imaboo

Echoing the remarks about the Cucumber Sunrise from the Alchemy bar. Refreshing and packs a punch!

18 hours ago, Wanna_Cruize said:

I decided to ask about the Carnival Kitchen classes....

Looking forward to hearing about your experience with the class! 

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us 🙂

This will be my first cruise on Royal Caribbean (sailing May 4 to Bermuda), so I'm new to the pre-booked dining concept. I went to the site to try and book Izumi for lunch, but it wasn't available. Is it open at lunch or have I missed out on available times already? If it is open for lunch, is it prix-fixe like dinner or a la carte?

Received a bounce back certificate from our Vista cruise (got home Feb 5) and was able to use it to book a short cruise at the end of May. It stated that I had to book within two weeks and sail within 6 months. Try logging in to your Carnival account and see what's offered yourself. That's what I did.:)

You will likely hear some of the music during the show, the bass definitely. Also the same if they are rehearsing during the day. The best suggestion is to go to the show or the comedy club ;-)

... and yes this ship did have that new car smell.

Hee! Loving the review. Thank you. I sure hope she still has that New Car Smell when we board her in January. :)

What needs to be done to notify the ship about a meet and greet and possibly get it printed in the Times?

If you are planning an informal (i.e. not hosted, or arranged with Carnival's Guest Services group) meet and greet, then 4 days before your cruise, post a request for said meet and greet on John Heald's Facebook page.

Here is the link to John's post regarding this question specifically. He mentions "organising a FB Group", but I am certain the origin of the group is irrelevant.

https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald/posts/925031990872696

Our group (combined CC and FB) arranged our meet and greet in this way and it went very well. One piece of advice though - try to get the exact time and location before you sail, or you may end up scrambling to get the word out. ;-)

The new deck plan is up now:

http://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/Ships/IS/DeckPlans/carnival-inspiration-deck-plan-pdf

... I wish I had taken a picture of one of the daily schedules to show what I mean....

Your wish is granted. I just uploaded the FunTimes from our cruise to my Dropbox for anyone who would like a copy :)

Here's the link -> https://goo.gl/dXrXTt

P.S. - You don't have to log in to get the files, just close the login box when it shows up.

#1 - As others have said, the "Ding" you hear the very first time your card gets scanned as you board the ship.

#2 - The sound of your cabin door closing as you enter your cabin for a great night's sleep

#3 - the sound of the ocean - from any peaceful spot on the ship

Ahhh - soon, I will hear those sounds again....

Loving every second of this Suzie! So glad that you did a review. It brings back some great memories. You guys were a blast to hang out with. :)

Some of your comments made me giggle. I remember running into you all at that beach. It was pretty rocky, and um...rustic. The shave-ice was mighty good though!

I love that pic of Shon taking a picture of the ocean at dusk. That one is worth framing!

Great pics of the Luau too!

Patiently waiting for the rest of the review...ok, well only sort of patiently ;-)

I have had mixed success with ordering a Caesar on ships. When you just say "Caesar", you will generally get a blank stare in return - lol. Once explained, and using the term "Bloody Caesar", you will get one made with Clamato juice. After that, you will still get mixed results. If you want a true Casear, you will likely need to tell them what you want in it. Otherwise you will just get vodka, Clamato juice and (maybe) a lime. Some bartenders know that Worcestershire and ground pepper are also part of the mix, more often than not, they don't. You will also sometimes get olives and sometimes not. Forget the celery - that's pretty much out.

Now all that said, the short answer is, yes, they have Clamato and yes, you can get a Caesar. You may just have to explain a little up front. Once you find a bartender who makes it properly - tip him/her well for a job well done and hopefully you will get a "repeat performance" ;-)

To bring on a first cruise:

 

Anticipation and a good dose of childish wonderment.

Expectations laced with reality.

Excitement and a whole lot of patience.

Understanding that naivete is a good thing, too much information is like cooks spoiling a clear simple broth.

A commitment to ask questions from the staff...they are more than willing to impart their knowledge about cruising.

Remembering to read all the "good" advise from curise critic and then to forget most of it. It's fun to be a fist timer and to stumble about a bit. You only get that initial cruise once...besides nobody likes a know everything who gets all their knowledge from outside sources, personal experience is the best teacher.

 

Have fun, enjoy yourself, read the Carnival schedule diligently each morning and remember to try new things.

 

And my best advise....don't worry about doing everything together with whom ever you are cruising with. Cruising is an excellent place for some alone time or couple time or for kids to enjoy kid time without adults and extended family or friends NOT to be together 24/7. Just sayin.

