bots99

got 2 booked - 10'16 med & 10/28 TA. glad since it is ported in galveston - a little too far for me. do it once on the return from TA - that'll be a one time deal.

Those cabins have a good size window that allows in plenty of light and peeping eyes (if anyone is out there). The view is partially obstructed by the solid railing oround the outside deck. You can still see some of the ocean and lots of sky from the cabin. Sometimes the doors to the deck are tied shut from the outside by the crew - sometimes they are open. There seems to be no standard criteria for closing the deck. Be aware you will feel more motion during inclement weather in these cabins. Hope this helps.

:D Please give us the name(s) of your fav waiters in the MDR. Please name the ships and tell us how they enhanced your dining experience!

Mica @ the 6pm seating on the Carnival Dream in the Crimson DR. She was fantastic! Fast accurate & a very good sport. We were a party of 6 with a couple of high maintenance diners. She always had time for the shenanigans & was quick withthe comebacks. Yeah Mica !!!!!!:)

I must say that this my 8th cruise was the worst ever. Actually this was the first cruise I was ever disappointed in. Left Baltimore 1-10-10 arrived back from Port Canaveral and the Bahamas on 1-17-10. I wanted to share with readers my experience so as to spare other the same fate. I've never posted before but my concience would have bothered me if i didn't tell my story.

The first night on the Carnival Pride was where it all started. We had a extended balcony room #8237. We went to sleep at 12am only to be awakened at 1am,3am and 5am by extremely load noises on our ceiling. Each time we call guest services and they stated they would look in to it. After a similar second night and repeated calls to guest services they sent 2 people to the room at 2am and said they were going to check out the situation. By now we were having to take midday naps missing out on activities. By the third day i had learned we were underneath a galley on the 9th deck and that the Guest Service reps were asking them to be careful but there was really no way to stop the noise. I asked for another room ,even a inside small room just to get a good night sleep but was told the ship was full. After the 3rd night I became extremely verbal. I and my wife actually considered disebarking in Florida and driving home. Finally on the 4th day we were told there actually was a smaller balcony room and that if we wanted it we may switch. We did immediately. I went to guest services and demanded compensation. This was their compensation for 3 sleepless nights and shortened days. $128.40 total for me and my wife. Yes a whole $20 per person per day. I called them and stated i was not looking for money but compensation of maybe 20% off on a 7 or 10 day cruise to make up for the wasted time. They said sorry but there formula only allowed this amount as the maximum. Anyway this was the main issue but there were other issues that im going to list that contibuted to my worst experience on a ship ever.

1. No PPV movie worked on any day ever, When Guest Services were called they said the had a issue with audio video. They did not have an issue with billing for all the attempts to start one at $8.99 each.

2. The bed in both cabins were well worn out. they all had a sizable depression in the middle

3. The balcony roof on #8237 was literly rusting away with 12 inch pieces hanging down.

4. Something I've not noticed on other ships was that you were no longer able to take you own breakfact bacon or ham. you had to ask for it from the cook making eggs. I can only guess this is a cost saving measure.

 

This was my 3rd and final cruise with Carnival. I hope others head my warnings and don't get burned the way I was..

at your request you were moved, you were compensated, you were served bacon & you state it was your worst cruise & will never sail that line again ??????

01 CRUZN BUCKEYE - OHIO

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Hi Jay and T,

 

I've sailed RC twice (Caribbean and Mexican Riv.). I thought their service was great. Since Olivia uses Holland America a lot for their cruises, I can say that the only difference I can see is the comfort of being around all lesbians and the specialized entertainment for us.

I was actually on the very first cruise that Olivia did with HAL, and the crew, although somewhat tentative at first, ended up really enjoying themselves. There was a big "Thank You" at the end, and it was very sincere.

I just looked at the price difference for Olivia's Danube River Cruise in 2008 and compared it to the normal price for Viking. It was $1,000 a person higher.

You have to weigh just how much the specialized "Olivia" experience means to you (especially during a anniversary, etc.) compared to a regular cruise environment.

My partner and I will be celebrating our 9th year together and our 4th anniversary on our upcoming cruise to Hawaii.(We we're married in Portland during the few weeks that it was allowed.) Since it's a fairly expensive trip, we opted to go with Princess and book a Vista Suite for the 15 days. The price is comparable to a suite on a 7 day cruise with Olivia. Hope this helps a little.

 

Mithryl

I agree on the importance of the experience being the determining factor. Many years ago, we booked on the Dolphin out of Miami on an early Olivia cruise. The atmosphere on the cruise was fantastic, we had a great time. We haven't gone since, even though we enjoyed it tremendously. We had booked & paid for a suite. When we arrived we were given a very small porthole room in the bow. We questioned it & were told our room had been given to a last minute entertainer. No restitution was ever offered. We decided to make the best of it, and really had fun. But we were left with a bitter taste & felt used by Olivia. It's probably not fair to hold the same opinion for so long, but with the amount of competition out there, it's hard not to take advantage of the great cruises at reasonable prices rather than taking a chance that Olivia will pull a similar stunt again.