bjfitz0703

16 minutes ago, luvsboozecruises said:

All I am saying is I would not like to go on that ship or any refub of another ship that has the same setup. I have been on 35+ carnival Cruises and do not plan on staying away from them , we are booked for the Mardi gras next year for the 15 day trip in a Havana Cabana..My wife and I have been on the other cruise lines many times but carnival does the best for the all around experience. We have never been on a a bad cruise, but I didn't like the way they rebuild the sunrise, we had a great time, as usual.. I have a Post on Page 1 of this topic, please read it. Nobody parties like carnival...

I agree.  We too were on the Sunrise a few weeks back.  We had a great time yet way too crowded.  Reading this lengthy post and many like it about the Sunrise, many agree way too crowded.  For sure will not sail on these "add cabins" Carnival ships again.  I own CCL stock yet there are way too many better options at sea including Carnival ships that align to their design specs and not this debacle.  

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

Guess you never went to an emergency room. Infirmary not a place for fun. I had to go there once and it was a very professional experience. I would hope you do realize everyone was there and the kid screaming because they needed to be there. Why did you not take band aids with you and some salve? Standard travel items. Yes they do charge. However it is a very small cost to go there. Unlike an emergency room at any hospital. "Had nightmares for days" Really!

I am the OP.  Turns out my wife had a first aid kit yet the dumb husband/father (me) didn't know that!  It was only like $1.50 for the band aid and ointment pack they gave us.  Yet truly my son and I talk about that place even today!  Seemed like we were in a movie of some kind.  run away!

Was on the Sunrise a few weeks back and on the first sea day, my 16 year old son had cut his finger, so we went to the infirmary to get a band-aid.  Mistake!

My Lord one of the scariest places we have been.  There was a young lady here with her parents who looked green.  So sick.  My son was like Dad did you see that girl?  Also there was a boy in the back screaming at the top of his lungs.  Screaming "what are you doing to me"?  Like they were sawing his foot off.

The "nurse" at the desk was something out of a movie.

Felt like a horror movie.

Had nightmares for days.  We couldn't stop talking about it all week.

Don't go there!

Share.  Makes the per drink cost go down.

Have done both.  Now always late.  Like normal life, you plan you day around family dinner time.   Makes it simple.  Much preferred.  In this way no YTD nonsense.  Understand some like YTD but not this guy.  My $0.02 yet to each their own.  However if stuck between early or YTD, I would pick YTD for sure.

Off Sunrise a few weeks ago.  GT was starboard and in Bermuda it was port.

On 7/24/2019 at 6:09 PM, Board_Shorts said:

I know the days of crew members begging for 10's on the survey have mostly gone now, or are supposed to have gone.

 

There's even a question asking if any crew member has mentioned the survey to you, and if so, to name who it was.

 

But the system still works in the same way. Anything less than a 10 is a fail. Too many fails, and the crew are disciplined.

 

Because I know this, I always do mark everything as a 10 on that survey. I've never met a crew member I didn't like, and I would hate to be a part of someone getting into trouble when I had no idea that I was.

 

But the whole idea is still a complete farce, and it's still true that anything less than a 10 is a fail.

 

I know a lot of people who say they would never mark a 10 on any survey, because to them, a 10 would mean perfection, and as we all know, nobody's perfect.

 

As a huge international company, RCCL must surely know things like this, so I really do wonder why they do it.

 

Do they only want to hear nice things about the company? Does negativity upset them? 

 

The whole point of a survey is to pinpoint areas that need improvement, or to check how new methods are working for example. Otherwise, why do they ask us? It's a complete waste of time for them and us.

 

I remember hearing something a while ago, about the scores being used as part of the information that is used for industry awards. "Best Mass Market Cruiseline" for example, which Royal usually wins, or "Best Premium Cruise Line" for Celebrity, both are RCCL companies.

 

Maybe I'm just thinking too much into it. I do get very intrigued about these things.

This nonsense is real and makes the survey results less useful.  Survey design is a science and as someone else posted a 9 and 10 are pretty much the same if you study the science.  I have cruised a lot.  Some on RCCL and some on other lines.  No cruise has ever earned 10s across the board.  Not sure they should anyway otherwise there is nothing they can improve upon which we all know is nonsense.  The whole point is to identify what is working and what needs improvement.  For sure we have had super waiters and outstanding cabin stewards while others while decent aren't the same.  Same with about everything else.  

make sure you share

3 hours ago, fuzzy1010 said:

HI. we are going on the Sunrise next week. There are 6 of us in 3 different rooms. Should I purchase 1 wifi plan per room? I was thinking of doing basic plan for the kids for instagram and snapchat. I figured the value for us so we can get access to emails. What do you think?

