Trin1103

 

Even with the crowds there is NO bad cruise in my book

 

89 days till sail date NCL Gem

Oh man - ain't THAT the truth!!! I am more just trying to feel out how normal our experience was so that future cruises will be successful!! :-):cool:

Have a fabulous time on the Gem!!

Portion sizes are fine. We’ve gotten used to super-sized portion in the States. You can always order several things.

 

Crowds depend on the time of year and makeup of the passengers. We sail West Coast on the same ships. Some cruises we’ve had with like you had and other cruises we never had to wait. To avoid any wait, choose early dining. Early dining starts as early as 5:45 and you’ll have no wait at all for a table.

 

 

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In retrospect, I think you are right about the portions. I was much less Americanized on our last cruise.....I need to get my head straightened.

So you recommend Early Dining and showing up at 5:15PM over just choosing Your Time Dining and showing up at 5:15PM? Is there a significant difference?? Because we showed for dinner at around 5:15PM - 5:30PM every night and the lines were already out of hand by then!

Trin

We recently got off the Carnival Freedom last Saturday as we had the social wifi package. On the first day at sea I noticed I was still receiving e-mail on my phone(I have my domain tied to a google apps account) so I decide to explore what other resources(that are not included in carnival official list of sites) I could use with it. Here is what I found(mostly google resources)

 

What worked:

1. Gmail - app on my phone allowing me to send a receive mail the entire cruise

2. Google voice- both using the android app and using the website. I was able to send and receive text messages and listen to voicemail, but voip calls didn’t work

3. News.google.com – using this website I was able to get my news fix the only drawback is I was limited to the summaries displayed on the page. Any time I click a link to view the full story(on a non-google site) I got the carnival page saying I needed to upgrade. Still I got much more news than from CNN using stateroom tv (trump and guns where the only two topics covered when I did have it on)

4. Google hangouts – I wasn’t too surprised by this as I think it has been reported before. I could message other people, but again VOIP was a no go.

5. Google Drive – I was able to access the contents of my google drive and was even able to download a 300mb dive video from my last cruise.

6. Google photos – Not only was I able to access my library of millions of photos, I was able to access and view videos I had on there as well.

7. Google Search – I could search just about anything, you just couldn’t access anything outside of google. I didn’t think about trying to use google cached pages until after I was off the ship, but I suspect that probably would have worked also.

 

Sort of worked:

1. Cruise Critic website – I was stunned it worked at all, it was not formatted correctly(probably due to blocked elements), but it did pull it up. It was painful to read, and I only tried it once.

2. YouTube – I could view the entire website and search for videos, but every video I attempted to play failed to start.

 

What didn’t work:

1. Voip calls on Facebook messenger, google handouts, and google voice

2. Everything else I tried!

LOLOL - we were on the same exact cruise as you and noticed the same things! We only had the social WiFi plan and still received push notifications from GMail and Microsoft Outlook! Wasn't able to send/receive/read emails, though.

I will say that after the third or fourth day - the entire internet became unusable except for posting text-only.....and even that was amazingly slow. It took me 48 hrs to post three pictures to Facebook after that. :'):')

Did they have any decent steel-drum Caribbean bands playing on your cruise?

Also - were the MDR lines ridiculous by 5:15PM like they were on the Freedom last week?

So my dear husband and I just got off the Freedom two days ago - we sailed the 02/24/18 7-day itinerary to Cozumel, Belize and Isla Roatan for our 10-year anniversary. We have the most amazing time and getting back to real life is proving very, very hard....cruising is such a fantastic way of unplugging and removing yourself from everyday stress.

With all that said - it has been seven years since our last cruise, and I was wondering how typical our experience was on the Freedom. While the vast majority of our trip was utterly magical, some aspects of it caused me to wonder.

Seven years ago, we took our first cruise. It was on the Elation. We sailed out of New Orleans on a 5-day itinerary to Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico. We loved every minute of it and - even although we were 'just' staying on an oceanview room on Main Deck - really felt like VIPs with the treatment Carnival gave us. Everything was easy, the staff were amazingly friendly, dinnertime was quick and efficient, the shows were fabulous, etc. etc.

