LIVE- The World's Longest Trip Report (Luminosa 4/13 - 5/4)

[EngIceDave]

Takes 3 hours to get to international waters to open casino.

 

Spoke to casino cage manager, says they have a craps table coming, but not sure if in Hawaii or Seattle it'll be installed.

 

It is an odd ship, lots of nooks and crannies to hide and then a $hitton of outdoor deck chairs if you're cool with frying in the sun

 

[pe4all]

Bon Voyage!  I see that Luminosa is listed as a Spirit-class ship.  Have you been on other spirit-class ships and- if so- how does this ship compare?

[EngIceDave]

31 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Bon Voyage!  I see that Luminosa is listed as a Spirit-class ship.  Have you been on other spirit-class ships and- if so- how does this ship compare?

They say that's what it is, but its a hybrid.

Everything is kind of hidden and certainly smaller, keeping in mind we were on Celebration only 2 months ago.

Initially I am just gonna drop photos, and then I'll start sectioning and explaining a little more.

Give you an example of different, the "Piano Bar" is in the open, not in an enclosed room, literally in a walkway.

 

I'll explain as time goes....getting later here, almost 10pm

I predict the first few days will be very slow and mellow as many recover from the brutal jet lag.

I also think, based on the clientele, mid-afternoon nappy times will be a little slow too.

 

Most everyone is, in our opinion, 50+ (as are we)

Some 40's

Couple young couples and I think I have seen a total of maybe 5 kids....8-10'ish?

Have not seen teen kids yet.

 

[EngIceDave]

John Heald 

 

Poster based in the United Kingdom

  ·   · 

Well what an auspicious day it is for the guests and the crew of the Carnival Luminosa as she sets sail on her epic journey that departs today ( in fact by the time many of you read this she will already have sailed) and arriving in Seattle, Washington on May 4th.

Along the way she will call at:

16 Apr 07:00 - 16:00 Noumea, Grande Terre island, New Caledonia

18 Apr 09:00 - 18:00 Suva, Viti Levu Island, Fiji

21 Apr 09:00 - 21:00 Papeete, Tahiti Island, French Polynesia

22 Apr 07:00 - 17:00 Moorea Island, Society Islands, French Polynesia

28 Apr 09:00 - 23:00 Honolulu, Oahu Island, Hawaii

More about the voyage shortly but first let’s take a look at who is on board:

Total Guests: 1914

Guests Under 21:36

Blue Card: 387

Red Card: 89

Gold Card: 638

Platinum Card: 606

Diamond Card:180

Guests From:

USA: 1729

Australia: 53

Canada: 42

Cleveland, Ohio: 2

So what a voyage this will be and it is fascinating to see so many from the United States have flown all the way to the land Down Under to take this cruise back to Seattle. And look at that, for 387 people this voyage will be their first Carnival experience. Brilliant.

Anyway, what a voyage this will be and here to tell you more about it is the Captain of the Carnival Luminosa who took the time to answer a few questions. Take a look:

Question

Before we talk about the journey from Australia to Seattle can I please ask you about your journey with Carnival Cruise Line. So please introduce yourself and tell us about yourself.

Answer

My name is Adriano Binacchi and I was born in Italy in 1959.

I graduated from maritime school in Gaeta in 1977 and started my career on board Texaco tanker ships in 1978 as a Deck Cadet. In 1988, I left Texaco as 2nd officer and went to work with an Italian tanker shipping company as 1st Officer until 1995.

In September 1995, I received a call from CCL to join on board the Ecstasy as 2nd Officer. I was promoted in 1997 to 1st Officer, in 1999 to Safety Officer, in 2002 as Staff Captain and in 2008 I became Captain.

In 2012, I sailed the Carnival Spirit from Seattle to Sydney and remained in Sydney on board the Spirit until December 2019.

In February 2020, I was assigned on board the Carnival Splendor and due to the pandemic, I was assigned to transport all team members to

Indonesia, the Philippines and Mumbai.

