cruiserbrianj

Side comment about the Bolt...try and get on it sooner rather than later because they will shut that sucker down if it's too windy. Also, it was down for maintenance a decent bit back in April and was shut down some. Bottom line, don't think, "oh i'll do this on the last day"...reserve as soon as you can and get on. If they cancel on you, the money gets refunded immediately to your sign n sail so no worries there. Enjoy!

I'm borderline shocked that there's hardly anything on here about how Carnival has stealthy switched their fresh cut fries at Guy's Burger to an obvious frozen fry with some seasoning. I haven't really heard anything official about this but I'm inclined to think it's the whole "supply chain" thing. Does anyone have any insight on this? It may seem like a small thing...and it is, but several small things add up to big things and that's almost to where I'm at.

That's 100 percent it imo! It's significantly more to buy 22 drinks at the bar than it is to buy the bottle and make 22 drinks (1.5 oz pours). That's my frustration with it personally, just be upfront on the "real" reason and while I may disagree with the decision, I can at least respect the honesty.

Getting mad or showing anger solves nothing. I'm not saying what you mentioned aren't problems, but that's not the topic of the post.

Let's all be honest, this has nothing to do with safety or anything remotely close to that. It has everything to do with making more money, recouping money lost during the pandemic, etc. Carnival makes significantly more money by having us go to the bar and buy and drink than us purchasing a bottle and making it ourselves...that's just a fact. Personally, I'd just appreciate honesty from them instead of feeding us the BS...I can at least respect the honesty even if I don't agree with the decision made.

We went twice when we were on the Mardi Gras and one time was pretty good and the other time was meh. For a free option (if it's still free) I was just fine with it. I can't say I'd pay for that as I'm kind of picky about my BBQ but we enjoyed the atmosphere and I'm pretty sure we didn't leave hungry. I say go and give it a shot....worse comes to worse, you get pizza later or snag something from the buffet.

I think we are about done with the internet package. It was going to be over $80 on the lowest plan for our upcoming 8 day cruise next month and we're having a hard justifying it. When I think of our time on the ship and what we use it for....idk, too much money for too little value. We generally use it to kill time when we are waiting for something or laying down before bed. I think we'll be just fine without it or maybe we just get 1 and share if/when needed. I definitely like the idea of being disconnected so maybe this latest price increase is the push I need lol.

Obviously you were on your cruise back in August and I wasn't but I was on the Sunshine in May of this year and they had happy hour on embark day and then on the 3rd day....not terribly well advertised, but it was there and we took full advantage of the half price pitchers and buckets of beer.

1/2 price pitchers...ie, caribbean tea, jamaican sunrise, etc and then 1/2 off carnival beer...caribbean wheat, 50th anniv beer, etc...you can get 1/2 off those buckets too. Bud light and non carnival beers aren't included.

Magic in November 2021 and Sunshine in March and May. 2 hours on embarkation and then another day or two throughout the cruise....not highly advertised but we asked.

Nope, Magic in November 2021 and Sunshine both March/May 2022

Here's my two cents and my perspective has changed recently. We always got the package and it was great...I don't feel we ever didn't get our monies worth. However, I feel we always drank more (not always a good thing). On our most recent cruise we didn't get it, utilized happy hour at the Red Frog Pub, bought a bucket of beer on the lido and we were fine. Now, we have also started cruising way more than once or twice a year and I personally think that's a big deal....it's A LOT of money for that drink package 4 or 5 times a year. Also, I've had all the drinks I care to have at the Alchemy, there's nothing I need to try. If I want something, I'll get it but I don't need to have it. Like many others have said, it's personal preference, so what works for me may not work for you but this is my outlook on it. I never thought I'd say it, but we probably won't get Cheers again. There's also the little matter that Carnival doesn't carry Coke products....Pepsi is hard pass when it comes to a mixer.

The flow going into the Lido does suck, I'll admit that. However, the Serenity deck(s) way make up for it in my opinion. I absolutely love that layout and it's the only one like that on Carnival ships.

We were on the Sunshine about a week before you and we did not experience any of the negative issues that you mentioned regarding staffing. We got our drinks at the bar or lido without issue. Nobody was rude. Food in the MDR was really good (so good we just ate there all 5 nights). I personally like the port at Charleston because everyone isn't all in one area at one time and when they took 10 seconds to look at the 12 of pack of diet coke my son brought, neither of us were bothered. Everyone cruises different and has different experiences but we absolutely love the Sunshine, the staff and the port.

I get the Value plan and haven't had issues sending I-messages or using FaceTime.

False. The Carnival Spirit just sailed out of Jacksonville....and the picture you provided looks like a Spirit class ship. But yes, the bridge is an obstacle for larger ships.

We stayed in the family harbor (not in a suite) on our Mardi Gras cruise back in April and here are some takeaways: as you stated, if you're child wants to go to camp ocean (ours never has wanted to) it is very convenient as it's right there even though there was probably more kids in the family harbor, we didn't experience more noise or anything like that we enjoyed the nautical decor in the room vs the standard room decor it was nice to have our child eat free at the steakhouse the breakfast and snacks were hit or miss and honestly, was a little disappointing...there was no times posted for either and it seemed that we always "missed" them. I would get a coffee on the way back from the gym but at 9:15-9:30ish all the breakfast was removed. I think we had snacks one day, again, every time we stopped by there was nothing there. It seems so simple to laminate a piece of paper posting the hours so that people can enjoy the benefit and cut down on food waste. Overall, it was nice to do for something different and I believe we got a pretty good deal on the room but I can't say that we'll seek out the family harbor again. I just don't think the benefits are worth the cost. If we were to stay in a specialty area we would maybe consider the Havana area or a room with spa benefits (that one we did like). Anyway, hope this helps and good luck!