Pellaz

<Casually hiding my comical misconception of the character "Effy Trinket" from the Hunger Games movies at the casino.* "May the odds be forever in your favor!" 😄 > ---- * and yes, I know it's spelled "Effie"

We've been waiting so long for the conclusion of this fascinating tale that in the meantime, half of the U.S. froze over. 😄 (Seriously, we want to know about the dog. Or "dawg" if you're from UGA territory. 🙂)

Yep. Sure, I'd swap Nassau for Bonaire in a heartbeat, but there's a huge difference in distance and time requirements. I'm glad we got to Bonaire on the Horizon last October, completing our tour of the ABC Islands. OP, the Bahamas is (are?) certainly worth a visit at least once and can often be done "on the cheap" since they are close to Florida ports (except Tampa). -- Grand Turk, which is technically part of Turks & Caicos (actually contains the capital "city") but is part of the Bahamas island chain, is one of my favorite ports anywhere. Very casual, vendors are not pushy, one of the nicest built-port areas anywhere with a big free pool and the beach is literally a few hundred feet from the dock. -- I'm mostly done with Nassau except that I haven't seen their new cruise port facility yet. I've heard the vendors are less pushy there than they were in the old facility and I hope to check it out at some point. -- I really love Half Moon Cay...but the skyrocketing price of cabanas there has soured me on it a bit. We've really enjoyed our cabanas there on 3 previous visits, but I doubt we'd ever get one there again. Carnival is investing $70 million to build a dock there....finally. Can't wait! -- Bimini was okay. Couldn't ask for a closer port to Miami. 😄 -- Haven't been to Freeport. I'm told I ain't missin' much. 😄 -- Haven't been to Princess Cay yet (part of Eleuthera Island). I'd like to check it out at least once. -- Hope to get to Celebration Key, Carnival's new-build port on Grand Bahama Island, in 2025. 🙂

Interesting. What were the complaints about Venezia's pool? Oasis would of course be a much more "wow" ship, but that level of wow comes at a price, as you've noted.

Concur. OP, I think if you inform the host that your son is special-needs, they'll accommodate you with an exception. They will likely bring a child's-size portion for him -- and after all, that's what you'd be paying for -- but if he's used to that from the MDR kids' menu, that should be fine.

It's been a while since I've sailed on a Conquest-class, but I've been on Liberty -- my first "big" ship cruise! -- Conquest twice, and Freedom. I wouldn't hesitate to book any of them again, although my friends and I had gravitated to longer cruises on newer ships. After being on some of the bigger ships lately (MG, Vista, Horizon), I think it would be nice to go to something smaller after our Celebration cruise next year. I like the fact that the older ships in the class have three pools -- pretty good for a relatively small ship by today's standards, and I like the sliding roof over the aft pool and hot tubs. I also like the "secret" decks forward -- on some ships you can stand above the bridge-wings, too! -- and the quasi-secret Ol' Fashioned BBQ place on Panorama Deck.

If MSC really wanted to, they could undercut every other cruise line out there. They are one of the world's biggest shipping firms and, with the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, their container shipping side stands to make even more profit.* Sometimes I'm surprised they haven't undercut everyone else already, especially since they have been breaking into new markets like the U.S. Not for the second entrée, but yes, there is a "nominal" $5 charge for a third entree. If MSC is charging for a second entrée...that's really sad. As I said above, MSC ain't hurtin'. ---- * the reasons are complicated; see "What Is Going On With Shipping?" on YouTube for more

Wait, I thought cabins were normally available by 1 pm? 😮 Yes, Carnival still does this (specifically for the first to arrive at the Red Frog Pub). I'm not sure if it's a free beer, or if it's a free alcoholic drink of any kind, though. Umm, perhaps I should have said "included" beer? 😄

Sorry, I thought I could safely assume that you'd know the meaning of my quote marks around the word, indicating that the author is fully aware that the word, when normally written, isn't totally applicable to reality. I apologize for my error.

Oh, it's arguably inane. But repeatedly belaboring the point when -- by your own words right up there ^^^^ -- "it's obvious to most clear-thinking folks" becomes inarguably tiresome. You can safely assume that most CruiseCritic users are smart enough to have made that incredibly difficult logical leap. Whew, same here. And "mystery meat" is an apt description -- it tasted like those nasty frozen, boxed hamburger patties you find in bunkers at the supermarket (I'm thinking specifically of "Flanders" brand). Seriously awful. Honesty compels me to add that since then, the WJ burgers on the Indy and the Freedom have been...serviceable. Nowhere near as bad. I HAVE been surprised at the paucity of "free" lunchtime dining venues on Freedom-class ships as compared to any of Carnival's Conquest-class (and larger) ships.

