winddawn

Since your parents are older and experienced cruisers, I'd recommend Holland America.  HAL is known for impressing older, experienced cruisers.  One of the best benefits I can think of is that HAL offers hot food in-cabin, and in the past I've been able to order from the evening dining room menu to be delivered to my cabin without cost except for tip.  And I could order hot breakfast for room service without charge.  That can be a nice perk for experienced Carnival cruisers who've never had that option.  HAL's atmosphere is more subdued and they tend to attract a different clientele that older cruisers might appreciate (think cooking demonstrations and wine tastings on HAL vs. hairy chest contests on Carnival).  Considering HAL visits mostly the same Caribbean ports that Carnival visits, you might find HAL to be a good match for them, all at a reasonable price.  And unlike Carnival, HAL allows you to stipulate when you book whether you are interested in upgrades after booking.

I applaud the changes and hope Carnival Corporation will continue to seek out ways to be more environmentally friendly.  I also hope this is the beginning of a Carnival Corporation culture change that emphasizes environmental practice proactivity vs. being reactive to financial penalties for environmental violations.  The very fact the penalties occurred is an indication Carnival Corporation suffers from an unhealthy "Tone at the Top" when it comes to company culture toward environmental stewardship.  That is a leadership failure first and foremost that should not occur when you consider how much leadership is paid.  Every CCL shareholder should be concerned about that, as should Carnival Corporation customers.

Thanks everyone for your responses.  That is exactly what I needed to know.  I greatly appreciate the information.

Yes, I know there is a "single smoking thread;" however, I find conflicting information, so I would like to ask for up-to-date information please for those able to contribute only current information.  Please--I'm only inquiring about the status of smoking in HAL's casinos.  Thank you.

The smoking thread references HAL FAQs which states, "Onboard Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam the casinos are non-smoking." 

In HAL's current "Know Before You Go" document, it states, "Designated areas for active slot players in Casinos. Oosterdam, Eurodam and Zuiderdam casinos are completely non-smoking."

So which is correct and current information?  Does anyone have up-to-date information about which HAL casinos are completely smoke-free? 

Thank you!

Reference page 16 in Know Before You Go:  file:///C:/Users/Ro/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/FIYGQ1MB/KBYG.pdf

HAL's FAQ:  https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq.html

7 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

 

You pretty much nailed it down for me.  This new TV listing that is offered is definitely the pits. On our last cruise one of the channels provided us with some 1950's cowboy movies .Boring stuff even though most of it was a NO Signal reception along the Bahamas .  I am curious if it is actually convincing people to book a cruise though. Anyone booking because of the big Carnival Blimp in the sky ?

I'm sure there are plenty of cruisers who couldn't care less about TV channels, but I'm not one of them.  I have a very stressful job that requires I'm up by at least 4 AM.  My body doesn't deviate much from that schedule on vacation.  I enjoy down time on vacation.  After 41 cruises, the same old evening cruise entertainment and cruising wow factors aren't reasons I cruise.  I enjoy some quiet cabin TV time on vacation.  And there's no way I'm going to miss big games during football season.  There are plenty of land-based casinos that offer great game coverage.  

5 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

So can we take it actually made you get on that computer and Book that long delayed 14 month cruise 😁

Hi BoDidly.  Nope.  Not yet.  For the first time today in months I looked at my Carnival casino offers online.  My best offer was some special Premier offer with $1000 casino cash, but I wasn't impressed with the cabin casino rate.  I'm sure there are people out there who would enjoy any casino discount, but the offers I saw did not excite me.  I guess I have a somewhat unique perspective.  I do not enjoy cruising when school is out during the summer months, so I haven't cruised summer in a long time (too many kids for me).  Then Carnival stopped televising main network television on their ships, and I am a football fan.  So I've avoided Carnival since that change because many football games are not televised during football season.  That leaves a pretty small window for me.  The planets haven't aligned lately to entice me to book.  I've cruised 41 times, mostly on Carnival, but I've been spending my vacation cash other places since the changes.  I'll check in once in a while to see what's available, but until I see an offer that meets my needs, I'll be spending my vacation dollars elsewhere.

