LHARTWICK

46 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

Says " very important for pool days" inside 

Love it - thank you!!

We were on this cruise with you, just down the hall in an aft balcony.  Loved the room and balcony but absolutely HATED the bed - worst we've ever had!!!  That was the biggest negative for us. The Azipod vibration was pretty bad in our cabin for several nights.  We almost always have an aft cabin, but have never noticed the vibration as much as we did on Jubilee. Something about this vibration was just horrible and made sleeping difficult. We were also surprised at how tiny the bathroom was.  I'm expecting CCL's next ship to have the toilet located INSIDE the shower stall - LOL!   Ship is beautiful and obviously still new and shiny! We still much prefer the smaller ships, but wouldn't hesitate to sail on Jubilee again either.  Love all the improvements to the cabin: more outlets, real hair dryer, fridge that gets cold, large TV, etc. Crew was wonderful!  We also loved Louis the CD - he's one of our favorites! The only new show we liked was Rio.  Others were just not good - walked out of one of them, as did many others.  Best shows were in Center Stage area - that area was a great improvement. Like you, we really appreciated how the comedy shows were spread out among different venues.  Also loved the added included in fare dining options.  Enjoying your review!😀

20 hours ago, pcvtmom said:

On the Pride, we just got the small tote bags.  We somehow missed out on the toiletries bags, but we have double of the fanny packs! 😃 The tote bag is a perfect size for sunscreen, book, sunglasses, and card.  I used mine both in port and on the Serenity deck, daily.

Would love to see a photo of the tote bags - sounds good!  But I'm always appreciative of anything they provide. 👍

We were on CCL Jubilee two weeks ago - worst bed we've ever had on a cruise.  I can't begin to tell you how firm it was.  Did my back no good at all.  I've recently been diagnosed with mild scoliosis and problems with my L5.  I think prmssk is correct in the assessment re: stress, food and movement while cruising. I've experienced the same results while cruising. T-2:  would love to know specifically which exercises you do.  Lower back issues are really horrible.  I'm currently going through chiropractic treatments, which are helping.  Trying to do everything I can to avoid surgery.  

14 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

@LHARTWICK, if you do book the cruise and have a stop in Victoria maybe look at other options than "The Butchart Gardens". While they are indeed lovely, they are a long way from the cruise port (as anyone who has been there will know). Also keep in mind the time of the year when this cruise happens, not really peak blossom time. I would suggest doing some research and look into some almost secret gems much closer to the port. Check out Government house, the grounds are nice, the gardens are tended by volunteers and it is free. Craigdarroch Castle is also a great place to spend some time. Maybe take a little harbour ferry, it's a great little boat ride around the inner harbour, and can save part of the long walk from the port into downtown. Anyone who chooses this cruise enjoy the experience and remember there is way more to Victoria than the Butchart Gardens, which is a 45 minute drive each way from the port.

Yes - we've visited the gardens before and would love to go back!  We haven't had another chance since every stop at Victoria since then has been just for a few hours in the evening. We've also done the other Victoria experiences you mentioned.  Victoria is so beautiful for sure!

Just found this cruise today - considering the October 2025 sailing date.  Lots to digest on this thread so I skimmed through it. Seems the consensus is 50/50 on it being a good cruise or not. Like that we'd be in Victoria all day - would give us a chance to see the gardens again. Assuming the stores and excursions would already be closed for the season in Ketchikan? We've done the AK cruise 5 times, but this one looks interesting and different from the others obviously. There's already a number of excursions listed for Prince Rupert. Nothing listed for Nanaimo? Sounds like the scenic cruising would be scenic for sure.  

We were on the Jubilee last week.  Thanks to Saint Greg, I saved some space in my luggage and used the provided hair dryer.  It's not full size, but it's not terrible either.  It worked just fine for me. Would love for all ships to at least have this size hair dryer in the cabins. (Wish the beds were as good - HORRIBLE!)  You'll love the Jubilee - HUGE but beautiful with some neat features.

