pyropoodle

Well, when i booked it for this August, they still hadn't announced the name change or update.   I was just glad to have something booked.   I am excited to see the updates and to cruise on a like-new-ship, something i've not done before, so you'll get no complaints from me.   I am ready to go!!! just 6 more months....

I'm glad there are some fun itineraries out of NYC.   i'm on on the Sunrise out of NYC this august and the Radiance next august.  this august will be my first time to sail out of NYC and it's my home port.  I hope it goes smoothly and hope they add more ships.  if i like it, i'll book out of NYC more often. 

I've read the info on carnival's website, but can anyone tell me what exactly would be part of the Thermal Suite package?  we'd be on the sunrise, so not sure what the triumph currently has and if it's worth it.

besides warm chairs/ steam room/ sauna/ showers/ hot tub, what else is there?

wondering if this is something I should reserve, but pretty sure that I'd be 100% ok with the hot tubs outside in the sun.

so many days.  I feel like I  posted "200 days" a hundred days ago, but only a few days have passed....   :(

I've had 4 excursions booked at Grand Cayman.  I made 1 of them.  Twice, we couldn't tender, and once, they tendered us to a secondary location but all of the water excursion on the island were cancelled due to the rough water. 

I'm glad that i made the very first excursion i ever booked there because i was unaware that it was an iffy port. (years ago and new to cruising)  i would have been bummed had we not made it.  i would have gotten over it and enjoyed the vacation, but i would have been bummed. 

1 minute ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

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They can be very sensitive to what you call which... 

 sounds like a snowflake problem to me. 

I think within this particular thread and the spirit in which my advice was intended, my use of the word "boat" should not really be something that is debated.     clearly, there was no offense intended. 

7 hours ago, golfer1903 said:

Thanks everyone.  I changed the flight till the next day they did it for free.  But I have to get a hotel for one night someplace and a ride from port to the hotel

 

 

 

i don't think you will regret this decision.  now, you can take your time getting off the boat/ship/ vessel by taking a later number, enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before having to say goodbye and have a stress free morning.   win/win

2 hours ago, Garth2 said:

It's a ship, not a boat.

tomato / tomahhhhhto .

nobody in this thread is 'bashing' on anyone else.  you do you. 

1 minute ago, Ziggy7 said:

If you carry off your own luggage, and let guest services know you need off asap, you should be ok. Providing the ship docks and gets cleared on time! We had an excursion booked and was off the ship by 8am, self assist people started disembarking at 7 am.

I think even in this scenario, the ship would need to dock under perfect conditions.  there could be no fog, no port delay, no engine trouble. it would just need to be perfect...and I think it would just be too stressful.

I would do whatever I could to have that flight changed to a later flight or even book a hotel room and stay another night and fly out the next day.  I don't think there is any guarantee of you getting off that boat at 8:00.  I would spend my entire vacation worrying about debarking on time and that would be no fun. it would be worth the extra money to find a plan B quickly

13 minutes ago, wytygr8 said:

 

Also have a small child. That’s what babysitters are for, though we certainly don’t get out as much as we’d like.

 

Anyway, I was simply stating my position, not making a blanket statement of truth. 🙂

we've never had a babysitter..we live in NYC, so I trust no one.   I mean, NO ONE.  we don't have family here either.

glad you have someone you trust with your precious cargo, but we just don't, so until they can microwave their own hot pockets, I don't foresee any hot dates in the future.  this is why 2 hours of dining in the MDR suits us just fine.   like I said, there is something for everyone in the cruising world.

12 minutes ago, wytygr8 said:

 

My wife and I have hours of good conversation all the time. We do that at home or in land restaurants. My cruise time is better spent doing things I can only do in a cruise. That might be different if we were at a table with others and the ships didn’t have as much to do.

it could be that we are just in different stages of life.  we have 2 small children, so we don't get out of the house very often. we've never even had a babysitter, so forget date night or going out to dinner.  the cruise is our opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal and take our time doing it.

when our kids get older, my thoughts on this might change.   something that we can't do on land but that we can do on a cruise is enjoy our looooong meal.   there is something for everyone.

I would always choose more days if I could.  I'd rather be on a boat than not on a boat.  

I see an opportunity here for Carnival to open another dining option..the "it takes longer than the lido, but less time than MDR, not an upcharge like the steakhouse, but  in at 7 out at 8" dinner option.   :)

I know this thread is old-ish, but I've been going back and forth trying to decide whether or not to rent this.  it will be 2 adults and our two littles  (ages 5 &2).  I'm starting to think this is a really good option. as much as I'd like to explore grand turk, I feel like we'll eventually go back again on another cruise, so while the littles are this little, they would enjoy the pool and I'd enjoy a place to dump our stuff. 

also, just now reading about the aggressive vendors with the chairs, so this is making the decision even easier.  I don't want to deal with that.

