Twintowngirl

I will be on the Horizon In February of 2019.....traveling with friends from the Minneapolis area plus some from other states. Always good to get out of Minnesota in February!

Oh wow! Those are great photos. I didn't cruise back then, but wish I had. What fantastic memories.

Just a quick question for you! We were on the Magic in September '17 and had an Aft balcony on deck 6. Our room was so noisy at night being above the lounge. Did you notice night time noise in your cabin?

Looks like you had a great time...thanks for sharing your detailed review. Love all of your photos!

Deb

Recently sailed on the Carnival Magic in an aft balcony...cabin #6472. We had always wanted an aft and during a big group booking, grabbed the chance to get this room. The view was great...we were just above the walking area on the lower deck and had cabins above us. We did notice some vibration when the thrusters were used when the ship was "backing up" or going sideways. The big bother was the horrible noise from either the nightclub or comedy club directly underneath our cabin. It was my one big concern while booking the room and my concerns were confirmed, big time. The noise went on well into the evening and sometimes we swore that we even heard it during the morning hours. Lesson learned! Just thought I would put this out there to give others fair warning!

Deb

I use the Carnival towels on board the ship and bring my own for taking off of the ship. We recently bought microfiber towels that we can wring out almost dry and they are light as a feather compared to the heavy Carnival towels. I also do not want to leave one behind and face the higher cost of replacement.

Deb

We have always used Cortrans to return to MCO and have had great service. We paid 20 dollars per person. I am not sure if they have a special round trip rate or not.

Deb

I am not sure which ship I was on or whether I was Platinum or had purchased FFTF...but....My luggage took forever to get to our cabin. My sister, in the same cabin as I was, received her luggage right away but mine didn't show up. It had the orange priority sticker on it etc. So then while going back and forth to our cabin we noticed it sitting on a luggage rack near the elevators. I thought of taking it when I first saw it but then thought, if I do that and they are delivering the luggage the staff might think it had been lifted by someone who shouldn't have it. I couldn't find anyone to ask.....so I left it there. About an hour later I returned and it was still there. All by itself on the rack so I did take it to our cabin. That is the first and last time I had a problem getting my luggage in a timely manner.

Hopefully we will be leaving on the Magic in 6 days...145 until the Conquest from Ft. Lauderdale.

Happy countdown to all of you!

Only 20 days for RONTOURAGE 2 on the Magic!

We typically cruise with a group of friends and we all bring a bottle of wine on board. One of the nights we designate as "wine tasting party night". This has always been a lot of fun before heading out to the MDR. Some people will bring wine glasses they pick up at one of the bars but my favorite thing is my travel, unbreakable wine glass. The stem unscrews from the glass to make packing a breeze. Someone remembers to pack a cork screw and we find a nice quiet location where we can all sample and sip. Great fun!

We were a group of 13 who all booked your time dining. A few of us were platinum so we were instructed to report to the dining room when we were ready for our table. At that point they took everyone's cabin numbers for check in. We would usually hang around the bar area directly in back of the check in table until our table was ready. They were able to sit us all together except for one night when we were split up between 2 tables in the same area. If you are not Platinum/Diamond, you check in on Deck 5. I am not sure if they would need everyone's cabin number too but my guess would be yes or to have everyone there at check in.

Happy cruising to you!

Deb

I think it varies from ship to ship ( or maybe port to port!)....My check in time for the Vista didn't show up until a few months prior to the cruise. I just checked periodically and one day it was there. Now, being platinum the check in time isn't all that important in that we can go as soon as the port is open and ready.

Deb

I just bought 2 microfiber towels to bring on our cruise next week. The ship's towels are great but too darn heavy to lug around when they are wet. I will probably use the ship's towels on board but use the new towels on shore. We have a launderette close by so can always throw in the dryer or send for complimentary service as well.

The ones I bought were Fit Spirit....2/17.99

Happy travels!

Just 12 days until we fly into Fort Lauderdale and 13 days until we set sail on the Vista. I think we have another 240 or so days until Rontourage 2. Time to start planning new adventures for 2018!