Toiletry bags were given out on the Jubilee last week.  At first I thought they were the fanny packs because they looked very much like those when wrapped in the cellophane packaging.  We were going to go ahead and accept them and then find someone to give them to.  Then I noticed they were toiletry bags. Nice item IMO.👍

9 minutes ago, doghog said:

Received the same Email yesterday. Made reservations (time and restaurant) for DMW for our September 2025 when I booked the cruise. Reservations for all nights are still showing in the app. Called a spoke with OceanReady agent and was advised the reservations won't be cancelled. I'll keep a close eye on the reservations so no surprises. 

Thanks for this info. We sail in DEC 2024, and the app allows me to go ahead and reserve our dining times.  If they get cancelled and I have to start over, so be it.  Either way, I've never gone w/o food on a cruise!!! 🙂 

36 minutes ago, TPG40 said:

Just got off the Paradise this morning. Extremely easy. The staff had the process down. We were off the ship before 9am.

It definitely varies from ship to ship with CCL.  On the Dream last September it was super organized.  It just depends on the crew I guess. We've seen many a fight break out during debark over the years.

Just off of Jubilee - cabin 11515.  We only had the 2 chairs and a table, although there was plenty of room for 2 loungers in addition to the other chairs/table.  I only saw one balcony below us with the loungers.  Maybe they asked for them??  We really enjoyed this cabin, despite the VERY HARD bed and the SUPER SMALL bathroom.  Smallest bathroom we've had in 45 cruises. The aft cabins overlook the pool on deck 8, but it was still surprisingly quiet. No balcony light at night though.  We found that to be strange.

Just off of Jubilee April 13.  My HUB app alerted me on Sunday, day 2 of the cruise to choose a debark method/time.  I went ahead and selected an option, even though I had been told I would receive P/D debark information later in the week.  Other cruisers apparently didn't get the notice to choose a debark option until the last day of the cruise.  Not sure why.  Anyway, we received the P/D debark notice in our cabin on the last day, so we followed those instructions. Everything was fine until the ship was cleared and the P/D group was told we could leave.....all at one time!  No order, no instructions, just chaos.  Fortunately, everyone in the group played well with others and just did the best we could with it.  

On 3/29/2024 at 11:57 AM, mz-s said:

 

Some Fun Squads do a better job than others of herding the cats. I will say that generally, in Charleston they were very good at this because of the silent debarkation.

Spot on, mz-s!!!  We've found that it really varies from ship to ship.  We are Platinum and always use the self-assist option.  Depending on the ship, it's either a super smooth debark or a holy mess when they just say "okay, everyone can leave now" in the Platinum/Diamond waiting area.  Then it's a cluster - have seen several fights break out.  We were on the receiving end of one a couple of years ago on the Vista when all we were doing was trying to follow what a crew member told us to do.  Then Karen started yelling at us.  Thanks to all who have posted on this thread - very helpful!

1 hour ago, Noledad77 said:

I mean, it's a complimentary bus ride. Not like they're handing you a $20 bill and wishing you luck. I'd make the most of it. Sleep, text with friends, speak with other passengers who were just on the same cruise, compare stories and whatnot. It's an inconvenience, sure, but it's not the end of the world. And you'll have a story to tell for years to come.

Well said!  We drive 7+ hours to cruise out of Galveston and NOLA several times a year - could fly, but in total it would take us just as long, if not longer.  Would love for it to only be 4 hours.  And let's remember there are families who have presumably lost loved ones as a result of this bridge collapse.  Prayers for all involved.

We've been driving to/from Galveston for several years now.  There is always construction somewhere.  This is nothing new. But thanks for the links - always good to have!

Does Emeril's Bistro 717 serve dinner only or is it also available for lunch?  Making notes for my file - thanks!!

Thank you to the OP for taking the time a (much) effort to do this!  We sail in April, so it's nice to have all of this info easily accessible on one page. 🤩

From our experience, the altercation is just another day on CCL!  🤪

Prayers to the family of the deceased though.🙏

So has the priority debarkation for Platinum/Diamond been discontinued?  Wanted to clarify the process for that group, if it still remains.  

