SailorMarg

When looking to book an Alaskan Land/Sea Tour, I see the same “Cruise” has two options as far as the “Land” part of the tour prior to the “Sea” part.  Both are “Double Denali” and then one goes to Anchorage then Seward before arriving in Whittier for the cruise while the other goes to Talkeetna then Alyeska before arriving in Whittier.  I would appreciate any thoughts on why one might prefer one option over the other.  

Thanks y’all.  Looks like everybody is getting out of Dodge.  Makes sense, and it should have been obvious to this sailor.  Duh.

Any ideas or thoughts as to why Adventure of the Seas, which has been anchoring in the Bahamas during this Covid pause, is underway to the Yucatan Basin per MarineTraffice.com?

I see this working great for me and my family.  Others, not so much.

Royal Caribbean Creates New Cruise Ship Muster Drill to Eliminate Crowding

https://cruisefever.net/royal-caribbean-creates-new-muster-drill-to-eliminate-crowding/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare&fbclid=IwAR3GXC07fNF1h2D4BcO0E5FHgifwWgXUfp4SdnHLsN_HnLmqbsgrVw5YoIs

Stay with me here.  This is complicated.  RCCL cancelled our September cruise. My thought was to take the FCC and apply it to the balance due on our December cruise when it becomes due in September.  Both cruises are comparably priced.  Easy enough.  BUT, I just checked and for whatever reason I booked my husband as Passenger #1 on the September cruise and myself as Passenger #1 on the December cruise.  With the 60% off 2nd passenger “sale” Passenger #1 will receive a much higher FCC which would not be a problem if they were also Passenger #1 on the next cruise that I was going to use FCC to pay balance.  They are clear that FCC is non transferable so Passenger #1 on September cruise will have way too much for the December cruise where they are passenger #2 and Passenger #2 will not have nearly enough for December cruise where they are Passenger #1.  I know that sounds so convoluted but I think it will be a problem.  Has anybody had a similar situation and what was the result?  

When my December cruise balance becomes due in September, would I be able to apply the FCC I will get from my RCCL cancelled September cruise?  Or does the FCC have to be applied to a new booking?  I don’t see this clearly addressed on RCCL’s website.

17 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

We had a side facing cabana on our first cruiser...to the Caribbean. We found it hot most days, as air movement in the side facing cabanas is not good. Now we always get an aft facing cabana, including on the Eurodam through the Canal a couple of years ago, and we have not experienced the heat issue since.

Thank you!

7 hours ago, graphicguy said:

In brief, I’ve eaten in ALL the specialty restaurants on NCL, ROYAL, AND MSC.  None of them came close to this meal.  Moreover, even on tony land based restaurants, I’ve spent 2X what this dinner cost, and those still didn’t come close.

 

The food was wonderful, prepared meticulously, and was as innovative as I’ve ever had.

 

The service was exemplary, too.  It took 3.5 hours for the entire meal and tour.  The Chef gave us a pic of our group at no charge.  It’s rare that you can say something on a cruise ship is a great value.  This is one of those rare occasions..

 

This ranks as one of the best activities I’ve participated in on any ship.

 

 

Agreed.  The Chef's Table is a bargain.  What a wonderful treat it is.  Reminds me of what cruising used to be 20 years ago when the Main Dining Room served food just as good, with similar service.

On 2/24/2020 at 8:48 AM, graphicguy said:

Entertainment (so far)....kinda hit and miss.

 

The video of the 3 Violin/viola players who play by one of the main bars are outstanding.

 

Sailing out of Texas, I understand having a group who specializes on country music.  Not my cup of tea, but I understand.  I like just about all types of music. There’s a duo (can’t recall their name) who play at one of the main bars who seem to specialize in country music for octogenarians.  They started a few songs that I perked up for (some ZZ Top and Jerry Jeff Walker) but never played the songs, preferring to stick to the “I love my Dog, my Truck and the Girlfriend I cheated on” songs.  Again, probably just not my cup of tea.

 

It’s been mentioned that there is music in and around the Havana.  There’s a group with a terrific horn section and a Latin group....all good in their own right...IF (the proverbial IF) it weren’t for the female lead singer.  Saturday night, I heard them in my cabin until about 3:00 a.m.  Would have been tolerable except for the female singer’s “fingernails on chalkboard” voice.

