cruisinqt

In July on our Mardi Gras cruise we tried to walk up to Chibang and make reservations at the desk. They said we had to use the app. There was no list there at the desk to put us on and they were very busy. We were able to walk right into Emeril’s whenever we wanted and get a seat right away without reservations but they aren’t free. So from my experiences the restaurants that were free needed reservations ahead of time through the app. But the paid for restaurants (that didn’t require reservations like the sushi place or Emeril’s) you could just walk right in and get seated. That’s not to be confused with the paid for restaurants like the steak house or Bonsai Teppanyaki which require reservations days in advance. But what I’m trying to say is that it might be difficult doing your time dining without a phone.

I completely agree with you on this. Very few businesses can be completely shutdown for a couple years and still make it. It still remains to be seen who makes it and who goes under. Some cruise lines will make it while others will not. I’m fine with whatever they have to do to stay afloat. I’m just happy to be back on a ship.

My cabin steward on the Horizon (in February) said he got his visa after a few months but his wife was still back home waiting for hers to be approved. He mentioned several friends that had worked on the ship with him in the past that were also waiting on visa approval. He also stated that many former workers found jobs back home and didn’t want to return to cruising. So not only are they short staffed but many of the workers are new to the industry and need extensive training. So they are training people while still having to do their jobs. I asked my waiter about the issue in July on our Mardi Gras cruise and he confirmed that most ships were still struggling with staffing issues. He said the Mardi Gras was lucky because they were one of the few ships almost fully staffed. (That’s probably why all of their specialty restaurants were open when the other ships were closed for a short time.) He also said covid was a big factor in the staffing issues because every sailing there are lots of staff hit with covid and can’t do their job. So everyone ends up working extra and picking up the slack. Cutting back restaurant hours and buffet hours is inevitable considering the situation. That being said, I agree that saving money is probably also a deciding factor in some of their decisions. The cruise industry was given a severe blow during the pandemic when they had to shutdown for years and now they’re struggling to stay afloat. But the worker shortage is a fact. They must sign a contract to work on a ship for a minimum of 6 months. That means not seeing their loved ones for quite a while. Most Americans won’t even work a normal job on land so why would they opt to go overseas for 6 months or longer with lousy pay? That’s why you’ll almost always see foreigners working the cruise industry. And those foreigners need visas to work. And the countries are panicked over covid and making people jump through hoops to get a visa. Therefore, there’s most definitely a worker shortage and staffing problem on all of the ships. And it absolutely will cause cutbacks. But are the cutbacks solely because of being short staffed? No. Is it strictly because of money? No. It’s a combination of both. I’m hoping that once the staffing issues are resolved that some of these cutbacks will disappear. The workers I talked to seemed to think so. I guess we shall see.

A lot of the stuff people are complaining about are not because of permanent cutbacks. Most of them are due to certain ships being short staffed. The covid situation made it really hard to live or work in another country. Visas weren’t being approved hardly at all. On our cruise back in February our cabin steward said most of his friends were struggling to get work visas and the ship was very understaffed because of it. So the food quality, service, etc suffered. The restaurants hours were cutback and even the kids center wasn’t running. But now we are seeing some stuff get back to normal on certain ships while other ships stuff is still being cutback. That’s why it’s a hit or miss as to what to expect on your ship. It’s not because of permanent cutbacks but because they are short staffed. On our Horizon cruise there were lots of cutbacks (because of staffing) but on our Mardi Gras cruise there were almost no cutbacks except a few permanent ones like the pizza places hours changing or the free room service being only till 10 am. It’s because it’s a new ship with all new people that were hired months in advance whereas the older ships were scrambling to try to bring back the previous staff. Most of the permanent cutbacks are minor annoyances in my opinion and carnival has been up front about them. What’s driving everybody crazy are the cutbacks and changes due to lack of staff. That’s something carnival can’t do much about and can’t predict because it changes from ship to ship. We really should be complaining to the immigration and visa people about the super slow turn around on issuing visas. They need to get on the ball. Hopefully most of these issues will clear up in the next few months and the permanent changes will be minor.

It’s been really frustrating for me too but I’ve been trying to be understanding about the cutbacks. The cruise industry was completely shutdown for at least a couple of years. How many businesses can go with zero profit for years and still make it? Very few. It’s going to take a long time for them to recover. And many cruise lines will probably go under. Some already have. If I have to deal with longer lines, fewer food options, no free room service after breakfast hours, etc. I’ll accept that for awhile. I know they’re trying to recover and this is the most practical way to do it. I’m hoping that it’s just a temporary situation until they get back on their feet so to speak financially. I’m sailing a few other lines and seeing the same cutbacks and complaints. It seems like it’s a problem right now in the entire cruise industry.

Having been in sales in the past I know how frustrating it is for someone to sit there and let you go through your whole sales pitch then say they never planned on buying anything. Don’t let them waste their time like that. They could be moving on to the next client that might want to buy a bunch of stuff. That’s why when I’m filling out the paperwork ahead of time I never mention any ailments or concerns (which is what they go by in order to recommend certain products.) I also write down that I’m not interested in buying anything but I appreciate their hard work and always tip very well. They seem to like the up front honesty and mention of a tip.

