purplephenom

I was on the spirit in an inside cabin last year and I'm going back this summer on the Luminosa- also in an inside cabin.  I know myself- I'd never sit out on a balcony and just watch the scenery go by.  But I really enjoyed being up on deck watching for animals.  On the Spirit, I hung out in Serenity which was at the back of the ship so I could see both sides- I'm hoping to find a similar location on the Luminosa.  Balconies really aren't worth it for me, because I'm never in the room on my Caribbean cruses, and I found that to be the same (for me) in Alaska

On the Celebration, it was set up as a tournament, just one night.  It was late- on the basketball court, after basketball was done for the day (maybe 10 pm?).  There were some cheap paddles, but most people brought their own. There were temporary court markers for the kitchen/court lines, and the person running things was very serious about calling kitchen violations. 

 I think 1 person showed up who hadn't played before.  I think it was 18+.  It was well organized, but didn't last that long.  I had fun, was nice to play on a ship and meet some new people.  I'd toss my paddle in my bag just in case I get the chance to play again.

17 hours ago, Jamesatgsu said:

 

That is why I mentioned the spa rooms.  Doesn't seem to affect them selling out, so I think Havana would be similar.  The key is it can't be cheaper to book a regular room and pay the fee.  

I think the difference is, the spa isn't really crowded because the majority of people with access don't hang out there all day long. Laying in a lounger is something you could do all day long if you wished- and some people with Havana access do.  I don't think having it open after 7 to everyone was a huge deal, because by that point (especially this time of year) the sun is gone, and people are off to dinner/show/bars.  But if it were open to more people in the middle of the day, it loses the appeal to me. 

1 hour ago, Jamesatgsu said:

 

 

  Really feel like they are losing out on a lot of potential revenue by not offering a Havana pass like they do for the Spa.  The spa rooms are 100% booked on my cruise, so it isn't like people don't still book them, despite the main benefit being available to everyone on board.

 

 

If they did this they may lose out on people booking the actual Havana rooms.  We just got off an 8 day/4 port cruise- the first sea day was fine, but the 2 on the way back, there was a decent chunk of the day all of the loungers were full.  I guess Grand Turk and La Romana were the 2 less popular ports on this particular cruise- after we got back on and wandered out there, the area was mostly full.  Obviously no where near Lido deck full, but enough that more people would've meant more scurrying for loungers 

10 minutes ago, stryker12 said:

How were the regular pools?  Were they packed with people?

The first day leaving Miami wasn't bad, but then yes they're packed.  Also, they're really deep.  I think 1 topped out at 6' and the other at 5' something.  This meant tons of people hanging on to the edges which made them appear even more crowded. But if you wanted to use the pool before like 9 or after 4, there was a lot more space 

I think it depends on the ship.  If the show times are 7:30/9:30, then late dining gets the early show.  If the show times are 8:15/10:15 then late dining gets the late show.  

We really enjoy late dining.  It doesn't take us that long to get ready, so we could enjoy the fairly empty ship for awhile, go get ready, go to a show, and then dinner.  And on port days, we had enough time to stay in port until mid afternoon, reboard and eat, and have some time to chill by the pool before getting ready for dinner. 

4 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Interesting. We'll be on Horizon for the first time next month. I almost always wear khaki shorts and a nice collared shirt on casual nights. I've never felt under-dressed, there's always been plenty of guys dressed similarly or less so. I've never worn jeans to casual nights, but I was planning on wearing a nice pair on occasion since I'd have a pair with me anyway (leaving home in cold weather). Oh well, I'll stick with what has worked for me in the past and won't let how others are dressed change that.

Khaki shorts would have been a definite step up from what I was wearing.  I'm female but I tend to dress like a middle school boy unless I make the effort to get dressy.  

We did see people in jeans. And it was just weird, we've done the 8 day Southern route before, and we've never seen people as dressy as this cruise.  On casual nights I usually wore pants like khakis but in different colors and a blouse, and that seemed to be middle of the road.  

And..that's all I got.  

If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer, but we dont have the fun times.

We liked the Horizon enough that we booked it again for 2022- we're hoping to get to Bonaire this time.  

Activities on this ship

I really didn't like that karaoke was in the afternoon.  I like it in the evenings to change up what we do at night, but i think there were only 2 days it was at night.

There were a lot of activities overlapping.  This was a point of pride for Mike Pack, but it really forced us to choose what we wanted to do.  Too many activities is better than too few, but when 2 or 3 things you want to do are at the same time, it kind of stinks.

