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We have noticed the last few times in Cozumel that the beaches we went to were murky, water was full of seaweed and smelled bad. Is it that true at most of the beaches now? I did not even want to go in and surely would not take a child into that kind of water. The water looks clear and beautiful at the pier but it was not that way at the beach. Any suggestions?

Basically my TA gives me an extra $50 everytime I cruise for loyalty and if I book during one of their sales I get an extra $100 as a loyalty member in addition to what Carnival or myTA is offering the general public. The sales last a week and sometimes there are extra perks like free gratuities or a dinner in the steakhouse. If agents are working out of their house VS a large agency perks will vary greatly. My TA knows what I like, where I like my cabin, my dinner time etc. We can do a 3 way call to Carnival or any other cruise line if necessary and sometimes the agency buys a block of cabins and can discount them. You will not see these prices online because Carnival years back made it so every online price must be the same but.............If you call...... a TA can offer other things. My agent works in the office of a large agency where the entire sales force works. You can't take a weekend course and pay money to be one of their agents. The last 2 cruises I have had a credit balance and had a check mailed to me after the cruise.

Any word on how the Sun Princess is doing? Ir's sailing around New Zealand where Gita is or was? Hope they are doing well!

I want to thank everyone for their very thoughtful comments. Even though we are seniors we like all ships. I was just so surprised when after a 12 year absence we decided to sail RCCL again. We never felt there was a line anywhere. We were always able to get a seat, chair couch etc in any lounge. The huge upstairs lounge bar area was empty most of the time except cocktail hour for Diamond and above. It really made me remember how it felt on the older Carnival ships that I love. We liked the ships of the Farcus era where everything had a theme and the entire ship was a place to explore. For example The sensation had speakers located all over the ship to give you a "sensation " of the area you were in. The last ship with a theme was the Magic where even the show was about Magic. The Breeze colors were blah not exciting and now the Vista is too,, from what you are saying. We like the shows so the small lounge will be an issue. My husband likes the Sports Bar and now that is small. We hear the Deli has also changed and we loved that too. We hardly ever eat at the buffet so the lines won't bother us there. But as a rule I hate lines and I really think after the money , tips , excursions, beverage packages and the nickel and diming for everything the least we should expect is NO LINES> So I will probably give the Vista a try but now I will watch the Liberty of the Seas prices very carefully because that ship had the things we do and like and I never thought that would happen. As for the CD Matt, yes he is great but.....he is not there forever and I only once booked a transatlantic to sail with a CD, John Heald and he ended up having a meeting in Florida and never showed. The substitute was ok but not what everyone was hoping for. Variety is good for cruise ships but I know from past experience that a letter with constructive criticism is welcomed by Carnival. I will sail and send my letter if necessary. I actually had a policy changed due to my negative experience on a ship and they were kind enough to send me a letter telling me of the change so.......I won't settle I'll give my opinion after I sail the Vista. Thanks to everyone for answering my questions in such a thorough way.

Children in shorts and nice shirt is are by me and Carnival. What I don't like is baseball hats and dirty tshirts on men.

As you can see I have been on every class Carnival ship except Vista Class. Just cruised on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston for the first time. It was beautiful but food was not as good. We like the shows so lack of seating will be a problem. We were able to get an aft extended balcony on the Liberty for little more than a balcony. I have priced the Vista aft and it is unbelievably expensive compared to all the other Carnival ships here. I don't see that flying in Galveston. I see that their plan of moving an unpopular ship to Galveston could backfire as did the Celebration , Elation, Triumph and Celebrity Galaxy. Galveston is not a sleepy first time cruiser port anymore. Cruisers are smart and will gravitate to the ship with the best price because there is not much choice in the itineraries. If both ships are going the same places the best price will win out. We are diamond on both so we get perks but I was hoping that Carnival would send us another ship like the Magic that was very well received more so than the Breeze. We left Celebrity due to the snob appeal of the special areas. It's a caste system and I did not think Carnival would do that too. We are not opposed to change and have seen much of it but I'm hoping Vista won't become a white elephant here is Galveston. People on our cruises are already talking about the negatives and that's why I posted here. Hoping it is better than I've been led to believe!!! Thank you to all for your opinions. I'll be sure to post after we sail on her next year.

I've been on every class Carnival Ship except for the Vista. Now it is coming to Galveston to compete with the RCCL Liberty of the Seas which is beautiful. It appears that many dislike the Vista and I was wondering what the big problems are if anyone wishes to enlighten me.

There is one way to board with them. One of them must use their credit card to pay for you. They will let you board together if you do that. Just pay them back later.

We've stayed on Magic and Breeze balcony on Deck 8. Its noisier above the hot tub since its' open longer.

We received a new Platinum gift on the Freedom. It is a Carnival plug in Nightlight.

In August on the Breeze the line was horrible in all ports and wound around the entire deck and then down the stairs. With all the complaints I would not be surprised if they started escorting Platinum off as it should be a perk.

