hkmom

FYI original poster has a very busy life...my friend has still not heard back princess she has called and emailed multiple times. She is a very go with the flow person and doesn't like to complain. Princess should have acknowledged the situation immediately, and apologized to my friend. I find the most concerning thing was the fire alarm did not go off even though the cabin was filled with smoke.

Hkmom

Hi,

I need some help. A friend of mine just got off the Coral Princess on a Panama Canal cruise. during the cruise she was using the blow dryer in the room and it caught on fire and singed her hair. She has been trying to reach someone at Princess customer service and hasn't had any luck. she has left messages and sent emails as well. And yes she did call the customer service desk while on the ship and they kept asking her if there was hair in the blow dryer which there wasn't. So if anyone can help getting a good phone number that would be greatly appreciated.

HKMOM

Been sailing since i was in my teens in the late seventies. My husband and I are in our 50's and my daughters are in their 20's. We have sailed on almost every cruise line everywhere except Asia. Our most boring horrible expensive mistake was a celebrity cruise, twice. Since we are diamond crown and anchor with rccl that status transferred to celebrity and thought it would be as fun on celebrity. Nothing to do after 9pm. Bored stiff, carnival is fun, rccl and ncl fun, holland boring. Definitely choose carnival over celebrity, would have liked to book the rccl with the same itinerary but it was $1000 more. So,we,are sailing the fascination in February for a great deal and an amazing itinerary. We will have a great time without worrying if we will be bored.

Hkmom

We were on the freedom for the 1/9 sailing, we had 8249 & 8253. We found the cabin steward and asked him to join the balconys and it was done then and there.

Hkmom

There was a specific line for fttf that was differed from the staggered check in line.

The Marriott we stayed at was a good 10 minute ride from the airport. They sent a shuttle for us. I don't know about any underground tunnel.

Super shuttle was around $40 pp, I think the carnival transfers are $35. The super shuttle driver took us to Walmart where we bought our stuff, the driver said he had to charge $10 for each stop. This was still cheaper than buying wine in the ship. $6 for barefoot pink moscato in Walmart the same wine on the ship was $28. We also bought a 12 pack of soda.

I am pretty sure you can call and cancel your carnival transfer reservation and book transfers elsewhere.

We did cab it to chakanaab, it was $24 for 7 of us in a mini van...very cheap! The ride to chakanaab took about 5 minutes but it was definitely not walkable.

Hkmom

We had a wonderful 7 days on the Carnival Freedom. There were 7 of us my husband and my 2 daughters ages 23 & 20 and my best friend and her daughters ages 23 & 21. We flew in from Los Angeles the day before and we stayed at a Marriott near Bush Airport. We used Super Shuttle to get to the port on Saturday morning. Our driver stopped at Wal-Mart and we bought wine soda and assorted toiletries and of course Power Ball tickets. We purchased Faster To The Fun and I am so glad we did. The line to get into the terminal was ridiculous with FTTF we were able to be on the ship within 20 minutes of arrival at the port.

When we got our sail and sign cards we noticed that our families were put in different dining rooms. We booked this cruise together in June and we wanted early seating at a large table, apparently this did not happen. We went to the dining room and told them our situation they told us to come back at 6:15 when we did they seated us at a temporary table. The next day we were told to come to the other dining room at 6:00 and they would have a table for us. We waited for about 15 minutes and gave us a really nice table for 8 in the your time dining room. We were the only people in there with an assigned table for every night. Our waiter Christopher was wonderful. Food was eh.

We were in balcony cabin 8249 and our friends were next door in 8253 and they opened the divider so we had an extra-large balcony. Our cabin steward was Valter and he wasn’t very good. I would like to pose a question, why can you order Pellegrino from Carnival to be in your room but not have a bottle opener in said room. When you call and let them know that you need an opener they don’t let you keep it. I ordered 8 bottles and had to find new and special ways to open them. My favorite was to use the opening on the metal tissue holder in the bathroom. Some of the ships have bottle openers on the wall next to the bathroom or in the bathroom not this ship.

The first 2 days at sea were really fun lots of things to do, but it was raining the whole day on the second sea day. We only saw one production show and it was very fun and in 3D for a portion of it, glasses and all. We mostly went to all the comedy shows. Mid cruise they changed comedians and old ones left in Belize and new ones came on. Get to the comedy shows early if you want a decent seat without a pole in your line of site.

I really enjoyed the Sea Day Brunch and the Dr. Seuss breakfast. Dr. Seuss was worth the $5.00 so much fun and they let you take pictures with your own camera so you don’t have to buy the ships pictures.

