kyrisong1

On 11/29/2022 at 8:23 AM, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

I'd say older Carnival staterooms are... less design focused than NCL? As others have pointed out, in the 2000s, the Carnival stateroom color palate was lots of peach, beiges, and browns, with acres of laminate counter space. It was functional: tons of storage space, lots of room to spread out, but certainly not high-end. The newer ships (Vista forward) have really worked hard to go for a much more resort-like blue and cream that I think works a lot better, and is more what you'd expect in 2022. I'd point out the bathrooms are still small, with shower curtains (a deal-breaker for people, which changed on Mardi Gras). 

 

Re: functionality and livability, we've always found the Carnival rooms fine, if not luxe. Having substantial extra space means we've never needed to get creative with the living situation like when sailing in a smaller NCL room. And Carnival does put the extra space to use. We recently sailed in an Oceanview on the Horizon, and our stateroom had the normal bathroom (sink, shower, toilet) and then a second bathroom with a shower/tub combo and sink. And a full sofa in the room. Although just the two of us, it made turnaround time when getting ready for dinner or coming back from a beach day almost effortless. 

My friend and I had this on our last cruise, it was great cause we could both get ready at the same time. However I really missed the balcony!! It's a great option though!!

So I'm Platinum on CCL and have cruised many times on NCL, once on Princess, 3 times on Celebrity.

I just got off a 14 day Panama from Carnival Dream and found the food SERIOUSLY lacking. I am a self admitted foodie. I don't eat big portions but I want GOOD food. For Canival it was always the food was good. Even if the perks were not lovely. Rooms large and I'm an a diva so I'm happy with good food and a balcony cabin, don't need perks. However this last cruise was kinda a deal breaker, I don't think I'll sail with CCL again. The food was not good. They have a pasta dish that is supposed to be and has always been filled with seafood, calamari, shrimp, scallops, mussels. This time we found one shrimp and one mussel, otherwise all pasta and sauce. The Chefs table was terrible, they are now doing strip steak instead of filet and let me tell you, it was TOUGH, the duck and lamb both too tough to eat, so disappointing to pay so much for a upgraded experience and get that!! I've done every chefs table menu, but this was terrible. I totally understand that food is expensive now, and maybe it's just the nature of the beast. My husband and I will be getting on the Breakaway out of NOLA Sunday for a 7 day cruise. I will be interested to see what the food quality is. I love Le Bistro and it will break my heart if it is less than wonderful. I think CCL does have bigger rooms, but NCL has more organized areas. I love that the ships I've been on have chargers next to each bed and just the way things are set up there are lots of nooks and crannies. I usually recieve a bottle of sparkling wine in my room (I think everyone does after their first cruise) on NCL. On CCL I had to go to different areas and ASK for my Platinum gifts, just not fun I guess to me. The staff still works so hard on both lines. I just wish CCL would get the food thing together and the perks to mean something. Otherwise I'll stick with NCL. I love the freestyle cruise concept, no reservations, mostly come as you are (as long as it's not nekkid or in bathing suites. I like the perks even a little old gold like me gets. Love the idea of drink package and dining perks as well as excursion perks. For me NCL works!! Also I've had my free laundry perks for CCL for a while. Twice had light colors stained because of being washed with other peoples clothing with no regards to light and dark colors. Many times get it back stained or wrinkled. At NCL It's EXPENSIVE send laundry to be done, but have always gotten it back in perfect shape and done very well. Whatever you find, you will enjoy the cruise and make up your own mind on it. Enjoy!!!

I'm booked on Alaska from Seattle in Sept and they aren't even taking reservations for this anymore but they haven't canceled it ugh!!

I am still booked on an Alaskan on the Bliss in September, if they can't cruise to Canada this will not happen, but still they haven't announced. Even Carnival announced the Alaska season over. Wish they would get it over with so I can rebook for another date!!

Going in April out of Ft Lauderdale!  I'm taking the OBC, I'm confident with my handwashing skills, been a nurse for 25 yrs

1 hour ago, spanishguy1970 said:

oh i hope not, i am on the Getaway for the next 19 days starting this Sunday,  😰😰but then again i take people complaints with a grain of salt. Is been my experience that some people will complain no matter what.

