geaux_aces

Looks like you can't book Mardi Gras for any sailing until October.  Is this a capacity thing or is another shoe about to drop with that ship?  We're booked for September, so I really hope she's not delayed again!

It'll be interesting to see what # they use for capacity.  For instance, the passenger count at double occupancy on the Vista is 3934 but goes up to 4977 if every bed is used. Outside of summer and holidays, ships are already well below the max numbers because less families are using the 3 and 4 bed staterooms. If it's a % of room utilization, it's a different story.

Also, any thought if VIFP status will play into bumping, if that becomes necessary?  I can't see Carnival bumping a Diamond over a blue card, even if the blue card paid more for the cruise.

20 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Years ago travelers had yellow vaccination booklets in addition to passports. They still exist, afaik.

 

I still have one of these in the back of my passport.  I fly in and out of several African countries a year.  Can't get in to some of them without it because of Yellow Fever.  Mine is 14 years old. I almost took it with me when I got my Covid shot so they'd write it in there instead of the new Covid vaccine card.

Now that Panorama has several sailings, anybody able to speak to what time debark actually starts.  The itinerary says 9am, but we're used to east coast ships that typically start debark super early.  I'm hoping to catch at 10:30 out of LAX for our cruise in May.  If this were MIA or FLL , I know I'd have no problem. I know I can show them I have an early flight and be one of the first off the ship, but I'd like to hear from someone who has done it on the Panorama.  Any help is appreciated.  

Now that the Carnival Panorama has had several sailings in and out of Long Beach, can anyone tell me what time debarkation is really getting underway?  We're cruising her in May and the itinerary says 9am. We're used to East Coast cruises that typically begin debark early and late morning flights are possible. Any info would be helpful!

Great Review.  Do you happen to remember what time the ship started debarkation? We're sailing her in May and trying to determine flights. 

We adopted one of our sons internationally. We got him a passport before cruising, but that isn't your question. Here's what Carnival says:

"Internationally adopted children (under the age of 18): If the adoptive parent was not issued a birth certificate, we will accept as proof of citizenship, a Certificate of Citizenship by the U.S. and adoption paperwork. A Certificate of Citizenship is issued by the U.S. once the adoption is finalized."

One word of warning, a Certificate of Citizenship, in my opinion, is the most valuable piece of paper issued by the State Department. While a birth certificate can be replaced for around $30 and a passport for around $100, it costs $555 to replace a Certificate of Citizenship. Be careful!

We caught a 9:00am flight out of Miami once after a cruise. The airport is very close to the cruise terminal.

very few, if any are obstructed. Most are below the lifeboats, which cause them to be shaded. We've sailed in a cove balcony on the Dream, Breeze, Vista, and Horizon. They are our favorite cabin type. Love the privacy and being so close to the water.

This is purely speculative, but we were on the 1st 8-day cruise out of New York and watched the movie most evenings during the cruise. On several nights you could see one of the corners (to the left of the screen) of the Skyride track shaking. It was significant. The Skyride was open every day of our cruise and I rode it twice. We did 11 days on the Vista and never saw anything while on her like what we saw on the Horizon. It wasn't during rough seas or anything, almost like a resonance issue that simply built up over time. Again, purely speculative, but I wonder if that's caused damage that has to be fixed.

We were on the same cruise. I thought the staff was wonderful. We had the best MDR waiters we've had in 10 cruises and a top-notch room steward.

I found the frustration with the elevators to be more a people issue than a program issue. I understand there being confusion on day 1, but when people are getting in an elevator on day 3 and asking you to press a button (which don't exist)- well, there's no fixing stupid. We found the wait for an elevator to be longer, but the time you actually spend in the elevator is cut down a lot (stopping way less). We didn't encounter any rude passengers, but we tend to do things on our own most of the time.

I really liked the new buffet layout (compared to the Vista) but having the same food on 8 stations seems a little redundant. We did think the food was good. I hated the new deli.

