Jeafl

58 minutes ago, jsglow said:

So here's a little hint when disembarking.

 

If your plan is to grab a cab/Uber to get to the airport walk a couple blocks east to 10th Ave. It'll get you away from the madhouse on Hudson River Greenway and make the process go more smoothly. The problem with Pier 88 is that there literally isn't any room (and frankly can't be) just outside the doors. So simply cross the road and walk away from the crowds. That part of Manhattan is perfectly safe.

I think this is what we are going to do.

I noticed that one of the perks for being platinum is "Priority dining reservations".  What exactly does that mean?  If a specialty restaurant is booked do they miraculously find you a spot?  If you have late dining and would prefer early but it is closed do they let you change anyway?  I guess I am just trying to understand what they mean by priority.

We are on this cruise as well!  Hope to see you around! 😃

I love the Spicy chipotle pineapple martini from the Alchemy bar.  Not too spicy, but so good!

On 5/16/2024 at 7:42 AM, teknoge3k said:

I will take a cove balcony over a regular balcony every single time. We love the coves.

They:

• Are lower so you feel less motion
• Are shaded, so you can enjoy your balcony without the sun beating on you
• Are private, you don't have someone looking up onto your balcony from below or down onto your balcony from above
• Are typically cheaper
• Are closer to the water so you see more marine-life
• Are larger than a regular balcony
• Quicker debarkation at each port
• Quicker to get back to your cabin coming in from each port
• When you look over your balcony, you see water. Not a deck with people laying in the sun.

 

If you like baking in the sun then they may not be for you. I have seen a very small handful of people that have stated their door was closed in rough waters. However that's never been the case and we've been in a cove balcony over 25 times. We've sailed through tropical storms with rough water as well as regular storms and our balcony door has never been closed. We sat on the balcony during a tropical storm and watched the rough waves. It was fantastic! 

Thanks for posting this!  We are in our first cove balcony next weekend and I have been going back and forth as to whether or not we should have kept our deluxe ocean view.  All of your reasons sound like things that would matter to me, so I am not officially excited!

11 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

We cruised the Venezia in October and flew in two days before, and picked JFK as it was the least expensive with flights that fit us best. We stayed at the comfort inn which was about a two minute walk to the ship. We were able to walk to Central Park and Times Square the day before and did a harbor lights cruise. We had never been to NYC before so did the touristy stuff. We took the carnival shuttle back got the airport after the cruise. It was a bit of a 💩 show at port as that poor bus driver was totally overwhelmed and had no one to help him, but we made it back just fine. We had a later flight. 

We are staying at the Comfort Inn as well.  Is it really only a 2-minute walk as well?  We will have my mother with us who has a bad knee and cannot walk very far.  We planned on using an Uber, but if it is that close walking may be doable, even with luggage.

This is very helpful.  Thanks!

On 5/6/2024 at 7:50 PM, Saint Greg said:

I was disappointed with mine on jubilee. It was way overcooked. The inside of the pastry was black. It just tasted burned. The cheesy potatoes were good though.

 

 

This looks nothing like the Beef Wellington we had on the Magic.  Ours was perfectly cooked medium rare, and was our favorite meal of the cruise.  Yours just looks nasty.

32 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

They sell a ton of those Invicta watches and the inch of gold, the t-shirt sales, and things like that. Always huge lines for those events on cruises I've been on. Yeah I don't see many diamonds being sold but you have to figure they're selling enough of them or they would take out the diamonds and put in more beach bags etc.

The inch of gold seemed like a decent deal, until I priced out a 20-inch paperclip chain necklace.  It was $7.99 an inch, so the whole thing was $160 which was ridiculous for a costume jewelry piece.  I can get the same thing on Amazon for $29.99.

Panorama is my favorite ship.  Thanks for sharing. 

On 4/8/2024 at 1:04 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Only beets taste like dirt.  With or without ketchup or mayo.😉🤣

And Matcha.  It tastes like dirt as well.

On 2/19/2024 at 3:56 PM, VentureMan_2000 said:

Just because you deal with them in court does not mean you cannot still enjoy their cruises.

I sued Chevrolet for a Lemmon, and still continue to buy Chevy.  I wouldn't had to if the Dealership did its job.  Same with Carnival... just because of one bad actor within Carnival should not mean dropping Carnival altogether.

I know of someone banned for life just for disputing a charge on their credit card.  I would be careful of taking them to court if you want to sail on them again.