Just 14 days until we sail on the Vista from Miami and then another 244 days until Rontourage 2 on the Magic. We are already planning for next year and a new adventure or two!

Hmmm...This is the first time I have heard a negative reaction to the Vista. Currently, 5 friends are sailing on the Vista and we are all scheduled to go in January out of Miami. All of us are Platinum level. They have posted that they are having a marvelous time with no mention of anything being "off". I trust their opinions over this one bad review.

Deb

If you're interested, there's a group called Carnival Cruise Piano Bar-barians on the forbidden social media site :D

I just joined this "forbidden social media" group..great way to see what other cruisers know about who is playing when. I still haven't figured out who might be on the Vista the week of Jan 27,2017. We have really been spoiled by Ron Pass, who is my absolute favorite but have come across others that we have enjoyed too. Our last cruise was on the Breeze in July and Gregg Akkerman was the man on the ivories. We really had a fun bunch of people who showed up every night that he played plus the bar staff was so entertaining.

Deb

Right. As mentioned in my previous post, I did that. It does not state my check-in time on "My Cruise Details" page. Thanks, though!

Hmm....that's weird...we are on the same sailing and my check in time shows up on my "cruise details". Maybe we'll see you at the check in counter!

Deb

My sister and I cruise together and frequently will book an inside room. The dark and lack of scenery doesn't bother either of us. I find I sleep like a rock in the dark space. We are up early and out and about the entire cruise, spending little time in our cabin. On our last cruise we were on the Breeze, deck 9 towards the front. We were able to walk down the hall just little ways and found a large area to the front of the ship that not many other people knew about. We spent time out there at night watching the stars and the waves....it is at the very front of the ship and could be breezy. I am not sure how many of the ships have areas like this but we were so happy to discover it. Anyways, keep that in mind when selecting your ship and cabin.

Deb

AARP Carnival gift cards are available! $100 and $ 500!

 

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Yes! I just purchased a few more too! I love knowing that I am saving a little bit of money on my cruise and on board account. It's a no brainer for me!

Deb

Unfortunately Ron is pretty much moved on from CCL.

Ron was just on the Glory a couple of weeks ago filling in for someone else I believe. He also cruised on the Dream Sept of 15 plus will be on the Magic in Sept of 17. Get ready for Rontourage II! We had a group of about 220 on his first cruise and should have the same number, if not more, the second time around. The only bad thing is with that many admirers piano bar stools were never open.

Deb

Royal, Royal, Royal. We have sailed Royal and every cruise line had its good points and its bad points for us. We like Carnival. And we can afford more. That said, sorry you didn't like Carnival. More space for us. Bye, Felicia.

LOL, I love your comment! Good way to start my day with a good laugh!

I agree that there is good and bad with all of the lines. I have been very happy with Carnival over the years. It might not be as upscale as other lines but we always, always meet some great travelers while on board. There are also other people that we just shake our heads at. As far as the staff goes, I have never encountered any rudeness or slackers. The food can be iffy at the buffet and that is why I prefer the Dining Room especially for dinner.

I always laugh when we are on a shuttle with people going to different ships and they say something like, Carnival is the party ship. Well, who wants to go on a vacation and not have a party! I am almost 60 and love the fun atmosphere on Carnival...no old lady cruising for me...at least, not yet!

Hope the OP sticks with the line he/she is happy with.

Deb

Just 3

Just three days until I sail away on the Breeze! Can't wait. Have to wait a little longer for the other 2 cruises that are booked....205 until the Vista and 436 days until the Magic. Looking forward to all them.

Deb

We are looking into this for March would love to know what others think.

I will be at Sunscape Splash Resort next week while cruising on the Breeze. I will follow this thread and post some pictures and thoughts once I return from my trip.

The last time we were in MoBay, we did the Hilton Rose Hall and had a great time. It was actually booked for a group of 150 of us and I think we might have been the only guests other than the ones staying at the hotel. That is another good option if you decide to not do Splash.

I'll be back with some photos!

Deb

I don't miss the chocolate at all. It wasn't very good and we usually left them piled up on a counter somewhere.

Deb