tbbtravels

smartpeach what's the status? Did your ta revive herself ? Did carnival help you?

Good luck jamscckmc.

Hubs and I had to quit drinking so the premiere offers aren't all that great for us anymore.

I got pack and play offers in Oct. I'm booked on two. There were many cruises included between Oct and May. Included were the first two Vista cruises and one Alaska. I could book as many as I wanted. This is the third time I've received these offers within a couple months of my last cruise. This time instead of $50 for cruise and $50 OBC it was $75 for inside and $50 OBC. I am not a big gambler. It always takes me till night 6 to get 1500 points and the drinks on us card.

My last pack n go rate offers were in April and June of last year. I have had 4 casino offers since Dec but nothing but premiere or casino cash offers.

I agree the pack n go rates are the best. I was getting them regularly the last 2 years. They started out free and port fees, then $50/$50 but the last bunch was $75/$50obc which was $150 and $50 on the longer 7/8 day cruises.

Lately, I get nothing but premiere with $300 cash. Not as good a deal to me. I quit gambling over the bounce back and not getting the room when I had something booked a while back.

I was ready to gamble this cruise and playing for points to get bounce backs again. Reading on a couple of places that they are not doing the pack n goes anymore. Anyone been on the triumph lately and what did you play? I like penny slots like quick hits at a max bet of $3 or the orb dragons and wolf machines at a max bet around $3.

I normally don't care one way or the other who the CD is, but Mike Pack changed that when I sailed with him on the Glory... Funny, engaging, and everywhere. Easily the best of any cruise I have ever been on.

Yep, I agree. Don't realize what has been missing till you have him.

Nice to see you still on here Sid. Still cruising I see. Hope you and your daughter are well.

Hope to sit by you at dinner again. Was awesome on the Breeze those years ago!

We sail the same ships, sometimes the cruises are just several weeks apart. Some times the food is great, other times it's yuck. Same menu, change of cooks.

For whatever reason the fish cooks have been consistently very good.

That is what we have determined as well. It's the chefs. Sometimes it's great and sometime it's not. My hubs routinely ask,,,, is this the chef that can make shoe leather taste great? That's what it has come down to for us. 30 cruises, 18 carnival ships and many repeats of a ship,,,, and it's different. Gotta be the chef.

Wow, hope this works out for the original poster. Scary. Glad I only go through my carnival pvp now more than ever.

Just curious for example what are the check in times for Port Everglades for Carnival Conquest. I checked in for our Feb 12 cruise knowing nothing about this check in thing and I got 12:00 to 12:30 I think. I am wondering if earlier times were already taken ?? Thanks

Yep as it fills up it closes out that time slot. It will eventually be 2 to 230 is all that is left.

I have a question that might deserve it's own thread, but I will try anyway. I have friends who are sailing from FLL this month on Conquest. I'm not sure if they are aware of staggered checkin - I am going to see them later to ask. Anyway, one of the group (don't know how big it is) is in a wheelchair, and they seem to think that they will get priority boarding for everyone in the group. So first, if they show up in a w/c and are before their assigned time, they will let them in or not? (I am really hoping not...)? And how many of the group if they do? Just those in the same cabin?

Thanks. EM

As a disabled cruiser, all I can say is Carnival breaks rules all the time. As a rule no they don't allow them in past security but Carnival staff break rules all the time. They will allow them into the building but not through the line. And usually they allow the group to stay together.

This is all second nature to my 5 year old grandson' date=' perhaps we should rent out his services:)[/quote']

 

LOL, our 4 year as well. He can whip through on a tablet, phone and anything else electronic. We are still trying to figure out how to turn it on or find the volume button.

 

 

I am scared of technology. Fraud and electronics go hand in hand. At least on carnival they have our picture to deter some fraud. I still find charges to my folio I didn't make by way of hand tickets. The old school back up way.

I am just old and slow and will come around eventually. I will learn this stuff about the time the new next thing comes around. Better late than never.:D

A big hurrah for staggered check in times. These check in times make a HUGE difference. Its was so much easier last year when they started doing this in NOLA. Before it was a cluster of people shoving and screaming that someone was ahead of them. The port staff would just send you around and around in lines because the lines were full in the building. Now it's organized chaos.

Do not go to the port check in entrance one second before your time. You will be waiting in a long long line outside in the elements. Sometimes even at your time they can be behind and you will stand in the long long long line. Just saying.

If you have completed your online checkin and your port is included in the time slots, you will be listed as an incomplete checkin when the time slots do open up. Then you have to go back into online checkin and complete your online check in by choosing a time slot.

I have been on a bunch of carnival cruises and been on his ships a few times. What makes him different to me is that he cares if you hear him. Some cd are talking as fast as they can to get a job done. Like reading a script. He wants you to understand what he is saying. He actually pauses and repeats the key parts of his announcements.

Oh and the reviews about him being hilarious, that is 1000% true. His suits alone are over the top! He is still my fav after all this time.

I agree with others. I was always off at 630 and in car leaving the cruise terminal by 715. NOLA has been my home port for years. I am platinum and always debark as self assist. Fttf are in the same holding room for debark. Just go earlier than the debark letter says.

