put me on a ship

No question about it....Dream class!!

We're platinum, and the Playlist Productions are slightly better than the shows of old for the most part, but I don't think we will go to any of them again. Once was enough....they were bearable, and we didn't walk out.

We just got off an 11 day cruise on NCL Sun, and the shows, and entertainment in general BLEW away Carnival. We still love Carnival, but we have a second love now! (Basically, we don't cruise for the entertainment, but we do enjoy good entertainment!)

I've given up on the buffet desserts, and just go straight for the chocolate chip cookies!!

1) Dream 7 day

2) maybe 2-3 weeks out

3) 2 People

4) booked Lido deck balcony

5) upsell to ocean suite. I think maybe $300pp...didn't take it

1) Breeze 8 day

2) again, around 3 weeks out

3) 2 people

4) booked aft balcony, don't remember what deck

5) upsell to ocean suite, $500 total...took it this time! (that was also our platinum cruise, so decided to treat ourselves!)

Having just returned from our 3rd cruise in 4 yrs with Carnival don't cruisers dress up anymore on the formal nights. We travel long haul to go on the cruise and weight ( luggage) is now very restricted. Our last cruise around the Caribbean we felt very out of place on formal nights we bothered hardly anyone else did. Main dining room looked more like a beach day than a formal evening , many in shorts and flip flops. We are looking at another cruise next year and wonder if other cruisers have seen the same. Is it worth packing smart clothes anymore? Did go to their steakhouse but dress wear was just as in formal.

To answer your question, I think where the cruise goes, and for how long, has a lot to do with how people dress for elegant night. Caribbean cruises, regardless of length, tend to be somewhat less formal. For men, a button down shirt and dress pants seem to be the norm, and for women, cocktail dress, nice dress or skirt outfit, or dress pants, with nice top all work. We still see a few dress in a tux or evening dress, but that really is the exception! We do still see maybe half of the men in a suit.

When we went to Alaska, the majority of passengers went all out for formal night, but that was a few years ago, and that also was with Princess.

Actually it was 300 per cabin. We have 2 cabins. My dw lied to me so we could save 600 bucks . Im not sure how i feel about this

I'm sorry, but that gave me a GOOD laugh for the day!! (Of course, DW shouldn't have lied):eek:

Aesthetics. Why have all the fancy decorations throughout the ships. Why have any pictures or wall hangings? Why not have every room look exactly the same?

And I'll say it again...I set a beautiful table, and don't use a tablecloth. I have never had any complaints, but I've had many compliments. Bottom line though, it doesn't change how the food I serve tastes, and that is what is important to me.

I understand, though, some people prefer the tablecloth (different strokes and all that)....that is not what confuses me....what confuses me is the people that say they are done with Carnival because of no tablecloth. That just seems a little extreme.:)

And some of those fancy decorations could go away, and wouldn't bother me a bit!!!

Hi,

 

Will be on the Sun this week, and I have a few questions:

 

Sail Away party?

Breakfasts in main dining room or buffet only?

Lunch in main dining room or buffet only?

 

Thanks!

You must be sailing with us! Come join our roll call, not too late! We've got a great group!!:)

Kat

A nicely set table sets a mood. also will lack of tablecloth affect the noise level in the DR?

But you can have a nicely set table without a tablecloth....I do it all the time at home.:) Not sure how much it would affect the noise level, IMO I don't think it will make that much difference, but again, will wait until we cruise with the new setup to determine.

I really don't understand why tableclothes vs no tableclothes affects one's dining experience. To us, the quality of food, and the quality of service are the important things, and until we have cruised, experiencing the new MDR for ourselves, we will reserve our judgement.

Dream class....more contemporary feel overall!

Will NCL ever come back to Port Canaveral......I live so close and could jump on all the last minute deals.....I am partial to NCL, and would prefer to sail them.....but.....a lot of ships are coming now.....

 

I wish the Sun was still there.....I love its 10 and 11 day itineraries.....:(

I, for one, wish they would! We live in Melbourne, and love leaving out of Port Canaveral. We need more options!!! Right now, it's Royal, Disney, or Carnival. We're getting a little burned out on Carnival, Disney is WAY expensive, maybe we'll try Royal some day. Personally, we prefer the more laid back cruise lines like Carnival and NCL though (even though we haven't been on NCL yet, I KNOW we will like it!!)

700 sturderick – Indiana

701-704 osuknight, Orlando, FL

705 gavenalex, Cambridge, MN

706 emmaco

707 zdcatc12, San Antonio, TX

708-709 zonacruiser25, Phoenix, AZ area

710 davesgirl, Strasburg, VA

711 angie1818-Panama City, FL

712-713 cruise2062-Charleston, WV

714 Hooked On Cruising 4ever - Illinois

715 Indiaksue - Kansas

716 montana200024...CANADA

717 Jimw Port St. Lucie, FLorida

718 Czodda - New York, NY

719 awesome63

720 BeyondKen from Kissimmee

721 Jeffy294 Rocky Mount, VA

722 M of TM&K - Opp, Alabama

723 T of TM&K - Opp, Alabama

724 nrrice TX

725 Christmas TX

726 vegastigr (Beryl)

727 Shiloh25, Denver, CO

728----Missdebi and DH Ted Wilmington NC

729 Chris1455 Jacksonville, FL

730 Put Me On a Ship (and DH) Florida

Is this the entire evening's entertainment or is there a show after this?