This time on the Freedom, things felt different. I would say that the #1 difference I saw was the massive hordes of people - literally EVERYWHERE. Lines for MDR, lines for the photo walls, lines for the bar, lines for drinks, lines for Lido buffet, lines for Pizza Pirate, lines for Guest Services, lines for shops and shows, lines for Seaday Brunch that extended out the door, into the elevator section and down the stairs.....you get the message. The most painful of those were the lines for the MDR. We picked Your Time Dining and were assigned to the first-floor in the Chic dining room. The dining room did not open until 5:45PM (on the dot - never a minute before), and by 5:20PM the lines for the MDR were *literally* spilling out of the MDR corridor, into the atrium, past the atrium bar, all along to Guest Services and beyond. On at least half of the nights I had to kick off my footwear and stand barefoot because my feet were killing me so much from waiting in line for ~30 minutes or more each night so that we could get to eat before 7PM (which we consider VERY late). One night, after getting back from a full-day shore excursion, we went to dinner at around 7PM - and actually had to be handed a buzzer to wait for an available table. Eventually, at around 7:35PM when we couldn't stand it any more, we just went and stood right at the Maitre'D's station and - through the confusion - were given a table anyways.

Additionally, only once in the entire cruise were we seated at the same table in the same area with the same waiter. Every other night it was somewhere and someone different. The waitstaff were incredibly hard-working, but also quite difficult to understand (and I am practically bi-lingual and a dual-citizen of two different countries). They seemed more intent on fooling around and enjoying jokes with you rather than accurately serving you.

On the second formal night, our entrees came out before our appetizers, and sat on a pedestal under their plastic covers for what I would consider an unacceptable amount of time (~20 mins) while our waiter rushed our appetizers out to us somewhat chaotically. When we finally did get our entrees, medium-rare and medium-well steaks were given to the wrong people. Throughout the course of the cruise, I ordered the warm chocolate melting cake three times at dinner; once it was overcooked and there was no 'melting' aspect to it, the second time it was undercooked and more like warm chocolate soup, and the third time it was about right. Also, portions seemed desperately small for both appetizers and entrees. The prawn cocktail consisted of two pieces of lettuce leaves, some shaved carrot and three prawns. Entrees came with TINY amounts of the sides they were supposed to have - so if you didn't order extra sides you were pretty much left hungry.

The MDR in general on the Freedom seemed very chaotic and not at all accustomed to the number of diners that were normally present on a cruise. I know that when you have literally thousands of people to serve on any given night that things will get missed and mistakes will be made - but why am I left feeling this way after this cruise but not our Elation cruise seven years ago?

The shows and entertainment on the Freedom seemed a little lacking also. On our last cruise, we were frequently regaled by a truly fantastic Caribbean steel drum band who were almost always on Lido playing their hearts out. On the Freedom, Lido was simply taken over by dance music and a random slideshow on the big screen of scenes that looked like they were from places such as Arizona (?) and Alaska (?). I did find a steel drum player (can't really call him a band as it was just one guy) playing in the atrium one night - I got mildly excited when I saw him advertised on the Fun Times, but when we went to see him we discovered that all he was playing were covers of pop/rock/country songs. So that was a real bummer.

Speaking of country music - do people in Texas like it more than people in Louisiana? Because our entire cruise we could barely avoid various bands at various locations churning out various renditions of country music.....which we personally find vile and stomach-churning. There were literally ZERO outlets that offered Caribbean-inspired music or what I would consider ethnic/traditional music relating to our ports of call.

There were the other signs of cut-backs that some have mentioned (Lido buffet is pretty basic, nothing special, and the lack of little goodies/thin mints etc. on your pillow at night, the room steward doing the very minimum) but I guess in retrospect the main things that bothered me were the long lines for everything (literally had to wait in line for pizza at midnight.....almost not even worth it), and their attendant affect on the MDR situation. We did learn during our cruise that the Posh MDR was much, MUCH closer to the galley than the Chic MDR.........so I guess if we cruise again on a ship this size we should ask our travel agent/Personal Vacation Planner what stateroom and what dining time selection we should make in order to be assigned to the MDR closest to the galley, perhaps? Seems a bit ridiculous, but......

So what do y'all think? Was my experience on the Freedom last week a very standard experience that I will simply get flamed for? Or do some of my issues take you by surprise also? Is it simply a symptom of sailing on a ship much larger than the Elation, and much newer (hence more crammed cabins, less airy public spaces) than the Elation? If so, I think I will endeavor to sail Fantasy-class again in future. At least there's one stationed in Mobile, AL.....which is equidistant to Galveston AND New Orleans from where we live. I am just taken aback by the huge differences I noticed even with the same cruise line. Suppose if we could afford it, something like Cunard or Princess or RSS might suit us best.

Mind you........seven years. I WAS in my late-20s/early 30s and now I'm in my late-30s. Crankiness, maybe?

