cmukid87

Why on earth are people out at 3-4am.....on debarkation day?  Stupid people play stupid games and win stupid prizes.  It's those people that give cruising and specifically Carnival cruisers a bad name.  Disgusting.

3 hours ago, lazydayz said:

I tried once, and it was an experience.  Never did it again, as you get better product from the bar. 

100%.  I used the PYOB in the Lido Marketplace and at the Red Frog Pub and both were disgusting.  You can tell those beer lines are NEVER cleaned.

Breakfast - Bacon, sausage, and french toast.

Lunch - Sandwiches from the Deli

Dinner - Salad Bar.  I like making my own and sometimes using the toppings to dial up other dishes.

13 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

They say that but it’s kind of nonsense right? I’ve been in one of the first boarding groups on every cruise since the restart. Platinum and Diamond get to pick the earlier arrival times and they get earlier boarding zones

You'd think that is the case.  When we sailed in Galveston it was anarchy as far as boarding times.  Hundreds of extra people showing up at 10:30 and nobody turning them back.  Long, long lines.  

Until they start enforcing the "perk" is useless.

My offer was when Carnival Journey's cruises were just starting to sail.  $25/pp to sail and included $200obc/pp.  This included all Journey's cruises at the time anywhere from 9-14 days.  Unfortunately my wife and I had just gotten back from a 7 day sailing and we have a house full of kids so we couldn't leave them for that long.

My opinion - There is something with the Vista that is causing something.  As ambiguous as that is.  Same story for us the first week of April.  Delay after delay after delay.

I know the reason for this line BUT I'll add that my experience with Galveston is there is no enforcement of arrival times.  Extremely annoying that those that follow the rules end up waiting in line because of those that don't, but it is what it is.

Best decision we made was to skip our reserved clamshell on HMC and stay on the ship.  We'd been there before so we enjoyed the ship nearly to ourselves.  Wonderful time.  

Great news.  The back to fun cruise on Carnival Magic was the best sailing we have ever been on!

11 and 15 year old kids always complain about us never buying them soda at home.  We got them the bubbles and they weren't even close to getting their $ worth.  I don't think they ever drank more than 2 in a day ($6).

39 minutes ago, bar10der421 said:

The information that I was given is that each cabin needs to make their own reservation on line and then upon boarding go to the restaurant and request that you all be seated together. This is an issue that Carnival really needs to resolve.

Pre-cruise yes, that's how it is handled.  We had no problem just popping into the Steakhouse one afternoon and the host linked our bookings so we could sit together.  It's was no headache or inconvenience.  

I think Carnival customer service won't ever take that part over because the people you are speaking with are not actually on the ship so there is no accountability and limited visibility.

I haven't sailed recent enough to answer 1.  

2. The condition was probably a little above average for a ship at that age.  I don't recall ever seeing any part of the ship that looked neglected or overly worn.

3. Food is pretty standard across all of the ships sans the new(er) ships.  We always enjoy Blue Iguana for breakfast burritos, arapas and huevos rancheros then tacos for lunch.  Guys Burgers is very popular.  Seaday brunch is also a very popular venue.  These are all complimentary.

On 4/24/2022 at 9:24 AM, KmomChicago said:

Our room is one of the forward picture window behind a secret deck rooms with more or less the Cap’n’s view of the sea. 
 

There is a slight noise problem. Every few minutes there’s a shuddering kind of banging sound that is obviously related to the ship’s movement. It is muffly, lol sounds like a cabin door banging on its frame a deck below and is accompanied by vibration. It’s not extremely loud and we slept through it last night but it’s not the tomblike silence I really love. We can also feel a lot of motion so this room might not be a good choice for everyone. 

There are only 2 closets  rather than the usual 3 and no couch, which is sort of irrelevant as it’s always made up into the teen’s bed anyway so we don’t use it for seating. There is room between the bed and bathroom for an easy chair but then perhaps it would feel cluttered which it doesn’t now. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What deck are you on?  We were on Lido way up front 3 weeks ago and those noises got LOUD, frequent and the movement was something I'd never experienced before on other ships.  The banging got to the point where all 4 of us would be woken up by it and we are all hard sleepers.

Bimini was a blast for us.  We rented a golf cart and explored the island.  We went into a couple of small, local shops.  We found a nice restaurant to dine at and got some drinks at another place.  I was so happy to be able to spend my money to help local businesses instead of a massive commercialized cruise port area where they couldn't care less about my $100 when there are 7k others willing to spend the same amount.

56 minutes ago, handbellplayer said:

 

4.      Using the Hub chat feature – do we activate it on board or ahead?  Can we set up chat between linked reservations?

 

Hub is only useful on the ship and chat is only activated on the ship.  If you have already linked bookings they will show up in your list of contacts.

Those rooms are wonderful.  I prefer deck 6 because I spend a lot of time at the different spots on deck 5.  One quick trip down the stairs to the Piano Bar, Red Frog, Ocean Plaza, Casino, Guys Pig'n'Anchor and Limelight Lounge.