 

Just got off the Sunrise a few weeks ago.  We had the middle plan and it worked really well.  USed it for work and checking email and normal phone apps etc.  Recommend it.  Multiple devices can use it yet only one at a time.  Easy to change devices.  Takes just a few seconds to switch between devices.

20 hours ago, RRLLAL said:

 

The red frog pub is quite large and is the best place on the ship. It’s also the largest red frog pub in the fleet. 

Agree.  Red Frog is great!

1 hour ago, Sersee said:

Sorry more newbie questions lol.  

 

1)Where is is the best place to grab lunch on boarding day? I heard  the Lido is where everyone goes and it’s crowded. 

 

2)we have connecting cabins but the balconies don’t connect correct? We are in The Breeze.

 

3) What deck is the one where you can find loungers and the quieter hot tubs? 5?

 

4) Are there any other insider secrets for the Breeze?

We try and board after cabins are open so in this way you can go and dump your stuff and get set up a bit.  When you do this you usually get on the ship quite quickly too.  Also we always eat prior to getting on the ship as Lido is a zoo.  Then we eat again too when less crowded.  Lots of options.  Each ship has its less crowded boarding eating places few seem to know about.  We just did Sunrise and few knew you could get included food in the Italian restaurant while boarding. Also few people at Guy's bbq place at embarkation.  All the above really makes the embarkation much more enjoyable.  

Can't answer the other Qs as never had connecting cabins nor have we been on the Breeze.

38 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

A royal cruise is so much better then Carnival in all areas.  Food, Service, Entertainment- It is worth it!  Have tried Carnival multiple times and as somebody previously said it is walmart of the cruise ships as is NCL.  Royal however, is more on par with Macy's or Bloomingdales-  A much better choice IMO

Fair enough yet many would not agree in all aspects.  Think most would agree royal typcially has better ships and entertainment.  It should given its advanced price point.  Carnival has better comedy shows.  Food and service feel roughly the same.  Having sailed both and reading these boards that seems to be about the typical summary.  I say Carnival is like a Marriott Courtyard and Royal like a Marriott.  Celebrity and Princess/HAL more like a Hyatt or Westin.  Never sailed a luxury line like Seabourn or Crystal yet guessing they are like a Ritz.  Never sailed NCL yet ships look nicer yet like Royal seems to up charge on food and other fun options.  Carnival has more things included and less up sell relative to "on board options".   Anyway good to listen to folks and learn from their experiences and opinions, so thanks!

On 7/18/2019 at 6:52 PM, no1volman said:

I’ve only cruised Carnival in the past but I would really like to try RC just to see how it differs. I looked at 7 day cruises from Port Canaveral during early July 2020 from both lines. I found one from Carnival on The Breeze and one from RC on Harmony of the Seas. Now I realize that Harmony is one of their largest ships with all the bells and whistles. But the RC cruise was around $1,500 more for my family of 3. I can understand a higher cost just based on the things the RC ship offers (climbing wall, flowrider, etc.)  But what could the RC cruise possibly offer that would justify a $1,500 difference? I really want to try a cruise on RC but that’s a really big difference. We could enjoy some really good shore excursions for that price difference. I guess that question could really only be answered by people that have been on both ships. But I would like some honest feedback. 

I sail both.  As folks have said, simple economics drives the differences.  Royal ships cost more to build and operate and they have to recover that cost thus the price difference.  Outside the ship and the shows, they are more similar than different.  If you want to spend even more coin go on Disney.  Also Royal's business model is designed to get folks to spend more on the ship (more pay restaurants, i.e., Guy's burgers on Carnival is included and very good as opposed to Johnny) or its own "land" to accelerate revenue vis-a-vis Perfect Day at Coco Cay.  Perfect will end up being a cash cow for Royal.  I wonder if Carnival will change Half Moon Cay (or similar) in response to generate more cash flow.  If the price was the same, I would likely choose Royal for a similar itinerary.  Recently for a similar itinerary in a similar cabin type, Royal had 7 day and Carnival had 8 days. Factoring that in, Royal was more for the 7 vs 8 day and normalizing the costs, it was about 20-25% more per day on Royal.  As such we chose Carnival.  That savings more than covered what we spent on the ship for excursions and booze, etc. I did however feel that the Sunrise was crowded.  I think one approach is to set a cruise length, a budget, and then decide room type, ship etc based on that budget.  To me whether I enjoy it or not is more up to me than anyone or anything.  Hope that helps.

