KKB

I relate! I just never knew if/when it would work!!

NO doubt. Celebrity 5 day spring break cruise w/ 75% FSU students--TOTALLY different vibe than usual Celebrity cruises! Carnival--1st was 14 days so very few kiddos. Last month 8 day New Caldonia on Carnival Splendor--this is like the Caribbean for Australia. FULL of young adults & kids. 12 day NZ cruise right after, totally different vibe.

Goodness NO! MY POV. We have sailed 40+ cruises over 20 years on most mainstream lines. We sailed Carnival for 1st time in January & all we heard was how much we would hate it after sailing Celebrity, Princess, RCCL, etc. We LOVED it! Now, crew said the key to Carnival is longer cruises--7 days or less, particularly in Caribbean or MX Riv are booze cruises. NOW--I had Venezia booked out of NYC in May...then I started to see a pattern of complaints for those cruises (I ignore complaints in reviews until I see patterns). LOTS of complaints of lots of poorly behaved unattended children. Decided that was NOT one I was willing to check out for myself!

Have sailed Eclass 5x since 2021. Took my Dyson on the 1st 4 of those & then just gave up. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it would work for a while. Sometimes it didn't work at all. No rhyme or reason.

Along for the ride again--entertaining & interesting as always. Have a wonderful time!!

We did Deluxe OV on Beyond & loved it. It is just as big as the balcony (IV) rooms. Great location on deck 3 midship--easy access to so much! If the Deluxe is just a few $ more, I'd take it as those 20+ sq. ft are awfully nice.

I CAN happen but it is rare. Have done 3 sailings in IV (albeit the Caribbean), never once locked. If you are concerned, change to a Sunset Veranda or Suite. One nice thing about IV is the floor to ceiling windows letting in lots of light.

We did a Sweet 6 cabin some years ago & it was unusable...large water puddles on the floor at all times. Fully covered, not private as cabin above us looked over us. (covered just our 2 decks). Loved Aqua when we did it--no contest, imo.

Thx for your review! We have done Edge & Beyond 2x plus Apex, with Ascent booked for Dec & can't wait! We have only done Retreat 1x (Beyond) & enjoyed it but have decided that unless it is an exceptional deal, we will stick w/ "steerage" Can't wait!

Interesting. it was the only thing I could think of! Princess had no idea when I called.

We are doing a TA/UK 28 day cruise next month. (booked as B2B) Interior guarantees booked. Price dropped after final payment for 1st leg & was able to call TA & upgrade to obstructed balcony at no extra cost. Bid on Deluxe balcony for 1st leg (just over min bid) & was awarded it 6 weeks prior to boarding. The ODD thing...was never able to bid on the 2nd leg. Said not available for bidding. (I checked MANY times) I suspect it has to do with the coding of a B2B as it shows up on our app as one cruise. Oh, well, 2nd leg is port intensive so won't miss the balcony much anyway.

Appears everything else has been addressed. Stockperks--if you own 100 Carnival shares, you will get OBC (varies depending on length; 7 day is $100). Stockperks was fairly easy to use--I did not submit any personal info (blacked it out on the screenshots). Mine are in ETrade & I think I had to choose a different firm...but it worked well & was on my account w/in days. Much faster than when we had to email a request. If you are going to use Wifi on the ship, Princess Plus is the way to go. Wifi is $25/day; Gratuities $18+/day--that means for $17/day you get sodas, specialty coffees, mocktails, cocktails. DH's aunt & uncle cruised w/ us in 2022 & didn't think it would be worth it--"We just don't drink that much" I talked them into it & they realized it takes very little to get value from it!

NCL does that too--a specific menu to start. Princess gives everyone w/ a package a $25 credit to buy drinks until we are in international waters. Interesting that Carnival & Princess do it differently since they are the same company.

Curious--you couldn't play Pickleball anytime? Have sailed Princess & NCL out of Galveston--each time the drink package began as soon as we were in international water, an hour or 2 after departure. Is Carnival different?

