silvercrikhix

Thank you for sharing your experience. There isn’t much info about Luminosa yet.  A big review is in this forum but that’s almost all there is. I do have lots of questions, since you offered! 😊 TIA!  We’re on her in 13 days with a group of 9 including 5 newbies, so I’m a bit nervous about the Luminosa. 

How was the naturalist on board?  Could you hear what was being said when they spoke/narrated?  
Did you have just the one outlet at the desk? Did you have a curtain or door for your shower?  

Was your bed comfy enough as is?  If there were comedians did you watch/like them?  

Were the MDR entrees smallish still?  Did you try/like any of the grill items, like burgers and tacos?   Was there a laundry special that you know of? 

Carnival Luminosa is in ‘her’ 1st year. We have FTTF for a sailing in 2 weeks. Maybe she gets it because it’s a ‘smaller’ ship?  IDK but I’m glad to have it 😃

18 minutes ago, thunderingherd11 said:

Name one change that has been significant.  I started cruising 8 years ago.  None of the changes affect  anything for me.  Things change.   

A CCL super fan might have a list of exactly what’s changed and what’s been added. Ain’t me. 
in 13 years of cruising it’s changed because the things that made it a special occasion have been eroding. You can do a different line or roll with it. CCL is basically a floating hotel now. Like someone said, a bit ago.…Take or leave it, whatever. What the Market bears is the cost. Period. Doesn’t mean everyone likes every change. But there are A LOT gone, some significant some not. Sweaty cabin attendants?!  Ewww…

31 minutes ago, icft said:

Discussions about tips will never come to a consensus. We simply don't have all the facts.

 

One of the crucial bits of information we don't have is the crew pay package. How do tips play into that? For example:

 

Say that pre-covid stateroom attendants pay for a pay period was $500 plus tips but they were guaranteed at least $700. (I recognize the dollar amounts are not realistic, but the absolute numbers are not the point.)

 

Then say post-covid they did less work for each room (once a day service) but had twice the number of rooms. The tips from those rooms are much more because there are more rooms. But if the pay package for a pay period changed to $200 plus tips but they are guaranteed at least $700 the state room attendants receive all the gratuities paid but their take home pay has not changed much while Carnival has made out like a bandit.

 

Is that the kind of thing that is happening? I have no idea. Carnival keeps its secrets and without that information discussions on tips is useless.

 

The only questions that matter are what is the all in cost of the cruise and are you willing to pay that.

This may work out with the much larger, newer ships who start out initially with a larger crew size. But if the cleaning of rooms is cut in half, haven’t quite a few Room Stewards been laid off????  My DH is a CPA and I just had to double check with him to make sure 🤪.  Isn’t this right?  Did our being ‘urged’ into once daily service coincide with the Big Ships Entrance?  Some real Carnival super fan May know I’m sure, or a few I’d think? 

We hardly saw ours the last 3 times. They did what we require =not much, extremely low maintenance= but no 2 minute chats 3-4 times a week. Practically non-existent and I have been thinking how tired and sweaty they look now. Anyone else see this?  
 

On 7/23/2023 at 10:51 AM, roguebandit1441 said:

Got one last week for our July 29th cruise. I doubt it will amount to much.

Unknown why this is here.

On 7/30/2023 at 12:34 AM, mvaygibson said:

I agree

Unknown about this either, what did I do…lol 

On 8/3/2023 at 11:51 AM, Carrion said:

https://www.carnival.com/help

Read the FAQ

Purchasing Liquor Pre-Cruise through The Fun Shops

All products sold containing alcohol have a limit of two products per stateroom. On 7 day and longer cruises, there is a limit of one bottle of hard liquor per stateroom and on shorter cruises, pre-cruise purchases are limited to wine, champagne and beer (no hard liquor).

Ignore 

On 8/3/2023 at 5:31 PM, Drew B 58 said:

Completely disagree!  So many things have been ADDED to the experience (restaurants, attractions, features, etc…) that millions of cruisers love!  You can’t say that all changes have been bad…

Ignore

On 8/4/2023 at 8:39 AM, StephPS79 said:

 

I hear your frustration, but what basis is there for this claim?  Carnival is pretty strict about the 15 limit.  Yeah, there are ways around that, and one of them is hitting the limit and then having extra bottles in your cabin.  You can't really have it both ways.

