mz-s

The way I read that, there is only room for 3300 in the life boats (and that's assuming 150 King-size Americans can actually fit in them!). Would you want to trust a dinghy with your life in the unlikely event of an abandon ship order?

You're describing what a lot of land-based venues do as I'm sure you are aware. Thus far it doesn't seem like the cruise lines are so interested in loyalty. Likely because there is still so much growth in the industry. Once the market is more saturated and it mostly becomes a game of lines poaching customers from each other (as MSC and Virgin are trying to do), we'll see more of this type of thing.

I don't know - either the capacity figure on GoCCL is wrong or Heald posted wrong figures. Either way, the folks on Radiance right now are seeing what it's like to be on a very full cruise ship!

Maybe they fired 32 stewards and added more trundles to make up for the difference?

When you request a table you can request a table for any or all of your cruising companions. You can't request a table until the restaurant opens for service and you are ready to eat. No requesting a table at 8AM when supper doesn't start until 5:45. No requesting a table at 5:45 unless you want to eat then, as your reservation will expire 10 minutes after your table is assigned if you haven't checked in to eat.

I love inside rooms! Balconies are great but I have no problems cruising inside. A 5-6 day cruise is a great time to try an inside room honestly. If you don't like it, you've got Serenity on Sunshine or Havana or Serenity on Horizon to fall back on. Since you're flying either way that just makes the Horizon cruise an easier decision to me. It's a longer cruise for less money (on a per-day basis, even better when you consider the OBC), to more exciting ports of call, Havana area, on a newer nicer ship.

They found 32 pallets or cribs apparently because she's sailing today with 3905 guests, assuming Heald's figures on Facebook are accurate.

I would do Charleston since I could drive in and save a lot of money and stress that way vs. flying/ubering/etc. But if you're flying either way, I'd probably do Horizon. Newer nicer ship and more exciting and longer itinerary, plus the Havana area is nice and it's actually cheaper (as Miami cruises typically are).

I think it's mostly that Carnival has gotten better at encouraging guarantee rates, and have been good about not putting couples in rooms that have upper berths. 2984 is obviously not the absolute maximum capacity for the ship. Even if all berths are filled there are still sofas in most of the balcony rooms, trundles, cribs, that can be sold.

Carnival Radiance leaving out today...nearly 4000 guests and almost 2500 of them are first time Carnival cruisers. Carnival doesn't want Diamond or Platinum cruisers anymore. Their Casino might but Carnival wants blue cards who don't know what Carnival is capable of.

Yes, if you plan to do that go ahead and choose a later debarkation number luggage tag and you can stay on the ship until "last call" if you wish. You can use the #1 luggage tags they provide you if you want, that works too. It's just that some ports like Charleston don't have as much room for luggage so it's more of a courtesy depending on the port you're cruising out of.

Heald posted today the Radiance is leaving out on a 3-day cruise with 3905 guests. Obscene to have nearly 4,000 guests on a ship that size.

I stopped worrying about what Europeans thought of Americans in 1776.

Thank you for that! Good to know!

Carnival hasn't announced 2023 policies yet

You can check in 2 days early. As far as at the pier, you are supposed to get priority there but you still have to arrive during your arrival appointment. They are supposed to be enforcing arrival appointments for everyone except suite guests.

Thanks for the review. Was the deli serving french fries that you recall? I was on Freedom last year and remember the MDR leaving me less than gruntled. I recall my calamari being horribly overcooked and the risotto being undercooked. Other than that, it was par for the course for Carnival. Overall I do enjoy the Conquest class. I just wish Carnival took better care of their ships.

I do think they are just trying to prove the market in Norfolk right now. If it's a success, I would expect a newer ship, maybe even multiple ships (at least seasonally) and varied itineraries. I could see a ship like Sunshine being the year-round 5-6 day ship, and a newer ship like Magic stopping by a few times a year for a 7-10 day option. The port really needs attached parking for multiple ships to be an option though, and I'm not sure if that's possible.

It is possible but typically once you get your GTY room assigned, it stays. I too have had good luck with GTY rooms - having always received a better room than I should have.

Other than the late night snacks buffet being gone, I can't recall any other changes to the Lido buffet's hours. I tend to think of the buffet as "recession proof" because it's the cheapest way for Carnival to feed its guests. They've definitely cheapened the food in recent months but the hours are the same as I remember.

Your PVP is probably wanting to at least try to move your deposit to a future cruise, so it is worth the phone call. But if you are dead set on cancelling and never sailing Carnival again then go ahead and just ignore the final payment date and about 2-3 days after final payment it'll be cancelled on its own.

The ships out of Baltimore sail right past Norfolk on their way to their destinations so it makes sense the itineraries would be similar. The benefit of Norfolk for cruisers is mostly for those in southern VA, NC, SC, etc - you don't have to deal with DC traffic to drive to your cruise.

The problem with this is they have strong competition that may not have to cut as much. For just a few things - there is no bacon crisis on RCL and you still get twice-daily room service despite paying the same (or similar) daily gratuity. RCL's prices really aren't much higher than CCL, in fact they're pretty much the same most of the time.

Yeah I'm not expecting a brand new ship in Carnival's newest year-round port. They need to prove the market in Norfolk first. But I was hoping for something better than their oldest hull. Maybe the Sunshine is just there to prove the market and will be swapped out with newer tonnage in a year or so if it's a success.

To me their product is not worth higher prices. Everyone will have to do their own comparisons and everyone's calculus will be different obviously. I get that Carnival doesn't want to be known as the Dollar General of the cruise industry anymore, but that reputation is not entirely due to price.