CarnivalShips480

I think John said once that they were making a new website for it but something was holding it up. Someone should ask again though.

Does anyone have great names for a new build? They could always use former ship names of course. Not sure when the Fantasy class names will be eligible for new ships. Anyway, ideas?

17 minutes ago, slavens_09 said:

Do you guys think the Jubilee will be the last XL class ship built for Carnival? 
 

I’m thinking that it will be. I think they will try to come up with something that is closer to matching Icon of the Seas. 
 

Thoughts?

I think it will be a new class. The Carnival Corp CEO said there wouldn't be any newbuilds after these (Jubilee -2023, Seabourn Pursuit -2023 Queen Anne -2024, Sun Princess -2024, Sphere 2 -2025) until at least 2027, and that's stretching it. From there it will have been 4-5 years since Jubilee and 7-8 years since Mardi Gras so I think the next new build would be a new class.

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I'm not sure Spirit is returning to Mobile. The Spirit repo to Alaska is from Tampa.

I think its because of bigger airports than Mobile

On 2/14/2023 at 9:30 PM, Tapi said:

Good morning! We just got off the ship 2 hours ago with a few observations to share with this community. 
 

- We booked this cruise using an airline employee rate. $49pp for an oceanview stateroom. 

 

- We did NOT purchase License to Chill or any other enhancement packages and we’re glad we didn’t. They would’ve been a waste of money.

 

On embarkation day, we arrived at the port at 1:00pm. We were checked in, onboard and in our cabin in 20 minutes using the regular line. On debarkation day, we got off as soon as they cleared the ship. No waiting whatsoever. 

 

We had passports and our line moved very quickly and faster than the License to Chill line. We got off the ship at 7:50am and we were outside the terminal waiting for our Uber by 8:15am.

 

- We had an 11:00am flight out of the PBI airport. We were at the gate with more than two hours to spare. 

 

- We didn’t feel any more “nickel and dimed” than on any other cruise line we’ve ever sailed on, and didn’t feel pressured into purchasing stuff we didn’t need. Our onboard account (after gratuities and fuel surcharges) was less than $30 for the two of us. 

 

- I had an unused 5 free drink wristband from a previous cruise back in august. It still worked on this cruise. 

 

- Our cabin had a king sized bed but the cabin steward had it converted to separate beds by the time we returned from dinner the first night (pic attached). 

 

- Our cabin was COLD all the time (deck 7, port side, midship). Made for a great night sleep but it was a bit too chilly if I wasn’t under the covers . 
 

- Freeport is a bit sad. There’s still quite a bit of destruction, abandoned buildings, closed businesses and vegetation that never returned after hurricane Dorian. However, once we got to Taíno Beach, the beach was beautiful and we had a great time. 

 

- We went to Pirate’s Cove FULLY knowing that it’s a cash grab (I’d done my research and knew what to expect and was OK with it), but pretty much everybody else in the 14 passenger van had no clue that they were being taken to a beach full of fees. There were a few angry people  who demanded to be taken somewhere else.

 

- Food at the buffet was somewhat mediocre. I wondered why the breakfast cereal was stale until I realized that all the little cereal containers were expired. Sit down service at Fins was an improvement. Everything we ate there was good. The butternut squash soup and the apple crumble on the second night were some of the best things I ate during the entire cruise.

 

- Stage entertainment (Tales of Margaritaville) was, as expected, cheesy, but fun and entertaining. I think the performers were talented.  

 

- We were on the ship for Super Bowl. There was a paid event (for $125pp) in the Oasis lounge and a free event at the Euphoria lounge. We went to Euphoria where they set up a buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders and cake. It was fine. 

 

Overall, we had a great mini cruise. The secret is to go with very realistic expectations. It’s a budget minded cruise aboard an older, smaller, refurbished ship (which I found to be in good condition, specially considering that she’s over 30 years old). At $49pp, we definitely got our money’s worth, but I feel that I would’ve been sorely disappointed had I paid full price or paid for upgrades. Thankfully, I paid budget prices for a budget minded cruise experience. 

 

The cruise had a similar vibe to other short weekend cruises to the Bahamas that I’ve taken on other cruise lines. Fun, unpretentious, and laid back. And that’s exactly what we needed.

 

Would I do it again? Absolutely! It was a fun, little getaway. But I would only do so if I can find a good discounted fare at par with the type of cruise experience that Margaritaville delivers.

Did you get a card or something to get into the room?

On 2/19/2023 at 8:23 PM, ExpressoMama said:

My good friend of 40+ years and I went on the February 8th sailing and I wanted to share a bit about what I thought of our time on Margaritaville at Sea. We are 2 ladies in our 60’s. 

I was so pleasantly surprised at what a great time we had as I had read a few reviews that said to keep my expectations low. Overall, the ship was clean, food was good and service was great!! Here are a few details:

 

Check in was not extremely fast, but not unbearable. Probably about 1 hour from arrival to being on board. I did not purchase the license to chill quick boarding.

