RoperDK

Just now, Gardener5b said:

We both had sore throats as first symptoms, then cold-like symptoms and fatigue.  The fatigue for several days was very real!  My cough lingered for weeks afterwards.   

It is a weird virus, isn't it?  We must have been very lucky with our cases.

2 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

I honestly don't know anyone who even cares about drinking (or eating) with covid.  I guess if you felt better, it's different.  I never had it but know many who have and no one cared about alcohol.

That's my point. Only had covid once and was totally well a day and a half later.  I have felt worse with a common cold and of course the flu.  Just wondering what they offered. 

2 hours ago, Gardener5b said:

We were on Serenade in mid-September and both came down with Covid (we had self-tested).   We had to remain in our cabin.  Medical came within the hour to check vitals, temperature, and bring meds.  They called daily to check on us, as did guest services. 

 

We were given free wifi for the remainder of our cruise (I tested positive on day 6 of a 12 nighter, and my husband tested positive a day later).  We were able to order lunch and dinner from the MDR if we desired, but could only order from the regular room service menu for breakfast.  No problem getting bottles of water delivered our meals.     Because we were still technically on the last day of quarantine, we were escorted to a separate waiting area and were escorted off of the ship as the last to disembark.

 

We were treated and cared for very well.  

Hoping to never be in your situation, but I do have a question....what about alcohol drinks?  If you have the drink package or are Diamond or higher, will they deliver drinks?  My DH and I tested positive after an August Mariner cruise.  We had symptoms for 36 hours at the most. We felt right as rain by then but still quarantined ourselves for the whole 5 days.  I know Princess will deliver drinks, but what about Royal?  It would be a double bummer if you were quarantined and not able to enjoy some wine on the balcony if you feel perfectly normal.       

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

No. You can get a "pig patty" (strips of bacon arranged into a patty) on your burger at the counter. Bacon bits and mushrooms are gone from the toppings bar.

Oh no, are the sauteed mushrooms are still gone from the toppings bar?  I knew the bacon was gone, but you can get a pig patty if you want.  I LOVE mushrooms on a bun less burger!  I could eat that every day.  So sad if it's still gone.     

Sorry to hear about your disappointment, your daughter in particular.  I do hope that everyone can regroup and enjoy the cruise.  Come back and let us know how it went.  

The app shows lunch, but not the children's menu, on day 1.  Is that an oversight on the app or do they not have it that day?  At first I assumed it was a problem with the app, but then I wondered if they had less options on the first day because of turnover.  This is on Wonder BTW. 

Please don't tell me that Carnival still has "bacation".  I keep reading about elimination of bacon in venues.  No bacon in omelets and no more BLT at the deli.  Certainly, they have gone back to normal by this time.  I mean how much more expensive is bacon than pastrami or chicken?   Sorry, I don't want to bring this into the omelette conversation, but I am just surprised at this point.  We haven't cruised on Carnival in over a year and I just assumed that they would have some normalcy at this point.  

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Well they took fríes away, at least on Mardi Gras and Valor in the last 3 months.  All I wanted was a side of fríes after Guy's had closed, but no such luck.

On our 2 Mardi Gras cruises they didn't have any sides available.  Just the sandwich.  I remember that on other ships (before the shutdown) they had fries and at least potato salad.  Don't know if that is still the case.  One of the reasons that I didn't care for the Mardi Gras was that the Deli and Pizza place were stand alone.  Guys was, too.  I understand the concept of spreading everyone out and that is a good idea.  However, I found myself wanting to get a slice of pizza or a sandwich along with a small salad many times.  Also, DH might want Guys, but I was in the mood for something else.  When all the venues are on Lido, then people can pick and choose what they want and then still sit together for the meal.         

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That's the case here. The service at brunch has become abysmal, and a made-to-order omelet is usually my go-to because so much of the other Lido food at breakfast is cheap carbs.

 

One cut too many for me.  I had already cut down on Carnival in favor of Royal or Princess, unless there was a specific reason to choose Carnival, i.e. to try Excel class, to go with a specific group, or because the only other option out of New Orleans is NCL. But now Royal is coming back to New Orleans from October 2024 to April 2025.  After Glory next week Carnival will be an absolute last choice.

We've only cruised 2 times on Carnival since the restart.  Both on Mardi Gras.  Ship is beautiful.  Service and food okay.  We are on Spirit out of Mobile in February.  We love Spirit class and are going with an open mind to see how we feel about Carnival at this time.  We've been cruising Royal lately, too, but their prices are hard to take right now.  I hope that Royal keeps cruising out of NOLA.  We are already booked with them there and will probably book more if they keep coming to NOLA.  Each cruise line has pros and cons and I wish some posters here had a more open mind about others' opinions. Everyone's opinion is valid and gives others input to use in planning their cruises.   