After that, we transferred to Singapore and then in Dubai.

In 2022, I sailed the Splendor from Dubai to Seattle for the Alaskan season.

I was then assigned to take the Carnival Luminosa from Costa and proceed to Brisbane.

On April 13, I will sail the Carnival Luminosa back to Seattle for the Alaskan season.

Question

Could you please tell us about the route and itinerary the Ship is taking from Australia to the United States and what are the biggest challenges are going to be for you as Captain

Answer

As you are aware, we will set sail from Brisbane on April 13th and it will take 22 days before arriving in Seattle. We will call in New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, crossing the dateline which means we will go back 1 day and after departing the last port of Tahiti, we will cross the equator also.

I have already crossed that side of the hemisphere many times and I can say the biggest challenge is always the weather conditions.

Question

Which of the ports are you looking forward to? And do you have a message for the many who will be cruising not only on this trans Pacific and your Alaska season season?

Answer

Naturally, it will be Tahiti, especially Moorea, where I have already been with the Carnival Spirit in 2012 crossing to Sydney.

Looking forward to returning to Honolulu as well as the Alaskan ports.

Carnival Luminosa is the latest to be experiencing this kind of itinerary and, in my opinion, she will be a nice ship to sail with.

The layout of the ship provides this great opportunity for all on board to enjoy this itinerary whilst at sea with spacious interior lounges with over 60 + windows, the sky dome on lido and many balcony cabins it will be a joy to cruise between these stunning ports and Alaska.

------------------

Thank you Captain, it is wonderful of you to have taken the time to answer these and I am sure you all enjoyed reading that. I also know that the Captain would love to see a message to him and his crew wishing them and of course all the guests bon voyage.

Cheers

[EngIceDave]

Oh...while in line to check in, noticed a hat a man was wearing, Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, Florida.

 

Asked if he lived there, said yes....we live literally across the street in another development and shop the same Publix

 

That's what are the odds small world schnit there....

[lesters]

8 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

There is no craps table

Oooooohhhhhhh noooooooo 

 

That is really disappointing.    Thanks for confirming. 

[lazydayz]

Smooth sailing.  This is so exciting.  

[TxTeach79]

Absolutely loving this so far, Dave! My first "real" glimpse at Luminosa and an itinerary to die for. Can't wait to follow along!

[Jamman54]

Great start Dave! Loving your Luminosa pictures. Having sailed on Spirit Class ships 16 times, I am noticing quite a few differences. Very interesting. Hope we get to sail on her one day. The funnel reminds me of Ol' Stubby,  the Freedom! 😀

[mkcurran]

9 hours ago, ldubs said:

I enjoyed scrolling through your report -- thanks!  

But I'm still scratching my head about post #1.  I just can't figure out how the magnets stick to the stainless steel fridge door.   😀😀😀

New stainless look refrigerators. All the pretty, holds magnets, and is fingerprint resistant. 

[kelkel2]

16 minutes ago, mkcurran said:

New stainless look refrigerators. All the pretty, holds magnets, and is fingerprint resistant. 

I am so jealous!! My stainless is like 10 years old and no magnets for us.

[SDPadreFan]

35 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

I am so jealous!! My stainless is like 10 years old and no magnets for us.

There are 5 general types of stainless steel. Some are magnetic to varying degrees.

 

Our LG French Door Refrigerator is magnetic on the doors as well as the sides.

 

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/is-stainless-steel-magnetic/

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by SDPadreFan

[SDPadreFan]

The Spa area of the Costa branded ships is definitely an upgrade over the same sized Carnival Spirit class ships. Includes a very nice Thalassotherapy pool (sea water hot tub). First one I experienced was on Celebrity Mercury in 1999. Some newer class Carnival ships have them - Carnival Magic and later I believe. It is a terrific experience. Some are small and very basic, but some have the tubular metal lounge rack like this one and some have a waterfall that is great to put your head under.

