CruiserLucas

That doesn't seem true according to the Royal website. There is even an online form to submit if you don't want to speak to someone by phone. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/best-price-guarantee-policy

It's in the same spot. There are big glass windows (with pulled curtains during dining) and a sliding automatic door to enter the area from the starboard side of the Solarium. So it seems pretty secluded. In late-February/early-March when we were onboard, the Solarium Bistro was not operating, so that may affect your future reservation if it is operating again or not during your dinner.

I'm going to disagree with the consensus and say it was my least favorite meal of Carnival's specialty restaurants. We went on Sunshine (when our sailing on Horizon was replaced during her maintenance issues in December). So this may be ship-specific issues and due to staffing during COVID times. Having been to the Royal Caribbean steakhouse Chops Grille on Harmony now, I think that is how a steakhouse experience should be. Here are some reasons we weren't impressed with Fahrenheit 555 and didn't feel it was worth the money.

1. Service - Our hostess and the waitresses did not make it feel like it was a higher level of experience than the MDR. We had pre-booked before the cruise and arrived about 5 minutes before our reservation time. The group in front of us did not have reservations and the hostess spent more time trying to find them a table and going back and forth from the station to coordinate that, than having them wait for a moment to check the next guests in line for reservations (there were more people behind us, too). So by the time the hostess got the first group situated, we were now five to ten minutes after our reservation time. No, the world won't end, but you also expect that you're paying for a different kind of service and experience. The waitresses once we did sit down kept coming to our table every minute to check if we were ready to order - please let me read the menu first when you know I just sat down - and then even after we had ordered, the second waitress was unaware and would be back asking what we wanted. It was frazzled and chaotic from the start.
2. Food - I'll start this by saying I am not a picky eater and will try most things, where my partner is very picky and only eats certain things - this will make sense in a moment maybe. The appetizers we had ordered were alright - just alright, not fantastic or bad. I had the Berkshire pork belly; kind of flavorless and after wading through a gloop of pork fat I found a couple morsels of meat. My partner had the jumbo shrimp cocktail, and it wasn't much different from any other shrimp cocktail. Then one of our waitresses brought over an off-menu appetizer compliments of the chef. It was some experimental molecular gastronomy dish - there was a mushroom foam and pearl of mushroom soup. I love mushrooms so I tried it, and my partner hates them so he didn't. Lucky him! I almost threw up at the table unfortunately... I can't describe how awful it was. When the main dishes came out, it was also just alright, not impressive. I had the ribeye, and it was overcooked. I'm bad at raising a fuss to the staff, so I didn't send it back. Partner had the roasted chicken, and again it was pretty flavorless and not impressive. Mac & Cheese side was dried out and oily, and the French fries were doused in too much of the seasoning powder.
3. Atmosphere - If you go to a very nice restaurant you don't want to hear a Divorce Court episode playing out at one of the tables. There was a couple with what I made out to be the wife's mother, and their toddler. It was constant bickering and loud arguments, toddler crying, obnoxious behavior from the husband. I was surprised maybe that the hostess or someone else did not address them from the start. I would have expected them to enforce an ambience in the steakhouse that the other customers are trying to enjoy a nice evening, not hear your family drama. 

My rant on Fahrenheit 555 is over. 😉😋 I liked Cucina Del Capitano when we were on Horizon last August more.

I'd choose the 8 Day Horizon. We did that one last August. Amber Cove is BEAUTIFUL in my opinion. La Romana has better beaches, though, IMO. If you get off at La Romana, we did a day pass at Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach. The port taxis will take you there and back (about 15 minute ride). The water and beach is nice, tons of fish just swimming around if you plan to snorkel, there's a buffet, snack shops, restaurants, bars, and pools that come with an all-inclusive. 

Since Bonaire was replaced on our itinerary with Curacao instead due to COVID cases at the time, I don't know how it is. Aruba was alright, but not our favorite island. But I would still choose Aruba over HMC.

With the cost difference between just being on a newer ship like Mardi Gras, I'd save my money and do more ports more days. Horizon is still a nice ship, our favorite of the four we've been on.

On Harmony in late February, my partner who wears glasses forgot to take them off, got to the top where they told him to take them off. He told them how he's pretty blind without them, and they just had him stick them in his pocket. I think if you're nice and not being a jerk if you left them on, they've been flexible. I couldn't hold them at the bottom for him, because were doing the "racing" slides, but if it were 1 at a time do that and have someone hold them for you and just guide you up the stairs or go up with you and take them down to meet you at the bottom? 

