PlanoTim

1 hour ago, TravelE said:

Check out these threads:

 

 

 

Also, try the outlets in the spa or gym. Maybe you can buy a dual voltage brand in port or check with your roll call group.

 

My comment is the top one quoted in the above post.  We ended up our ceramic blow dryer on our Carnival Jubilee cruse a couple months back.  It worked just fine.

5 hours ago, thekidsandi said:

Our check in day is 6/23 for an Alaska cruise out of Seattle. We live in California. On past Carnival cruises, regardless of where the cruise left from, we could start our check in at 9:01 p.m. PT on the day before our check in day, since that would be 12:01 a.m. in Miami. We were told that Carnival uses Miami time, since that is where they are located. However, I recently heard that they may have changed the check in time to the time of wherever the ship departs from - so in our case, we would have to wait until 12:01 a.m.

 

Can anyone who has cruised recently and knows the answer to this question let me know? I guess we can just try at 9:01 p.m. and if doesn't work, set an alarm for 12:01 a.m., but I was just wondering if anyone knows for sure.

Check in for our Carnival Jubilee cruise out of Galveston this past April didn't open till midnight Galveston time (Central Time).  We tried and tried starting at midnight Eastern Time, but nothing worked till midnight in Galveston rolled around.

4 hours ago, slavigne5577 said:

This is what I am scared of. Can we still bring two bottles of wine? I also purchased the Anniversary wine decorations, will the wine be delivered on day one to our room?

I pre-purchase a 4-pack of Parched Pig beer in April when we sailed on Carnival Jubilee.  They were in our room when we got there.  But with Carnival, you never know if that is always the case.

I don’t really understand why someone would cancel someone else’s cruise like was described here.  Did the person who canceled the cruise receive a refund from Carnival somehow?  Was it an acquaintance of the cruiser with a big axe to grind?  Wouldn’t the individual that canceled the cruse want to get some benefit from doing so?  What would that benefit be?  Thanks,

Tim

On 4/27/2024 at 9:21 AM, PelicanBill said:

we tipped $5 each trip.  Especially when it was windy lol.

you only find these on the Punta Langosta pier downtown (NCL etc.)

 

I have never seen them at Puerta Maya or International Piers where Carnival and RCL usually go. There was a golf cart on one but it was always full.

There were some at Puerta Maya earlier this month when we arrived on Carnival Jubilee.  I saw them carrying folks from the ship to the duty-free store.  I didn't notice them going further into the port area, but they may have,  We also got one for a couple that were on our excursion.  The wife had a few too many drinks and never would have made it from the taxi area to the ship otherwise.  The security guy at taxi area summoned it for us.

12 hours ago, Jeafl said:

I love the Spicy chipotle pineapple martini from the Alchemy bar.  Not too spicy, but so good!

We like the Spicy Margarita made with the chipotle pineapple syrup.  Most bars can  make it.

8 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

As an aside, Oceania will handle the visas for you.  My guess is some of the guests on this cruise are used to cruise lines that do that. I am surprised that Viking doesn't. I am not surprised that Carnival doesn't.

I think Viking has provided a visa service for their world cruises in the past.  Not sure if they still do.

There is a Flowrider in Costa Maya and it was running last week.  It is in the back behind the shops.  I didn't see anyone in/on it when we walked past on the way to a taxi.  I didn't take note of the price either - sorry.

Just now, EL Pitman said:

Coffee Roast Duck.  Does this actually TASTE like coffee?  My hubby loves duck, but doesn't do coffee.  (I know, I know, he's not really human.  BUT he doesnt begrudge me my coffee and I have grown accustomed to having him around.....)  I'm just wondering if I should steer him away from it.  🙂

I didn't think it tasted of coffee.  I don't like coffee at all (a mild tiramisu is about my limit) and thought the duck was tasty.

1 hour ago, laurierocs said:

This will be my 27th carnival cruise and have never eaten at teppanyaki. I don't care for any kind of seafood which is what I thought this is. Am I wrong? Everyone really seems to be enjoying it! What is it you like about it???? Maybe I'll book it!

We weren't thrilled with Teppanyaki on Carnival Jubilee last week.  It was okay, but way down the list of our favorite dinner experiences that week.  I think an experience like Teppanyaki is more dependent on your fellow diners and your cook than other venues (Chef's Table might be the exception to that, though).  There are 10 seats at each grill and on our night 6 of those were one family (all adults).  They didn't seem to enjoy it at all and were sort of sticks in the mud.  The other couple we were seated next to was fun and helped improve the atmosphere.

