CruiserLucas

Yeah, it was a joke. Ruffled some feathers of others, though. 🙃🙄

Thanks for the follow up! I suspected a drastically cheaper price - personally I just would have been hesitant to buy a niche item for a growing boy, even $60 vs $XXX for the rental. But maaaaybe... Hear me out... Can they both keep theirs clean and you tuck the tags for the evening; return it when you get back to port. 🤣🤣

They won't be alone wearing tuxes on formal night. But might I ask why buy a tux for the 8 year old vs rent for them? Seems the hubby would be less likely to grow out of his tux if you bought one, versus the 8 year old getting limited use from a purchased one before it no longer fits.

Your time dining if you get it is the way to go on Carnival. We do it since we plan our dinner around when we want to do shows or other stuff. And the way Carnival does your seating through the app when you're ready is the best. We pretty much always get the same section and wait team. Once in a while another section if they're busy.

I've used the body wash when we ran out of Tide travel packs. Works fine. Their body wash doesn't have a very strong or lingering fragrance either, I think, so if your toddler is sensitive to that it should also not be an issue I assume. Our experience unlike the drain plug not working was that the drain pull didn't have the knob to grab onto to pull it up. Maintenance came and just bent the end into a 90-degrees turn.

We use a similar local car service in Miami after several iffy experiences with Uber/Lyft drivers. Agree that the best parts are you know the charge upfront, they're waiting for you, and they are better trained or more diligent about items like suitcases and take care of them.

During our trip on Horizon last year the piano bar bartender made a perfect dirty martini. One of the best I've had on Carnival or many land bars I've been to. I'm also not a huge fan of Alchemy, however, the bartenders are usually very good at making you something off-menu with ingredients/flavors you tell them you like (if it's not busy - don't be a jerk and give them something complicated during the rush lol).

I'm guilty of liking Arbor Mist - and it definitely doesn't taste like wine. It tastes like college to me... 🤣 But if you want non-grape wine, maybe you could find other fruit varieties in your grocery or liquor store? Here in Michigan I have seen and sampled blueberry, cherry, and apple wines, all labeled as wine and bottled the same, so probably wouldn't raise suspicions to get you hassled bringing them on board. They taste more like their component fruit, with the sweetness of a Riesling or Moscato.

We were there in March. While the French side seemed more impoverished, I wouldn't say it felt any more or less safe than many other Caribbean islands.

I just entered my 30's and my partner is mid-20's and we both like elegant evenings. But I don't think on a line like Carnival or other mainstream or family-focused lines that every night should be elegant and hide in your cabin otherwise. It's nice to opt into the experience for a fun formal night. If you don't want to, that's your choice and I don't think you should be judged either for not wanting to dress up.

They work better if you pick all the lint and dust out from the back vents where it pulls in air before using since they're not/hardly ever cleaned 😉

It's still working to get price drops. I called Wednesday and got a price drop on our cruise we had booked many months ago that's in May.

Well, since there aren't 26 editions of the Wonder of the Seas, it seemed easy to determine that it was a long-standing name of their newsletter. I also see I still have a March and June issue of The Wander in my inbox, so it's a consistently sent newsletter. Not sure why it was so alarming. It even looks like their standard marketing/promo emails.

And if not for dinner, just in case your luggage is lost. At least you'll have *something* to wear. My recommendations/advice Sometimes a car service/"limo" can be cheaper or more value than a rental car, cruise line transfer, or Uber/Lyft. You get a professional driver who helps you with your luggage, too. We've used this a few times now and overall hasn't been that much more of price premium. Check if your credit card or preferred airline gives miles/points for booking with them. I use an AA credit card primarily, and American's cruise site seems to have some generous flight mile bonuses often. I don't often carry cash, so what I've learned is that while the ship has an ATM consider breaking it into small bills at the casino cashier so you don't have wads of all $20's, or stop at a bank before you depart. Along the lines of day-beds at a hotel after disembark, look for "resort for a day" passes as an excursion option if that's the kind of excursion you like. They're often the same or better resorts than what the cruise line offers and for less money. Sometimes the resort might include transfer service to and from port, or it's easy enough to get a taxi at the port.