5 minutes ago, Thorncroft said:

 

My wife was not a fan of the Blues.  We were watching them practice the day before their show on the beach in Biloxi. LOL

The Blue Angels are like royalty in Middle Tennessee.  From my house, I saw the smoke plume where Blue Angels' Captain Jeff Kuss crashed in 2016.  A permanent memorial is now in place.  It's much more somber than the Carnival "Choose Fun" Air Ship I saw today in the same area.  I say to anyone who has never seen the Blue Angels perform, go see them perform if you have the opportunity.  (But yes, you may want to bring earplugs.)  Thanks for sharing, Thorncroft.

1 minute ago, BoDidly said:

Coming to a town near you ! 😲

It is fun to watch.  Carnival's Air Ship ended up flying over and around my neighborhood for several hours this morning.  I enjoy watching air traffic living close to a small airport and growing up in the Air Force.  The Blue Angels are coming in June.  My house is right in their flight path during their air show so I get a free front row seat in front of my house. 

2 hours ago, trudster57 said:

It was out in Vegas last month around Valentine's. It showed a couple getting married and riding on it afterwards. It was too far for me to take a picture.

I saw a post about that on one of Carnival's social media sites as I was researching what it was this morning.  I had never heard about it before today.  Watching it I found it interesting they roll it side to side so people below can better see the writing on the sides.  I was thinking that would make me sea sick (pun intended) if I was onboard!

4 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

 

Heald B😈y knows !  🤣

Prolly so, BoDidly!  #Choose Fun.

I think it's stalking me since I haven't taken a Carnival cruise in 14 months.  Lol.  It just made it's sixth pass over my neighborhood.

Carnival's "Choose Fun" Air Ship just flew over my house.  What a surprise!  I live in Middle Tennessee.  Has anyone else seen this blimp as it makes it's way around the country on it's advertising campaign?  It was pretty loud--loud enough that it made me get up to look out the window to see what it was.  I'm accustomed to hearing air traffic because I live near a small airport, so normally I don't even pay attention.  I didn't have my phone with me at the time to get a photo.

Although I'm almost Diamond, I haven't cruised Carnival in over a year because of the changes the brand has undergone.  Can recent Carnival cruisers please tell me whether Carnival still does not carry ABC, NBC, CBS TV channels in cabins?  I'd like to know before I make my vacation plans this year.  Thanks.

You have to order during 'ordering window' but can request delivery at anytime during which MDR is open and serving dinner.

Where would I learn of the ordering window? TIA. I've actually done this in the past, but wasn't aware there was a window.

I hope this is available on all ships if Sunday is a sea day (because my next cruise has that). That brunch menu looks delicious!

As you can see from my screen name, I am a huge NY Giants football fan. We are boarding the Pride on Sunday, Oct 28, where the Giants are playing the Redskins at 1:00. The ship doesn't depart until 4, so will they have any games on the TV's before we leave? like, even in the sports bar? I have been told yes and no, so does anyone have an idea?

 

 

Cheers

Len

Since Carnival Corp (notice I said Corp and not just the Carnival brand) dropped carrying local networks on their ships last year, availability of college and NFL football games is very, very limited. They might show a select game on a small screen in a bar at certain select times of their choosing, but otherwise college and NFL games are not available on Carnival Corp ships. After Carnival ships stopped carrying local networks last year, I sailed on a couple Carnival ships and nationally televised NFL games were only available in one bar on small screens and it was so packed, you couldn't even get close enough to the screen to see the game, much less find an available chair to sit down and enjoy the game. If you're a serious fan, stay home and enjoy your college or NFL game. You'll likely otherwise be disappointed once onboard a Carnival Corp ship during American football season.

That change came around this time last year. The sports bars, casino bar, and red frog pub seem to have cable sports channels such as ESPN, FS1, and SEC Network. So you would be able to get a good bit of college football and Monday night football...but they got rid of the networks stations so I don't know how they would be able to get the Sunday NFL games unless they have some international channel that shows it.