Actually it depends on the credit card. If you use your credit care for all of the sign and sail accounts, they can board with you. I have a letter from corporate stating that because I take my elderly parents. You can change sail and sign to a different credit card when you get on the ship. So just use your credit card for their sign and sail and they can board with you.

Just off Breeze. Croc visors were the gift. I just popped out the Carnival logo and mine has nothing on it. It is actually very light. I thought it would be heavy. I actually used it at one of the ports, waterproof and easy to carry. The logo just pops thru the hole and can be taken off very easily. I too thought it would be horrible but after removing the logo and seeing how light it was I would use it at the beach and in the water and not have to worry about it.

Upsell and upgrade are different. Upgrade is free and upsell you pay.

Well I must say everyone is different. I'm 65, 45 cruises on Carnival, RCCL, Norwegian, Princess, HAL, Celebrity.. I've seen changes happen on all lines since we started in the 80's. We cruise off season to avoid spring break but we go in the summer and spring. Each cruise has things that are always the same and then the other things depend in my opinion on the cruise director and how they set the tone. I've sailed all size ships in Europe, Caribbean , Alaska, Transatlantic and I can honestly say I have NEVER come back saying I had a terrible cruise. I was even on the Splendor Swine Flu cruise and had a great time. You make your own fun. Things happen and sometimes the room is too hot or the shower needs repair but I call, and its fixed immediately. Nothing is perfect and each cruise line has something its working to achieve. I personally think all the food is basically the same unless you want to be segregated to a special dining room on Celebrity. Not me I like meeting everyone. We have taken others on Carnival and they are nervous after reading reviews like this and then they return and say WOW we booked another cruise.

The Magic is near and dear to me. We sailed it in Europe and did the transatlantic. I love that ship and everyone was always great. If the CD is not doing their job then his staff will not be as good as other ships but it's the same with the piano bar......some are great and some not so great. So.... go back to the ship you like but try not to blame Carnival for things that others enjoy. You could just tell us that Carnival did not fit you!!! My dad 92 sails Carnival every year and couldn't have a better time!!!.

Met a new cruiser last week. She booked directly thru cruiseline and was called for an upgrade to deck 12 from 7 which she booked bcuz she gets seasick. She was assured it would be better. PS. she was sick the entire cruise and will never sail again. I have never been called for an upgrade and have 23 cruises. Is it because I know when an upgrade is not an upgrade? Any other first timers have a similar experience? Just curious!

It appears Carnival likes to DUMP their old ships in Galveston, Celebration, Elation, Triumph, and now the Liberty. Each having some of the same issues. It's time to update and modernize because no one will want to get on a ship that has the potention to be another Triumph Disaster.

It says get ready to cheer so maybe its the beverage program!

We were on the ill fated Splendor Swine flu cruise. Many over reacted and when we arrived home we received a letter and were very happy at what they offered after the cruise. Sometimes it takes awhile to reevaluate the situation until it's over.

Just sailed last week and we had doors.

The last time we cruised on the Magic was in January. We just finished a cruise last week. There were some noticeable changes. No table cloths in the dining room except for formal night. Less shows or should I say, there were good production shows but the others left us with not much to talk about. Ocean Plaza used for Music instead of Karaoke which we liked. MUCH MUCH more smoke in the casino with only a few machines marked non smoking right next to the ones marked smoking. The smell of smoke was permeating into the Ocean Plaza and even before we left Galveston there was a strong smoke smell if you were even near the casino . It appears the smokers congregate at the bar near the casino and just sit for hours. When we did the transatlantic years ago we spend lots of time in that bar but could not sit there this time. Even when food was cooked outside the smoke in Ocean Plaza prevented us from eating there. I hope they can change this somehow.

I liked the bottle of water in our room. Not fond of the journal and pen Platinum gift but it's nice to get something. The new Platinum Diamond party was wonderful and a good Idea. Glad they have so many comedy shows but they should have some during the day because the lines were long and all performances were crowded. Enjoyed all the music. The taste bar was nice too. The outside cooking had different items. Loved the new dances in the dining room as did most everyone else. Really wish that men could at least get rid of the dirty t shirts , baseball caps , and cut off shorts in the dining room at night. It doesn't take much to put on a pair of pants and collared shirt. Easier to get a chair by pool this time. Maybe the new system is working. We had a wonderful time and the changes were interesting to say the least. Some good and some not buy overall nothing ruined our cruise. It was one of the better cruises we have taken.

We always bragged about the Carnival shows but now we notice the the other lines are beefing up their entertainment and not substituting talents shows and other things that are not good at all. We should be getting a good show of some sort everynight and not the crew talent show!

Maybe they are trying to clear the ship so people don't show . The next few cruises are sold out.

With all the concessions Princess was given to sail out of Houston it's a shame they chose not to continue. They had quite a deal. I guess now that they have to pay the "normal" price they are not interested. We've sailed them quite a bit and we are sorry to see them go.

Never seen a fight but an entire graduation group was put off the ship ,including chaperones a while back and we witnessed it.