KristiK

Same thing from my Pride cruise last week. Only 1 or 2 wait staff max for whole casino. Some slot areas never saw a waiter walk by for hours. And the bartender confirmed that the Drinks on Us was only free from a waiter...had to pay if from the bar directly.

On 1/19/2023 at 8:07 PM, sbplayer said:

What playlist shows were on the Pride?

I just got off the Pride Saturday. The 3 shows on my 6 day cruise were 88 Keys, 80's Pop to the Max, and Getaway Island. 88 Keys was fantastic!

So, about the Pride Dry dock wish list lol....

I just got off the Pride

#1 need is to fix the A/C! On Night 1 they couldn't get our A/C to turn off, so they had to give us extra blankets. I believe their fix was to disable it as we didn't have A/C for the rest of the cruise. Many others I spoke to in in different cabin types on different decks also had A/C issues (some too cold, but most had none at all)

#2 most of the public bathrooms need reno and deep clean. Some were quite disgusting, broken locks, and one had a leaky roof (I don't want to know what was above that stall)

#3 sound systems everywhere. I missed every captain announcement. Could hear he was talking, but never heard what he said. Missed most of the CD announcements too. I'm not sure where on the ship the announcements could be heard, but not any location I was.

#4 Thrusters (I think). I'm not an expert here. We had to bypass our Costa Maya Port. We were late leaving Belize (due to an onshore car/horse accident that delayed people transporting back to ship by 2 hours). When we got to Costa Maya there was wind/weather issues, but other ships were able to dock. We were told it was due to weather, but some were told it was because our thrusters could not get us into the available berths. That could all be crap though, and I'm no expert.

Side note....I've read that some ships have removed the casino bar. I spent many hours daily in the casino, and if they didn't have that bar, I never would have gotten a drink. Wait staff was extremely minimal and was an ongoing issue.

All that said.....I had a great time on the Pride. I loved the layout, and there were some great staff. It's a really good ship and I hope they use the drydock to make it even better.

Thanks everyone. I'm on a Carnival cruise. I'll take a look at the price in the cruise shop before we stop in Cozumel and see if there is any real difference. If I remember they often have a sale in the cruise ship store on the last night that might make it cheaper.

Hey everyone,

First let me say Happy New Year!!!!

Question for seasoned cruisers...where is the cheapest place to buy a bottle of Crown Royal (or any bottle of alcohol)

I'm flying Toronto to Tampa, cruise stops at Cozumal, Belize, Costa Maya, then back Tampa to Toronto.

If I'm buying 1 bottle of Crown Royal, where is cheapest? Tampa airport duty free on return? Onboard ship on the last night? In one of the ports?

The price difference is probably negligible, but in case it's not, I thought I'd inquire 🙂

Thanks,

Kristi

No problem. I believe that the owner and researcher of that website currently has a thread going for his current Carnival Celebration cruise 🙂

I believe this wonderful website is kept as updated as possible

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/playlist-productions/

11 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

 

Approximately 40-50 minutes depending on number of people on the tour, building in time for stragglers, although it is well organized and you get a warning call before final.

 

You can “cool off”in the ocean at a couple of the bars but you don’t have much time and more importantly you need to be careful of undertow and rip currents at beaches on the east coast. One bar is up a cliff and no beach.

 

If you want to see the east side but specifically want beach swimming as well it is easier to book an independent driver and finish at a beach on the west coast after circling the island. The Bar Hop is a good social excursion, although it is not a party tour. You can join in or not as you wish with no coercion.

Thank you! I'm not a big beach person (easily burnable redhead) but my travelling friend is.  I'll just have to schedule her beach day at another port so she gets her fill. This bar hop sounds like huge fun!

Hey all, I'll be in Cozumel in January and am considering that Bar Hop tour. For those of you who have been on it....

How long are you at each bar?

The bars are all on beaches. Are any of those beaches ones you can go into the water for a swim?

Used Lifecenters for my Sept 2 cruise on Norwegian for east coast/Canada. Used Ontario green box test. All was easy. Clicked the link they sent me. Ryan was there early and ready to go. Verified ID, set up pieces in front of screen, walked us through doing the test together. Thankfully it quickly showed negative. Within 5 minutes of the end of the test I had an email with links to download our negative test.

I uploaded that document to ArriveCan, and brought a paper copy. No one from Norwegian asked to see it, just verbally asked if I had done it.