It’s 27 miles from Long Beach airport and the cruise pier and 5 miles from LAX. We chose it because we are flying in from LAX and wanted something near the airport.

Sorry it took so long to respond. I’m a freelance muralist and had a big job to do with a tight deadline. I picked my hotel based on location and price. It’s super expensive in the LA area. I ended up booking the Hotel MDR (a Hilton Doubletree hotel) because it’s located between LAX and Venice beach with a mall next door and restaurants nearby. We ended up paying $180 a night which isn’t bad for an upscale hotel. Even the really cheap rundown places wanted over $100 a night.

Between the Glory and the Celebration I’d choose the Celebration hands down. The itineraries are similar but the Celebration is a brand new ship and much bigger with more stuff to do on it. I personally love the Deal or No Deal and Family Feud shows on the Celebration plus it has a roller coaster and lots of extra eating places to choose from. As for the Mexican Riviera on the Panorama we are doing it this November so I’ll do a review and let you know. It will also be our first time cruising out of LA. I was impressed with the wide selection of excursions they had. One port even had riding on camels as a tour.

We were on the Mardi Gras last month and the MDR was much better than on our Horizon cruise in February. I heard the Horizon was understaffed but the Mardi Gras being brand new was fully staffed so maybe that was the difference. But the food was really good and they brought back a bunch of the classics in celebration of Carnival’s 50th anniversary. Like the baked Alaska dessert, the grand marnier soufflé, flat iron steaks, etc. I wish I could remember all the dishes but a ton of our old favorites were brought back and we loved it.

I completely agree. I’ve personally done several higher end luxury cruise lines but enjoyed Carnival more, the lower cost is just a bonus. I’d still sail Carnival if they cost more. The luxury lines felt like a retirement home. Bingo, art exhibitions and dance classes for the two step or waltz were the highlights of things to do during the day. In the evenings it was broadway musicals and ballroom dancing then off to bed for everyone. Things just stopped at 10 pm. It was like a ghost town except for the casino and a couple bars. The food was excellent, you were pampered with butlers and high end amenities, but it was too sedate for me. Carnival may be cheaper but they are a whole lot more fun. With all of the new specialty restaurants, roller coasters, ropes course, water parks, mini golf, and great late night comedy shows I have a blast every time. And the overall value is hard to beat. Plus I can get a much larger cabin in a prime location for half the price. What notplatinum doesn’t understand is that just because you pay a lot more money for something doesn’t mean it’s better. My $50,000 dollar car hasn’t spent one day in the repair shop in the past 5 years I’ve owned it. But my bosses $100,000 Jag literally lives in the repair shop. But he still thinks his car is better because he paid more for it. And you can’t change his mind. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it.

I’m from Texas and I’ve found that cruises out of Texas are far more expensive than the rest. Many years ago I started comparing prices and I found that I could cruise out of Florida (including airfare) cheaper than cruising out of Texas. And there’s so many more ports of call and ships to choose from too. I think it’s because there’s not many ports to cruise from in Texas so with no competition to worry about they keep the prices high. But with Florida there’s lots of ports which keeps the pricing much more competitive. There’s cruises out of Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Jacksonville. We don’t cruise out of Galveston much anymore. You ought to start comparing cruises out of Florida. You might be surprised.

At Emeril’s we had the rice and beans and it was very authentic. It had the rice in the center surrounded by a river of beans. It was very very good, I’d order it again. Another night I had the jambalaya and it was in a sizzling skillet with chicken, sausage and shrimp. I felt like I was in New Orleans because it was so spot on perfect with the seasoning. My husband had the sizzling cast iron shrimp scampi and the shrimp & oyster po boy. He's very critical of food but was in heaven and kept praising it. Throughout the week we tried several deserts including the bananas foster, the beignets, strawberries romanoff, and the lemon icebox pie. They were all delicious but the beignets and lemon icebox pie were top tier. We liked Emeril’s because they were open late, everything was pretty cheap, and the food was far superior to everything else. It became our go to late night snack place. You should definitely try it.

On our Mardi Gras cruise a few weeks ago they were completely sold out before we ever set sail. I was shocked because they are so expensive. My first thought was that they were overpriced and they wouldn’t sell many. I was wrong.

Have you checked your offers? Carnival has had some amazing offers lately that are really hard to pass up. I cruise with several other lines but the others just don’t give the great offers carnival does. You will likely spend more elsewhere. You could possibly have an offer that’s even better than the one you had booked. You should check it out.

