Momma1980

Funny you mention the "auxiliary generators" that Carnival promised to install. I don't believe the Sunshine got this, and I don't believe any of Carnival's ships received these. Carnival found that a much less expensive rerouting of the power cables from the forward engine room to outside the after engine room, would, in the case of an engine room fire like the Splendor or Triumph, that total power would not be lost, and so this was the permanent fix for the problem, much less costly than a new generator, and they are hoping that the concept of "additional auxiliary generator for essential hotel services" will quietly fade into history. I believe Sunshine was the first ship to have this cabling rerouted. The other reason the shipyard was extended was to repair/replace the fire suppression systems, that were found to be systemically flawed in most of the ships built at Fincantieri, and these flaws were never discovered despite onboard testing and maintenance, and annual inspection and testing by a third party fire equipment company. Necessary modifications? Yes. But I hardly think that what amounts to a "maritime recall" is worthy of being called a "significant improvement".

 

But, to each their own. Be happy with the Sunshine, and the "new" Triumph, just know that at their current age, the maintenance costs during drydocking (and they must drydock twice as often as newer ships) has increased greatly just for hull and piping repairs/renewals, and so either fares will rise for an older ship, or costs will be shaved elsewhere.

Hello! Thank you again for all of the insight you provide. I read your posts as if they were gospel. ( I think engineers make the modern world go 'round. )

I get the impression that you don't approve of these re-makes of older ships. Is that the case? I am almost nervous about boarding Sunshine again if you don't feel she is safe.

The way I look at it is that Carnival is the one footing the bill for the refurb. of their older boats and for the build of newer boats. Therefore they have the choice to do them as they see fit. I'm sure the details are based on the ship being profitable and enjoyable by the majority of cruisers. They also take into consideration the competition and how they might be able to attract cruisers from other lines.

There are too many cruise lines and ships out there, to sit and beat one cruise line to death over one ship's attributes or lack there of.

My two main goals in cruising is to be taken to new or favorite locations, while enjoying being out on the open ocean. All the rest is icing on the cake. Most of the shows are pretty lackluster...very few "wow" moments. If I want a vacation without children, then I will go to an adult resort.

A cruise will never be 100% what you "want". But for the cost and value, it is obviously very appealing to a lot of people. Choose the cruise line and ship carefully for what matters to you and it should be very rewarding.

Happy cruising everyone.

👍🏼👍🏼

I had to comment ; if only to say that I could not agree more with your post.

Small thing I like to do is to pack a few clothespins. We lay our wet swimsuits/ damp cover-ups over the back of the chairs and pin them in place. They dry MUCH faster there with the moving air and sunshine than over the clothesline in the cabin shower. Without the clothespins, I have had the wind knock our things to lay in a heap on the ground.

My wife and I are not new to cruising. We have 11 cruises under our belts, mostly with Carnival, with 12 and 13 coming up for 2018 and 2019. I have had a bone to pick with Carnival that has not really been resolved. My wife is diabetic and I am pre-diabetic. We watch our sugar and carb intake very closely. So, after a good meal, we usually like to have a good dessert. Who doesn't? The problem is, that when I look for anything that was made without sugar, or with a sugar substitute (like Splenda), I find little - and sometimes NONE - to be had. I have send Emails to Carnival about this, but see that nothing has changed for the better. It is estimated that 10+% of the population is diabetic. So, it could be safe to assume that maybe 10+% of the passengers on any Carnival ship would be diabetic. On a ship of 3,600 passengers, we're talking 360 passengers. 360 passengers who go without dessert. The funny thing is that the sugar free or sugar substitute desserts taste just as good as desserts made with sugar, so why not make more of them? Sure wish that they'd consider everybody on board. To top that off, my wife is the one in 1,500 who is allergic to garlic. But - that's another story.

I feel for you. Diabetes is a tough disease that affects every aspect of one's life.

I must say that it is incorrect to state that desserts made with artificial sweeteners taste just as good. I would rather skip dessert than have one artificially sweetened.

Maybe the taste difference prevents the cruise line from eliminating some of it's sugar sweetened offerings to provide more options for 10% of the guests.

Thank you so much for posting. Will be on this same cruise soon! :)

Congratulations!

I can only echo what others have said. Beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes. Wish you many years of happiness together.

Would you share a couple of the still photos the photographer created for you?

Thanks for sharing your story. :)

My family and I were on this cruise with you. I am looking forward to the rest of your review so that I can relive the cruise through someone else's eyes. I am sad that I missed Tandoor Indian food. Maybe next time. ;)

Cabana is a luxury; not a necessity. We enjoyed HMC both with and without.

PROS: A shaded area with table and chairs, shower, misting fan,some snacks and nonalcoholic beverages included, float mats included, lounge chairs.

CON: extra expense

When we were on the Sunshine the magnetic hooks I brought did NOT stick to the walls.

Thank you for posting. Enjoying your review:)

Perhaps CC should set up a section for all threads that fit the category "Here's why and how I'm going to break a rule; please pat me on the back for my ingenuity and ability to rationalize, please don't break any rules yourselves that might negatively impact me, and please don't respond if you don't agree with me."

 

The pattern is amazingly consistent and all such threads could be grouped together and easy to find when someone just wants to browse the site for the sake of being entertained.

