cruisinqt

All last summer Isle Of Sky was replaced with Stornoway so I expected to go there instead which I wasn’t thrilled about. But hearing that we are going to Dublin is great news. I’m really excited about going there too!

I just got this too. I’m going on the 8/20 cruise out of London. But the itinerary change isn’t showing on my planner. It still says Isle Of Sky. I’m trying to find what the exact changes to the schedule are so I can plan accordingly.

I wasn’t going to get technical but perhaps it’s warranted with the various comments I’m seeing. A ship will be affected by rough seas in two ways, roll and pitch. The roll is when waves hit the side of the ship (side to side motion) which the stabilizers help with. Pitch comes from front and aft of the ship. Larger and longer ships sit atop waves more and are less affected by pitch. According to numerous maritime websites, “The degree in which a ship will roll, pitch and yaw in different sea conditions depends on its inherent stability. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the ship, the less likely it is to be affected by rough weather.” Therefore, larger ships will be less affected by rough seas than smaller ones, that’s a fact. However, the bigger ships have a larger lever arm which will increase the motion felt when you’re up high on the ship or if you at either end of the ship. So there is some merit to a smaller ship feeling slightly more stable in those specific areas (very high or at the very end or way up front.) But for overall stability of a ship (and I’ve been on many ships with over 20 years of cruising) I’ve personally found the larger ships much more stable. As for cabin location, lower and in the center is best. The ship pivots around its center of mass which is down very low and in the middle. So you’ll want a cabin closest to that area if you don’t want to feel motion in your cabin while sleeping. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. We are here to help.

Yes Carnival adds extra events on longer sailings. They call them “Carnival journeys” cruises. They add enrichment lectures on stuff like photography, stargazing, etc. They also have Q&A sessions from various departments (maritime, entertainment, hotel operations) throughout the cruise. They also add on dance classes and will usually have a 50’s dance hop one night. And there will usually be a throwback day where the whole day will a throwback to that time, it’s usually in the 1980’s or 1990’s. The whole ship will be decorated according to that decade, they even have an old timey photo booth setup. Carnival really goes out of their way to make their longer cruises more fun.

Most people with seasickness get the behind the ear patches from their doctors. I usually take Bonine along which is available at most stores but I’ve never needed it. Most of the time you don’t even realize you’re on the sea because the ships are huge with big stabilizers on them. But I have been on a few cruises that were a little rocky. I’ve never really noticed much noise from the cabins next door. It’s just like a hotel room, for the most part you don’t hear a peep but occasionally you’ll get a noisy neighbor. One of the reasons I started cruising over 20 years ago was because of the free child care and great kids programs on cruise ships. It’s nice to have a break from them occasionally but still have them along for the fun. The kids centers break the kids up into groups like 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, & 12-15 but each cruise line does it differently. The workers have to have a degree in a child related field so most of them are teachers. They do fun stuff like scavenger hunts, arts & crafts, board games, and watch kids movies. You can drop them off in the morning with a break for lunch and dinner and after 10 pm it’s no longer free. But it’s still very cheap and is usually under $10 an hour.

I enjoy talking to the various workers and hearing what life is like in their country. I love learning about other cultures. And just like you were saying just about every single person said they sent 60-70% of their pay back home. So it must be a very normal thing for them. They always feel very blessed to have what they have on the ship. I like their thankful attitude they appreciate everything they’ve been given. That’s why I don’t mind giving a little extra to those that go out of the way to make my vacation more enjoyable.

Thanks for the tip that helps.

I say that because many of the staff on board are from very poor countries and are supporting large families back home. And they get very small wages from the cruise ships and rely mainly on our gratuities for their income. So when some go way out of their way for us we usually tip them a little extra.

And that’s as it should be. American tipping culture is completely out of control.

I love the backwards comment at the top, it really cracked me up. I appreciate you breaking it down for me that helps a lot. Thanks.

Yes that’s drastically different from what I’m used to. Nowadays even if I’m picking up a food order from a restaurant they still expect a tip. It’s really out of hand. I think Europe is more balanced in this matter.

Okay good to know because evidently I had it backwards. Thanks.

This will be our first time in Europe and we are cruising out of London. The cruise goes to Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. Being from the USA we tip on everything everywhere and to be honest it’s really out of hand. I understand that’s not the case in Europe. I know tipping is okay and even encouraged while onboard cruise ships regardless of where they’re located. But what about London and the other countries we are visiting? Where should I tip? Maybe not restaurants but perhaps tipping for a drink at a bar is ok. And we still tip the baggage handlers at the cruise terminal, right? Does anyone have experience with this?

