cruisinqt

That’s something I’ll definitely be using. Thanks for the info.

We are doing Quantam of the Seas with Royal because we have 2 daughters and we know they want young fun stuff to do. Quantam has laser tag, bumper cars, the flowrider, an escape room, a rock climbing wall, a skydiving simulator and a fully enclosed pool. Plus there are lots of specialty restaurants they’ll enjoy like Johnny Rocket’s where they can get cheeseburgers and milkshakes. I think your grandson would enjoy a ship like this.

Same here the wait was never over 10 minutes and that was during peak dinner times too. We’ve found YTD to be consistently faster than the MDR on our past 3 sailings (Horizon, Mardi Gras, Panorama). And if you get a great waiter you can ask to be seated at his table every night. That way you have the same MDR waitstaff throughout the cruise, just like with the fixed dining. I like it better because I can eat when I’m actually hungry, not when I’m told it’s time to eat.

Yeah things aren’t super cold if you don’t do something about it. Keeping the cabinet door wide open and pulling the fridge out away from the back wall helped a lot. It needs better air circulation in order to work properly. Ours worked much better when we did that. Having them bring ice is a good idea.

I guess I should have clarified. When I said Java Cafe was on those specific ships I meant those were the ships it was on so he could go from there and do his research as to the exact location.

Java Cafe is on the Celebration, Mardi Gras, Horizon, Panorama, Vista, Elation, Glory, Luminosa, Sunshine, Sunrise, Miracle, Radiance, Splendor and soon to be on the new Jubilee.

For water you can order a 12 pack of bottled water for $9.95 ahead of time. It will be in your cabin when you arrive. But yes there are places to fill up with water. What I do is keep the empty water bottles and fill them with lemonade at the lido and juice at breakfast time and put them in the cabin fridge. I also collect a few extra mini chocolate milks at breakfast and store them in the fridge too. I like to have something to drink on hand in my cabin when I first wake up or when I’m chilling in my room trying to wind down enough to go to sleep. There are other things you’ll enjoy like free soft serve ice cream machines in the lido, Guy Fieri’s burgers, and the Punchliner Comedy Club (the late night adult comedy is especially good).

I agree wholeheartedly. Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed because the Excel class is the best of the fleet in my opinion. And how could they say it isn’t a family ship? It’s main show is circus themed with big tops, clowns, and acrobats. Then there’s build-a-bear workshop, green eggs & ham character breakfast, summers landing with free ice cream foosball & a pool, a full sized mini golf course, a roller coaster, and a ropes course. How much kid friendly stuff does this cruiser require to consider a ship a family friendly ship? I personally saw 2 different Dr Seuss parades and the kids faces were beaming. It made me wish my kids were still little just so they could enjoy it too. Don’t listen to that cruisers advice he’s wrong. It’s a very family friendly ship and you’d love it.

Thanks that’s good to know 👍🏻

You could call Carnival and see if they can book it under her name for you. But don’t wait till tomorrow when the offer expires because they won’t honor it.

If it was Carnivals fault you might have a chance of being compensated in someway. But since this is weather related and not Carnival’s fault, just like the airlines, it will be up to you to rebook airfare and possibly find a hotel if needed unless you booked your return flight with them.

Oh yes the Excel class (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee) have the biggest casinos I’ve ever been in on a cruise ship. On the Mardi Gras I actually got lost in the casino which was a first for me.

We’ve been cruising for over 20 years with various lines like Princess, Royal, Hal, Norwegian, and Carnival. I’ve never done Celebrity but I’ve compared Carnival to many other lines and they along with Royal tend to be my favorite. Ignore the “Walmart of the sea” stuff you hear. It’s not true. If you’ll look at their signatures you’ll notice that the people saying that stuff have never even cruised with Carnival before. CC is full of cruise snobs loyal to one or two cruise lines who like to put down all other cruise lines then praise theirs. My biggest complaint about the higher end cruise lines is the much higher median age of the cruisers which makes a big difference in what activities are offered. On Hal and Princess there was ballroom dance classes, daily lectures, and dinner time was a very formal affair every night. I enjoyed them a lot but it was a much more laidback relaxed pace. I know that’s not a bad thing but it’s just not what I’m looking for. I may be in my 50’s but I’m still very active and like to keep busy. With Carnival the daily activities are a bit more playful and fun. They have Deal or No Deal and pick contestants from the audience to win prizes. Then there’s a live Family Feud show that uses passengers as contestants too which is always hilarious. The Celebration has a huge big top circus with tents and acrobats that’s being touted as one of the best shows Carnival has so definitely don’t miss that. But overall Carnival has a younger crowd with activities more geared towards things that interest younger people. Definitely do the comedy shows too. They bring in professional comedians that are really funny. They even have late night adult comedy after 11 which is a favorite of mine. You should also try out the spa if you’re a spa person. You can buy a “thermal suites” pass online ahead of time. For about $149-$159 you can get a week long unlimited pass to use the thermal suites. This includes use of the hot bubbly therapy pool (like a huge oversized hot tub), the steam rooms, the saunas, the waterfall showers to rinse off in, and the heated marble loungers. Some of my best naps ever were in those heated marble loungers after a long soak in the therapy pool. Oh and the spa is 18 and over only so it’s very peaceful and relaxing there. I’d also highly recommend Emeril’s Bistro (by Emeril Lagasse). The food is top notch and those beignets are to die for. Also try out Rudi’s Seafood Grill by Rudi Sodamin. Guy Fieri has a great burger place and bbq joint that shouldn’t be missed either. While at the bbq place check out the microbrewery. The beer sampler is awesome and a great way to figure out which beer is your favorite. My husband always does the brewery tour, it’s not my kind of thing but he loves it. I think you’ll be very surprised with what Carnival has to offer. It’s not elegant and regal like the higher end lines. But it’s not a Walmart of the seas filled with rowdy drunks either. It’s a ship with a younger crowd with more lively activities planned. But there’s also higher end specialty restaurants, a great spa and the adults only serenity area with its fresh made to order salads that appeals to the more sophisticated crowds.

