ChrisNCruiser

6 hours ago, vegasgal47 said:

Thanks for the photos!  What category/type was this cabin?  

Grand Scenic Ocean View. It's new on the Sunrise. There are two, and they're located above the ship's bridge

1 hour ago, ABQrobin said:

We were just on the Vista 2 weeks ago and used the App.  You are basically "requesting a table" which is checking in.  Once it assigns you a table, it sends on the App a notice and you have 10 minutes to arrive at the restaurant to the desk.  So, you must be dressed and ready to go.  We found that by the time we did this, and then left our room and walked to the dining room, we would get the notice and Table number.  You then just show your phone to the hostess, they read the table number and off you go with a waiter just like normal.  No standing around in the hallway waiting.

 

However.... we did see lots of people who still showed up at dining room without doing this, standing around.

Also it says RIGHT ON YOUR S&S CARD - go to check in at the desk on Deck 4 by Pixels studio.  You are not supposed to go to dining room like every other ship...  you have to check in first.  Its easier just to use the App, we found out.

 

 

We're on the Sunrise now and love the app. As stated, you need to be prepared to be there in the 10 minutes once you get your Table Ready notification

9 hours ago, mompells said:

Beautiful photos! Looking forward to some more!  Thanks!

Thanks! I'll be posting a lot more pictures to a shared cloud folder once we disembark. I was never on the Triumph so I can't make a true comparison, but I don't see much on the ship that looks untouched. Most of the ship feels brand new. I especially like the back pool, which they've softened with (fake) plants. I'm guessing the artwork in staircases was existing, and that the atrium only for a minor facelift. (Definitely less drastic than Sunshine's atrium.)

5 hours ago, webecruzin2 said:

Oops one more thing, I'm not able to view your vide, it's just a blank screen, is there something I need to have on my pc in order to view videos on Cruise Critic?  
 

Nope no video - that was a weird mistake 🙂

8 hours ago, 422Melissa said:

9201 (and my mom):

 

Lol Melissa, it's an awesome coincidence that we're in the exact same cabin right after you. It still has that New Car smell 😉 hope you enjoyed it as much as we are...

We're on the sailing that heads out today and stayed at the Sheraton last night; I walked around and took some pics this morning. n 

4 hours ago, pyropoodle said:

, well, that doesn't look very serene does it?   I AM glad they didn't turn the aft pool into an adults only area, because I prefer the aft pool to the mid ship, but wow, I'm kinda surprised by this area.  I've never used a serenity area, so not sure if this is typical or not

 

anywho.....Sunrise has been sailing for days now, so WHERE ARE THE PICSSSSS, I am DYING over  here.  please, if you are sailing or have sailed, give us some pics.  I neeed to see it

4 hours ago, pyropoodle said:

, well, that doesn't look very serene does it?   I AM glad they didn't turn the aft pool into an adults only area, because I prefer the aft pool to the mid ship, but wow, I'm kinda surprised by this area.  I've never used a serenity area, so not sure if this is typical or not

 

anywho.....Sunrise has been sailing for days now, so WHERE ARE THE PICSSSSS, I am DYING over  here.  please, if you are sailing or have sailed, give us some pics.  I neeed to see it

I am going to board the ship this upcoming monday, and I plan to take a zillion pics of the refurb. I'll post a link to the good ones; for what they're worth, here are my pics of the first Elation cruise post-drydock: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNExYZcKPh6R3YLgxqCSOpWEzmlS2DMdoZ213tEsJjjuYRayj835KALgNrbJG-FzQ?key=OXdWYVpwNGdjSnl6cElMWDNNMllUWnM2TVZPWmJ3

1 hour ago, webecruzin2 said:

We'll be on the Sunrise sailing May 12th with our daughter and her family.  They're staying in one of the 2 new Scenic  Grand Ocean view cabins and would love to see some pics of the new cabins if anyone here on CC will be in one the next 2 sailings.

I'll be sure to post some pics and a review when we return.

