cruisefanatic2713

following along. looking forward to seeing next posts!

On 4/21/2022 at 6:41 PM, drpclarke said:

My son is booking the trip as a 75th birthday present for his grandma...so to be honest, he's choosing the cruise based on price and proximity to home, so he can drive.

I know you "get what you pay for", but he's all of 23 years old and so proud of this gift that I can't burst his bubble...I just want it to be a great experience for both (with minimal complaints from my mother 😀🙄)

 

Rachel

I'm actually trying to do this same thing for my grandmother. I'm 26 and she is almost 91 and in great shape but doesn't like to get out much. I'm hoping she'll say yes! the best gift is time spent together!

2 hours ago, Carla in Texas 61 said:

Thank you for your review. We will be on the Vista July 9th to celebrate my daughters 26th bday.

 

I have a question regarding the Muster drill-  Where do they hold the Muster drill? The last time I cruised in 2019, it was held in the huge theater. 

 

Another question, I've previously read where ppl have complained about the elevators and not being able to access many times due to them being so busy and having to wait for long periods of time to board an elevator. My husband just had hip replacement and is still struggling with his ambulation, he find stairs very difficult. So I am a little worried about the elevator issues, if there are any issues.

 

Thank you

 

 

Thanks for the comment!

So the muster drill is now completely different that pre-Covid. Your muster station is posted on your boarding summary. For example, our station was B5 which is on deck 5 midship near Alchemy Bar. You go to your muster location, watch them demonstrate how to put on the lifejacket. They check off your name and that is all there is to it. No waiting for 30 minutes in a big crowd outside near the lifeboats like before.

Regarding elevators, unfortunately, my mom and I did not even step in an elevator until the middle of day 2. Our stateroom was on deck 1 so we got our workout in. It did not bother us because we wanted to work off the calories we were enjoying haha! But for your situation, I found a good trick, regardless of what direction you are going, to get in whatever elevator comes to your floor. For example, if I'm on the Lobby deck 3 wanting to go to Lido on deck 10 and an elevator opens but it's going down to deck 1, get in it anyhow. You'll get to the floor you want with an extra 10 seconds of riding the elevator. not a problem. But yes I did notice many people waiting a while for elevators.

1 minute ago, icft said:

Thanks for the review. I look forward the the future installments.

 

Your need for a birth certificate was due to you NOT having "enhanced" driver's licenses. Louisiana does not issue enhanced driver's licenses; it issues either regular driver's licenses or Real ID driver's licenses.

 

Only five states issue enhanced driver's licenses. See:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_driver's_license

This is actually new information for me! Thank you for that! Genuinely didn't know that there was a difference between real ID and enhanced.

Is this better??? 

Hey all!

I'm about a week late but considering the amount of research and forum reading I did before our cruise, I find it only fitting to give my two cents on how our sailing went for you all to dissect how you will!

For a little background, I am a 26 year old nurse and my travel buddy is my mom, a recently retired teacher. This was a last minute cruise that I convinced her to go on with me for Mother's Day. We booked in late March for a ridiculously good deal if I do say so myself. 😉  We've both been on four other cruises. This will be the second time on Carnival for the pair of us.

We would be driving (what is normally a 4 1/2 hr drive from south Louisiana). We received word from Carnival the night before that the ship would be delayed arriving and all embarkation would be held off two hours. Plus, they mentioned "heavy traffic delays" between Houston and Galveston on I-95 so we decided to take an alternate route via the ferry. All in all, we left at the same time we initially planned and our trip ended up being 5 1/2 hours. Not too bad. We arrived at 11:30 to the EZ cruise parking and made our way to the terminal. It was noon by now and from what we saw, there were more people debarking than waiting to embark. We got in line and were inside getting our Verifly checked 20 minutes after. No issues with that and we headed up the escalators to the main check in desk.