18 hours ago, HectorAchilleus said:

It is my opinion that they will bring back FTTF before Diamonds, etc. They do not have the profit incentive to do otherwise. With new varients, etc, you may never see priority boarding for Plats & Diamonds (except for priority check-in) again

Highly doubtful.  If they do there will be a mixup of benefits for P/D and the FTTF to accommodate.  I'd imagine Carnival does not want to upset their frequent customers just to make a few bucks with FTTF.  Just a couple of upset P/D can completely offset the potential profit of FTTF.

9 minutes ago, a3593 said:

Thanks!!  Where is Ocean Plaza on the Magic?

Ocean Plaza is on Deck 5/Promenade.  Near midship just behind the casino.

22 minutes ago, Brandiwine1977 said:

Probably not, since you had already sailed, you were in that "contract".  It stinks though. 

 

That's what I'm expecting when or if I call.  I always thought $150 was steep but was willing to fork it over.  Glad they reduced it for kids that simply aren't eligible to abide by vaccination requirements.

Just want an opinion so don't trash me here.

We just sailed on Vista April 2.  Had our 4 year old who needed to be tested at the port and again the last day of the sailing.  We were charged $150.  During the cruise Carinval changed their charges to $60 for children 2-4.  Does this give me a leg to stand on to try to get the difference back?

My family of 10 was also on this sailing and you are hitting the nail on the head. 

I'll start with with our ***** moment.  Around day 4 my wife gets a letter in our mailbox saying she needs to being her travel documents to Guest Services for verification.  We don't get around to it that night so day 5 we get the same letter.  I get the documents but the line at guest services was long, go figure.  Later that night we get a call to our stateroom saying it's urgent that she brings her documents.  We finally get into guest services and my wife straight out asks the employee "so who messed up during embarkation?" to which she was answered with "this is a random CBP verification and it has nothing to do with Carnival".......nope.  Debarkation comes along and her S&S gets scanned and a big X shows up on the screen.  We have to wait to be escorted off the ship by a Carnival Officer.  Our group is escorted to CBP and the officer who was extremely nervous the entire time explained to the CBP that my wife was NEVER CHECKED INTO THE SHIP.  According to Carnival records she wasn't even on the ship, just her S&S was being used.  There was no record of her until night 5 when we provided documents.  So yes, this was 100% on Carnival and not a CBP thing.  Lied to again.  Extremely disappointing.

My wife thought Savannah was great but I am in your boat.  I think my wife gets enamored by things and our son (11) was all about Savannah and would participate in everything that she was doing.  I seem to have a eye for the details.  In comparison to all of my Carnival cruises she was 2nd worst (Jen Baxter being the worst in case you were wondering).  It's not that she did anything bad but she didn't bring the energy that others had.  The onboard arguments/quarrels were extremely awkward and the funsquad was almost nowhere to be seen across the ship.  My biggest complaint was an uncomfortable and awkward moment the last seaday in the Ocean Plaza for a trivia match that had Dean and Savannah came though.  It was towards the end and they basically aired their laundry of being a couple to everyone.  TBH that's your business and has no implication to passengers.  You could tell she was young, green, and immature and honestly I expected more from a CD on Vista.  She seems more suited for a smaller class ship.

The port times were extremely aggravating.  Having a total of about 4 hours in Grand Cayman, which used to be my favorite port, was disappointing.  You know it's bad when the last water shuttle was supposed to leave at 1:15 and there were buses of people being dropped off at 1:15, 1:20, 1:30.  We ran into the port area from our bus at 1:25 and found a LONG line waiting to get on a water shuttle.  3 shuttles later and we were finally onboard around 2:15 if I remember right.  Then of course was the Cozumel Debacle.  That turned me and my family off big time.  The misinformation and lies that were being said.  Things happen, we get it.  As cruisers we've bought into that possibility.  So why blame something that was not an issue.  

All in all we will sail Carnival again but will be much more careful to look at ship, homeport, CD, and ports of call.

Great news now move swiftly and remove restrictions for non-vaxed kids!

33 minutes ago, NauticaX said:

 

Same.  I saw noticed the "Carnival tours are free for guests ages 4 and under; however, guests are still required to reserve a ticket. but looking at my booking details I am still paying for my 2yr old on excursions.

 

I'm guessing this will have to be dealt with either at Guest Services or at the Shore Excursions desk.  

37 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

...but we had to PAY for our kid....this says they are FREE!

We leave Saturday and have one excursion booked through Carnival that I had to buy a ticket for my 4 year old.  Still shows it in my booking info.

Do it.  Grand scheme of things it's not that expensive.  $38 gets you an appetizer, entre, desert and gratuity is included.  The quality of the food in the steakhouse is much better than the MDR.
 

My favorite is the tuna tartare or beef carpacio for your appetizer.  The filet mignon or surf for main and cheesecake for the desert.  You will leave either stuffed or with a box with your desert in it.