Pellaz

We enjoyed our cruise on the Vista, but we were already prepared for some of the negative aspects (atrium, theater, etc.) We were very pleased with the dining options and we liked all the outdoor space -- the lanai deck and its seating were great to get away from the crowds. I would say that the ship benefits from good weather and really suffers from bad weather, which limited our enjoyment the last part of the cruise. We DID happily cruise on the Horizon last year (same class) and we will again do so this October, although the Havana area really "made" it for us last year. Alas, no Havana cabins available for us this fall. 😞

After seeing the inflated prices for excursions on my last Royal cruise (in February), and also the higher onboard prices for drink packages and specialty dining, you could well be right. That cabana price tag might not seem too outlandish if they're used to, say, a one-stop snorkeling excursion being priced at $129. On Carnival, that has been the price charged for, say, snuba. Then, too, there's been a fair amount of griping over on the Royal board about their cabana price increases at CocoCay.

Umm, no. Not really. a) the price of eggs has come down a good bit from its earlier high b) the supply of eggs has increased and the price has decreased accordingly. There is no variance in the supply of cabanas, villas or the Private Oasis. The only variable here is the price charged...and the resulting willingness or unwilingness of passengers to book or not. As has been observed, it will be interesting to see how this game of price-chicken plays out for Carnival...and us.

I'm not quite so lucky, so I booked a hotel room in NW Arkansas (surprisingly available and relatively cheap) and I'll drive up there from Georgia for it. For the last total eclipse, I was able to watch it from my friend's front lawn in E. Tennessee. The center of the path of totality (the "circle") just happened to pass within 5 miles of his house. 🙂

The cabanas at HMC have consistently been one of Carnival's most highly reviewed and popular excursions...at least, at those prior, lower price-points. I've booked a cabana there for every visit (6 attempts, 3 times successful) and always thought they were great. Included: water float-pads, snorkeling gear, A/C, snacks, sodas (as per your requested flavors), bottled water, those nice padded loungers, the misting fan, your own shower.... And I don't think I ever paid over $350 for one. (Don't ask about booking the Private Oasis at $1,500. We didn't get to the island on that trip. 😮 ) I'd happily pay $300 or $350 for a cabana to this day. I'd wince and pay $400 or $450 for a group of us. But $699? Sorry, nope! --And if enough other people feel the same, Carnival will see the lack of demand and start lowering the price again. It's what any competent business owner would do. As has been observed, cabanas are a luxury, not a necessity. Both parties are aware of the price, the cabana perks, the limited availability, etc. and this is not a forced sale; it is mutually agreed. If the "fair market value" is no longer perceived as being worth the elevated price, then people can and should walk away.

Not by the engines, but possibly by the ship's incinerator.

Sounds familiar; we had the same situation. I think we were returning from Cozumel to Florida, north of Cuba. lol, we had a similar situation to that also, again north of Cuba, last October. At first it appeared that the occupants of the overloaded boat were in distress and asking for assistance, but then -- according to our CD -- they declined and motored away. If they had been brought on board, they'd have been returned to their home country by U.S. authorities, but if they can make it to U.S. soil then they can stay, under the "wet foot; dry foot" protocol. There WAS some good-natured grumbling onboard, too, since we were delayed for what turned out to be no good reason. As for the "lies" and clickbait and deception from news outlets, all I'll say is that they are ALL guilty of that. Some more than others, and for much longer periods of time.

Hmm, if we experienced a "downsized quality" menu at Cucina on the Mardi Gras -- and we loved it, including my Italian cruise-friend -- then I can only imagine how awesome a "regular," for-pay menu at the Cucina would be. Huh, we've had just a couple of lousy service teams with YTD; otherwise they've ranged from good to excellent...and on our October cruise on Horizon, one team was so good we requested them for the last 3 nights...and tipped appropriately and generously. Well, Carnival certainly considers them that way. Under "Dining," all YTD passengers' ship cards even list "Flamingo, Chibang!, Cucina" as your three available dining rooms. Note that the assigned MDR for YTD can vary based on requests and capacity. For the sailing before ours on Mardi Gras, they were using the other dining room for YTD.

Soot from the ship's funnel can occur on any outside exposed surface; it all depends on which direction the apparent wind across the deck is blowing for the duration of your cruise. We've had several aft balconies on cruises and had no problem with soot at all...whereas on our Horizon cruise last year, we had some soot on our Havana "cabana" patio which was not directly aft at all.

So very true, especially on embark day! Also, if Lido is crowded with no tables available (and that happens often on embark day), the Ol' Fashioned BBQ upstairs is a great backup seating area since it isn't normally crowded on embark.

And it's especially overlooked for breakfast. I've gone to get a breakfast burrito at Blue Iguana, sat down, and was about finished devouring it by the time my friends had joined me after waiting in line for the buffet.

The Upper, Empress and Panorama decks have a "Secret" area forward where you can go and watch sailaway, etc. It is usually pretty empty and a great way to escape the crowds if needed. It CAN be quite windy while the ship is in motion and occasionally the doors leading out to the secret decks will be locked due to winds. (You can see them at the end of the stateroom corridors on those decks.) Since the area is kept dark at night so the bridge personnel can see forward, you can also get a great view of the sky if it's clear.

