Itried4498

Almost 40% of the Navigator’s weeks are spent doing the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary, with most all the rest splitting 3/4 day Ensenada trips. We’ve done two 7-day so far - one last year and one earlier this year. The 3d does welcome show comedy- Showgirls production show - goodbye show comedy. The 4d adds Love and Marriage between Showgirls and the goodbye show comedy. The entertainment program on the 7-day was welcome comedy - Showgirls production - Love and Marriage - welcome comedy show encore - - Showgirls production encore - Boys vs Girls PG early / goodbye comedy R late - goodbye comedy PG / Boys vs Girls R. On the 3/4-day, the Bore vs. Girls is held where the ice shaking show is. In other words… the 7d had an identical entertainment program. On our second 7d, the Showgirls encore was replaced with the house band playing various songs while the Showgirls dancers danced. I’ve written before that Showgirls is the worst production show I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship, and when they danced with the house band, inviting the audience up, it was painfully obvious they didn’t want to be there. I will be on another 7d in a few weeks, so I will see if things changed. Meanwhile, the Radiance had three production shows that rotate + at least two comedians. And the Panorama has four production shows… that doesn’t include the Welcome Aboard show which is universal on Carnival and includes a small production show. The Panorama also has at least four comedians. I’m sure the Oasis-class has better entertainment, but RCL charges a hefty premium for these ships. Most itineraries on the Wonder vs. the Mariner of the Seas are double, even though itineraries are similar.

Navigator has one production show and one ice skating show. That’s fine when it does weekend cruises, not when it does weeklong cruises. Unless you’re on the Oasis class, Carnival outshines here.

I’ll point out that the cutbacks on RCL over the past year are far more noticeable than Carnival. We did our first RCL cruise early last summer on the Navigator. COVID restrictions were in place and the ship was sailing half-full. By end of year, restrictions were lifted and the ship was complete full. Yet when the ship was half full they managed to keep all buffet areas open on sea days yet by year end most remained closed. They also eliminated the giant desserts from the buffet. Nor did I notice any material difference in food choices or quality. At least Carnival has Guy’s. Royal charges more for Johnny Rockets than my local SoCal Johnny Rockets does. Ouch. Some Carnival ships have better food options just like some RCL. Both are more similar than dislike.

Weather conditions on the Pacific will always feel cooler and rougher for a multitude of reasons. Everybody has a different tolerance to the weather - there will be plenty of people sunbathing and enjoying the pools and there will be plenty of people bundled up. Princess is doing more Mexican Rivera itineraries than ever before from LA. They’re currently using their newest ship. It outclasses the Panorama in every way but it doesn’t have the children’s amenities. Princess also charges significantly more than Carnival - they often won’t book more than two people, and often when they do the fare is double that of the first two passengers making it more economical to book two cabins. That said, you can score great deals (often last minute) if you’re aggressive. Earlier this year we booked a cabin for three for about $1500 all-in on a glitch that enabled us to select a suite for the lowest interior fare. Princess wouldn’t honor that suite, but they did give us a mini suite. RCL and NCL also do the same route. RCL uses an older ship but I prefer it to the Panorama (although Panorama has slightly larger cabins). Easily the best pool deck at sea, including the two best water slides. I haven’t done NCL yet but they use their newer ships and manage to squeeze a fourth port in. Unfortunately it’s Ensenada. NCL is doing fewer trips than it has in recent years — typically the ships spend May - Sep doing Alaska and the rest in LA but they’re doing mostly Florida runs in 2024 and 2025. Holland and Disney also offer similar itineraries from San Diego. Disney’s pretty much down to Spring Break runs only, which isn’t surprising given they were the lowest priced itineraries in their network.

The first and last sea day can be chilly - cool, windy or both - year-round. Often to the point that the “water park” is closed down. Obviously the weather is hit-or-miss and unpredictable these days. That doesn’t mean you won’t have fun — as a local to the Long Beach area, I’ve done the so-called Mexican Rivera at least once a year since 2000 (and typically several times per year) and have always had a great time. That said… if daily enjoyment of the pool deck is a must, then stick with a Caribbean / Bahamas itinerary to avoid potential disappointment. There’s a reason why LA-based itineraries cost less in the winter ;). Remember that the Panorama is moving at/ near max speed the first and last day, which can make weather conditions feel more uncomfortable that what they really are. Most Caribbean / Bahamas itineraries speed more time at port, and travel much more slowly when at sea.