This is where we had issues. As our passports were expired and had to be sent in two weeks prior, we were without passports. We had to rely on our ENHANCED driver's licenses. I had done all the research I needed to be sure that we did not need birth certificates. The check in people disagreed and said everyone is required to have a birth certificate to board and that we would be denied boarding until we got pictures of our birth certificates. I showed them proof on multiple different sites including carnival.com and the Galveston cruise port website that one needs EITHER a birth certificate, military ID or enhanced driver's license to board the ship if you do not have a passport. They repeatedly ignored the obvious proof in front of them and required up to go off to the side in a waiting area to get pictures of our birth certificates. Soooo we reluctantly called my dad who was across town from our house where the birth certificate were. He went back to the house and snapped pictures for us. We owe him a big one! After the desk lady received the picture we waited another hour for our room to be" unlocked" and allowed us to board.

It was 2pm when we stepped onto the ship and we were determined to put all that behind us and get on vacation mode! Luckily for us, that was the only issue we had the entire cruise. We went directly to the lido marketplace for lunch, YUM, then headed down to our cabin. Even though they didn't start boarding anyone til 1pm, all rooms were ready at 1:30 and when we got down to our room around 2:30, our luggage was already waiting for us! We unpacked, got settled, went to muster and went out to explore the ship! Of an on throughout the afternoon we got updates from our AHHHHMAZING CD KYNDALL FIRE (more on her later) that due to the traffic, we wouldn't set sail til 7:30. She assured everyone that it would not affect our first port as we had two sea days ahead of us to make up time!

We enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby before our first dinner (earlier in the day we were able to switch from late time dining to any time dining) in the Horizons Dining Room (3 and 4 aft). Most all the food we ate in the MDR was very good. We found service to be slower when we went to eat after 6:45ish and the quality of food seemed better when eating earlier. Nonetheless, using the Carnival HUB app to check in was not a problem at all and the longest we waiting for a table was the first formal night. Even that wait was only 10 minutes! The first night was the only night we were seated in a different spot than the other 5 days we ate in the MDR. We really liked this aspect as this was one concern we had of trying Anytime Dining for the first time. We always enjoy having the same wait staff that gets to know us and vice versa during the cruise. In fact, we didn't even have to ask to be seated in the same spot. It must be an automatic thing in the system. Anytime Dining worked very well for us and we have no complaints!

We headed out to the Liquid Lounge (4 and 5 forward) for the first big Welcome Show. It's here that we were introduced to Kyndall FIIIIRREEE, BOM BOM BOM! There's only so many words I can say about someone before it gets redundant but suffice to say, Kyndall is the most outgoing, bubbly, joyous, charismatic, HILARIOUS person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Yes, I said person, not cruise director! Maybe it's because we are very close in age and I am envious of someone who clearly loves her job so much, or the fact that she lets her huge personality light up any room when she walks in, but really truly, she made every aspect of our cruise better! On previous cruises, I never remember CD's, their faces, names, nothing; but I assuredly will never forget Kyndall! My mom and I both agree we will try our hardest to get on at least another of her ships in the future. 

Okie dokie. I think that's all for now. My goal is the post one cruise day review each day and hopefully life won't get in the way of that. I'm looking forward to any comments y'all may have!

okay bye

Hey all!

I'm about a week late but considering the amount of research and forum reading I did before our cruise, I find it only fitting to give my two cents on how our sailing went for you all to dissect how you will!

For a little background, I am a 26 year old nurse and my travel buddy is my mom, a recently retired teacher. This was a last minute cruise that I convinced her to go on with me for Mother's Day. We booked in late March for a ridiculously good deal if I do say so myself. 😉  We've both been on four other cruises. This will be the second time on Carnival for the pair of us.

We would be driving (what is normally a 4 1/2 hr drive from south Louisiana). We received word from Carnival the night before that the ship would be delayed arriving and all embarkation would be held off two hours. Plus, they mentioned "heavy traffic delays" between Houston and Galveston on I-95 so we decided to take an alternate route via the ferry. All in all, we left at the same time we initially planned and our trip ended up being 5 1/2 hours. Not too bad. We arrived at 11:30 to the EZ cruise parking and made our way to the terminal. It was noon by now and from what we saw, there were more people debarking than waiting to embark. We got in line and were inside getting our Verifly checked 20 minutes after. No issues with that and we headed up the escalators to the main check in desk.