33 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Buh bye

🤔  

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

That's all well and good but people shouldn't switch cruise lines and expect a different result. People that solely criticize Carnival while ignoring the industry wide reality evidently need to be reminded of it. We've cruised 3 times since the restart and feel that Carnival still checks the biggest box of all for us- they are still a good value for our vacation dollar.

If you visit the other cruise line forums, I think you'll find enough criticizing to go around.  Many people are trying other cruise lines to see which ones might be a better fit.  I'm sure you have cruised other than just on Carnival since you feel that they provide you the best experience. Each cruise line has adjusted their product in different ways.  Many of their loyal cruisers gave them plenty of slack after the restart but are beginning to question whether all of the changes should be continued at this point.  Celebrity discontinued their everyday menu items and quickly added them back after cruiser feedback.  Carnival brought back several items such as the daily cruise schedule in paper because of cruiser feedback.  Speaking up should be encouraged whether it is positive or negative. I feel it should be balanced though as no product is perfect, but neither is it a total disaster.           

4 hours ago, BlackForest said:

Sorry, I am late to respond to my afternoon tea comment. My memory is poor but it may have been Celebrity? We are diamond plus on RC but have sailed many times on Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Carnival. It may have been Celebrity that offered the high/afternoon tea. Sigh, it was lovely.

 

Side Note: we used to be biased against Carnival for the longest time...we had a negative attitude that Carnival was a cheap version of the other cruise lines with rowdier passengers. But over the past 5 years or so we have sailed on Carnival (when the price can't be beat) and the food was excellent. We are still loyal to RC and Celebrity but we will sail on other lines.

Carnival used to have high tea with all the trimmings!  I believe it was only on sea days.  Waiters wore white gloves and there was live music.  Over time the tea and food selections decreased along with the formal atmosphere. It was still a nice event.  They did away with high tea at some point.  Don't remember when.   

18 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

PC only has one “smaller” ship… Adventure. It’s missing Utopia’s 3/4’s and Wonder’s pre-Star 7N’s, which will be released in February as mentioned above.

I was hoping for a ship to replace Voyager doing 4 and 5 night itineraries (like the Mariner does now) and hoping that the pricing wouldn't be as crazy as the larger, newer ships.      

Weren't there Carribean itineraries supposed to open up this week?  I'm surprised that Royal waits so long to post sailings.  I was looking at PC in particular and it seems that they are missing a smaller ship that sails 4 and 5 day itineraries.   

I booked ours on Wonder Jan. 28th today on the website.  Everything was available including the comedy.   

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

I guess I’m not grasping the cause for this one.  If nobody is home, why would you need to disable the motion activation on your faucet ?  

Sometimes the faucets malfunction and turn on without actually being triggered. Not a good thing to happen when you are away from home.  It's the same reason we turn off the icemaker before we leave.  We never got a motion activated facet because we had kitties. No need to explain that one! 😺  

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You nailed it.  Stay away from the top 4 Star, Icon, Wonder and Utopia and there are still some decent prices, get down to radiance and Vision classes and some great deals on insides and OV (balconies were always at a premium on those ships due to limited availability)

 

I ended up booking Harmony for Christmas 2025.  It will be interesting driving to Galveston instead of Miami

Our preferred port is PC because it is close to family.  I can't believe the pricing now!  Is the Adventure gold plated?  Granted, we like to sail in suites, but geez I can't believe what they are asking.  

Looking forward to your review!  I spent quite a bit of time during my military career at Keesler AFB going to tech schools.  Biloxi has changed so much over the decades.  Of course, Katrina made the most impact.  It is nice to see how the city has come back.  Lol, driving down I-10 is not for the faint of heart.  I think I would take rather I-75 or I-95!  

We always have a Funship on Lido deck once we board the ship.  It is our cue to relax and start to enjoy our vacation.  

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

 

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

The same can be said of all cruise lines. Those who switch will never know what they missed - at least not first hand.

Yes, very true.  We still cruise on Carnival but do venture out to other lines, too.  It seems like they all are making cuts and have some unhappy loyal customers.     

1 hour ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

That's what the past fans of Celebrity told me (and anyone who would listen) when we "discovered" the line. I thought it was great. Of course, from my perspective, it's not like it was 15 years ago - and it's changing quickly...

 

Sky Suites no longer have a butler, etc...