With a cabana your balcony is really more of a patio. You would have to leave your balcony (patio) and walk across the sidewalk to get to the railing to look out at the ocean. You wouldn’t be able to see the ocean from your bed. I think a Havana cabana is more for those wanting an uncrowded pool to relax in and a larger patio to hang out at. Plus there’s the whole Havana bar that’s amazing. I can’t comment on the premium or extended view balconies as I’ve never had one. I’ve had opportunities but I’m not crazy about where they are usually located. I prefer to be in the center of the ship. Maybe one day I’ll try one though. A few weeks ago we did a spa balcony on the Mardi Gras and loved it. The room was a little narrower but much longer than normal including the balcony. We seemed to have more room to move around out there. We love doing the thermal suites. I enjoy the steam room and saunas. But doing the hot bubbly therapy pool then relaxing in the heated marble lounger is my favorite thing about cruising. I’ve had some of the best naps ever in those things.

We did the Bonsai Teppanyaki on the Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago. Several of us chose multiple meats including lobster and jumbo shrimp. There was no extra charge. In fact he cooked so much that there was extra for those that wanted a little more. It was the best food on the ship. The meat was so tender it just melted in your mouth. We even liked it better than the steak house. Not that the steak house wasn’t great. But the seasoning on the meat at the Teppanyaki place was just amazing and there was so much variety. If you’re looking at going there book it now. It will sell out long before the cruise. Our February cruise is already sold out. Glad we had booked it already.

We got off the Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago. The internet was much better. I’ve heard carnival added more satellites and expanded their WiFi. I was able to stream lots of videos. I did notice that several times after going into port once I got back onto the ship the WiFi would get bogged down. I’d completely sign out of everything on the app (WiFi and all) then sign back in again like a new user and it would be fast again. It’s been a glitch I’ve noticed with carnival. But yes the WiFi is much faster and worth it.

The internet was much better than the other ships. There were a few times I had to sign out then sign back in again to get it working properly. It was normally after being in port then once I got back on the ship my internet was slow and nothing was loading. I would just completely sign out of the hub app with the WiFi and everything then sign back in again like a new user and everything would be quick again. It’s a glitch I’ve noticed with carnival. But overall the Wi-Fi’s a lot better. I was on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, watching videos without any issues.

It was free on our cruise a couple weeks ago

I think it applies to all assigned dining guests. It wouldn’t let me make any reservations on the hub app until after the unassigned dining guests had time to finish dinner. I think they’re trying to keep the restaurants open and free of lines for those people to dine. But if you want to make reservations at a specialty restaurant that requires a flat fee to dine you can normally do that anytime. We made reservations at the steak house and the Teppanyaki place ahead of time before our cruise. But it looked like you could reserve those restaurants on the ship via the app if they had any openings. It just won’t let you make reservations at the free places like Chibang or Big Chick or at the ones that had small fees per item like at Emeril’s or the sushi place.Those are alternative dining areas for those with unassigned dining. Some of them charge so they are still considered specialty restaurants. But I would strongly recommend making your (for a fee) specialty restaurant reservations ahead of time. They will likely be sold out by the time you cruise. For our cruise in February the Bonsai Teppanyaki place and steak house are already sold out. I found the dining menus and calendar of events for our cruise beforehand so I could figure out what days to book the specialty restaurants. I’m glad I did because those two restaurants had the best meals on the ship and I’m glad we tried them out.

There were times it felt crowded and then times it felt spacious with hardly any crowds at all. It just depended on where you were. Like anytime after 8:00 pm the area around the pizza place was a madhouse and super congested. Also, if there’s bingo in the main atrium on deck 6 then expect super long lines for cards and lots of congestion. The pool area and lido were always pretty busy. But on deck 7 from the alchemy bar all the way back to the Palm restaurant it was always very quiet and spacious. There are lots of comfy sofas and the bar never had more than a couple people at it. We loved that area. The adult serenity area (deck 18) was very spacious and quiet after dinner time. We loved hanging out in the hot tub there later in the evening. Emeril’s was never too busy and had beignets very comparable to what you’d find in New Orleans. And don’t get me started on their jambalaya or sizzling shrimp skillet. So, like most ships, if you stay away from the really popular areas then you’ll find lots of spacious areas to relax in that aren’t crowded at all. This is a huge ship so there were a lot of uncrowned areas we found and loved. I was really surprised because our cruise was sold out and it was the summer crowd with lots of kids but it wasn’t that noisy or crowded if you knew where to go. I didn’t notice anyone sick or having covid related problems. The workers were wiping down the insides of the elevators, the tables, the doors, I mean they were going out of their way to keep things clean. And this ship has automatic doors on all of the public restrooms. Just wave your hand and the door automatically opens for you from the inside and outside too. So I felt pretty safe about my health. Of course I used my hand sanitizer like crazy but I’ve always done that.

They left a card in our mail slot next to the door with a pretty good offer. It was $100 per person for a balcony cabin. We just couldn’t pass it up, especially on such a fantastic ship like this one.

Wow what a great response! And so many details too. Thanks. We booked an elite on the Panorama in November and another elite on the Celebration in February. So this info will come in handy. I’m doing a screenshot of this and saving it.

Thanks I’ll be careful