Apologetically yours,

Trin

Today seems a little better from what I see on the port's webcam....here's hoping things smooth out down there before we get there for our Saturday embarkation!!!

Some have been posting here on the RCI subforum that the past day or two in Galveston has been a complete hot mess for em/debarkation due to fog. The port was chaos as well.

We are supposed to embark out of Galveston this Saturday.....crossing fingers for a better time than those there currently!

We are going to be heading to Cozumel this January on Carnival. Carnival offers 3 shore excursions to Tulum and we are trying to decide which one to take. I was wondering if has taken them and what their opinions are. The 3 excursions are:

Ancient City Of Tulum

Tulum Temples and Mayan Village with Lunch

VIP Exclusive Tulum and Cenote Swim with Mayan Lunch

All of them EXCEPT "Ancient City of Tulum" will give you less time at the ruins. So first of all, you have to ask yourself WHY you are taking the excursion. Are you going for the hardcore love of seeing the ancient ruins and Mayan site and amazing coastline? Or are you just doing it for "something cool to do"? If it is the former, pick ONLY "Ancient City of Tulum" - if it's the latter reason, feel free to book either of the other two which throw in lunch and cenotes etc., at the expense of time at the actual ruins site.

Trin

I......don't believe that Mahogany Bay has that sort of service. It's basically just one big Carnival dock.

Try Coxen Hole - and MAYBE West Bay/West End.

So I've been looking up information about Carnival's Wedding Vow Renewal ceremonies that they offer. I found this page that stated the standard package Carnival offered was $450 - which was kiiiiiinda within reason......but then I visited Carnival's own page here and it states that the standard package begins at $850!!

Does anybody have any insider information on these ceremonies? Am I grasping at straws hoping that the $450 price still applies?

Don't know if you are familiar with Belize, but in order to get to any beach you will have to take a separate excursion or trip out to one of the barrier islands away from Belize City etc.

If you don't want to pay the $$$ for one of your cruise company's excursions, look into Coral Breeze Tours. They operate right out of the tourism village in Belize City that you tender to, and offer just boat trips to and from the Cayes.

Trin

Just thought others on here might like to know that Carnival have added a new excursion to their Roatan lineup:

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/mahogany-bay/boss-underwater-adventure-518092

Have been reading lately about the above port not being to safe. We are stopping here with NCL GETAWY and was looking for some advice. Are we better taking a tour with the ship or going independent. There will be 8 of us. If there is any good independent tours that would come recommended from past cruisers

One word my friend - Victor Bodden! :cool: We are booked with them for our cruise next year!!

I'm not gonna lie.......this was one of the reasons we were less-then-hot for the Triumph when we were shopping for our upcoming anniversary cruise in Feb 2018. We ended up opting for the Freedom out of Galveston. The larger ships like the Breeze/Dream etc. don't really appeal to us either because of the much larger volume of people.....and I've sort of always wanted to cruise on a Conquest-class ship......so we went for the Freedom.

When you get back you should let us all know how it was without an adult-only/child-free area.

Trin

I will still have fun.

Seriously - this. Nothing on the list would even make me think twice about anything. If anything - I do agree with another poster here in saying that some of the cutbacks are actually good if they allow Carnival to excel at other areas of service. Seriously who needs any bathroom toiletries? If you aren't bringing your own and don't have an organized packing list, you're doing it wrong.

Chocolates? Pffft. After returning from the MDR of an evening that's the LAST thing on my mind! :')

Trin

Can't even imagine conducting an evac like this in total darkness - the skill of those helicopter pilots is legendary. Heck - I can't even imagine WATCHING something like that taking place!

I was glad to hear at the end of it that the passenger who took ill was transferred to the hospital in stable condition.

At the risk of having another post deleted and cries of "troll" flung at me for no reason, I will just say that yes - you did indeed book one of the cabins that reside underneath the gym area. Jolly poor luck and I am sorry that you didn't see that on the deck maps. It is difficult to remember this, but the decks of these ships (in particular towards the top floors and near the bridge) are stacked diagonally behind each other the higher up you go. So - the depiction of the bow area on the gym deck will NOT be in the same location as the depiction of the bow area on the deck you booked your cabin on. The front two or three staterooms on the deck you stayed on will *probably* more than likely be pretty much under the gym/gym reception area.

A valuable lesson to all who look to book the cabins higher up on these ships. We're booked on Panorama deck on the Freedom next Feb and I did about two weeks of research on here/YouTube/elsewhere to make sure I knew what we were getting in to. I know that there is still the risk of more noise as opposed to - for instance - Empress deck - but my husband and I are too in love with the idea of being way high up and far forward to drop it. We'll take what we get I guess for the chance to be up there!

