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On 4/7/2023 at 3:31 PM, Bostwick girl said:

It’s not served on 3, 4, 5 or 6 night cruises. We had it on our 8 day last January.

The Dream served them 2 weeks ago on the 6 night sailing, my teens tried them. (They each ate 1..lol)

I go twice just for the 12hr French toast. LOVE that stuff!

3 hours ago, bar1068 said:

• Carnival no longer allows access to airline sites for flight check in or checking status unless you pay for an internet plan?

Correct. Their cheapest "social media" plan will allow you to do this, though.

9 hours ago, mmtska said:

I don't like taking off of work, so since I"m a teacher, I usually hit up our spring break or something in the summer. Thanksgiving and Christmas-New Year's I wouldn't go. Too much stuff going on with my family.

My S/O is also a teacher, so it's Spring Break week for us, too. The 4 night Mon-Fri cruises really work out well in that regard, but we are doing a 6 night on the Dream (Sun-Sat) this spring. At least we get that Sunday after to recover before going back to work!

Just made reservations for our upcoming cruise on the Dream. I got the $42 price, AND paid with a 10% off gift card. POW!

I just booked this hotel for next March, based on your glowing review..lol

1 hour ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Why would a trap be dry?

Evaporation due to the air conditioned environment in a cabin.

I was pleased with the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Long Beach. It's about a block away from Von's drug store/supermarket, which was handy for picking up last minute stuff that we didn't want to pack. We cruised on Carnival, and it was about a 5-7 minute Uber ride to the cruise terminal.

Last month on Radiance, shows were at 7:30 and 9:30, with doors opening a half hour prior.

It seems like this space is "almost" a Cucina del Capitano. The other 2 Dream-class ships have CdC,

I'm wondering why this space isn't dedicated to that venue as well? I had my first dining experience at Cucina del Capitano last month on the Radiance, and LOVED it. I just booked the Dream for next Spring Break, and was bummed to see that this restaurant isn't offered on that ship.

23 hours ago, letstrythisplace said:

I've read if you go to guest services you can ask for a print version of the daily paper thing.

Yes you can. Last week on Radiance, they had them at the coffee shop, too.

If you have an iPhone, and purchase the "social media" internet package, chances are that iMessage will work for you. At least that's been my experience for the last 3 Carnival cruises.

I have a question: When you cruise solo, do they charge gratuities for just 1 person, or do they still consider it "double occupancy"?

15 hours ago, pinto18 said:

I was so freaked out because I could barely see two pink lines. My husband didnt think I stuck the swab up far enough . But yea..they pretty much asked me what I saw and I said two lines? So yea...they don't really check too hard

You can tell they are reading off of a script for every step. We did 4 tests in a row from a hotel room, and when my girlfriend's daughter did hers, they only had her swab one nostril. Totally skipped over the whole "now do the same thing to the other nostril" step. But she still passed with flying colors! Lol

40 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I would order a 6-pack from emed.com

We had 4 people in our group, so I ordered the 6 pack. I'm glad I did because one test kit was missing a swab! You have no idea of the integrity of your kit until you open it in front of the proctor. A kit with a missing component is like throwing $25 in the trash. They are easy to use, but they seriously need to package them in a clear container so you know what's in (or not in) the box.

So, I'd say definitely download the Carnival HUB app first. When you get on the ship, you'll put your phone in "airplane mode" (so you don't incur any surprise roaming charges), and then just connect to the ship's Wi-fi. The HUB app will work for you then. It's super handy. Also, if you are on any social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc), they offer a relatively inexpensive "social media" internet plan that will let you use those apps, plus allow you to check in on your flight home if needed. I have an iPhone, and found that iMessage worked great with that plan as well.

1 hour ago, JMKreno said:

The only major complaint we had was the tendering process in Catalina. WOW. What a crapshow that was. Took us almost 3 hours to get off the ship.

Wow, that stinks!  We had priority tendering with the suite, but didn't use that perk. We just walked down to the lounge around 9 or so, and we waited maybe 10 minutes and we were on a tender. Coming back wasn't bad either. Sorry you got caught up in all that mess!

I just thought of this bit of info. I had the cheapest "social media" internet plan, and can confirm that iMessage on my iPhone worked the entire week. Also, it supported the cruise ship tracker app that I have, so I could see where we were (there's a map buried in the menu on the in-cabin television, too, but it's not as detailed as the app that I use.)

   Just off the Carnival Radiance this past Friday morning, from a very fun 4 night Spring Break cruise. Our last cruise was on Victory a few months before the whole pandemic thing hit us all, so it was neat to see the changes. The ship was beautiful. We stayed in an ocean suite on deck 7 (in fact, it was right next door to our previous cabin on Victory), and had no complaints about the room or service. Our family of 4 had the room set up with the king bed, the sofa made into another single bed, and a roll-away. I guess my only nit-pick with the once-a-day cabin service (we chose evening) was that the beds stayed out the entire week. I suppose I could've put the couch back together & folded up the roll-away every day myself, but we made due. That configuration does cut down on your space, though. The cabin didn't appear to be remodeled in any way from it's former life as Victory, but it was clean & comfortable, and we liked it. Once-a-day service also only gives you fresh towels & wash cloths once a day, so if you want a fresh set for 2 showers a day, you'll have to ask your room steward for extras (which we did with no problems). A handy perk with the suite was a free bag of "wash & fold" laundry service, which we took advantage of. You also get 2 extra complimentary bottles of water with a suite. I took advantage of an upsell offer to get this cabin & I thought it was worth it!

