imridingdolphins

39 minutes ago, Magic#1 said:

There is a main meal from around 6pm to 9pm. in the main dining room. the meals will have Prime Rib on some nights Lobster on some nights etc. These meals are included with your cruise no extra charge and are the best meals of the cruise IMO.

Pretty sure you mean the main dining room.  No carnival ship has “fine dining”.  If the ship has a chef’s table that is about as close to fine dining as it gets, which is not saying much.  LOL.  

Joe's Stone Crab, South Beach.  Melt in your mouth crab. 

Giovanni's!  I always try to go there at least once when on Oahu.  Great that you get to spend some time there prior to your cruise.  North shore area is the way to go.  Enjoy your stops in the other islands.  Each one is different.  

4 hours ago, Mem0ryEat3r said:

 

delta to florida and american back.  there is a stop over in georgia at atlanta. an airport im very familiar with from my time flying when i was in the army. 

 

we are leaving john wayne airport at 9pm on friday night, stopover in atlanta from midnight to 3am and then we should arrive in floria to FLL at 9am according to the schedule.  ship leaves at 4:30pm. we have very little wiggle room. ive flown 20 times with transfers and only ever had 2 delays, one was minor and one was getting stuck in blizzard when i was in germany. 

 

i guess im just worried since we are missing so much work to enjoy ourselves, i want to minimize stress but that probably wont happen until im on the ship and get my first drink haha

Any consideration of flying out of LAX nonstop?  Looks like there are a few choices at reasonable prices.  Some that get in to FLL at 6am.  My main worry would be a missed connection, so direct flights are key.  As other said, FLL is super close to the cruise terminal you could almost walk there.  Other than the connection, I wouldn't worry too much.  If there is a hurricane, you got other problems to begin with, and that could delay you even if you come in the day before.   

Check out reviews on the Hawaii forum.  Good chance it will not be warm and you will have rocky seas.  That's a ton of sea days to only spend a short amount of time in Hawaii.  If you have never been to Hawaii, consider flying there and staying a week each on 2 separate islands or 5 days each on 3 islands.  You'll experience so much more, and it will be warm. 

5 hours ago, Acheavacci said:

Is there ever a longer than 15 minute wait with anytime dining?  Can you make reservations for a certain time if you have anytime dining to ensure you will have a table?  It is my understanding that you will get a pager if there is a wait. Is there a bar in the MDR?  if not, Can you go to one of the bars or the casino to wait?  

Yes.  We waited just over 1 hour to be seated on one of the dress up nights.  You'll get a pager. 

1 minute ago, Teibban said:

 

Thanks. Actually this is a cruise with our 2 kids (8 and 11 at that time) and we mostly want to do beach days with visit to forts in San Juan. Is Jost van Dyke also a good place with kids to relax and enjoy beach and easy snorkeling near the shore for the kids?

JVD is ok for snorkeling right of the beach.  It is more of an adult playground though.  People go there to party right off their sailboats. 

14 minutes ago, mdsgu said:

You are so lucky!  Tortola is beautiful.  Find an excursion to Jost van Dyke and just chill out on the beach enjoying a Painkiller (or 5).

I can second JVD as an amazing place to hang out on a beautiful beach (White Bay Beach) to enjoy multiple beach bars and drink painkillers.  Do some research first because JVD and Tortola were destroyed by hurricanes in 2017.  The beach bars in JVD were literally wiped away.  I know that some like Soggy Dollar are back up and running, so best to check ahead.  On Tortola, there is a beautiful beach called Cane Garden Bay.  It was hit hard as well.   CGB will be overrun with cruisers, so if you are ok with that, then you'll be fine.  Enjoy!

22 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

We will be sailing April 6th.   Ports are Curacao, Aruba, Grand Turk & La Romana.  We’ve never been to any of these.  I’ve looked at Carnivals excursions and some of them seemed interesting but what I would like to know from those who’ve been to these ports is if these islands are walkable from the port and if there are things we can do on our own?  For instance, in Jamaica and one of the ports in the Bahamas, if you don’t do a ship excursion, ones options are limited to taking a cab to look around or tip back a few at the bars at the port (which I’m not opposed to 😁).  We don’t mind doing 1 or 2 of the recommended excursions but would prefer if we can venture into town or elsewhere on our own to explore and sightsee. 

 

Thanks for the help.  

Done this same itinerary before.

Grand Turk - Some vendors and shops at the port, along with a nice beach that you can walk along.  Plus, there is a Margaritaville.  It's a Carnival port, meaning it is designed to keep you there so you don't venture too far out on your own.  You'd need an excursion if you don't want spend all day at the beach, because there is not much else.  

