ldlewis45

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it, unless you are or plan to become pregnant relatively soon. People are so freaked out by this disease, and I honestly don't see why (unless you're planning on having a family soon). It's basically a mild flu. There's a million and one other common mosquito-borne diseases out there that are just as bad or worse, and no one seems to be freaking out over those.

For me, Carnival is a decent value for the money, as long as you aren't expecting too much. By that, I mean it's great for a relaxation cruise, and the food ranges from generally okay to very good (depending on venue), but it is far from luxury and the entertainment generally sucks. As a solo cruiser, though, the value isn't as good as it used to be, and there are often better deals available on other lines, especially since many of them don't require a double deposit for solo cruisers.

 

Pros, for me:

• cheaper for many "standard" Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, and Mexico cruises
  
• easier to get on/off ship in port, due to limited ship size
  
• "Serenity" is great, on the ships where it's positioned well (Ecstasy, for example)
  
• great "new" pizza
  
• great steakhouses
  
• Indian food in the MDR!
  

 

Cons, for me:

• double deposit for solo cruisers
  
• lots of irritating announcements
  
• terrible live entertainment
  
• mediocre to just plain bad buffet (other than the delicious omelet station at breakfast)
  
• meat items in MDR tend to be low quality
  

 

The yet to be determined:

• Cloud 9 Spa quality in comparison to NCL's Breakaway-class spa (to be evaluated on my next cruise!)
  

 

When I'm searching for a regular relaxation cruise to the Caribbean or Mexico, Carnival is the first place I look (but not the only place). When I'm looking for a "special" cruise, though, I look elsewhere.

Thanks! I think I'm just going to either get the soda package or just budget a certain amount. Even if I get bottled water, coffees, and milkshakes every day, I don't think I'd come out ahead by buying the Cheers package, unfortunately.

Anyone have one? I'm trying to decide whether it will be worth it for me to get Cheers. I wouldn't drink enough alcohol to make it worthwhile just for that, but I'm trying to decide if I would drink enough coffee drinks, milkshakes, and bottled water every day to make up the cost of the package.

DHS runs checks on the passengers during the cruise and the kid in the OP's story had the misfortune of calling on a US port first. Otherwise he would have been escorted off at the end too.

 

Yep. It happens very frequently, too. (I work for CBP.) This is why, like someone else said, you make sure that any potential legal problems are cleared up BEFORE you go on a cruise and you need to carry documentation of that with you. Even something like a warrant for a bad check can get you escorted off in handcuffs.

To be honest, I find solo cruising more fun than if I were going with someone, since I'm only focusing on having fun myself and not having to accommodate the wishes of the other person. I take my Kindle, book whatever tours (through the ship or independent) I wish, and just relax. You'll always run into people to talk to on the cruise. Just go with the flow of things and you'll be fine.

[quote name='RC Dancers']I hope they don't start banning people from bringing their own tea. I wonder if it shows up on the scanners?[/QUOTE]As a CBP employee who x-rays things, I can assure you that it does. They are never going to ban tea, though, as there aren't enough tea drinkers to make it worthwhile.

 

 

 

The specialty teas before were Bigelow brand; now, the new teas they are charging $1.95 for are not Bigelow but a new specialty tea brand with lots of interesting flavours.

Sounds like an upgrade, then, at least IMO! As a tea drinker, I'd rather get decent tea for $2 than have mediocre tea for free. And I do consider Bigelow to be mediocre. It's like the coffee on-board: I'd rather buy coffee at the coffee bar than drink the free dirty dishwater they call coffee. Of course, I'd much rather they offer good stuff for free, but if the option is either free and mediocre or up-charge and good, I'll take the up-charge, lol. I'll just have to bring along some of my cheap-as-chips but surprisingly delicious Turkish loose tea, just in case I dislike the available options.