 

Ignore 

5 hours ago, Drew B 58 said:

I’ve paid a visit to guest services on the last day or two of probably at least half of my cruises.  I’ve never reduced/removed tips.  I find it bizarre that you assume that is the reason for the lines when there are literally hundreds of other possible explanations!

ok. So would you agree that 1/2 of these folks in line are removing the grats?  Would that make one believe that the other half of those lines are people who have billing errors or complaints…that’s would be interesting, that is an awful lot of mistakes. Or real issues. I’m doing a line poll in 2 weeks on next cruise and find out!!!  I’m JUST KIDDING. Hmmm….we’ve never had an errors ever. Someone want a make a poll asking how many passengers have had mistakes on their bills?  

4 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

And the new menu changes as well as free specialty dining on the newer ships. Along with debarking boarding is vastly improved with the check in time slots. So much less stressful and a lot faster and more organized.

Agreed. I’m no accountant but I’m pretty darn sure that the people who oversee these things would notice if Carnival was reallocating money from an area it is supposed to be in to another area instead. That sounds like fraud to me and not worth the risk. 

‘How long does the new menu roll out take to hit through entire fleet?  
‘I agree, debark has improved but embark has been kinda a zoo…Galveston to be specific, 2 x yes, 1 time great. But that happpens, not a big deal. Hang for a while, whatever… 

YES, no CPA worth a dime would do that. You all remember Enron?!  That turned a pretty reputable occupation into a nightmare. Many people assume they’re all crooks. Not to say they aren’t out there, because there are.
My husband fired many clients for iheir inappropriate doings, wondering & questions. 
‘That can guarantee you’ll get to run your license through the shredder. 

Inteernational fraud, no way, but do ships obey their ships flagged country?  No idea what that would be?!  
Hmmm…. research that I guess. 🤷‍♀️
 

32 minutes ago, icft said:

Discussions about tips will never come to a consensus. We simply don't have all the facts.

 

One of the crucial bits of information we don't have is the crew pay package. How do tips play into that? For example:

 

Say that pre-covid stateroom attendants pay for a pay period was $500 plus tips but they were guaranteed at least $700. (I recognize the dollar amounts are not realistic, but the absolute numbers are not the point.)

 

Then say post-covid they did less work for each room (once a day service) but had twice the number of rooms. The tips from those rooms are much more because there are more rooms. But if the pay package for a pay period changed to $200 plus tips but they are guaranteed at least $700 the state room attendants receive all the gratuities paid but their take home pay has not changed much while Carnival has made out like a bandit.

 

Is that the kind of thing that is happening? I have no idea. Carnival keeps its secrets and without that information discussions on tips is useless.

 

The only questions that matter are what is the all in cost of the cruise and are you willing to pay that.

Another error.  OMG…Margarita, Pizza Pool party today at DD and then CC…bad idea… lol…sorry. Lol 

🌈 🦄 ☀️ 🌹 🙄

‘Yay a decent chicken sandwich and an efficient muster drill. Shawarma sucks. To each their own. 
The elimination of all the flyers and not printing all the photos is saving them buckets of money.

And some trees…truly happy for the trees. That was always a ridiculous waste and should have

stopped a long time ago. The MDR and Buffet and Room Service have all been sliding downhill. 
But, yeah, that’s just how it is…give less and charge more. It makes the sheep happy. So be that. 

1 hour ago, StephPS79 said:

 

I hear your frustration, but what basis is there for this claim?  Carnival is pretty strict about the 15 limit.  Yeah, there are ways around that, and one of them is hitting the limit and then having extra bottles in your cabin.  You can't really have it both ways.

 

 I’ve seen many visibly inebriated people get served alcoholic drinks. Rum runners and other smuggling during embarkation. Neighboring cabins showing us all they smuggled on board. The old buy 2 bottles in port and only drop off 1 at security table when returning from port. Drink a bunch in port and keep drinking once back on board.  We’ve seen people ‘helped’ back on board from ports.  Not everyone can handle 15 drinks by any stretch.  —— we’ve personally never had so much alcohol to have needed help back on board or to our cabin, or had a bartender refuse service, despite having a drink or 2 or 3 in our cabin on any given day —— The whole point was a few ruining it for everyone, again & again & again. 

