ninjacat123

My DDs aren't excited about a 9 hour drive to Mobile, AL for our cruise but I said if you can find airfare for less than $468 total (including hotel) for the three of us, I'll do it. Best they could do was $550/person. Mommy is driving😎

Did you have reservations for specialty restaurants for your upcoming cruise? I don't because Ecstasy has nada, nothing, zilch in the way of specialty restaurants😁my DDs and I will be all MDR all the time😜

Wow! This is sad news. I wonder if it's staffing or actually not enough people are eating at the specialty restaurants, therefore not cost effective to keep open?

I'm not seeing deals like that in my VIFP for the May 50% sale. I am booking a good, not great deal out of PC for January 2024. We can drive there😁

Just curious, was any of the loud behavior addressed to the staff? Or addressed in general to the table? I would want to hear what the chef has to say and would want a moment of quiet. Maybe tapping a glass like at a wedding? It's a rough situation.

You seeing Wicked? Great show!!

Are you bringing the monkey?

Is it the JiJi menu or the Mongolian Wok menu? Thx!

An Alaskan cruise is on our bucket list! I will be on Ecstasy (that sounds bad😁) over the same week as your cruise. Looking forward to your review!!

I haven't booked a Carnival cruise through a travel agent, so I don't know. Maybe someone will chime in that knows about this.

You should be notified by email from Carnival indicating you either received stockholder credit or not. You can also check your cruises in your Cruise Manager. Go to Booking & Order Details and scroll down to View Invoice Details and click on that. Scroll down and it should be under On Board Credits if you received your stockholder credit. I usually send in my shareholder request one cruise at a time but I have heard of others sending in multiple cruises. Hope that helps!

Last 4 cruises, 2 of them deeply discounted, I received shareholders credit for each of them. I sent an email to shareholders@carnival.com stating the following: Hi! Please find attached my current brokerage statement. Please issue shareholder credit to the following: Legal name: MY NAME Booking number: MY BOOKING NUMBER Ship: MY SHIP Sailing date: THE EMBARKATION DATE Thank you! I attached two screenshots, one indicating my Carnival stock and the other my name, both with the account number redacted. I would get an immediate automated response saying they received my email. Then 2-3 weeks later I would get an email saying the shareholders credit had been issued.

I have had success with email. So far, no denials

Gladstone's on PCH where Sunset Blvd meets the ocean is a fun touristy restaurant right on the beach. If you are driving as far south as Laguna Beach (awesome art/beach/funky community) go to The Cliff Restaurant in the Arts and Crafts Center (bunch of hut like buildings on the ocean side of PCH) and look out over the Pacific as you have a glass of vino and lunch. Tommys Burgers (a couple around LA) are a traditional late night belly bomber snack. Order it with the works (chili, pickles, onions and cheese) then go to bed. In Downtown LA, Phillipes is supposedly the place where french dip sandwiches originated. So good with the roll double dipped in the au jus. Walk down Rodeo Drive to see how the 1% live. Yamashiro's Hollywood has a tremendous view of LA from it's perch up in the Hollywood Hills. I would probably go there just for a drink and the view. The building is pretty nifty as well. I am hungry now.😁

I'm looking forward to your LA itinerary. We lived in LA for almost 20 years and there are so many places I would love to visit!😎

The tiled loungers are warm and surprisingly relaxing. I never thought stretching out on a hard tiled surface would be comfy but it lulls you with it's heat. Plus the view of the ocean is hypnotic. Sea days will be busy and if the weather gets inclement, go grab a tile chair ASAP. There should be a room with "spa" water (chopped lemons and limes, etc in water) but I usually brought my own tumbler with a beverage. There are plenty of towels there. You can truly cook yourself in the dry sauna room, which I spread out a towel and lie down until I almost fall asleep. We would have our swimsuits on then wrap up in our Spa robes and Spa slippers and make our way from our stateroom to the Spa. Very cozy and special! Enjoy!

Run to the spa check in desk when you embark and get your scrub kit! I didn't when my mom and I cruised in a Spa Interior on Sunshine and the spa desk said they "ran out". Huh? Shouldn't they have one made up for each Spa room? So Run! 😁

I'm platinum and got a 10:30 am boarding time for me and my mom who needs wheelchair assistance. Once we got the wheelchair and our pusher (all have been so nice!) we were wheeled through special access areas and the only thing that slowed us down was the security x ray. Once through that, we were wheeled through an entrance for wheelchairs and accessed an elevator to our stateroom floor. Pretty quick I thought. Was it quick because of my 10:30am boarding time? Maybe, but I bet your friends with a later time will sail through embarkation like we did. If possible, have them access their Cruise Manager at midnight, the day of Online Check in and get the earliest boarding time they can. I don't think they can board the same time as suites but it should be a swift process for them. Have them text you once they are in their room and settled then meet you all somewhere. Have a wonderful cruise!!

