NotTooCritical

It's not an excursion, but if you're not afraid of heights I recommend riding the Magical Flying Chair in Roatan. It was hot on the way to the beach, but we had a breeze on the way back. Either way, it was cool checking out the scenery from on high.

5 minutes ago, cbowls30 said:

 

We've had two brilliant ones on vista - Matt mitchem and breeze Schwartz and one fairly dull on magic Simon london and a terrible one on spirit Chloe loddo 

I haven't sailed with Chloe, but I have sailed with the other three and I somewhat agree with you. Matt, Schwartz and Mikey were awesome! Simon was...ok. The only interaction I had with him was the Dr.Seuss story time and parade ( I was with my 5 yr old niece) and he did that well. Other than that, it wasn't much. I thought maybe it was me. I honestly can't remember if I went to the events he hosted, like the 80's party, but I figure maybe I just wasn't around much. Interesting to see you say the same. That whole cruise was so so for me. I had Simon on the Magic and even the ship didn't blow me away. I haven't booked a cruise based on the CD...yet. I'm booking one to cruise with Dr E. I heard he's similar to Matt and Schwartz in styles and everything I see of him online looks impressive. I've also heard good things about Mike Pack, The Flying Scottsman and Cookie. 

3 hours ago, cbowls30 said:

We've cruised many times mainly on Royal carribbean, norweigan and carnival. We ended up becoming loyal to carnival after our first cruise with them a few years ago. We loved the 'fun' vibe, the interaction with crew and friendly activity staff. Unfortunately our past two carnival cruise's has shown us how much effect on the fun a poor CD/fun squad can have! The past two cruises the entertainment staff and mainly the CD where terrible! Hardly saw the CD around the ship, CD's never taking time to talk to anyone, almost just going through the motions to do what they must, no personality or interest in the guests, and, at times were pretty much rude!. Until recently we never really thought to check who the CD would be before booking a cruise, but in future we will do!

 

Does anybody book a particular ship/itinerary based on who is the CD?

What CDs did you have?

My family and I were on the Magic this June in two side by side suites and we were able to open the balcony dividers. Worked out well since the rooms weren't connecting. 

40 minutes ago, Nevada Jen said:

I am aware it will be hard to move him up but I at least have to try.  He is 6 feet tall and in his second year of high school.  Hopefully they retain some amount of discretion to make decisions on a case by case basis.  I doubt the 6th grade girl parents want him in Circle C either!  So you just go ask when you get on board, before the first night get together?  Do you go to the club check in you belong in by age or the one you are hoping to move up to?

My apologies. I misunderstood your question. I thought you meant you wanted to "move him up" as in he hasn't cruised since he was in Camp Ocean and you wanted to know the process for the older group. It's worth a shot to ask, but it's not likely they will place him with a group outside of his age range. I've heard of people asking because they want to keep siblings together or their child is "advanced mentally" and they've always said no. They verify the DOB when you register them. 

37 minutes ago, Nevada Jen said:

(Not that I am counting down or anything ;))

I got Cheers for my upcoming cruise on Panorama.  We have a lot of sea days and I think I will cover it with non alcoholic beverages (in addition to my alcoholic ones).  Last cruise, I did not quite understand how to get the bottled water and sports drinks that are covered under Cheers. I am going to need to bottled water to make iced tea to stave off the caffeine headaches because I don't drink pepsi product or drink coffee.  Where do you get the bottled water covered by Cheers from?  

 

Next Question:  I have a 14 year old I would like to get moved up to the older kids club group.  How do I go about trying to make that happen?

Since your water question has been answered, I'll take the second one. On embarkation day, they have a check-in time for Circle C (that's the teen club). Check your Funtimes for those hours. Even though you have to register them for the club, they don't have a sign in/sign out policy. They can come and go as they please.

Pictures, sundaes at Cherry on Top (if your ship has the sundaes), spa ( if not a full body massage, a foot massage will feel reeeeaaaally good after walking around in port all day), free cruise Bingo and momof3cruisers had a good idea about cashing it out in the casino too. 

On the Vista, D3 is the lower level of the Horizons restaurant. We were just there last week and that was our muster station too. 

Hello. Other than the buffet and Guys, what food locations were available upon embarkation? Thanks!

4 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

Are you sure about the rental of formal wear through Cherry on Top? I heard that was discontinued about 5 years ago.

 

It's still listed on Carnival's FAQ page and Carnival is still listed on the cruiseline formalwear site. I figure it was up to date.

On 9/18/2019 at 11:27 AM, Melissa623 said:

Hey everyone, my son, who is 24, and I will be sailing on the Conquest December 14th and he is trying to figure out what to wear for the two Elegant Night dinners. One of NCO's told him he should just wear his Army Dress Blues since he doesn't own a suit other than that one and not to waste the money to buy one. At 6'8 there really isn't such a thing as a cheap suit lol. However, he's worried he will strange or stick out if he wears it. For those of you have cruised a bit or are/were in the Army, or any branch of the military, what are your thoughts on him wearing his Dress Blues? Have you ever really noticed anyone in their military dress uniform? Thank you in advance for your thoughts. 

Though there would be nothing wrong with him wearing his uniform, he should consider whether or not he wants attention. If he wants attention, wear the uniform. If he's more of a fly under the radar and low-key type of guy, just wear some slacks and a collard shirt. In general, elegant night isn't really that elegant on Carnival. Yes there are some that dress up, but like others have stated here, the majority of the people look no different on that night than any other. If he does want to dress more elegantly, but not in uniform, he can just rent a tux or suit. Carnival (and some other cruise lines) even has a company they work with called Cruiseline Formalwear, www.cruiselineformal.com, where you can rent, well, just that; formal wear. You pick it up at the special occasions area or Cherry on Top.