 

I think I would go with an open mind and have your own experience, often those that have issues are an anomaly and it doesn't repeat

On 8/27/2019 at 1:38 PM, Dd3thomas said:

 

We just booked the Joy for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean in Nov 2020.  We reserved 14778.  Thanks for the review.  We will have a large family reunion on this cruise.  I wanted a large suite without the Haven price.  My only concern is it seems to be close to the elevators and stairs.  How was the noise in the cabin from the foot traffic?

we didn't hear anything, it was really very quiet

The breakfast and lunch was awesome at La Cucina, but the concierge we only used twice, once I called to get a lounge chair for the balcony, it was there in 10 minutes, and then I asked for a eggcrate mattress because the bed was on the hard side, it was on the bed that night, so service was very good but the room is the reason we booked it again, it's nice to have all that room!!!

we did a CA to Alaska on Joy we did use room service for our early morning excursions, just cereal and fruit, there was no charge. Do you want to see a CA room? We had the special one, there are two that have amazing large balconies, because of the wedge shape on them, that is 14778 and 14178. We loved it enough to book the same room in April 2021

Hi everyone, I'm taking my 83 yr old mother and my sister who has a seriously bad back on a cruise, we are stopping in Costa Maya, my favorite place is Maya Chan which we can't do since my sisters back could never take that bumpy road, is there anything there that would be a nice beach without going down that terrible road? Or is there a place that has lots of shopping and places to eat that wouldn't be too far or dangerous for us to be out on our own? Any help is appreciated, I've never thought of going anywhere but Maya Chan here since they are so awesome ❤️ Thanks!!

I'm a new cruiser so haven't had Guy's burgers, but I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos, reading forums and Facebook groups and the overwhelming majority of people rave about them. Except for this forum, everything I've seen says people love them. This forum is the only place I've seen negative comments.

 

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8+ using Forums mobile app

I saw it on Facebook.

well it's totally not true, I saw it on facebook on his page TODAY that this is untrue. #fakenews

" Dismemberment " darn that auto-correct.

Thanks for your report.

I don't know, maybe auto correct is on to something, when they make me leave the ship it sorta feels like Dismemberment ;p

I was also on Vista repo and had the 7th floor Havana Aft Wrap. I didn't care for it for only one reason, the balcony is huge, but I do not like direct sunlight, I've very fair skinned and burn terrible. I love a balcony that has some shade that I can sit out on and hear the waves, this balcony overlooked the Havana area, so no waves and there was really no shade to be had. I assumed the side of the aft wrap would have some shade but that wasn't the case. So if you love full sun and looking at people over your balcony this is for you. I will stick with the side afts, get my shade, love being towards the back and love the sound of my waves. In December of 2019 my sister and I are booked in a havana balcony on 5, on the Panorama, can't wait to see how that is!!

As bad as it is, it is nowhere near as bad is overseas. We were stationed in Germany for 3 years and you literally have no lines, everyone just pushes their way to front and do not care. You have to be loud and rude to get served anywhere, at stores or food establishments. Not just Germany, it was every country we visited. Push and shove your way to front then wave hands like a maniac to get servers attention. In the military it is always a discussion about how people act overseas in that regard, seems to be the rule everywhere. I am not bashing them, just saying it is the way it is done overseas. So ... we always just let people go ahead of us and rarely say anything on the cruise ship, it is far worse elsewhere!

Well this totally explains our worst "me first" experience, my husband and I standing in line ordering omelets and this older blonde woman literally pushes in between us and pushes us each to the side and screams at the server "Crispy bacon NOW!!" I thought my husband would have a stroke he was so mad, he turned totally red and started telling the woman off. She was european and I thought by the accent probably German. She said "UGH, and waved him off" it was awfully rude and obnoxious

I think people are getting "third party" and private excursions mixed up. The private excursions are some of the best I've done, but I research them to DEATH on Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic port of call boards and other cruise sites to get word of mouth. My all time favorites were NOT through the ship, they were through Private operators (which is exactly what Carnival uses for their excursions, except they charge you their fee for setting it all up) The reputable guides are well aware of when you need to get back, they totally keep track of the ships. Some of our best experiences have been with them. My all time favorite? Nativeway Watersports in Grand Cayman!!

Still waiting to see the "Stormin Norman" business page with reviews. Don't come here and bash 3rd party tours because you got burned by some random guy. That's like handing money to some guy hanging out by the port and being shocked that you didn't get what you paid for, Don't be so naive.