Hi There! We happen to have Grand Scenic cabin 9201 booked for May 6. It would be an awesome coincidence if we had the same cabin the week before you. I don't know about you, but we booked it literally the instant it became available - the day it was rumored to go live, we kept refreshing Carnival's website until it showed up (for hours!) :-P. 

I'll try to take a few pics and post them before it sails away. For what it's worth, we were the second sailing to have the exact same cabin when they added it to the Splendor a couple of years ago. Here's a link to some pics we took; the cabin should be similar or exact.  Carnival Splendor 9201

Enjoy your cruise 🙂

 - Chris

On 3/4/2019 at 8:49 AM, naxer said:

There is also the $15/bag special, (or is it $20?).  Ask your steward.  If its basic stuff that doesn't need special attention, i.e. it can take a hot water wash and a hot dryer, you fill a bag for the morning and get it back that evening, washed and folded.  I do this every cruise.  A surprisingly large amount can be placed in the bag.  

Having used the both washer/dryers and the $15 laundry bags on several occasions, I have determined that the $15 laundry bag is the better deal. For less than the price of two cocktails, you don't have to worry about hovering around the laundry room, and your clothes will magically come back in less than 24 hours perfectly folded, usually warm, smelling good, and with a handwritten note from the individual who packaged your clothes thanking you for the amazing opportunity to wash your underwear ;-). The bag option cost twice as much but is absolutely worth it. (This is coming from the cheapest person on the planet.)

Thanks, Finoky 🙂 

Hi friends,

I'm hoping someone who has sailed out of Norfolk and drove to the terminal or were dropped off at the terminal can clarify some info, as Carnival's site is a little vague.

The Sheraton next to the terminal (less than 1/2 mile walk) is offering a Park and Cruise; we're driving in the night before so this sounds more appealing and less expensive than parking at Carnival's satellite lot. My question: can we just roll our bags from the Sheraton right to the cruise terminal, or do we have to actually go from the Sheraton to Carnival's satellite lot and then take the shuttle to the terminal from there? The directions on Carnival's site mentions that drop-offs need to be dropped off at the Satellite lot, so we're not sure if the facility allows for just rolling on up.)

We'd rather walk it, but don't want to walk only to find out that they won't let us enter because we didn't come off of a shuttle.

Thanks in advance!

hi - I know you asked this six months ago, but the Sheraton (right on the Elizabeth River and right next to the cruise terminal) started offering a Park and Cruise package. We're going out May 6 and are going to try it. 

Thanks for the link! It worked. Does anyone know if all $500 has to be in one transaction? It's not listed in the Terms and Conditions. (I owe less than $500 for my next cruise in February, so I'd apply the remaining balance to the following.)

Just curious - anyone know where they're gonna put Shaq's new chicken place? I was wondering if it was meant to replace Guy's, but Guy's is on the deck plans released today, and I can't find it anywhere else.

1) Packs of Starbucks VIA instant coffee - nearly as good as the real thing, MUCH better than the sour free swill, and cheaper than the stuff you pay for at the coffee stand on the ship

2) A Sharpie, primarily used to fill out name/date/cabin numbers on the paper laundry bags. (I always manage to rip the bags when I use a regular ball point pen.)

I've had one of the suites with a hot tub twice, and enjoyed the tub both times. That said, it's pretty noisy when the bubbles are turned on, and the electric bathroom lights don't exactly lend themselves to a relaxing experience. Consider bringing a Battery Flickering Candle Thing if you wanna use the tub frequently. (We have one that takes AAA batteries which last seemingly forever.) Or download a candle app for your phone :-P

Considering that I'm fine with Maxwell House French roast at home, I think Carnival's free coffee is pretty bad. However, we also want to avoid the cost of the ship's premium coffee. Our solution is to buy a box or two of Starbucks VIA instant coffee packets at Costco when they (frequently) put it on sale. It's definitely better than my usual Maxwell House, and it comes to about 40 cents a cup. If you haven't tried it before, it's better than other instant coffees - very close to a regular cup of Starbucks.