 

We each purchased the 10 drink wrist band prior to sailing for $89. On board it was $99. This included gratuity so each drink cost💲8.90. This worked well because the drinks I ordered (wine and bourbon or vodka) were in the $12/13 range. If you are a seltzer drinker or beer drinker it might not be a good move for you. But the best thing about this pre-purchase wristband was each time you ordered, the bar staff scanned your card and wrist band they told you the number of remaining drinks and this was an accurate count. As a RCCL diamond, I have encountered problems with my  4 “free” voucher count being off, even recently with the required signature. 
 

Cocktails were mixed strong and well made. Wine listed on menu and what was offered in bars did not jive but I was happy with everything I was served. (mainly Josh Cab and Pinot Noir) 

 

The bar staff was awesome. Always smiling, called us by name, and knew what we typically ordered!!! Impressive on a short cruise. 

 

The food in the buffet was as one would expect. I did not starve. Enjoyed the salad bar offerings.
 

Our dinners in the dining room were very good. Service was efficient and they took extra care to be sure I had gluten free offerings.

 

Our cabin on deck 4 was an ocean view. It was clean and large enough for the 2 short days. Our bed was together at boarding even though I had requested separate at booking, but a call to housekeeping sent 2 stewards quickly to separate them. 
 

My friend had never been to Freeport so she wanted to see the beach so I booked the ships tour to Taino beach. If we had not been 2 women alone we could have taken a taxi for less than the $59 we paid, but because it had been ages since I had been there we chose the the “easy” path. 

I wouldn’t hesitate to book this cruise again if the price was right. It was a great escape and it was in the words of Jimmy… “ 🎼 A lovely cruise”.

Did you get a card or something to get into the room?

8 minutes ago, camper49 said:

Can the divider be opened between cove balcony cabins?

Ty

It can be open between some but not all. If you give me the cabin numbers then I can find it for you.

Firenze cruises are up for booking!!!

2 minutes ago, mz-s said:

I think they were using Imagination as a hotel of sorts for the scrapping crew.

Now they have to scrap their home from the past three years 🤔

Lee Mason is scheduled to be cruise director. I haven't had him but he must be good; after all, he is on Celebration. Only the best for the flagship 😉

I saw this too. It is interesting that they waited so long. At the rate they were going with scrapping all the ships except Imagination, it almost seemed like Ecstasy would be gone first.

2 hours ago, tidecat said:

Not necessarily, unless if Long Beach is planning on having two ships in port on a regular basis. Panorama is the same size as Firenze, so there should be no difference between the two in terms of docking requirements.

That's what I was talking about, in that case

Venezia is now officially a Carnival ship!. Going to be in wet dock for 3 weeks then go to dry dock after Symphony of the Seas gets out.

Photos courtesy of Carnival

I saw on someone's Panorama review that they saw pier construction in Long Beach. This has to be for Firenze.

Another bank of elevators? Didn't expect that.

Do the Costa club points you have reset every year?

Thank you for this great review! It was very fun to follow along, looking forward to the next one!

38 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

Looks like something Celebrity pulled up next up Allure 

 

Reflection

Just now, BlerkOne said:

Seabourn is shedding a ship.

I saw that too. 2009 Odyssey. Its interesting, outside of the 3 they said before.

4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I'm certainly not talking about this year. They haven't even gotten Venezia and Firenze yet. The conversation was about them not having newer ships coming on after Jubilee. I'm talking mostly 2025 and beyond.

I think that Costa might not be able to survive without Toscana and Smeralda.

I would like if Carnival gets all the Costa ships to become a mega fleet. I guess the ships could still cruise where they go now.

2 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

And where do you think their newer ships are going to go.

To Carnival. Have you been talking about the ships new homes after the end of Costa this whole time??!?

2 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Well they just got rid of two ships that were newer than half of those. I would not be surprised of Costa doesn't exist at some point.

 

Because China was shut down. But I agree with you, Costa probably won't exist one day.

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

By and large those few places are the only places they want. Exotic ports of call for a Carnival ship like the Windwards, a thing of the past. The biggest problem (not necessarily for Carnival because they can't afford any more big ships) is the new megaships can't tender, so that really limits the future for places like HMC and Grand Cayman (and of course many other places as well).

Half Moon Cay is supposed to have a dock coming, haven't heard anything about it for awhile

2 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

All of the ships mentioned? Or two of them? Would you have guessed the two Vista class ships would be among the first to go? The Dream class ship hasn't even been sailing. Carnival owns all of them and can do what they want with them.

 

All of them. They said There's another Spirit Class ship, a Dream class ship, and two Excellence class ships all built within the last 10 years they can transfer over. 

They aren't going to get rid of their best and newest ships. Need those to operate, get people to try Costa out. And Deliziosa is needed for the world cruise.

Yes, Carnival Corp does own all of them. They have said that they are trying to right size Costa's fleet, not deprive it. So they are doing what they want with it. Carnival Corp isn't just one cruise line.

2 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. 

The ships mentioned like Toscana are going to be the last to go