CruizinSusan70

If you really want value, research the cost of lunches at Chops or Jaime's. On our upcoming Anthem cruise we will enjoy 2 lunches at Chops for 20 pp including gratuity and 1 lunch at Jaime's for 17.50 pp including gratuity. Three lunches with tips for two for 115 bucks.

The casino on my last 5 Excel Class sailings, which as you know has far and away the largest casino square foot wise in the fleet was always packed to the gills.

Couldn't agree more, stick with the naive blue cards who are 100% clueless and like to spend frivolously adding to the bottom line and combine them with those that like to make nightly donations in the casino. Combining these two factions on paper would be the best road to chipping away at the billions that were bled during Covid. The fact that platinums and diamonds complain about things does not necessarily mean that they don't like cruising on Carnival. They have just been around long enough to realize that there are many different things over the years that have been chipped away or taken away and it diminishes to a certain degree how cruising was.

Stayed in a sideways interior in the Havana area on the Horizon. The room might have been slightly larger, but what made it really nice is that the back of the bed was on the long wall instead of the side wall, giving you more room on either side of the bed to maneuver. There are videos on YouTube for both 5205 and 5208 on the Horizon.

Really? The gamblers are not bribed with greatly reduced balcony cabins, "free" inside cabins and depending upon their gambling status either free drinks in the casino or all over the ship?

Family of 4 with a 15 month old toddler will be cruising. Don't think they care about a wine list, or drink packages.

Deja vu

Be prepared to pay 16.99 for that second "Maine" lobster 🦞 tail.

Carnival's game plan is to A) go for new blues B) give away reduced price or free cruises to the gamblers. This has been the backbone of their marketing strategy for awhile now.

Gotta remember, you're on the RCI boards, they will defend they line of choice no matter what. Many would prefer to pay extra at Johnny Rockets on Royal instead of enjoying Guy's burgers for free on Carnival.

Doesn't really matter, IMHO, what is offered at Blue Iguana Cantina blows away the offerings as well as the quality of El Loco Fresh.

Par for the course.

This is RCI. They are just like Carnival and NCL in which shorts are perfectly fine to wear in the MDR as well as many of the specialty venues on board. Decorum went out the window many years ago when NCL started the trend and then their competition followed suit. This is 2023, it's not your fathers cruise experience any more. Shorts are even being worn on Celebrity and Princess. If decorum is your best friend, cruise on Cunard.

Had El Loco Fresh for free on the Oasis last June. No way does it compare to Blue Iguana. El Loco was self serve and pre-made burritos, whereas Blue Iguana is made to order right in front of you. And they also have breakfast options which El Loco fresh does not have.

If you are sitting at 79 points and you're a point short of Diamond, does it kick in with your next cruise, similar to Carnival, or do you need to qualify first before benefits kick in on the subsequent cruise, similar to NCL?

Hot water laundry.....👎

5205 or 5208. Stayed there for 16 nights on two different Horizon cruises in 2018 and 2019.

Doesn't matter when it started or whether covid influenced things or not. As it stands, Royal's version of My Time Dining is a joke and a disgrace compared to how their competitors handle it. And, they all start substantially before 645 PM. If they started at 530, then that would give them another 75 minutes to spread the crowds out. Now, at 645 it's a total cluster. This isn't cruising of 25 years ago when you had two seatings and two shows to see. With the varied entertainment options on board, dining choices need to be varied as well. Royal is dropping the ball with this.

Hopefully you'll be driving since your only flight options are Bush or Hobby and neither are close and transfers are expensive. Galveston isn't like MIA or FLL or even MCO.

There are places to go. Just make it alternating 10/11 day cruises on the Jubilee and a plethora of new ports would open up. But that would constitute Carnival doing something cutting edge. Maybe once reservations start to flatten, things will change. But instead, Carnival will keep the same boring 7 day itinerary and give away cruises to the gamblers to keep the ship filled.

The bottom line is that as it stands, MTD on Royal is a joke. I have cruised with similar programs on Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Carnival and they all do a much better job and they all start well before 645 pm.

Why does RCI have such a problem handling this when all of their competitors post Covid handle MTD with no problem whatsoever starting about 530? On Carnival you check in on their app and you're given an approximate time you need to wait. When your slot clears, you get a confirmation. We spent 12 days on the Oasis last June and switched to early on board. When we were done about 645-700 each night, the line snaked all over the place. This, combined with Dynamic Pricing with the drinks package is what makes us book more cruises with other lines.

The only pleasant surprise that Carnival has come up with is the 30 day cruise on the Luminosa from Seattle to Brisbane later this year. It's a shame though that zero longer journey type cruises have not been announced for the Firenze similar to the journey cruises on the Venezia.

What did you expect? Cutting edge and Carnival are like water and oil. It's the same old, same old in Long Beach with just a different ship. Same with the Jubilee out of Galveston. Once the new shiny toy is tarnished after two years, discounts will be abundant unless itineraries change.

I had read about two new burgers, one with mozzarella cheese and other being I think a pizza burger