DeesEscape

Hi WWCruiser. Thanks for the welcome and offer of information. Much appreciated.

I put my deposit down on the pre-sale list today. Definitely going and I am so excited. Mom is too. I'm hoping I can secure a cabin on Vista deck but I don't know the hiearchy when it comes to getting the cabin you want against the perk of being a past guest. Any insight on the experience and the ship that a newbie needs to know would be most hopeful. We aren't new to cruising just SJC and Celebrity.

Newbie here:D:D. I just received my email invite to be on the look out to make my first ever booking for SJC 2020.

And how did I not know about this given that I have been going to jazz festivals since I was a child thanks to my folks and I love cruising. Great music, especially jazz, was what I was raised on. This would be an amazing experience that I would love to share with my mom (Dad's gone). My only issue is that I have a cruise booked the Dec right before and not sure I can swing both. I would at least like to book a verandah although OV is slightly more budget friendly:D. I like the higher floors in the middle on most of my cruises. Decisions. Decisions. The info here has been appreciated.

I always pre-pay and am happy to have one less "bill" to worry about at the end of my vacay. I pre-pay everything I can before my cruises from tips to excursions.

Are you an Ncl aft pent house?

No I'm on the Carnival Valor which is replacing the Dream I believe.

I chimed in a while back about my love of balconies. My upcoming cruise in September is a 4 day so I opted for an oceanview instead. However, in 2019 I have my first aft wrap-around leaving out of New Orleans and am sooo looking forward to that to be sure.

Great review. The Carnival bashing can be over-the-top but if you appreciate what is important (not always biggest, best and newest) the quality time you spent with your family in an environment that enhanced that experience is all that matters.

Yea because this never happens on other cruise lines huh. [emoji848]. YouTube my friend.

 

 

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The Anti-Carnival snobbery on this board...:rolleyes:

We are there in September and I cannot wait!

Super excited! I’m super surprised they’re finally sending us a brand new ship, can’t wait to sail on her!! ...Now let some of the negative comments begin lol! [emoji849]

Excited here too. The p*ss on Cheerios crew will I'm sure be along shortly.;p

Great news for us who fly to ports and consider LB “home.” Also multimillion dollar improvements to Ensenada coming. Looking forward to the transatlantic booking to open up. Good for Long Beach. It’s a great city.

Agreed. I am definitely looking forward to the West Coast being shown some love after 20years and saving my wallet on airfare. It's long overdue.:cool:

We are going on the Valor in December 2019 and it's good to hear it mentioned with mostly glowing reviews.

I'm happy to see that the 2 older Carnival Ships (Inspiration and Valor) of which I will be cruising on in September 2018 and December 2019 both received 100% scores from their last inspections and seem to have consistently scored well above the 86% needed to pass over a span of many years. Yay for me.

Great review! I surprised my hubby with the gift of a cruise on Inspiration for September 2018 so I'm glad to gather any insights (good and bad) from others' experience. Wonderful that you and your mom had a nice and relaxing vacation for the holidays. You touched on quite a few of your own experiences/expectations that were mine as well so thank you for that info you provided as well.

Here's my ES tale...

I am finally returning to Carnival after being away since the late 1990's. Because it has been awhile, when I booked my next 2 cruises (4-Day on Inspiration 2018 and 5-Day on the Valor 2019) I did not have the information needed to enjoy the option of PG even though I had taken 3 cruises with Carnival before (2 I paid for the 3rd my family). I booked under ES and was actually quite happy with how both pricings turned out (got $50 OBC with Inspiration and the lowest rate being offered which even Carnival's customer service person was impressed with when I called with a question; and I snagged an aft wrap Balcony on Valor for $1600 total under ES as well). I too would have liked to have had the option of more flexibility (which I didn't really learn about until after the dye was cast) but now that I know the differences it will just give me more "wiggle room" when it comes time to book the next adventure. Thanks for the info.

I called Southwest and they said they aren't opening up their next flight window from August 6, 2018 through the end of 2018 until February.

Great review! So happy to hear you and your family had a wonderful holiday/cruise. I am taking this sailing when Valor repositions to NOLA.

Awesome! Be sure to check out the New Orleans forum when planning your trip. Don’t miss the WWII museum...and check into Christmas events that are going on while you’re in town....like this Saturday is the Krewe of Jingle parade.

Great! Thank you for the congrats and knowledge. 😁

I am booked on a 5-day out of NOLA on Valor for December 2019 in an aft-wrap and I cannot wait. This will be a bucket list trip for me and my guy who has always wanted to go to NOLA for vaca but the opportunity never arose...until now. It's right after Thanksgiving so the price was great for the both of us. Also, with the new dining upgrades coming I'm looking forward to enjoying all that Valor has to offer. A few days pre-cruise in the Big Easy and then it's off on our 5-day adventure on board. As I am from California, this will be a great chance to sail out of a totally new port as I have only ever cruised out of Florida.

How unfortunate and disappointing for everyone who was looking so forward to their vacations. I hope people can either have their cruises rescheduled or at least the return of all their monies. The blessing in disguise is that at least people won't have to go through being stranded at sea again like the incident before had the cruise gone forward with such serious mechanical issues.

This is great news in that so many have expressed boredom with the current menu offerings and the need for more, better and healthier options across the entire meal spectrum. I have 2 upcoming cruises with Carnival in 2018 and 2019 and am looking forward to these new dining options to experience.

Just booked our first aft on Carnival Valor for December 2019. I wasn't even looking to book one it just sort of fell in my lap when I was looking to book a balcony room. The price was great as well. It's a surprise for my sweetie for our 10 year anniversary.

315 Days!

4 days...and my man has turned into the "kid" the night before the first family trip to Disneyland :D

I'm right there with you. We leave in 10 days for our cruise on Allure and I'm beyond excited. Have an amazing well earned and deserved vacation. Leave no fun unturned!😀

Great attitude toward the little "tests" you have already experienced and overcome since embarking. :)

We will be in your shoes in less than 2 weeks time so I am very interested in your opinion/reviews of all things Allure. I hope the bed toppers I requested make a difference in the VERY HARD BEDS as I'm looking forward to getting some real good sleep/rest while on vacation. We also have MTD more on the early side 6:45 and sooner but you were there even before the official start of MTD and ended up with bread for 2 hours of your time. Hopefully, from here on out it will be a lot smoother and enjoyable for you and your family. Makes me glad I booked our only specialty restaurant (so far) on the first night in anticipation that it might be just as you stated in the MDR.

Continue to roll with the punches and have a great vacation. Here's to following your lead. :D