The parachute drop was something different on this ship.  I was hoping for a full on egg drop competition, since I'd seen this ship had it before, but the parachute man drop was what we got.  It's an easy family activity, doesn't take that long- you're dropping a parachute man from 2 decks up and hoping to have it land in a cornhole board hole.  2 people from your group are frantically waving things to guide him to the hole.  

Apparently I'm really bad at this review writing thing, so I'll try to wrap this up.

Havana Cabin:

We booked a Havana Interior- there is a definite lack of storage space.  The usual 3 closets was down to 2, and there were some shelves outside of the closet.  We don't really pack that much stuff, so we were able to put everything away, but if you normally fill up all 3 closets, just be aware.  We were on deck 7- we didn't hear any noise from the Havana Bar.  Our 2022 cruise, we're on deck 5 and I'm looking forward to being able to just walk out to Havana instead of taking stairs. 

Elevators. 

I know some people here are worried about these- they're really not that bad.  First off, there are directions on a TV screen on how to use them.  On embarkation day, there were staff manually operating a few of the elevators which really sped things up. Also, there's a wheelchair button, so you don't need to figure out how many times you should push the button to make room for your wheelchair.  

It seemed like on the first couple days, people would randomly jump in and hope for the best, but we saw less of that as the cruise went on.  My personal rule became, 3 flights or less, take the stairs, any more than that take the elevator.  I will say we saw a LOT of bickering between couples and families- do we take the stairs or the elevators.  I don't think these elevators are really any slower than on other ships- the trouble is, you can't see which floor they're on and if they're coming to you...so a watched pot never boils and all that...and it feels like they're taking forever. 

Couple  more notes on Havana

They are really diligent about checking to see if you belong there.  On embarkation day, we walked out just to look.  We didn't sit down and we were still immediately asked if we had our wristbands.  We explained our cabins weren't ready, and they told us to just go to our cabins anyways and get our sail and signs.  We didn't really feel comfortable doing this, but then we went to guest services for an unrelated question and they told us to do the same thing.  So we ultimately did and our room was ready so it was fine, and we were able to drop our things off and go back to Havana.  

On one of the last sea days, someone came and sat down on one of the deck chairs without a bracelet- she didn't even get to put her feet up on the chair before someone was over asking if she had a Havana wristband.  They didn't walk away until she had picked up her stuff and was leaving the area.  

I just booked a Havana interior for 2022, and it was the last one available on that sailing.

If you're willing to upgrade to the Havana Cabanas, they seem to sell a bit slower- but it is quite a bit more expensive.  On the date I was looking at, I think it was 50% more. 

But, keep checking.  In early January, the cruise I had booked for 2021 changed the itinerary, and there had to have been a lot of date changing going on- several Havana rooms opened up. 

A jacket and tie are not necessary.  Some people will wear them, but I wouldn't say it is the majority. You wouldn't feel out of place in a dress shirt and slacks- you could add the tie but not the jacket if you want to get a little fancy. 

I will say I just got off the horizon, and it was the most dressed up cruise I've ever seen.  One day I really wasn't feeling it and went to dinner in shorts (tsk tsk I know I know) and I was the only person in shorts on that whole side of the dining room. I didn't do it again.

20 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

however the thread is referencing vegan/vegetarian not lactose

Vegans don't eat dairy, so dairy free cheese would be appropriate.  As would a pizza without cheese.  

31 minutes ago, RumpunchGirl said:

DH and I booked this cruise last February because of the different route. Then in June Carnival changed up the itinerary for our sail date of 1/24/2021: San Juan, St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, San Juan. I only see this route offered on 4 different dates. I'm really pleased with the change as only port I've been to on the new itinerary is St. Thomas.  So very happy to be cruising on Fascination, or any ship, out of San Juan before the change in 2022.

Hey we're on that cruise too.  I've done the other route, but this one has 3 new ports for us.  it's going to be awesome

Another thing to consider is Miami has a lot of ships, and very likely a lot of people who fly in and head straight to the ship (because there are a lot of ships).  So whatever your plan is, make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the port.  We were in an Uber from a hotel in the Brickell area, and it probably took 40ish minutes, when it should've taken maybe 10.

So...in spite of my questioning if Havana is worth it, we just booked an ABC cruise in Havana for 2022. 

4 minutes ago, Jamesatgsu said:

I personally haven't disliked any ship, but my favorite so far is the Dream, which is the newest and biggest that I've been on (granted there are several other factors that were at play). There are fewer options on the Fantasy Class ships of things to do (but fewer people does sometimes mean more availability). I'm just afraid I'd get bored of a small ship by the end of 7 days, granted the number of port days does minimize that some.

