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I know it's a huge long shot, but I'm hoping someone will cancel a 3-person Havana cabin on my Horizon Easter cruise so that I maybe get an upsell on my lido cabin.          

My 2/13/25 cruise - only deposit has been paid ...

I just recently paid off my March and June 2024 cruises (in December), but I was able to see the check-in date before I made that last payment.  I have a reminder set in my phone to get up early to get an early check-in slot lol.

If you have court documents showing that you have sole custody, that should be sufficient.  I would make a copy and bring with you.  I've never been asked for a letter, but I've always had one.  I don't think it matters much in the Bahamas, but the other islands it might.  

2 hours ago, Katefromupstate said:

You could call them and ask when you’re back from your excursion, or if you really want to go there, go buy one before your tour.  What excursion are you taking?  

That's a good idea!  Do you think I have enough time to get there and back if we arrive to port at 9 and my excursion is at 10?  How much are taxis there and back?  I read somewhere it was around $4/person each way, but I just watched a Youtube video that said it was "too expensive [for 2 people] so we just walked the 1.5 miles".  We are doing Land Sailing.

Has anyone gone here later in the day?  We are in port from 9a - 10p on a Tuesday in April, and we have an excursion from 10a-12p.  Wondering if they will sell out of day passes by the time we get there.

10 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I get that but to me that all takes maybe an hour or two and if you embark at 11AM you've got probably 5 hours of not much going on before sail away. Each to their own!

I have never been bored on a cruise, not even when embarking at 11am.  We eat, drink, and explore the ship.  Make a plan for the day once we are all connected to the app.  We swim and go to the waterpark.  We unpack.  Muster of course as well, but that's only 5 minutes now.  We get our ducks ready and start hiding them.  We get pictures.

It is to each their own though, because I know not everyone does anything in the water.  Some people can unpack in 30 seconds, and not everyone does the ducks.  But there are still def things to do.  

20 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Au contraire. That's the nicest time to be on the ship the whole week in my opinion. Explore the empty ship, have an uncrowded lunch, a relaxing first drink in the seat of your choice in an empty bar. I can enjoy myself before I get access to my cabin.

This!!

On 1/10/2024 at 2:34 PM, MisterOJ2 said:

 

It wasn't bad, actually. We still got the elegant night menu on Night 7 and it had the prime rib and lobster. I think since the menu change, there's really only one elegant night menu anyway.

Oh okay.  Well as long you were happy with the options.

1 minute ago, MisterOJ2 said:

 

We embarked on Dec. 23. So I kinda was expecting Christmas Eve (our first sea day) to be an elegant night menu and Christmas Day to just be the special menu. But on Christmas Eve, we just had a normal casual night menu. 

Oh dang, you got screwed 😞  That sucks.

On 1/2/2024 at 9:33 AM, MisterOJ2 said:

We only got one "elegant night" menu on the next to last day. Our first elegant night was on Christmas day and featured a special menu.

I've been looking for this kind of specific information for almost a year!  Which day did you embark?  Was it Dec 24th?  I will be embarking on Horizon on March 30th, the day before Easter, on an 8 night sailing, and I am fairly certain that Easter will be what should be our first elegant night.  If our only option in the MDR is the special Easter menu, then I am going to book specialty dining for that night, and that is what it sounds like it will be.

Thank you!!

I've been looking at trying to book a Havana inside for 2025 on a Vista class ship for 3 people, and it seems they only have 1 cabin!  It's like a race to see who gets it first lol.

Thank you for this!!  I have been looking for food pics from the new MDR menu, specifically the items that I would order.  Will be on Horizon for Easter.

1 hour ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

You don't have to take another cruise before your 8-day cruise.  You will be gold from the start of your cruise, as long as you make gold by the end of that cruise. 

This is 100% accurate.  I was at 20 days before I embarked on Elation for a 5-night cruise.  I would hit gold on my last night, and I was gold from night 1.

Inquire about getting them taken out before you go.  Maybe they can use skin glue after or sterile strips if that's still a thing to keep it closed for a little longer.

Yes.  You sign.  I take a picture of each receipt.  If you're a "leave the phone in the safe" kind of person, this obviously won't work for you.  But it helps to eliminate extra paper asking for a copy.

Tough call since you've done most of those ports already.  Usually I would say longer cruise, but ABCs are hard to pass up.  Cruises to the Bahamas are a dime a dozen (although I'd take a cruise to the Bahamas over no cruise at all), so I would be looking into other factors.

