gets car sick or someone with blood sugar issues, it is just common sense to have pre-packaged food with you.

I think that depends on where you are debarking. Not all ports are foreign countries/ports from your embarkation port.

I know there was some question about what FFTF gets you and whether it changes your arrival appointment--i.e. whether you can arrive any time or still have to arrive at your appointment time. I just checked in to my cruise where I purchased FFTF and it says "Boarding Group FFTF" on it. It also has FFTF on my luggage tags and boarding passes. It does, however, have my arrival appointment time on it, though, and does not say "Priority" or FTTF under that so I do have some question as to whether if I arrived before my appointment time they would let me board at the port or not... Although, in my case, I was able to secure the first arrival time anyway. (I want it to get off the boat fast at the end of the cruise so my husband can work that day so it is worth it to us to buy it regardless of if it only gets us on the boat a few minutes early.)

I also like the idea of the tumbler better than carrying around a goofy looking fish or the giant fish bowl.

That's what I was wondering about, too. Once we buy the tumbler, where all can I take it to get refilled at? For example, will they refill the 16 ounces (at the 12 ounce price) at the atrium bar? What about the Serenity Bar? The dining room? I would assume it can't be refilled at Alchemy since those are craft cocktails.

In the UK this summer, we would grab an orange or a banana for our kids on the long bus rides, but I don't know if you can do that when going from the US to some other countries. I know in one port I have even seen dogs sniffing for fruit and seen them asking people to open their bags.