18 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I guess I didn’t post mail hold updates after these last two cruises. On Jubilee I had a near perfect mail hold. One piece of junk mail delivered while I was gone. The rest delivered when I got back. I selected the pick up my own mail option, but this is about as good as it gets.

 

For Spirit they didn’t hold anything.

 

Misery loves company!  🤪 For the past 3-4 cruises, our mail hold has been completely ignored.  Our neighbor has had the same experience.  I thought it was just our post office, but it sounds like it's everywhere.  I understand they are probably understaffed like everything else, but if they're not able to fulfill the requests, I wish they would just remove that service option from their website. That would help us plan to have someone pick it up for us.  I guess that's what I'll be doing going forward.  Thanks for your reviews, Greg!  Always helpful!

On 2/2/2024 at 4:02 PM, bar1068 said:

I use Fidelity and thats true, I did not enter any of my Fidelity user or account information, just the ownership statement without account numbers redacted. And received the stock benefit.

Same for me, even though we have EJ.  Trying to load my info using the EJ option didn't work, so I chose the Fidelity option and uploaded the photo of my stock statement info. Received the "verifying your stock ownership" screen.  Hopefully it will work.  Thanks to all on this thread!  Had no idea CCL had changed the method for submitting the shareholder OBC request.  Leave it to CCL to make us jump through even more hoops to do something.

16 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Thank you for this, SG!!  We sail in April.  Ours is one of the cancelled & rebooked cruises from December since the ship wasn't ready in time. Glad to see they finally placed the phone on the wall - frees up valuable desktop space.  Love that there are plenty of outlets/USB ports!!  And is that a REAL hair dryer???  If so, I've just gained some space in my suitcase!  😁

On 2/3/2024 at 10:35 PM, Saint Greg said:

Don’t think I’ve seen a stand-up comedian juggle before. He was good.

 

 

 

TD is one of our favorite CCL comedians!!  Anyone know how long he'll be on Jubilee?

23 hours ago, AtomicCruiser said:

I have done 27 Carnival cruises out of Galveston (yes, I am Diamond).  Embarkation is usually much better handled than debarkation.  I place this difference on Port staff versus ship staff.  Even on a Journeys cruise on the Dream in November (roughly 1200 Diamond and Platinum), embarkation was rather smooth.  However, we have experienced true nightmares regarding debarkation.  It is sad for me to say, but I think a very large part of this is rude and selfish passengers.  The crew gives plenty of instructions and makes plenty of announcements.  But many passengers just don't follow them. It becomes a "me first free for all."  I frequently see "non-priority" and able-bodied people blocking disabled people (wheelchairs) from getting on elevators. I was on the Vista in October.  As Diamond, I was to meet in the forward restaurant by 7:30am.  We left our cabin (Deck 7) at 6:45. Until we could make it to the lobby, it was past 7:30.  The elevators, stairwells, and hallways were packed with people that would not be called for maybe an hour or more.  The crew began debarking the Diamonds and Platinums.  We were stuck for another half hour.  I know new travelers whine that we get "privilege." But we earned and paid for that privilege.  This is something Carnival really needs to control.

This is EXACTLY ON POINT!  Our observation has been the same.  Well said!

We did the dolphin encounter and really enjoyed it!  The beach and water are both beautiful!  I really enjoyed the water because it's not very deep, so I could wade out quite a ways and it wasn't over my head.  Food was pretty good, and facilites were super clean, too. I can't speak to Coco or Castaway, but Half Moon Cay is beautiful!  The sand there is the softest, finest, most powdery, and whitest sand we've ever seen.  The water there is also unbelieveable!  IMHO, it's not fair to compare Blue Lagoon Island to HMC.  BL is a much smaller area than HMC. We've enjoyed both locations.  Only negative for us at BL was the boat ride to/from the island.  On the way there, we couldn't hear what the guy was saying over the speakers - way too loud and distorted.....and we were sitting right by a speaker.  On the way back, they played SUPER LOUD music - horrible.