Peace.

Trin

So we are sailing on the Freedom Feb 24th - March 3rd next year. We had a hard time deciding what to do in Belize and Roatan.........and decided to book the esteemed Victor Bodden for our day in Roatan! :cool:

We just booked the Best of Roatan tour with them, already got the confirmation emails etc. Really, REALLY looking forward to be shown Roatan by the people who know it best.

I was just wondering if anyone out there has any stories they want to share of what you were able to do/accomplish on Roatan with Victor Bodden's company? I'd love to hear about it and any tips you might have!!

Trin

Does anyone know if there IS an excursion that matches the Carnival one? I'm curious if anyone has gotten the price match on a Lamanai excursion. Thanks for the responses.

HIGHLY unlikely.........Carnival structure their excursions so that nobody CAN take advantage of their price protection on these trips. I would suggest that if the price is an issue you look in to doing Lamanai with a third party because Carnival aren't going to budge on that price. It's mainly because of the speed boat trip up the river. Shame it costs too much because we are on the fence about doing it for that very reason.

The Giving Back with a Purpose doesn't show up now on the Carnival excursion website for Belize. Have they discontinued it?

I was able to get their website to show me the Belize excursions today, although it's still not acting right at all.

Anyways - as far as I can see, yeah - it looks like the Give Back With Purpose excursion has been struck from the list. Too bad, but I don't believe it was terribly popular so it will likely have fallen victim to how little revenue it brought in.

It's a real shame, too - because there is a distinct lack of worthwhile excursions in Belize and Carnival are in dire need of more variety. Nothing much looks unmissable to me right now. :(

The Giving Back with a Purpose doesn't show up now on the Carnival excursion website for Belize. Have they discontinued it?

Not too sure..........their entire website seems to be down right now.

The zoo is all rescue animals they can't go back into the wild

Thanks but that's not what I was asking. I was more asking about the general scenes in the zoo.

Not sure what your interests are, but we took a tour boat ride (CoralBreeze Tours) to Caye Caulker. There we rented a couple of golf carts and toured the little island. It was a blast. We like to have a few cocktails, eat local and check out the areas for potential week stays. We LOVED it here. So laid back, just simple, easy and fun. The golf carts worked great both on the dirt roads and the beach area where you parked for some of the bars and restaurants. Pulled over to buy some grilled conch from a guy on the side of the road! Phenomenal. Boat ride was a bout 45 minutes there, 30 minutes back. We spent about 3.5 hrs on the island. LOVED it.

Also - hey MrsFuzzMo. LOL.

The thing that y'all did in Belize sounds pretty darned fab. Skip over to Caye Caulker, drive around, chill, and go back to the ship. Did you feel safe as far as CoralBreeze's ability to get you back tot he cruise port on time?? Any other tips??

Trin

I highly recommend the zoo. And, if you decide on this excursion, go with a local instead of the cruise ship tour. Ask about getting in the cage with Junior. I can recommend a local if you are interested.

Hey there! Can you tell us anything more about the zoo/local knowledge? We are considering doing the zoo when in Belize next February......is it good? We don't want to go if the animals seem distressed/bored or are cooped up in tiny cages/cells.

Trin

IMHO.....all the ruin tours are worth the money. The tour guides are fun and informative, and the long bus rides seem short because of them. They give so much information and love sharing about their homeland.

We did Xunantunich and thought it was fabulous. We'll do Lamanai next time. I wouldn't hesitate to do either more than once.

 

If your DH is a photographer and hooked on Mayan ruins...the best one for photography is Uxmal ruins, from the port of Progreso Mexico. (You have to do a different cruise for that - either from Galveston or New Orleans 5-day). Chichen Itza (see it from same port) is great, and huge, but it is so crowded. We've done both....Uxmal is our favorite of ALL the mayan sites we've seen over the years.

 

robin

Thanks Robin for your input! Yeah......Uxmal has always been my ultimate dream. I've looked extensively at all Mayan ruin tours and the #1 for me to see would be Uxmal. But - not on this upcoming trip. We are doing Tulum out of Cozumel though so that'll be awesome.

So you did Xunantunich. How long did you have at the ruins do you remember? Carnival's itineraries to both Xunantunich and Lamanai sort of put us off because they include lunch stops etc. etc. Not interested in lunch........just the ruins. If we're only going to get 60 minutes at them, it might not be worth it.

Trin