StephPS79

There are definitely warnings on the new ships stating that the air cuts off when the balcony door is open, but don't think the older ships have this "feature." I still haven't fully decided if I believe the little warning signs, or if they are just there to persuade. I'll say recently on the Glory in an interior room, the hallway was quite warm, while our room was frigid. I'd find it hard to believe that a cabin with an open balcony door would impact other rooms by all that much, unless propped open, but I can see how inefficient this would be in a particular room, thus the push to keep doors closed. I did see the post from John Heald saying it was okay to sleep with the door open, which I found to be a bit odd...maybe they are taking the stance that the open door is better than the bed on the balcony lol...

Was on the Magic out of Norfolk last June, and booked for this May. TBH, I don't love the ship, but we live 15 minutes from the port. Actually pretty excited for the Sunshine, haven't sailed on her, but from the tour videos I've watch, it looks decent. I know it doesn't bother some people, but I find the color scheme and decor of the Magic to be downright unpleasant. I love some loud ship decor, but the green and brown just isn't it for me lol. And those lights... I was just on the Glory 2 weeks ago, and I really prefer the Conquest class, except for the lack of a few bells and whistles. I actually like that the atrium was the hub of activity on the Glory. Ocean Plaza just didn't have the same vibe for me. And I liked being able to stand on the different decks in the atrium and listen to music and watch people dance. Alchemy is busy enough, but being the main bar for Ocean Plaza made getting a drink there quite the feat. Not too mention the constant trivia and music right there (which I love... just not right there) took away a little of the glam of Alchemy. I do like the deck 5 lanai type deck on the Magic though. With Pig and Anchor there, I'd probably say this is the hidden gem of the ship. Although why the "whirlpools" on that deck aren't heated doesn't make any sense to me.

It was only open from 12p-2p, IIRC...

I can't confirm if it is on the Breeze, but on the onboard dining it shows for the Breeze - as Captain's Pasta Bar: https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/captains-pasta-bar They had it on the Magic last June. No reservations needed, mostly like a mix and match pasta and sauce selection. it was table service, limited hours. It was actually very nice, we enjoyed it.

A lot of people have a lot negative to say about the casino offers, not sure why. Everyone has a different opinion on what "a lot of money" is when spent at the casino, and love to say, "well they aren't really free" because you have to spend some money in the casino. Our current situation is - we have 3 different offers (interior, ocean view, and balcony offers) for a free* cruise that can each be used 3 times. So that's really 9 cruises we could book. This round of offers, you do have to sail by May 2024, so a little over a year, and could we really take 9 cruises in the next year? We couldn't, but some people could. We have spent no where near the amount of money 9 cruises would cost. We HAVE booked about 3 of these offers. I'd wager (haha get it) to say, we've spent less than the 3 cruises would cost, and may book maybe 1 more. And we have fun doing it. And, given past experience, after this current round of offers expire, they send a new round with further dates. But for whatever reason, there will always be naysayers against casino offers.

I must say, NY isn't a port I'd look to book, but the pictures of the Venenzia have gotten me a little intrigued! With minimal changes to the ship, I might be seeking one of these out. Looking forward to see what people think after sailing.

I love the Horizon, and southern itinerary. We have Celebration booked for February 2024, haven't been on it yet, but also have Horizon booked for ABC islands for November 2024, and if I'm being honest, I might be more excited about that one. That might be because we booked Havana for the Horizon for the first time, so looking forward to that, and I could feel differently after Celebration. But for now, that would be my choice!

I think we figured it was coming:

As noted, it doesn't have anything to do with the tier you purchase, or how well the wi-fi works. It's blocked. With that said, tech stuff makes my eyes cross and I can't sort any of it out, but I think I read something about a VPN to get around it? Like I said, most of it is mumbo jumbo to me lol, but that might be a possible solution.

Definitely depends on the bartender. I had some that were fine with with it, even for a beer or cocktail, and then one that refused to even give me a bottle of water for both cards.

I would have to disagree, offers aren't just for tenured ships, we have multiple offers to book Celebration, and a few for Jubilee. Pretty much available any month. Yes, they are select sailings and capacity controlled, but preferred time to cruise for us is off-season. I have zero complaints for a February 2024 free balcony on Celebration.

Is it possible that the $2000 is a pending charge, and not actually processed?

I don't know, I understand RCI's reasoning with this, with no drink cap, but with the 15 drink limit, not many people buying the drink package are sharing. I know I'm hoarding mine! And there's only so much sharing that can happen before the 15. I can't imagine it was really running up Carnival's bar tab. (I know lots of people will say they never hit the 15 limit, and then I question if the drink package is even the best option for those people.)

The only offers I get emails about are casino offers. All other offers are just under my VIFP #, and nothing really good, the same 3 or 4 regularly available 40% offers.

Just June? I love her! We are on Glory Feb 5th, I hope she is still there!

I'd probably just reserve from the Fun Shops in advance, you can you the OBC at checkout. You can pick the date and time that you want.

This is what we did our last time in St. Thomas, and will probably do it on our next time, or maybe check one of the other beaches in the area. Trunk Bay was beautiful though! Also wanted to explore the area right off the very, looked very cute!

When I was on the Magic in June, no one was ever in this area. It didn't look fun at all lol. I'm certainly not counting those as part of the casino.

I'm most likely only booking an offer with a $50-$100pp deposit. I've cancelled one or two, the smaller deposit doesn't hurt as much. I'd have to be really, really sure before I booked a $500 deposit, and probably would do like 3-4 months out at the most. That's just me, though.

Casino offers, free* balcony. Non-casino offers, not really anything good. 40% off cruise rates, which should be consider the typical fare lol. There's pretty much no reason to book without at least that offer.

Upcoming cruise in February, I got an email notification and in cruise manager, probably over a month ago, well in advance. Last cruise in June last year, I got a phone call the day before. I feel like last minute cancellations are filled with phone call offers.

There are many different offers, so in this case, I am going to fault her for not reading thoroughly. An offer that includes it for you and guest will say "for you and a companion." There are some that work this way, there are some that don't, and the ones that do still exist. The fine print on most offers will tell you DOU is for the VIFP person only.

What type of procedure info are you looking for? You purchase it like an excursion, there are some details there.

Are you asking about onboard spending, or the cruise fare? You can buy cruise cash on the website, which goes on the account for onboard spending, and also stop by guest services to make any payment on the onboard account, I think there are also kiosks on a lot of ships that allow you to make payments.

Already booked Celebration for 2024, soonest we could fit something in!