AMEX offers are generally targeted. I’ve purchased Carnival and RCL cruises with my card, and now all I get is NCL (I’ve never done an NCL cruise). So very much a YMMV.

Update: It's back, it's probably close to a sell out, as speculated. Still frustrated it's not loading! Thank you everyone!

Thank you for all of the replies. The websites that had this cruise have completely scrubbed it, so something is definitely going on. Neither RCL nor my travel agent is being helpful. Super agitated because we were trying to decide between this and Carnival's Panorama (same itinerary, departing the next day) and the latter's price has nearly doubled since we booked this. If it is cancelled, hopefully RCL will allow me to move it a month over even though that cruise is priced higher. Last year, they cancelled the same cruise we scheduled for a chartered gay cruise... wonder if lighting struck twice. Thanks again!

Hi! A couple weeks ago we booked the Navigator of the Seas sailing for August 25th (7-day Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles). The itinerary is still not showing up in my online account so I contacted them and they referred me to e-mail tech support. I still have not received a response, but I've since noticed that this itinerary does not show up on RCL's or many other websites. Via my travel agent's website it will not allow me to book 2 or 3 guest but it did allow me to book 4. So now I'm starting to think the booking was a glitch and this itinerary has been cancelled. My travel agent has been of no help. Anyone have any intel?

I concur that this is an excellent post. Every single mommy blog will say you should arrive at least the evening before the cruise. As I wrote earlier, what most people don't realize is that when you encounter flight irregularities, the airline's sole responsibility is to get you on the next available flight. So if your cruise is on Saturday, Dec. 24th and your flight on Friday, Dec. 23rd is cancelled, that next available flight may be Sunday, Dec. 25 - after your cruise. Arriving the evening before will provide a buffer and may yield more options, but it's not the insurance policy it's made out to be. The percentage of flights that are severely delayed or cancelled is small - and most of them derive from poor weather or are concentrated to/from congested airports. So yes, if you're traveling direct from NYC, then you may feel better arriving the evening before. But if you're traveling direct from Des Moines in the summer, a well-timed flight (e.g. early morning departure scheduled to arrive several hours before last call) is extremely unlikely to cause problems.

It's not so much the sea conditions but rather the overall weather conditions. For a multitude of reasons, the Northbound trip can be very chilly year-round, even the summer months, especially between Baja and Los Angeles. You'll see lots of people sunbathing but you'll see just as many hibernating inside. Just depends on who you are.

It'll be "business as usual" onboard. The entertainment program may be a bit lighter, and headlining events are generally not scheduled on late nights. Production show staff will be given one or both nights off. Retail shops and the casino are always closed while Carnival is in-port.

Because most people have limited time off & limited budgets. Leaving the night before a cruise may yield a buffer but it is not the insurance policy most people believe it to be. If your flight is cancelled, regardless of the reason, the airline will book you on the next available flight. That next available flight may not arrive at your destination in time for you to board the ship. And I'd bet the percentage of Carnival ships that arrive into port on-time is well into the 90s. And the percentage that arrive within 2 hours is probably near 100. I've been on dozens of cruises and only a handful have been late, and all arrived within two hours. I would never stay overnight at port or schedule a flight that required me to spend 4+ hours at the airport. Even if I miss a flight one day, I will still have saved hundreds of hours over the years.

Yup. On one of my cruises last year (Panorama), a group of females got upset that it was taking too long to get their pizza (in the middle of the night, mind you) and started throwing things at the employees who were cooking. Security told them to go to their rooms and calm down or risk being removed at PV and having to get back home at their own expense. I never saw those women the next five days and I saw a lot of them the first two.

I’ve been on many more cruises than you and I have never witnessed this behavior. And I love people watching, so l wouldn’t mind seeing it :). I have seen rowdy behavior amongst adults, which is inevitable when you mix large amounts of alcohol with weekend cruises and/ or cheap pricing. But never anything destructive and quite honestly, I feel people should have their fun if they want and don’t impede on other passengers.