3 hours ago, Drew B 58 said:

Completely disagree!  So many things have been ADDED to the experience (restaurants, attractions, features, etc…) that millions of cruisers love!  You can’t say that all changes have been bad…

‘Please excuse my mistake in wording, None should,  of course be replaced  with ‘very few and far between being’. Much more has been discontinued then has been added, IMO, which is the only one that matters. 

4 hours ago, Carrion said:

https://www.carnival.com/help

Read the FAQ

Purchasing Liquor Pre-Cruise through The Fun Shops

All products sold containing alcohol have a limit of two products per stateroom. On 7 day and longer cruises, there is a limit of one bottle of hard liquor per stateroom and on shorter cruises, pre-cruise purchases are limited to wine, champagne and beer (no hard liquor).

What the heck! This truly stinks. DH and I drink different liquors. What a PIA this is going to be. All because Carnival refuses to enforce the already existing alcohol rules that some break. Now we all get to be treated like children instead of reprimanding the true offenders. This is beyond ridiculous. 
 

Does anyone know what happens to those of us cruising soon that have already purchased 2 bottles of liquor? 

…. quit cheapening the experience. Enough already. Value has been eroded more and more. There’s been a lot of changes in only 10 years. None good for the cruiser. Cut after cut after cut.  

12 hours ago, mvaygibson said:

I agree

I also agree about the increase in seafood. We don’t like it so it is limiting to see so many options. However, I’m happy for the fish and seafood lovers getting more now!   It seems like people either really love it or despise it. 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! 

That would be so frustrating, pcvtmom. That is so rude it makes me sad. The staff should notice that and the boss ask them to come back after the lunch service. Easy. Post another sign— tables reserved for diners only between whatever times. We need rules to make people be kind. Annoying & Insane. 

Loving your review!  If you have time, could you please give us a bit of in-depth information about the Family Harbor Lounge?  There’s not much about it out there. And do you know which up-charge restaurants the kids eat in for $0 ?   I can’t find that information either. Thank you in advance.  Dreaming of Floating……..

You shouldn’t have any trouble finding a Space for 8-10 people.
There are always empty unused spaces on the ships. 

Granted, if you want a spot reserved, etc…ask Carnival. 

So glad they thought better and cut this cutback. Hooray ! 

Sesame chicken & Chocolate cream pie. Chopped Salads daily & Turtle sundaes. 

The vista suite for sure! 

Great start. Enjoying your review. 

Lots to do in Miami. We’ve taken a boat tour around the area a couple of times, There’s a fun small bus tour that takes you to several Miami neighborhoods with a stop in little Havana, we bought yummy food & drinks there. Cigars and baked goods also. There’s a twister boat tour. There’s an electric boat tour/rental to explore the area waters.  The Big Bus tour was nice. We took 2-3 different loops available.  South Beach has Great beaches, restaurants and shops galore. We did the “duck” tour from SB. Fun times! 

Check the owl travel site under Miami things to do.  Something for everyone. We had hotel pickup and some out of Bayside Marketplace. No issues there. Enjoy. 

On our 1st cruise, it was out of Tampa in 2010 on the Carnival Legend, the moment we stepped onto the ship. We looked left, right and up then looked at each other and then we simultaneously

said, “Oh, heck yeah!”  We knew it was so us and we’re sad we didn’t find ‘our jam’ sooner! 
Forever Dreaming of Floating……

Yeah, 3rd world problem, but hey, I get it.  You want the proper drink that you’re paying for.
The actual ingredients are gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda & {yes} a cherry.

Some wrap a lemon slice around the cherry before garnishing the drink. 
 

My guess is Carnivals bartender training is mostly making their fru fru drinks. With minimal training on anything more than rum & coke after that. A proper bartender would be well versed in basic drinks such as a Tom Collins or a Old Fashioned. 

Bon Voyage!  Enjoy!  We’re sailing her in August. I for 1 would love a great picture laden review!  

Good luck - really!

Pack your patience! 

Continental breakfast items (6am-10am) are still included and there are a few items for Approx $5 or so. Room Service from 10am to 6 am are all at a cost now between $3-7 Approx. 
 

You can click the link below to see both menus. 
https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/24-hour-room-service 

Thank you for posting your observations. More disappointment with HMC for sure.