While I understand the upset at yet another cut back, I kind of have to laugh at the outrage over the "good" tea bags being an up-charge now. I think just about anyone who was actually into tea was already bringing their own, as the "good" tea was barely better than the Lipton.

Thanks Bookbug53. Those portions are not very big at all.

 

HMMM, anyone have pictures of the meat portions? Specifically the ribeye and/or the filet?

 

Thanks!

 

I don't have pictures, but the filet is definitely a good size portion. Remember, you're also getting an appetizer, salad (or another appetizer), side dishes, bread (far better than what is served in the MDR), and dessert. You are not going to leave hungry. In fact, most people leave feeling stuffed to the gills.

I was just reading the rules for Cheers, and I never realized that it included coffees from the coffee bar. Is that a new change, because I could have sworn that it didn't include them when it first started.

Great! That means there's still some hope!

I've sailed on the Fascination (my first cruise), and while the experience was great, I wouldn't sail on a Fantasy-class ship for a long cruise. You're still spending more than half of your time on the ship, even on a port-intensive cruise, so to me, the amenities available on the ship are very important. For me, the Valor was the perfect size for the San Juan itinerary. It was large enough that it had more amenities than the Fantasy-class ships, but was small enough that it didn't take an age for everyone to get on/off while in port. I personally would not do this itinerary on the Fascination, and it's why I haven't even considered that itinerary lately.

I want to get it for my cruise on the Dream in September, but it's listed as being sold out. I remember that they used to open up some more slots within a few months of the cruise, but since it's been 3 years since I've cruised with Carnival, I don't know if they still do that.

Flatiron is good steak. I hope people keep forgetting that so it stays pretty cheap at my local butcher shop. :D

 

Flat iron CAN be a good steak, but in my experience, it is not in Carnival's MDR. Yes, what they serve is a steak, but it tends to be overcooked, tough, full of gristle, and tastes like the cheapest steak that Walmart carries. The last one I had, I only took one bite, and I regretted that one.

 

Now, the Indian vegetarian entree, on the other hand, is usually very, very good. I've actually had cruises where I had that almost every night I ate in the MDR, lol.

Whoops, double post.

It is always great to book a new cruise, but there is a bad part and that is the waiting. Enjoy your Western Caribbean cruise.:cool:

 

Only 70 days to go, though! That should give me enough time to find a couple of new swimsuits and some clothes for the elegant nights!

Carnival Dream Western Caribbean (Ocho Rios, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman) from New Orleans, September 11-18, in a spa balcony! I'm excited, since I've never been to those ports before. I had originally planned on a Bermuda cruise out of NYC in a spa balcony on the NCL Breakaway, but since I got an unexpected job transfer to New Orleans, the cost was going to be more than I wanted to spend. As much as I'd like to go back to Bermuda, I just couldn't see spending an extra $1000 on the cruise, plus whatever the flights to/from NYC would have cost, at least at this point. Hopefully, I'll get there next year! For now, though, I'm going to hope the weather cooperates and enjoy three ports that I've never been to before, plus the spa amenities!

OP, I understand your logic with buying Cheers, but why not just buy on-board credit in the same amount (or just put that much cash on the account), if you know that he's probably not going to even break even? That way, you get back the excess, instead of donating it to Carnival, and you've spent no more than you would have with Cheers. Plus, you could use the credit for other things on board, like the spa or steakhouse, if you wanted to.

I'd go with the Ecstasy, if I had to choose one of the Fantasy-class ships. I had a really nice time on her, and she's had quite a few interior improvements. When I was on her, she wasn't completely renovated, but what had been done was definitely in the theme of the Breeze and not the Farcas-y colors, so it was nice and relaxing. The Serenity area was my favorite of the ones I've used, too, since it was at the stern of the ship and, shockingly, was actually pretty quiet.

I'm debating between two cruises: NCL Breakaway to Bermuda out of NYC and the Dream to Western Caribbean out of New Orleans.

