cruisinqt

6 hours ago, VIFP1987 said:

Would you mind sharing what you paid for this excursion? Did you book it through Carnival or directly with the resort? Thank you! 

Carnival doesn’t offer it as a paid for excursion. They only offer it as a perk for the casino guests. I emailed the hotel and they told me to just show up and ask for a day pass and that it was $68 pp. It was well worth that price. 

2 hours ago, mom1965 said:

Do you remember how many hours they stay there and is drinks included?

 

We got there fairly early and stayed till 2 or 2:30 which left us an hour to shop back in port. Yes all beverages including alcoholic ones was included. Just be sure to eat something before you start drinking. They make those drinks very strong. There’s a sports bar and a big poolside bar to get drinks at. 

I went there for the Elite excursion a couple months ago on an elite cruise and loved it so much that I went back on my own today (this cruise wasn’t elite). It has a massive pool, two large hot tubs, a snack bar, a huge indoor buffet with live cooking stations, nice bathrooms, showers, and a beautiful beach. I did several tiktoks about it but I don’t know how to link it here, or if I’m allowed to. But my tiktok name is Thetraveler. I would highly recommend Senator Resort though. And it’s right next door to Amber Cove so it’s not a long drive there either. 

I’m so afraid of losing an expensive piece of jewelry or even being robbed in port that I now wear fake stuff. The shops on board have some pretty realistic looking fake wedding rings and other jewelry. So now my souvenir while on board is finding cute faux diamond rings and jewelry. 

10 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I don't know what story your PVP is telling but that isn't true.  I called from my usual phone to the desired PVP, had her book my new cruise and told her I didn't care for my recently newly assigned PVP (my longtime PVP passed away) and she said "just send me an email".

Dear JXXX, I want you to be my PVP.  Thank you, Elaine  Done.

I forgot to mention that I’ve been cruising for well over 20 years and this happened a good while back. I talked to her this morning as I was booking the Jubilee and was pleasantly surprised to find out how much easier the process has been made. She’s a supervisor to the pvp’s in her region and it’s something she’s been pushing for a long time but I wasn’t aware because we haven’t talked about it. She’s not scamming me I’m just out of touch with how much things have changed over the years. But I would honestly recommend her to anyone because she’s saved me some serious bucks on deals I was unaware of and got me into cabins that weren’t showing up online. 

4 hours ago, canes20 said:

Pretty sure you got some bad info somewhere. When I switched PVPs, I called from my regular phone number to the  new PVP I wanted, he took care of everything that I needed, never had the chance of losing the cabin I wanted. After we finished talking, I then sent and email to him that stated my wanting him as my PVP. @Elaine5715 was able to do exactly as I did. I think maybe your PVP just wanted to feel special.

I was talking to my pvp this morning about it as I was booking the Jubilee. Evidently things have changed over the years and it’s much easier now than it was then. I forgot to mention that I’ve been cruising for well over 20 years and this was a good while back. I know she’s not scamming me or trying to make me feel good, she’s honestly amazing. She even notifies me when I get a good casino offer on a cruise I’ve already booked and switches me over to the cheaper price. My London cruise in August was originally $3500 but I got a casino offer that brought it down under $1000 with free drinks. I’m eternally grateful for her catching that. 

On 7/28/2023 at 3:33 PM, canes20 said:

 

 

It is not that hard. I never used a different phone number. I called the new PVP I wanted and all I had to do was send an email to him requesting that I wanted him as my PVP. Did not have to give any reason that I wanted to switch or anything else. Easy peasy.

I never said you couldn’t change pvp’s via email. I’m aware of that. But it’s a complicated process for the pvp which slows down the whole booking process and you could lose the cabin you wanted during that time. It’s just easier to call from a different phone and make the booking immediately. I know those rules are there to protect the pvp’s from poaching clients off of one another so I try to be understanding. But to save my pvp from going through all of that red tape and to keep me from having to mess with emailing back and forth, (I hate emails and prefer to make a quick phone call) we switched to booking under my husbands name and phone number and I made our booking immediately. After a short waiting period we switched to my name and phone number since I’m the one that does all of the vacation planning. She was happy to not have to mess with the paperwork involved and I was happy to find a way to book immediately whenever I wanted to which was all that mattered to me. It was just quicker and easier to call her on my husbands phone where I could immediately book our cruise before the cabin we wanted was gone (we are very picky about our cabins). But either way, whether you switch phones or send an email, we’ve given the OP a couple of different options on how to switch pvp’s which was the goal here so mission accomplished. 

