DnD_Cruisin

Wait.... 9-25? I'm booked to sail out on Imagination 9-22.

 

 

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It's a typo..Here is another link for Carnival's press release:

http://carnival-news.com/2016/09/01/carnival-imagination-to-undergo-multi-million-dollar-renovation-that-will-add-variety-of-exciting-dining-and-bar-concepts/

I love the Fantasy class ships. I'll be on the Imagination in 31 days and will enjoy these changes for sure!

Logging off my work computer sets the mood.

Putting luggage in the car and pulling out of the driveway starts the excitement.

Seeing the whale tail causes me to put on my permagrin.

Hearing the "ding" let's me know the cruise is on!

Drinking that 1st DOD and watching 1st timers expressions ... priceless.

After further review I have changed my plan or our upcoming 6 day cruise on the Vista. Three of the days we will in port and off the ship for most of the day. The cost of the Cheers package is $689 which includes the Gratuity. I plan to buy a liter of Vodka and a liter of Whiskey from Bon Voyage for

for $160 that will cover our pre- dinner drinks for the week and then some. That leaves us with over $500 to cover our drinks for the Balance of the cruise

We bought bottles on our 1st cruise (cheers wasn't available then). We have never done it again. It's such a huge PITA to have to run back to the room everytime you want a drink. We are never in the room so it turned out to be a total waste of $. My hats off to the people who make that work but the "savings" didn't offset the inconvenience.

Whew! We are on the Imagination 10/2 so we'll be on the last sailing for the old system. The 1st few sailings from LB I'm sure will be a cluster.

For our 4day cruise Oct 2nd it's still available for $49.95...I wonder what the criteria is for the rate increase?

Just go to the Atrium or casino bar and they'll put the sticker on for you

LOL...I would just order the full size and make an evening of it.

Exactly our plan in 50 days!

Shocked???? Not at all....I have cruised with FTTF and without it. I usually will try for it if I know I will be at the terminal early with the rest of the herd. If I don't get it, no big deal. I do marvel at what I call the "FTTF crazies"....these are the people who post whacked out crap like "I WILL NOT CRUISE WITHOUT IT" and come on the boards, completely maniacal saying "THIS IS HORRIBLE, I CRUISE IN A MONTH AND FTTF IS STILL SOLD OUT, WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT IT"....or the ones that stay up between midnight and 6 am, refreshing the carnival page every 10 seconds for 6 hrs to see if it magically becomes available. Those psychos scare me :D

LOL! For us it's the convenience of less lines/waiting etc. If I have to work that hard to get it (if sold out when booked) it kind of defeats the purpose for me. If it isn't available I try for it the morning after final payment. If I get it..I get it. If not..I'm still cruising just with less perks. For sure my vacation isn't ruined as a result lol

OK, I will take your word on Long Beach....I was just answering the posters question. If they get there early and IF they get Group 1 or even Group 2, you will board right in back of the FTTF group....5-15 mins later. I also said if you want to spend the $60 for FTTF (and it is available), have at it

I understood your point I was just trying to add some clarity on what "get there early" might actually mean. For some they may interpret that statement as 15 mins.

Of course my example was only 1 port. With the staggered check in process they are rolling out, things should be totally different. In those cases FTTF wouldn't be as big a benefit ... even I might skip FTTF.

Yes I know you are shocked! 😜😎

Yes, the pool bars will be open, and most if not all inside bars will be operational....pool is open and so is buffet....how big of a deal is it for you to be on as close to first on board as possible? If you get there early, even without FTTF, you will probably board 5 or 10 mins after the FTTF. If that is worth the $60 to you, have at it

While it's true group 1 will board right after FTTF, what isn't denoted is when you have to arrive at port to get in group 1. At Long Beach it's 9:00 on average to get group 1.

On our last cruise some friends arrived at 9:00 and only got group 2. They boarded at 12:10. Time in port prior to boarding ... 3:10.

We had FTTF and arrived at 10:55. Parked, dropped bags with porter, walked to terminal and were checked in by 11:20. We then boarded at 11:30. Total time in port prior to boarding ... 0:35.

On our May cruise they started boarding FTTF, platinum etc at 11:30. We departed around 5:45

Nothing on a date for Legend yet. I'm not aware of any method of communications other than walkie talkies that would be free.

Latest from Carnival dot com:

Where do the features of the app work?