I believe this is always true of both Carnival Cruise Lines and Planet Fitness:

No matter how out of shape you think you are, there's going to be someone there in worse shape than you.

No need to worry, enjoy your cruise!

The AARP Gift Card is actually just a Carnival Gift card sold at a discount by AARP. You can use it for anything pre-cruise that Carnival sells online or load it to your account once on the ship and use it for the purchase of anything for sale on the ship. Carnival has no idea where you got it from (AARP, Kroger, Walmart, Ebay, ETC) and doesn't care. Spend away!

We sailed on the Vista repo from NYC to Miami in 2016. The ship departed NYC on November 16. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released in the US on November 18. We watched that film in the IMAX on that cruise.

There are typically 2 new release type movies shown during a cruise in addition to the standard IMAX movies about nature, space, etc.

John Heald will sometimes post on his Facebook page what new release movies are showing on the IMAX any given week. He posted yesterday that the Vista cruise leaving today and the Horizon cruise leaving tomorrow will both have Rampage and Ready Player One showing in the IMAX.

I think they try to have the biggest 2 movies in the US with the broadest appeal showing in the IMAX to maximize ticket sales. We're sailing on the Horizon at the end of May right when the Han Solo movie comes out. I fully expect to watch it in IMAX on the cruise. If it's not shown, I'll be surprised but it won't ruin my cruise.

Hurricane season starts in September or October..

This is simply not true. Hurricane season in the Atlantic is from June to November. June and July will have fewer Hurricanes than August and September, but there are named storms nearly every year at that time. Last year there were 5 named storms before August. 2 were in the Gulf of Mexico.

Not sure why some are saying this is a conspiracy or rumor. Carnival has confirmed that there is no Imax on the Panorama. We like the Imax on the Vista but I'm not one to insist on ever ship having the exact same things (i.e. it doesn't bother me that Horizon replaces Red Frog Pub with Guy's Smokehouse).

While we don't know what Carnival will put in it's place, a quick look at the deck plan shows where new cabins are going in and where an unnamed public area will be.

On Horizon and Vista the Thrill Theater and Imax lobby are on deck 6 above the main lobby. The Imax then takes up decks 7, 8, and 9. On the Panorama, the arcade will move to where the Thrill Theater and Imax lobby was in addition to 2 new interior cabins that didn't exist on the Vista or Horizon. Club O2 is moving from deck 4 to deck 6 where the arcade was. Decks 7 and 8 show a blank public space where the Imax was. Carnival has stated that a new public space is going in there. Where the Imax extended to Deck 9 on Vista and Horizon the new public space will only be 2 levels on Panorama. Carnival has added what looks to be 16 new staterooms in this area on Deck 9 bringing double occupancy to 4008 up from 3960 on Horizon which was up from 3934 on Vista.

No conspiracies. No downgrading (at least until we find out what it is). Just a new area and, yes, a few new rooms.

On a side note, by moving Club O2 to deck 6, it opens a space on deck 4 for another public area that's not for kids. my guess is that they will put Red Frog Pub here so that they can have both it and Guy's Smokehouse on the Panorama.

We've sailed almost every Carnival class and the Vista happens to be our favorite. I guess it just so happens that the changes they made that others dislike works better for the way we cruise. We rarely go to shows, so the liquid lounge issues don't bother us. We also don't do dance clubs, so again, liquid lounge doesn't bother us. We have a younger family, so the addition of the Family Harbor area is a big plus for us. We love movies, so I'll take the Imax over a 80 feet of unused air simply there for aesthetical purposes any day (just our opinion). The increase in dining venues was another big win for us.

I imagine it's all in who you ask and why you cruise. I have no problem with those who love the things I don't or dislike the things I like. Personally, I'm glad Carnival made these changes. It's why we're on one of the first US based Horizon cruises.

Which cabin number did you stay in?

