Richjoxyz

Yes, they are frightening.

The first thing I do after I board is go see the maître d when they open. I explain my allergies and they take it very seriously and it works very well for the dining room.

The waiter will confirm who has the allergies when he first meets you. This is how you will know the info got passed on to him. If he doesn't confirm, bring it up and make sure he knows.

The buffet is more difficult. I have asked buffet servers if something has this or that and they will answer, sometimes incorrectly. The only way to know for sure is to talk to the Head Chef for the buffet. The food changes each day so finding him each day is difficult.

I have learned what is safe, and what might have the offending nut or seed, so I just wing it in the buffet, but I avoid anything that might have a possibility of affecting me.

For example, many pasties use almond flower, so now I just avoid them altogether. I know I can eat soft serve, so that is my go too desert. and melting cake every night in the dining room. They haven't killed me yet!

I developed a food allergy to sunflower seeds and almonds in my early 50s (55 now).

Inform the maître d on the first day. Each night your waiter will provide the next days menu to enable her to select her choices. They will prepare her dish specifically without the offending nut or seed. This is fun because everyone will want to look at " tomorrows" menu!

Your on your own at the buffet.

As you may already know, Indian food uses cashews in the sauces sometimes.

Clip your wet shorts to the toilet seat and press flush for a quick "Air Dry"!:D

We unpack our suitcases, then take everything out of the fridge and place in one of the suitcases. We slide suitcases under the bed never to be seen for the week. This frees up the fridge for our water, wine and soda. When it's time to pack, place everything back in the fridge.

Plastic bags for dirty clothes.

The rule of two for packing:

two shoes, two shorts, two polo shirts, two Tommy Bahama shirts, two t-shirts, etc.

We are platinum and enjoy Carnival. (We enjoy other cruise lines also!)

What Can Carnival do to improve? I'll start:

The Taste Bar is usually unused. If they are going to have a "Taste Bar", I would like to see some food when I walk by, not an empty closed bar.

I like the "Free Drink" appreciation events and would like to see more of that. On Christmas Cruises they give out free champagne for the first couple hours upon boarding. Taking these events away takes away a little of the fun.

Upgrade the food in the buffet. (Take a hint from Holland America.)

Anyone else?

Great! We booked Main Deck near the front elevators. We can go up one deck to go outside!

hmm...these could be sent to Carnival to get one step closer to Diamond!

I was informed by my TA that Ocean View cabins are larger than the Balcony cabins. Is this true?

She said:

Balcony cabins are 185 square feet with a 35 square foot balcony.

OV cabins are 220 Square feet.

Same total size, just that the OV does not have a balcony.

Thanks for the responses. I've made up my mind to take them and try them out. Going to live on the wild side!:D

I prefer a cup.

For beer?

I am Platinum and have six Tervis Tumblers that were given as Platinum cruiser gifts from previous cruises.

We never used them, and they are still in the original packaging. I am thinking about taking a couple for our upcoming B2B and use to keep beer cold. My wife said they are overrated and not to bother.

Should I take them, or are they overrated?

Just do it!! You have too!

I guaranty on the last night of the first week you will be saying "THANK GOODNESS WE GET TO STAY ON!', even if it is in an interior. Just imagine getting off instead.

We always use the same TA . They don't discount the rate, but they offer additional on-board credit.

We have a B2B coming up that is booked ES. We received the lower price three different times including the additional Carnival OBC just as if we were booked with Carnival. In fact we didn't have to mess with any forms or deal with rejection emails. We just called the TA and stayed on the line while they handled it. We ALSO get an additional $200 OBC direct from the TA!

$200 is worth using a TA. It is a large TA with 24 hour phones. We have never had a problem with over ten cruises booked with them. Each time we get the extra OBC.

The solution is to book a B2B. This equalizes time. Two cruising days = one waiting day.

I have a B2B booked on Liberty and selected a lower deck OV forward due to a great price. I had two choices at that price, forward or aft. I prefer forward over aft when down low. The aft has a mechanical vibration that I don't like. Forward is a smoother motion, but there can be more motion if the weather is rough.

Any cabin on a cruise is a good cabin IMO, and the differences between cabin ratings is a bit overrated IMO because we don't spend much time in the cabin.

It's a perfectly good cabin, and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!

That's good to know, thank you.

We have an OV cabin on Riviera Deck Forward above the ship gangway door. Is this a noisy area? Is it noisy when they roll out the gangways? Will we hear the "bong" all day from guests leaving and returning? We are in 1266.

We've been in cabins near the theater. The shows usually end by 11, and we are out until 11 or later. If we're not out, it's because we're VERY tired, so the thump, thump doesn't bother us that much when we are dead to the world.

The same itinerary can be fun on a B2B. So relaxing. Each Island is familiar when going back the second time.

Example, we went to Antigua and it was raining. We went to Valley Church Beach anyway because I wanted to see it. The next week when we were there, it was sunny and awesome. I am glad we saw it twice, both experiences were memorable. I remember thinking to myself..."I'm glad we are coming back next week"!

Congrats!

We are sailing on the Liberty 12/13/14 and 12/20/14.

What are yo looking forward too the most?

We use OBC for the following:

Tips and Gratuities

Steak House

Carnival Shore Excursions

Massage

Booked ES for our B2B through a TA. Called TA three times due to price drops:

First time: upgraded to OV from interior on both cruises, AND got $75 OBC.

Second time: Got $180 more OBC

Third time: Got $100 more OBC

Saved $355 so far and upgraded to OV from interior.

TA did all the talking to Carnival rep each time, I just sat on hold and kept telling them they were wrong until they finally found the price I was looking at on the Carnival website!

The price drop is nice, but we are B2B with the same room. Not willing to go into a Guaranty and have to move on turn around day.

So far we have moved from an inside to an OV and picked up $175 OBC due to ES.

Waiting to see what the next sale will be.

I will take a lounge chair over a hammock. I can not ever get comfortable in a hammock.

However, I agree that on HMC, a private island for the guests of Carnival, the hammocks should be reserved for paying guests. JMO

Check the weather in Aruba (ABC Islands). We were there during Christmas and it was cloudy and rainy. I spoke with the "Information" girls at the port info kiosk and they said it was always like that every year.

I love that area but will never return during Christmas. Not sure if Thanksgiving will be okay, but that is pretty close to Christmas.