On board the Carnival Breeze, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Glory, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Triumph and Carnival Vista.

When will the Carnival Hub app be available on the other ships?

Within the next 12 to 18 months. The app will be available on the Carnival Ecstasy on July 18, Carnival Imagination on August 4 and Carnival Valor on August 19.

Latest from Carnival dot com:

Where do the features of the app work?

On board the Carnival Breeze, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Glory, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Triumph and Carnival Vista.

When will the Carnival Hub app be available on the other ships?

Within the next 12 to 18 months. The app will be available on the Carnival Ecstasy on July 18, Carnival Imagination on August 4 and Carnival Valor on August 19.

@zabaco - Sounds like it worked out fantastic for you. Thanks for starting this thread, giving a different viewpoint and for providing your critique once it was all said and done.

Happy sailing!

Agree....I do think the service may be a little more formal than chain restaurants, but you are spot on about the food. I feel the similar way about the "Steakhouses"....been to numerous specialty steakhouses on numerous lines....I love the setting, the quiet, the service. I have heard people compare it to a Smith & Wal or a Ruth Chris....STOP IT!!!! The steak in the Steakhouses is a "good" steak, similar to something you get in an Outback or Longhorns....If its the BEST steak you ever had, you need to treat yourself to a real steakhouse, it blows cruise line steaks away!!!!

As for steak quality I agree Texas Roadhouse is probably the closest comparison. But I will say (at least the Carnival steakhouses I have tried) the atmosphere was more similar to a Ruth's Chris or Flemings than an Outback.

Totally disagree with you. I work with patients at a cancer hospital that got cancer from second hand smoke.

I agree that second hand smoke can be a cause for cancer but I wasn't aware that there was a test to determine the exact cause of a cancer.

What is that test called?

I have a friend with throat cancer that has sadly spread to her brain. She has never smoked but surmised 2nd hand smoke was the cause. Her dr told her there was no way to know for sure. I'd love to be able to provide her with the test that could confirm the pathology. Because she is concerned that if not 2nd hand smoke..the cause could be hereditary. She wants her sons to be mindfull.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

How long have you been an experienced sommelier? I seem to remember something from years past when you walked dogs for a living. Or was that someone else?

 

I admit to having been an oenophile for several decades, but I honestly can't remember the last time I read anything quite so insufferably pretentious. Not to mention irrelevant. Good job.

Thank you! An enlightening and very humorous post!

Well it's been around since either 2009 or 2011. I can't remember exactly when but I do know that it was either my second cruise on the Solstice or Eclipse because the casino still smelled like smoke and it was the second time for me on that ship. They seem to be doing fine in the money department from what I can tell.

 

My question is if there is a direct correlation to amount of money spent in the casino in regards to smokers vs nonsmokers, how does Celebrity make it work when other lines either have failed at it or are too afraid to try? Or maybe it's just a matter of not wanting to tick off smokers? I don't know.

IMO they have it built into their pricing model. They look for profits in other ways to compensate for lower revenue in casinos.

Yes and I have.

Don't know how Carnival handled it, but they continued smoking so it has been years since I have booked a balcony.

No offense meant but it hasn't yet been 2 years since the ban went into effect. If you reported this "years" ago as you stated... you reported someone that was smoking in an approved area.

The crew live on the ship and should be allowed to smoke in designated non-public areas. That's not a good enough excuse for not having a smoke free ship.

 

 

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Welcome to Corporate America. 😁

Decisions often only make sense to the executives who make them and the people who benefit from them.

Is Celebrity smoke free? I thought I heard they had some "no smoking" cruises, but did they decree all cruises are now no smoking?

They are not yet totally smoke free but have the most restrictive rules (i.e. no smoking in interior places). They definately seem to be moving in that direction though.

I'm not aware of any "right" to smoke, however, I don't see a complete ban anytime soon, if ever. Besides passengers, it would also impact crew, who sneak enough cigarettes as it is.

I currently have the right to smoke in designated areas. As to the outright ban I hope you are correct.

When Carnival first banned smoking on balconies, I remember the threads discussing it and if IIRC, the ban was due to the insurance company imposing it or something like that.

If that's true, I don't know how HAL can continue to allow it though.

My assumption is that they are trying to capture the smoking niche just as Celebrity is capturing the non smoking niche.