Another vote from me for 150 Central Park! The food was good, and so was service when we were on Harmony. But I also really really enjoyed lunch at Izumi. The sushi rolls were huge and tasty, if anyone in your party is going for that. I thought the whole lunch meal for the fixe prix was well worth it.

We’ve always check daily, first just to watch our spending and stay on budget, but to also catch anything right away. We’ve had erroneous drinks and they’ve grumbled about it at guest services with us, too. I can understand, they probably have their fair share of people trying to get some free drinks. but I have also accidentally got an extra $200 OBC by keeping an eye on my account. When Horizon was out of service in December and they switched our sailings to other ships, each passenger was supposed to get $100 OBC. So when it wasn’t there as we sailed away I went to Guest Services and they agent added it to our account. Well, I guess the system was set to automatically add it overnight so we got another round of OBC by the morning 😅 Sure as heck wasn’t telling them though… So yes, always check your account!

I'm not seeing it...?

Thanks for this topic and sharing your thoughts and answering questions! Horizon was our favorite ship so far with Carnival, and the Havana Bar our favorite bar. I'm considering getting a Havana Cabana room on Panorama in the future; is that the same as the "patio" room you described? It's where you have a fenced in area along the walkway, right? Not a private balcony; unless they're two different kinds of rooms? What did you think of that if it was the public walkway area? We like private relaxation on the balcony, so not sure if we would be comfortable with the more public seating area. lol I saw those on Horizon and wasn't sure about it, but having access to the rest of the Havana areas makes it enticing... lol

I have made generous donations to the Carnival ship casinos... And Cheers! isn't cheap either. I don't have any interest in "luxury" items like the shops. I've seen artwork I liked, but never bought it, either.

I hope you enjoy it! Here is a link to my Cruise Critic review of our sailing. Please note that the ship was at half-capacity at the time. So your experiences with venues and service may differ because of that. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=685029

We've only been on Harmony, so for us that one! lol It was our first Royal cruise in late-Feb/early-March and our experience on board and overall with Royal made us converts to the line from our go-to Carnival. I liked the ship layout, plenty to do, lots of dining choices, and most of all for me: lots of hot tubs and big ones!

Yep! We always stop at a store near the port before boarding to throw snacks in our bag for the week. And the stop is a good chance to rethink if we forgot to pack an essential and grab it then. 😉 I like bringing my own snacks that I couldn't find onboard or would be crazy expensive. It's definitely nice to have in the room when we get late night munchies or don't want anything from room service.

As far as I know, they don't carry diet ginger beer, but with carry-on allowances you could bring on cans of it and use it with their rum to make a diet Dark n Stormy. Though I prefer rye whiskey with my ginger beer. 😋

It can have the gold star and still be an Enhanced Driver's License if that is also indicated. It's when it's the gold star only, not just its presence on the ID. Here in Michigan ours has both. "Enhanced Driver License" above your picture if you received (bought) that one, and the gold star is just the standard for any ID indicating Real ID compliance in the upper right corner. https://www.michigan.gov/sos/faqs/license-and-id/real-id#:~:text=card look like%3F-,A REAL ID-compliant driver's license or state ID card,star when renewed or replaced. Sample pictures of such are But to the OP's point. You can use an Enhanced Driver's License on a closed-loop US cruise under WHTI. You need birth certificate with your ID if it's not an Enhanced Driver's License or passport.

I had the same problem trying to order a classic daquiri on another Carnival ship, too. I think because so many of the go-to cocktails ordered are just the advertised menu items or frozen strawberry daquiri using a mix, they don't know the recipe to other drinks or classic versions. Not so much a fault with the bartender personally, it's a fault with Carnival's training and service expectations. I just explained to the bartender how to make it and she understood and made it.