 

Tom

Lol, we have had bad luck with getting to sail on Celebrity.  All of our booked cruises were either cancelled or we had to cancel for various reasons.  They were all in Sky Suites.  The uproar on the Celebrity board about food in particular has been a sight to see.  Now the prices in The Retreat are too high for us.  Perhaps it was never meant to be.

18 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Only some old timers feel there's been a degradation. Many don't feel there has been. Changes, sure, but not a degradation. Our cruise on Glory was fantastic and none of the changes had an adverse impact on that. (Same goes for our two Legend cruises as well.)

We've been cruising on Carnival for over 20 years, but only on 26 cruises with them.  I do miss some things that have gone away.  Many other changes didn't bother us.  We will be cruising on Carnival in February, so we haven't given up yet.      

8 minutes ago, bg2310 said:

It's pretty shameful to police and attempt to denigrate the experiences of those who haven't previously had the luxury or privilege to cruise.

 

Not to mention telling of how snooty and arrogant some of the cruising crowd appears to be, at least on this site/forum.

You are totally misunderstanding my post.  I'm not trying to denigrate newer cruisers.  I was saying that those new to cruising aren't looking at the experience with the same lens as those that have cruised with Carnival for many years.  Neither is right or wrong, they just see it differently.  The newer cruisers are, for the most part, happy with their cruise experience.  I think most that have cruised with Carnival for many years, still think the product is good, they just miss parts of the good ole days.  Those that don't like the product, have moved on to other cruise lines or other types of vacations.  Since Carnival is sailing with full ships, then why should they change back?    

1 hour ago, bg2310 said:

And that's totally fair! I only started cruising this year so I cannot be aware of what all Carnival used to provide, but does so no longer in the cost of one's cruise fare.

 

In any case, I'm only referring to one's omelets options in the MDR only. 

 

 

This is an important and telling post.  Us old timers remember what cruising was before the many rounds of cuts that make us feel that the Carnival product has degraded.  The newer cruisers must be happy with what is offered or they wouldn't continue to sail with Carnival.  Cruise pricing is going up and the ships are sailing at full capacity.  Why should Carnival change what they are doing at this point? 

3 hours ago, bg2310 said:

News flash! You can be disappointed without being all extra about it. There's really no need to be overly sensitive or get all worked up about something that at the end of the day was, yes, my opinion.

 

Trying to edit my comment to add the qualifier "but that's just me" (since it's evidently needed) is not an option, unfortunately.

 

In any case, trying to stay on-topic, having just sailed Carnival back in September I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 sea days in which I got to have their brunch. To attest to what jam posted above, I had the same menu, and was quite satisfied with the options and selection on the menu, including omelets.

 

All things considered, I think their brunch is a great value for being included in the fare, with many delicious options on the menu and which, in my opinion, is much better quality than the Lido buffet. And I've have had great experiences at brunch, very much looking forward to going to it again on my cruise next week.

I think the disappointment comes from long term cruisers that have seen too many cuts along with too many price increases.  Singularly it's not a problem, but all together it lessens the product. Something akin to the straw that broke the camel's back.    

I'm sorry that happened to you. I've had to travel in a scooter before and I was always pleased by how other passengers made room for me in the elevators.  My thoughts are that money can't buy class and karma always comes through in the end.    

4 hours ago, island lady said:

 

To me, IMHO...if non-suite Pinnies are out...so should JS pax.  

 

OK...wait...let me adjust my flame suite here..ahhh...OK, fire away JS pax. 

 

After all...neither the JS pax nor the non-suite Pinnacles are in a full suite.  But alas...I don't make the rules. 😉 

 

Oh yeah, I am going to get burned here.  That's OK...it's almost happy hour and I can put out the flames.  😄 

No flames here.  Your feelings about JS are known.  We will be cruising in our last JS on Wonder next month.  We will be in a full suite or not sail with Royal from now on.  Our experience in prior JS when we couldn't get a full suite was great.  We could eat dinner in CK any night if we wanted to.  We do have flexible dinner times and actually enjoy a later dinner.  I'm curious to see what our access will be.  I do feel that the new Sky JS category will change the second class citizen status of the regular JS.  Access to CK dinner will probably be denied at that time.    

7 hours ago, Wanna Be Retired said:

We’ve done it several times.  I have a seafood allergy so they give me something a little different.  It’s great to me.

When did you notify them of your seafood allergy?  I don't have a seafood allergy, but I don't eat raw fish.  The tuna tartare from Wonderland was totally wasted on me.  If they don't have a substitute, I will ask them not to bring it to me in the future.