Absolutely no way to know... One never knows when these rewards will go...or return...or when they will extend the dates.

LOL it shows that you have not tried other lines! Have done silent disco on Celebrity, Carnival & RCCL. We LOVE it--I can dance to the song I like & DH the one he likes. And just as much fun to watch as dance...always interesting group dynamics. Thx for this review--we have the Sun booked in 2 years. I booked a cabana mini-suite as I got an incredible price...strange, tho, I'm certain I clicked Princess Plus, but NOT on the reservation! So will likely switch to a cheaper cabin. Not sure we would like that set up either.

Still do announcements in several languages. Agree, overall, food wasn't that great (huh--I LOVE food in Italy!) Except pizza--AMAZING. Chairs are usually fairly packed in on most cruises... Service--other than some dinners, happy to say, I had exceptional bar & server service. Chatted them up; they knew I was solo--they took care of me.

Good question...having sailed MSC, I'm not sure what they mean either...

Order what you want. Bartenders know what package you have, and what drinks fall under each package. They will let you know if it is over, and whether you want to pay the difference or go with a different drink that falls under your plan. If you order above the limit of your package, they will charge you the difference. And each alcoholic drink counts as 1 (and only 1) against your 15 daily drinks. (They won't give you a better liquor & count 2 towards your daily limit)

Unfortunately inaugural sailings are a risk--they just might not be ready to sail. And even if they sail, it is likely they will still be working out issues. And booking B2B2B out of the inaugural--sadly, that compounded it. I have always thought an inaugural would be fun...but MAYBE NOT. Sorry this all happened to you. Hoping Princess is paying attention.

Sailed the Breakaway in August w/ DD & it was fantastic! Food good to very good, in MDR, specialty, buffet. (yes, some things better than others, as always) Never had an issue getting a seat for theatre shows, arriving 10 min. early or so (now, I might not get my FAVORITE seat...but seats always available) Syds--gotta line up early, just how it is. Not a fan of game shows in the Plaza--seating can be a challenge even early--but it is what it is. Cruises are more crowded now. If you don't like the crowds or waiting (as I don't), you learn what to do to avoid them--dine at the beginning or end of B/L/D hours; find those quiet corners to read or play a game; show up a bit early to get a seat for the things you REALLY want to do. When you find a server who gives you great service--give them a few $ tip & keep asking for them/coming back to their bar. As @graphicguy said, complainers are MUCH more likely to write a review. (I tend to write mine on the boards...guess I should on the review area as well) Look for PATTERNS of complaints. If everyone is complaining about different things, I ignore it (just a bunch of whiners--goodness knows we have all encountered them). But if you see 1 or 2 of the same things complained about over & over--pay attention. Are those things deal breakers for you? That should help your decision.

Huh. Divina out of FL last Feb. B2B Plenty of rudeness to go around. I remember talking with a guy from Illinois & he asked "Is it just me, or are there an awful lot of rude people on this cruise?" I agreed...We had just gotten off a tender where people began to stand & walk for the exit before the tender was even at the ship much less stopped. They were told to sit down for everyone's safety & so the captain could see where to go. They sat for maybe 20 seconds...then just did it again. I remember trying to walk around the deck above the pool...impossible to do w/o zig zagging around loungers. They were pulled anywhere & everywhere. I had never seen such a thing.

Good to know--I usually upgrade myself for the wine choices but DH is a beer guy. Will be cheaper to pay a few $ a day for upcharge for me. I agree they keep raising prices plus dropping gratuities on AI...I need a pretty good deal to pull the trigger even if they are my fav.

I didn't find the menu anymore Italian focused than other lines. It DOES have the best pizza at sea!

I think it was the out of NYC thing--heard lots of bad experiences on MSC out of there; Carnival Venezia too. Again, not sure why. We sailed RCCL out of NYC & not strange issues. Why is Celebrity in your rear view? Eclass ships are our fav for sure. Tho generally these days Princess & NCL are winning--with Princess Plus & free at Sea, the others just can't compare once you add perks. Celebrity I watch for good deals...