1. How much is the price difference?  

2. Which embarkation port is closer to home?  Are either driveable?  If you do need to fly, the dates could have an impact on airline prices.

3. Do either of you still work or are you retired?  The time off from work would have an impact for me depending on the dates.

4. Do you need the extra days to move up to Platinum?

I've never been on either of those ships or to most of those ports, but we are going on Horizon to Aruba, Bonaire, and the DR in March!  We are within driving distance to all of of the southeast ports and Norfolk. I am curious to hear what you decide on 🙂

I was on Elation in June, and they seemed to be normal sized.  I ordered one every night; it's my favorite dessert on Carnival!  Perfectly cooked and meltly as it should be, made better with a side of peanut butter 

😋

There are menus here:

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

Not sure how the menu rotates for sailings longer than 8 days though.  Maybe look through the boards for 9 day sailings to find out when the 2nd formal night is.

You will find a lot of info regarding menus here:

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

On 12/18/2023 at 8:51 AM, sparks1093 said:

Exactly, none of those changes (and they are simply changes, made to make the cruise line as efficient as possible without unduly raising fares) severely impacts the overall cruise experience. We had just as a good of a time on Glory this past April as we did on Pride in 2012.

Normally I would agree as changes are just changes and one can just cruise another line.  But ... these pics look like false advertising.  The piece they serve you is clearly not what they are representing, and that affects the palate.  I haven't eaten the little sheet cake pieces that this post is about yet, but I have had similar at Golden Corral and similar.  

On 12/12/2023 at 12:54 PM, dallasdan said:

on the Vista last month, Grand Caymen was a 7 am port day.  Lido buffet was open at 6.  Not sure about MDR.

How crazy is lido bfast at 6am on those days?  The few times I've gotten lido bfast, there has always been about a 20 minute line of people, and I would hate to be stressed out trying to make sure we get food before our 7:30 excursion.  It's Aruba, so I assume everyone will actually want to get off the ship at that port.

On 12/12/2023 at 6:22 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

I've had a few 7 AM port calls on Carnival, though none lately.

 

IIRC, breakfast times in the buffet (both continental and regular) adjust to around 6 or 6:30 opening times.  I think the MDR adjusts their opening times also.  Different adjustments may be made by different ships at different times going to different stops.  In other words, YMMV.

Have you ever noticed if they adjust the lunch-opening hours when there's a lunchtime arrival at a port?  We are porting in La Romana at 11:30, but with the exception of the deli and pizza, the other lunch venues won't be available until noon.  

I'll be down to double digits in 9 days 😀

1 hour ago, jamie717 said:

We started cruising in 1993 and a lot has changed in our 30 years of cruising.  The excitement I feel when we are close to the port and looking every which way to get the first glimpse of the cruise ship is the same today as it was the very first time! If I ever lose that feeling, that excitement, then I know it's time to look elsewhere! Many changes in cruising but, thankfully, no changes to the way it makes me feel every single time!

I don't live far from the Jacksonville, FL port, and I always get so excited when I see the ship in port as I'm driving over the bridge.  There was one time I saw it on my way to the mall, and it had started sailing away omw back, so I drove to the port to watch it, then drove over the bridge a few more times so it would go under me.  LOL

21 minutes ago, iheartmarshall said:

I've definitely noticed the price increases and the little extras that no longer exist, to the point that after our last cruise in August, I started to wonder if cruising (or maybe just Carnival) isn't for me anymore.  However, that was short lived -- a cruise is what you make it and if you go into it knowing what to expect, then you should be okay.  Are there things I miss from 10 years ago?  Of course.  But, I understand that we have to adapt and no one is forcing me to cruise.  It's a choice we make, to either accept the changes and enjoy the new experience or choose a different vacation option. 

Right, so long as we are aware of the changes.  Like changing from Coke to Pepsi.  I'm glad I knew before I boarded so that I could bring my own.  But some people have their own ways of looking at things and they refuse to change, so they will go elsewhere to get what they want.  The fancy dinner is one example - my sister always cruises on Disney, and one of the things she raves about is dinner and everyone being dressed up.  But for me, my hunger and enjoyment of my food is not changed if someone is wearing a t-shirt and flip flops.  A lot of people have the same mentality as my sister.  Hopefully enough people will be annoyed with Carnival's changes and go elsewhere so there's more room for me to cruise lol.