Warm Breezes

After our last cruise on Carnival Horizon, our first with the new menus, my new favorite dishes are the crawfish strudel, the crawfish fettucini, and the chicken cordon bleu.  Older favorites of mine our the chilled strawberry soup and fried tempura shrimp.

Wow.  I can't believe the number of people who say they will cruise/not cruise on a certain line because of the loyalty perks.  Perks which when you add them all up really don't amount to much money in comparison to the amount of money you spend on a cruise.  We are platinum on Carnival.  But out of our 24 cruises, 10 have been on other cruise lines.  While I think of the perks as a fun bonus, I do not sail Carnival, or any other line, for them.  Many other factors go into choosing our cruises such as cost, itinerary, ship, embarkation port, who we are traveling with....but never what loyalty perks I get on the ship.  We have 2 cruises coming up.  One on Carnival chosen because Jubilee is a new ship to us and Galveston is a new embarkation port for us.  Another factor for Jubilee is we can easily drive to Galveston making it an extended road trip vacation which we love to do since we retired.  The other on Norwegian Joy chosen with our friends whom we are sailing with to Alaska which is a bucket list cruise for all us.  We just love to cruise and if a cruise fits our wish list for a certain vacation, it doesn't matter what cruise line it is or what the loyalty perks are.  But hey, if loyalty perks mean that much to you then have fun on the other lines.  I have a great time on them too.

My Perfect Cruise Day was October 21, 2021 onboard the Carnival Mardi Gras.  It was our 33rd wedding anniversary🥰 on a sea day.  We started out the day with mimosa's🥂 and room service breakfast on our aft balcony.  Then we spent a little time in the casino🎰 before going up to the lido for some lunch at the salad bar🥗 in Serenity and hanging out up there for a little while.  Then DH went to our room for an afternoon nap😴 out of the sun while I went down to get our free bingo card that we won playing Deal or No Deal a few days before. 

I found a seat back in Java Blue, the place was packed and I was lucky to find a place to sit. I had to watch the television screens for the numbers because I could hardly see the stage. The first game got started and I was trying really hard to keep up because I had number after number that were being called.  After just 7 numbers were called I realized that I already had 4 numbers in a row and I had to stand up.  Just as I stood up they called the last number in my row and I yelled BINGO🤑!  I was the only one with a winning card and I had won $875💰  

Our lucky number is 21.  21 is our anniversary day (10/21/88💍) as well as the day we had our first date (6/21/85).  The date was 10/21/21.  This was our 21st cruise🛳️.  My bingo board had 21 on it.  I took the attached picture and sent it to my kids at home. 

I went back to our room after all the bingo games were done and woke my husband up to tell him I had won.  I had to show him my bingo card to get him to believe me.  By then it was time for us to get ready for our anniversary dinner in Rudi's.  We had a table at their outdoor dining area  and watched a beautiful sunset🌅, with a hint of a rainbow, while eating a delicious meal with my favorite crab cake🦀 and his favorite surf🦞 and turf🥩.  We ended with evening with a show and well, you know🥰.  It was our anniversary after all😉.

P.S.  I ended up buying a puppy🐕‍🦺 for my husband with my winnings.  Pebbles has been a joy to us ever since💗.

I would get them a gift card through AARP.  It is refundable in the form of a gift card or they can download whatever they have left unto their account in the casino and cash it out there.  You can get them at AARP at a 10% discount.

14 hours ago, Frank12 said:

I had the same experience with the crawfish fettucine. As an appetizer on the Liberty it was loaded with crawfish so I ordered it as a main on the Vista. On Vista the pieces of crawfish were so small ( I mean little specs) and very far and few between.  Flavor was awesome but I want crawfish when I order a crawfish dish!😡

This all reminds me of my daughters wedding last summer.  My daughter wanted pasta for her wedding.  At the tasting they served us fettuccini with lots of chicken and baked ziti with a good amount of meat in the sauce.  My husband specifically asked if there would be that much meat at the buffet so everyone would get meat with their meal.  They assured us it would so we went through them.  Fast forward to the wedding.  We were the first table to go through the buffet after the head table and by the time we got to the fettuccini, I found one small sliver of chicken and the baked ziti's sauce had no meat.  So disappointed.  I haven't come across that on Carnival though.

I loved the new crawfish dishes.  It was my first time trying crawfish.  The crawfish strudel and crawfish fettuccini were delicious.  I also loved the new chicken cordon bleu.  I can't wait to have them again on the Jubilee.

I switch back and forth between a few different options on a cruise depending on what I am doing or feeling like taking.  I have a small crossbody that fits my phone.  I use that for going to ports and when I am wearing dress.   I have a wrist lanyard and a couple neck lanyards with easy on/off clip for my card to switch out what I am using quickly.  I use a magnetic hook to hang them on the wall when we are in are room.  I have small pill cylinders that are hooked to all of them carry a couple tylenols and my medication I need to take in the afternoon (so I don't have to go back to the room if we are out and about).