Oh, no, this is definitely NOT the case. On Liberty OTS, the burgers at the back of the Windjammer were TERRIBLE. I hadn't had a burger THAT bad since maybe college or high-school. Not only was it a hockey-puck, but it tasted like it was 50% "fillers and extenders"...or more. I'd take virtually any fast-food burger over that, any day and twice on Sunday. (More recently, the burgers in the WJ on the Indy and the Freedom were much improved...whew.) Johnny Rockets' DOES serve a decent burger (and onion rings, yumm), but as a general rule I don't pay food upcharges on cruises. As mentioned by others, Guy's Burgers, "free"/included on most (all?) Carnival ships, are the best I've had on a cruise. No, sorry, you can't. As you have repeatedly stated, they are not free. 😄

Brilliant. And what a great show...which is now almost 20 years old itself. 😮

Royal should have refunded the excursion cost immediately, as is standard for any "failed" excursions. They should also have offered free internet to affected guests who did not already have Wi-Fi, and a comp to those who did, to be able to contact family, handle lost items, etc. The wi-fi would cost them a negligible amount anyway. However, I'm not so sure Royal is liable for lost items on the excursion. If anything, the Blue Lagoon charter company CERTAINLY would be. They should have already contacted the victims about it. Good grief, their boat sank and it could be due to negligence. And of course, this is a situation where trip/cruise insurance would signify greatly.

Aquaventure was significantly busier when I was there around mid-November, with longer lines for the rides. I'm not sure if that was mostly Atlantis hotel guests or Comfort Suites guests or day-pass holders or cruise-excursion visitors. Seemed like Atlantis (the hotel) was fairly busy, though, and Comfort Suites told me they were at or near capacity. When I arrived for my 4-night stay, they were able to assign me a room and give me my card for Atlantis access, but my room wouldn't be ready for a couple of hours. I dropped my luggage off in the lobby and went over to Aquaventure in the meantime. 🙂 I'm curious to see if Baha Mar, the BIG new hotel property west of Nassau, will be offering any capacity to cruise visitors, or if day-passes are offered. They have what looks like a nice, brand-new waterpark that includes things that Aquaventure doesn't have, like a wave-pool.

Oh yes, with only two you are likely to be better off buying day-passes and taking a taxi or the water taxi over to Paradise Island. Which hotel? Atlantis? A 33% capacity there wouldn't surprise me -- it's a BIG property -- but I had thought they were doing better. Comfort Suites tends to be a bit more full.

I've spoken with cruisers who booked the cruise line excursion or purchased day-passes who had only three or so hours at Atlantis -- their ship arrived at Nassau early in the morning, Atlantis slides opened at 10 am, back on board was in the afternoon. You really have to know exactly where to go, what activities must be done in a certain order, hope the lines are short, etc. And hope that the weather cooperates. Although Aquaventure seldom closes, they will close for bad thunderstorms. Yep, that's why I booked CFAR travel insurance before my last trip to Atlantis and CSPI. Even $450 might not be too bad for four people if Atlantis day-passes are $200 each.

No, I wasn't on the Vista two weeks ago. My BtF tour was several years ago. The Captain added reflectively "Very tricky approach to Grand Turk with high winds -- and there is no port-pilot." Do you perchance go on Cruise To the Edge? I've been eyeing that one for a few years now. I very nearly went on the Prog Nation At Sea cruise years ago...and maybe I should have, since it became a once-and-done due to too-low cabin sales.

Even with the price increases, Carnival's specialty dining is still either less than, or on par with, the prices on the other mass-market lines...Chef's Table excluded.

Yep. Chipotle mayonnaise! 🙂 I mean, I appreciated the fact that Royal finally added SOMETHING new and "free" for lunch on the Freedom, but....yeah. It was nowhere near as good as ye ol' Blue Iguana.

I was about to post this, too. So many people have tried to game the system with "emotional support animals" (including snakes, pigs and, reportedly, a miniature horse 😮 ) that the airlines and cruise lines have had to adopt stricter policies. It's a darned shame, since trained service dogs are really amazing at what they do...and what they don't do.