The food was okay.  The lobster/steak/shrimp were all cooked well, but I thought the flavors were kind of monochromatic.  They may be willing to substitute something for the shrimp appetizer if you ask.  I bet they get patrons who are allergic to shellfish.  The host asked about allergies when we were seated.

I was a little surprised how quick the dinner seemed.  Not really rushed, but it was over quicker than I expected.

I hope that helps some.
Tim

9 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks.  The coffee roast duck I thought was outstanding, echo the comment on the additions.

I thought the Coffee Roast Duck was tasty on Carnival Jubilee last week.  But it looked like they carved it from the bird, whapped it on the counter a couple of times, and then served it.  Tenderized after cooking, maybe.  😛

9 hours ago, bg2310 said:

Were those included or for a fee? For lunch it was outside on the deck kinda buffet style except you told the server behind the counter what you wanted.

 

It sounds like dinner is more of a sit-down style. I might have to try it when I sail the Jubilee next January!

Our Pig & Anchor dinner on Carnival Jubilee last week was included and served inside.  You pencil in your selections on a form and they bring them out to you.  My wife thought the salmon was a bit too sweet.  They have two prime rib selections (by size).  I couldn't finish the smaller one - but I wasn't super hungry either.  One bonus is that the excellent Backyard Band was playing there when we ate.  We returned to see them a few times during the week.

Hope that helps some.

Tim

1 hour ago, bg2310 said:

I did do lunch one day at Pig & Anchor and it was pretty decent.

 

Never tried it for dinner, but nice to know it's also included other than the upsell items. It must be basically the same menu as it is for lunch then.

We had dinner at Pig & Anchor on Carnival Jubilee last week.  I had a prime rib and my wife had the smoked salmon.  I'm not sure they have those items at lunch.

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Glad you enjoyed the food and location. 
 

Sorry about the music I wouldn’t have been keen on that either depending on how loud it was.  I assume it was piped and perhaps louder towards the bar area? We enjoyed pleasant sessions of live guitarist but that was a few years back now and I assume it comes down to who is available.

 

I think the place has become popular with European backpackers and maybe it has a new vibe?
 

We have certainly enjoyed the drinks and different food choices and the “fusion” food. Do you know if the Italian owner is back onsite now - we felt his absence made a big difference in service, post-Covid?

 

We will certainly give it another chance if we get back to Costa Maya.

 

The music wasn’t horrible, but it did get old for me.

There was plenty of non-English being spoken by the other guests, so maybe it is popular among Europeans.  I got the feeling that some of the afternoon arrivals (at the beach) were people that were staying there.

One other thing we liked was the abundance of shade.  I like a palapa as much as the next guy, but shade from palm trees just seems nicer.

Nobody introduced themselves as the owner, so I’m not sure if he was there.  The staff seemed pretty attentive, so maybe he or a good manager was there.

We will return the next time we visit Costa Maya.
 

On 5/1/2024 at 8:52 PM, MandyMooToo said:

Thank you, we will likely wind up at KL.  About 4 years ago, give or take, we tried Malecon21 and were disappointed.  Granted, they had just opened up so maybe they have improved but we didn't enjoy it as much as we hoped to.  At the time they had one or two AI packages to choose from, we chose the highest priced package even though we knew we wouldn't spend that much PAYG (just didn't want to have to be concerned with any extra fees aside from tips).  When we arrived we were given four chairs that were split far enough away from each other (in different rows too) that we could not hang out with the other couple in our group even though they were not busy yet, and yes, we reserved together.  Then they brought drink menus and each drink we picked they said we could not have.  They said AI packages could only have frozen drinks (Pina coladas mainly) and a rum punch type of drink, can't remember what it was called, and a couple of other single liquor/mixer type drinks.  The food was vey limited too, we could not choose what we wanted off the menu.  When we complained they just said "sorry."  Drink service was very poor too, even though we were tipping well.  Probably got three drinks all day?  So maybe they have gotten it together and are much better now, but I really dislike the idea of AI unless it is a resort with lots to do/benefits that will keep us there all day.  Guess it cannot hurt to try KL and see how it goes this time, thanks again!

We went to Malecon21 last week and enjoyed it.  We did the AI option.  It was very chill.  The food & drinks were very yummy and service were great.  My wife loved the spicy margarita and the Pina Coladas I had were superb - not icy at all.  There was a good selection of drinks that we could choose from (and 5-6 beer selections).  It's a small thing, but I like that the drinks were served in a real glass.  The food was not your normal grilled chicken and rice, quite tasty.  There were a few beach vendors, but it wasn't bad.  It was deserted till around 11:30, and never got more than 50% full - probably less.  The one downside for me was the French psych-punk type music that was played (la Femme, Lockhart, etc.).  It was mostly in the background and my wife didn't mind it.  But it isn't what I think of as beach music.  We really enjoyed our day.

