keels81

Are we on the same cruise? On my VIP tour today, we were told it was at "capacity" at 87 percent with guests and comp'd talent/guests and it definitely feels crowded everywhere. Dinner takes 2+ hours, regardless of restaurants, if you aren't right there at opening with an opening time reservation. Gunbae tonight took us 3.5 hours (we sat down at 6:15 and left a little after 9:45, missing most of the Scarlet Night fun). They've run out of dishes and glassware every night to the point where bar service slows to a halt so they can handwash glassware to serve people. Last night at The Wake, they were using servers from The Galley to help expedite plate delivery and it so much of a disaster. I've never seen so much piled up plates of food/used dishes before and I've cruised Carnival and Royal, with dinners in their MDR. It's definitely not as fun if you aren't a Mega RockStar/RockStar. Also, guests are treating the staff like straight-up trash, so they're not enjoying this cruise.

I was on the Carnival Celebration at the same time (we saw y'all in San Juan!) and it was borderline miserable until we got back into the old Bahamas channel on our sea days back to Miami. On the excursion thing, on the Celebration almost every excursion involving snorkeling in Amber Cove and San Juan was canceled the night we left Miami (Sunday), and many things involving the south side of St. Maarten were also canceled. We had a private (non-cruise excursion) and we were only able to go to the north side of the island to snorkel and sightsee because the chop was so bad. Watching planes at Maho, we'd have to reset about every 3-4 minutes because the waves were so strong we'd be all the way back by the Sunset Beach Bar. Can't speak to St. Croix since we didn't port there, but you weren't alone in having excursions canceled in San Juan. Don't know if it was weather or short on staffing as they still recover from hurricane damage, etc., but I was also surprised at how many ships were in port that day.

This is the way.

He probably should pack a pair of pants for Elegant/Formal night, but a nice polo/button down with golf shorts and decent shoes on the Glory is pretty much par for the course down here. Either way, he won't likely get a side-eye or get refused service.

I was on a Cove Balcony on 5 on the Celebration and would gladly book an interior there again and again and twice on Sunday. It's easy to walk up to six, walk down to the gangway to get off in port and because you're low, it's easier to get an elevator to go all the way to the top. I was in a premium interior on 5 on Mardi Gras, so that's why I'd definitely pick 5 for an interior cabin.

On the Celebration, Craps is $10. There is only one table and if it's a casino cruise (like the Ultra I was just on), you'll need to stake out a spot at your preferred table hours before the casino opens or else you'll be waiting in a line upwards of four hours (specifically for craps) to get a spot, especially if the table is hot. After our first sea day, players were taping their S&S cards to spots at their desired tables and didn't get off the ship so they were guaranteed a seat. Blackjack was $10 at 6:5 pay table and there is only one table that isn't a forced progressive/bit game. I've only seen $5 craps on cruises out of Galveston this year (Breeze, Vista). It's been $10 on Mardi Gras, Valor, and obviously Celebration.

FWIW, I was booked on a canceled Jubilee sailing and the itinerary listings on the TA site had been restricted/removed since late October so I had a feeling that they knew a delay was coming and sailings were to be canceled, but they just hadn't decided when to start canceling. I can see the Pride itinerary listings and this is what it shows ... so, I think you're probably still good.

Also agree. The Vista stinks, especially if you're a casino person. Not having a casino bar sucks and makes the terrible layout of that ship even worse.

Ha! Maybe that explains why nobody was at Center Stage early. 🤣

Nothing to offer for the original topic at hand, but thank you for sharing these photos! Your family is absolutely beautiful and it was a real treat to see y'all through the years!

I was planning to only bring the Christmas one with me on Sunday, but now you've got me rethinking things ...

It's a no-brainer for my husband and I. Though I hate the plastic waste, I hate the taste of ship water even more and can easily go through 10 bottles of water in a day. I also love a Gatorade first thing in the morning, a couple specialty coffees later in the afternoon or espresso after dinner. And now Carnival has added the Celsius line of canned beverages to their non-alcoholic listing, and I could get close to breaking even before even getting to the booze. Back when I was drinking mostly beer, I'd still buy it but it would definitely question whether spending that much a day on 15 Miller Lites was worth it. But I drink almost exclusively vodka now and with the quality of the cocktail program on board, it's almost like I'm making money.