Edited April 13, 2023 by SDPadreFan

[4hunters]

13 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

There is no craps table

Oh crap!!  Seriously, I'd be bummed if it were me. 😞

 

Edit:  And just remembered you're on Luminosa, the ship I'll be on next month in Alaska!  DOH!!! 🙃

Edited April 13, 2023 by 4hunters

[mkcurran]

1 hour ago, SDPadreFan said:

The Spa area of the Costa branded ships is definitely an upgrade over the same sized Carnival Spirit class ships. Includes a very nice Thalassotherapy pool (sea water hot tub). First one I experienced was on Celebrity Mercury in 1999. Some newer class Carnival ships have them - Carnival Magic and later I believe. It is a terrific experience. Some are small and very basic, but some have the tubular metal lounge rack like this one and some have a waterfall that is great to put your head under.

Yes, this one looks on par with the Splendor. So now I'm going to go look at itineraries where I can enjoy the spa.

 

[TrqoisWtrs]

16 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

Wife made new friends 
 

niiiice...looking forward to Brisbane lol, maybe your wife should post more😂 😂

[SDPadreFan]

18 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

Wife made new friends 
 

 

So I've also had a run-in with the Australian Police.

 

1976 - I was onboard the USS Enterprise (CVAN-76) as a member of the VAQ-134 squadron (the Garudas) when we pulled into Hobart, Tasmania. A buddy and I (his name was ALSO Darrell, so Darrell & Darrell) took the train to Launceston for a couple of days to get away from the ship. We had just finished hiking the Cataract Gorge Reserve (beautiful area) and were walking back to town when a police car pulled up next to us and they rolled the window down and asked if we "wanted to go for a ride". You can only imagine what 2 young sailors were thinking at that time. We had just jaywalked across the street - but we were on the sidewalk.

 

Turns out, it was the Launceston Chief of Police and his driver, as well as Tasmania's first female police officer in the back seat next to a window. They were a little bored and wanted to take us on a tour of the area (huge sigh of relief). Well - we raced to be the one in the center seat, next to the young female police officer (who ever fights for the middle seat - well, we did). And then we had a glorious time for the next 2 hours as they showed us their city and the surrounding countryside. To this day, I remember seeing their first hydro electric dam that they were very proud of and also being encouraged to go down into a farmers orchard to "borrow" a couple of Tasmanian apples to sample (very small and a little tart).

 

And I can still remember that experience with the Australian Police like it was yesterday.

[sternfanla]

14 hours ago, ldubs said:

I enjoyed scrolling through your report -- thanks!  

But I'm still scratching my head about post #1.  I just can't figure out how the magnets stick to the stainless steel fridge door.   😀😀😀

Not all Stainless Steel is Non-Ferrous.

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, mkcurran said:

New stainless look refrigerators. All the pretty, holds magnets, and is fingerprint resistant. 

 

1 hour ago, sternfanla said:

Not all Stainless Steel is Non-Ferrous.

 

Sometimes I'm the only one that laughs at my jokes!   😀

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

I am so jealous!! My stainless is like 10 years old and no magnets for us.

 

That could be a good thing!  Keeps the face of our fridge free, Lol. Look at it this way, you likely have higher grade stainless steel fridge door skins.  

[EngIceDave]

6 hours ago, mkcurran said:

New stainless look refrigerators. All the pretty, holds magnets, and is fingerprint resistant. 

BUT....the cabin doors are not steel or are so thin, magnets don't stick

I had to use tape on cabin door

[EngIceDave]

Morning from BFE South Pacific

 

Casino's nice

 

 

 

 

 

[EngIceDave]

Show you some of the theming

 

BTW, clocks are back one hour from departure.

 

The general color palette is blue and the sea....

These blue lights/bulbs carries throughout the ship.

Carpets are ocean waves in one form or another.

 

 

[EngIceDave]

Forward, backward....whatever

[EngIceDave]

Oh, Category 5 Ilsa has landed in Northern Western Australia

 

288kph winds

 

Now down to Cat 3