NYLady

With a need to gather information after years of not cruising, I am grateful for all information (even if it is pre-Covid).  Thank you all.

Thank you all so much! CruiseCritic is awesome!

We have only sailed in Carnival once before so we are relative newbies to their policies. I just learned of their Bon Voyage purchase of alcohol program which sounds perfect. We always have an awkward set-up for our private in-cabin sail away cocktail and this will resolve that awkwardness and delay getting our vacation started.

We are looking at a trip on Sunshine for next August. Once we are formally booked will we have access to what they have available? We are wine, tequila. and vodka drinkers. It would be helpful to see their choices and prices. Does anyone have that list to share? I tried to find it online but decided one must be already booked.

I tried to read through another thread but it had gotten off topic so didn't get too much info. Thank you for any information you can provide!

We were on Gem from NY Feb 9, 2015 and that night the dining room offered an eggplant dish. It was beautifully presented and was light and delicious. I would have loved to have ordered it again and again but I never saw it on the menu again.

We were there last May (2011), so this info is one season old. I went to both of these optional dinners/shows. The Peking Duck Dinner -- the food wasn't bad, except for the duck, which was mediocre. (But we'd been in Beijing on our own before the Viking tour began and had fantastic Peking Duck at Made in China.) The opera itself was (thankfully) "dumbed down" for westerners into two one-half hour stories each. I thought it was very interesting to experience this aspect of Chinese culture, and I particularly enjoyed the opportunity we had prior to the opera to watch one of the performers in the elaborate ritual of putting on his makeup and costume. My partner, however, skipped this evening (something about preferring bamboo shoots under her fingernails to Chinese opera) and we were each happy with the choice we had made. :)

 

The Tang Dynasty dinner theatre --- below mediocre food, everyone at our table thought so. The show itself struck us as completely made up for tourists, a bit dull, some of it was interesting. I know we are in the minority here in not raving about it, but it was the one truly disappointing evening of the entire trip. In hindsight, I would much rather have used the time to see the old City Walls in Xi'an than spent the evening on this (but that wasn't a choice).

 

Have a great trip. China with Viking is extraordinary!

We just came back three days ago so I can provide an "update". I completely agree with turtles06's assessment but let me elaborate a bit.

Beijing excursion - Peking duck and Beijing opera. I was very excited about authentic Beijing duck as my Chinese friends told me I should be. I didn't really care about the Beijing opera and, in fact, I didn't realize until the last minute that they were together in one excursion. The restaurant and theater are in one building so once dinner is finished everyone moves next door into the theater. The theater is set up with tables down front (where the Viking group is seated) and drinks (for $) were offered along with snacks. We had just finished dinner so is was pretty funny. The duck dinner was very much like all Chinese dinners we had on the tour, quite good but nothing to knock your socks off. The duck is served last and it is anticlimatic. When it is put on the table someone shows you how to prepare it - pancake on plate, dip sliced duck in plum sauce and place on pancake, put the pre-sliced cucumber and green onion on and wrap the pancake. That's it! So, I was disappointed. If I had it to do over I would check with the hotel concierge for an appropriate restaurant for me to have authentic Beijing duck and I would take my self out. You can even have the concierge write something for the taxi driver and the restaurant if you are nervous about communicating in Chinese. The opera, on the other hand was unexpectedly charming. This year it is divided into 4 15-minute long scenes, each of which is totally charming. It is very easy to follow the storyline as there are subtitles in English (on the wall). The costumes are divine, the hand movements are carefully controlled "mudra" and the foot movements look very much like properly done Tai Chi. The sound of the singing itself is so unusual I didn't even find it off-putting. I just let the sound be what it was without comment or criticism, I just had never heard anything like it before. LOVED the opera! Many people joked about it but I have complete respect for the work that went into the performance and I appreciated the little taste of something outside my ordinary comfort zone.

Tang Dynasty Dinner show in Xi'an - This is billed as authentic costuming and original (and extinct) instrumentation. Many people had given positive reviews and I was very interested in the research that had gone into the costuming and instruments. I have studied Tai Chi and was excited to see a "pipa" for the first time (there is a movement called "wield the pipa"). The instrumentalists were on the stage as we entered, playing as people were seated at the dinner show venue. There were various instrumentalists and singers who took the stage as we were served our meal. The service was mediocre to poor and only the first appetizer was tasty. After that, it was ordinary dinner show fare. When the show started it took me about 10 minutes to be completely disappointed as I realized what had been done. I believe it is true that a great deal of research went into preparation of authentic costumes and there is no question there was a great deal of research and work that went into constructing extinct instruments and for the musicians to learn to play them. All of that has my admiration but I wish I had been prepared for the nature of the actual show, which was far from authentic and which spoiled it all for me. The choreography and musical accompaniment during the show itself made me want to get up and leave immediately (it turns out I should have as those who didn't come to the show went outside to the town square where people were dancing spontaneously and having a wonderful time). If you are a "show" person you will probably find it quite nice. I am not a "show" person. I came to China to try to see something authentic but what was presented was akin to Esther Williams on stage. Honestly, for many of the numbers, I expected to see her come swimming out. I realized then, of course, that there are no records of the actual movements of the people or the sound of their music during the Tang period so staying away from anything that could be misunderstood as true Tang Dynasty music and movement was probably a good idea and they chose to provide a show that would be pleasing to a western mind. And, for the most part, they succeeded in providing a show that most people found to be "much better than that opera". I was deeply disappointed but equally surprised to hear my fellow tourists talking about how much they enjoyed it. So, if you are a "show" person you will probably love it!

I bought a series of three treatments on a recent cruise. I was quite taken with the lecture as it made good scientific sense, so I gave it a try. It was uncomfortable at first but I came to appreciate the stimuation to my abdominal muscles and with increased voltage, it actually felt better.

It turned out to be just the jump-start my abdominal muscles needed to get the idea that they are supposed to be "contracting". I felt an immediate improvement in my breathing (the highest work was being done near my diaphragm) that has persisted (this was two months ago). I have continued to work my abdominal muscles with exercise and I have completely changed my diet, based on the lectures.

I didn't buy the products because they are too expensive but I would have, if I had the money. I also did some research on the therapy when I came home and wish I had the money to buy the treatments. In the meantime, I have been transformed and completely cut those things in my diet that are toxic. I even threw away all my Splenda... So, for me, it was well worth the money as it changed my life.

Thanks for your response.

Do you know how many points it cost?

Did you arrange it through the Marriott Vacation Club?

I heard that some cruise lines have arrangements to trade for points, like the Marriott Vacation Club points. I must remember to call them and ask about this, but, I just wondered if any of you have experience with using points for a cruise?