 

Maybe CC could conduct a poll to see what to name the section. Some ideas might include:

 

*Entitled Cruisers

*It's My Vacation

*My Kids Aren't Your Typical ___ Year Old Kids

*I Paid My Money and Expect the Cruise Line to Abide by It's Obligations But Everything Else is Merely a Suggestion.

 

Other ideas are welcome.

Oh my dear! Oh my! ( I say this because OMG is so overrated).

I related to this as an offended person and as a guilty party😅

I laughed (out loud) at your post. 👍🏼

One thing I have learned from this thread... there are people out there that will say anything and argue everything. It's been fun to follow along 😉

I'll say it again louder for those in the back :p

I think it is pretty easy to see say 16 and 18 would enjoy similar entertainment. Probably not that way with say a 16 yr old and 6 yr old.

And even more odd for a 40 year old wanting to partake in elementary age children entertainment.

Lol! You do make a good argument.... but I am going to reply from the back. Hope you can hear me😉

I feel like people are rationalizing their choice to slip their older (but still technically underage) children into activities that are specifically geared toward adults. I am no saint. I have done it myself and regretted it.

The time I chose to take my older teen into an adult venue was a selfish mistake. I wanted her with me.

There is no good reason to expose kids to more than they are 'rated for'!

When we first started cruising, room steward service was different, beds were tucked up during the day. More recently, even with twice daily service, our family has never had the 'extra' beds put away or the couch turned back into a couch once it was made into a bed.

This is OK with us, as we like to nap during the day at times and enjoy having our beds ready for it!

I feel that the room stewards need to operate more efficiently now as they have more cabins to service in less time. I do believe that the staff will try to accommodate you if you ask for certain preferences.

 

I don't complain that I don't get to make sand art or color t-shirts in camp even though I pay the same price. Because that's for kids. Leave the adults to have their thing as per the cruise ticket contract that has been previously posted.

 

 

 

Can you imagine how irate parents would be if they discovered their young child was sharing a playtime with a random adult on the ship who decided that they were going to try the kid's club? Beyond creepy. It would NEVER happen. But somehow, we 'allow' the young ones to experience the adult experience more readily. I don't know why this is.

Seven cruises, seven ships. We've won more, but after getting the first one on each cruise, we just don't claim the prize if we win at trivia. In my opinion, if we won and just gave the trophy to the runner-up, it wouldn't mean as much to them. If we just don't mention having the winning score, then the second place winner can feel like the winner!

What a great response! That is true sportsmanship. Allowing someone else to 'win' vs. claiming the prize and then just giving it away because 'it's not worth' having. :) Kudos!

There are 3 Ships in my house, 2 from trivia as a mother/daughters team. The other from a Pictionary challenge that my youngest daughter and I just dominated! I'm proud of that one. Lol!;p

Great review so far! I am following along and anticipating a cruise on the epic next year.

Cozumel Bar Hop...

Tour the 'other' side of the island.

Check out their website.

Following along happily!

Thank you for taking the time to post.

Google this--- PDF ada deck plan carnival magic

You will get a deck plan that marks cabins by color.

Fully accessible cabins are shown. Not very many of them; but they are clearly marked on this deck plan.

Hope this doesn't come across as sounding self centered (well not too much :o). We have enjoyed other vacations like Nascar races' date=' following the Cubs, amusement parks, etc. So, when we started cruising in 2000, the one thing that I really enjoyed was that when we were on a cruise -we could be as busy or laid back as we wanted and that we were being "pampered". It just seemed like the staff was happier, the room stewards were always greeting us in the hallway, you had to tell multiple drink staff "no thank-you" instead of searching them out, the fussy re-arranging of silverware between courses, having free champagne one evening in the MDR, free cappuccino in the MDR every night, seemed like a lot more parties with free drinks. I think that to keep the prices more affordable, there have been too many cuts. I feel like I have to apologize whenever I make a request from my room steward or dining staff. I liked it better when there was more staff so you didn't feel guilty making simple requests.

 

I would try another cruise line first but - I would stop cruising altogether if I continue to feel like instead of being "pampered" on my vacation - I am made to feel like I am a burden to the cruise staff.[/quote']

 

 

This post resonates with me. I also enjoy cruising because I don't have to deal with making hotel reservations or dining plans for each night of my vacation. I can just relax and enjoy.

Thank you for two more actual 'laugh out loud's!

I can read your review... say LOL... and mean it!

You are supreme entertainment 😜

I tipped $1 per drink last cruise with cheers ( even on soda) and feel like I got no recognition at all or any preferential treatment at all... it was really odd. We would still have to flag down waiters on the deck- you would think if they knew they'd get extra tips they'd go to those people first lol- at least I did when I bartended many years ago!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

This was my experience as well.

Per the Carnival website, these are the drinks included with Bottomless Bubbles:

• Soft drinks: Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Caffeine Free Coke, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Orange Fanta, Mr. Pibb, Barqs Root Beer, Tonic Water, Club Soda, Ginger Ale
  
• Juices: Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Tomato Juice, Pineapple Juice, Grapefruit Juice
  

https://www.carnival.com/FunShops/item/10B/bottomless-bubbles

Good to know... I stand corrected!