Side note: so devasted watching the effects of Fiona on the ports I visited just 2 weeks ago. The destruction in Nova Scotia, PEI, Cape Breton, Newfoundland will be felt for a long time. My thoughts are with the people of the Maritimes.

1 hour ago, HappyInVan said:

Sept 9? That'll be the NCL Pearl docking at Wharf 30?

 

 

Oh my, so much amazing information. Thank you so much for taking the time to post it. Having options definitely makes me feel better. Thank you!!!!!

16 hours ago, LHT28 said:

found this   place  they have 3 locations   2 close to port area

https://bagsaway.com/luggage-storage/quebec-city

https://stasher.com/search?amount=1&coordinates=46.814349%2C-71.208957&dropOff=2022-08-29T20%3A00%3A00[America%2FToronto]&pickUp=2022-08-29T21%3A00%3A00[America%2FToronto]&search=Quebec&stashpointId=5a4a3969607f

 

Have no experience with them  but might be an option

Awesome, thank you!

Hey everyone,

Just got an email from NCL that my tour on my final day (Sept 9) that would transport me from Quebec Port to the airport has been cancelled. My flight isn't until 3pm, so I though this would have been a nice 3 hour tour of the area.

Anyone have any alternative suggestions other than taking a cab? I've got a lot of time to kill lol, and will have luggage. 

Thanks in advance....love last minute scrambling

Kristi

3 hours ago, TheycallmeFlip said:

We were on the Pearl in June we saw the Pure Variety show and Legends in Concert.  The Legends show had 3 impersonators - Madonna, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson.  Both were decent shows.  However, the best show that we saw was the comedian Heath Harmison's show.  Not sure if was called X-rated or adult only.  He's got clips of his act on YouTube.  

There was also an acrobatic show, but I can't remember the name.  It was entertaining as well.

My wife and I did a free walking tour of Hamilton.  It's a Monday-Friday tour with the Town Crier, Ed Christopher.  Ed seems to know everyone in Bermuda's capital and the tour takes about 1:45 minutes or so.  There's a lot of walking through the town, so wear comfortable shoes.

 

Flip

I used to love the comedy shows on my past Carnival cruises so I hope he's on board for my cruise.

I'm doing East Coast Boston/Canada cruise (not Bermuda) so will be different. But I expect a lot of walking on my tours.

What is Pure Variety show?

16 hours ago, buffet24 said:

Hi there KK!

On our cruise (AUG5), I think we were at around 2000 pax on the ship.... so something like 80-85% full???   And we had all kinds of entertainment...  Variety dance shows to standup comedy (both family and adults only shows), aerial acrobats and also Legends in Concert (Tina Turner, Madonna and MJackson tribute artists)...  and live bands through out the ship everywhere most days and all through the night.... so you dont have the time to see them all!!!  😉

 

That sounds like lots of fun. I've never seen an aerial acrobats type of show, so really looking forward to that. And I'm always down for good tribute artists. Thanks for the info!

I'm on the Pearl from Boston in 8 days! Please tell me about the entertainment available. And what capacity it is sailing with?

I hope you are having a fantastic trip!

19 hours ago, SERK said:

Ok, I just read the FAQ on CCL website.  You are allowed to bring on plug in fans (usb or non usb) as long as they are no more than 12" diameter.

Does it specify carry-on vs checked bag?

Thanks everyone,

I was hopding to have one less thing in my carry on (more room for wine lol), but I think I'd rather be sure it will get to my cabin!

Now just have to figure out how to get it on the airplane 🙂

For those who have brought portable usb travel fans with you, did it need to be in your carry-on? Checked bag? Does it matter?

TIA,

Kristi

I have done 2 cruises.

On my first cruise, I did not buy it. I thought that I was going on vacation to enjoy the ship and the sun and the excursions, and wasn't paying all that cruise money just to go away and get drunk every day. So every day I would plan and think "ok, I'll have a beer watching the comedian or watching the show, and maybe one on deck later, but I don't need to buy one in the afternoon". And then I found the self pour beer station and thought "I'll just keep refilling my mug and enjoy some drinks that way". And some days I drank more, and some less, but I felt like I was always thinking in my head "should I or shouldn't I". Thing is, money wasn't an issue. I wasn't worried about a budget, and could have easily afforded much more to drink, and could have drank a lot more without feeling drunk. In the end, I felt that it affected my fun as I kept debating "should I?" instead of just ordering the drink like I wanted. 