Our first port was Mahogany Bay Roatan Honduras. My daughters and my friend’s daughters went with my husband scuba diving through Carnival to Anthony’s Key Resort, they had a great time. My friend and I did the 2fer snorkeling and beach. We got to the beach with a ski lift it was really cool. We rented our gear when we got to the beach and we were given 2 chairs under a cabana in the first row facing the ocean, it was beautiful. We had a really good time. I wanted to shop before we went back to the ship and I was disappointed to find out that we could not get out the gates to shop in the city we were relegated to the cruise ship built shopping area. Bought a couple of souvenir crap stuff and went back to the ship.

Port 2 was Belize, My friend and I went on the Dark Night Cave Tubing Adventure. On Carnival’s website it says that this is an easy excursion. There is hiking up hills that are slippery with mud while wearing water shoes. It is not easy for older people who are not used to doing exercise. But I didn’t have any problems and it was great. We hiked for about 45 minutes before we got to the tube area. We got in our tubes and they were all latched together and were pulled along by our guide the caves were breathtaking and beautiful we saw so many great rock and crystal formations. We were hard hats with lights on them to see in the dark. I have never done this type of activity before and I will definitely do it again. My husband and the girls went zip lining and cave tubing. They were at a different site than we were but they had a great time as well. Next time I would like to try zip lining as well.

Our last port was Cozumel. I love Cozumel it is one of my very favorite places ever. We did a land vacation there for 8 days a couple of years ago. We planned our own day in Cozumel. I booked a manatee encounter at Chakaanab. 5 of us did this and the other 2 went scuba diving from the beach in Chakaanab. The manatee encounter was $59 per person and the diving was $45 for 1st dive with all the equipment and $20 for each additional dive. When we finished with our manatee encounter which was phenomenal it was so much fun they are such gentle animals and cuddly, the girls went on another dive with my husband. We were also able to rent snorkel gear there for $10. If you are not doing an encounter with manatees sea lions or dolphins the admission is $21 if you do book an encounter admission is included.

Things to know if you have a lot of clothes that need to be on hangers bring some old wire hangers that you don’t have to take home with you. Bring a jacket or coat because the first night out of Galveston is cold, bring a bottle opener and a cork screw. If you bring your bottle of wine to the dining room they will want to charge a corkage fee we just opened it in our cabin and filled up glasses and took them with us to the dining room. Don’t forget there is a fish & chips restaurant in the buffet area near the back and up the stairs. This is the first ship that I have ever had good pizza on don’t miss it it is in the back by the adults pool. You can get Carnival playing cards for free at the guest services desk. During the Dive In Movies they serve popcorn!

For all those people that dropped this cruise because it was a “Tejano Legends Cruise” and thought that the people in this group would take over the ship and cause things to get cancelled or public rooms not to be available, you were wrong this group didn’t make any impact on anyone’s fun!

If anyone has any question, just ask.

Hkmom

Cheryl

I sent the letter to:

Guest Relations

Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Place

3655 N.W. 87th Ave

Miami, FL 33178-2328

You guys really need to relax.

Hkmom

My daughters and I were on the Carnival Inspiration last month for my older daughters 23rd birthday. When we got home I wrote a letter to Carnival letting them know about the good and great stuff on the Inspiration as well as the few not so great things. I sent it snail mail a couple of weeks ago. I got an email letter today from customer relations thanking me for the feedback. In the letter I did let them know that we have 2 cruises coming up in January and February. In the email it said "To welcome you back, we'd like to offer you a special Bon Voyage gift on your next cruise. Please call the customer care department within 30 days of sailing and we will make the arrangements". I called and found out I can choose between a bottle of wine or champagne, $25 bar credit, $20 photo credit, fruit basket of 8oz of gummie candy.

So awesome

Hkmom

Sailing on the freedom 1/9/16

Sailing on the imagination 2/11/16

EVERYTHING!!

HKMOM

Inspiration 11/13/15

Freedom 1/9/16

Imagination 2/11/16

I think the imagination is a much nicer ship and it doesn't smell like vomit!

Hkmom

I definitely liked this ship, but it find the layout of the older carnival and rccl ships better. I love when there is a centrum that goes up lots of floors and the glass elevators.

I forgot to mention that in rhe centrum lobby in front of the guest relations desk there is a young man from Spain who sings and plays guitar every night...he is amazing. If you request a song that he is not familiar with he will study and come back the next night singing the song, truly awesome talented young man, he was also very easy to look at!

HKMOM

Yes I was a good girl and I did go to the gym, it was never crowded. I only used the elipticals.

On port days we were off the ship. We did go back fairly early in zadar, we ate and took a nap. Didn't pay attention to the daily activities during the day on port days.

HKMOM

No problem" bored at work!

I will be happy to answer any questions you guys might have.

I cut and pasted this with pictures and I don't know where they went.