On 12/12/2023 at 11:35 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

 

Oh, on a positive note, the Emeril's selections on the MDR menu were generally really good, and a nice change of pace.

I have to agree.  I loved a lot of the Emeril selections especially the crawfish ones.  They were delicious.

On 12/9/2023 at 3:14 PM, mz-s said:

 

I did post a full review of the cruise, not sure if I talked about the deli sandwiches though.

 

 

I liked the tomahawk pork chop I got at the Cucina del Capitano on that cruise.

Lol.  Our last cruise was on Carnival Horizon this past October.  I loved the sandwiches at the deli (as did a lot of people because the line was usually long) and my husband was very disappointed in the tomahawk pork chop he got at Cucina del Capitano.  To each his own.

On 12/6/2023 at 4:28 PM, sparks1093 said:

Only some old timers feel there's been a degradation. Many don't feel there has been. Changes, sure, but not a degradation. Our cruise on Glory was fantastic and none of the changes had an adverse impact on that. (Same goes for our two Legend cruises as well.)

I have to agree.  We are not loyal to Carnival.  I have also had great cruises on NCL, MSC, and Disney (Princess was ok).  Having said that we have sailed the most on Carnival, our last cruise was Carnival and our next cruise is Carnival.  In fact 14 of our 24 have been on Carnival since we started cruising in 2001.  IMHO Sparks is correct in saying there have been changes but  not a degradation at Carnival.  In fact our last cruises on Mardi Gras and Horizon have been 2 of our favorite Carnival cruises.  I am looking forward to sailing on Jubilee next year.  There have been changes both positive and negative since our first Carnival cruise in 2005, but IMO the positive far outweigh the negative.  We will keep sailing Carnival and any other ship, no matter what the line, that meets needs/wants for that vacation.  But that is us.  We do what makes us happy.  Everyone else needs to do what makes them happy.  It is as simple as that.

We just went on our first MSC cruise on Oct 2, 2022 on MSC Divina out of Port Canaveral.  We are also Platinum on Carnival with our last sailing on them being the Mardi Gras in Oct 2021.  I will start out by saying this was a free cruise for us through the myVegas games.  We only paid $298 in port fees and taxes for the 2 of us (plus gratuities) using 1.5 million in our gold coin rewards and received an extra large balcony with 2 loungers in addition to the normal 2 chairs and stool (cabin 12220).  It was also the first sailing after the port opened up after Ian and the ship was at most 1/2 full.  While we get some pretty decent deals with Carnival through their casino packages this was the best deal we have had so far through any cruise line.  They even status matched our Platinum status to Gold on MSC. 

Over all I would say the demographics were older on MSC with less of a party atmosphere than you sometimes find on Carnival depending on the cruise.  The dress code was the same.  They have a Captains Gala with free drinks that you no longer see on Carnival.  We were also invited to the past guest party since they status matched us to Gold.  I found the dancers and singers comparable to Carnival but the acrobatic acts they had were the best we have seen on a ship!  Better than the ones I have seen on NCL which I thought were good in the past.  The comedian and other shows like Love and Marriage were also comparable.  I thought the pizza on MSC and the buffet itself better than Carnival but I was getting tired of seeing the same items on the buffet by the end of the week.    I also thought meatloaf at the carving station was pretty strange.  I have never seen meatloaf on a carving station before anywhere.  I found the food in the MDR was comparable to Carnival.  They do have Surf and Turf on gala night with lobster and steak included.  I found the service also similar although they do make up the room 2 times a day instead of once a day that Carnival started doing.  We loved MSC's private island Ocean Cay.  Our cruise stayed there overnight so we had a light show from the light house that we could see from our balcony.  I liked this island much better that Half Moon Cay.  The casino was the smallest one I have ever seen on a ship.  We ended up breaking even at the Casino.  I normally come out a little ahead on Carnival but this was a free cruise!  I had no complaints!

On 9/9/2022 at 11:34 PM, Warm Breezes said:

Before the advent of Anytime Dining (on Carnival and Princess) and Freestyle Dining (on NCL) I would have agreed with you.  However, times have changed.  My husband and I have been on 22 cruises (Disney, Princess, Carnival, and NCL) and 10 of them (after 2013) have been with just the 2 of us (on Princess, Carnival, and NCL).   On all of our couple only cruises we have had no problem getting tables for 2.  We were not on luxury lines or in a higher category within a ship...we did not need to pay the high prices to get these tables. 

