All checked In - Whoop Whoop - Luminosa Alaska June 15th

[lesters]

Checking is is such a big milestone for the lead up to a cruise for me!

 

It is when things feel super official and the countdown to our next adventure begins!!

 

I typically post a summary of our cruise after the fact and will try to do a more detailed one with pictures etc this next time around as there is so little on the Luminosa other than the great Longest Review ever from @EngIceDave

 

It will be myself, DH and DD (48, 49 & 20) respectively on this one.  It is our 8th or 9th - cant recall this morning , Carnival cruise and first one with DD since pre-covid, we did 2 since the restart without her.   

 

Looking forward to a lower key, relaxed atmosphere with the Alaskan sailing.   I'm envisioning days curled up with warm beverages, cozy bunnyhugs (look it up I'm from Saskatchewan 🙂 ) books and some quality family time.

 

Have a great day everyone! 

[lesters]

BTW for those interested, I completed my check in at 8:00 am MT and could have still selected 11:00 - 11:30 for an arrival time.  I chose 11:30 - 12:00 and we have Boarding Zone C02, which hasn't meant much on the last two cruises we've been on.... one out of Miami and one out of PC.

 

I didn't want the 11:00 arrival as I didn't want to feel too rushed that morning going from the hotel to the port.

 

 

[silvercrikhix]

Bon Voyage!  Enjoy!  We’re sailing her in August. I for 1 would love a great picture laden review!  

[kelkel2]

Have a fantastic cruise!! What port does this leave out of?

[lesters]

We leave out of Seattle - excited to visit a new city as well!  First time there! 

[joydisney]

Excited for you, we will be on August 31 cruise.

 

[pnwredhead]

Looks like we have the same arrival time! 🙂 

I normally check-in as soon as it goes live, but I am traveling with family that doesn't live near me so we had to coordinate our schedule... That meant 7 pm PST last night. I was shocked there was still 11:30-12 available. It was the earliest option and I jumped on it! 

See you in Seattle! (Our weather could be 65 degrees or it could be 90 by then. Bring some shorts just in case. 😉 )

[lesters]

1 hour ago, pnwredhead said:

Looks like we have the same arrival time! 🙂 

I normally check-in as soon as it goes live, but I am traveling with family that doesn't live near me so we had to coordinate our schedule... That meant 7 pm PST last night. I was shocked there was still 11:30-12 available. It was the earliest option and I jumped on it! 

See you in Seattle! (Our weather could be 65 degrees or it could be 90 by then. Bring some shorts just in case. 😉 )

Thanks!!!  Yeah I plan on packing a little bit of everything!

The sailing is totally sold out - called Carnival last night with a cabin question - so wild that there was still such an early slot available so late.  Make me wonder about the demographics of the cruise... Alaskan have a bit of a rep for older crowds, wonder how many are aware of the need to do the check in or ability to do check in now and select the arrival time.   I don't recall seeing a "Time to Check In" email from Carnival..

 

Cannot wait!!!! 

[wemjam]

We are actually looking right now at booking this cruise for next year for our 25th wedding anniversary.  49 Carnival and never have done Alaska

 

Please DO come back with lots of reviews and pics

[csm5986142]

23 hours ago, lesters said:

will try to do a more detailed one with pictures etc this next time around as there is so little on the Luminosa other than the great Longest Review ever from @EngIceDave

 

Thank you - the reviews I've read so far have not been especially positive (making me nervous for our cruise the beginning of August).  Looking forward to your review!

[JCrewz]

6 minutes ago, csm5986142 said:

 

Thank you - the reviews I've read so far have not been especially positive (making me nervous for our cruise the beginning of August).  Looking forward to your review!

There is a YouTuber (Richard) that has posted extensively on his back to back Luminosa sailings.  His thorough review is not as gloomy as others I had read.  Making me a little more comfortable with the ship.

 

Hopefully, Carnival will get the ship better organized by June 21st.

[csm5986142]

7 minutes ago, JCrewz said:

There is a YouTuber (Richard) that has posted extensively on his back to back Luminosa sailings.  His thorough review is not as gloomy as others I had read.  Making me a little more comfortable with the ship.

 

Thank you!  I will check that out.  The only thing that really bothered me from the reviews is the plumbing issues - quite a few people mentioned toilets not flushing and things like that.  I'm pretty easy going, and almost any day on a ship is better than a day at work, but plumbing issues do stress me out.

