lazydayz

I would give the Bahamas a try if I had never been there. Nassau has some fine shopping, lovely beaches, two really nIce casinos, along with water parks. Bimini is so laid back and fun. For those of us who been 20 times or more, it is not that exciting. But if you have ever been, it is worth exploring. I love the Queen’s staircase, shopping at John Bull, and checking out the yachts at Atlantis. Even the sail in is very pretty with the lighthouse and a view of Atlantis. And the port renovation was very well done. So if you are open minded and want to try somewhere different, the Bahamas has a lot to offer. Many of us frequent cruisers are suffering from the been there, done that syndrome.

I would either make sure my travel insurance would cover the cost, or just tour Aruba. It’s a beautiful island, and very diverse.

Hoo to see you in the ship. It is getting close. i expect the casino to be busy, as this is an Elite cruise.

Hope you are recovered from that overnight shift!

18, woo hoo!

Yes, you can pick. Some select First Available if they are in a hurry.

Glad your new cabin is nearby. Hope the B2B process goes smoothly this morning.

It’s back on Carnival.

Safe travels to Miami and have a great cruise.

Great live report. Thanks for doing it. And safe travels home.

Glad the D and P party went well! We had a similar dining experience on the Celebration. On New Year’s Day, we waited s long time for a table at Cuchina. Finally got a table at 9:15 or so. We were ignored for 30 minutes. Finally just got up and left. Our phone rang at 9:30 the next morning, wanted to know what happened. I explained and he apologized and had the same table reserved for us that night at 7. Great service that night, and the manager called again the next day to make sure we were happy. I hope they follow up with you and make this right.

it could be I am tired of paying the daily rate and tipping extra. My choice whether I continue to do both or opt out of one or the other. There is no right answer, other than the cruise lines making tips mandatory or adding them to the base rate. If Carnival won’t make the hard choice, that leaves it up to me.

How do you like the cabana, as opposed to a balcony?

That is different. As part of your job, you tipped them out. Your customers were not expected to tip them. The cruise lines are asking us to tip the servers, the bussers, the dishwashers, the laundry crew, etc.

This is difficult for me as well. In almost all cases, the cabin stewards we have had have gone above and beyond, and earn an extra tip from us. When I dine in a paid restaurant and the service is exceptional, I leave a tip, even if it is already included. When someone brings me a drink, I tip them even though our package includes gratuities. Heck, we have even tipped the omelet and pizza makers. I don’t want to tip back of the house workers I never see. When I dine at a land restaurant, I am not expected to tip the host, the cook and the dishwasher. At a hotel, I am not expected to tip the laundry or maintenance team. Yet on a cruise, they are allocating a large percentage of tips to people I never see. I know their jobs are important, but it is the employer’s job to pay them. So next cruise, I might try an experiment and tip as I go, which would include the people serving me at Guys, the deli and the pizza place. It will be interesting to see if I then feel obligated to leave some or all of the auto gratuities in place. My feeling is if Carnival wants to raise gratuities, then they better deliver excellent service. And unfortunately, there has been a definite decline in service post-pandemic. I was understanding of it for a while, but now the pandemic excuses are just that, excuses.

Enjoy and take care of yourself. We will look forward to the rest of your review whenever you are up to it.

The dishes are tiny. Collectively, they fill you up. So if I didn't like one, it would not be a big deal.

How's it going? Casino treating you well?

Agree with 80sGal. We always try for cabins above and below. But on the Horizon, I would go for a Habana cabin. That is such a nice and relaxing area on the Horizon.

I love this game and my name was finally called on our recent Pride cruise. I rolled a four, and after three picks, was at $300. My final pick was $200, so I walked away with $500 and a very large t-shirt. So exciting! Hope you get picked to play one of the games.

We were very apprehensive about the Pride but ended up loving it. The staff is fantastic and food everywhere is good. And who doesn’t love NYE cruise?

You can combine them on a future cruise. Congratulations for hitting 25.

Me, too

Unless you are in a formal group, pretty sure you need to link all of the reservations for this to happen. Are you working with a travel agent or PVP? If so, they can help you. If not, everyone could do my time dining and then check into to dinner together. Good luck.

Can't wait to hear what you won! Hopefully the Mac Pro.