If you have an assigned pvp no other pvp’s can poach you. So when your phone number or name pops up on the screen they send you to your original pvp. I had a bad one too but moved to an amazing pvp recommended to me by a fellow cruiser. I called her from a different phone so they wouldn’t recognize me by my phone number on the screen and she helped to move me over to her being my new pvp. It’s a complicated process and they usually make you wait 6 months before moving to a new pvp but this new pvp has been with carnival for over 20 years and is in management so she knew a lot of loopholes. Just to be clear, she didn’t poach me or steal me from someone else, I sought her out because of bad service from the other one. My recommendation would be to get a really good highly recommended pvp and call from a different phone and hopefully they can help you. 

The Magic is an older ship with less bells and whistles so it would be my last choice. The Horizon would be my second choice. My first choice would be a tie between the Mardi Gras and the Celebration, they are the biggest newest ships in the carnival fleet and are sister ships. They both have lots of extra restaurants to choose from, a roller coaster, and the design is a very new innovative concept for Carnival and my favorite so far. 

1 hour ago, momofmatt said:

Looking to take our "honeymoon" cruise in December over Christmas (12/23/23/ - 12/30/23).  What is the weather like?

We went in December of last year and the weather was perfect. It was in the mid 70’s to 80’s the entire time we were in Mexico. I just wore my long pants and jacket on embarkation and debarkation day. But the rest of the time we wore shorts, T-shirts and capris. 

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

So that means it doesn't ever happen? Sorry, life doesn't work that way.

Oh it happens a lot, all he would need to do is Google it. There’s tons of threads here on CC about people bashing other cruise lines, especially Carnival. Even if he looked up “Walmart of the seas” online there would be tons of “bashing” to be found. I agree with you that just because you personally don’t experience it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. 

2 hours ago, txcruiser1234 said:

One silver lining born from the narrative that Carnival is a lesser cruise experience is that overall demand/pricing is lower than it would otherwise be, meaning overall value is higher than it would otherwise be. Works for me.

Exactly. So many people think that since they pay more then it must be better. That’s not always the case. My bosses Jaguar costs way more than my vehicle but it’s always in the shop, can’t fit many friends and constantly gives him problems. My Hyundai Palisade is completely loaded and an absolute joy to drive and has never been in the shop. You couldn’t pay me enough to switch vehicles with him. I find cruise lines very similar. I try out the others but keep coming back to Carnival. The less they cruise Carnival the more cabin choices I have 

It starts at 5:30 and ends at 7:45 so if you ask for a table at 5:00 or even 5:25 it will go though and notify you when the tables ready. But starting at 5:30 it won’t allow you to even check to see if there are any tables open for you. At promptly 7:45 it will open back up again and allow you  to ask for a table. It’s really not a reservation system like with Bonsai Teppanyaki or the steak house. You’re just requesting the first available table which can take 5-10 minutes or an hour depending on how busy they are. Check the app frequently because they will only hold the table for 10 minutes once it’s available. 

On 7/19/2023 at 9:44 PM, GwenyP said:

Ok so I’ve been on nine Carnival with our tenth booked for December.   We are also going on Celebrity next June.  I’ve joined a couple of Celebrity message groups to learn more about the ships, etc. but the elitism by Celebrity cruisers is unreal.   It’s like they can’t wait to find a reason to be able to say Carnival sucks or they would never set foot on a Carnival ship based on a few TikTok videos they’ve seen.  Has anyone else noticed this about Celebrity or other cruise lines?   IMO Celebrity is barely a step above any mass market line.   They have better service and frou frou restaurants, sure, but IMO that doesn’t mean Carnival is trash.  Makes me wonder if the people I meet on board will be just as snobbish or if these are just keyboard warriors.  

I get this all the time and it’s not just from Celebrity cruisers. Last month on Royal several times cruisers bashed Carnival in front of me (it was obvious from the way they talked that they’d never even sailed with Carnival). Any time I go on another cruise line (which I do often) they bash Carnival both on board and in online forums. I think it’s because Carnival is known to be the fun cruise line whereas many higher end cruise lines get called floating senior citizens centers. I have to admit that Hal and Princess were very docile with things pretty much shutting down by 10 pm. It was elegant and bougie but a bit boring compared to Carnival. I still enjoyed them, it was just a bit different. 