 

This is our first MSC  cruise.  We are not in YC or Aurea, we got a Fantastica Cabin with early dining,  so I know we will not have the flexibility of having anytime dining on MSC.  My hope is that we will be able to meet with the Maitre'd after boarding in order to get a table for 2 if we are not assigned one initially.  If we can't then we will probably not be eating our meals in the MDR since we are uncomfortable dining with strangers. We prefer not spending our vacation time trying to make small talk with people we don't know.  We wouldn't do that on a land vacation and we don't want to do it on a cruise either.  Just our preference and since it is a free cruise we will make do with eating in other venues if the Maitre'd can't accommodate our request.

Just a follow up on this.  We were on our cruise Oct 2-9 on MSC Divina.  We went to the MDR upon boarding and found our table was a table for 6.  We met with the Maitre'd and he was able to get us a table for 2.  No problem.

Do you charge to your room for slot play bank (like Carnival) or do you need to bring Cash (like NCL)?  Is it an electronic bank (like Carnival) or do you need to cash out and get tickets (like NCL)?

On 9/7/2022 at 10:43 PM, Hlitner said:

I will offer a general observation based on nearly 50 years of cruise experience.  MSC is essentially a large ship mass market budget line.  Many folks book MSC because the line offers an amazing value.  Expecting to get a 2 top on such a line can be difficult unless you are in the Yacht Club and perhaps Aurea.  There are only a limited number of 2 tops in the various MDRs and limited space does limit the options.  
 

All you can do is make the request and continue to be persistent and hope to get lucky.  As ships get closer to capacity, such requests become more difficult to be granted.  
 

There are cruise lines that can always a accommodate 2 top requests, but they are generally luxury lines or high category ship within a ship like the YC, HAVEN Suites on NCL, etc.  If you want to be treated like a prima donna you may need to pay the high prices.  
 

Hank

Before the advent of Anytime Dining (on Carnival and Princess) and Freestyle Dining (on NCL) I would have agreed with you.  However, times have changed.  My husband and I have been on 22 cruises (Disney, Princess, Carnival, and NCL) and 10 of them (after 2013) have been with just the 2 of us (on Princess, Carnival, and NCL).   On all of our couple only cruises we have had no problem getting tables for 2.  We were not on luxury lines or in a higher category within a ship...we did not need to pay the high prices to get these tables. 

This is our first MSC  cruise.  We are not in YC or Aurea, we got a Fantastica Cabin with early dining,  so I know we will not have the flexibility of having anytime dining on MSC.  My hope is that we will be able to meet with the Maitre'd after boarding in order to get a table for 2 if we are not assigned one initially.  If we can't then we will probably not be eating our meals in the MDR since we are uncomfortable dining with strangers. We prefer not spending our vacation time trying to make small talk with people we don't know.  We wouldn't do that on a land vacation and we don't want to do it on a cruise either.  Just our preference and since it is a free cruise we will make do with eating in other venues if the Maitre'd can't accommodate our request.

On 8/29/2022 at 5:03 AM, RoamingRoadsUSA said:

We stayed in that cabin in November and LOVED it!  The views of Ocean Cay were perfect.  Its long enough to have some shade and still see out.  We will definitely try to get it again if we sail Divina again. 

Thanks for the video and picture!

On 8/27/2022 at 11:22 AM, Essiesmom said:

There are a number of pictures of these cabins on cruisedeckplans.com.  They are deep and dark, with limited views.  I saw two cabins with loungers, most had only two chairs and a table.  EM

Thank you for the information and link.

Another vote for SAS.  We usually stay at Embassy Suites FLL and use SAS to get to Port of Miami.

We are veteran cruisers but sailing for the first time on MSC.  We got a room on the side of the ship with an extra long balcony 12220. Has anyone sailed in this room or one similar?  Does it have a lounger and if it doesn't can we ask for one?  It seems to be long enough for one.  When we were on NCL Escape our angled balcony did not have one but when I asked for it our room stewardess got one brought out for us (I had read on cruise critic that they did this when asked.). Thanks.

On 8/3/2022 at 9:34 PM, phissy said:

We have stayed at Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Airport.

They have airport shuttle transport.
To get to Cruise Port, they do sign up’s for GoPort shuttle bus to take cruise passengers to port. Not sure how much they charge now for Cruise Port Shuttle bus.

I would use GoPort Shuttle for after cruise to airport. Book directly, cheaper than what cruise ship charges for same.

We also stay at Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Airport and use their shuttle to/from the airport.  We use Cortrans Shuttle to/from the port.  $25 pp each way.

I booked my MSC Divina cruise today through myVegas.  It was super easy.  I called the number on the reward confirmation and pressed 2.  The rep didn''t even need my reward number she just looked up my name.  She got me a premium extended length balcony.  I only have to pay taxes, port fees, and service charges.  This is my second time booking through myVegas.  My first time was 4 years ago on NCL Gem.  I ended up having to cancel that cruise and loosing my points due to my Mother have a massive stroke 2 weeks before the sail date.  This will be our first MSC cruise.  Looking forward to trying something different.