Much depends on the time of the year (high season, low season) and the prices of the hotel room-night + per-person additional fees vs. the price of an Atlantis day-pass or a cruise-line excursion. It's also possible that either of the latter could be sold out. For that matter, the hotel was near capacity when I stayed there recently..... Comfort Suites Paradise Island charged $40 per-person as an additional fee when adding guests, when I last visited a month ago. (For reference, I paid about $1350 for 4 nights and roundtrip airfare from Atlanta via a certain "warm cable" booking site.) Coming up with a firm amount for the hotel room-charge is tricky, but I generally assume $200/night or so as their baseline charge. So, call it around $240 for two people, $280 for three, and $320 for four (which is the max per room). This can make it "iffy" for two people, but a real deal for 3 or 4. I just contacted the hotel directly and yes indeed, the "hack" still works. Room must be booked in advance (as late as the day before, but I'd book it sooner) and it is up to 4 people per room, at $40 per person extra. You'd get your printed guest cards at hotel check-in, then proceed over to the Royal Towers lobby (past the casino) and downstairs to the Aquaventure desk to get your wristbands. You'll need to show the cards at the security checkpoint past the casino and the Crystal Shops to gain access to the lobby. If you need any advice or "best practices" tips for navigating Atlantis and Aquaventure, tag me in a post on the appropriate CruiseCritic "port" board and ask; I was just there a month ago. Your time over at Atlantis will be limited and you definitely don't want to waste any of it trying to figure out how to ride certain rides, where to go, etc.

Gods, yes. I don't know what it is about Royal's beds (or maybe the bedding), but I almost always have trouble falling asleep. Maybe the mattress is too firm, as others have mentioned? I'd also love the option of getting firmer pillows instead of really soft fluffy ones; those tend to feel warmer to me. Absolutely! That's not just on Royal, but other lines too. It's maddening. So: "Umm, I've had good service from you, but this is the third time you've mentioned giving you a 10 on the post-cruise survey. For every reminder after tonight, my score drops by one point." I wasn't really sure what "shawarma" was...until I sailed on Carnival's Mardi Gras. Tried some from the shawarma station in the Lido...and loved it. I also discovered what "bulgogi beef" is, on the same ship (it was offered at one of their "Street Eats" kiosks.) I'd love to see more "free"/included dining options for lunch on the smaller ships...and by smaller I mean anything Freedom-class or smaller. After cruising on Carnival I was shocked at the paucity of included venues on the Indy and the Freedom -- although El Loco Fresh was a welcome addition on the latter. Still nowhere near as good as Blue Iguana Cantina, but I respect Royal's effort. Also, unless they've already adopted this fleet-wide, PLEASE issue sail-and-sign cards with a pre-punched hole for a lanyard. I hated having to wait in line at Guest Services just to get my lanyard punched.

Things unique to Carnival: -- having many of the crew remember you by name. From room-stewards to Havana Area deck crew to bartenders, it's always a nice feeling. I know other cruise line employees probably do this, but they consistently try on Carnival (and it's a focus for guest-facing crew training), and on my last few Royal cruises it has been nonexistent. -- Towel animals. These are also not technically unique to Carnival but I seldom get more than one or two on Royal, if at all. And of course the Towel Animal Invasion on the pool-deck one morning toward the end of the cruise. ❤️ -- "Sssssshowtime!" And also sometimes having crew members sing during dinner. One of the female crew singers in the MDR on the Mardi Gras was absolutely amazing. -- Mongolian Wok or JiJi's Asian for stir-fry on embark day. I make a beeline for those, on ships so equipped.

The same is true for Grand Turk. While missing the point is rare, it CAN happen due to high winds because the dredged approach (the "fairway"?) is quite narrow. The Captain told us during the Behind the Fun tour that the max sustained wind speed there to dock safely was 35 mph (I think; it might have been 35 knots), and on that cruise, we JUST barely made it. There were one to two-foot waves between the ship and the shore...which at Grand Turk is pretty startling...and every water excursion including my snuba trip was cancelled.

I believe this was clarified (on CruiseCritic's port board) to say "Same-day bookings no longer qualify." @jaredgold33 I'd suggest calling Comfort Suites directly and asking. No need for any hesitation or potential embarrassment; they likely get questions like this often and they're pretty nice folks.