cruzinlisa

Hi. I’m going on a last minute cruise leaving in 3 days. Never done that! I’m not a new cruiser but it’s my first post pandemic cruise so I’m a little out of touch. Do they allow you to get off the ship on your own these days or do you have to book an excursion? We are going to Cozumel and Progresso. I prefer to do Cozumel on my own. 

Im sailing on the Magic in afew weeks. I saw online that the prices dropped and several people in our group said they called Carnival and they where able to either get OBC for a rate drop or they upgraded at a cheaper price. We have a cove balcony and I keep seeing balconies on the upper decks for several hundred cheaper. However when I called with a specific room number I saw on the site, the agent I talked to said it wasn't available. Also she told me that it would cost $265 MORE dollars to move rooms. As soon as I got off the phone with her, I checked the site and the room that I looked at before was still available and it was almost $300 cheaper than my current room. We have a casino rate and I know we cant get a rate drop but the woman said we can still change rooms. Anyone know why what I am seeing on the website is different from what they see when I call? Should I keep trying? TIA 

The steak and eggs at the sea day brunch is good. It comes with béarnaise sauce, which is very good.

Lunch- guys burger or pizza

Apps- spring rolls or the stuffed mushrooms

Main- chateaubriand, short ribs, lobster

Desserts- black forest gateau, amaretto cake

Drinks: Kiss on the lips (mango/peachy flavor), Miami vice, funship special.

A lot of what people have mentioned I like- it is definitely a matter of taste. I did not like the French onion soup- which is normally one of my absolute favorite foods. It was like water with some onions. I was also underwhelmed by the baked Alaska. The artichoke dip and chips left a lot to be desired also.

The ice tea is blech, I really recommend staying away from that.

We have never had a bag lost. We typically have 2 (sometimes three) bags to check and I tip around $5-6 total. Never had a problem.

I have to ask as I have never heard of Bitter & Blanc... what is it?

Kind of like a soufflé. Some people says its like bread pudding but my experiences with bread pudding is that they are gross This is not gross. Its a yellow/white cake mostly with some chocolate in it. And they have this vanilla type of sauce that goes over it to make it gooey. Its pretty good- not my absolute favorite.

I like the black forest gateau (its like black forest cake) or the amaretto cake much better. And funny, because I am not really a cake person.

As far as my other favs- they may have changed the menus since I last travelled but I like:

Apps- spring rolls, several of the soups, stuffed mushrooms and the SAUCE from the escargot (I could not wrap my head around actually eating the escargot itself but the sauce is like shrimp scampi sauce).

Mains- chateaubriand, short ribs, lobster

You will have cabins above and below you on Lido. We love Lido and it is always our first choice. We have never had problems with noise and it is SOOOO convenient!! We have sailed 3 times on Conquest sized ships and always on Lido. It sounds like a great upgrade to me.

This. We stayed on Lido on Conquest as well. No noise, not much traffic either. And so convenient for lido activities. I would do it again any day.

Not everyone lives in high cost areas. Go to any bar around here and 15 beers (just about any domestic) are well under $60. Most chain bar & grills and several family-owned restaurants, they’re right around $60, sometimes a little less.

 

I’d never compare alcohol costs to those at special events (e.g. sports & music). You should know going into it you’re going to be gouged there.

Yeah, this. Our local bar has a bucket of 6 beers for $15- mix and match. Now that is definitely cheap, but even at most bars around here, you are going to pay $3-4 for a bottle- non happy hour prices. Mixed drinks are going to run $3-$5 a piece. Go to a restaurant like Applebees, Chili's etc., then you might pay more like $4-6 a beer. Generally, if we have an evening out with just drinks- no food, its going to be a tab of about $30 or so for DH and I and that is if we both drink and DH drinks more than he should. If we just have a couple of drinks, it might be under $20, with tip.

Of course cost of living here is a lot lower, as are salaries.

I got a chuckle out of this!:) Did they have Frog Jumping too..... You know crabs can not crawl straight, so hopefully they had a large course. :D:D I guess you had to be there....:cool:

Lol. Claws.