Just did a Carnival cruise and given these boards I expected lots of inappropriate dress on Elegant night.  Rather almost all folks looked great.  It was nice to see.  Ladies looked great and most men wore at least a jacket.  Some who were a little more casual also looked nice albeit a little out of place compared to others yet their choice.  I will say though that some folks on non-elegant night in the MDR were not dressed in accordance with the code: gym clothes, hats on men, etc.  Don't really care....Tony S might though

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

You're lectured about how to behave like a civilized person within society.  How to drink without becoming an obnoxious drunk.  How to eat in public with some table manners.  How to walk down the hallway at night and use an "inside voice" to avoid disturbing people who are sleeping.  How to enjoy time at the pool without being a chair hog.

 

Seriously?  What would you expect the lectures to be about? 😋

How to over pay for wine

PR is an interesting place.  Its people and food are simply amazing.  Never had such great food.  Great culture.

It does have some issues.  I have never seen police dressed the way they are there.  Like in a combat area.  There are some tough places there for sure.  I remember a triathlon runner got shot there a few years ago (see URL).

Hope it makes its way back.

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20852332/shooting-during-puerto-rico-triathlon-wounds-two-competitors/

Stay at Ink 48.  It is right by the Carnival pier.  Get a room that faces the Hudson River.  We sailed on the Sunrise on 6/24 out of NY and stayed at Ink 48.  We had a view of the Sunrise right out the window!

Stay on the boat!

Took like 3 weeks.  Did it at the post office.  Got a card and a book and they came separately and at slightly different times.

The art of sharing

9 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’ve seen this asked in the Celebrity forum, but curious to see the replies here. We have had 7 Carnival cruises, 1 Princess, 1 RCI, and 1 NCL. We have a Celebrity cruise coming up fairly soon. For those that have cruised with Celebrity, what differences did you notice?  

As a reference I often sail Carnival and own CCL stock.  Celebrity is RCL's one step up.  It is for sure nicer IMO.  Everything just seemed a little nicer.  Someone else said "premium" and I would agree with that.  Older crowd too.  That group was nicer dressed too.  We had an Aqua room and that was nice for sure.  Different restaurant too for Aqua which was very good.  On the other side, certainly not the "fun ships" though yet really enjoyed it.  Would for sure sail Celebrity again.

On 6/13/2019 at 11:06 AM, kbartges said:

I am interested on anyone recently on Carnival Sunrise.  Looking at 9/4/19 cruise out of New York.  I have never cruised Carnival before.  Any info would be greatly appreciated in helping with decision.

Here is my recent review related to the 6/24/2019 cruise. Title related to another person who said Sunrise was the worst ship a sea.  No chance that is true.  Overall I gave it a B.  Had fun and adapted.

7 hours ago, brandi0727 said:

I looked online at the Grand Turk port website and it mentioned that one must book the Margaritaville cabanas through Carnival excursions. I don't see the excursion listed. I don't sail until June,  2020. Is it too early for Carnival to list it,  or could they have sold out and it has been removed from the choices? Also, we are only there until 3pm. Would it be better to just chill on the beach near Jack's Shack? Do they offer chair and umbrella rentals there? Not too much we are interested in doing there so thought a relaxing beach day would suffice and some shopping. Thanks for any feedback you can provide!:)

We were just there in GT.  We were walking to Jack's shack and it looked packed.  Found an alternate half way there:  Reef shack.  $25 for 4 lounge chairs and 2 umbrellas.  Front row right on the water.  We were like first ones there.  Nice set-up there. Other cruise people then joined us.  Very relaxing there. They have a bar and some food plus restrooms.  Food is ok.  Maybe later walk to Jack's to get  better food yet Reef shack is very good IMO.  Note:  the main cruise based location interlaced with all those local chairs and umbrellas was simply a mess yet good options down the beach like Reef and Jack's etc  Enjoy

15 hours ago, BND said:

I checked around 6 pm and FTTF was available so I grabbed one.  It still shows available so they must have released a few.  Its for the 28 July cruise in 15 days.  Now we can go straight from church and be at the Baltimore port around noon.  

Super.  That is great! Helps with the tenders too etc

3 hours ago, Paulras said:

 

I'll know in about 6 weeks when I'm on Summit (yes, 2 very different Bermuda cruises in the same summer). And I believe both Summit and Sunrise are about the same age and had major overhauls only months ago. So should be an interesting comparison. 

Would love to hear back on that comparison.  How awesome!  I think if the Sunrise wasn't so crowded it would have been better for me.  I gave it a B mainly because there were just a ton of folks.