I Guess Carnival got sick of MrPete's whining.

[jks336]

i'm glad this will make some ppl happy, to me, no biggie.. just no desire to go to bermuda for some reason.lol.. at least for now.. heck, its somewhere i've never been... should try it :)

[jimbo5544]

No, to Baltimore. :p:rolleyes:

AHHH got it;). The inner harbor area of Baltimore is totally different than it used to be. Rejuvenated, things to do....nice port to sail out of (and the Pride is a wonderful ship...)

[big_duck]

I know! We could leave Saturday, drive down, and off we go on Sunday! Only one problem - I just checked the CCL site and they don't have that April 17th sailing listed out of Baltimore. In fact, I can't find an April 17th date sailing to Bermuda listed anywhere.:confused: Maybe they haven't updated the site yet?

 

According to the press release, only the SC sailing are currently available for booking. Patience Grasshopper.

 

 

Where's Pete?

[jimbo5544]

Now all they have to do is go back to the Med with this itin.

 

Florence, Rome, Palermo, Naples, Venice, Mykonos, Ephesus, Athens, Istanbul and maybe Dubrovnik.

 

Great itin and if they price it right I know I would book it today!!!

 

Oh yeah.....I am looking to go around June 30, 2012 and 14 days is fine with me:D

 

Thanks Carnival bigwigs!!!

I totally agree on the eastern med!:D

[LemurCat]

I believe that the typical ports of west and east Caribbean need to be changed. Since the late 1970's cruises are basically going to the same islands. I like for example the Carnival Victory's itinerary that goes to many different islands, but you have to get it out of San Juan. I know is not possible to reach some of these islands on a 7-day cruise out of South Florida, but there are many other islands they could go to. At least on western cruises they are going to Honduras and Roatan now.

I tend to avoid some of these due to the fact that they are the same ports. I have stayed on the ship for some of these, but really would like to see some different ones. Would be nice!

 

You do realize that the cruiselines sign long-term contracts with the various ports and cities they visit and can't just change them up on a whim, right? I mean it takes a lot more than "Hey, we're sick of going there" or "Hmmm, that's our fourth passenger to get mugged" for a cruiseline to look for an exit strategy from those contracts.

[big_duck]

I totally agree on the eastern med!:D

 

 

Ummm, I'd pass on Greece for awhile. :eek:

[Crusin6]

I have to say this though...while I truly wish it was a Carnival cruise for us next time, we have booked the NCL Jewel out of NYC for next April.

 

It goes year round, the prices are very nice, the ports ar just so so but hey it's a cruise that I can drive to and it is priced right.

 

The Gem does it too.

 

I can live without warm chocolate melting cake and free cappucino (although I will miss them) but what is bothering me more is that I may have to book another line for the Med as well!

 

Get moving Carnival.

[gonzo1124]

You do realize that the cruiselines sign long-term contracts with the various ports and cities they visit and can't just change them up on a whim, right? I mean it takes a lot more than "Hey, we're sick of going there" or "Hmmm, that's our fourth passenger to get mugged" for a cruiseline to look for an exit strategy from those contracts.

 

Yes I understand, but 30+ years to the same ports? They must be getting paid big bucks to go to some of these islands.

[LemurCat]

i'm glad this will make some ppl happy, to me, no biggie.. just no desire to go to bermuda for some reason.lol.. at least for now.. heck, its somewhere i've never been... should try it :)

 

I'd put it on your list of places to visit. Between it having several important UNESCO World Heritage Sites, fantastic beaches, good shopping, a particularly potent local rum, and some of the nicest people in the world, it's definitely worth looking into. Apparently the golfing's pretty good too.

[halos]

http://carnival-news.com/2010/05/06/carnival-cruise-lines-to-dramatically-expand-bermuda-presence-in-2011/

Yay! Pete!! :D

 

Not really. All of those departure dates, with the exception of the one in June, are pretty much off season and less-than-desirable dates for visiting those islands. They can't touch July or August because NCL and RCL have those dates all locked up.

 

They are 'off' dates sort of. To be honest Sept is the best time to go to bermuda.

[Crusin6]

Ummm, I'd pass on Greece for awhile. :eek:

I have been there but I want to show the kids the Parthenon and have lunch..that is about it...6 hours should do it:D

 

Still 2 years away, maybe the environment will change

[buckirj1]

Hope this doesn't impact 2011 sailings to NE/Canada too badly. Doesn't look good so far. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

Bermuda's a beautiful place. Beastly hot, even in October, but very pretty.

[LemurCat]

Yes I understand, but 30+ years to the same ports? They must be getting paid big bucks to go to some of these islands.