 

For me the biggest appeal to the Fantasy Class ships is that they allow 5 people, without having to pay extra. Adding a 5th person is usually just taxes & gratuities. With most other ships in the fleet, it cost significantly more to add a 5th person, often forcing us into a suite.  With San Juan that makes me want to take my whole family, which then costs me airfare for 5, which I could do, but then makes me feel like I should go on a newer ship. We considered this itinerary instead of the Magic in May, because after airfare it was a similar cost (granted only 4 of us are going on the Magic).

Having 5 people to travel with definitely changes things, that makes sense.  I did notice this itinerary had fewer onboard activities scheduled- but I can't help but wonder if that's intentional due to the ports.  You don't need a bigger ship to have more trivia, or dance classes, or whatever.  In my experinece, even the bars were quieter earlier at night- I think people just conk out after island hopping.  If onboard activities are important to your group (both planned and just being social), I'd hesitate to do this itinerary.  I thought that stuff was important to me (and it usually is), but it ended up not mattering on this particular cruise.  

And I agree about airfare to San Juan- its crazy.  I'm trying to do the credit card points game to try to fly for free, but doing that for 5 people would be a lot harder.  I've been eying up the Freedom of the Seas ABC cruise out of Puerto Rico, but we just booked an ABC cruise out of Miami for 2022.  But after that it's back to cheaper cruises for me. 

5 minutes ago, coevan said:

correct, thinking about making pasta, but a pizza without cheese?

Some people who make this at home use oil to crisp up the dough. It turns into kind of a flatbread. Doesn’t taste like traditional pizza but it’s not bad. I’ve spoken to someone who brings dairy free cheese so their kid can have pizza like siblings. 

20 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

 

You're not the only one

who's been holding out on the Southern Caribbean route

hoping for a ship to replace the 26 yr.old boat!

 

Hundreds of islanders remain ticked off that, over the last decade or more,

we got to enjoy decent Carnival ships in this order: Destiny, replaced by Victory

replaced by Valor, replaced by Liberty -

each replacement improving on the previous ship!

 

And then we get this thing.............

 

 

What is it you don’t like about this ship? I mentioned this in another thread, but I was all prepared to hate it, but no lines and easy to get chairs plus the ports made up for it. The ship has some of the upgrades- are you looking for something specific? 

I know now a lot of people feel the way you do, and I’m certainly not trying to change anyone’s mind. 

53 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

 

We sailed on her and had a great time. I actually prefer smaller ships. It is arguably one of their most liked itineraries. Cant believe they would drop it. 

Were going back and forth. We did the fascination last year and the horizon this year. Next year we’re back to the fascination and 2022 may be the horizon again. I was all prepared to hate the fascination and then I loved it so much we booked again for different ports

I can speak for vegetarian- my parents are vegetarian so I tend to keep an eye out when I travel.

MDR menu has a vegetarian dish and an Indian vegetarian dish.  But, be careful of the soups.  Sometimes innocent sounding soups (Broccoli and Cheddar is one I think) have chicken broth in them.  I think if you ask ahead of time (at least a day ahead), things can be further customized. 

the Deli has a veggie burger

The buffet has vegetarian dishes labeled, and a well stocked salad bar.  Blue Iguana has refried and black beans.  Around here, black beans are always the vegetarian option, but I've never asked on the ship. 

Pizzas can be customized as you wish- if you go when the salad bar is open, go by the salad bar and take whatever toppings you want to the pizza place.

If the ship has the pasta place and the wok for lunch, that's easy to customize.  

20 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

Just saw a note from JH that the Fascination is moving to Mobile in 2022

I know people complain about this ship, but an old ship is better than no ship at all.  Hopefully Carnival does eventually put another ship there. 

I just realized I hadn't talked about ports yet.  Ok so let's do that now.  We like being busy, and with the extra sea days on this cruise we were ready to make the most of our time in port.