 

Would behoove Carnival to probably put a tall glass partition to block the sound of the bands playing from the Havana cabins, as they’re playing every night, into the early a.m.  I’m not a stick in the mud, but this is one of the big problems with the Havana Balcony cabins.  

 

I’ve yet talked to any of my neighbors in the Havana who like this.  At least have better bands playing.

My husband is a musician and on the first night of our recent cruise we walked through Ocean Plaza to take a seat to listen to the band just as this female lead started to sing.  My husband gave me a startled look and shook his head.  We kept moving.  🙉

25 minutes ago, watty32 said:

I think you will find the cabanas quite comfortable. We had a corner family  unit which gave us breezes from different directions. The only discomfort we had weather wise, was while sailing through the Canal we experienced a heavy and windy rain downpour. We had a puzzle which we laid out on the table get really drenched. We had a good laugh about it as the cabana staff people tried to cover it up and even went so far as to help us dry the pieces out. We ordered lunch before the downpour but that didn’t stop the staff from delivering and setting it up in the cabana. We had to laugh at their efforts to please us as we felt they went far beyond the “call of duty”. We used the cabana’s every day we were aboard the ship and other the the rain storm we found it to quite enjoyable. I have pictures I would be glad to share if you wish. Don

Oh!  I just remembered I wanted to ask what month did you sail the Canal with the Family Cabana?

18 minutes ago, watty32 said:

I think you will find the cabanas quite comfortable. We had a corner family  unit which gave us breezes from different directions. The only discomfort we had weather wise, was while sailing through the Canal we experienced a heavy and windy rain downpour. We had a puzzle which we laid out on the table get really drenched. We had a good laugh about it as the cabana staff people tried to cover it up and even went so far as to help us dry the pieces out. We ordered lunch before the downpour but that didn’t stop the staff from delivering and setting it up in the cabana. We had to laugh at their efforts to please us as we felt they went far beyond the “call of duty”. We used the cabana’s every day we were aboard the ship and other the the rain storm we found it to quite enjoyable. I have pictures I would be glad to share if you wish. Don

Thank you for the great info, and the laugh 😆.  We've rented a Lido Cabana for a week on Eurodam during an Alaska cruise and fell in love with the comfort and service.  We did it again on the Eurodam but on a Mexican Riviera cruise from San Diego and it definitely got warm...too warm.  So, we've moved to the Retreat, paid a small fortune for a Family Cabana (starboard) for a 15 day sailing of the Nieuw Amsterdam through the Canal in April 2021. I was hoping that the corner location would keep a good breeze going, and it sounds from your description that it does. I would love to see your pictures.   😊

On 2/7/2018 at 11:01 PM, watty32 said:

My wife and I have sailed several times on the Nieuw Amsterdam and on our last trip from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, via the Panama Canal we booked a family cabana for the entire cruise. It was delightful and I would be glad to answer questions on the Cabanas if anyone is interested.

I know this post is 2 years old, but we too have booked a family cabana for a Panama Canal Cruise for next April, 2021. I am wondering about how hot the cabanas get, especially as we get further South to Panama, but really for the whole 14 days.  Did you find the family cabanas got pretty hot as the day progressed?

I know this post is 2 years old, but we too have booked a family cabana for a Panama Canal Cruise for next April, 2021. I am wondering about how hot the cabanas get, especially as we get further South to Panama, but really for the whole 14 days.  Did you find the family cabanas got pretty hot as the day progressed?

23 minutes ago, creef1014 said:

 

Congratulations on reading the rules, there are a million rules across all cruise lines that serve much more like suggestions/guidelines than gospel. I've gotten Platinum and Diamond perks because I was standing next to people who had earned them, that's against the rules. Security has allowed to me reboard at port and take a full bottle of liquor to my room, also against the rules. I have seen people escorted from the areas for being obnoxious, even though no rules were broken.

 

It sounds like everyone (including security and staff) was fine with the environment around the pool but you. That means you were the one with the "everyone else be damned" attitude....but I get it, you read it on a piece of paper, so forget everyone else the paper must be followed.

 

This seems like a concept some of you have failed to grasp; but maybe when you're having fun, you don't need to structure and restrict that fun strictly based on any and every rule you can find.....

🙄

1 hour ago, creef1014 said:

I get that the environment in the Havana area disappointed the OP, but I cannot be the only one who thinks what was described sounds grossly blown out of proportion. 