There for a while when they started the water bottle ban it was crazy and they allowed nothing to brought on after the port of origin. The ships I have been on after that time, I have experienced no prob with that anymore. We bring on canned sodas at the other ports during our cruises.

If they confiscate anything at boarding I go to guest services. As I did with 4 packs of 4 low carb shakes in July on the Carnival Dream. I don't bring on alcohol and I don't bring on bottled water or bottles of soda. So they don't get to take my stuff. I notify special needs I am low carb. Most of the time I just bring powder but sometimes when I travel I have to hit a walgreens or cvs and pick up the 4 packs.

Just wished Carnival would adopt a policy and not change from it. The case by case crap and ship by ship and security team by security team drives me bonkers.

Caroline Picard, the Cajun Queen of Comedy, is my all time hands down favorite.

 

Granted..when we've sailed it's been mainly male comedians and the only female one besies Queen Caroline was Miss Thea, who I really disliked because she just wasn't funny.

Yep, I have seen her. She is just off some times.

If you bring your sodas in the box be prepared for the drink inspectors to cut the box open. I saw this in Mobile. Several people were left trying to carry the cans in their arms. I actually had a bag a tour operator gave me so I was able to help one person out with the bag but I saw other trash their cans after their boxes were destroyed.

We had this happen in Charleston SC on the Ecstasy. They threw the cans on the table and they spurted. Was a mess. They did have tape to put the boxes back together again. Crappy to go through this for them hunting alcohol. Miami and NOLA they just looked in the boxes. SC was crazy on the hunt!

I was under the assumption you can only bring on sodas from your port of origin, just like wine.

Nope, people carry them on in bulk from CVS in Key West and CVS in San Juan. Dh is a hard core diet mtn dew guy and he buys 24 LOOSE cans in Aruba and St Martin to carry on the ship.

Mike, you are the 2nd less than stellar review I have read. We cruise Jan 30 for Diamond cruise. Now I am worried it won't like it was the last time we cruised on her.

I have some really great servers and some that don't care. So I really could relate to your review.

Note to self, change tables immediately if I don't get decent service.

Chances are you are not getting early dining at this point; just when you board go right to the dining room and maitre'd who will potentially be able to change your dining time.

Great advice! Go immediately and more than likely you will get changed to your preferred time slot.

I have been assigned the wrong time once or twice. I always check that card at check in. Then I know if I need to get it fixed. Hate, Hate that 2nd seating dinner.

Wow! My friend was just off her in December and didn't have this type of sub-par service. I was on her a long time ago for 21 days,,,Journeys b2b. It was so awesome.

Anyway, We sail end of this month, as I turn diamond. I sure hope they are back up to snuff by then.

We did the partial on the Pride repo from Tampa to Baltimore. Colon Panama and Limon PR were part of the cruise ports. We did an off carnival excursion for Colon. I don't normally do those types but there were like 80 of us from cruisecritic. I felt the ship wouldn't leave 2 buses of us. The excursion was an all day thing but was so wonderful. An experience of a lifetime for sure.

Now the limon was a carnival bought excursion to the organic chocolate banana plantation/ petting zoo and we were late. The bus was driven up to the gangway. There were many white suits waiting on us with a clip board to check us off the list. I kid you not!

They have fried shrimp on the buffet when it's in the MDR. It's the panko type version.

I have seen Caroline Picard, Kim Millhouse Harrison, Just June, Valerie Storm, and there is Sheilakay, Jodi White and a few more I can't remember off the top of my head.

As far as fav,,,,just june,valarie storm, kim and caroline are in a 4 way tie

He is about the only comedy club manager who adds something to the shows.

yep, at first I hated it. He wasn't all that funny for a while. I notice he is getting a little funnier every cruise. Plus because we know the rules we can follow them and it's no longer a big deal. We frequently go get hubs his icecream and come back to the show instead standing in line. Also we stay on that end of the ship anyway, so we just head off to our cabin for a few minutes.

Wonder if he ever is on vaca? Every time I am on that ship he is there. He also is the only manager that I have never seen participate in embark and debark.

Hey eveandbob! We use to talk on email a few years back. Glad to see you still hanging around and that you made diamond. We cruised together on the Conquest in 2014. I hung around walkenkeg! We were playing beside each other in the casino and he mentioned cruise critic. Anyway, he was hoot and actually changed ships the same time I did on part of my big b2b trip. I was a lowly gold at the time. I appreciated you higher sailing levels helping me on out that cruise and showing me the ropes. I still use my hanging platinum travel bag that I was gifted by you guys. Till we cruise again!

You can still get a good seat after the line goes down. As so says Jeff the Fun Dude on the Dream. Y'all been to one of his shows? It's something. He begs people not to stand in line because there are still great seats after the line goes down. Then he says So go get some pizza or icecream and come back to get a seat. That's his speech because he said he doesn't want people to get mad over lines and you don't have to stand in them for his shows as long as you are there a few minutes early.

He is a stickler for cruisers to leave the lounge after the shows as well as not to save seats for other people. He is not the norm on carnival. I have never met another comedy club manager that is as serious as he is about the show and his club rules.

About half the ships don't even clear the lounge,,,,,or the ones that I have been on.