The false narrative about Carnival used to irritate me but now I really don’t care. Why should I enlighten them about how nice Carnival is? They don’t need to know about Carnivals collaborations with famous chefs like Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri, and Rudi Sodamin that has resulted in amazing specialty restaurant choices for us. Or that Carnival now has ropes courses, Sky rides, trampoline rooms and roller coasters. Or top notch spas with saunas, therapy pools, steam rooms, etc. Why should I share my good fortune with those snobs? 

11 hours ago, firefly333 said:

If you decide to do celebrity be sure and transfer your rcl loyalty status. Status transfers. I've done all the same lines you have plus celebrity. Loyal to my wallet. Not yet to the point I would decide on a ship based on elevators. ..though I do have a end of boardwalk booked on the new utopia. It is a long walk back there. Also done a aft corner. Another long walk on rcl but loved the aft. No elevators on the end of oasis class .. boardwalk is a walk back on all ships. 

 

Imo it's the drink pkgs on carnival and rcl have the most differences especially out of texas. I do wish carnival had more pay restaurants discounts I could prebook. I miss that too. The last excursions I did on rcl mostly booked black friday I got 35% off. I think carnival could sure push prebooking deals. 

Thanks for the tip, I had no idea you could transfer your loyalty status. I wouldn’t normally let elevators be a deciding factor (I’m in my fifties) but until I get my left knee replaced I’m having to be picky. I worked for the federal government for over 20 years which is what tore up my knee. Yet the department of labor is still giving me a hard time and not approving the surgery. 
 

Yeah I wish Carnival had more restaurant discounts too. Even though their base price is cheaper than the other lines, Royals sales, like the 3 restaurant dining package we got on our cruise last month, are an absolute steal. 

On 7/2/2023 at 8:18 AM, imlulu said:

Sorry to hear that your day started so frustratingly. This will be our first time to a rubs but have booked jeeps a couple of times in Cozumel. Are those available at the port rentals? 

Yes Richi Car Rentals had Jeeps available. I saw several in his lot. (They had all been rented out when we came back in the mid afternoon.) They were expensive it was $300 for a 4 door 4x4 Jeep for the whole day. But from my research Jeeps are very popular for off roading there so they’re expensive at all of the rental places. He had some nice ones though. I think Jays Car Rentals had some too.  

56 minutes ago, sunonfire said:

Funny. That is why my husband did not go on the two Royal ships from Tampa. We stick to Carnival spirit class and Celebrity Constellation. There are more elevators. 9 out of 10 we are the only passengers on the elevator.

Celebrity is on my agenda to try out next. We’ve done Hal, Royal, Carnival, Princess, and Norwegian but not Celebrity yet. It’s good to know that their elevator situation is up to par. When you get to a certain age things like that matter. 

Since the golf carts were sold out for our cruise I researched alternatives and found a new place that has electric scooters for rent. It had really high reviews online so we decided to give them a try. It’s called Greenbikes Bonaire and it’s a four minute walk from the ship (closer than the golf cart place.) The Scooters were really nice and much faster than the golf carts. We had a blast and they only cost $45 a day (it was called the cruiser special.) I liked that the seats were really comfy and they had storage baskets for our stuff. So those of you who can’t get a golf cart because they’re sold out or if you’re wanting a little more adventurous ride around Bonaire, check them out. It’s a family owned business and they were super sweet. 

11 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

Yep, I've seen that on Carnival as well.  

Royal ships only have forward and mid elevator banks, even on the Oasis class.  Carnivals ships of comparable size to Royals have elevators forward, mid and aft.  

It may work out to the being the same physical number of elevators, but the perception is you spend less time walking between venues that are aft on Carnival than you do on Royal.  

Carnival only blocks off elevators for baggage on embarkation day so it doesn’t really effect your cruise much accept the first day. 
 

I do think Royal has the same number of elevators it’s just that when you’re on the end of the ship that doesn’t have elevators it can be a long walk, especially if your cabin is on that end. It’s not really a big deal unless you have health issues or disabilities. 

We were there today and went to our favorite places. We did the animal sanctuary, the butterfly farm, had lunch at P F Changs, then spent the rest of the day at Arashi beach sipping cocktails, swimming, and snorkeling. 