 

We had OV 2454 on Vista it was great, we upgraded from OV to a cove balcony on Horizon & the same number has terrible reviews on Vista as it’s noisy under the galley. 2412

We were in 2419 on the Vista and booked the same room on the Horizon. We didn't hear a thing from above. We've stayed in Cove Balcony rooms on the Dream and Breeze, all under the galley, and haven't ever had an issue. Maybe there is noise and we don't notice it, maybe we've been really lucky with room choices, or maybe the complaints about noise from the galley are overblown. Cove Balconies and now the Family Harbor Cove Balconies are our favorite category to book.

Our family of 4 did a Family Harbor Cove Balcony on the Vista and have one book in May on the Horizon. It worked out great for us. The Family Harbor Lounge was rarely crowded and was a huge benefit. For instance, 3 of our 4 are early risers and one likes to sleep in. The 3 early risers went and ate breakfast and watched tv or played games on sea days while the other slept a little extra. It was also great for afternoon snacks.

Like others have stated, if you want the Aft Balcony in that area with 4 you better book now. Why Carnival only made one of those rooms a quad I'll never know. We wanted it for our cruise and didn't get it. On the Vista the Family Harbor Cove Balconies were hard to get because there are only 4 but they all sleep 4 (same as on the Horizon but now with several Aft Balconies that sleep 3). The 1 Family Harbor Aft Balcony that sleeps 4 is kind of the white whale in the Family Harbor area.

We booked this cruise a few weeks ago as we had to cancel a January 12 trans canal on the Miracle. The Carnival agent asked for our dinner request and we said YTD. Looking over my reservation my dining time YTD wait listed. I called CCL and told them

I was Platinum and dining preferences are guaranteed. On the CCL website under VIFP perks it clearly says priority MDR reservations. Customer service would not yield and told me to see the Maitre'd when we boarded. I was not happy. What's next 2 free laundries instead of 3. How do I get a hold of John Heald?

There's a difference between "priority" and "guaranteed." MDR times are guaranteed only for Diamonds.

I thought there was no more breakfast / lunch and only a brunch menu? In the MDR that is....

For years now there's been 2 breakfast menus, depending on the day. The port day breakfast menu has been the same for a long time. They just updated it. That's what the OP is referring to. Not sure if it's fleetwide yet. The brunch menu is served on sea days only and is available for breakfast and lunch.

We've stayed in several cove balconies, including a family harbor cove balcony on the Vista. We actually prefer the cove balcony over those on other decks. Seems more private and being that close to the water is really cool. You are below the lifeboats, so there's typically no sunshine on the balcony.

Our family used the Lounge every day. Breakfast in the morning was somewhere in between full-service lido buffet and continental. Snacks in the afternoon was typically cakes, cookies, fruit, and sandwiches. Ice cream machine was on 24/7.

Did you really go to Facebook and blame John Heald for not warning you about needing proper identification to get on the ship? I'm hoping someone just stole your story from here and wrote to him about it.

How in the world is anyone else to blame but the people who didn't follow the MANY warnings Carnival gives via email, cruise contract, and FAQs on their website about proper identification?

I'll be on the Vista's 11 day repo cruise 11/16/2016. I know there will two cruise elegant nights on this cruise, does anyone know the dates of those nights. Thanks.

Because it's a Journey cruise, there should actually be 2 cruise elegant nights and 1 formal night. The formal night is on the throwback day. It looks like they did the throwback day on day 5 of the Transatlantic. We're on this cruise as well and are bringing 3 sets of dress clothes. I'm guessing the 1st elegant night will be night 2, the formal night will be around night 5, and the 2nd elegant night will be around night 9 or 10.

Hi,

We rarely spend a lot of money on board the ship.

Our bill at the end of the cruise is not usually more than $300 and that includes tips!

 

 

We have about 3-4drinks each per day but sometimes less than that.

 

How does your bill come to less than $300 with tips and 3-4 drinks a day each? Tips and three $6 beers per person for two people comes to about $62 a day. That's well over $400 for a seven-day cruise. Mixed drinks would drive it even higher. At that rate you'd be over $300 on a five-day cruise.