 

People were at a pool playing music and doing cannonballs? That sounds like what happens at pools where I'm from. Carnival is literally branded as "The Fun Ship" and OP is complaining because cruise security did not stop people from having what is pretty typical fun poolside behavior? 

 

If you're idea of a good time is quietly reading a book, and my idea of a good time is a pool area bacchanal; only one of those can reasonably be done in 432 different places around a ship.

 

And all the slipped in comments about demographics, character, class, and caliber of Carinval passengers would lead one to believe there are some underlying elitism issues possibly effecting ability OPs to relax and enjoy. And yes, I take personal offense to the derogatory way OP has chosen to describe Carnival passengers as many of my favorite people in the world, including myself, are Carnival regulars. 

Or maybe OP (me) expects people to follow the rules that are already in place to stop entitled folks from doing whatever they want, everybody else be damned.

• Guest must use earphones when listening to music or watching shows/movies on personal devices in public spaces. Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted within your stateroom and must be used respectfully and at a reasonable sound levels and times of day. Large speakers/radios are prohibited on board and will be confiscated.

The following Pool Rules signage is posted at all pools, fleet wide:

• No running, horseplay, jumping or diving

1 hour ago, grandmarnnurse said:

If I dared to play music and was told to stop because it didn’t fit some other persons idea of what a vacation should be, I might just play it louder.

Or you could simply follow the rules that are already in place to keep entitled people like you from doing whatever they want, everybody else be damned.  

• Guest must use earphones when listening to music or watching shows/movies on personal devices in public spaces. Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted within your stateroom and must be used respectfully and at a reasonable sound levels and times of day. Large speakers/radios are prohibited on board and will be confiscated.

2 hours ago, airlink diva said:

Let me tell you about my 14 day sailing on HAL awhile back ago.  On that cruise had the children from hell on board with uncaring parents ( they were homeschoolers and ran wild until enough complaints), several rude obnoxious cruises because if you have the nerves to sit in their chairs in the lounge (mind you they weren't there) and they made their own reserved signs.  The lady who used her fingers to taste the dressing and pick fruit and got mad when pointed out to the staff.  There were other issues while the cruise and ports and staff were top grade, some of the cruisers rank among the worst I had sailed with.  Did that keep me from sailing HAL again? No, but everything is not all roses with HAL either

I've sailed HAL enough to know that aboard a HAL cruise my *risk* of rude, obnoxious, drunk passengers, along with unruly poorly behaved children, is far less than the risk aboard a Carnival cruise.  I've cruised for 25 years and am aware that the passengers and their behavior aboard any sailing is the luck of the draw.  I simply feel the luck of the draw is considerably more in my favor aboard HAL.  That said, I live three (3) hours from Galveston by car, and cruise 3-4 times a year.  We were hopeful that by booking in the Havana area of Vista I could improve the odds of good behavior aboard Carnival.  Nope. I’ll go back to flying to a higher tier cruise line for more important cruises, like our upcoming full transit Panama Canal Cruise, and go back to using Royal exclusively for my frequent cruising getaways.  Again, the risk of bad behavior by adults and children alike is not mitigated aboard Royal, but it is greatly reduced when compared to Carnival. My 25 years of cruising has given me enough anecdotal evidence to form my opinion and everyone else's experience will form theirs.  

We just booked a Grand Suite 1286 on Liberty of the Seas.  I normally do not book a cabin that does not have cabins both above and below.  Unfortunately, all the Grand Suites on Liberty of the Seas are directly under the pool or solarium area of the Lido Deck.  Can anyone who has stayed in one of these Grand Suites please tell me about your experience as far as noise, scraping of lounge chairs, etc., that you may have heard while in your cabin. Thanks.

1 hour ago, Hoosierpop said:

Yet, you spent $4k to go on the Vista, knowing that each cruise the last couple of years is worse than the previous one?

 

It stinks you had a bad time on that cruise. But it sounds like you are more upset at Carnival’s response even though you haven’t said what you are looking for. 

I would definitely say that if the Showtime noise from the MDR bugs you, Holland America is the place for you. And that’s a good thing. Everyone can find what they like.  