Actually if you've been on CC or around Carnival for any length of time Stormin Normen is a well known name, he's not a joe blow standing on the street corner, he does tons of group cruises. That said I've heard things and seen things from him that make me avoid using him or going on any of his groups or even face book pages. I've heard they make lots of money off of those that book excursions through them and sail pretty much for free with using the free berth when you meet a certain amount of people in your group. All of the Group cruises I've done actually give that cost back in OBCs to everyone in the group. Remember let the buyer beware!! I book my excursions through reputable companies by word of mouth from other cruisers I know and trust. Sorry this happened but at least you made the cruise

Thought of another,,

Wanna try the Steakhouse, but think $35. is a little too much, order the same steak in the MDR for $20.!

The ambiance and the sides are well worth the 35 dollars, I'd never order in the MDR, if I'm paying 20.00 I'll pay the extra 15 and have an excellent experience. I've never had a bad experience in the steak house. The Lobster Bisque is the best I've ever had and it is NOT the same as you get in the MDR!! Do yourself a favor and try the steakhouse once and decide for yourself if it's worth it to you or not. Not everyone has the same feelings

There are many great places to stay. But I would recommend Hilton Riverside if you can get it. It's attached to the riverwalk mall. Some actually walk to the port through the mall. It's right by the riverwalk and the Aquarium. There's a streetcar stop outside. You can get an unlimited ride pass for $3/day or it's like $1.25/ride. For lunch I'd walk 2-3 blocks down Poydras to Mother's Restuarant. I get the debris po boy and jerry's jambalaya. http://www.mothersrestaurant.net/

 

For dinner I'd stay in the hotel for Drago's Seafood..and make sure you at least try the charbroiled oysters. http://www.dragosrestaurant.com/

 

Either for desert that night or breakfast the next day I'd take the streetcar down to the french market and get beingets at cafe du monde. http://www.cafedumonde.com/ There is also a location in the riverwalk mall which opens at like 8am but if time permits you really want to visit the original.

I totally agree with Mothers, amazing food, small price, we liked Acme Oyster house way better than Dragos, Dragos was just ok for us, Acme was amazing. We also stayed at Riverside and liked it just fine, this next time we're going for one of the more historic places, staying at Place D'armes

We are also considering cruising on the Dream next month and not sure where to stay, we will most likely fly in but may drive.

 

We love New Orleans but for the chargrilled oysters Dragos was our least favorite overall. We Loved Royal House and Mr. Ed's and not just for the oysters. Beignets are a must and just walking around and exploring the French Quarter is a great way to spend the day.

I didn't love the charbroiled oysters at Dragos either, but the ones at Acme Oyster house were outstanding

I think they should cover the loss due to deployment, but since they don't can you not just change the name of the guest for a small fee and put someone else in his slot? Seems better than losing 75% of the cruise cost. Not sure how NCL does it but CCL charges 50.00 for a name change

Sad to hear about Food Republic, the Butter Crab handheld was one of the most amazing things I ate in October on this cruise. We'll go once and see if we can find anything we like, We're doing it on the first night because I want to be flexible for the Statue of Liberty passing!! I missed it on my CCL Vista Repo cruise because we were in the steakhouse :loudcry:

Thanks so much I just ordered it!!!

Is it correct if you bid and change to a Haven cabin/suite you lose your current perks and don't receive the perks that typically come with a Haven cabin (which is everything that is offered), or any for that matter?

 

We're in a balcony on a future cruise, and are getting UBP and free daily service charge. IF we receive the invitation, and IF it was accepted, does that mean we would no longer get UBP and need to pay the daily service charge (at the higher Haven rate)? ... even though a person booking a Haven cabin/suite on the website would get every perk offered on that day ( no matter how close to sailing).

 

Would REALLY like to hear from one of you who have sailed in a Haven cabin/suite after changing through the bid process, if possible, rather than just a reference to the fine print. We all know what happens in real life on ship can be different that what "it" (whatever "it"is) says.

That is INCORRECT, you keep your perks, but they do not give out additiional perks that might be offered at the time you're upgraded

Nativewaywatersports.com has an amazing Reef, Rays and Rum point excursion. I've done it three times and would do it again. Very nice private tour