On 5/6/2022 at 12:30 PM, tripleboom said:

 

Unfortunately, we wound up being held up as not one but two ambulances had to make their way down the pier to unload some of our fellow guests, and a couple of different families was very tardy getting back as well. There was plenty of rumor going around the ship later during the week as to what caused our very late departure, but at least one story had it that a couple of passengers had rented a Jeep on their own, got into a traffic accident, and wound up severely delayed getting back while they negotiated their release from the police and and a settlement of the damages to the Jeep. Some versions of the story included the American consulate getting involved to aid in negotiating their release.  I have no way to verify any of this, but if that doesn't scare you into being extra careful with your in-port decision making, I don't know what will!

 

A member of our FB group had family who was involved in this incident.  This is what she told us happened in Cozumel:

It was my brother that was involved in the accident. My two brothers, son and nephew rented a jeep from Magical Island Tours.

They were followed and eventually t boned on the passenger side. The person that hit them was the neighbor of the jeep rental people. It was all a scheme. The seatbelts were cut and wrapped around the roll bars.

My brother had a laceration on his ear that cut his ear almost completely off. He had a large laceration above his eye brow, his eye swelled shut and a fractured skull. My nephew had a concussion and does not remember the event.

The police wanted to arrest my brother that was driving, the other went to the hospital. They wanted $4500. We tried to have my father western union the money from the us, but western union said it was too large to wire. We were on the side of the road for 3 hours begging them to let us go. Eventually we gave them $2600 and they let us go. They gave some money to the police right in front of us.

My brother was brought back by ambulance to the ship at 4pm. Unfortunately we did not know he had a skull fracture. The ship dr told us and said he had to go back to the hospital because he could bleed in his brain. So he went back by ambulance to the hospital in Cozumel. He was discharged 24 hours later. He took a six hour taxi ride that cost $600 to costa maya and joined us on Friday.

Long story short, don’t do excursions not run by the cruise line. We need a vacation from our vacation.

I loved the breakfast sandwich at O'Sheehans too.  I went there twice for it.

We were on this cruise with you.  We were also disappointed when we couldn’t find a mini golf course.  We ended up finding the shuffle board court and playing that.  I’m too afraid of heights to do the ropes course😊.

On 4/27/2022 at 11:19 PM, hoopslover said:

Just off the Breakaway on Sunday 4/24.  Smoke in the casino was pretty bad but I didn't notice it most other times.

Same for me...

We were on this cruise with you.  We got to the port at 10:15 and had a short wait to get checked in and were sitting in the waiting room for about an hour before before getting let onboard.  We were in group 9.  We did notice the line was starting to get long when they called our group to board.  We did  get a paper at the check in counter notifying us of the port changes.  We had a 9:45 excursion in Belize that they moved to 1:30 on the new day.  We purposely booked a morning excursion to avoid the heat of the day so we ended up cancelling our excursion.  They were very helpful in getting it cancelled.

We didn't have any issues with the servers getting our orders incorrect.  The MDRs were a little slow for dinner but otherwise our service was great.  We thought the food was excellent in all the venues we ate at.  Too good actually.  We both put on some weight on this trip.  The Mudslides, BBC's and Bushwhackers might of helped with that too.  I normally lose what I gained on this trip.  We dined at Taste, Savor, O' Sheehans, Garden Cafe, Moderno, and  Cagney's.  I loved how the buffet switched up their options during the day.  They had breakfast, lunch, tea time, dinner, and late night snacks.  I normally struggle to find food I like in the buffet but not on this trip.  Everything we had was good.

The entertainment was a little disappointing.  We enjoyed Syd Norman's in the main theater and in the Pour House both of which were packed.  We weren't interested in Six or Burn the Floor (which we had seen before) so we weren't affected by the cancellations.  We weren't impressed with Howl at the Moon at all.  The worst Howl at the Moon we have been to on NCL.  The comedian we saw was ok and magician was pretty good.   We always enjoy the 80's dance party. 

We had an angled balcony at the Aft on deck 12.  There were only a couple of rooms from ours to the back of the ship that were occupied on all the decks.  It made for some nice privacy on our balcony.  I spent a lot of time out there. 

We thought debarkation was a little unorganized.  We picked the last time for independent debarkation.  They called our color 30 minutes before the anticipated time but then we had to wait in line to get off the ship for about 45 minutes.  It would have been nice if they just would have waited to call our color and let us relax a little longer.  

Overall we had a great time.  This was our 2nd cruise since the shut down.  Our 1st was on Carnival Mardi Gras last October.  I think there was the same amount of passengers on both ships but Mardi Gras felt more crowded on the inside and less crowded on the outside....must be the layouts of ships.  We had a great time on both.