cruisinqt

Thanks I’ll check it out then.

Oh whale watching sounds fun. And we love trains. I’ll look into those thanks.

I forgot to mention that I had total knee replacement on one leg a few months ago and will be having another total knee replacement on the remaining one soon. So maybe something with not too much walking. The train in Skagway sounds interesting I’ll check that out. Thanks for the info.

We did a couple Royal cruises but it was at least 12 years ago. We are Platinum with Carnival and Princess. We also have done a couple Norwegian cruises.

We are long time cruisers but haven’t cruised Royal Caribbean in many many years. We booked an Alaskan cruise on Quantam Of The Seas for May of next year. I’m reading the boards here and feel lost. I feel like a newby. Everything with Royal is so different from what I’m used to. Like booking shows and getting special deals on dining packages etc. And to make matters worse, we booked Alaska which is a place we’ve never cruised to. I have no idea where to start on what tours to do. I’ve been on the Alaska boards and everything looks interesting so I don’t know where to start. Can anyone give me a brief overview of what to do and expect on a Royal Caribbean cruise? And also some advice on which Alaskan tours Royal offers that are the best? We are a family of 4 with my husband and I being in our 50’s and our daughters being in their mid 20’s. These are our ports: Sitka,Alaska Skagway, Alaska Juneau, Alaska Victoria, British Columbia Thanks for your help in advance guys.

I did miss shawarma. I meant to try it out but never got back around to it. When we do the Celebration in February I’ll check it out.

I just loved the Pig & Anchor area. With swirls ice cream available 24/7, a free buffet, a nice bar, and all of that seating it was our favorite hangout on the ship. My husband loved to sit in one of the big overstuffed sofas or arm chairs and watch sports on the big screen. I liked playing foosball or shuffleboard. And it was never overcrowded because there just so much dang seating.

You’ll love this ship. We liked it so much we booked her sister ship the Celebration while we were still on our cruise. We’ve never done that before but we are retired now and have more time to cruise. And this new class of ship has so much to offer that we couldn’t resist the great deals we were being offered.

Just got off the Mardi Gras Saturday and I love all the changes carnival made. I’ve been waiting for changes like this for over 20 years. From the self serve soda fountains to the touch less door openers on the bathrooms, the changes they’ve made were very well thought out. They even brought back the magic shows and did 6 or more comedy shows every night so there weren’t massive punchliner comedy show lines. And the main theater Playlist shows were some of the best I’ve seen. The lido had tons of mini stations all over making the lines non existent. I also loved the addition of the hot dog stand and gelato place in the lido too. The Street Eats area was awesome with the Time Fries creation of the day being one of my favorites. And the fact that you can now go to a specialty restaurant and order from the MDR menu was pure genius. Our family always argues over where to eat dinner- MDR or a specialty restaurant. I also love that the showers have real doors, there are charging ports, shelves, and nightlights next to the beds. I was also a big fan of the new sliding glass balcony doors. The main theater had no poles in the way with stadium style seating which made every seat have a great view. And with 16 specialty restaurants to choose from the dinner and lunch lines weren’t bad at all (except for the pizza place late at night.) And for the first time ever on a cruise I never saw long lines at guest services. I don’t know if it was because their service was top notch and no one had complaints or because it was so organized with lots of employees on hand. But it was a first for me. There’s always long lines at guest services so the lack of lines stood out to me. There were a few glitches though. Like the soda fountains being timed for those with the bottomless bubbles program. By the time you grab your glass, fill it with ice and get it in place the timer is almost finished. You’ve gotta be fast and prepared in advance to get a decent amount of soda. We figured it out but it was a pain in the butt sometimes. They need to fix this. It’s just not enough time. Plus once you swipe your card and get some soda it won’t let you get more right away. You have to wait ten minutes which is irritating if you screwed up and didn’t get any soda in your glass. Also, the automatic doors leading in and out of the lido don’t always open when guests stand in front of them. You have to hold down the button on the door which confuses most people who just lightly tap it leaving an irritated crowd behind them. The bingo crowds were the worst I’ve ever seen. One time the line went from in front of Cherries On Top all the way down to Emeril’s Bistro which had to be at least a 45 minute wait. And of course every night after 8:00 pm the pizza crowd was super long. At least 30 or more people in line every time I went by. But this was only in the evenings. But overall it was one of the best ships I’ve been on. There’s just way more to do and eat at on this ship. I’ll throw in a few tips that might help future cruisers. 1.Java Blue Cafe has free hot breakfast sandwiches & pastries every morning and there are no lines. 2.Guys Pig & Anchor has a free breakfast buffet every morning with no crowds. 3.Big Chick has fresh omelets for those of you wanting to skip the long omelet lines 4. If you want to try out different restaurants for dinner, don’t do assigned dining. Assigned dining guests can’t make reservations at them until after 7:45. 5. Guys Pig & Anchor has soda fountains and swirls ice cream machines for those of you wanting to avoid the lido crowds for these things. I hope this helps you future Mardi Gras cruisers out there. Happy sailing.

