The4Cruisers

Keep raising it...

Make the cost "per person" too!

Do it! Do it!!!

Yes they still have the party for Plat and Diamond guests and yes it has gotten a lot better in the new "design". It's usually been held at 5PM on the last day of the cruise, so we go for the hour before dinner.

It's nice to be able to get a drink or two and enjoy a leisurely hors d'oeuvres as well. Same old film of the fleet, but they have some games and awards. It's a nice gesture for them to throw the party.

Very disappointed on the Liberty last month with few games of trivia, a host that couldn't speak decent English, and no music games at all (except for the 80's game in the atrium).

We took the Carnival Paradise on a 5-night cruise on theCarnival Paradise to Key West and Havana departing on February 17 fromTampa. During the cruise I took a fewmental notes and made some observations to share. Note that these are my own observations and Iam sure others have had different experiences. Also if I say I like something or I dislike something it’s based on mypreferences; yours may be different.

AGAIN - these are OBSERVATIONS; it's not a review.

Nice post and review. I enjoyed reading your perspective.

Maybe they'll convert them into another spot on the ship where they can promote the art auctions!

Watch their souls dying in their eyes as some of them dance. This really is a degrading pony show that the staff clearly hates. It is very evident..

Wow... First class, grade A, rubbish!!! Even though YOU may not like it, don't lie about it.

Pretty good food. Longest line for anything on the ship when I was on the Liberty.

We went to lunch at Mongolian Wok on Liberty (Princess Cay day) and the line was incredibly long. It was mostly ship employees, including Donkey and others in line.

After getting our meal and eating it, I have to say that I was WAAAAY under-enthused. What a waste of time.

Are you suggesting the ship is cursed?

I think that poster is making one heckuva leap.

Just got off the Liberty last week and it was the Tervis Tumbler.

Yes you may encounter a sniff of smoke on the balcony. I just did on my last cruise.

No biggie. Life goes on. No way I'd waste my time complaining about it though.

Have a good trip!

We got off the Liberty Thursday and debarkation was a breeze.

We went to the Platinum waiting area at 6:45AM as instructed in the debarkation information. Had some Danish and orange juice as we waited. Around 7:15, they called the Plat's to head down to the gangway. Got off the ship and through customs within minutes. We were in the car and out of the garage by 7:30 AM.

Except for the ******* that ran right past everyone in the queue because he was too good to wait in line, it was no problem. His poor wife looked so embarrassed too. She didn't make any effort to keep up with him, so he had to wait for her before going through customs. What a tool! I'll simply accept that he has a mental deficiency and can't show any respect the rules or for others.

Now we have Citi's Double Cash Card. We get 2% cash back on everything we use it for.

Just to elaborate on the cash back card...

Citi Double Cash card gives 1% back on purchases and 1% back on payments you make. The net is 2% back on everything.

NO annual fee either.

We retired our Carnival card after cashing in 100K points.

Now we have Citi's Double Cash Card. We get 2% cash back on everything we use it for.

With 7 days until our cruise it's definitely too late. :cool:

Don't lose sleep over this.

You do not need to have a passport to get home in an emergency. The passport does make it easier, but you can get home without one.

I'm the only one in my family with a passport. We plan on getting them for the others. In the interim, BC's and DL's have been just fine for 16 cruises.

Be sure to get cruise insurance though! That's the one thing I'd never travel without!!!

Thanks for "explaining" about needing a card for the light switch. I have never been on any ship where this was done. All we did was hit the switch to either turn on/off the light. Guess ???? I'll soon find out about the card deal. Sounds like a pain to me, as we always turn the lights out when we leave the room.

I usually bring a couple of hotel room key cards to use for the lights and the safe.

The card for the lights does NOT have to be magnetic. In fact, it does NOT have to be a card! Some people use pieces of the Fun Times folded and shaped like a card to fit into the slot.

"The first time we sat at our table for over 45 mins. before we even got our water. Then another 30 mins. to get a server."

Oh please, if this is true it's 100% your fault. I wouldn't wait 5 minutes for water without getting up and saying something. So it took you 1 hour and 15 minutes just to order, exaggerating much? It rarely takes us that long to finish dinner in the MDR

The last two nights of our recent cruise, the total time in the MDR from seating to leaving was 90-110 minutes. I didn't check my watch on the previous nights. It seemed like we were in there for a long time. "Showtime" was going on while we were between appetizers and before we got our entree's!!! Usually, that's a dessert-time entertainment.

No complaining. Just not surprised anymore when others talk about how slow the MDR has become.

We LIKE the new baked Alaska better than their previous version!

Looking at maybe booking an Aft Extended Balcony on Deck 6 of a Conquest class ship.

I see the aft of the ship is shaped so that the lower balcony rooms stick our further and can be seen from the higher balconies.

Can someone describe the details of this and is there a lack of privacy (and rain cover)?

In spite of the smug answers on here OP, I know exactly what you're talking about and how you feel. It's been that way for several years now.

In fact, we just got off the Liberty this morning. We counted 7 tables that our wait team was assigned to serve.

Did we get our meal and did they do their job serving us? Yes, they did.

However, there was very little interaction with the wait team as they were constantly "on the go" trying to keep up with all of their tables. We did have to wait a little extra for things to happen (dishes being served, places being cleared, ordering, etc.), but we certainly did not hold it against the wait team. They're doing the best they can to keep things flowing.

It's a shame CCL cutback and stretched the wait teams so thin across the MDR over the past few years.

If don't know if you will check in here while you are on your cruise, but I hope that you are having a fun and sober cruise. As someone mentioned above, a meeting with only two people is still a meeting. Go to the library each day, whether anyone shows or not.

And if nobody is there, it doesn't hurt to check with Guest Services. Sometimes the meeting gets moved to another location on the ship and it isn't published for whatever reason.

The last two cruises from PC, we've been able to park in the first couple spots on the ground level where you leave the building to cross to the terminal. Easy in and out.

We park at the port and happily drive past the people standing in the heat with their luggage waiting to cram on a bus to get to their cars. When they get to their car, I'm already getting on 95 north settled in for the journey home.

But hey, saving a buck means the world to some folks. :D

Prepping for "Plat/Diamond's Only" elevators?

(Only kidding!) :D

Not sure about the cash only option, but methinks you're reading a bit much into credit card issues.

I understand there is some extra diligence needed for debit cards, but credit cards are a no-brainer for the masses.

John Heald has pretty much said that CCL won't do an adults only cruise. That's a shame as they could see this as a "theme"-type cruise that may very well be widely accepted!