Great response! I agree completely.

There is a lot of good info in this thread. :)

The Official Visiting Santa Barbara Thread

I always lay everything out on the bed before packing, just to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything. Then I tidily roll everything up and position it in the suitcase to minimize the amount of wrinkling.

Well one cruise, I was running late and hurriedly shoved everything into the suitcase that I had laid out, unrolled and all willy-nilly. When I got to my cabin and started unpacking, all my nice shirts were wrinkled and unwearable. The worst part though - no undies :eek: All I had were the pair I was wearing.

Lesson: Pack ahead, even if you have to stay up to do it.

Caveat: the soap in the shower (used in small amounts) is really good for hand-washing in a pinch ;-)

When I got home, I found my missing undies under the bed. I must have dropped them and kicked them under in my rush. Sigh.

Thank you for the replies everyone. I read all the fine print and I didn't think about medical evacuation coverage. Good to know!

My Carnival card was upgraded a while back to a World Mastercard. One of the benefits is "extensive" (quotes intentional) travel insurance. Being the skeptical sort, I'm curious if anyone has actually had to make use of this service and what your experience was.

So, does it work like your home wifi? You connect to the name and then just enter in numbers as the password? Or do you have to enter in a username and password?

Your device will connect to the wifi, but in order to gain access to the internet, you will have to enter your folio # and DoB (as others have mentioned) on a web page that is local to the ship. Some devices will load the page automatically. On other devices (like my android tablet), you will have to open a browser and try to load a page (I usually go to Google.com) and you will be redirected to the local login page. In order for others to use the internet service after you are done with it, you need to go back to that page and make sure you log out.

You may have already seen the Journeys info on the Carnival web site, but just in case you haven't, here's the link -> http://www.carnival.com/journeys :)

Hello!

 

My friend and I will be in cabin E224 on the Fantasy next month. We're way aft and 2 cabins away from a crew stair case and below the Jubilee Dining Room.

 

Do you have any advice for me please? Should I request to move our cabin? Thanks in advance and have a great day!

 

Tanya :cool:

I love the aft OV cabins on the fantasy class ships (note that the Ecstasy, Sensation and Fascination are balconies and not OV's back there). Its very quiet, and perfectly situated for access to the buffet area, muster drill, and serenity deck. You will come to really appreciate that back stairwell for getting around and avoiding crowds. I also love the deep windows. You can sit in there and read. :)

Here's a big hint - at muster, make sure you sit in the center of the room, near the stage. You will be one of the last people led out to the deck for the second half of the muster. Then, just take those back stairs down to your cabin. Ta da! No cattle-drive to get back into the ship ;)

Edited to add: I just realized that when I saw E224, my brain thought E242. So you won't get the deep window, but you still get the benefit of that back stairwell and a quiet part of the ship.

What about the Urban Wine Walking Tour? We will be there in September. Do you have to take a taxi to a different area to start?

I'm going to be with a group of at least 12 ladies who would like to do wine tasting. Any recommendation for private tour companies when getting off the ship.

 

Thank You

I live up in Solvang, so I can't really comment on tours/tastings in the City of Santa Barbara itself. There are TONS of tours/tastings up here in the Santa Ynez Valley (about 45 minutes from SB).

There is a web site called Santa Barbara Wine Country that has a touring guide you can request.

Another good resource is SantaBarbara.com's winery guide.

You don't really need a Taxi. For 50 cents, you can take the Waterfront Shuttle there and back. It runs every 15 minutes during the summer. Details are in the link, including a printable map.:)

If you are there on a Sunday, then I highly recommend the Art Walk. It might be a bit on the busy side due to the ship being in port, but it is still worth it IMO. The walk along Cabrillo Blvd is very pleasant, even just for the walk itself.

Here's a link to the SB Farmer's Market web site. The days where the market is closest to the harbor are Tuesday and Saturday. Tuesday is probably the easiest to walk to. Click the "Weekly Schedule" tab for a map and additional details.

There is a thread in this forum titled "The Official Visiting Santa Barbara Thread" which has lots of suggestions for things to do. If it's not on the first page, you can search for it. I bump it back to the first page once in a while, but try not to do it too often otherwise it will end up with a bunch of uninformative "bump" posts in it :)

The Chef's table is a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it. I have not attended the table on the Freedom, but have done it on the Miracle and the Inspiration. It is a standard presentation across the fleet, so the only real difference between the ships is the location. Some ships hold it in the library (Fantasy class I believe), some in the night club (Spirit class?). The newer ships have dedicated spaces for it.

Plan on 4 hours and wear loose clothing. ;-)