crazy4themouse

We sailed on RC again in October for the first time in 7 or 8 years and while there was a lot we missed about Carnival, the breakfast buffet in Windjammer just blows Carnival away. It's not like bacon makes or breaks a cruise for us, but it was awful nice to see piles of bacon (good crispy bacon!) on the buffet every single morning.. plus 2 different types of waffles and 3 different pancakes every day -- not either or.

I hate that the cakes might be gone fleet-wide now as well, my husband and I always look forward to those.😞 I don't think Royal is just rolling in profits yet either, so why does Carnival keep cutting and cutting?

12 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

While I agree that RC's marketing can be over the top, *I* am amazed that people think that a sale/savings will apply to EVERY sailing on EVERY ship and EVERY excursion and EVERY beverage package and EVERY dining package.

Oh I definitely don't think that.. I've been doing this a while. I just think they need to calm down a bit with their enthusiasm over basically nothing. Do those "massive savings" only apply to one cruise on one date? Two cruises? There are a number of sailings we routinely follow for price drops just in case, and nothing has changed.

RC cracks me up sometimes... Just got an email from them titled, "*Amazing Offer Alert* Open to receive MASSIVE savings on your next getaway"

So okay, I'll bite. Go look up the same Harmony sailings for next year we were kinda toying around with -- Same exact fare they've been at for months, lol. 🙄 I think Royal and I differ on the definition of the word "massive." 😄

I'm happy to read these posts! This will be the first time we're spending our anniversary dining someplace other than the steakhouse, but we really wanted to try Rudi's. Sounds like we'll be happy with our choice!

I guess I'm an outlier (again) but mostly/all sea days AND $400 obc would have my husband and I absolutely over the moon. Win-win!! 😍

I've read that the Halloween stuff is only for those cruises that are actually on Halloween, is this correct? We sail on Voyager middle of next month and we're used to Carnival going all-out with decorations and themed drinks and whatnot for the entire month of October. My Halloween-loving husband was not happy when I told him I didn't think RC celebrated that way. 😞 So is that correct that it's just a 1-day thing, basically? 

If you are happy with DCL and can afford them, absolutely stay there! I love RC - and even Carnival as well - but nothing comes close in terms of service, food, and just general🤩than Disney. Maybe food is equaled by a line such as Virgin or Celebrity, I have no experience with those, but if price was no object (and if they sailed from Galveston for more than just a few weeks) you'd find me on Disney every cruise.

Unfortunately, they priced me waaayyyyy out of that being a possibility anymore... But at the rate the rest of the cruise lines are going, it looks like that gap is once again closing! I don't really take that as good news for those of us who are not independently wealthy. 😔

Unless something has changed since March, every day at the buffet on Vista they offered a no-sugar-added cake and they were usually pretty wonderful. The Raspberry Champagne cake is my absolute favorite, sugar or no sugar. And the no-sugar-added Chocolate Pot de Creme in the MDR is really good too. 🤷‍♀️

They must be fully staffed at Carnival these days... It used to take weeks if not longer to get a response back, but this time I sent my statement via email late morning today and had the OBC issued by the time lunch was over! 

WoooooHoo!! Another Wildra review! My weekend is looking up now! 😊

Love all the pics from Margaritaville. My aunt moved to that one a year ago, and is having the time of her life. You should see all the events and such that go on there -- Every day is seriously like a cruise ship on land. Hubs and I would move there in a heartbeat if we could, but I think either death or a lottery win will be our retirement. 😄

We'll be on Jubilee in March, so definitely looking forward to your review of an Excel class ship!

20 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Speaking of Bob “Paycheck “?  😂. I agree and it’s now hurting them with park attendance significantly down.  Pretty soon you break the camels back.  We love Disney World as well and have cut back with them due to the price hikes and new charges (Genie+ and $ILL)

That's the first thing I thought of when I read about this survey -- that it sounds an awful lot like Disney when it comes to WDW... "Why are we giving this stuff away when we could be charging for it??" 😞

It has made disembarkation so much easier and FASTER, it's almost disconcerting how quickly you go from beautiful ship to back in your car and sadly on your way home. 😅

Consider choosing one of the secured, guarded lots to park. You really, really don't want to leave your car just sitting in a hotel lot for a week in Galveston. I could leave my car in the parking garage at work for free while we cruise, and won't even do that. I love Galveston dearly, but crime is a real thing there and the criminals know where to look for cars.

18 hours ago, sunshower9 said:

I had FTTF in December 2022 and my check in was 14 days prior to embarkation.  I actually have never heard of FTTF being able to check in 16 days prior.  My luggage tags also didn't say Priority but they did have the FTTF logo, and my boarding zone just said "FTTF."  I can't speak about luggage since we carry on, but we did have priority boarding with FTTF.  Based on my experience, it sounds like what you're seeing is how it's supposed to be.

This was exactly how ours was in March, and every other sailing for years with FTTF. We have never been able to check in earlier than 14 days -- although that would be awesome! 