I see Ocean Navigator docked down in Lower Harbor here in Marquette, MI from my balcony. 👋🏻  Hope you’re enjoying your time in the city! 
 

On 5/26/2022 at 1:34 PM, Tink10 said:

Hello!

 

I hope asking this question isn't prohibited and I apologize if it is, but we canceled an Alaskan cruise and I received my refund in gift cards from Carnival. We just moved and really don't expect to be cruising again, so I'm left with a whole lot of carnival gift cards in large amounts.

 

Do any of you know a reputable place to sell them online? It seems that there aren't many gift card resale sites that take Carnival & these are too big for Ebay.

 

Thanks in advance!

Not sure of the etiquette but maybe also you could re-gift to family or friends if you don't find a selling option? They don't expire either, according to the back of mine, so might make sense to hang on to them for that spur of the moment, "DAMMIT I NEED A CRUISE NOW!" 🤣

Grand Turk has very nice beaches, btw - very soft and white sand with turquoise water. We've done a snorkeling and stingray swim excursion and an island bus tour our first time there. The snorkel excursion was through the ship and we enjoyed it, and the bus tour was from a local operator near the port. Our second time we just stayed around the port and went to Margaritaville - not as fun... 

Amber Cove has a free water park/pool area by the terminal shops. We haven't checked it out of the two times we stopped there, but there are videos of it on YouTube. The beach at the all-inclusive resort we did a day pass at was not as nice in my opinion as La Romana area beaches on the south side of the island, but the view in port at Amber Cove with the mountains is more beautiful. There are other excursions you can do in Amber Cove, though, if you don't want the beach or want to get out of the terminal shops. Again, some videos on YouTube highlight the excursions (assuming you haven't booked yet to see the ship's excursions in your cruise planner).

We took advantage of the drops twice already since booking a December cruise a couple of months ago. Booked originally at about $740/person and the next day it went down to $630, and yesterday down to $530. Yesterday I was surprised I didn't even have to wait on hold when I called for the discount. I have the cruise's page saved open on my phone, so I check it easily daily. Definitely worth it to save the money! lol

Can't comment to the sale price difference on board vs. pre-cruise, but we found it to be worth the cost when we tried it. We bought the 3-night package pre-cruise, and it was my partner's favorite restaurant of the specialties we tried. We were on Harmony. I liked Jamie's Italian more, but 150 Central Park was still outstanding IMO.

I only have one experience point to go off of, but we really enjoyed our meal at Chops, so I'd recommend it.

Mine: Crab cake, medium Prime bone-in ribeye, with Gruyere cheese tater tots

Partner: Black pepper bacon, petite filet, with truffle French fries

Shared: Mac & Cheese

Can't remember the dessert, but it was good! 😋

Well, I got the definitive first-hand answer to my question tonight! 🤣 The price dropped over a $100/person from when I booked yesterday, so called and got it updated. Took almost an hour, but the agent was helpful and friendly.

247 days and counting! 🛳️🏖️😃 Just booked today. This will make our second RCI cruise. Who else is going as well?

Just put the deposit down on our second Royal cruise - 10 night Southern Caribbean December 16th on Vision. Anyone have experience with the Best Price Price Guarantee program? Seems to be the replacement to the Cruise With Confidence program, so hasn't been out long? Or is this a return to a previous policy for them? Any insight and guidance is appreciated! Looks like you just call and request the difference in new price as onboard credit up to the final payment date? 

16 hours ago, Joe817 said:

Those work great too. A poor man's luggage tag holder. 

 

We used these from Amazon, and have used them on all our cruises. Strong cable ties. From Amazon.

 

We use these as well! We get them ready in the days leading up and drop them in our back pack to attach before dropping off the checked luggage with the porters. The benefit to this versus just taping or stapling the paper is that you can prepare some extras in your bag *just in case* you decide you don't want to carry on a piece you planned and want to check it at the port. Easier IMO than futzing with tape or staplers at a hotel or pier-side or something. 

I have lightly considered a Disney cruise, but not extensively. This just turns me off from it more. I'm not surprised they're donating to anti-LGBTQ+ politicians. They're a corporation and will stab anyone in the back for profits...

As to Russia, I agree that anyone who has not visited should - maybe not right now... I've been fortunate to have been three times, and my father's ancestry is Russian. Once to St. Petersburg as a teenager, and twice to Moscow in college to study abroad. Moscow is one of my favorite cities. And in my group of college students, which one of us actually had "fun" as young people like to do with the locals...? The gay guy. 😉 4 times. 🤣 As SireDoime said, the government is atrocious, there are bad people yes. That's true of every country. For now I'll just hope they get better politicians just like Florida desperately needs.