1 hour ago, swflcruisers said:

We purchased FTTF for our upcoming May 19th Horizon cruise and I don't see any designation on our boarding passes. Am I missing something?

The FTTF logo was in the upper left corner of our boarding passes when we cruised a week ago.  It was also on our luggage tags.

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Correct, it runs on Miami time.  

That's what I thought, and was my prior experience.  But for our upcoming cruise it didn't open till midnight at the departure port.  Maybe Carnival has changed their ways.

We had the same issue early this month trying to check in for our cruise out of Galveston.  Everyone on out roll call had the same problem.  We all tried to check in at midnight Eastern Time and were getting the “Undefined Days Till Sailing” message.  😭  We continued trying on a PC and phone every few minutes.  It started to work shortly after midnight – departure-port time.  Seems like check in was always at midnight Eastern Time in the past.  Oh, well.  We got a 10:30-11:00 arrival time. 🙂

We received this notice regarding our upcoming Carnival Jubilee cruise.  I thought it might be of interest to you.  It seems like it was sent to everyone since we don't use a scooter.  The letter gives the number for their Guest Access team.

Sincerely, Colleen Oliverio VP, Guest Services - Contact Centers

19 minutes ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

When does FTTF appear in excursions for purchase these days?  Our cruise is April 2025 on Liberty out of NOLA.  Thx

I think they wait to see how many Diamond/Platinum folks they have on the cruise.  I saw it become available for my upcoming Carnival Jubilee cruise about a month before we sail.

6 hours ago, dctravel said:

3. On the second sea day evening, we ended up in the Pig & Anchor (see a theme developing here) to see the Backyard Band. They are really quite good and play a mix of rock and roll and pop music.

I’m enjoying your review, dctravel.  Was there any dancing in the Pig & Anchor while the Backyard Band was playing?  It’s hard to tell from the deck plans if there is a dance floor.  Thanks,
Tim

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

Absolutely correct. And the offerings inside Texas waters are somewhat limited. Carnival has made the decision not to deal w/ Cheers because of the legal requirements. Don't like it? Your problem, not their's.

Yep, they are limited.  But, I’ve never been disappointed with the bar selections during the time the ship is in Texas waters.  They always have a beer I like and the spirits they have for the cocktails I like seem just fine for the few hours through sail away.  🍹

1 minute ago, StephPS79 said:

 

Considering Royal Caribbean's drink package price is usually anywhere from $70 (on a good day) to $100 per day (who can say, because they use that super annoying dynamic pricing), I think it's easy to figure out how they do it.

We cruise on Viking Ocean some and LOVE their drink package prices.  Carnival prices make me cringe.  $70 - $100 would make me weep. 😭

9 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

 Belive me it is a PITA for Royal to do in Galveston, bar shut down for 10-15 minutes in some cases to change out bottle with Texas Tax Stamps.

 

It is interesting I was on a Royal ship on their last 2 Galveston sailing before heading with no passengers to Florida.  Next to the last sailing they ran out of some types of liquor, then On last sailing they just used up the rest of the Texas Tax Stamped liquor 

Carnival also shuts down their bars briefly once they leave Texas waters so they can put the taxed booze away and bring out the regular stock.

21 minutes ago, PlanoTim said:

We sail out of Galveston some and Cheers starting on day two isn’t a huge issue for us.  I guess Carnival could offer it on day one, but only after they got out of Texas waters (5pm-ish).  But that might be an issue for some passengers, thinking they were paying for a whole day of Cheers and only able to use it after leaving the state late in the afternoon.  In fact some folks might think Cheers available from the moment the boarded, but with a limited selection of alcohol sourced and taxed in Texas, would be a rip-off.  Maybe they just figured it was easier to just start on day 2.  But they should be up front with their reasoning, IMHO.  Either that or go ask Royal Caribbean how that do it. 😋

I’ve also wondered if Carnival gets complaints at other ports that offer Cheers on day 1.  They charge full price on day 1, right?  But if you have a 2:30 PM port-arrival time you may not get to use Cheers till 3:00 PM or so.  Cheers starts at 6:00 AM every other day of the cruise.  So you are paying for the entire day on day 1 and not getting to use it till mid-afternoon.