14 hours ago, willdra said:

Our next destination was Little Havana. We had an hour and 45 minutes there. We stopped at a restaurant where we got free samples of Cuban coffee. That Cuban coffee was everything that I didn't know I needed. I felt my whole life coming together after the first few sips. It was so good. I felt like I could solve all of the world’s problems and then walk home to GA after that one little cup. I see what the Cuban’s are so happy about.

 

 

 

 

 

Next time you're on another Vista-class ship, head to the Havana Bar in the morning and have some of their Cuban coffee! My fave is the Cortadito, espresso whisked up with a little sugar and milk. That teensy tiny little cup of jet fuel will absolutely rocket you through the rest of your day!! 😁

19 hours ago, willdra said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That water is just heart-breakingly gorgeous!! 🤩

10 hours ago, willdra said:

Ma’am. Are you sure this activity is what you want to be doing? Also did you take your heart meds cuz watching Quest could throw you into arrhythmia. Caution. Pearls will be clutched. 

I absolutely love this. That should be a t-shirt: "QUEST -- Pearls will be clutched." Sums it up perfectly in one phrase. 😄

12 hours ago, willdra said:

As soon as we emptied the packets into our cups, we realized we didn’t have spoons. I know I've said this before, but why are there still no spoons on the table at breakfast or brunch? I get why there are no spoons at dinner. Unless there is soup or ice cream, one most likely will not need a spoon. But during brunch I looked around at all of the occupied tables near us, and at least 1 person was drinking coffee at every table. Also when they bring coffee, why doesn’t it also equal “They’re gonna need a spoon”? There's a disconnect there, and I need to know why. Nevertheless, we sat there stirring our coffee with a knife, looking like we need to lean on the everlasting arms, while nobody batted an eye. Maybe that's the new normal.

This is why I love you, Willdra -- You ask the questions THAT NEED TO BE ASKED!!! 😄 Serious, why do they make me stare at my life-giving coffee longingly, but give me no spoon to stir it with?? 

Another vote for Native Choice! David and Ivan's knowledge of and passion for the Mayan culture is expansive and contagious. One of the best port days I've ever had. ❤️

2 hours ago, Despegue said:

We looked at Disney, but they close down most of the lounges and bars after 21:00h for -18’s, which we do not agree with, as our 3 year old loves to “party” till at lest 22:30 on holidays ( yes, we currently live in Spain where this is normal). 1 or 2nlounges fine, but making half of the ship off-limit on a Family vessel is simply ridiculous 

Being a "family vessel" or family-oriented cruise line does NOT mean kids-everywhere-all-the-time, THANK GOODNESS. And I say that as a mom. There are plenty of kid-friendly places on every ship I've been on where it's appropriate for kids to be. Bars are not among those. As grownups, we deserve (and need) spaces that are gloriously kid-free to escape to.

A new Willdra review! *straps herself in* I'm ready for the ride!! 😁 

And isn't Cookie just the BEST?? We just love him! 🥰

I wish they would go back and "un-amp" Voyager... 97 million dollars, and all they did was add the new water slides, dress up the kids' club, yank out Johnny Rockets so they could stuff in more staterooms, and somehow still not add the Coke Freestyle machines. No Playmakers, no Lime & Coconut, no El Loco Fresh, none of the cool stuff. But hey, the spa got new towels! Or something. 🙄

So many parents now seem to just wave their kids off at embarkation and tell them "See you in a week!" It's like they view a cruise ship as a "closed environment"... not like a mall or a theme park where the kids could wander off onto a freeway or something. And hey, they paid for their vacation and there are plenty of staff around to babysit their brats, so line 'em up, bartender! 🙄

13 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Anyway, my son was about 12 at that time and he was NOT pleased that we were getting tuxes for me and him. Not pleased at all. At that time, I believed in choices as a parent. I gave him a choice. Stay home with Grandma OR wear the tux (3 hours max), get pictures for mom, then change out and have fun. He reluctantly decided to wear a tux.

Fast forward, we got into our tuxes, had dinner, got our pictures taken. During this time frame, my son figured out that the girls were mighty impressed with a well dressed man. 

 

The following year, we were planning on another cruise. My son reminded me that we needed to get measured for our tuxes. 

I can so relate!! My son was the same way at the same age... Not thrilled at wearing a tux, but I thought it was important to teach him that all the world is not McDonald's, and that different settings require different dress, manners, etc. And where better than on our cruises to learn that? Still, I got the grumbles from him.

That changed when a couple of girls his age that were also in the teen group onboard with him told him he looked like James Bond and kept batting their eyes at him. He literally wanted to wear his tux to school after that. 😄

16 hours ago, jdkbrim said:

I remember there being questions before we sailed the Mardi Gras.  Here is what my husband’s CPAP machine looked like along with where he plugged in the extension cord. Only a USB port is next to the bed.

Very helpful to see a pic, thank you!!