johnboy036

Visiting in early August. Thoughts on HOHO bus, boat or both as way see city and get to sites we want to visit? We are there on a Sunday if that makes any difference on what is open or not.

Carnival went exclusive to Pepsi products in January 2020. That is all you will find on any of their ships sadly. My wife and I always each carry one a twelve pack of coke to enjoy on the ship. It’s easy peasy and you can restock in port if you needed.

I was on the Magic for the New Year’s cruise. They did have preset omelet menu out every day, but would make any combination that you asked. They also had mushrooms and spinach available each day too for omelets but ham was the only meat option. Not as bad as feared or “advertised”.

The Legend sails from Dover so make sure you go there and not Southampton.

I’m leaving on my 24th cruise tomorrow and have yet to visit the Bahamas. From the sounds of it, I’m not missing much. No plans to visit there any time soon.

With a regulated state lottery the house advantage is usually 50%. A cruise ship is unregulated so the advantage is unknown, but surely at least 50% and probably much higher. I shake my head a little when I see people playing them and wonder why they would play an unregulated instant lottery with by far the worst odds in the casino. I would never play the scratchers. But, as a shareholder I like that lots of people seem to enjoy playing it and a seemingly a fairly large cash flow to the company. Lastly, to each their own on how they want to spend their gambling/recreation dollars if they enjoy playing them.

I have my shareholder OBC for my cruise at the end of next July already posted in my account for that cruise. I did my cruise this past October, my New Year’s cruise and next summer’s all at the same time in August. So like St. Greg said no reason to wait and do it now.

16, 228, 312

I’m too saddened by the omelette change. Will it ruin any of my three booked cruises? No. Will it stop me from booking a future cruise? Possible. One of my favorite things is having a fresh cooked omelette how I want that particular day. I only eat omelettes on vacation so it’s extra special. I stay at Embassy Suites often because they offer made to order omelettes. I only eat egg whites because of a taste issue for me and it was nice to have the variety each day (on a 7 day cruise I would have about 4 omelettes). It does save some prep time of ingredients but cook time for the omelette station on lido is the same. For context, I have been sailing Carnival since 1990 on my Honeymoon and my milestone 25th cruise is next summer. So I been cruising a long time but it isn’t my only mode to vacation. I also own over 1400 shares of Carnival Corp stock so I want to see the company perform well financially.

I always carry one a 12 pack of coke (well usually 2 as one for my wife too.) I do this for a variety of reasons 1) I prefer Coke to Pepsi and can taste the difference (remember how new coke bombed when it was reformulated to taste more like Pepsi) 2) I like the convenience of having it in my cabin (if I’m relaxing on the balcony I don’t need to walk to a bar to get one). 3) I use it as a mixer for the over priced bottle of liquor I bought for my cabin for the same convenience reason 4) It’s easy to bring a Tervis or Yeti mug to carry your beverage all over the ship that you got from your cabin. 5) It’s almost always easy to purchase a 12 pack somewhere near the port 6) It does save a few dollars that I can spend elsewhere (just like all the coupons/special savings at grocery store pays for one of our cruises a year.)

Would I wear pj's in the MDR no but you do you and enjoy yourself. I run a retail store and almost on a daily basis I see people shopping in their pjs. Not just kids either but adults both male and female in pjs and slippers. Decorum has certainly changed over the years, and even though I might judge them slightly silently, I would not let it ruin my enjoyment of my Christmas brunch.

I'll be there next week so I can update when I get back. It will be my third time there so I will be able to compare to previous trips. They have been closing (extended vacation) for the summer past few years, but have been open since the restart of cruises.

I've done this previously in Galveston. Yes, getting a cab is not super fast but if you are patient your wait time will probably be about 30 minutes. They have a designated pick up for taxis at least at Carnival. That is a less waiting time than I found for uber/lyft as even the app says 15 minutes they enviably can't find a driver or the driver accepts a different pick up. I can't remember the fare to the hotels on Seawall but it was competitive on what was offered on the ride share companies.

Ditto for the October 21st sailing on the Valor.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to check it out on my upcoming cruise on the Valor in two weeks. Always good to add a new venue to my lunch routine, especially when I’m ready for second or third lunch.

Sorry for the slow response. Yes, they have senior discount for 55+ for round trip except for that exception going back to the airports on Sunday morning. Now for hotel drop offs, I’ve come down a day early or stayed extra days a few times on the island. They drop off at all the major hotels on the island and/or pick you up from those hotels if staying you’re after your cruise. From my experience with them, they do not drop off or pick up at any hotels in Houston just the airports. If I came in early and was staying by IAH, I stayed at a hotel with a shuttle and then go back to IAH in the morning to take Galveston Express to the ship.

I have done the Chef’s Table on the Pride (another Spirit class ship). No extra dining rooms aboard the the ship, therefore, held in Nightclub.

I'm staying at the Hilton Riverside after my cruise at the end of October. It is supposed to be walkable from the port via the indoor Riverside Mall. I can update after my cruise but it appears to have a good location to the port, French Quarter, Bourbon Street and the other sites that is all within a reasonable walking distance.

I've used Galveston Express four times without any issues. Always reliable on time service with friendly drivers. They also have a senior discount for 55+ on RT.

I have heard both ways on using your milestone OBC in your 25th cruise or it has to be on your 26+ cruise. Hopefully, I am able to use it next July on my 12 night European cruise as that would be my most expensive cruise by far that I have planned.

I put in a request for my cruise next summer to shareholders email this Monday and received my email back today with my OBC in less than 24 hours. Fastest turnaround I’ve ever had.

Hopefully you are able use it on your milestone. Mine will be a 12 day European next July. It will nice to have all the extra OBC for my most expensive cruise upcoming. I think it’s hit or miss though, as my brother called the milestone desk earlier this summer to inquire about his and was told it could not be used on your 25th cruise but anyone afterwards. But, wemjam was able to use the milestone OBC on his 25th cruise. Seems sorta like shareholder OBC that it depends on who at Carnival processes it. I’ve never had any issues with get the shareholder credit (as many here have) even on a “free” cruise with lots of onboard credit that my wife and I went on last October as a rebook Covid cancellation Australian cruise that I moved back to the states. Hopefully, I’ll be as lucky with this OBC request. I’m currently at 22 cruises with a cruise in October and a New Years cruise. Once, I officially get to 24 I’ll call my PVP and the milestone desk and get an answer.

I was on a New Year's cruise in 2019 and it was a fantastic experience. Champagne for all as you boarded the ship. Special menu on New Years Eve after spending the afternoon at Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman. Huge deck party that night. All the Christmas decorations still up until past midnight the last night of cruise. Love the family picture we took by the big tree in the atrium. The entire cruise was very festive and had a lot of energy to it. My brother and his family went on a New Years cruise this past year and no Champagne as you boarded and all Christmas decorations down when they boarded. Again, a special New Years menu and big deck party with party favors and Champagne. I'm going on a New Years cruise this coming December with my brother and nephew. Wives have to work sadly. So obviously, it will be a fun fantastic cruise on the Magic the December even with the differences pre and post covid.

The souvenir cup they are referring to is a 16oz Tervis cup with a Blue Iguana logo on it. I bought one on my last cruise on the Panorama in February. Didn't have cheers but when you refilled it at the bars you got a larger drink for regular drink size price. It was also nice to have a cup with a lid you could close while on deck.

The Panorama had it when I cruised in February in the Hero's Bar. It seemed pretty crowed when I walked past going to the comedy shows. I did not play it as the rake is just too high.