We had a medical emergency on board so we arrived in Aruba today at 10:15 am instead of 9:00 am as planned. We weren’t concerned since we are here till 10:00 pm so we have plenty of time and our car rental was booked for 10:00 am so we wouldn’t be too terribly late. Plus after over 20 years of cruising we’ve come to realize that local tour operators keep themselves updated on ship arrival times and adjust their plans. We still made sure to be one of the first ones off of the ship so we could meet up with our car rental guy from Yess Rental Cars. We docked at 10:15 and started debarking at 10:30. We were off the ship and at our pre planned meeting place, the Citgo gas station across the street, by 10:45. We were literally one of the first ones off the ship. But upon arriving at our meeting place no one was there. We walked around the building and through the parking lot several times but Yess Rental Cars was no where to be found. We waited 20 minutes in the heat then a local lady let us borrow her phone so we could call Yess Rental Cars. When I told the man my name before I could even explain the situation he got onto me for never showing up saying he gave up on me and left. He even claimed to have stayed there till 11:00 am which was not true. When I explained that our ship arrived late he again blamed me for not telling him. I said  “I’m on a cruise ship, how am I going to call you?” Then he blamed me again saying I should have emailed him. I told him the WiFi on the ship was glitchy that morning and I couldn’t even get an email through. I asked him why he didn’t keep up with these things like other reputable companies do and he changed the subject and said he didn’t have a car for me anymore. He didn’t keep up with the ships changed arrival time, he didn’t wait on me, he blamed me (the customer) for everything, and he even rented my car out to someone else. The only help he tried to give me was to suggest that I go to the main entrance near the ship and see if one of the people there had a car available for me. Fortunately we came across a guy in the main rental car parking lot where you meet up for Jays Car Rentals and several other car rental companies. This guy had a nice SUV for $150 for the day so we jumped on it and headed out. He was with Richi Car Rentals and he was super nice and very professional. He said they don’t do reservations, it’s on a first come first serve basis, but he has tons of cars and rarely has to turn someone away. Next time I’ll use him or do Jays Car Rentals like I usually do but I’ll NEVER do Yess Car Rentals again. They were much cheaper and now I see why. You get what you pay for. By the way, we had a blast in Aruba and this by no means ruined our day. I just wanted to warn you guys so you don’t have to go through what I did. 

3 hours ago, Thenagers said:

The biggest difference I have found is the free options on carnival are better. Fast casual is amazing on Carnival. I would take blue Iguana over El loco fresh any day! And Johnny Rockets is not worth the up charge when Guys is free? I think RCL had a better MDR but I have not been since they changed that menu? I know a lot of people are not happy. I think RCLs ships are prettier but I was impressed with Mardis Gras so carnival improving? 

The first time I went on the Mardi Gras I thought ‘wow this is just like a Royal Caribbean ship.’ The excel class is completely different from the rest of carnivals fleet. Carnival has definitely made a lot of changes for the better, especially food wise. Royal used to blow them away when I compared food but now I prefer Carnivals food. But I still like Royals activities and shows a little better. 

4 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

come on now. Just how many times when you get in an elevator is there a crew member in the elevator. Most every time none.

 

whatever the algorithm is or what it's based on it's certainly not the fact that you are Platinum that is getting you those offers.

There have been many many times I’ve had crew members in the elevator with me. How do you think they get from their cabin on the bottom deck to their job on deck 10 or deck 12 or higher? I see crew members all over the ship quite frequently including very often in the elevators. And as far as the algorithm goes Carnival keeps it a very close secret so we will probably never know the full truth on that so guessing or hypothesizing is futile. 

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Isnt that including crew I read? A bit exaggerated lol

There will be 7,960 people on board (which does in fact include crew which is relevant since they use the elevators too) so the number is quite accurate I’m afraid, no exaggeration there. For those who don’t have health issues it’s not a big deal but for those of us with bad knees, bad backs, autoimmune disorders like chronic fatigue syndrome or other disabilities it’s a problem. It’s not just the walking distance from the end of the ship where there’s no elevators but it’s also the wait as every elevator is already full so you wait for next and it’s full and it goes on and on. Less elevators and more people on board means more waiting time which means more pain for some of us. I’m not dissing Royal, I’m just stating a fact about them that affects many of us cruisers with disabilities. I’ll still be cruising with them but I’ll just stick to the smaller ships when I cruise with Royal. The Quantam was a bit too much on this last cruise so I’ll do the Oasis class next time. Happy cruising 🚢 

20 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

We are on QOTS right now and yes, the elevator situation is ridiculous. 

 

Our cabin is aft (only option available for a disability room when we booked), and there's a forward and a mid elevator bank.  No aft bank. 

 

For any activity aft to our cabin we walk the length of the ship... next time we will choose a different cabin, but it won't change the issue of long waits at the midship elevators.  2/3rds of the ship is using them.

As bad as the elevator wait is on the Quantam, can you imagine the wait on Icon of the Seas with almost 8,000 people on board yet still just 2 elevator banks per deck? 😩