[audcc77]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:13 PM, lesters said:

there is so little on the Luminosa other than the great Longest Review ever from @EngIceDave

Can someone post a link to this?

 

Also, any thoughts on me booking a flight home from Seattle afterwards at 10:30 am? I think it’s a Wednesday.  
I can get off the ship early debark.  
 

Is that risky?   

[audcc77]

6 hours ago, JCrewz said:

There is a YouTuber (Richard) that has posted extensively on his back to back Luminosa sailings.

I looked for this but couldn’t find it.  Would you mind posting a link?  Richard who?

thanks.  

[EngIceDave]

40 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

Can someone post a link to this?

 

 

Grab a coffee and enjoy...

[EngIceDave]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:13 PM, lesters said:

 

I typically post a summary of our cruise after the fact and will try to do a more detailed one with pictures etc this next time around as there is so little on the Luminosa other than the great Longest Review ever from @EngIceDave

 

Curious about how "De-Australian" it is now. 

[JCrewz]

20 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

I looked for this but couldn’t find it.  Would you mind posting a link?  Richard who?

thanks.  

I should have been clearer....apologies.

 

He has a user name of "No Pants Profits".  Not sure what is behind the goofy title, but his name is Richard.  He posted some very long and detailed reviews of the ports and all things Luminosa.  Not much production value, but a really good walk around the ship and lots of information.

 

He ultimately concludes that the Luminosa is the best VALUE in the Carnival fleet when you consider the lower pricing and the overall experience.  He says anybody who paid under $1,000.00 should be very pleased with the cruise.

[audcc77]

2 minutes ago, JCrewz said:

He has a user name of "No Pants Profits". 

Thank you.  I saw that one but didn’t make the connection.  

[May1cruiser]

Please send some pictures and details, we have a cruise next May and would love to know what we are in for!

thanks

 

[dd likes to cruise]

We did the same cruise Memorial Day weekend. Very much enjoyed it.  Only my second Carnival cruise so couldn’t really compare to other carnival ships.  But do remember it is different, since it did not start as a carnival ship.  Biggest cabins we’ve seen and the most storage in them also.  We had an Ocean View. Liked the Main dining rooms also.  Tables not crammed in as I have seen elsewhere. And always had great servers and good food. Buffet a little “not so great”, the layout just didn’t work great.   Have fun!  

[audcc77]

I booked this cruise to Alaska in August.   I have been reading the “quick” reviews for this ship and I am a little concerned as the reviews are not very good.  😳

It sounds like a Fantasy class ship but worse.  

[EngIceDave]

40 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

I have been reading the “quick” reviews for this ship and I am a little concerned as the reviews are not very good.

 

It is not Disney World at sea. It is a smaller ship and your night time dinner choices are quite limited. That said, it's a nice ship to get you to your next destination.

 

The ship, is not your destination, unlike the mega-ships. 

[lesters]

59 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

 

It is not Disney World at sea. It is a smaller ship and your night time dinner choices are quite limited. That said, it's a nice ship to get you to your next destination.

 

The ship, is not your destination, unlike the mega-ships. 

This is exactly our perspective on this one.  We have the Celebration coming up in October.  This cruise is going to be all about watching the world go by, relaxing and the ports.  The ship is not as important.  

 

October's journey I am not planning on getting off in Amber Cove as we've been there twice - well maybe for one or two in the sky bar - but for this cruise I am focused more on the ship and what it has to offer.

 

I really believe its all about managing expectations, doing appropriate planning and reading ahead of time so so there are no (bad) surprises and at the end of the day I am on a cruise ship with my fav people so how bad can it be??

 

7 days and counting....  will start a new thread to report back on.. who knows may even try my hand at a somewhat live 🙂

[labsnabys]

We are booked on Luminosa for the Aug. 17th sailing and cannot wait! We much prefer a smaller ship and really dislike the "Disney at sea" atmosphere on the mega ships, so some of the gripes are music to my ears. I could not care less about a Guy's burger or any other franchise eating place. Just want a nice cabin (we're booked in a spa balcony), beautiful scenery, and to be fed and entertained. The rest is up to us to make of it what we wish! Hope everyone else enjoys their cruise as much as we hope to.