This is where we had issues. As our passports were expired and had to be sent in two weeks prior, we were without passports. We had to rely on our ENHANCED driver's licenses. I had done all the research I needed to be sure that we did not need birth certificates. The check in people disagreed and said everyone is required to have a birth certificate to board and that we would be denied boarding until we got pictures of our birth certificates. I showed them proof on multiple different sites including carnival.com and the Galveston cruise port website that one needs EITHER a birth certificate, military ID or enhanced driver's license to board the ship if you do not have a passport. They repeatedly ignored the obvious proof in front of them and required up to go off to the side in a waiting area to get pictures of our birth certificates. Soooo we reluctantly called my dad who was across town from our house where the birth certificate were. He went back to the house and snapped pictures for us. We owe him a big one! After the desk lady received the picture we waited another hour for our room to be" unlocked" and allowed us to board.

It was 2pm when we stepped onto the ship and we were determined to put all that behind us and get on vacation mode! Luckily for us, that was the only issue we had the entire cruise. We went directly to the lido marketplace for lunch, YUM, then headed down to our cabin. Even though they didn't start boarding anyone til 1pm, all rooms were ready at 1:30 and when we got down to our room around 2:30, our luggage was already waiting for us! We unpacked, got settled, went to muster and went out to explore the ship! Of an on throughout the afternoon we got updates from our AHHHHMAZING CD KYNDALL FIRE (more on her later) that due to the traffic, we wouldn't set sail til 7:30. She assured everyone that it would not affect our first port as we had two sea days ahead of us to make up time!

We enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby before our first dinner (earlier in the day we were able to switch from late time dining to any time dining) in the Horizons Dining Room (3 and 4 aft). Most all the food we ate in the MDR was very good. We found service to be slower when we went to eat after 6:45ish and the quality of food seemed better when eating earlier. Nonetheless, using the Carnival HUB app to check in was not a problem at all and the longest we waiting for a table was the first formal night. Even that wait was only 10 minutes! The first night was the only night we were seated in a different spot than the other 5 days we ate in the MDR. We really liked this aspect as this was one concern we had of trying Anytime Dining for the first time. We always enjoy having the same wait staff that gets to know us and vice versa during the cruise. In fact, we didn't even have to ask to be seated in the same spot. It must be an automatic thing in the system. Anytime Dining worked very well for us and we have no complaints!

We headed out to the Liquid Lounge (4 and 5 forward) for the first big Welcome Show. It's here that we were introduced to Kyndall FIIIIRREEE, BOM BOM BOM! There's only so many words I can say about someone before it gets redundant but suffice to say, Kyndall is the most outgoing, bubbly, joyous, charismatic, HILARIOUS person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Yes, I said person, not cruise director! Maybe it's because we are very close in age and I am envious of someone who clearly loves her job so much, or the fact that she lets her huge personality light up any room when she walks in, but really truly, she made every aspect of our cruise better! On previous cruises, I never remember CD's, their faces, names, nothing; but I assuredly will never forget Kyndall! My mom and I both agree we will try our hardest to get on at least another of her ships in the future. 

Okie dokie. I think that's all for now. My goal is the post one cruise day review each day and hopefully life won't get in the way of that. I'm looking forward to any comments y'all may have!

okay bye

Hi all,

We will be visiting Mahogany Bay (mom and daughter girl's trip) in early May and are looking for a nice beach and pool to relax at WITHOUT music! The ability to rent paddle boards/kayaks is a huge plus!  I've seen many reviews in favor of Infinity Bay but can't decide.  Is it too noisy? We would most likely use Victor Bodden Tours or Discover Roatan Tours. DO these tours allow us to stay as long as we want (obviously within the time restraints of the cruise stop) or is there a time limit? All inclusive is not required because we are not big drinkers! 

Any comments or recommendations welcome!