..reading reviews...waiting...reading reviews....daydreaming....waiting some more....192 more daysssssszzzzzz

8 minutes ago, shof515 said:

what makes the dinning room service even more LONGER is the dancing the waiter has to do...as much as i enjoy it, i rather get my meal completed 15 minutes earlier if they did not had to the showtime

it's been a minute since i've cruised, but do they do this every night or just a couple of nights on the cruise?  i think elegant night they do it (because nothing says 'elegant' better than waiters dancing on the wait stations)..and some other night.   it's been too long between cruises and i'm getting older, so my memory isn't what it used to be. i just thought it was 2 or 3 nights (on a 7 day cruise) 

2 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

they are used to people sitting down, eating and having good conversations for hours. We Americans seem to forget how to have a conversation with people.  

...and this is one of the reasons that as soon as i get on the ship, i take one selfie of me with my DOD and then my cell phone gets locked up in Safe Prison for the rest of the cruise.   I like to actively spend time with whomever i'm cruising with.   This time around, it'll be nice to have 2 uninterrupted hours at the dinner table with my husband and without my kiddos.  they'll be blissfully happy in camp carnival, and i'll be sipping my after dinner cappuccino. 

1 minute ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Yea definitely tell them when you sit down what your preference is. Some people like spending their evening sitting at a table in the MDR. It's not that we're on a schedule, we just don't enjoy twiddling our thumbs for an hour and a half. We want to go out and do things. 

you should post this over in the Hacks thread.  this might be very useful to some first time cruisers who want to do everything and find that spending such a long time in the dining room is cutting into their social life.   It's a good idea. 

i'm usually never in a hurry, and I do ATD now, but some folks (especially the ones complaining about the loooooong dinners ) might find it useful. 

2 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I love to sit down and be waited on whether it's fine dining or on Carnival.  

yessssssss.   it's the only time i'm remotely pampered without worrying about a bill!   even with cutbacks, i have found they always find a way to make me feel special. 

2 hours ago, fyree39 said:

 

 

It didn't help that 2 of our table mates ordered 4 and 5 appetizers, which contributed to the extremely slow service.

i agree, this would definitely add to the time, and i can see how that would be very annoying. 

2 hours ago, Kermarkim said:

I  We just got off a Thanksgiving cruise and our next cruise is scheduled for May 25.  So this posting has made me very hungry and I can't wait to get to the MDR.

it's making me hungry too!   i miss that warm chocolate melting cake . only 193 more days until i can eat it. 

53 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

 

For my family of 4, we always do YTD. On our last 6 cruises we've requested the same wait staff and we told them we don't like some long drawn out process. We've been in and out of the MDR in under 45 minutes on every single cruise. That includes an appetizer, and dessert. 

maybe it's just a case of people telling the staff ahead of time that they are on  a certain schedule.  I think that's what everyone who still wants sit down service, but in a timely manner should tell them.   it might help speed things up for those who just need to get out of there. 

2 hours ago, Kermarkim said:

 We have always bonded with our staff and they have given us so much attention.  I love how they remember certain things you like to eat or drink and they have it waiting for you or will bring out the egg rolls that my son loves every night even though it is not on the menu.  

slightly changing the subject,but on the subject of the staff remembering  things....i took my mom on a cruise in January of 2012 on the Conquest. we had a wonderful waiter and late seating.  (i think this was before any time dining, but anyway...)   A whole year went by and i took her on another cruise, in January of 2013 on the Legend.  As we were walking into the dining room, i hear this voice calling my name.  i turned around and it was our waiter from a year before and from a completely different ship.   He actually gave me a hug and told the waiter at the table that were about to be seated at to be sure to give my mom plenty of Iced Tea.   Now THAT is some memory.    

I definitely left positive comments for him after the cruise.  they work so hard, and just the thought that he remembered me and a little thing like my mom and her iced tea gave me a whole 'nother level of respect for the wait staff. 

I totally get that with cutbacks, we can't be spoiled like we used to be, but I still think it's an experience and a nice way to kind of end the evening.  

I have 2 young kids, and if I couldn't dump them..i mean, place them gently in camp carnival, no way would I make it through a 2 hour dinner.

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

There are other cruise lines, that are obviously more expensive, that provide fine dining at sea.  But to say Carnival is as close to fine dining as you can get on the sea makes me think you haven’t cruised on Carnival in a long time. The MDRs on Carnival are much closer to an Applebee’s or Chili’s, to use your examples, than they are to any decent fine dining establishment. 

I guess I mean in general, any main dining room, not just Carnival's MDR.  are there any that get you in and out in under an hour?

1 minute ago, bury me at sea said:

 

 

There are other options for people who are in a hurry.

Yes! I agree