On my second cruise I pre-ordered the Cheers package. Was I drunk any night? Nope. Did I try drinks I wouldn't have normally drank? Definitely. Didn't really like some of the Alchemy drinks I tried, but that's ok, I didn't need to finish them. Did I have at least one Hurricane Wave every day? Yep, and loved each and every one. I had 5 drinks some days, 10 drinks on some days, and 15 one day, and never worried about "should I or shouldn't I". I drank more than I do at home, but I was on vacation, so who cares?

So for me, I never regretted getting it. I'm getting it on my next cruise.

Did I regret not getting it? Yes. And not because of money costs or savings, but because debating whether or not to order a drink was a waste of mental energy that I could have spent on simply enjoying my cruise more.

To Cheers or not To Cheers is a personal decision, and the factors going into it include more than simply the financial aspect. For some, the guarantee of at least breaking even is the sole factor. For some, it is the ability to pre-pay in advance that is paramount. For some, paying as you go is important to limit consumption to prevent drinking to excess. For some, the ability to try new things is most important. 

There are many factors to consider, and there is no right or wrong answer.

I have done Chichen Itzan, Altun Ha, and Tulum. All 3 through Carnival tours, and all 3 were worth it for different reasons.

Chichen Itza - one of the new seven wonders of the world. It is huge. Long bus ride and boat trip. But it was a bucket list visit as it's a wonder.

Altun Ha - you can still climb one of them and my leg muscles were sore the next day LOL. Being able to climb a ruin was worth the trip.

Tulum - The other 2 ruins were better, but the beach below (which is part of the site) was fantastic.

I was very glad I did Chichen Itza and Altun Ha through Carnival as the Chichen Itza tour only got back with 30 minutes to spare, and Altun Ha was actually a bit late. If you do an independent tour that is far away (or long) you take the chance of missing the ship. For me, paying a little extra is worth the security.

My day 1 first cruise drink is the Hurricane Wave. I got it first at the casino bar, then also the Rum bar.

Its frozen half hurricane (various rums and passion fruit) and half banana daquiri.

And the day 2 hangover drink is the Bloody Caesar 🙂

On 2/14/2019 at 10:45 AM, Mommawo said:

I’m not brave enough to cruise alone ! Gosh I don’t know that I could even go out to a restaurant alone 😂 maybe I should see a therapist lol

I have now done 2 cruises solo. You'd be amazed at the people you meet that might turn into life long friendships. 

In fact, my next cruise is already booked, and it's coordinated with new friends I met on my last cruise!

can this be used for the initial purchase? or deposit?

or only for onboard purchases/excursions etc.

I was also on the 1/12 Glory Cruise......

Epic Rock show was excellent and the best of the 3, but the other 2 were also fun. It was the last of the 3 shows.

The Lobby Band was talented (called Rubber Duck I think). Played music across all decades with lots of energy. Also enjoyed solo guitar with Tim Lucas.

One of the stand up comedians was Valerie Storm, and her late show was among the funniest I've seen. The entire room was laughing from beginning to end.

Cruise Director was Dustin Gabriel. I found him to be entertaining, energetic, and involved all over the ship. His voice was pleasing (which is important due to the many announcements).

Dive In Movies included Mamma Mia 2, Oceans 8, The Equalizer, Bohemian Rhapsody, Avengers Infinity War.

Not a fan of Port of Miami - getting in was fine,  but leaving was miserable. Trying to flag down the van/bus to take me to my car rental place was chaos.

Food - I did not eat in the MDR once, but was told that the food offered there each night was pretty much always also in the Lido Buffet. I never found there to be too much craziness at the Lido, but I intentionally never went right when it opened. Other food included BlueIguana Cantina (great breakfast burritos), Comfort Kitchen, Ol' Fashioned BBQ (great mac n cheese), Guys Burger Joint, Seafood Shack, Pizza Pirate, Suzhi at Sea, Carnival Deli.

Various trivia and name that tune contests throughout the week. Get there before it starts as they start on time and you hate to miss question #1.

My Ports were Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. I just wandered the port shops at Grand Cayman, went to port shops and free beach at Mahogany, went to Altun Ha in Belize, and Tulum at Cozumel.

I have all my fun times, but apparently my old scanner has taken it's last breath.