The usual Carnival mugs aren't big enough for the VIA, so we also bring larger travel mugs.

We prefer your time dining. Especially on vacation, I don't want to be tied down to a dining time.

 

Plus, I am in a profession where I talk to people all day long. On vacation, I just want to eat with my family and not make chit chat with tablemates.

Me too!

It depends:

• on the smaller Fantasy class ships, many or most porthole cabins are a bit longer (larger) than Oceanview; based on the lower cost and the larger room, we usually go for a porthole cabin.
  
• On the Conquest-sized ships, it depends: the two-bed portholes are the same size, but the one-bed plus sofabed cabins (called "upper/lower) are smaller. (Oceanview cabins on these ships are pretty big, as most include the room that would otherwise be used by a balcony.)
  

Not sure about the larger ships...

Right downtown on the waterfront - beautiful area - I miss living there! :)

Yeah, based on the Google Maps street / 3D views, Norfolk looks like a MUCH nicer port than Baltimore (which is industrial and within walking distance of nothing). There are several hotels within walking distance of the cruise terminal, parks, and shopping / restaurants.

I hope that Carnival eventually considers Norfolk for year-round options.

I believe he said adding decks for the cabins like they did with Sunshine. So based upon your negative questions, I take it you are not impressed?

Hi Jimbo,

Not negative, just curious. Since my posting, the deck plans have obviously been confirmed. I'm impressed enough to have booked a Grand Scenic OV out of Norfolk in May and a regular OV out of Norfolk in October. I live in Richmond, so I'm delighted to have an option that's even closer than Baltimore and on a different ship than the Pride.

I'm a liiiiittle disappointed that they aren't adding the fun waterfall serenity area like they did with the Sunshine, but everything else looks fine.

- Chris :-)

Hello all. I wasn't too concerned with the system going down, as I am for my booking date on the now Sunrise. I'm booked on April 29th. It's the first sailing after dry dock. I'm praying nothing goes wrong and delays when she come out of dry dock. Anyone ever been in this situation and what was the outcome? Thanks in advance for any info! Just a tad bi nervous here!

I ended up on what was the Elation's first sailing out of a long and expansive drydock last year. (We were supposed to be the third cruise out, but a hurricane held things up.)

We had a good time, but the ship wasn't finished.

The good:

- cabins that were complete were lovely (we had a porthole cabin that felt brand-new)

- new food options were ready (Guys, Blue Iguana), and the dining rooms were remodeled and ready

- new water slides were ready day-one

- existing room cabin hallways were mostly complete

- staff was great

Not great:

- several public areas (like mini-golf) and cabins in new areas were not complete, and looked like construction zones; and there were lots and lots of contractors still working on the ship to complete these areas.

- we boarded substantially later than originally scheduled (basically losing the first day), and we were not compensated appropriately. We also felt that Carnival mislead us several times the day of boarding. The 'three hour delay' ended up being up to 10 hours, and some passengers didn't get their luggage until the following morning. We were given a credit of $15 per person for boarding day lunch, a $50 cabin credit, and a short apology note.

- the main pool area was updated, but did not work a full day and a half of the cruise. (It was netted.)

- much of the gym equipment in the workout room was 'new' (reconditioned) but wasn't functional or put together.

- there were weird food outages; yogurt, fruit, soft serve ice cream - until the last port day (the day before the cruise ended)

Despite this experience, we're also eyeing the first cruise knowing this may happen again. We had a good time regardless.

I've been checking the Carnival website periodically throughout the morning to try to make a booking on the Sunrise; it only lets me get so far. (I've only checked the first Norfolk sailing for April 29.)

Has anyone had any luck or heard anything from Carnival as to when we can make new bookings?

- Chris

I wonder if the Cruise Radio deck plans are accurate: from what I see, they definitely show new cabins on the back of the promenade deck, even though what we've read has stated otherwise. Also of interest is where they're putting the tiny serenity area (next to the entrance to water slides?) and the Guy's Pig and Anchor area.

Maybe Cruise Radio posted an earlier draft in error or haste...