Thanks I’ll try that

After 20 years of Cruising the Mardi Gras is hands down our favorite ship. Why? 1. There were 6 or more comedy shows every night virtually eliminating the long punchliner club lines. 2.They brought back the magic shows I always loved. 3. Soda fountains on lido and at Guys Pig & Anchor (no waiting at bars for sodas) 4. You can eat MDR food at other restaurants 5. Charging ports and shelves on each side of the bed 6. Touchless entry for all public bathrooms 7. Glass shower doors 8. With 16 restaurants there were very few lines at both lunch & dinner 9. It had some of the best produced high end production shows we’ve seen carnival do I could go on about the great new changes carnival made with the Mardi Gras class, but it would take forever. I personally loved the addition of the hot dog stand and gelato place in the lido. They were really good. Street Eats had this Time Fries place that had a new french fry creation every day that I always looked forward to. But what was the best meal on the ship IMHO was the Teppanyaki place. It was festive with singing, the chef had the flames flying to the ceiling, and the food was perfect. It wasn’t just a meal it was an event. I think carnival put a lot of thought into this new class of ship and fixed a lot of problems. We liked it so much we booked it’s sister ship, the Celebration while still on our cruise. We are contemplating going on the Mardi Gras again maybe late next year.

We just got off the Mardi Gras Saturday and I never saw bacon on the Lido buffet. It was offered at sea day brunch though. And Java Blue cafe had free hot breakfast sandwiches loaded with bacon. The 3 cheese omelette & bacon muffin sandwich had to have had at least 10 slices of bacon on it. And there was virtually no lines there at all. So bacon is available at breakfast in certain areas on the ships, just not on the lido buffet every day.

We just got off of the Mardi Gras Saturday and it had the normal fries, they weren’t crinkle cut. But they just didn’t taste like they used to. I wasn’t impressed with them at all. The burgers however, were the best I’ve ever had at Guys. My husband even said they were better than In & Out Burger which says a lot.

Well crap that’s what I’m worried about. I don’t really want to have to call them and sit on the phone forever but it looks like I may have to. I was hoping for a quick fix online. Thanks for your input.

Okay so my husband is having this weird problem. When he goes to carnival and enters his username and password it takes him to his account except the VIFP number associated with this account isn’t the one we’ve always used for him when cruising. But it’s his account and uses his name and email (which is very unusual). When he clicks on the VIFP page no deals pop up with the VIFP number associated with this account. But when he changes it to the VIFP number we’ve always used, all of his great deals pops up. We just can’t figure out how to change the account associated with his name to the correct VIFP number. Just a little background info, we’ve been cruising with carnival for over 20 years and I’ve always booked and handled everything. He never goes onto carnival. I’m thinking maybe this was an account he created ages ago and forgot. And maybe there’s a newer account with a different username and password that is attached to the VIFP we’ve always used and are familiar with. Anyone have any idea on how to fix this without contacting carnival and being on hold for hours?

We’ve had them twice without an issue.

I’m not ready for the luxury lines yet. Maybe one day when I’m older I’ll enjoy them. But right now they’re just too stuffy and boring for me. Everything shuts down by 10 pm and I mean everything. Even the club was empty at 10 pm. The entertainment was shuffle board, ballroom dancing, afternoon tea time, watching ice sculptures being made, etc. I couldn’t find anything to do that appealed to me. The main evening shows were excellent and the MDR was amazing. And some higher end lines even have personal butlers for certain cabins. But it just didn’t appeal to me. Give me my late night adult comedy, roller coasters, mini golf, hairy chest contests, etc. I know the luxury cruises have a lot to offer, but they are usually use smaller ships, have a much older crowd, and are very slow paced. And that’s not for me.