Our plan for Grand Turk was to do the Snuba excursion through Carnival, and then walk over to Jack's Shack.  We got off the ship and headed right over to the excursion meeting point, only to find out our excursion was cancelled due to poor visibility.  I was really pleased they cancelled, rather than taking us out to see nothing. We talked to some people who went on a snorkel excursion and said they were disappointed because they didn't see much- I don't know where they went but that just made me extra glad ours was cancelled.  So with all this extra time on our hands, we ducked in the water to get pictures right in front of the ship, and then headed down to Jack's Shack.  Chairs are free there, and umbrellas are $10- we chose to just go with the chairs.  We spent a ton of time in the water there, which was unusually wavy. Also, there are a lot of boats that pull in and out, and it doesn't appear they're watching out for swimmers.  I'm sure they keep an eye out but it didn't feel that way, and we went from just floating to "OH NO SWIM AWAY FROM THE BOAT" really quickly. When the Ecstasy was pulling in, the water got even more wavy.  We did eventually get a couple drinks from the shack (a sandy vagina and a reef wrecker) and both were scrumptious.  We were hoping to play with Calypso, and she did eventually make her way out to the water, but at least on that day, she was happy to chill under some one's beach chair for hours and then dig on her own.  She was open to people petting her but didn't seem up for playing in the water.  We looked in the shop at the shack, and met the shop cat, Midnight.  He was very open to cuddles and when you stopped petting him, would try to grab your hand and bring it back to him.  

In La Romana, we debated what to do.  Tons of people on Facebook suggested staying on the ship any time this port came up, but we didn't really want to.  We booked the Dune Buggy excursion and figured if we hated the port, it was a short excursion and we could get back on the ship. Before we sailed, we kept checking reviews and saw people were ending up covered in mud.  So we packed old clothes and shoes, as well as taking along bandannas and safety goggles, figuring we could toss all that after we were done.  It was nice to have the bandannas and goggles...but yeah we didn't get muddy AT ALL.  It was a dry day and we just ended up dusty.  The excursion was a ton of fun, I had been nervous about driving the buggy and it was really easier than I thought.  David was worried I'd be the last buggy in line, but I even passed people, so I was pretty darn proud of myself. At the half way point, we stopped to switch drivers, and have some fruit and sugar cane, and they had a little shopping set up there. At this point they were offering videos for sale for $40 of the buggy ride.  When we finished the ride they were selling 4 photos for $10.  We knew about the video ahead of time and knew we wouldn't buy it, but the photos came out really well and we chose to buy those.  The only disappointment is all of our photos were taken during the first half of the ride- before we switched drivers.  Once we got back to port, we did some shopping, and were able to get some made in the Dominican things, and called it a day.  

Curacao was the toughest port for us.  This is our favorite port, but the late arrival made it tough.  We knew we wanted to walk around the city, but I also wanted to swim with the turtles.  Ultimately, we decided not to swim with the turtles, because by the time we got back downtown everything would be closed. We found a walking tour online, which we loosely followed, but we really just wandered and stopped in wherever looked interesting. We stopped in a bar for a drink around 4 pm, and the lady running the place noticed the baseball shirt I had on- with the name of a baseball player from Curacao on it- and we ended up chatting for about 2 hours about baseball in Curacao, which ate up the rest of our time to wander around the city before a lot of things closed, but it was a fun experience.  Our shirts actually got a ton of attention and people wanting to talk.

In Aruba, we decided to try DePalm Island.  Last time we were in Aruba we did a catamaran excursion and the waves were huge which didn't make for the best viability for snorkeling. At DePalm, the waves were still huge, but the water was a little shallower so the snorkeling was better.  This place has some of the biggest fish I've ever seen. We had wanted to add on Snuba here, but they couldn't figure out how to charge us- first they said we couldn't add it on, then they said they'd charge our ship cards (which didn't make any sense to me), then they said maybe we could pay cash.  Ultimately, we decided to forget it and just snorkel.  When you get there they give you 2 bracelets- one to show you're on a cruise, and one to show you can't drink yet.  Once you're done snorkeling, you're supposed to pull off the "can't drink yet" bracelet and then you can drink.  But...they really don't care.  If you want to drink and snorkel, no one's stopping you.  We didn't, but we thought we might want to go back out, and everyone we asked there said it was fine. The bar has some premixed drinks, and virgin daquaris and pina coladas- if you want those with alcohol they just add it.  For both the frozen drinks and the premixed drinks, they were happy to add extra alcohol, which was nice.  

2 hours ago, CChamp said:

Is this something new? I stayed in this area, on this ship last year and I didn't see any buttons.

I don't know if they're new.  They are small though- maybe 3" across and red.  They're not at every lounger, maybe every 4 or 5 loungers.  If I hadn't seen someone push them and a bartender walk over, I would've assumed it was an alarm of some sort.

7 minutes ago, pe4all said:

They will.  Your cruise is too far out for excursion vendors to have signed contracts for 2021.  Keep checking back - you will see more and more added as sailing gets closer.

I know that's usually the case, but for Dominica, I googled "Carnival shore excursions Dominica" to go to the general shore excursion page- not just the one that shows in my booking- and there were only 3 excursions listed there.