seventhwardhustler

Thanks for input of opinions from the trolls without medical degrees ;)

 

They cut off her cheers package and I had to buy her wine the rest of the cruise. No way to treat a customer.

lol i have a pic of my mom and her co-worker smoking on the job in the late 60s, both pregnant. my siblings and i turned out ok!

Yes, kids are allowed, but I wouldn't call it a "tea party". It is like any other meal service in the MDR, except they bring you tea and roll around a cart with treats on it, which you choose from. Then you sit at the table and talk to your tablemates. I enjoy it for sure, but it is not like a tea party you would book on land, with music and china teapots, etc.

yes, my daughter was 2ish at the time and i expected it to be an "experience" but it's not. my daughter was kinda bored.

Nothing under my AMEX offers for me :( I have two Gold cards and never seem to get this deal from Carnival/AMEX

i have a gold and didn't get it. however, i will actually check them from now on.

Thank you all for the kind words and solid advice. Again, I'm not concerned with any refund because I realize that it's our fault if she doesn't go on the cruise. I've decided to continue on as if she were going with me, and if she doesn't, I'll just advise Carnival (when I show up at the terminal) that she opted to stay home because her mother is ill. If they refund the taxes, fine.... if they don't, I'm ok with that too. I just don't want to put my wife in a situation that makes her uncomfortable (by forcing her to go), and I absolutely don't want to show up in NOLA and be denied boarding or charged an additional fee. Again, THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!

tell them she's late.

Do you have a male friend or relative that would like a free cruise? Most cruise lines allow changing a passengers name free if it is before online check in. If you would rather be alone she just does a no show. I don't know why the rep made it sound like you would be in trouble. Regardless of early saver or any other offer you paid for 2 people so it matters not that only 1 is in there. I think they will refund port fees though.

The rules are different when you book under Early Saver--no name changes allowed.

We were on the Valor in January with YTD. We always got there between 5:30 and 6 and never had more than a 5 minute wait. There was 7 of us in our party and we actually go the same table and waitstaff every night.

yes, i was going to say there are some sweet spots where there is hardly EVER a wait. that's around the time we go. people are still coming in from excursions and doing other things. by the time we're mid-dinner, the lines are getting longer and longer.

 

I keep hoping that Carnival will do something about the ventilation system. On Liberty the casino was also where a combo played and people were dancing. It was so hard to enjoy the music because of the smoke.

 

On Dream class ships the smoke goes down the hallway to where the music is played as well. I know smokers need some area to smoke, and I blame Carnival for the poor ventilation. To have the smoking concentrated in the casino where we had to walk through to get places pretty much all the time, seems that with the number of complaints that Carnival would make some improvements. JMO.

we experienced this on the last cruise. my daughter was 2 and loved to dance in front of the band...and they would really jazz it up when she came around. unfortunately, it was steps from the casino so i had to stand there and let her do her thing and deal with the smoke, that she also inhaled. they ought to put the live band outside and pump music into the casino.

good question. although that's my fave, the earliest i've ever hit it was a couple of hours after sailing. you are going to LOVE it. they must put the creme de la creme of bartenders in the alchemy.

....Ummmmmmm ..........So if you are Elite on Celebrity and Diamond Plus on Royal, WHAT ARE YOU DOING SAILING CARNIVAL?! :cool:

 

....and if you spent all that time sailing on Carnival instead of RCCL & Celebrity ... you would be PLATINUM on Carnival by now and not have to worry about this! :)

 

...Just my two cents.

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

i'm starbucks gold and i approve this message....

Cheeseburgers, get it right. And no, I have never paid $599 to eat a cheeseburger on a ship. I sail solo most of the time, so I pay double. :p

#classic

Booked a Magic cruise for 2017. Magic currently getting upgraded, to include Guy's Burgers. I have never experienced this burger.

 

I have sensed people's anticipation, of the addition of this food offering.

 

What exactly makes Guy's Burgers, in an apparent class by themselves? There must be something that causes

such eager appetites? They seem to be legendary.

it's a burger; i think the toppings are probably what everybody loves and makes the difference. plus the burger is thick.

Ewwwww. Hand sanitizer does not remove fecal matter from your hands. Nor does it kill most viruses or even all bacteria. Hand sanitizer is NOT a substitute for proper hygiene. You might want to check your science again.

 

And, if proper hand washing protocol is used, including not touching the faucet handles, towel dispenser, door, etc., germs will not be reintroduced to washed hands.

agreed! hands carry germs. health 101.

Have you been to the buffet at Bellagio in Las Vegas? Happy cruising! Bill.

lol. yes, vegas in on another level: dinner at bellagio, breakfast at paris. lunch at aladdin (RIP). sigh....

I started the thread, inquiring about Guy's Burgers. There was an awesome response, with many offering their opinions, and I greatly appreciate your imput.

 

I have not cruised with Carnival, in many years. Have a Magic cruise booked.

 

During my recent thread, some comments were made, that people "avoided" the buffet-due to the quality of food. And seeked other dining options.

 

Now my question is: Is the buffet on Carnival (Magic),

Going to be that unappealing?