I've not cruised solo yet, but when I do, I don't think it would be NCL. I was excited when I first heard they were introducing solo cabins, but lost that enthusiasm once I saw them. Never say never, but I don't see it. I don't like interior rooms and having a window that opens to a hallway is not appealing to me. That's similar to the Havana cabins on Carnival that have the balcony right at the walkway. People will be walking back and forth by your open window and normal curiosity is to look in. The size is also too small. Just because I'm solo doesn't mean I want to be in a supply closet. I'm one of those people that enjoys being in my room when there are no activities going on that I'm interested in. As far as the solo lounge or events, I'm more introverted, so I don't really seek out opportunities to meet people. If it just happens organically, ok, but I don't look for it. I have to talk to people all day at work, so when I go on vacation, that's another time I get to turn off the motor mouth.

Royal Caribbean's solo balconies look good. I'll try those. Virgin Voyages will have solo cabins as well. If I remember correctly there will be interior and sea view rooms. Too bad there won't be a solo balcony, but that's one ship that I think I would spend a lot of time out of my room, so sea view would be ok. The common areas look great! 

18 hours ago, RumpunchGirl said:

DH and I have Cheers but I would like to carry on a bottle of wine to have in our cabin for convenience. He thinks that would be silly since we have "Free" wine all cruise. Has anyone else carried on wine even if you have cheers?

I have taken wine when cruising out of Galveston since CHEERS doesn't activate until day 2. That is unless I have OBC. If I have OBC then I'll just use that for drinks the first day and not take any wine. Other than that, I wouldn't take any if I had CHEERS. More space for other things and I don't have to worry about packing it gingerly so that it won't break. 

When they started to give way, did you all notice a difference in the taste of your drinks? 

21 minutes ago, PrincessPatti said:

Here you go.  I agree that they are horrible.  If you leave your drink too long, the straw does not work so well as it begins to “cave in”

when drinking from it.  

Thanks! I got distracted by the drink itself. 😄 That looks sooo good (especially while sitting here at work). It doesn't look like what I was envisioning.

Hello. Does anyone have any pictures of the new straws Carnival is using? If so, will you please post them? I'm curious as to how they look. I googled "sugar straws" but there are many different kinds. Thank you!

Strawberry Lemonade Daiquiri! So refreshing when it's super hot out. It's also the first drink I get when coming back on board in port.🍹😍

I was most recently on the Magic the week of June 16 and they were $20 each. I do believe they were 8x10.

Greetings,

My family and I have only sailed Carnival but are wanting to branch out and try a new line, so we're considering the MSC Seaside for Summer of next year. Looking at their website and videos on Youtube, it appears the only thing for kids to do is play with Legos or be on the computer. I have a 5 year old niece (well, she'll be 6 by Summer of next year) and though she enjoys both of those things, I can see her getting bored after a day or two with just that. I'm hoping I'm missing something in videos and the advertisements for what's available are just not truly descriptive. I know MSC isn't initially a "family" line so the same catering to kids found on Carnival won't necessarily be there, but what other activities do they have for kids in that age group? 

Thanks in advance!

It should hit at the start of your cruise. On my last cruise, I turned gold. It was a six day and technically I wouldn't have been gold until the fourth day in, but it's not like you're going to go anywhere once you're on the ship so you get that level from the start. The only way I can see that changing is if you have an emergency or get kicked off and have to disembark early. As long as the days of your trip are greater than the number of days you have to get to that next level, you'll be granted that at the start. That's how it has been for me anyway. Like someone previously said though, it would have to be the actual last full day and not debarkation day. You can tell when you log into your account and look at your booking. Go to "My Benefits" or "My Cruises" and it will show the level you will be on for that cruise. 

Is OBC the only perk you get for buying their stock?

1 minute ago, richbum said:

Thank you so much!!! It sounds like a blast!

 

 You're very welcome!!!

4 minutes ago, richbum said:

Thanks for that info.....But...I'm sorry...I should have explained...if this is on the "80's" day...I was wondering if people dressed up from the 80's....or if there were any parties for that....

Oh. Absolutely there were 80's costumes! We didn't know what to expect so we kept it simple and bought some cheap multi colored t-shirts and cut them up, styled our hair in 80's fashion and wore leg warmers. There was one couple where the woman dressed as Madonna with the lace fluffy skirt, lace gloves, tank top, etc. and the guy was dressed as MC Hammer; gold shiny top and matching Hammer pants. It was great! Please, do go ALL OUT for this. You won't be alone. It'll be a blast and the pictures will be fun. 

2 hours ago, richbum said:

 

 

 

Thank you all for your input...At the glow party, do a lot of people dress up? I think a few of us in my group would like to...and then there are a couple of party poopers..haha

No one was dressed up formally. It's on the lido deck so it was super casual. Think sail-a-way party at night. Now, that doesn't mean that you and those in your group that want to dress up can't fancy it up a bit. I'm pretty sure glow necklaces and bracelets go with anything when on a cruise. 😉

Yes, there is an 80's theme day and glow party that night. The photographers have 80's props you can use for the pictures too. On that day you will also get the Carnival Capers. It's the same as the Fun Times, but that's what it was called at that time and it looks different. They will have the midnight buffet one night as well. Throughout the week they will have seminars for various things like photography and/or a chef cooking demonstration and have old activities like the knobby knees contest. I think you'll enjoy it. My family and I went on the 15 day Breeze repo cruise and looooved it. I'm looking forward to my next Journeys cruise. I'll tell you, it'll be hard going back to 7 days after having many more. First world problems, I know. 😄 Enjoy your journey!