jacquesmm

If they reposition to go from the US to Polynesia, I am interested.

A couple days ago, I reserved tickets for a visit to the Sagrada Familia end March and was surprised to see how many days and hour slots were already full. Reserve now or you may not get in.

Homosassa, you must have some Belgian ancestors. You remarks are correct. 

When it comes to true Belgian chocolates (Leonidas or Godiva for example), those are made locally with real cream and some US food rules prohibits the presence of fresh cream in chocolate. I don't know the details.

I am a US citizen born in Belgium and I understand the original question.

It is said that there are three food groups in Belgium: beer, fries and chocolate.

I suffer from withdrawal if those are not available.

Joebucks is correct: I was called a snob and worse for asking a similar question last year. My problem was that while you can get a nice large suite on Carnival (which I like), you are still confronted with rude people and obnoxious drunks in common areas.

I am not crazy about the idea of separate classes on the same ship but,

we looked at the Haven, MSC Yacht Club and Carnival Havana. When you factor in all the costs, Viking Ocean is the way to go. The cost looks high from the start but it is all inclusive (or almost)and in the end, your total will be close to the others when selecting a nice cabin plus port charges plus excursions plus expensive drinks . Many perks on other lines are included. The only drawback for the OP may be that on Viking, passengers must be 18+.

I am not the OP but we live in Vero Beach and those distances work: a little more than 2 hrs to Miami, 2 or less to Ft Lauderdale and Cape Canaveral, 3 to Tampa, 3.5 to JAX.

I'm with DaveSJ711. Let's stay on the topic: our cruise. 

Add us to the list. We are on that crossing and my wife asked for such an evening. I told her that it could be difficult because of all the ship's lights but if a number of us ask for it, the captain may give us a limited blackout for a couple hours. We are in 5004.

We just came off the Sky (9/23 -> 9/28) and it was exactly as the original post described. The ship was not full: the crew told us about 1,400 passengers out of a max. of 2,000. No lines anywhere.

A very relaxing cruise, great specialty restaurants, boring MDR meals and disappointing buffet, too many drinks. All together, a good deal if you don't expect too much.

Did I say that the drinks were good?

Thanks for the review, we"ll board for the same trip in 2 days.

We just came back from a 10 day cruise on the Island Princess (Panama Canal) and we will not go back.

The ship is crowded and the activities were very limited.  Our mini suite was smaller than on our previous cruises on Carnival.

The shows were good but the seating is insufficient for the number of passengers. You may not find a seat. The exercise room is a dark small space with no windows and often full.

They advertise it but there is no "Patisserie", just a coffee bar.

We picked the traditional dining seating and that was fine but those who choose the anytime seating often had to wait.

We took most of our meals in the MDR but the few times we had to use the food court, were unpleasant. Once we could not find a table.

The food at the buffet (Horizon Court) was mediocre but we only tried it at lunch.

On the good side: the food in the main dining room was superb, the wine list very nice, the service was excellent everywhere. Embarkation and debarkation were fast and smooth. Our balcony was large.

We may try Princess again but not on that boat.

BTW, for those who wonder about the discount wine offer, it is available on that cruise. We got a 10 bottles package for $ 290.00 allowing us to select wines up to $ 45.00 each.

Thanks, that helps. Not all agencies show the cabins but I found one. It looks like I can do my search there hen look for the best price once I pick a cabin.

Is there a web site from which I can pick a cabin, see the price etc.?

Let's give an example: I would like to go on a XYZ cruise, at some date and want to see what cabins are available and the cost for each?

In particular, I am looking at the Island Princess, in October, 10 days cruise to the Panama canal. I hesitate between a suite or a large aft balcony.

I went to a couple agents web sites and while they give a price, only one of them showed which cabin and there was no way to select a certain cabin class. When I call, they give me one or two choices but each agent seem to have different cabins free.

Does that mean that each "reseller" reserve a number of cabins and I have to go through all of them to see what's available? There must be a better way.

How does this work?

I think you are right. That guy was probably trying to get some extra tips.

No problem with the food or the accomodations. The Steak House was superb and our suite was very nice, service was good too. What shocked me was the ugly crowd. I could not eat in the buffet area, people were disgusting. And don't let me start about what we could see in the pools. Anyway, I got some good advice and will follow it.

The problem is that you opted for a 3-nighter, commonly known as a "Booze Cruise".

First time yes but the 2nd time was a 5 nights cruise. It looks like we have to go well above 8 nights.

See my other posts about Carnival.

I am new to cruising: 2 Carnival cruises. In each case, I hated the crowd and the loud music but besides that, the food was good, excellent in some cases, the beds were clean and comfortable, clean cabins (we had a balcony on 1st cruise, suite on 2nd) and the service was excellent.

Bottom line, if you can stand the ugly crowd, not problem with Carnival.

We can't and are looking for another cruise line.

For the porters, this is weird. Last week, the shuttle driver took my suitcases and put them on the luggage cart. I gave him $ 5.00 (2 small suit cases). A big guy from Carnival came over and asked for a tip! What for? He did not even look at my luggage. I did not give him anything but my wife was worried.

On a 6 day cruise, the cabin steward got about $ 5.00 a day and a brought us some freebies (water, cookies) and we always had ice. Room service $ 2 or 3.00. MDR waiter and sommelier got 10 or 20 each, I don't remember. Barmaid got a small tip when she was generous with my mixed drinks.

Now, I asked one of the restaurant staff about the automatic 15% and he said that he did not see one cent from that. He was paid US $ 70.00 a month plus room and board and some bonus that he could not explain.

Does anybody know if that is true? Does the 15% really go to the crew or is it just an add-on to the ticket price?