 

Why do you assume Carnival is getting money from the ports? It's usually the other way around, Carnival pays for the use of the facilities, sometimes even builds the facilities for the ports. Carnival makes their money on people *going to* those ports, and since they're still making money on those same ports after 30+ years, why fix what isn't broken?

[NCTribeFan]

To reiterate - only the Fantasy sailings from Charleston are currently available to be booked!

 

I believe she's due to go into dry dock near the end of the year. Anyone know if she's getting balconies at that time?

[Crusin6]

i'm glad this will make some ppl happy, to me, no biggie.. just no desire to go to bermuda for some reason.lol.. at least for now.. heck, its somewhere i've never been... should try it :)

we feel the same way..Bermuda just doesn't do it for us. Probably because the cruises there from NYC are way overpriced.

[halos]

I have to say this though...while I truly wish it was a Carnival cruise for us next time, we have booked the NCL Jewel out of NYC for next April.

 

It goes year round, the prices are very nice, the ports ar just so so but hey it's a cruise that I can drive to and it is priced right.

 

The Gem does it too.

 

I can live without warm chocolate melting cake and free cappucino (although I will miss them) but what is bothering me more is that I may have to book another line for the Med as well!

 

Get moving Carnival.

 

 

Don't you think that alternating between lines kinda keeps things a bit fresh though?? I like switching up...keeps things from getting monotonous.

[Crusin6]

If you'd like. ;)

 

I like kids. I just like them better when they aren't acting like a pack of ferals. Still doesn't mean I want any of my own.

oh go ahead have at least 2 or 3....you will be pleasantly surprised... you will actually say you can't imagine life without them.

 

really, it is true...no matter what the posters here will try to tell you!!!!:D

[big_duck]

I like switching up...keeps things from getting monotonous.

 

I have such a dirty mind. :eek:

[bcs819]

very excited about this - we LOVED sailing out of Baltimore on the Pride last year, and she is my fave ship so far!

[halos]

I have such a dirty mind. :eek:

one of the many reason I think you rock, Luv :D

[Crusin6]

Don't you think that alternating between lines kinda keeps things a bit fresh though?? I like switching up...keeps things from getting monotonous.

I agree but we have always had nice cabins and itins with Carnival and I have heard from so many that the food on CCL is better.

 

I know we will love NCL, the ship will be beautiful etc. and since we are not neurotic about some of the things that folks complain about here, we will have loads of fun.

 

We had so much fun cajolling (sp) DH into a cruise...like every other word out of our mouths:D

 

Lets see...I think this cruise qualifies as our 4th DH retirment cruise!!!:D

[marshhawk]

This is fantastic!!! We've wanted this for so long! Why drove north to sail south? This will cover north florida, ga, al, ms, tn, sc, and nc, and va. What was wrong with them to wait for so long?

[halos]

I agree but we have always had nice cabins and itins with Carnival and I have heard from so many that the food on CCL is better.

 

I know we will love NCL, the ship will be beautiful etc. and since we are not neurotic about some of the things that folks complain about here, we will have loads of fun.

 

We had so much fun cajolling (sp) DH into a cruise...like every other word out of our mouths:D

 

Lets see...I think this cruise qualifies as our 4th DH retirment cruise!!!:D

 

The food in the MDR isn't as good as CCL's, although it isn't as bad as some would say (although I do recommend you do NOT eat the lobster in the MDR on NCL or RCCL EVER!!)

If you aren't one who likes to yell about being nickeled and dimed, I highly recommend any of the surcharge restaurants on board NCL ships because they are awesome and the entertainment is great as well.

[LemurCat]

The food in the MDR isn't as good as CCL's, although it isn't as bad as some would say (although I do recommend you do NOT eat the lobster in the MDR on NCL or RCCL EVER!!)

 

I had the lobster and grey snapper the last time on NCL (granted, the Majesty) and it was lovely. I had some bad experiences with the MDR, but I chalk that up more to a ship specific issue than an across-the-board observation. I've found a lot of their newer ships have much better buffets than CCL. I'm not particularly fond of CCL's buffet layout. Too linear and slow-moving, lends a certain hostility to actually getting food.

 

If you aren't one who likes to yell about being nickeled and dimed, I highly recommend any of the surcharge restaurants on board NCL ships because they are awesome and the entertainment is great as well.

 

I concur. The steakhouse and hibachi are fantastic. We didn't try the French or the Italian choices they had on the Gem, but we never heard a bad review.

[MrPete]

Hey, this IS good news, but if they really wanted me back, they'd sail from NY in the summer like they did in 2003!

 

But it's a start. Took them long enough, after Bermuda put in a second pier.

 

I guess I'll have to see what they offer in 2012.