I'm surprised you haven't seen more of them at Saints games! Two fellas in my section have gold ones they wear every game.

Thanks, Greg!! I appreciate you taking the time to check it out!

Yup. Call the casino line at VV and see what they can do for you. I was hoping for an offer for my NYE sailing on the Valiant Lady but since I'd sailed earlier this year on the Scarlet Lady, I wasn't eligible for one from URComped. I was able to be connected to the casino department and after looking up my player history (all craps, if that matters) and sending them the best offer I have from other lines they were able to hook me up. Not the easiest way and it does seem like they'd prefer you to go through URComped, but it's a work-around until they get their official players club up and rolling.

See you on board! I have an excursion booked for Amber Cove but I may end up canceling it. It's the same one I did on the Mardi Gras back in July and I promised myself I'd make sure to get a little more "me time" in on this sailing than I typically do on trips with the girls.

I know you've been doing comedy and other shows most nights, but have you noticed if the Center Stage area is getting crowded super early for those shows? Some vlogger said that people were staking out spots like five hours in advance and ... well, I just find that hard to believe but I want to be prepared.

Good grief. It's like a game of telephone, or CruiseCritic as it were: "Fellow passenger Whitney Gaines told the Daily Mail that she heard the man’s family talking about him during breakfast the morning after he disappeared. They talked about how “he kept getting in trouble for vaping in non-designated smoke areas because there’s only one area where you can really go smoke,” Gaines told the outlet. “I think they were kind of alluding to the fact that he stepped out to go somewhere,” she said, adding that his family believed he had been drunk before he vanished. Gaines also told the Daily Mail that the man’s sister said she had been with him at a bar. “She said, ‘He was with me, and then he wasn’t,’” the passenger recounted hearing the woman say.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. As your mom was an avid cruiser, I'm SURE she had some traditions or must-do's ... maybe narrow it down to the top 7 and put them in envelopes. Each day over coffee or breakfast (or a mimosa!), however she would start her day -- y'all open one envelope at random and make her favorite tradition a NEW tradition for the two of you?

Exactly. Many of the crew on the Mardi Gras now have been told their next contracts will likely be on the Jubilee as many of the opening crew of the Mardi (on the Celebration now) have been promised non-Excel, higher-level contracts after their inaugural Celebration contract.

From my crew friends on board, they tried to get as many that were familiar with the layout of the Mardi Gras as they could because it was so different and they needed at least leads in every area that had experience with an Excel-class ship. But as so it goes with other jobs/industries, lots of the inaugural season of Mardi crew in those positions moved on to other ships via promotion to higher/senior positions. The current Mardi crew is only the second contract cycle for the whole ship.

You're entirely justified in your feelings! That would upset me as well, and also be off-putting for a first-timer when I'd heard such great things. Mardi has been sailing for quite some time now with seasoned crew, whereas most of the Celebration crew just came on contract for the TA and these sailings ... I know they were pulling as many Excel-class vets as they could get from the Mardi since they knew the ship layout for crew (which is WILDLY different than other ships, even Vista Class) but even then, there are many new kids on the block. And with a little time, I have faith it will be at the quality that people saying about the Mardi currently. If you were frustrated with them, I can only imagine how frustrated they must be with themselves because the one thing I can say about almost all cruise staff is they truly have a servant's heart and want to provide the best they can for guests. We all have bad days at our job. I sail next Sunday and am completely happy to accept slower service because this trip is to experience a brand-new ship and see some of my favorite crew from my three Mardi sailings that have made the move to Celebration.

The gals and I are looking for a 7 day in March as well (they live in Fort Worth, so really close to you) ... keep us updated if you pick something and maybe we'll join! We need another 7 somewhere to put 2 into Gold because she's going to be really butt-hurt on the Jubilee when I'm Platinum, 1 is Gold and she is still Red. 🤣

Thanks! I imagined so since most ships need a river pilot, but wasn't sure how long they guided the ships out. I was on the Valor in January and that was the only time I stayed up late enough to watch us (inbound) pass the Glory (outbound) but never remembered a stop or seeing the switch out. I'm now more convinced than ever it had something to do/occurred around the pilot leaving the ship. *puts on tinfoil hat*

Maybe you can coach to turn this sinking ship around