ChuckF

Due to limited seating in the trivia venue, my wife and I often offer chairs at our table to other passengers. Inviting them to play along with us is a great way to meet people on the cruise. One cruise, we met two other couples that we would routinely join up with for trivia. We never won, but it made our cruise a lot more enjoyable.

Based on the menu at the link above, it shows elegant nights as Night 2 and Night 5.

Try this site: https://profcruise.com/carnival-menus-2023/ They have menus for a variety of cruise durations.

In Barbados several years ago, went on a non-ship tour to the Mount Gay Rum factory for a tour, lunch and rum-tasting. Pretty interesting with good food and a variety of rums, including their top of the line.

Sorry to hear about your son's illness, but glad that the situation was handled and you enjoyed the rest of the cruise. Getting on the Magic in about 2 weeks. Good to hear everything else was good.

Looking at a European cruise on Norwegian, and wondering about their airline offer. When they book your airline travel to Europe, do they use reputable carriers? Just a little curious. Looking at Houston to Athens. Thanks.

On our last cruise, we had to talk to steakhouse management to get any insight into our Chef's Table scheduling. Don't be surprised if Guest Services sends you to the steakhouse as they seem responsible for scheduling guests to the Chef's Table.

We did Chef's table on a recent Journey's cruise, and discovered that the assignments are managed by the steakhouse. So, it might be a good idea to drop by the steakhouse and talk to the manager. They can probably tell you which night you are assigned.

Going on Magic in a few weeks. What if you don't play slots? Do they give you chips, or a voucher to redeem for chips at a table?

My experience on this class of ship (albeit limited) has been that the SkyBox Sports Bar on Deck 2 is almost always empty. Would like to see them get rid of this and either expand the Red Frog Pub or add a specialty dining option. Don't want to see them get rid of the Red Frog Pub as that is the only venue for a band to play. Or, at least the only venue where I've seen it offered.

Great to hear. Getting on Magic in April.

I think they also have some different sea day activities. We took our first Journeys cruise this past October and they had ballroom dancing instructors holding 2 classes per sea day. It was a lot of fun.

We did the Panama Canal excursion out of Colon, and actually think it was more insightful going through the locks on a smaller vessel than going through on a cruise ship. And with the guides, more informative. But it is definitely a "been there, done that" sort of experience.

Absolutely verify the Daylight Savings Time. I missed out on a golf game in Cabo last March because of a 2 hour time difference. Fortunately I recognized the issue the day before so I was able to call and cancel without penalty. Guest Services staff on the Miracle were very helpful.

Not sure when the Vista is going into dry-dock, but I would not get on Vista until they fix their propulsion issues.

The Ocean Plaza is a very roomy, open area used for daytime trivia (and other) games and at night live music fills the air. Especially when the rock band is playing. It's right next to the Alchemy Bar, so it's easy to get really good drinks. We love the bands and enjoy the dance floor tremendously. It's been a while since I've been on the conquest style ships so not real sure how it compares. But in my memory, the musical venues on those ships was never as lively as an Ocean Plaza.

With limited staff, the crew has less time to go on shore during port days. Last cruise we asked steward and wait staff if they needed anything while we were out at Cozumel. They all wanted Doritos. Go figure.

If you've never been on a Dream class ship, the Ocean Plaza is a happening spot day and night.

Love them all. Had cherry on our Journey's cruise back in October.

I always play at the Black Pearl, and to my knowledge is the only course. Pre-pandemic it was beautiful. Maintenance fell off during the pandemic and it changed hands a couple of times. I played it early 2022 when we returned to cruising and it needed work, but layout was still intriguing. Picture is one of my favorite holes. The beach club is a great hangout as well. My wife would go along and purchase a day pass for roughly $20 and hangout at the pool/beach while I played, and then we would eat lunch. When I went a little over a year ago, the poolside restaurant was not open.

Thanks to all. This is great insight.

Got a good offer for a balcony cabin for a cruise on the Pride. As I looked into it, the price quoted was for an obstructed view balcony on Deck 5. When I look at the Deck Plans, it looks like I might be looking out directly at the lifeboats. Would appreciate hearing comments, or preferably seeing a picture, from someone who has, or is, in a similar deck 5 balcony cabin on a Spirit class ship. Thanks.

Lunch on Carnival is better. Dinner on Celebrity is better. But for all that time when you're not eating, Carnival is much better, IMHO. More activities, more things to do, more interaction with guests and crew. It truly is the "Fun Ship". If your ideal cruise is sitting on the deck reading a book and being left totally alone, then Celebrity may be the line for you.

Don't play the pass line, especially at 2x odds. Place the 6 and 8 for $30 each. When one of them hits, drop your bets to $12 each. At this point you've made an $11 profit on the roll and you can start expanding if the numbers hit again. The combination of 6 and 8 have a 10/36 chance of hitting while 7 has a 6/36 chance of rolling. There certainly is a level of risk until that first number hits, and it takes some time to come back from a $60 loss, but hopefully statistics will balance out in the end. If it's a $5 table and you want to be more conservative, start with $18 bets and drop to $6 when a 6 or 8 hits.

Dream in October had $10 craps table. Despite other cruisers who cruise pretty regularly telling them that they were just on the Breeze or the Vista with $5 craps table. Dealers indicated that $10 was fleet-wide. There were several $6 BJ tables.