TravelBluebird

Wait, really? Doesn’t that create a huge bottleneck at the port?

This is totally me for my Wonder cruise next week. I’m used to Carnival where check in is 14 or 16 days before the cruise, so 30 days before, I go to see when check in is. HA. When check in WAS. I got a 1:30 check in time, the absolute latest I’ve ever boarded a ship. Good thing I’m staying at a Marriott where I can get a late check-out. I have now lived and learned and won’t make that mistake again.

Well, I have lots of good things to say about the Venezia, both on the LIVE Blog I did here: AND also on my review of the ship on YouTube -

I know—it’s like a law, 3 games no mater what line you cruise on! And, with all those people, the games go SO fast!

Ugh; I was hoping that Bingo would be cheaper than on Carnival. Evidently not. Plus, on the larger ships, SO many people play and the chances of winning are less than on the smaller ships, I might just pass on Bingo on Wonder next week.

Just officially became a Tropical Storm—Tropical Storm Ophelia

Yikes, that tropical storm sort of came out of nowhere! I’m sorry for everyone who’s cruise has been effected by it. I’m warily watching the tropical forcast (see photo) because that disturbance out in the Atlantic looks like it might be trouble for my Wonder Eastern Caribbean cruise that leaves next Sunday. Fingers crossed it doesn’t develop or heads out to the open Atlantic.

I’m trying to look at it like this: Leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Hopefully less crowded at the port at that boarding time. Maybe can drop my carry on right off at my room if the rooms are ready. So, only downside to me was perhaps being late for the UDP reservations, but this thread is making me feel a little better about that. You have a GREAT cruise too!

Thanks! I’m so used to boarding early with Carnival that I saw 1:30 and got unduly stressed out about it!

That is good to know! We are going out with a very full ship, BUT I actually like late dining times, so I should be OK (I’m perfectly happy to eat at 8pm—I’m a total night owl).

Also, I have one big question—I purchased the Unlimited Dining Plan for my cruise. BUT, because I didn’t know check-in was so far in advance of the cruise, I’m not boarding till 1:30pm. Will I be able to get reservations for all the restaurants I want (Chooped, Izumi, 150 Central Park, Hooked, etc) boarding so late? I really hate that I can’t make any reservations for the UDP until I board.

I just wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been on Cruise Critic a long time, I LOVE to cruise and have been cruising for 30 years, and somehow have NEVER cruised on Royal Caribbean! For my first Royal trip I’ve chosen Wonder of the Seas. I wanted to try the biggest and the newest out there, since I’m very fond of the Excel class of ships on Carnival. Next week a couple days before my Wonder cruise, I’ll be starting my LIVE! thread—I’ve done LIVES here on Cruise Critic on The Carnival Mardi Gras (2x), a Carnival Spirit Panama Canal Trip (which turned into a medical evacuation), the maiden voyage of the Carnival Venezia, and the Celebrity Equinox. My LIVE! threads tend to be blog-like, so prose along with the photos. I put my videos from the trip on my YouTube Channel, Cruising With Dee. Please let me know what you all are most interested in seeing on my LIVE Blog! Also, would LOVE to know, as a most frequent Carnival Cruiser, what you think I especially might like//shouldn’t miss. One thing that has been a SHOCK to me about Royal vs. Carnival is how much pre-planning needs to be done for a Royal Caribbean cruise, and how far in advance you need to do some of those things. I’ve done my first Royal Caribbean video on my channel about that, which includes some of the mistakes I’ve made: Sorry that shows up so darn big in the post—I have no control over that! I’m excited to be embarking on this journey with y’all (I”m from Tennessee, can you tell?). Also I have a wary eye looking at the tropical forcast for the area—I’m well aware that I’m cruising during hurricane season, but I’ve rolled those dice before and won. Hope to see you all on my LIVE! Blog, and I’m excited to be here!

Phew; I thought it was just me. Hope it comes back up shortly!

When we did the brunch, staff came around and asked us what time we’d like during sail away in the Terrazza outdoor area; other friends received a call in their room to schedule the brunch. It was on a sea day.

They definitely had it on the Venezia TransAtlantic. It was expensive (I can’t remember the amount right now) but since we had done it twice before on Carnival ships and photos were not allowed, we decided not to go.

OK; if you just got here and don’t want to read through this long thread, or just want to see what my full thoughts were on the ship, finally here is my full review:

Yes, I stayed in the Terrazza Carivale area, in a Terrazza Cabana, and I absolutely loved it! This video has both a room and cabana tour plus a tour of the Carnivale area including the bar:

I’ve upgraded several times on Carnival; usually (for me) I’ve seen the offers anywhere from 30 to 60 days before my cruise. I’ve seen it via both email and in my Cruise Planner. You have to be quick sometimes because they’ll send the offer to several people, so someone who sees it faster than you can get it before you can.

Carnival is doing the quick “E Muster” where you go to your designated Muster Station after you board and before sailing (the earlier the better) where they will demonstrate how to put on a life jacket. By going to your Muster station physically, you know where to go if there is an emergency. Before sailing, the captain will demonstrate to the entire ship the distress signal on the ship horn. There is also a video you can watch in your stateroom, but Carnival doesn’t require the video to fulfill your E-Muster requirement.

The Transatlantic cruise had much different weather than a Caribbean cruise; much cooler, so it wasn’t a problem for us. A small bit of advice—most people on the boards here read many of the threads, so there is no need to ask in multiple threats for people to contact Carnival regarding the warm temperatures in the ship. If you are on Twitter, perhaps one post would be more useful//set your mind at ease that Carnival is aware of the problem—, be sure to include an “at’ Carnival in your post; you’ll get their attention directly that way.

That is awful! At least our last name is short so we don’t have that extra problem.

I played trivia once on board a Carnival ship, but I can’t stand cheaters so I never went back. Just not my thing.

We have an extra capital letter and a space in our last name. To add to the confusion, my husband has a 2-part middle name, also with a capitalized letter. We’ve had all sorts of trouble with computers and spellings of names while traveling..sometimes we are filed under the second part of our last name, etc, but I’ve never had problems with Carnival.

And it was very good too; added some much-needed variety to the Marketplace buffet offerings.

I really dislike the claw game. Like @RiotAct we LOVED the earlier version of the coin pusher game. Was so much fun; never won a ton, but never lost a ton either. DIdn’t like the newer version.