 

My original plan was to do the Breakaway in a spa balcony cabin, which comes with access to the thermal lounge with thalassotherapy pool and heated tile loungers. But, I got an unexpected job transfer to New Orleans. So after the expense of moving, the $3,000 plus the cost of flights is making me hesitate, even though I really want to go back to Bermuda and I love staying there for three days straight.

 

My other option is to get a spa balcony on the Dream. I've never been on her before, though, so I don't know what the spa is like or whether it compares to the spa on the Breakaway. It's going to run a good $1200 less for the cruise, and I won't have to pay for flights, too. And it's going to locations that I've not cruised to before. On one hand, that's great, since they're new to me, but on the other hand, I was looking forward to having three days in Bermuda and exploring.

 

Can someone tell me more about Dream's spa amenities and about the Serenity area (whether it's one of the secluded ones or whether it's loud and not very serene?

Well, I decided to cancel the cruise. I figure, if I'm not super-excited to be traveling somewhere, I probably shouldn't be taking the trip, especially when it's going to cost me thousands of dollars. This is the 2nd cruise I've cancelled this year because of that, and both of them were booked almost a year in advance. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling cruises lately. I'm sure I'd feel differently once on the ship, but right now, I just feel "meh" when I think about it. And I've just spent the last two years living in Miami (just moved to New Orleans), so I'm kind of over the whole tropical/beachy thing for the moment. I'm more in a "get me somewhere cool" phase because of it. My last vacation was a week in NYC in early March of this year, and I LOVED the cold weather, lol.

 

I'm still not certain about taking the Slovenia/Croatia trip, but I've got time to decide on that one. Now I can think about what I really, really want to do, without the final payment deadline hanging over my head. Plus, if I decide I really do want to do the Bermuda trip, I can always rebook.

So, final payment for my booked Bermuda cruise in September has to be made by tomorrow, so I need to make a decision today! Do I cruise to Bermuda on the Breakaway in a spa balcony stateroom, do I instead take a trip to Slovenia and Croatia (about $500 more for a 10-day semi-guided trip, including flights but not including most meals), or do I just save the $$$ and not do anything? I've been to Bermuda before and loved it, and I do want to go again, especially in a spa balcony (LOVE the heated loungers). On the other hand, I've never been to Slovenia and Croatia, and I really would like to go, and mid-September is supposed to be a nice time to visit.

 

I am completely conflicted about what to do, to be honest. I have a really hard time making big purchases, too, which is making the decision even harder.

Hi Sally, I like some of the new changes. Sorry. :o I bought 4 CruiseNext certificates, saving myself $500 over the next 4 cruises - plus getting at least 1 free thing that I probably otherwise wouldn't have gotten, booking through CAS.

 

I like the better food, and the new investment in better menus. I like the retention of talented crew, even if they require raises periodically.

 

But that's just me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ohhhh.... I don't think I've EVER sat on a lounger by the pool....it's not at all my 'thing'.....but if I could reserve a 'good' seat, so I knew where I was going and I was guaranteed a spot there.... I'd definitely be willing to pay extra. I might even use it. And yes, I'm serious.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

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Ditto. I usually sail in insides or studios, so most of the time, I don't get perks. I like that they're doing a la carte pricing in some of the restaurants. I've had gastric bypass surgery, so I can't eat the massive amounts that are served, but I still like good food. It will be nice to go and get something in a small portion and not feel like I'm paying $25-30 for that tiny portion. The added 18% actually works out better for me, since I used to add a 20% tip.

 

And I also would be more than willing to pay extra for a guaranteed-reserved lounge chair in a prime location (except my prime location would be in an area with plenty of shade).

I sailed with the much-adored Matt Mitchum, and I don't personally think he added anything that any of the other CDs haven't provided. I basically ignore their existence, lol. They simply don't add anything, in my experience. But then again, I don't do the passenger-as-entertainment stuff, don't attend deck parties, etc.