Kiss on the lips, funship special, punch liner, Miami Vice, Pina Colada

Good deal.

You probably like a round pastrami, not a flat brisket. If you don't know what that means, I rest my case.

Definitely have no clue. I just know that you either go to the deli counter at the grocery store and get it or you get it in a pack. The pastrami I have had is mostly like roast beef with a little more oomph. Yeah- that is what we have here where I am from. We aren't know for sandwiches here though. LOL.

The public bathrooms are the most challenging. The average size person has to turn sideways in many of them.

I have noticed that too- especially if they doors open inward. You kind of have to straddle to even get out. But that is a problem you will find anywhere.

This is one of my biggest cruise nightmares! We always drive to port, and every stop at a gas station or restaurant, I unzip my suitcase and do a document check, just for piece of mind.

This makes me feel better. I don't check at every stop, but when I am packing my stuff, I pack passports in the carry on bag. Then before we leave I move that stuff into my purse, which is with me at all times. Any time after my purse is not physically attached to my person- like after I wake up or get out of the shower, I check for them. And again before we leave the hotel to go to the port. Even if I just checked. I thought I was just completely crazy, but it sounds like there are more people like me. LOL

I usually get two appetizers and two entrees (don’t eat much during the day so I am usually starving by dinner!) plus the servings really aren’t that big.

 

 

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My hubby always gets at least 2 or 3 apps and 2 main courses, sometimes 3. I almost always have an app and a soup or salad or second app and a main course. The apps are often extremely small. Some of them can be eaten in one or two bites.

We typically have ATD so its just DH and I. Usually if we both order 2 apps, they will bring them one at a time. Sometimes if DH orders three, they will bring 1 and then 2 (or vise versa). But when it comes to the main course, they bring both of his at once at the same time as mine. They seem in tune to making sure that there is a good flow. I love that.

I was never very impressed with the main buffet options on Carnival at lunch time. The Chinese section on embarkation day was pretty good, but it was kind of like shopping mall Chinese food. Guys burgers is good, pizza is decent and blue iguana is good.

Breakfast at the buffet is decent- but standard stuff kind of like Shoney's.

Honestly, I have preferred the buffets on Disney and RCL better. Disney had the absolute best. They had crab craws and large peel and eat shrimp, several types of carved meats, Chinese entrees, pasta, meat dishes, etc. But the price on Disney is very high.

Royals buffet was good too. They always had something worth eating. And at dinner time they would have a great sushi selection, steaks, and all kinds of options. We usually had a couple of pieces of sushi and DD might eat something, if she was not going to dinner with us or just needed a "pre-dinner." The last night they had lobster tails on ice and shrimp on the buffet. Maybe crab legs too, not sure. I was busy with the lobster.

Celebrity's buffet was not good. very few options- at least as far as we could see. But they did have a nice sushi selection.

So my ranking right now would be: Disney, Royal, Carnival, Golden Corral, my kitchen at home, and then Celebrity. ;)

The photo ID requirement is for those 16 and over, IIRC. Call Carnival to be sure, but our 8 and 7 year olds don't have a photo ID other than their passports.

This. I don't think my 7 year old has a school ID. I am going to guess if they gave them out, 2/3 of the class would have it lost within the first week. ;p I know my daughter is not the most responsible.

The NY police dept has a special unit on the lookout for people defacing pastrami sandwiches by putting on either cheese or mayo.

 

Must be served with mustard and sour pickle. Law was passed in 1897 and iis called the "though shall not deface a pastrami sandwich act" and was actually written by the legal dept of the Carnegie Deli.

LOL. I better not get a sandwich in New York then. I like pastrami in a grilled cheese manner, with grilled white bread and white cheese (like monterey jack or provolone). Of course I also think that St. Louis provel cheese is glorious, so my taste buds are clearly different.

Depends on the person. Should be better than Velveeta.

 

For others turning their nose up at Feta, no soup for you!

