lazydayz

Sid, I would go back to Sailor Services and ask to speak to the Hotel Manager. No soap is not ok. I could understand if one of out three was empty, but all of them? That's just unacceptable. Hope you feel better soon. You could go to the Medical Center and ask for over the counter meds. We did that when we got some sort of respiratory illness on the Pride in August. Believe it or not, the prices were the same (maybe a little less) than at CVS.

Hmm, I now know what is worse than thread hijackers. LOL

I would pick the transatlantic, if you can stay in Spain for a few days. You avoid the flight to Europe, and flying back is a breeze.

So looking forward to this. We are booked on the Venezia for the repositioning cruise from NYC to PC in December 2024. After your review, we will feel prepared!

Megan, I have followed your lives and am interested in booking my first VV cruise. Any tips? I am Diamond Plus on Royal and Diamond on Carnival, so hope that lets me unlock the Deep Blue Extras.

We had a similar issue on the MG. We were in a JS and complained because the bass was thumping from the nightclub. We were two decks away but still heard it until 2 each morning. We complained and were moved to a JS near the Havana bar. It was so much quieter. I would go to Guest Services and asked to be moved, then escalate as needed. If they have an open interior, they should be willing to do that. Good luck.

Looking forward to this!

Happy to help. Looking forward to getting back on a ship, and even better, one that is leaving from our home town!

It really just depends. We have spent more than I care to admit on some cruises, and won a small amount on others. But when I step on the ship, I have paid maybe $600 for a 7 to 14 cruise for a balcony or suite, and get free drinks everywhere for two. So even if I blow $5000 in the casino, it is worth it to me. And I tend to book elite cruises, which comes with transportation or free parking, plus $300 in free excursions or spa credit, and two bottles of alcohol, plus some free play. Given we are Diamond, we also get free laundry service. We usually do specialty restaurants, many of which are comped. All in all, Carnival wins, but it feels like a fair trade.

Just got our email for the Pride on November 12. The offerings were Island’s Beach Club at Cozumel and VIP All Inclusive at Mahogany Bay. But this time they are allowing you to use it on the spa, so that will be our choice.

For more variety, we have started to take longer cruises. We have two repositioning cruises booked for next year that offer new (to us) ports, including Barbados and St. Croix. Check out the Pride repositioning cruise from Tampa to Baltimore, and the Venezia from NYC to Port Canaveral.

We booked yesterday. Never cruised from NYC or on the Venezia. I have done a few Journeys cruises and really enjoyed them. Looking forward to this one!

No. 5?

Pretty sure you can cancel and rebook to get the new price.

On our NYE on the Celebration this year, only one cabana is left. And I paid full price - $2,000 plus the automatic gratuity.

I don't think their is any FTTF benefit in the specialty restaurants. But you should be able to make reservations onboard. I would not recommend the "walk in" route.

We really enjoy the Loft 19 cabanas as well. As to lunch, they have a special menu and will go to Guys or Shaq's for you. There is also a salad bar in the Serenity area that is very close to the cabanas.

See you on the ship! So excited to try something new - never cruised from NYC so that will be exciting.

I don't think you can substitute excursions for OBC. But you could always ask the casino host.

So we booked an Elite cruise on the Venezia. It’s a 12 night Journey’s cruise, sailing in December 2024 from NYC to the Southern Caribbean, ending in Port Canaveral.

Could you give us your thoughts on cruising solo? It's great your CC friends showed up, both virtually and in person. Still, there were times when it was just you. Ever lonely? And thanks again for a great review.

Hmm, I have seen them and talked to them. Cleaning up to 38 cabins per day. Pretty easy to figure that out that math.

Hire more cabin stewards. I don’t care about twice a day cleanings but hate to see how Carnival is overworking their cabin stewards. Then they could bring us our Fun Times without having to request it and bring our Diamond gifts and pins to the cabin.

Looking forward to your new adventure!

We have done that one on an Elite cruise and it was fun. If it’s the same resort, the food is ok but the beach is beautiful and you can walk quite a distance. There was a bar setup on the beach. Not top shelf but fine by me as I enjoy trying the local beer. And the pool was also nice.