20 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

Great review. We had a B2B scheduled on Magic in a Spa Balcony but that got canceled due to a "certain pandemic". We'll get back to her eventually.

With regard to the tripping hazard and leaving the bathroom light on, we bought these magnetized night lights on Amazon and they now go with us on every cruise. They stick right on the metal walls.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MHVTHQS

 

Because they are motion sensing, the first night, you just have to figure out where they work best and don't automatically trip on every time you move around in bed. Once that is set, everything is good to go. BUT REMEMBER to take them with you when the cruise is over. They are easy to forget on debarkation morning. We actually have a little "post cruise" packing list so we don't leave anything behind.

 

Someone also mentioned magnetic hooks and we have those as well. They are great for hanging, hats, jackets, etc. on the wall to reduce clutter. Some people like those over the door organizers. We use one of them on "some" cruises, but with STRONG magnetic hooks, we can hang it on a wall vice the bathroom door. I mention STRONG magnetic hooks because the rating is for pulling them OFF the wall, not for horizontal strength (what keeps them from sliding down the wall). So strong is better. On an Alaska cruise, you might have a heavier jacket to hang on those hooks. These are the ones we have.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F55SKST

 

For the door organizer, we went with this one. Again - only used for certain cruises.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HH6NLQ4

 

 

 

Thanks for the link to the magnets.  This will be my first cruise with a CPAP and I was looking for some hooks to keep the extension cord off the floor.  These should work just fine.

16 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Or we could have Tim Robbins on the board. You never know....

 

 

My all-time favorite movie!

I enjoyed reading your review.  We really liked the Magic, other than the convoluted way you have to go to access the one and only elevator to the Serenity deck.  It was not easy to find!

1 hour ago, Frank12 said:

My last 2 upgrade offers were major downgrades.  They are just looking for folks who dont know any better,

I agree.  I received an upgrade offer from deluxe ocean view to cove balcony for $190 which I took.  About a month later I received another upgrade offer from cove balcony to regular ocean view all the way forward for $392!!  WHY would anyone take a crappier room and pay an upcharge for it?

Great review!  Thanks for posting.

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

 I would hope people reading this thread would check where the cabin being offered is located.  Just because it may be a higher deck balcony "closer to the fun" (as quoted from the offer) doesn't mean it is a good offer.  However, going from an inside to a balcony - that may be a good offer!

Not always,

I gave up a deluxe ocean view with 2 bathrooms because I was offered a balcony for only $142 more.  I looked on the deck plans and it seemed like it was under the MDR, but it turned out it was under the galley. We heard carts dragging above us starting at 3:00 am.  Lesson learned.

The ironic thing is that I got another upsell offer for a different cruise offering me an oceanview for $260 more when I already had a balcony.  That didn't even make sense.

Great review!  Panorama is our favorite ship so far, and I agree with all of your assessments.

On 3/14/2024 at 9:19 AM, Noledad77 said:

867-5309

Do you ask for Jenny? 🤣

10 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

 

I sometimes wonder if people think before they post on here. 

 

A. it is a different country.

B. Amber cove is a private area with security that Carnival employes as it is CCL's private owned area. 

Perhaps comprehension isn't your strong suit.  If you go back and look you will see that I acknowledged that it was two different countries.  Perhaps you are unaware that they are on the same island though, and it may not be that difficult to move from one end of the island to another.  After all, they did manage to escape from prison.

Also, it is not mandatory that you stay in Amber Cove, which I also addressed.

6 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I agree, but IMO the Funfetti Cheesecake is the one exception. That's why I always get it. DH is always amused that I make a little game out of trying to be the first person on the ship to get a piece. 

I totally agree.  Funfetti cheesecake was my favorite.

9 hours ago, simplelife said:

The cakes look better than they taste

Sadly, I would have to agree with you.  We tried at least 2-3 different ones every day and only a couple were really good.  All the chocolate ones, (and there were a lot!) tasted exactly the same to me.  It was a little disappointing.

12 hours ago, babygrljaz said:

I took my full size bottle in late January on the Jubilee with no problem 🤷‍♀️ I wonder if the air freshener too. We NEED that for the restroom

Bring Poo Pourri.  It eliminates the need for air freshener and it is much smaller to carry on.

1 hour ago, Frank12 said:

I have tried to apply gift cards at the kiosks on several different ships, all without success. I finally gave up and just go to guest services.  Maybe it's just me?? 

It's not just you.  It's been hit or miss with us the last couple of cruises.  If the line is short we just go to Guest Services and save ourselves the aggravation.