Yeah I’m hearing a lot of that. I’ve never been on a Carnival or Royal cruise that was all older folks but I’m prepared. We will enjoy ourselves either way. At least this is a bigger ship with more amenities to enjoy so that will keep me busy.

Wow what a great video! Thanks I loved it!

Oh those sights are exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

Well I’ll definitely be watching those videos. I hadn’t thought about losing a credit card overseas, that’s a good point. Thanks.

I always forget that feature. I’m an avid book reader so I tend to jump right into reading about things. But I’m getting better about clicking on “images” and “videos” now. I just forget they’re there lol.

They have videos? I’ll definitely look that up thanks.

We would never consider a rental car in a foreign country, that would be too stressful and confusing. As to where we are staying, I’m not sure yet and I’m open to suggestions. We don’t really want an Airbnb or bed and breakfast. Just a normal hotel that’s not too expensive and in a good area of town and close to the main attractions. We aren’t over packers so we will probably have one full sized bag along with a small carry on for each of us. It’s just the two of us, me and my husband. We will be there in mid August so I’ve got plenty of time to plan. We definitely want to see the palace and the suggestion of a nice meal, a pub visit and a show sounds perfect. Thanks for all of the info on the pass and Oyster card it helps a lot.

With our spa cabin once we were on board they offered some good discounted packages. We got lots of fliers in our room from the spa. But I never saw anything on sale or special on the website before boarding. I’m surprised there’s no couples stuff listed there’s usually a bunch. If you’re a long ways from your cruise you might wait because they do add stuff the closer you get to your cruise. If you’re a few weeks away from your cruise then maybe that stuff isn’t showing up because it’s already sold out.

We will be staying in London for 4 days and 3 nights prior to our cruise. We don’t want to mess with a rental car and will be using public transportation to do some sightseeing in the area. We will also need transportation from Heathrow to London then from London to Dover where our cruise ship departs from. I’ve heard about using London passes and Oyster cards for transportation but I’m not sure what the difference is between the two. Can someone enlighten me on this?

Just to clarify: Playlist Productions may be “nothing new” to some cruisers, but to us seasoned long time cruisers we remember when it was brought onboard to replace a very popular well liked production show with live bands. So we will always compare the original entertainment on Carnival to the “new” Playlist Productions regardless of how long it has been in operation. As to cruise critics influence on Carnival, John Heald as well as current and former Carnival employees have confirmed that Carnival IS influenced by these boards. They monitor these boards to: a) See how cruisers are responding to certain changes recently instituted, b) Make changes in areas that cruisers say need improvement, c) Get ideas on what cruisers would like to see added on to newer ships. They monitor these boards (and others similar to it) for the same reason they send out surveys after cruises. They want to make our cruise a better experience but they need our input to do that. Do these boards have a huge influence? Probably not. It’s more likely just a slight influence at best. But we still might have an impact on their future decisions even if it’s just a tiny bit of influence. So I’ll always voice my opinions on what I feel is a great idea or one that was bad and needs to go.

True, the median age and demographics on an Alaskan cruise will be different. Definitely an older crowd for sure.But it’s been my experience that when older cruisers choose Carnival or Royal they tend to be very active seniors that like to stay up late. I think that’s why they choose these cruise lines instead of a quieter more laidback cruise line. But regardless of those things, Royal Caribbean has scheduled events well into the late evening just like Carnival. That’s why I prefer these two lines. Even if it’s off season or going to an area that attracts older crowds, there will be things to do and people milling around having fun. And if it’s quieter than usual I’ll still find lots to do on a bigger ship with lots of amenities to choose from.

We were just on this ship last month. It has Carnival's first ever “Sky Zone” with an indoor trampoline park. Kids can release a lot of energy in there and they even have glow in the dark events which the kids love. I’d definitely recommend taking them there they’ll love it.