mississauga

Off the top of my head......Grand Cayman, Belize and Half Moon Cay

We have been on bothe Breeze and the Vista and loved all our cruises on both.

Yes, there have been some negative reviews of the Vista but then the reviews for the new ships are always more critical. Could it be that expectations are higher when a ship first comes out?

The one thing that I did notice on both my Vista cruises is that Carnival did not put their best staff on her in her inaugural season. Usually when a new ship sets sail, she sails with the best staff. On the Vista, the key positions of HD, CD, GSM , and Maitre'd had some of their best but they had a mixture of experienced and not so experienced crew on our cruises. Now that she is in her second season and staff and crew come and go, it may be like other ships. May e the reviews will be mire mixed now?

Also, the demographics of passengers change from cruise to cruise and that has a huge effect on your perception of your cruise and the ship.

We did two b2b's this year. 13 days and 7 days on the Pride in January. It felt like we were on 2 different ships.

In February, we were b2b on the Sunshine. 8 days followed by 5 days. The 5 days had a holiday Monday plus it was a shorter cruise. Many younger passengers and children and so it seemed like a different ship. Even more so than the difference we noted on the Pride in January.

You should go on a ship and judge for yourself if you like it or not. We all have priorities and not everyone has the same expectations or perceptions.

I booked a cabin on the Horizon and three months later decided to do a BTB looked to see if my same cabin was available it wasn't so i booked another type and location but waited another 2 months and checked again and ( low and behold ) of ne cabin showed up it was the same cabin i have on the first leg called my PVP and changed my booking to the same cabin he said nothing like that has happen since he worked for Carnival. So keep checking you may also be lucky.

Good for you! Enjoy your cruises! See you on the TA.

It does help to be diligent. It has happened to us before too. Many times people change their cabins and the one you want becomes available. Especially if there are price drops, people tend to upgrade.

Bonaire is the snorkel capital of the Caribbean. So that is clearly what you want to do there.

 

 

If you want to do it on your own here's how:

 

 

After you get off the ship exit the pier and turn left along the main street. There are booths (you will see them) and find the water taxi to Klein Bonaire. Get your tickets there.

 

 

Walk a bit further down the street to where the ferry loads. 20 minute trip to the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire. Lovely long beach (but no shade) and you can drift snorkel right from the shore and drift along (direction of current is right to left as you face the water). The reef drops off only about 50 yards off the beach. You have both reef and deep water at the dropoff. Really excellent snorkeling! In our experience only the Great Barrier Reef beats it....and that's a long way to go.

 

 

Water taxis run every hour on cruise ship days and are very dependable. It's a great day.

What is the cost of the water taxis please? TIA

We walked off the ship , thru the gate into town . We were going to hire a taxi to take us to Lake Gotomeir to see the flamingos . At the taxi stand they were selling 2 1/2 hr tours to go there for 25.00 pp . We hopped on a very nice small tour bus & had a great tour . Plenty of time left to shop after !

Enjoy !

What were some of the highlights of your tour? Any beach time? TIA

I just wanted to ask if this is still available on Carnival Imagination and also warm chocolate melting cake? Thanks!

That was a Princess dish. I don't think it is even available on Princess now.

The chocolate melting cake is on the menu every night on every Carnival ship

What if we can't get the same room?

 

 

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If you do not get the same cabin, here is a tip to help lessen the packing. Bring some hangers from home. Cabin steward will be able to give you some but if you hang most of your clothes like we do, you need more than they can provide. If most of your clothes are on hangers, ask your cabin steward to bring you a luggage trolley. You can then just hang all your clothes on the trolley and move to your new cabin without having to pack them all up. Your room steward will help you move that also.

Make sure your room steward is aware that you are doing b2b so arrangements can be made as to who will move you. It depends how many are doing b2b and how many your first or new steward have. We have had our first steward do it but our new steward has done it also.

We also visit our new steward the day before to remind him we are b2b so he can make it a priority to have our cabin cleaned first. As soon as he has it cleaned, he will notify your first steward so the move can be made as early and quickly as possible.

The cabin stewards should have all this info but sometimes, it slips through the crack. So just to be sure, I always proactively ensure that they are aware.

Sorry for the repeat of the address above. Only saw the request in my email and replied without checking that jakesnana already had

Very strange but cannot find email address or fax number to send in brokerage statement for share holder obc.

 

Can someone please post it.

guestadmin@carnival.com

it depends on the ship. Not all of them have this

We also love the Sunshine. Some of our best cruises were on Sunshine. 4 cruises with 50 days on her. Have 28 days more in 2018.

Even though the crew change on all ships, we have always had great service on the Sunshine.

Some complain about crowds. Tell me one ship that does not at certain times of the day. Timing is everything. The Sunshine is no more crowded than any other ship.

Agree with all the positive comments about the Sunshine.

It is not the easiest of hikes. As in any Port watch your backside and pockets.

 

The location is a small distillery and the Gift Shop/Bar which is higher than Ships prices.. you would think it would be lower with no VAT too.

Does the distillery have tours? What is the cost? Samples during tour?