I spent $4000 to go on the Vista, in the Havana area, this year because my experience last year was positive, *in that area*.  The remainder of the ship continued it's race to the bottom that I've experienced over the past years.  But, this year, that descent creeped into the Havana area and I've chosen to no longer throw good money after bad once realizing that Carnival has no intention of controlling outrageous (not simply fun) behavior.  Once others' freedom to have their version of a “good time” infringes on my freedom to do the same, I'll go where the risk of such outrageous behavior is minimized.  Until this year that included the Havana area.  After this year there's no escaping it with Carnival.
 

I’ve clearly stated what I was looking for as to Carnival's response.  First, and foremost, better control of out of control  passengers while onboard.  And any response to my concerns, after returning, that was specific to my concerns and not generic platitudes.  To answer your unasked yet implied question, no, I did not ask for any monetary compensation.  It was my decision to spend the money, so it is my loss.  I am accountable for my choices.  But I will not make the same mistake twice.

The Showtime noise from the main dining room did not “bug” me, but made clear that the cost of insulating the cabin from both dining room and Havana bar, as inexpensive as that solution may be, was more than Carnival wants to spend on giving their passengers a better experience.  Holland America is one of my cruising choices because of many factors, but mostly it's their lack of rude, obnoxious, drunk passengers.  Are we among the youngest in the crowd there?  Yup.  And that's a good thing when I'm deciding where to spend our cruising dollars.  Politeness still has high value to this cruiser. And the majority of Carnival's passengers are of a caliber and age that has not been taught politeness nor common courtesy.  And the entertainment on Holland America is far superior to whatever low end musicians Carnival pays to “entertain” the masses.  There is simply no comparison between the musicians in HAL's BB King Blues Club and those that were “playing” in Ocean Plaza recently aboard the Vista.  Not to mention HAL's Lincoln Center musicians and their excellent piano players in their piano bar.  
 

As for the ships, it's hard not to feel like Vista is designed after a low rise professional medical building.  I'll choose a warm nautical feeling any day.  
 

If you’ve not cruised Holland America then there’s no way you'd understand the difference enough to judge for yourself.
 

So yes, “everyone can find what they like” as you put it.  I like civility and consideration of one's fellow passengers.  You do you.

7 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

I'm no fan of those things either. The speaker thing is annoying. Imagine letting this ruin your cruise though. Making it sound like at every turn, there was the guy with a boombox on his shoulder, blasting music. In the dining room, CANNONBALL!

 

It sounds like Carnival isn't the right product for you. There may be some people around you trying to have a good time. You can go be a stick in the mud on a different, non-mass market, line

🙄 

9 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Care to answer my questions?

I've responded to enough of your questions, yet you keep asking more. I’m not interested in having a one on one debate with you.  So, no, I do not.

10 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The problem, at least from my experience, is you get far more than one or two on Carnival ships these days. It seems every cruise on Carnival we see more rude and obnoxious people than the cruise before. As much as I like Carnival, it has gotten to the point where we are booking most of our cruises on Royal Carribean. Maybe we have just been lucky, but my wife and I have never seen anything like the behavior we see on a Carnival ship on a Royal Carribean ship. 

This has been our experience also.  Each Carnival cruise over the past couple years has been worse than the previous as far as rude, obnoxious, and extremely drunk passengers.  And Carnival does nothing to curtail this, and just keeps serving them more and more alcohol.  We too have not seen this same downward trend on Royal Caribbean.  We prefer to sail out of Galveston as it's a three hour drive so we've moved our next four (4) cruises to Royal.  When it's really important that our fellow passengers “play nice”, like on our upcoming 15 day full transit Panama cruise, we use Holland America, where we thoroughly enjoy their subdued environment and entertainment with Lincoln Center Stage, BB King Blues Club, and Piano Bar.  

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Just curious, what could they have said to make you change your mind on “moving up” to higher ground?

Absolutely nothing.  They have chosen their demographic and I will move on. But, I was hoping that their response would have been more specific to my concerns and less generic.  I've stopped hoping.

5 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

I had a major complaint about Vista as well, guest services didn't do much.  I ended up emailing Carnival & immediately got a call from a very snippy associate.  She just went on & on about how it didn't happen, because no one else reported it.  My request to all who have major concerns like Sailormarg had: contact Carnival in an email.  If they continually get similar complaints, they might start to address the issues we are experiencing.

I have emailed Carnival's executive offices, and have contacted John Heald.  Thus far I have received only platitudes.