The cruisers that say that are the cruise snobs that prefer the pricey “luxury” cruises. I personally found the higher end cruises pretty boring. I’m not into shuffle board and ballroom dancing. And everything shuts down early, no shows and literally nothing to do after 10 pm. But the cruise snobs love to put down the cruise lines with a younger funner crowd. They find the laughter and enthusiasm annoying. I’ll take Carnival or Royal over that any day.

1. If the food wasn’t free I wouldn’t cruise. Cruises are already expensive but add in the expense of food for a week and it just wouldn’t be worth it. All of the great food with so many types of food to choose from is something I look forward to. I enjoy trying out new stuff and eating things I normally wouldn’t eat. 2. If they went back to only having small ships I wouldn’t cruise. I love the bigger ships with the wider variety of things to do. We really enjoy the IMAX theater, the mini golf, the variety of specialty restaurants, the ropes course, the roller coaster, etc. I just couldn’t go back to the smaller ships, I’d be bored. 3. I wouldn’t cruise if they got rid of balcony and ocean view cabins. The inside cabins are too dark at night and I’ve almost killed myself trying to get to the bathroom. I can’t sleep with a night light on either. Plus after a few days I start to get claustrophobic. I just wouldn’t enjoy my cruise in one.

When we went a couple months ago we didn’t use Verifly and it went very fast. They just glanced at our papers to make sure everything was in order then waved us on through. Glancing at a few papers versus opening a phone and going into an app and scrolling through that app can’t be that much of a difference time wise. And like you said, there were tons of agents to look through our documents so no one was being held up or taking too long. It was super fast. I personally think people are over hyping the Verifly thing. And it’s not a requirement either. Some cruisers act like you have to do it. But on their website it says Carnival recommends it, not requires it. They also recommend certain covid tests but not everyone uses those specific tests. It’s just a suggestion, not a hard fast rule.

Anyone can use Verifly. It’s most often used for international travel through various airlines. Carnival has been using it to consolidate all of your documents into one app so that the embarkation process moves along quicker. But many cruisers are reporting glitches in the Verifly system. And many of them say they were required to physically show copies of documents regardless of having the Verifly app. And others don’t feel like your personal is safe in the app. So there’s a lot of varying answers as to how useful it is. Carnival recommends it but it’s not a requirement to cruise. I’ve cruised quite a bit recently without it so it’s definitely not needed if you don’t want to mess with it.

I’ve found that early in the morning or late in the evening after dinner the spa isn’t very crowded at all. Midday tends to be the worst time to go. But honestly even when it is crowded people are pretty good about moving into the next area if they see you just walked in and are looking for a spot to relax. They don’t limit your time there but they do limit the amount of passes sold so it doesn’t get too crowded. Also, it’s adults only so it’s very quiet and peaceful. No kids are running around and soothing spa music is playing. In addition to the upgraded toiletries you also get nicer slippers and much bigger fluffier robes. They have a couples pass you can purchase online in advance that’s a pretty good deal. I wouldn’t wait till you board to try and get a pass though. A couple of times I tried that and they were sold out on passes. Personally the thermal suites at the spa are a must do for me and my husband while cruising. I like the saunas and steam rooms a lot. But relaxing in the hydrotherapy pool then stretching out on the heated marble loungers is what I absolutely love. That hot marble just melts the stress away. Some of the best naps I’ve ever had were spent there. It’s not for everyone but if you are into spas and relaxing in a quiet soothing atmosphere you’ll love it.

No problem. I’ll do a thorough review of the classes after our cruise in July. That way people will have a better idea of what to expect and can figure out if it’s for them or not.

The shampoo is in a dispenser on the wall so there’s plenty of that. But I’d recommend bringing a good conditioner. That 2 in 1 stuff doesn’t condition or detangle at all. The bar soap is a bit small but they can give you more if you ask. The body wash is in a wall dispenser, not some tiny bottle like at hotels so there’s plenty, no need to bring any yourself. There’s no lotion, so be sure to bring some of your own.

I’ve never done it myself but I’ve heard of cruisers dropping their luggage off with the porters at the pier then going off and doing some sightseeing before returning and boarding the ship. The ship docks pretty early, like 7:00-8:00 am. The porters are there ready to take luggage pretty early so it should work. You might ask here on the boards if any ones done it and how it went. I know I’ve read a number of reviews that said they’ve done this.