The eggs Benedict actually looks good. We had it on the Breeze a few years ago and it was a disaster. The egg was cold and the sauce had solidified:o:o

The trick to ordering Eggs Benedict is to order it with the sauce on the side. That way, it is made fresh for you and you can add as much sauce as you like.

I personally do not like too much sauce so it is win win

Cannot vouch for how much longer this will be the case but right now, the $50 OBC for booking ES on board is only on the Vista, Glory and Conquest.

I did include my email address and haven't heard anything yet. Thanks.

 

 

 

Thanks. I will check my documents.

If OBC has been applied to your cruise, it should show in the invoice page in your documents.

Depends on what rate you booked original cruise with. Will you be hit with penalties and fees on top of the higher cruise price?

You are so right. I had forgotten about ES as I don't usually book ES.

Hi it doesn't look like the cabin doors are metal but are the cabin walls? I like to bring magnets to post notes on the walls.

Thank you

Hi MaryAnn,

The walls are definitely metal. We use magnets to post notes and for hanging lanyards and caps etc. Never thought to check if the doors are or not so cannot confirm.

MaryAnn, are you thinking about booking on the Sunshine? We are booked Dec 31-Jan 28.

I have a question about demographics. Our family had cruised with Carnival around 7-8 times about 15+ years ago, and then switched to RCL (although we also cruised with NCL 2X and Celebrity 1X -- didn't care for either). I'm now mid-60s, widow cruising solo. I have a cruise on RCL and will be trying HAL next month. Am I outside Carnival's demographics now? I probably wouldn't cruise mid-summer or during Spring break.

You are most definitely not outside Carnival's demographics. We are in our mid 60's and + and enjoy all of our cruises on Carnival. Many are older also.

If you go on the longer cruises, you will find that the average age is about 60. There are many cruising solo also.

This is what my notes look like at the moment. Just want to make sure in not making a rash decision in the heart of the moment! And that the ecstasy isn't awful lol. Ill read some reviews and feel better and then probably do it!

 

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In your initial post, you did not say the 6 days cruise was on the Ecstasy, just that it has been upgraded vs the Elation not.

We went on the Ecstasy ( beautiful ship ) in 1992 when she was new. The Elation in 2001 and I believe it was her Inaugural year. So even though the Ecstasy has the upgrades, she is still 9 years older. Does that make a difference? Maybe someone else can chime in and give you an opinion. We have not been on either since 2005 on the Elation.

If it were me, I would switch to the 6 days cruise. The only negative is the extra cost but not the whole $600.

There are a lot of pluses to changing to the 6 days cruise.

You get an extra day of cruising.

Less driving, therefore save on gas

No hotel expenses, maybe less food/restaurant expenses

6 days ship has upgrades Elation does not have

Even though you have paid in full, it is still before final payment so think you can change without any penalties. You will just pay the difference for the cruises.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise!

The Sunshine (which gets a bad rap here) is a very good ship and we would not hesitate to sail her again. One of the issues you will have with the Vista or Horizon is they are to big to go to HMC (which we both love).

Just curious. Why would the Vista or Horizon be too big for HMC? They would anchor far enough from the small pier and the tenders would take the guests over just like they do on the smaller ships.

You forgot to mention the 25% off a future cruise.....

 

 

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Lol.....forgot to mention about the 25% off a future cruise. Was concentrating on what she/he would get on the ship while on the milestone cruise.

Just noticed my post was too late anyways as the person asking sailed in March on their milestone cruise.

Just reading these and trying to remember some of the gifts we have received. My first was a tote bag that I used til it wore out. We had several picture frames, binoculars, thermos, love love love the tervis (have6), packing cubes, USB plug, golf hats, duffle bags, back packs (another favorite), luggage tags. Some gifts are very useful others not so much. I will be taking my milestone cruise in March. Wonder if I get anything special for that?

No, nothing is given for a milestone. Your milestone ( 25 cruises ? ) will be noted on your S&S and if you are not already Diamond, your card will be white.

Other than that, most of us did not receive any acknowledgement on board for achieving the milestone.

My friends preferred the buffet for dinner and I liked the menu in the MDR. Can I do the set dining time by myself? If so, do all of us pay for the gratuity or would I be the only one charged?

Whether you dine in the MDR or the buffet, you are all getting service. The waitstaff in Lido for breakfast and lunch are the same waitstaff who are in the MDR. The dinner staff on Lido also provide service to your friends. They all deserve gratuities.

Everyone will have the same gratuities charged to their folio account.

Yes, you can dine in the MDR without your friends. Probably be seated with others unless you specificly ask to be seated alone.

I am curious as to how the "steakhouse" Diamond perk is handled. I know that both DH and I are platinum and we get one plate of "goodies" each cruise...We do, however, each get the free laundry perk. We will both be turning Diamond on our next cruise. Will they give each of us a Stakehouse perk or will it only be one? Do we have to use that on that particular cruise or can it be saved for a special occasion..ie Anniversary cruise? Any input is helpful...thanks...

The steakhouse perk is per Diamond guest. When you use yours, it is dinner for 2 . When your DH uses his perk, it is dinner for 2 also. The only perk that you get one of is the sweet delight plate. We could do without it entirely, All other perks are per Diamond perk.