Well I’ll find out on our upcoming cruise in 4 weeks. I’ll be doing the drop off as usual if they allow me. Usually my cabin steward doesn’t mind. We’ll see.

We are Platinum and have sailed multiple times since the pandemic. We usually have A01-A05 printed on our boarding passes. It’s never meant much as they have a list they follow on who boards first. It’s always been weddings first, then suites and Diamonds, then Platinum, then FTTF followed by everyone else. That was how it went on the Horizon, Vista, Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Panorama for us, not sure of the other ships. We’ve also always been allowed to drop off our bags in our cabin as soon as we board. We just show them our Platinum boarding passes and they’re fine with it.

We’ve ordered drinks before the cruise and during it through room service. Room service drinks cost more. So we are pre ordering all of it this time.

On our last cruise one couple left their laundry bags outside their cabin door. They were stuffed like little round beach balls and overflowing onto the floor. My husband turned to me and said “see I’m not the only one that does it like that!” 😆

As mentioned above you will get an email before the cruise detailing your Elite perks. For me it has always come 21 days before the cruise. They will have you choose what alcohol, juices, and sodas you want waiting for you in your room. Then you can book your free transportation. There will be a link in your email showing you how to book it and it’s already prepaid for you. You get two rides and you can choose where and when. It can be from the airport or hotel or Airbnb or whatever. It’s always a private ride in a high end vehicle which is very nice. Don’t forget that you get free room service. So you can order steak dinners, pizza, a 12 pack of sodas, or even a bottle of wine and it’s all free. They will send the $50 fruit basket midweek (there’s a picture of it in the online food delivery section on Carnival). They’ll also send a plate of cookies and a bottle of wine too. You should get a free Elite gift like a suncare kit and one other nicer item like a large beach towel, shower speaker, or on our last cruise it was a nice tumbler that said Elite on it. They will give you a free excursion (there are several to choose from) or you can spend $150 pp in the spa instead if you choose. As for Miami hotels we like to stay in the Blue Lagoon area. There are several decently priced hotels there and they all face a very pretty lake. Since I’m a Hilton rewards member and often have points I can use I usually stay at the Homewood Suites, the Hampton Inn & Suites, or Tru by Hilton. It’s close to the port, it’s in a safe neighborhood, and there are grocery stores and shopping nearby.

On our last cruise this is what I fit into my bag: 2 long pants, 2 shorts, 3 shirts, 4 underwear, 1 bra My husband will fit in quite a bit more than that with it overflowing out of the top of the bag and they’ve never said a word. I’m OCD and roll everything tightly before putting it into the bag and it has to close. I even bring tape to seal it or to fix tears (it’s made out if flimsy paper and tears easily.)

Well both cruises were bigger newer ships. It was the Panorama and the Celebration. So maybe they have bigger budgets for perks on the bigger ships. Because I’ve never had offers like that before.

I wondered how they kept finding me and offering me free bottles of wine and free specialty dining wherever I was. I thought it was an Elite perk since that’s the only thing that stood out about me but your explanation makes more sense.

To be honest I see way more fun videos than I do bad ones. And there’s just as many bad videos about other cruise lines as there are about Carnival. I was just watching a video of a pretty bad fight on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I think the change is because of complaints. Lots of cruisers like to go social media free when on vacation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people tell me that they like to completely disconnect while cruising but Carnival makes it hard by not printing fun times and pushing the Hub app. I’ve also heard lots of complaints about scanning for menus instead of having actual menus to order from. So I think it’s more about people pushing back and not liking being pushed to use their phones.

We are doing Quantum of the Seas in May and sticker shock is a good description. Everything is more expensive, specialty restaurants, excursions, internet, drink packages, etc. We wanted a bigger nicer ship when visiting Alaska and Carnival just had small ships going there. But like you the extra cost isn’t a deal breaker for us either. And we did the 3 meal plan too.

Is it the 12 day Pride cruise out of London on August 20th? I’m on that one too. Thanks for the heads up I’m going to check and see if I have a price drop with any of my offers.

It won’t let me correct it since it’s been awhile but I just noticed I put Platinum when I meant Elite. The free $50 fruit basket, extra bottles of wine sent to our cabin mid cruise, plates of cookies, etc were all Elite perks. Also when I wore my Elite lanyard (not Platinum, sorry) in the casino that’s when the host offered me free specialty dining. It was specifically on the Panorama and Celebration cruises I recently took. And with the free room service you can order more than just food. You can order 12 packs of sodas, 12 packs of water, bottles of wine, and other beverages to keep handy in your cabin.