When we did the 8 day on Breeze, Hasbro WAS the evening entertainment, twice! No show after...and this was on the nights we had no comedians, either. We ended up sitting in the Red Frog Pub, eating and drinking beer, listening to the guitar player there, who was very good!

We got $180 off! Thanks for the heads up!

Hmmmm, so what is great about the Dream? We loved the Magic

We love the Dream...been on her 3 times so far. We haven't been on Magic, but we were also on Breeze, and I think I prefer Dream over Breeze, and that has a lot to do with entertainment, and entertainment staff. Butch was our CD our first trip on Dream, and he, along with his staff, were amazing!! BUT, then Butch was also our CD on the Breeze, staff was definitely meh!! And Butch seemed a little off too, not sure why.

Dream does not have the ropes course (wouldn't do it anyway...scared of heights), does not have Guy's Burgers (yes, they are good, but I can get a good burger at home), does not have Red Frog Pub (great food, but again, I can get great food at home), the water play area is a little different, but still fun, the 2 big slides are the same, Dream does not have the Italian restaurant for dinner, but has a pasta bar that is open for lunch and is excellent!!

The first time we saw it, it was mildly entertaining. Now we don't go.

I would take a world cruise...wouldn't care what cruise line! And yes, I would still sail Carnival, but I probably would try some of the luxury cruiselines also. Heck, I might even buy a cabin on ResidenSea!

So, The Elation is about to get the SeaDay Brunch...before we board in January-for you who have sailed when a brunch is offered-some questions

1. Is the MDR technically not open for just breakfast on Sea Day Brunch Days?

2. Is lunch in the MDR a thing of the past too?

 

3 .On non sea days does the MDR do a normal breakfast-or are we now banished to the Lido for all meals but dinner?

On sea days, brunch is the only thing served in the MDR....port days, you can still get a regular breakfast in the MDR. I'm not sure about lunch, though.

The brunch menu is quite good, and does offer breakfast and lunch items.

8076 , same cabin , other side od the ship .. ;)

 

 

 

We're in 8076 in December!! Glad to see the balcony...it is larger than standard balconies!!:)

We've always had great service regardless of the room we're in (and we've been in all categories). Some stewards have been better than others, but still have no complaints.

Sonicbuffalo, at the beginning you said this was your best cruise ever...I'm curious, was it because of the cruise line, or the ports, or a combination of both??

Thank you for the tips. Is a charge for the food on the Sport Bar?

Besides wings, what other types of food does the Sports Bar offer?

Let me share my Cartagena emerald experience. My DH had purchased an emerald ring for me when we were dating. My 1 carat center emerald fell out of my ring while I was in the hot-tub of the NCL Sky. (DH wasn't with me on this trip to remind me to remove all my jewelry. We looked and looked, but it's somewhere at the bottom of the sea!) :(

 

Fast forward to our Sun cruise last February. Knowing I would be in Columbia, I brought the ring with me hoping we'd have time to shop for a replacement. We went on a Cartegena city tour with a very well known, 5 Star rated tour company. I will not name them, because the owner had nothing to do with what followed. I don't want them injured in any way. Our guide was not the owner. At the conclusion of the tour, I mentioned to our guide that I would like to look at emeralds. He walked me over to a shop 'he knew'. We looked and eventually found a nice match in a .85 carat emerald. Although it was smaller than the original, it fit the setting well. We bought the emerald, had it mounted and returned home.

 

Ten days after our cruise, I took the ring to an appraiser for the rider I'd need on my homeowner's insurance. To my shock, the center stone appraised over 3 times less than what I paid for it! :mad: I contacted the jewelry store under the assumption that the stone must have been mis-marked. Long story short, there was a lot of back and forth between me, the jewelry store, and my CC company which included me getting a second appraisal that matched the first one. I eventually received $1200 back, but still ended up overpaying for the stone by about a grand. The jewelry store never would provide proof of any kind to back up their asking price for the stone. I now believe the store is either a money-laundering business or just outright fraudulent in their marketing to their customers. The store is, however, an approved jewelery store with the cruiselines. :rolleyes:

 

My advice is to shop at a know, local store and skip the lure of Columbia emeralds. Both appraisers told me that purchasing the stone in Columbia, in person, added absolutely $0 to its value. If you are set on buying an emerald ring as a souvenir, I did see many very pretty emerald rings in the souvenir shopping area in the couple of hundred or less range. Better bet than the high-end rip-off stores.

Thank you! Sorry you had a bad deal, but this is the kind of info I'm looking for!

Weeeird! That's our room for the 12/11-12/22 cruise! Anything we need to know about the room? Is it near any loud multi purpose staff doors or anything? (We got stuck across the hall from one of these on a carnival ship and rarely got sleep bc the door was slamming shut allll night)

 

 

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Which is why we always pack ear plugs!:)