 

*** I realize that discussion of food is subjective. But I have read very few comments on any thread, praising the buffet offerings.

 

I have taken seven cruises, on three different cruise lines, and found the buffets adequate. Always a variety of options. I have not cruised in last three years.

 

***** For the veteran cruisers out there, has the buffet quality declined over the years? Number of options decreased? Or is it because of all the newer dining options, that cause the buffet's appeal to diminish?

In our experience, the buffet is a 4/10. EXCEPT on Caribbean day. They have delicious jerk chicken and coconut bread. I am always so shocked that it's the same buffet that serves sub-par food most of the time. The salad bar is good and the deli is delicious. The desserts always look pretty but I never like them. We go to the MDR for all brunches, dinners and use the buffet/side restaurants for lunches.

 

You are completely right though, food is incredibly subjective.

we are extremely early breakfast eaters so we use the buffet for breakfast before the crowd; omelets and meat. after that, the buffet SUCKS. we eat lunch off the ship except sea days, use the MDR for dinner or do guys or pizza (now i'm hearing that the magic's new pizza sucks, as well).

carnival's buffet is like cafeteria food--you might get a favorite once or twice but the rest is garbage.

Listen to Natty on this! Especially reason #2. If there is *any* chance - even one in a hundred- that you will not use all your OBC (onboard credit) then you're want the OBC going toward your gratuity. Otherwise your OBC is simply forfeited.

wow, never thought about that!! thanks!

Thanks for posting this! Although I don't know what the big deal is since the deposit is going to be paid eventually anyway. I booked a b2b under the $99 deposit sale and the other day the price dropped on one of them $100. I submitted the form instead of calling my PVP because I thought it was a simple and straightforward drop. It went through just an hour later and I never gave it another thought. After reading this post I realized I had forgotten about the whole deposit thing. Checked and sure enough it said I had a $400 deposit due on Jan. 25! I paid it right away, but I wonder how long it would have been before they just canceled the booking???

this happened to me and they never cancelled it. it just showed that more money was due but the due date was retroactive to the initial small deposit date. i ultimately canceled that one for another one but they never mentioned it.

I don't think I could vacation with someone like that. It would drive me crazy.

 

My parents almost missed their ship 2 weekends ago due to the snow storm up north. My mom talked to the cruise line (in their case it was NCL). She was told that they could fly to join the ship, but they wouldn't be able to get onboard in the first two ports, Honduras or Belize. So they would miss half of their cruise. I didn't hear the whole story about why they couldn't board in Honduras or Belize. Maybe some ports do not allow it. Fortunately, my parents were able to get to their ship in time.

 

glad to hear your parents were able to board on time. EVERY TIME i think about cutting costs and skipping the night before (and i always do), i get the heebie jeebies. stories like this (things totally beyond our control) remind me that peace of mind is worth the $200 hotel fee.

I have sailed the Inspiration and Sensation and the Victory and loved them all. In 2017 we are taking a family cruise on the Magic. What are some of the biggest differences between the small ships that I already love and a big ship like the Magic. Just curious as to what peoples takes are.

i'll be on the magic in july and i remember docking next to her when i was on another ship. man, was she huge. i just hope i don't get that "crowded" feel. i'm curious about wait times for everything.

I was wondering if anyone has had cabin 8062 or 8562? How is the curve on the balcony, and does it have an affect of the cabin? I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or recommendations? Thanks!

i'm booking 8062 for 2014. have you found anything or cruised yet? please let me know. thanks!

Hawaii is like beautiful summer weather year around.. definitely.. shorts, tank tops, flip flops........(among other things, Hawaii is SUPER CASUAL)..... and yes, it can and does rain there, but it's usually just cloud burst-style raining, not 'raining all day'.

thanks, cactus!! it's good to know i can recycle my carribean clothes!

i don't expect anything from a ship buffet anymore except for whatever it is to at least be moderately warm.

on another note, is there anything you wish you would have packed for the weather on the island? i haven't done my research on this yet but since i have you all's attention....

light jacket w/lining, waterproof, with hood? more sleeves, less sleeves? more long pants, less shorts? no flip-flops?

We just got back on Sunday from our Hawaii trip. I will try not to make this too long although I have a lot to report!

 

Packing:

-there were a lot of papers to bring (car rental agreements, directions, boarding docs, boarding passes, and so on). I picked up an accordion pocket folder ($1 @ target). I was able to arrange our papers by day so I could quickly grab everything we needed each morning. This worked great!

 

-Bring snacks for the plane. Even on a 7 and a half hour flight we were not given anything but drinks. Thankfully we had packed a lunch.

good info! i usually have a binder but i think the accordion will be flatter and lighter. i was hoping a full meal will be served but i'll make a point of bringing snacks anyway--we're traveling with a toddler.

you are a blessing!! this took me from not giving it a second thought to seeing that it totally makes sense for us. I guess i'm just amazed at how quickly it all adds up. i'm well over $60 a day.

I wish they would amend it to include coffee, if they would I would go for it, coffee is cheaper than beer, wonder why they wont count it in?

if coffee were included, i too would be game. it would make a LOT more sense for me.