tree.critter

Interesting, for me cruising is better now since I retired during Covid shutdown. Have cruised Carnival 11 times since shutdown, have enjoyed every one of those cruises and the ability to be able to cruise. Mardi Gras (x5) Horizon, Freedom, Panorama, Elation, Dream, and Magic. Yes, some things are different….but my love of cruising wasn’t hampered by mask wearing or vaccine requirements. To me the most important thing is, has been and always will be the crew. They are what makes cruising good for me. Maybe it’s just me but every cruise I meet one or two new crew members that I wind up adding to my FB friends list. If something disappoints me or I find something wrong I have found the CS desk to be the best place to resolve any issues instead of online forums. It is still the best value for my vacation dollar and the whole world has changed, not surprised cruising has changed along with it.

I’ve had 5 cruises on the Mardi Gras, all in the same spa cove balcony, 5215. It is forward but the ship was so stable we still felt very little motion except on one trip back to port, seas were rough all over and it wasn’t even rocking much then. If you do book midship be careful to avoid staying under the galley if you’re a light sleeper.

Note if the 3 of you are sharing a Cloud 9 Spa cabin it will only include the spa for 2 people, the third person will have to pay addition to get spa pass.

Nice timing for me, next cruise in 52 days is 10 day Miracle to Alaska. It will be my first trip to Alaska and traveling with a friend that has helped prepare, she went last year and fell in love. We are flying in early morning, staying at the RUI, touring San Francisco in the afternoon and having supper out. Several others on the cruise next year with us are also at the RUI and will be taking the .7 mile walk to the ship from the hotel. Booked Harv and Marv’s small boat in Juneau, glad to see nice marks for them.

My favorite that I’ve gifted is a souvenir deck of cards from my hometown, I also like to put in a duck for the fun for them to keep or hide.

So May 2, 2024 is first anticipated date to book. Makes me happy, have a 15 day Miracle out of Long Beach 4/6/24 and there’s a few of us that were discussing the possibility of having the Firenze substituting the Miracle since we’re nearly sold out already. Majority conclude we want the smaller ship for our voyage. I do wish she was doing longer cruises though, If I’m going to fly in for a cruise it needs to be a longer voyage.

I love the journey cruises, currently have 3 more booked, to Alaska, Hawaii and the Panama canal. in addition to a couple short 5 day cruises just for the fun with friends. Love the atmosphere on the ship and usually a couple extra sea days. The older I get the more I want to travel to relax and see different lands rather than party and have fun.

Currently we know that the stock OBC is good till July of this year, does anyone know when they will meet again to either extend or remove this benefit? I have been getting confirmation of obc within a couple of days at most over the last couple of years now and really like this benefit. It’s pretty close to paid for the stock itself already.

Best “deal” for me was 4/2014 Dream reposition from Canaveral to NewOrleans. Booked a Cloud 9 Balcony solo and paid supplement at regular early saver rates. While waiting for cruise they had a very short window of no solo supplements, my PVP said yes, I could match new rate. I had well over $1k obc and got a few hundred back in cash at end of cruise that I didn’t spend. Never any special casino or upgrade offers.

I love check in day for upcoming cruises. It makes it seem so much more real and really puts me in the cruise mode. Have cruised Elation a couple of times and have 2 cruises booked on her later this year, such a fun ship for quick getaway cruises!.

Haven’t been on Vista but have been on Panorama, Horizon and Mardi Gras. I agree with most of what’s been said but as a Cloud 9 Spa fan I hated the Thalassa pool on Mardi Gras, much nicer on the Vista class (Dream class still best). Loved the food options on Mardi Gras, Shaq’s Chicken is great, never ate a Guy’s burger on Mardi Gras. So unless a Havana or Cloud 9 person I’d probably go with Mardi Gras again.

That would be a tough choice for me, definitely like the itinerary with multiple new port stops. Have cruised the Mardi Gras a few times but have also cruised the Panorama and Horizon and prefer that class of ship much more. Just got off the Horizon 6 day with same itinerary and had a real nice time. I’d overall have to go with the 7 day Celebration if you haven’t sailed XL class, it is a beautiful class of ship, many restaurant choices and fun to try at least once.

For a very interesting read try David Brun’s “Ship forBrains”. It’s his second book about working for Park West and some great behind the scenes info. His first book details his first year with Carnival and also very interesting. “Cruise Confidential”.

I love the Cloud 9 spa but was horribly disappointed in the spa on the Mardi Gras. I am wondering if the Celebration and rest of excel class will be in the same dungeon like atmosphere with no windows to see the ocean. The Thalasso pool is the smallest one yet and more than 3 people in at a time and you’re getting quite friendly. The sauna and steam rooms are great but it’s back to the Dream class for me if I want a spa cruise.

The prices listed on cruise manager for spa services do not include the tip.

I was on Freedom the first week of December and many people got sick and spoke of the excessive rocking. I also wondered if we were having stabilizer problems but I was high deck very forward so expected more motion. . I enjoy the rocking so didn’t really notice it much but did have sea legs for a few days after getting back home this time.

4/6/24 Miracle to Hawaii, hoping to catch at least partial on this cruise.

So sorry off topic but thanks for sharing this link, very useful one to save!

Last year I took 2 granddaughters on a cruise, Unfortunately shortly before the cruise, broke my ankle and had a rod installed. I was not up to much walking yet at all and never got off the ship but still had a fun time. Hid ducks, played trivia, enjoyed time talking with the crew when not so busy, ate more than I should have. Grand Turk isn’t a huge miss for me since also live in FL and don’t even do our beaches here. The little maritime museum and the donkeys are cool there, can get a good local meal but that’s about it for us.

Guess I’m the weird fish in this pond. Started cruising with Carnival when much younger, had a great couple of cruises and loved the crew so much. Went on a single RCL cruise not too long after and hated it. The ship was nice, food the same but the crew acted very much like I was a bother and never really smiled. I swore I wouldn’t go on RCL again and I haven’t. 24 additional Carnival cruises later and I just keep returning because of the crew and have never had a bad cruise with them (take that back, once took a very wrong person with me as a +1, not Carnivals fault and I just cruise solo when needed to avoid that from ever happening again. Sure enough things have changed over the years and it’s not as grand as that first cruise on the original M.S. Mardi Gras but the value and cost has virtually remained the same over the last 30 years. I was’t crazy for the new Mardi Gras and just won’t book that class again.

1/15/11 was my first cruise on the Freedom. It was 8 day which included Costa Rica and remains one of my favorite cruises. A couple of cruises in between on her, next one is 12/22 and I’m happy to hear she’s still a great ship, I’ve got a bit more age on me too, not such a bad thing. Have always loved the crew on it too. My profile pic here is from the Veragua rainforest zip line, time of my life!

This shouldn’t be a problem. AFAIK all the bathrooms I’ve seen have grab bars by the toilet and one in the shower. They work well for when the ship is rolling whether you have any special needs or not. I grabbed a couple pics to show them randomly.

If they wanted to it would be very easy to reduce marijuana use on board. Hire a trained dog and handler for a few hours while boarding luggage and passengers. If they’d give me a free suite and cruises for me and a trained dog I’d volunteer my services. Of course would have to go out and get a new dog first.

If the ES rate is $50 cheaper currently, NOW is the time to change to this rate. The ES rate will fluctuate and also probably be higher the closer it gets to final payment.

They have a scale to step on prior to the ride. It is a pass or fail, doesn’t show actual weight. If over the limit you won’t get to ride.