My boyfriend and I have not had problems at St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, or Cozumel. Haven't been to the other three places. 

In general, you shouldn't have any problems overall in travel throughout the Caribbean. Yes, culturally it is fairly conservative with places that have harsh views on LGBTQIA+ identities and behaviors. And there are some locations that are more tolerant, yet, they even include communities that are intolerant. Specifically about Bermuda, I haven't travelled there so I can't comment personally as a cis gay man that travels with my cis partner. However, I think you would be alright within a cruise-organized excursion group - that goes for any place. My partner and I have visited Jamaica, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten & St. Martin, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas - some places multiple times. And we have never had any concerns for our safety whether out on our own or in a tour group. I think it's pretty obvious we are a couple, though we don't really do PDA besides arms around each other for some photos, but then again we also get asked if we're brothers... 

I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive, but maybe this could help clarify for other folks to provide advice... Is the concern for your child that has transitioned that they wouldn't "pass" as a certain gender? There may be specific places to avoid if that's the concern, but I do not know, others may for that. 

On 3/28/2022 at 10:29 PM, peanutzmom said:

After almost 20 years of being loyal Carnival customers, we got a really great deal on a really great itinerary on a really great ship through RCI for this Spring Break. We thought it would be fun and interesting to try another line, and the price was really great. I have to say, we were disappointed. First, the food was really lackluster - ranging from average to downright awful - even in the MDR. The buffets were pretty bad - we avoided them whenever possible. Second, the staff was less friendly and engaging, and a couple of times we had some minor issues with service. We’re not the kind of people who expect perfection - we are pretty much happy just to be on vacation - but a couple of incidents were pretty unprofessional. Finally, we had problems with our onboard charges - at least twice, we were charged for bar drinks we never ordered and had to stand in line at Guest Services to have it fixed. And Guest Services didn’t seem very apologetic about the incorrect charges once we brought it to their attention. 
 

None of it ruined our vacation. How can you NOT love spending time on the beautiful Caribbean islands? But for our next cruise, we will definitely come back home to Carnival!

Whoa, no way - sorry to hear it wasn't the most relaxing cruise! We just had the exact opposite experience on Harmony as our first RCI cruise Feb 27th. after only Carnival. But at least you got to try it, and know what you like! We had those kinds of problems on our last few Carnival cruises and may not be back to them in our case. 

The "cruise" pass is most likely for the entire cruise length, and the other is a one-day only pass - if I remember correctly from when we bought ours in August. 

For $5 I bought Carnival's metal straws (pack of 4) because I got tired of the candy straws. They also made me kind of nauseous, and they got too slimy and sticky for my liking. We use them at home all the time now. I'm sure you can find better deals out there than what Carnival sells their set for, but in the pinch of deciding I disliked the candy straws while already onboard, it works. 

We enjoyed our Royal cruise director mostly more than any of our past Carnival CD's. We did have one fun Carnival CD, but the rest were not our cup of tea. We enjoyed on this cruise that he came over the PA for important information, updates, activities, etc. And we saw him around the ship at stuff. But he didn't feel intrusive, it actually felt like he was directing the cruise and entertainment.  

We went to both arcades (there’s two on Harmony if I remember correctly, a small one on Boardwalk and a larger one on Deck 15) a couple weeks ago on our sailing. Personally, I didn’t find them to be worth the cost, and we love arcades and visiting them on our cruises - yes at 26 and 30 you can also like arcade games! Lol We played a couple games, but at $2.50 per game, for two kids, you might want to watch how much they go through that credit you prepay if they hit up the arcade often. You may run through it quickly. However, do note that there are tons of other kid-friendly/family-friendly activities on Harmony (ice skating, escape room, slides, etc.) that are more fun and will probably keep you & kids occupied out of the arcade, so I’d probably personally go for the $50, that way if you end up needing to spend the remaining credit by the end of the cruise, you might be able to burn through it quickly instead of a larger amount left over. 

Someone on Harmony for our cruise 2/27 must have planned really well or we had light drinkers, because all of those were in stock on our sailing throughout. I saw them regularly on the shelf and being ordered through the last night. Except chai, since I didn't order that or go to the Cafe Promenade.

We took a birthday cruise in August and I purchased the Carnival b-day package for my SO. It was already set up when we arrived in the cabin and a really nice "surprise" to my SO - though the cake took longer to arrive (looked like they had a lot of them on the cart to deliver!). They also included a small photo album and fun Carnival beach towel set up on the bed.