April 18th sailing of the Norwegian Jade out of Civitecchia (Rome)

We arrived in Rome 2 days before our cruise began we stayed in a lovely small hotel close to the train station. We did all the Rome touristy stuff, coliseum, Vatican and the hop on hop off bus (which was a great value)

The day of the cruise we packed up our stuff checked out and dragged our luggage to the train station. I think that we paid 14 euro for the trip. We paid for 1st class but the train we took didn’t have a 1st class car but we didn’t argue about it, not a big deal. The train was very comfortable and had bathrooms, the ride to the port was about 1.5 hours.

When we arrived at our train station we got our stuff and followed the crowd towards the cruise ship terminal. If you have any mobility problems get off the train and take a taxi to the terminal. It was a very long walk on cobblestones. When we got to the entrance to the terminal we didn’t see our ship only the MSC ship there was a bus that was loading luggage to take to the Jade. I am American and I know how to line up and wait my turn. It doesn't work like that in Europe; it is push and shove to get to the front. The only polite people were the Americans.

The bus ride to the terminal was very short but if you were to walk it with your luggage it is about 2 miles. Not kidding! Luckily the weather was nice and cool to offset the cardio work out you are getting by dragging your suitcases.

Once we got to the terminal we checked in and were on the ship in about 5 minutes, quick and painless. The first thing we did was go check out our cabin. We had an aft balcony cabin on deck 8 8634 I think. There were suites on either side of us, but our cabin was really large. There was just me and my husband a but there was a pull out couch and a bunk bed in the ceiling. There was lots of storage space and the bed, pillows and the duvet cover were really comfy.

My husband did have to run an extension cord across the room so he could plug in his cpap machine.

This was the view looking down from our cabin balcony to the ocean. We loved the sound of the ocean so much and our cabin was warm so we kept the door open during the evening and through the night every night, it was wonderful.

After this we went and explored the ship and had some lunch in the buffet. The ship is huge; from the very front of the ship to our cabin in the very back of the ship was ¼ mile! This ship is not layed out very well there are stairwells and decks that have the “you can’t get there from here” problem so you have to either walk up or down to a different deck to get where you are going.

I have heard lots of people complaining that this ship is ugly because it is decorated with a Hawaiian theme. I thought it was beautiful I especially liked the lighting fixtures that were giant glass flowers and butterflies.

Right after the muster drill on the first afternoon we met up with all the people we have been talking with on cruise critic for almost a year. It was very nice to put faces with usernames.

We opted for the ultimate dining package and I booked all our dinners as soon as I was able at 90 days out. We are really glad we did this because it didn’t look like they saved any good times for the people who waited to book on the ship. The first night we had dinner at Cagneys, this was the best meal of the cruise. I did take food porn pix, this is the cookies and cream cheesecake. I don’t remember what the other one was called but it was chocolate, so yummy!

The first day was a sea day and we slept in and then had breakfast at the buffet. The buffet was layed out very nicely and there was always plenty of seating. The food was very good, but the breakfast sausages were gross, stick with the bacon.

We played some trivia games, went to the art auction and my husband made some friends in the casino the first night and had poker buddies for the rest of the cruise.

First port – Naples – We didn’t see much of Naples. I met some people on cruise critic and for 80 euro per person we went on a private tour in a Mercedes to Pompeii with a guide, this was spectacular I probably could have spent all day here. After Pompeii we went up the Amalfi coast to Sorrento. We had a wonderful lunch in Sorrento I never get tired of pizza. After some shopping in Sorrento we continued up the coast to Positano. This place was so beautiful. The picture is of my husband and me dipping our feet into the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was beautiful but the sand was very rocky sand was scalding. I did shop my way back up the winding roads to our tour. After this stop we headed back to Naples and our ship. We had a beautiful day.

Our second dinner was at the Teppanaki restaurant. My husband is a Benihana lover so we had to do this. It paled in comparison to Benihana but my husband enjoyed his shrimp and lobster.

Our next port was Messina, Sicily. We also got together with some cruise critic people on this one as well and we went to Castelmola and Taoramina. The drive was beautiful and we saw Mt. Etna and medieval walls and castles it was very very pretty. The tour was 65 euro! When we got back to the ship my husband took a nap and I went out on my own to see a little bit of Messina. It was a very pretty manicured city. And they observe siesta because the only things that were open when I went out were coffee/pastry/gelato shops, and couple of souvenir shops. So I walked around for about an hour so I could get to 20,000 steps and then I went back to the ship.

Third night we ate at the Brazilian bbq restaurant. The service was really really slow. The food was good, but you were always waiting for it. And they never came around with the meat that you actually wanted.

