Tampa Bay Irish

Our Airbnb hostess found two pharmacies who did instant rapid/antigen Covid testing within walking distance of our apartment. We walked to Farmacia Savignoni (Via dei Sepentini, 125) in the Monti neighborhood of Rome and did our pre-cruise testing a couple of days before sailing. Took about 20 minutes. They have a large tent out front where they do the testing. They gave us a written report with a negative result which we showed to Costa and we were allowed to board our ship. It was very easy. They accepted American Express and I think the cost was around €22 per person. It pisses me off that we had to pay for pre cruise testing at all. When we booked our cruise with Costa the deal was that Costa would test us at the pier at their expense. They changed the terms somewhere along the way. The way I see it Costa owes me €66. 

Found out today that our March 13 Western Caribbean 7 day cruise from Tampa has had a significant itinerary change. We lose Grand Cayman and add Costa Maya. My wife is very disappointed. We love Grand Cayman and we were really looking forward to a return visit to Stingray City. We don’t know much about Costa Maya other than it’s a “manufactured cruise port” by Carnival Cruise Lines. I have several questions. I know that Carnival had nothing to do with this decision (it was the Cayman government’s call) and that Carnival is within their rights to make itinerary changes at any point. Can I expect any compensation from Carnival? Can I attempt to squeeze my Personal Vacation Planner, who is outstanding, for any compensation? What should I ask for? Onboard credit? Free alcohol? A free shore excursion? What does the cruise critic community think about Costa Maya? Any great, can’t miss shore excursions? Carnival has not yet posted their shore excursions for Costa Maya. Thanks. 

Does anybody have an idea what the current platinum gift is?

Our Mediterranean cruise was canceled yesterday. That’s two years in a row. Profoundly disappointed. This time we requested the full cash refund. We may try again for the Summer of ‘22. But we have no way of knowing if Carnival will be sailing the Med in ‘22. We will therefore consider other traditional Mediterranean lines like Costa or MSC. We have sailed with Costa before in the Caribbean and enjoyed the experience. In terms of undoing all my other travel arrangements for this canceled cruise: Delta was easy to deal with, got my frequent flyer miles redeposited immediately and a refund for taxes is in route.  Post cruise hotel, also booked through Delta, was easy to cancel. Refund also in route. Airbnb made the cancellation process easy for the pre-cruise apartment. But they are only refunding $811 of my $915. Not too bad all things considered. Stay safe everyone.

We sailed with Costa twice in the Caribbean, originating from Ft Lauderdale. Great cruises. However every  announcement was repeated in 4 languages. It does get monotonous and annoying very quickly. 

I have been to Puerto Rico multiple  times. Sorry, I think it’s a dump, at least most of it around San Juan. Never understood why Carnival seemed so wedded to lackluster ports like Nassau and San Juan.

I was underwhelmed by Cucina del Capitano. JiJi’s Asian restaurant is much, much better. 

You may be in the stock market and not realize it...do you have a 401K ? If you have a 401K then you are “in the stock market.” I have a discount brokerage account with TD Ameritrade. I do own shares of Carnival. Their ticker symbol is CCL. I would urge caution in buying Carnival stock just because it’s cheap, down 83% year to date. It may go lower, even to zero. We don’t know. We don’t even know how and when the cruise industry will be able to begin to rebuild itself. I do know that the US stock market (currently down about 25%) will make a comeback. Unless you have money to burn or a gamblers mindset I think a better, safer investment may be buying shares in a S+P 500 Index Fund from somebody like Vanguard. Full disclosure, I have a Vanguard account as well. A Carnival investment could have a significantly higher payoff but it also entails you taking a lot of risk. Good Luck.

You make a fair point. We sail from Barcelona on July 7. Have not made final payment yet. We are cautiously optimistic that our cruise will not be impacted by the corona virus. 

JiJi’s is fantastic. The pork belly is excellent. The amount of food is generous as well. 

JiJi’s was phenomenal. Seemingly all Carnival ships have a Steakhouse but JiJi’s is only available on a few ships. Try going to the Italian restaurant at lunch. No additional cost.

If you do a google search on the Carnival Steakhouse menu you will find it. They have several non steak options including seafood and a chicken dish. 

We sailed on Sunshine twice. Great ship. We never had any issues with crowds onboard. Try Jiji’s Asian restaurant on Sunshine for dinner. Minimal up charge. Great food and plenty of it. Well worth it. Bon voyage.