The common theme with "everything was HORRIBLE, the food was totally inedible, etc." postings is that the author had a negative preconceived notion against Carnival. Notice how all these postings are accompanied by 'I normally travel XXX and wouldn't normally travel Carnival but... [we got a great deal, somebody else picked the cruise, etc.]' Reality is, because of their negative preconceived notion, they're never going to be satisfied - even if it was the best cruise they took. I'm dealing with a similar situation with my wife: we would yield a significant savings by switching from AT&T to T-Mobile but she was opposed to the move mainly because she believed (to put simply) people of lower status use T-Mobile. Several months and several hundred dollar savings later, I'm happy with the move and haven't noticed any material difference in service (each has their weak spots), but she complains and complains and declared today she's opening up her own AT&T account. Absolutely nothing will satisfy her because of her ridiculous preconceived notion. Carnival is not for everybody. As I wrote before (and got attacked for writing), its product is underwhelming in many areas compared to the competition. But it's a great value. Just as Denny's is a good & satisfying but underwhelming meal (but a great value).

In fairness, historical arrival times on the Panorama are fairly consistent and the disembarkation process is slow regardless of the ship. It's all good -- the vast majority of passengers on ships leaving Long Beach (and LA & SD) are local and those with flights generally won't have any problem leaving the ship early, even with baggage. I live in South Orange County and can get to/from the port in less than an hour so I'm never in a hurry. On the Panorama, we can enjoy a nice breakfast or sleep in, leave the room late (9AM) and often grab a meal at Guy's before leaving. Definitely can't complain. And the Firenze isn't replacing the Panorama. Instead of doing straight 7-night PV/Mazatlán/Cabo trips, the Panorama will be doing a mix of those 7-nights plus 8-nights that add La Paz and 6-night Cabo/Cabo/Ensenada. The Radiance will no longer be doing 4 day week Catalina/Ensenada and 3 day weekend Ensenada but instead doing a mixture of 4 day Catalina/Ensenada, 5 day Cabo/Cabo and Cabo/Ensenada and (in less frequency) 6 day Cabo/Cabo/Ensenada. The Firenze will be doing the same itineraries in rotation. Probably a way to eliminate the 4-day M-F Catalina/Ensenada trips, which have often been the lowest priced trips in the Carnival network since the restart. Carnival's been offering these for over 40 years, so end of an era. The Radiance of course will be doing the Hawaii trip as well.

Much easier, but Carnival isn't as advanced as the rest of industry where literally everything is done and reviewed in advance. For example, on Princess, if you get your Medallion before the cruise, if you complete the online check-in, you walk onto the ship with the crew quickly glancing at your passport (or equivalent docs). Carnival re-reviews everything, takes your picture, etc. Long Beach isn't a purpose built cruise terminal, and at peak arrival time, lines will stretch outside in the brutal SoCal sunshine and you can feel the anxiousness.

Last October, the cabin steward took our dirty towels but did not replace them; we were subsequently charged $40. I bet the price has since risen to $25. So if you want a towel and the one in your room is in good condition, just take it and you'll be billed.

Would your cruise have been better if David Letterman was the Godfather?

If Celestial Strings was the highlight of your trip, you must've been on the cruise from hell.

Great move for a cruise line looking to appeal to younger guests! Maybe he'll bring the Dancing Itos.

Turning a ship around is always a tight process, and they did it in three less hours. Carnival employees may be amazing, but they had no time to clean up a mess. Thankfully, there was no mess to clean up.

Are you flying into LAX? If so, you'll find your best deals on property near the airport. Most properties include a free shuttle to/from the airport and you shouldn't have much trouble getting an Uber/ Lyft for a reasonable fare the next morning. The drawback is there isn't much to do by the airport although there's plenty of restaurants -- if none you like near your hotel, most all deliver via Postmates, etc. This forum loves to recommend making the journey to Long Beach, but you'll pay at least $100 more, so if you're looking to rest and not go out, pocket the cash and stay near LAX.

Were they attempting to bring on a large quantity? I'm sure it's YMMV and some Carnival staff will "follow the rules," but in nearly 25 years of cruising we've brought hundreds of bottles onboard from a port stop and have never been told once we couldn't. Probably because it's low quantity. Heck, one week last summer Vons stores had 24packs of water for 97 cents, surprisingly including the Vons on Catalina Island. Numerous passengers were lugging it back onboard and not one was stopped...