Sunshine Take 2: March 28 – April 2 Embarkation: This time I had my 83 year old mom who needs assistance at times so I was hoping Charleston would accommodate. I was very happy with the porters who grabbed our bags, the pushers for the wheelchairs and the shuttle between building 324 and the terminal. We were expedited through till we were on the ship. Verifly made it very easy to negotiate the check in points. All in all, a win-win! Our stateroom: We had a spa interior on 12. Not as small as our interior on Mardi Gras but it was chilly. I mentioned this to our room attendant Merta and he said it would be okay when we were in hotter climates. I have to say it was chilly the whole cruise. Merta kept our room tidy and was personable and professional. His assistant Daniel did great as well. Great location on 12, close to Serenity and the Spa. Food: Mom and I were so happy with our food choices! Started off with burgers at Guys (fries were tasty) then Steakhouse. Steakhouse was elegant and yummy. We decided to buy 2 bottles of wine at 50% off instead of getting the free bottle of wine. Worked great! Our wine was kept for us and we could access it in any restaurant on the ship. Dinner at JiJi’s was delish! Wish I could have eaten more. One lunch was Blue Iguana where we had tacos. So good! Dinner at Cucina del Capitano was probably my mom’s favorite. Gaiza took great care of us and we had a window table with a picture perfect sunset. Only two meals at MDR but they were great! Our Team Lead Server Joseph with Team Server Ronnie and Asst Team Server I Wayan took wonderful care of us and the food was really good! I was surprised because the last three cruises MDR was not up to snuff. We were very happy! Sea Day Brunch was tasty. Alchemy: I was pleasantly surprised to find Dusan (pronounced Dushan) and Evan at Alchemy again. Zoltan was a great addition to the team. Mom and I split a Fiery Tropical Martini (Mezcal and spicy mango, Zoltan’s way) and enjoyed the showy bartender moves of this talented team. Casino: I had Drinks On Us while I played in the casino. Mom would sit at the casino bar and people watched while I made my millions. Ok, I came out $38 ahead which I think is a win. Waiters would bring me drinks and I had a really fun time at the roulette table for 30 minutes then I would get mom and we would head to dinner. Serenity: Quite busy but since I worked out early in the morning I was able to score a clamshell for me and mom. We were comfortable out of the direct sun and relaxing. Spa: I took advantage of the two free exercise classes that came with our spa room. First morning I tried Mat Pilates and second morning I tried yoga. Our Instructor Barry was knowledgeable and ran a great class. On our last Sea Day it was raining like crazy so Mom and I settled into the heated tile chairs with a view of the ocean. Very relaxing! Bimini: We took the tram to 360 Beach and were able to grab a clamshell up near the restaurant. I knew thatbein on the deck would be easier for Mom to hang out in. We split a chicken quesadilla and it was sizable and yummy! Nassau: We got a cab to John Watling’s Distillery ($10) and Mom grabbed a table outside in the shade while I procured two Pina Coladas. We enjoyed the breeze as it rustled through the palm trees overhead as we sipped our awesome drinks. One of our favorite places to go! Platinum party: I had never attended this event although I have been Platinum for the past four cruises. It was a lot of fun, had a great duo entertaining and drinks were liberally being handed out by the passing waiters. Comedy: We laughed our proverbial butts off when we attended the PG show of Kojo Prince. He had audience participation and it was a gas. Unfortunately we didn’t see the other comedian. Main Shows: Very well done! The cast puts it all out there and it was a seamless show from start to finish. Love and Marriage was fun as usual. Jake the CD was “Jake-tastic”! Debarkation: Once again we were taken care of very well with wheelchair service, porters and shuttles. The only glitch was trying to remember where I parked my car. Mom found it! The whole time Mom and I felt comfortable, taken care of and safe. We didn’t wear masks onboard and no one required us to except for embarkation and debarkation. Overall a wonderful time with my Mom and a great cruise! If I can, I will answer questions and if I don't know the answer, I bet another CC member will chime in. Thanks for reading!