I like Feta- on a gyro, or salad, or even an omelet. But not a meatball sandwich. It needs melty cheese- preferably provolone. I would probably prefer it with no cheese than feta.

As far as mustard, I like honey mustard on turkey, but not regular mustard. I once had a sandwich that had wheat bread, swiss cheese, honey mustard, and bacon. At that time the only thing I like of those was the bacon. But it was fabulous. I am coming around to all of those other items individually now that I get older and less picky, but its still my preferred manner of turkey sandwich.

As far as regular mustard, I hate it- mostly. The only way I will eat it is on a hot dog and it has to have ketchup and mustard (one on top of the other) and sweet relish. I won't eat a hot dog any other way and I won't eat regular mustard otherwise. Yes, I am weird, I know that.

Like I said, just annoyed. I don’t think it would have hurt them to tell me that. Especially since I use a PVP. Lesson learned.

 

 

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They had the right to do it if it was under a promo, but you also have the right to be annoyed and vent. A good PVP should have told you that. Now you know. But, all that aside. You are going on a cruise and you have a balcony. Focus on the positive.

LOL, I bring more than that back onto the ship inadvertently in my swimsuit and in my shoes.

This. We still have sand in our truck from our Gulf Shores vacation 2 years ago.

We used this plan when we took a cruise on Celebrity. That was the only cruise without my daughter. She was 3 at the time. That was the only time we have left the US without her and no way was I going to be without any method of communication. Service was fairly spotty- it worked best on the balcony. That's kind of the reason that DH got us locked out there one night, technically I guess. It was cheaper then, like $30-$35.

Now I would probably just get an internet package and communicate via facebook or email.

Oh how wonderful! I have tears just reading this. I hope she knows what a wonderful husband she has.:D

Me too. I wish my husband would surprise me like that.

But he is not the type. And technically I don't like surprises. A surprise cruise would be different. HINT HINT Josh.

From someone whose kids started cruising when they weren’t potty trained at 12 months of age, believe me, your family won’t be “gutted” if your kids can’t go in the pools. Yes, it’s a bit of a bummer, but with so many things to do on the ship besides going in the pool, you should find plenty to do.

 

 

 

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This. We took 2 cruises with my daughter before she was potty trained. We pretty much just avoided the pool area all together. The pools are really small and crowded anyway, so its not all that appealing. OP I don't know your itinerary, but can you try beaches or a day pass at a resort in one of your ports.

I also agree that there are plenty of other things to do to keep you busy. Or if the 4 year old must go to the pool you can always split up and have the 4 year old have time with dad and the 2 year old time with mom- special one on one time. My DD is an only child, but I myself had siblings and always loved the one on one time with one of my parents without the sibling- it made me feel special.

I don't know if I would buy it now. When we first bought it, it was like 35 or 40, totally worth it. I think they even raised it maybe to $49, still worth it. At that time our DD was small and in a stroller and we would bring on water. We would stay in a hotel near port, so a later arrival is not really ideal, because we would be checked out of the hotel with little to do. So it was really worth it for early boarding and early cabin access. And we also liked it for debarkation, because we could get off the ship and on the road quicker, without having to use self debarkation. Since we drive we would always end up with a later debarkation time. Unfortunately for us, it is a 12 hour drive and we usually do park and stay with a hotel, so we have to wait for hotel shuttle or get a taxi to the hotel and then get our car, load it up and start driving home- making it more like a 13 hour drive.

But NOW, DD is 7 so she can walk on her own. By the time we go on another cruise she will be 8 or 9. And it sounds like carnival started offering cases of water at a decent price, so we would probably just preorder that and not carry on any drinks, but the two bottles of wine. Which means we could probably get down to one or two carry on bags. So the early cabin access is not as big of a deal. As far as debarkation, we would probably just do self debarkation. We did it on our last RCCL cruise and it was not that bad. It would not have been doable when DD was in a stroller, but now, she can walk on her own and possibly even push a light suitcase or carry a smaller bag (maybe- I am not sure I am confident in her ability to not lose something).

So- long story short, I just talked myself out of needing FTTF.