notscb

While I understand your reasoning behind #5, this alone kind of negates the statement you made. Society as a whole has gotten complacent about the virus, and cruising just kind of reflects what's happening in our communities at large. I do agree it'd be nice if cruise lines offered fully vaccinated sailings, but everyone has really relaxed on the handwashing/sanitizing and the cruise lines have also stopped cleaning as thoroughly from what I noticed on the Dream last week. Cruise ships have always been hot-beds for the spread of disease (respiratory, GI, or other), so this factor was always present pre and post the dark times.

Just got off the dream. Literally wear what you want. OP- You and your grandson are on vacation and everybody is doing their own thing anyway- plus Golf shorts are "nicer" than most other types of shorts.

I mean, these ships are used nearly 24/7 as many days of the year that they possibly can with very little actual downtime. It's not out of the question that these systems would fail once in a while with how heavily they are used and with how big they are building these ships. I often wonder if it's not that there's something amiss with their maintenance routine, but rather something amiss with the way they are building or outfitting these systems on their newer ships. The corporate lowest bidder system doesn't generally work out long term.

Does anyone know if they truly need two days cruising to get back to Galveston, or could they stop in Key West or add another stop on the way back? I'd think they'd try to get another port in if they could or stay an extra day at CocoCay.

Absolutely disgusting. On my cruise last week, I witnessed a mom holding her child put her entire hand in the cookie bowl to get her kiddo a cookie right in front of me. I looked right at the person behind the counter and they just kind of shrugged (but the entire bowl should have been thrown out). We made sure we used hand sanitizer any time we saw it, and brought Tylenol and nasal spray just in case.

Just got off of Carnival Dream and had a really nice time, the food was good for what it was. If you go into your vacation expecting to have a relaxing time and nothing more, every cruise line will work out for you.

I think what i said still stands, and as @Illbcruzn4life also said, these tour operators understand and want the traffic that comes with cruise passengers. Arrival times and departure times will very likely be considered by whichever operator you're trying to go out with. I just got off a cruise and met professional divers who take mainly cruises and stop to dive at most of the ports- they didn't seem to have any challenges.

Why wouldn’t it be possible? Most independent operators understand the concept of ship time and will ensure you’re back onboard on time. Plus, it’s only an hour difference.

I don’t know that assuming bad intentions here is the best way to frame this, especially as many ships have been delayed in the past several years. You do have a good point, though, in that they probably should have had a more realistic timetable with this delivery given the global supply and staffing issues and put these dates off a bit. I’m sure carnival corporate isn’t hAppy about having upset customers or having to offer any sort of FCC , either.

Watching this again, it reminds me about how I wanted to volunteer to be a part of the lifeboat drill in Nassau when I was on Freedom in May. It looked like it would be fun! This video has changed my thinking a bit, though...

Exactly. And once they know where to go, they are much more likely to listen to crew direction. Muster is practice for the guests and the crew.

I find it weird- the same people that argue against this kind of point also argue against in-person mustering or safety protocols more generally which have been proven over the years to be beneficial in emergency situations. It's as simple as showing people (who are in a brand new environment) what to do in an emergency so they do that when one happens. Thank you for posting historical examples showing these safety related procedures do work.

I can't believe you volunteer this level of insight for free around here. Thank you!

I'm wondering if you'd do better going more in the airport area vs near LaPlace, which is the opposite direction. If you could do an airport hotel that has a shuttle, then you could come back and grab a port shuttle from the airport the next day or whatever. For me, I prefer staying in the city proper, especially in the French Quarter. It's worth spending a bit more to be able to walk everywhere and immerse myself in the area, even if only for a day. I stayed at the French Market Inn and found their room rates reasonable for the location and value.

I was doing some searching and also found Galveston Limo. They have an online special that's $50/RT/P.P. to HOU*, which is much less than any cruise line sponsored shuttle and even saves a bit from Galveston Express.

Haha, I just submitted that exact same one and they said "These tours are not comparable." It's honestly turning into a fun game for me to see what they do and don't approve, based on their own descriptions or lack thereof.

I couldn't see the Fly2Fun option until I actually booked and had access to the planner. Just curious, though, why purchase through the cruise line? Google flights is much easier to use and you can set an email alert to track prices for where you're going.

Carnival does have an upgrade offer system, but it's nothing like Royal Up. In your cruise planner, I found my upgrade offer in the "to do" list as well as in the booking and order page when I was logged into the CCL website and had my cruise pulled up. The offer was there for as long as i didn't decline it, and for me it was an upgrade offer from a cove balcony to a regular balcony. The biggest difference is that you can't bid- they give you a set price, and not everybody gets the offer.

I'm SO excited 😄 😄 😄

That sounds incredible! And what a great way to remind yourself of the memories made. What's your success rate? I'm sure you've been able to improve on some of their recipes.

We're not saying that it wont have any spaces for adults, we're simply saying that the ship is very clearly designed for kids and families and marketed as such. "Ultimate family vacation" marketing ^this specifically denotes three new types of rooms with "family" directly in the title Introduction to ICON ^this mentions "family" 16 times When the top deck and back 1/3 or more of the ship is very clearly designated for kids and their parents (families), it's also very clear that RCL is looking at families as their new source of revenue, leaving some of us out of their overall marketing scheme. I don't want to book a cruise and feel like I can only be in the front solarium of the ship.

While it may have been more respectful to those in attendance for that specific CD to take off their hat, does this even apply to a non-US flagged ship sailing in international waters with a 95% non-U.S. cruise staff? I think not. Now, from a corporate perspective, I'm sure there will be some changes to this ceremony onboard based on these forums just to maintain brand image and whatnot, but I personally don't think the CD did anything wrong.

I, for one, am going to email carnival's board of directors and demand this become policy.

*bold added for emphasis. It kind of sounds like you're upset about something that you don't: a) know the policy for to begin with (if there exists such a policy) b) appreciate that if the CD is a U.S. Citizen, they are entitled to their freedom of speech and expression regardless of your own personal political beliefs I wonder if assuming the best intentions of the crew in this situation would be helpful.

In my opinion, sounds like smoke and mirrors to make you forget that you're on a ship with your family and 10,000 of your best friends and crew.