   On to the food. I will preface this by saying that I'm definitely NOT a foodie. I'm a blue-collar construction worker who packs a lunchbox with PB&J's and stuff like that every day for work. I have read that the MDR dining on Radiance felt a little lacking in quality, and I'm going to have to agree with that. I mean, I had the sweet & sour shrimp on the first night, and it was pretty lousy. Looked & tasted like it came out of a microwave or air fryer. Our 12 yr old got the steak (not the steakhouse one, the free strip-loin), and he felt the same way as I did. The quality definitely wasn't there from past cruises (I'm a gold card on Carnival so I've been my way around a ship's dining room a time or two..lol). On the other hand, we did Cucina del Capitano one night & it was OUTSTANDING. Exceeded all of my expectations. Same goes for Sea Day Brunch. I actually went to that twice because I loved the 12hr French Toast & banana creme pie so much! Guy's, Big Chicken, & Blue Iguana are all great. I tried a little of the smokehouse food on the first day & it was pretty good, too. So I will say that if you don't care for the MDR fare, there's plenty of options.

   We had 2 production shows on this cruise (impressive for a 4 nighter), and they were Rock Revolution and Soulbound. Guys...don't miss EITHER of these shows. They were terrific! We sat on the floor for both, and really felt immersed into the productions. Definitely a talented group of entertainers on the Radiance right now. Ryan Rose was great, we tried to hit up as many of his events as possible (the various themed deck parties), and they were all well-attended & very fun.

  As far as shore excursions, we rented a gold cart in Avalon, Catalina and did the ship's La Bufadora excursion in Ensenada. Both days were very fun. You'll find that the first golf cart place you come to in Catalina will probably have super long line, but there's another one just down the street, which we used (Catalina Island Golf Cart Rentals & Tours). We rented one for 2 hours, but only really needed about an hour & a half, and they pro-rated the time used & gave me a bit of a refund which I thought was pretty nice of them. It was fun to explore on our own, but boy those hills are STEEP, so pump those brakes!  The Bufadora trip was one of those "been there, done that" kinds of things once completed. I don't feel the need to ever go there again, but it was cool to see once. But man, the vendors are HIGH PRESSURE! They were on my girlfriend pretty relentlessly, and were very successful in getting a significant portion of the cash that she brought..lol! I mean, it was 82 degrees there & they sold her a blanket, for crying out loud. I asked her if she needed me to go into one of the pharmacies there & get her some Preparation H after that experience (she didn't find that as funny as I did..lol!)

   I had been stressing about this whole Covid testing procedure for months. I ended up buying a 6 pack of the Binax Now tests & we did them in a hotel room in Chicago before we flew the next day. I have to say, it was pretty easy. The only thing...and this grinds my gears BAD... was that one of our test kits didn't include a nasal swab! I'm so glad we had a few extras, because we had to break one out. I just feel like that's extremely sloppy quality control on Abbot Labs. I mean, you could train a dang chimpanzee to put all the right stuff in a box & seal it up. They need to package those tests in a clear plastic container, because you don't know if you're good to go until right when they tell you to break the seal & open the box.

   So all in all, we had a great time on Radiance. If anyone wants any specific information, I'd be glad to help. (I'm not an expert & didn't hit up every single event, but there's YouTube videos out there of people who are and did..lol)

Just off the Radiance, had an ocean suite, and we definitely received 1 free bag of "wash & fold" service.

The Social Wi-Fi plan will let you use Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp, if Mom is savvy with texting like that. Although it doesn't say it's supported, I've been able to use iMessage with my iPhone, too, although I wouldn't count on that working every time.

21 hours ago, dmori said:

Awesome, thanks everyone! We are cruising mid April on a Vista class ship (happy to hear about the control room on this class!). Fingers crossed that they may be offering it again at that time! Cheers 🙂

I second the recommendation to make a beeline to the Shore Excursion desk as soon as you get on, because chances are someone already got there before you..lol. The tour is called "Behind the Fun", if you ask for that, they will know exactly what it is you want. Oh, and they do a body cavity search to make sure you aren't smuggling your phone along while on it..lol!

Cruising on Radiance soon, and I was able to do a few price adjustments that resulted in a few hundred dollars of onboard credit added to my booking. I'm traveling with another person (non spouse/family member), so we each have our own Sign & Sail accounts for onboard purchases. My question is: how does the OBC get deducted? When either of us makes a purchase? It really isn't clear to me on who actually gets to spend it. Like if I buy a drink & they swipe my card, and then my companion buys a drink with their card, will the OBC be deducted for both purchases? Any clarification would be appreciated...thank you!

Same here. I cruise next Monday & was panicking that my excursion in Ensenada got cancelled, but it's still there. Can't see any other excursions available to purchase, though.

7 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

If/when these tours return, I especially recommend the Vista-class ships.  Engineering Control on the Vista looked like a starship's bridge.  REALLY nifty!  

 

Agree about the Vista's engine control room. We were at Grand Cayman when I took this tour, and the officer in charge explained to us how the propulsion system automatically kept us in the same spot without the need for an anchor. Pretty cool technology! We had one of the show dancers lead our tour, and she gave me a chocolate coin that she swiped from one of her colleagues, and I still have it! (I put it in a plastic coin holder..haha)