staceyglow

Not necessary.

We just got back from Ensenada and took this private winery tour and I highly recommend it: https://www.toursbylocals.com/wine-tasting-winery-tour It's $285 for up to 6 people.

They make way more money than $5 - $10 per person on the extra charges. If they did that and then umbrellas were free, there wouldn't be enough of them for everyone who would want one, and then there would be threads griping about that. At least this way people are paying for what they really want and not paying for the things they don't.

If they can get $80 for two chairs and an umbrella while still charging me rock bottom prices for my cruise fare, I am all for it.

Why are you complaining about the elevators being in front of the dining room? That is the way they are on most, if not all, of the ships. If that area is crowded, that's on the passengers. They shouldn't be there for YTD if they haven't been notified on the app that their table is ready.

Absolutely. I use a PVP and she can see all the cabins.

When you do, could you please use the default font? I am sure I am not the only person who found your post very difficult to read. 😊 And I am genuinely interested in your Venezia review as I will be on it in a few months.

Yes there are Christmas decorations up. Basically Christmas trees on all the stages and garlands on the lobby railings.

There are plenty of cruisers who buy things on the ship that I think are ridiculously priced - suites, art, jewelry, spa treatments, shore excursions, bingo cards, etc. The profit that Carnival makes on those items keeps my cruise fare low. That's why I don't complain about it. Quite the opposite - please, please buy that stuff, fellow cruisers!

On the Radiance right now. They had Quest on this cruise.

Post Covid, every ship will be sailing full (every cabin occupied). During busy times of the year, they will be past max capacity, meaning that there are 3 or 4 people in some of the cabins.

yes

Exactly. It's like stealing your next door neighbor's internet connection. It's not "not working" when they finally decided to put a password on it. And no one is a "Karen" because they pointed that out to you.

If the library on your ship is gone and you are looking for an out-of-the-way area, you could look at the Fun Times and find the venue where the Friends of Bill W. hold their meetings. They try to hold those in a place where there is some privacy.

I guess that's fine if you don't mind standing in a line on the sidewalk for an hour as the start to your vacation. But there is really no need to, especially if you have the first appointment time. The times I have sailed out of New Orleans, I got there right at my appointment time, and there was no wait to get your luggage to the porter, and we walked right in. There was, however, a massive line (and I am talking at least a block long) of folks who had gotten there too early. They just got in the way of the people who showed up when they were supposed to.

If your appointment is for 10 a.m., you will have at least 4 hours to solve any "last-second problems" before the ship takes off without you. I am not sure that any of the staff that would be responsible for helping you with those problems will even be on duty an hour before the earliest arrival appointment.

My general rule of thumb when dressing for the MDR is. "Would I wear this to a land-based full service restaurant?" I wish everyone else did the same, but that's not my call. 🙂

And that's why they aren't finding much.

If you are talking about the emergency briefing over the intercom (the one with the loud horn blasts), everyone's drink service is suspended during that time.

I believe they do have assistants (or an assistant) that don't get the face time that the main steward does. There have been times in the recent past where I have gone to my room while it was being cleaned, and there was someone with my cabin steward helping them.

I get it. But sometimes there is a difference between what the rules are and what actually happens. And this person was actually checked in at their muster station, so the second part of your comment isn't relevant to their experience.

They might be able to tell you are platinum when they scan you and know that you have seen the life jacket demo many times before.

Not necessarily. It depends on a number of things, including the number of diamonds and plats onboard. Sometimes they have to have 2 parties. We are early diners (checking into YTD as early as they let us) and I don't ever recall our 5:30 dining time conflicting with our Diamond/Platinum party.

Take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. There are posters who like to exaggerate and use hyperbole. I have over 150 days on Carnival and haven't seen any of the extreme situations people have posted about.

Wrong! Adults can bring both soda and wine. It's not an either/or. Per Carnival's website: On embarkation day, a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk), packaged in cans or cartons, may be brought on board and must be in the guest's carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12-ounces/354-ml each or less, per person. Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board with the following exception - at the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750-ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne, per person, in their carry-on luggage.* Outside this exception, all liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided. Guests sailing with us on back-to-back cruises are entitled to bring the same quantity as stated in this policy, per cruise. The additional quantities will be stored for safekeeping at the start of the first cruise and will be given to the guest as each following cruise begins. * Port, Vermouth, Sherry and other fortified wines cannot be brought on board. It says nothing about having to choose between soda or wine.