Wow. I've never seen SEC network on a Carnival Corp branded ship, before or after they stopped offering network TV channels. And I've been on a lot of Carnival Corp branded ships.

We loved the Horizon... but no network TV (CBS , NBC and ABC)? Really Carnival?

You'll find this fleet-wide. Head's up to football/sports fans as your season approaches. Poor decision on Carnival Corp's part IMO. I had a free (casino) cruise that I was supposed to be on this week, but cancelled because NFL pre-season kicks off this week. I got off a New Year's cruise last January and have not set foot onboard since. That's a first for me in a couple decades. I do not like this change.

In spite of all the negative feedback, I appreciate the OP sharing the head's up. I agree if I had spent extra for certain benefits, I'd be disappointed if others were allowed the same benefits for free. I value this this type of first-hand information before I spend my vacation dollars. Carnival is infamous for not enforcing their own rules, so this doesn't seem out of the ordinary for them.

Thanks to the OP for the information.

Looking to try a new sailing time. DH would like to take off work during the week of Christmas and this is something we have to finalize this year because he has to put his request in at the end of the year for next year. How was it sailing during that week for you? Kids are not a problem because they are young adults 23/19.

Yes! It's great to get away that week because you can walk away from the holiday stress, with excitement instead, and know you've got a week of fun in front of you. You can leave the holiday decorating and cooking to someone else. Be aware though the ship demographic will be lots of families (so more kids). I had a tradition for years of cruising over Christmas and loved it.

P.S. It's also a great excuse to get away from certain holiday obligations you otherwise dread. You can define that for yourself and your situation. Have fun instead. Go download, "All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan" by Kenny Chesney, book that cruise, and have fun anticipating the holiday for a change!

Best wishes for a great holiday cruise!

Same story. Different ship. Most know by now if you want a lounge chair by the pool or on Lido, you have to sleep on deck. Then when the sun comes up, just leave your towel behind and get on with your day. Then you can come and go as you please with guaranteed real estate.

Regardless of which line you choose, my recommendation is to avoid the end of June, all of July and almost all of August (the last week might be okay).

 

Kids are out of school so many of the 3rd and 4th (even 5th) berths are filled putting the ships close to, or at, capacity. This leads to more people on the ship, and more crowded areas - especially areas like the buffet and early dining.

This is great advice IMO. Obviously there are more kids onboard during summer months when school is out, but the less obvious is what meatloafsfan stated. Higher occupancy cabins are much more likely to be full during summer resulting in ships being more crowded. That's a double whammy--more people AND more kids. And for serious football fans, football season has become off-limits since Carnival dropped ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX TV stations. It's becoming more difficult to cruise Carnival.

Have you done any research yet to narrow your Florida departure options? Consider the following factors based on research using your specific preferences such as departure airport preference, availability and cost of direct flights (which reduces vacation hassle factor), how you like to spend your time pre and post cruise, distance from arrival airport to the port, and which ports of call you'd prefer to visit. For example, FLL and MIA are pretty close to the cruise ports while MCO can be nearly an hour to the port based on traffic. Thus, airport transfers for MCO are more expensive and time consuming. JAX is very customer friendly but cruise ship/itinerary options from there are limited. Personally I don't care for TPA airport because I don't think its very passenger friendly.

You might want to visit the Florida departures board here on CC for specific suggestions and information. There's a ton of information available there that could help you focus to make your decision.

You can look up their numbers on Carnivals website although they cannot have profiles unless they are at least 13. I just keep my daughters number on my phone and when I book a cruise I add it to the booking. I forgot to do that in July and boy was my 6 year old miffed that she got a blue card!! [emoji23]

It's a shame Carnival places this burden on customers. IMHO Carnival should remember and recognize every passenger based on their cruise history without placing a burden on parents for recognition of their minor children <=13 years of age.

So are you saying that you can't adjust the thermostat in Carnival cabins?

You can move the thermostat, but it is not uncommon to keep it at the lowest setting during your entire cruise and it can remain too warm to sleep comfortably during your entire cruise.