RLM77

We bring one on every cruise (a pretty neat round one with internal cord storage) and have never had any issues. It’s packed in our carryon with the jewelry, camera, and mini-fans.

It used to be true that booking through a TA was almost always better than booking direct. These days I’m not so sure. From Black Friday last year through February 2024 Carnival was offering a $200 OBC for direct online bookings. The best deal I found through my usual TA was a $125 OBC at a slightly higher fare. At that time I checked an online travel site that I don’t normally use and was offered even less. So I booked all our CCL itineraries for 2025 direct during that period (2024 was already set). I plan to do the same for 2026 later this year if a similar promotion returns. Since February it has been better to go through a TA. So the moral of the story is to check both your TA’s price/perks and what you could get booking directly. That way you should always be able to snag the best deal. Rich

Hello all! Although we are E+ in Captain’s Club, we will soon be taking our very first cruise on Edge-class, in this case Beyond. Since guests are able to order from any of the four MDR menus regardless of which MDR you are seated in, I am wondering if any of the rooms are a bit quieter or give diners a bit more space than the others? Put another way, do any past pax have a preference from an ambiance point of view? Or are they all pretty much the same? Thanks in advance for your insights. Rich

Thanks for the info. I’m less concerned about not receiving them than I was, thanks to all of our new friends on CC.

Thanks @Wallyj, very helpful info! We are out of FLL on Enchanted. My guess is that they are most likely able to make the medallions at the pier, but we’ll see. Just needed to be sure that I don’t necessarily need to notify them in advance (though I might anyway). For the other posters that suggested the problem might be on the Princess end, that does not seem likely. The USPS tracking shows that it left a “shipping partner” location in CA back on June 5. That is the last update thus far. Even though we live on FL, it seems like it should have made it to somewhere in the East by now. There is still a little time left for it to show up, but I’m frankly losing hope. Rich

Does anyone know what the procedure is if the Postal Service mishandles a medallion shipment? Per the tracking number our medallions have been in the hands of a USPS “delivery partner” for two weeks now. It’s getting late and I’m starting to think they won’t arrive in time (or at all). Given the Postal Service’s track record I suspect we’re not the first to have experienced this. If it happened to you, how did Princess handle it? Thanks for your insights. Rich

Looking at a possible booking later in 2025. We haven’t been on X since shortly after the restart, before the return of cruise-only pricing. We are also Elite+ which provides discounts on beverage and WiFi packages. With that in mind, should I even wait for a flash sale on packages or is the Elite+ discount a better deal? Or are the two discounts combinable? Also, are you notified of these flash sales via Celebrity’s promotional emails or is it necessary to check your specific cruise each day to see if a sale has started? Thanks for any help you can provide. Rich

That looks almost exactly like the meal we were served. Very overcooked, black something or other inside, and tasted burned. I stand by my original description of "almost inedible."

The reduction in breakfast choices at Java Blue was consistent each day (of a B2B by the way). The grab and go display case was empty and refrigeration clearly turned off. I don't believe this was a restocking issue. I completely agree with you about grabbing a burger or other "lunch" item right before closing. In fact, I wish they would hold these venues open until around 7 PM on casual nights. Would probably not be worth their time on elegant nights as far more people want to use the MDR on those nights.

We are just off Mardi Gras (as of May 4) having previously been onboard in mid-January. Much was just as we remembered it - personal attention from the crew, great service, very good drinks, fantastic music (especially Washboard Joe), very good entertainment at Center Stage. The Brass Magnolia is far and away my favorite bar at sea, and I've been in my share over the years 😁. But a couple things have changed, and not for the better. Food quality in the evenings seems to have taken a significant hit. The Beef Wellington was almost inedible as was a (new?) eggplant parm entree. A meat lasagne MDR entree that we both enjoyed in January has disappeared. My fried catfish was tasty enough but was served in about six tiny pieces rather than one or two larger ones. Even the everyday chicken breast was smaller and more dried out. Also on the subject of food, the quick bite breakfast items in Java Blue have been cut back. No more grab and go fruit and/or granola. Also fewer breakfast pastries and sandwich choices. Sure, there are other places to eat in the morning, but if you just want a light bite with your morning latte Java Blue used to be a one-stop choice. Finally, the A/C in the cabins appears to have been throttled back. Even on the first and last nights of the cruise when the weather was still somewhat cool we could not cool down the cabin as much as we could in January. Same at Roatan, which was hot/humid in January and didn't seem much different this time. The kicker is that it was the exact same cabin (my wife has a disability and we have a favorite ADA cabin). The pressure to reduce costs has apparently not abated even as fares reach record highs. There is still much to like about Mardi Gras and we are not currently planning on canceling any of our existing upcoming reservations. That said, Carnival may no longer be our first choice when considering new reservations. Rich

Thanks. I never bothered with their (or most other) rewards program(s) - I hate being nagged to do stuff that I might be doing - or won’t ever do - anyway. Guess I’ll have to join for this though. 10% on Cheers over 6-8 weeks per year on CCL ships adds up. Thanks much for the tip!

Can anyone describe how to navigate to the site for the AARP discounted gift cards? I’ve looked (and searched) all over the AARP site and can’t locate it. Thanks! Rich

On an Excel-class ship, has anyone successfully requested a specific waiter for their traditional seating? How did you go about that? We know that one of our favorites will be working on our ship in April (he signs back on the same day we embark) and we’d love to have him as our waiter again! Thanks for any help you can provide. Rich

Vista is in (or just out of) dry dock right now FWIW. Personally, I would avoid Port of Miami at all costs - took us nearly 4 hours to get out of the garage and port area last November. If you are looking for a newer ship that is very similar to Celebration I highly recommend Mardi Gras out of Canaveral. The itineraries are not as good, but just about everything else is as good or better than Celebration. Cheaper, easier parking. Faster embarkation/disembarkation. Slightly fewer passengers. And the combination of Brass Magnolia/Fortune Teller is miles ahead of Golden Jubilee/Latitudes. We have accumulated 630 cruise-nights on seven cruise lines over the past 18 years and Mardi Gras is our current go-to. If you can deal with the queues (both virtual and physical) you’ll love it. Rich

Thanks folks, this is helpful. The 11/12 cruise is the first of a B2B so I will set my alarm for midnight next week when the second set of reservations opens. Thanks again!