Yes, Serenity is free. It's a nice area and the salad bar (Fresh Creations) is really good. It will normally be pretty windy while sailing, though. Adults only allowed (I think it is age 16+). After sailing on Mardi Gras, I nicknamed the overnight hours after 10 pm "The Dark Times." Even the Deli closed at 10 pm and on every other ship in the fleet it closes at 11. And there was always a Late Night Snacks or Pizza Pirate "Plus" option...... But not on Mardi Gras and sadly, not on Celebration either.

Carnival Sunrise in February 2022, last night of the cruise, heading up to bed, and I put $10 in the "Cash Vault" machine. Fourth attempt to fit the "S"-looking thing through the narrow aperture...and it went through. I thought I was in trouble, but the cube o'cash dropped down to the bottom and I fished it out as if it was a can of Coke. $2,500. Luckily I took it to the casino cage instead of up to my room, because the cube only contains $1,000; a cube containing $2.5k wouldn't fit in the machine. My cruise fare started at $35, and even after upgrading to a balcony and traveling solo, that win paid for the cruise including hotel and airfare about three times over. 😄

You can get more than one appetizer, but only one entrée. This is consistent with ground-side steak restaurants.

Now THAT's a good map.

I was hoping that had changed since we cruised two Octobers ago, but alas, apparently not. So, on embark day, neither the Cucina or Chibang! are open for lunch, still. 😞 Guy's Pig & Anchor lunch BBQ, buffet-style, IS open for lunch on the lanai deck outside Pig & Anchor. Other free lunch options "away" from the embark-day madness of the Lido buffet, per https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252 : Blue Iguana Cantina Guy's Burger Joint (located one deck up from Lido) Piazza Panini Pizzeria del Capitano Shaq's Big Chicken JavaBlue Cafe (I think they have grab-n-go sandwiches...?) Fresh Creations (but it's within Serenity)

Awesome! One big reason why I've gotten FTTF in the past was to get to ShoreEx ASAP to get a decent cabana location. On one occasion I literally made it within seconds: when I got to the desk only Cabana #9 was left out of those three...and the person behind me in line, who had gotten there about 20 seconds after me, told me she would have taken it. 🙂 (We were both members of the cruise's Roll Call, and we laughed about it. She got #8.) What an odd map! It must be extremely old, since it doesn't show the Pirate Ship Bar, the Grand Cabana ("Private Oasis") or any of the two-story villas. It also shows only ten cabanas and there are 15 or 16 of 'em.

When you board, go IMMEDIATELY to Shore Excursions to request your cabana location, since it is first-come, first-served. I'm fond of #9, 10 or 11 since they are far enough away from the Pirate Ship Bar to avoid the hullabaloo, but not completely remote and wayy out. AND, there's a set of restrooms right there as well.

I'm pretty sure you can order more than one appetizer and more than one side, but only one entrée. And that's fine; I'd expect the same policy at any landside steakhouse. I looked at that menu and thought "hmm, I can limit myself to two appetizers if I forfeit the stuffed mushrooms for a side order of sauteed mushrooms...but that would put me firmly in the realm of three (3) sides." 😮 🙂

I'm fairly sure the portside of Verandah Deck has the same comfy chairs but with 100% less smoking. Also, the aft Serenity area on the Fantasy-class ships, while small, has a nice benefit: it is almost completely OUT of the wind...the same strong winds that can be a major factor for Serenity when it's situated at the front. I loved the fact that the hot-tubs there* didn't officially close until midnight...and one night they kinda forgot and didn't close them until 2 am. 🙂 ----- * This was on Imagination (r.i.p.), but same class

Their "butter" burgers are pretty good, too! They're scarce in the ATL metro...but there are a few.

That's partly due to the fact that they realllly push people to go up to Lido Deck for lunch on embark day. We're happy it's therefore less crowded at Guy's BBQ... As well as at Jiji's Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano, which are also uncrowded on embark day. We make a beeline for them (2 out of the 3, usually) as soon as we board. In fairness, the vast majority of lunchtime dining is on the Lido Deck: Buffet, Guy's, Blue Iguana, pizza place, etc., so it makes sense to generally direct people there.

Supposedly McRib's most recent nationwide deployment was THE last time, and they're done with it. We'll see.... As for the Filet-o-Fish, it's available all year, although some stores might not have it on the menu (or have it up continuously) depending on the type of display they have. We were once told during a Behind the Fun tour that the crew galley has a 28-day rotation for menu entrees, as opposed to the 7- or 8-day rotation in the MDR. 😮 If so, that's pretty awesome for the crew, who have to contend with shipboard menu options 4 or 6 months at a time. Now THAT is a great idea. I might not like the crew choices (I've a feeling many of them would be spicier than I prefer 🙂 ), but it would be nifty to see what those choice are. I sailed on Freedom OTS in February and I was, umm, underwhelmed. I'm still not sure if they backpedaled the MDR dining quality because it was a charter cruise and most passengers aren't used to cruising and wouldn't notice it, or if it was normally as sub-par as it seemed to me. At least the Windjammer (buffet) was decent.

Huh, I'd swear I'd been linked to the actual USPH data page, from a thread on CruiseCritic in fact, showing the scores at that time. Oh, well. Memories fade.