We are going to Barcelona three days before our cruise sets sail. There are lots of hotels in the city however we booked an Airbnb apartment near the Passeig de Gracia train station. Barcelona is very “walkable” and it has an excellent public transportation system.  

I have good news for you Boston. There is a discount airline that flys direct into Barcelona from Logan. The price was very reasonable. The name of the airline is Fly Level, part of Iberia Airlines. It doesn’t get great reviews. Very low overhead operation. Everything onboard is sold ala Carte. But it should fine flying direct non stop. Take a look.

Our family of four is booked on the July 7-19 Carnival Legend Cruise to celebrate our daughter’s graduation from the University of Florida. We are booked in a balcony cabin. It’s a very port intensive cruise with long days ashore so my guess is that cabin quality will mean less on this cruise compared to a typical Caribbean cruise. It is pricey though. Especially if you are planning to arrive a few days early into Barcelona (as we are). You also have to consider the cost of international flights and shore excursions. Although I have heard good reports in people obtaining reasonably priced airfare by working with Carnival’s Fly Away program. We booked our own flights. FYI: The Carnival Radiance also will sail the Mediterranean in May of next year. Similar itinerary. Good luck.

It is profoundly disappointing to see the rapid decline in value in platinum and diamond loyalty gifts. Just give me a coupon for a free alcoholic beverage without any strings attached. That will be fine. There is a really good chance that giving me a free drink will stimulate me into buying several more and Carnival will come out ahead. Everybody is happy.

I can’t believe that Carnival continues to give away such a crappy platinum gift. They must have a warehouse full of cheap lanyards down in Miami. It’s very bad for the brand image. Some Carnival V.P. should have quickly and quietly burned down the warehouse full of lanyards and replaced them with something else, even if it meant going back to one of their previous platinum gifts that wasn’t mocked out by the very people that you are trying to reward and impress. Here is one last closing thought. Please remove your lanyards from the ship...these guys are just cheap enough where they may attempt to re-gift them. Let’s get through the lanyards as quickly as possible so we can hopefully move onto something more appreciated. 

We have used Captain Marvin before for snorkeling and Stingray City and have been very pleased. I have also heard good things about Native Way as well. Don’t go on a ship sponsored tour of Stingray City. Use your onboard credit elsewhere (steakhouse, gift shop, on board liquor store).

7 mile beach in Grand Cayman is a nice Caribbean beach. Not a lot to it. Typically not crowded. Somewhat featureless. I think you can do better in Grand Cayman. Book a private excursion to Stingray City (that will typically be paired with a snorkel trip as well), go to Hell (rock formation) or the Turtle Farm. Don’t take the ship excursion to Stingray City unless you like overpaying and really like crowds. Go with a private vendor. There are several good ones. Occasionally the reef and Stingray City are “closed.” If that happens you always have 7 Mile Beach as a backup plan. And don’t be afraid of the stingrays. They are like puppies. 

Bob,

In June of 2018 we used Captain Alan’s Boat Charters in Dutch St Maarten. You will find them easily through a google search. They were great. They offer 4 hour and a 6 hour snorkel tours. You can more than likely find some snorkeling at Tortola (check trip advisor for vendors) as well. However I recommend that you consider visiting “The Baths” over at nearby Virgin Gorda. This is also a wet excursion with some snorkeling available. Amazing rock formations have formed grottoes that you walk, crawl and swim through that lead to a beach. You can also access this beach without going thru the grottoes. You have to take a ferry from Tortola to get to Virgin Gorda. Explore a little online first. Read reviews on Trip Advisor. Email makes contacting vendors very easy. Good Luck. 

7 hours ago, meatloafsfan said:

We had a great experience in the Steakhouse on the Sunshine back in January. The food and service were both wonderful.

 

Of course, JiJi's remains the best specialty dining at sea but that's on such a limited number of ships.

My Canadian friend you are right. At least in the Carnival world...JiJi’s is the best specialty restaurant at sea. Easily beats the Carnival Steakhouse, especially with new Steakhouse menu.

The former Carnival Steakhouse menu was superior to the current menu.

Say something remotely negative about Carnival and the Carnival Cheerleaders descend on you like wolves.

These are cosmetic changes meant to look and sound good. They don’t address the real environmental crimes. John Heald’s Press release was simply intended to pacify Carnival’s existing customer base.