Hi all,

We will be visiting Cozumel (mom and daughter girl's trip) in early May and are looking for a nice beach and pool to relax at WITHOUT music! The ability to rent paddle boards/kayaks is a huge plus!  I've seen many reviews in favor of Nachi Cocom, Allegro and Paradise Beaches but can't decide. All inclusive is not required because we are not big drinkers! 

Any comments or recommendations welcome!

will we be getting some extra compensation for less time on the ship, possibly in the form of onboard credit?

thank you Bob. I posted it there. totally forgot about that board :)

Has anyone booked the Jaital Waterfalls and Beach Run Tour for December 14? Will be sailing on the Liberty departing from Galveston and want to do this tour but don't just want it to be us 2.

Yes. No cancellation fees or anything like that

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

you're absolutely right! just cancelled and repurchased! saved $22 :)

Anyone with a booked excursion....This Labor Day weekend make sure you call RC and get your excursion at the current price. I had to cancel what I booked...and re-book under the cheaper price. It was so worth it!

If I cancel it will I get total money back?

Ok I understand. Thanks everyone for your input!

The best way to get an upgrade is to do it yourself. Once final payment date is past, start watching prices everyday. Once they get to a level you are comfortable with, upgrade yourself.

 

Upgrades from the cruise lines are a rarity. Good luck.

Little confused. We paid it in full about 3 weeks ago. You're saying just watch for room prices to drop and then pay for the extra upgrade? like thru the cruise line website?

Sailing of the Liberty in December. We booked an interior room.(just 2 of us) We are gold members of RCCL Crown and Anchor. When/how could we ask for a room upgrade? at guest services immedietly after getting on baord? at check in in the terminal? online weeks before? Also how likely is it to get any kind of upgrade? We'd love to have an oceanview or balcony (DREAM). thanks

There will be 2 formal nights on a 7 night cruise.

 

If you read the menus linked by the first post, you will see each menu has a name, two of which are Mojo and Saffron.

Oh I see! thanks a bunch ;)

Menus: http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/download-press-kit/7/

 

Don't have the order except that the first two nights are likely Mojo and Saffron, with night 2 as formal.

Forgive my arrogance but what do you mean by Mojo and Saffron? Also this cruise is 7 nights so are there 2 formal nights?

Does anyone have the main dining room menus for the Liberty of the Seas? We are going on Dec 10 to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Falmouth. Looking to decide when to do Specialty dining. thanks in advance :)

We're going Dec. 10. It's our first cruise, though we're cruising with family members who are frequent RCI cruisers.

Really excited and really looking forward to seeing the holiday decorations.

Cruising on the LOS on Dec 10 as well!!!!!

There is usually one deck for My TIme dining and two decks for traditional. So if you are in traditional, you can request one of the two traditional decks.

Thank you so much! Yes we chose traditional dining (the early seating).

Can you pick between the first, second or third level of the main dining room on Royal Caribbean, specifically the Liberty of the Seas? Or is it automatic/random or specific to your stateroom deck? I've always been on the lower level and think it'd be cool to be on the top one.

Alrighty, so my BF and I decided to do this excursion this past April. It was awesome, I have never been kayaking before and I really enjoyed it. You are in the kayak for about an hour. They take you through some mangroves into the ocean.

 

Once your done you take a 5min ride on the bus to the beach. BEAUTIFUL! You get a ticket for a drink and a meal from the buffet. Both drink and food were delicious. You don't get to spend to much time on the beach, about an hour. If you want to spend more time on the beach you can just let them know and they can arrange for you to go back to the ship later.

So were you kayaking in the open ocean or along a river? or was it like 20 minutes on river out to ocean?

You can also pay your own ferry and taxi fares and just enroll for a tour on their site. Do you prefer an independent outfit that organizes all of that for you?

I do actually. It's just my sister and I (20 and 21) and I'd prefer to not have to worry too much about the details and such :)

We're going on RCCL ship and have heard too many negative things about being stuck with nothing to do/being forced to go shopping in Playa for hours rather than getting right back on ferry to Cozumel. Suggestions on independent tour companies that would take us from cruise ship to Rio Secreto? Thanks in advance.