I forgot about the entertainment. I loved most of it but we did not like jorgos the magician his tricks were old and tired like him. But the production shows were great and so were the cirque de soleil people. They also had a couple of games that were really fun “deal or no deal” enjoyed that a lot. We did not use any of the pool or Jacuzzi or the slide facilities. We thought it was too cold considering we are from southern California and we are a little wimpy when it comes to weather.

Day 4 was our 25th anniversary and we had a relaxing day of reading napping and just wandering around. We ate at cagneys again the 4th night. Just as great as the first night.

Day 5 was Montenegro, I had never even heard of this country before! It was so pretty we didn’t pre arrange a tour for this stop but we bought tickets to the hop on hop off bus and saw a lot of cool things including roman ruins and mosaics. Montenegro had lots of cats, yes I said cats, I love cats and tried to pet them all and then sanitize. They weren’t afraid of people I think they are there to keep the mouse and rat population down. Kotor is an old medieval town with a complete with walls and parts of castles with pretty bridges and beautiful scenery. We ate at La Cucina on this night and it was nothing wonderful having come from spending days in Italy this didn’t come close. But of course we didn’t starve.

Day 6 was Zadar Croatia, I did not like this port the only cool thing we saw was the ocean organ. I found the people very pushy. If we had done a tour to the national park with the waterfalls I think I might have liked it better. Definitely a port to stay on board for. Also Croatia is not part of the European union so they do not take the euro they use Cuna. We took out $20 worth from an atm and still came back to the ship with it. We had reservations for moderno again and chose to go to the main dining room instead. We had a great dinner, shrimp, prime rib cheesecake…perfect!

When we got to Venice we were off the ship by 9:30. We took the people mover to the water bus station where we took a water bus through the grand canal. I can’t tell you where we got off I was too busy trying to navigate with 1 suitcase too many the many bridges and stairs of Venice. We stayed in Venice overnight, and then flew to Athens for a couple of days and then to Istanbul for a day and then, sadly we had to come home and reenter reality!

But we are looking to book the Jade again for January for a Caribbean sailing out of Houston, Tx.

Wanted to know if you can share tables in the specialty restaurants and meet new people, or if you just sit with who you came with.

HKMOM

Sailing on the jade 4/18/15

39 days til cruise on the jade 36 days til we leave for Rome!!!

HKMOM

My husband and I are sailing on the jade in April. We have a guarantee balcony with no cabin assignment yet. Which is the better view when sailing into ports Naples Sicily Montenegro Croatia and Venice, port or starboard?

Everyone's opinion is greatly appreciated.

HKMOM

My husband and I upgraded to a bd guarantee, (I thought there was only bx) for our Adriatic cruise on 4/18 on the jade...no assignment yet.

HKMOM

Yes they had the new menu "American table". I love that they have appetizers to share that go in the middle of the table. We didn't try the pizza, I have never had good pizza on a ship so we never try it anymore.

They had brunch in the dining room yesterday, we ate on deck. If you are a repeat cruiser they give you drink coupons that can only be redeemed in the dining room at breakfast lunch or brunch. We went into the dining room and ordered the drinks and and waited for them in the piano bar next to the Marci gras dining room. I had the best chocolate martini ever!

Hkmom

I have read all kinds of stuff about this ship that wasn't very kind. We had a great time! The food was better than I have ever had on a carnival ship. The ship is very clean and not quite as gaudy as other carnival ships. The staff was wonderful, they were cleaning everywhere all the time. I wasn't aware of anyone with any noro virus symptoms from any passengers. The sailing was in winter on the pacific and the seas were calm weather was beautiful, hardly any motion on the ship.

Only 2 complaints, the first night when we walked into our cabin it was beyond freezing, you could have hung meat in there. The thermostat was turned up as high it would go. I slept in fluffy socks a jacket and a knit hat. I really should have taken a picture, I looked ridiculous.

The next day it was fixed (better cold than hot though)

Disembarkation was horrible the line to get off the ship went around the whole ship, really. It we didn't get off until after 10am. We were self assist and so was everyone in this line.

All in all we had a great time, oh yeah it was my 50th bday cruise. Going again next month on celebrity for a pacific coastal cruise.

HKMOM

My family amd I are diamond on rci, we only sailed once on celebrity on 2000, I didn't have to do anything or call anybody and we are now elite on celebrity. Looking forward to free wine in the evening.

HKMOM

My family And I will be on the century for a pacific coastal cruise in march. We haven't been on a celebrity ship since 2000 when my daughters were little. They are now 21 & 18 we are a family that likes to participate in most anything. Do they ever do a "quest" type game like on rccl.

Any info would be great

Thanks

HKMOM

Hand sanitizer is always better than nothing. I like to always have baby wipes of some sort in my bag also.

HKMOM

other than the obvious

diet pepsi

my blankie

good book

good attitude

lots of $$$

hkmom

can't wait for the rhapsody for thanksgiving