La Romana - There are a few vendors and a craft shop at the port, along with a small bar & grill but that is it.  I would not want to walk around outside the port area.  Definitely, an excursion port.

Aruba - plenty to walk to in the Oranjestad area in terms of shops and places to eat, things to see.  If you want a nice beach you will need to take the bus or a taxi.  If all you want to do is walk around and see stuff (and you don't need beach) then this is the place for you.

Curacao - Very similar to Aruba in that you can walk to plenty of shops and restaurants, cross the Queen Emma bridge, etc...     

On 3/5/2019 at 7:18 AM, l8cruiser said:

I am curious if anyone thought they made a mistake purchasing the Cheers program. I was thinking on port days , if we would be away too long to get our moneys worth. It would be nice to have mimosas in the morning along with special coffees. I would kick myself though if we didn’t drink enough to make it worthwhile. 

Probably this person. 

Seems like a no-brainer to go with Havana suites if you have the budget.  Only caution is to pay attention to the location of the room you are picking if you worry about noise.  If it is near the bar, public spaces, or above or below venues, etc....

I'd pick that Western itinerary too unless you only want to visit the cruise line's own ports.   

I saw several of them on my last Carnival cruise.  They were ON the ship! 

Where did people go in the 70s and 80s to discuss their displeasure with people no longer dressing up to fly on a plane?  All joking aside, wear what you want.  Most people don't care, which is why you don't see everyone dressing up any more, and why Carnival does not enforce their own rules.   I'll dress up a little, but in the end, I am on vacation and want to be comfortable.  Besides, packing and dragging along a suit on the airplane is not something I want to do for vacation.

Had burgers last month on the Splendor.  As others have commented, burgers are ok but nothing special.  The fries were awful though.  No matter where they came from (grill or MDR) they never seemed fresh, and were not hot, and dried out.  Almost like they had sat around a long time.   

We had a 5 year old that was allowed to go with a 6 year old into their area.  This was 2 weeks ago.  The Camp Ocean folks said they would allow it on a trial basis, and if the 5 year old did fine, then they could continue.  They do make exceptions if you ask, but it seems to be up to their discretion.   

With the amount of alcohol one can drink per day on the Cheers program, I'd think some are getting it to specifically AVOID the shakes.  I know if I drank that much per day I'd wake up each morning WITH the shakes!  😂

4 hours ago, jcool said:

I have asthma the cold is not good for me. So here goes the question. I am planning a cruise out of Miami if that day it is cold can I do the muster station inside . Is there someone I can speak to? so I can do it inside. If it is a nice day I do not care about being outside.

Need to consider the ship you are on.  Some of them hold the muster inside, which ironically, might be a lot colder than if held outside in a place such as Miami. 

Word of warning on the going to have lunch on Lido as soon as you board.  It will be crazy crowded during that time because that area will have the only food options open.  Enjoy!

Wow, my wife would not be happy to learn that she had to watch me get tore down drunk every day while she couldn't drink due to pregnancy.  Not gonna go there.  😱 

If picking the exact cabin you want is important to you then you should consider booking 8 months to a year out (or even earlier). There will be deals like the $50 deposits or some on board credit but the prices you initially see are likely not going to get any cheaper. Check around on different sites and remember to clear out your browser history.

On this board and on Carnival that is. So, I was veryexcited that our first Carnival experience was the 8-day Southern Caribbean itinerary on Vista this past week+ and I’d like to offer my perspective if you want to read along.

 

I want to start by saying I was more than a little nervous about this cruise. Before cruising on NCL’s Escape in 2016 and 2017, our last cruise was our honeymoon on RCCL’s Explorer of the Seas 16 years ago. On thatcruise, we encountered some old rusty Carnival ships along with hundreds ofrowdy passengers in port and it pretty much created a stereotype of Carnival forme for the next decade plus.

 

We really enjoyed NCL and the Escape but wanted to trysomething different. The Vista and its itinerary looked amazing, but that impression was tempered with comments like “Carnival is the Walmart of the Seas,” in threads I have read on this board no less. Would I be disappointed or worse yet, disgusted with my experience? As I tell my kids, you must try something before you can make a judgement like that. And I thought, if we are spending thousands of dollars on an 8-day cruise, it can’t be too much like Walmart, can it?

 

So off we went to Miami two Saturdays ago, and to sum it up on the front end, it was pretty much awesome. So much so, that my wife said several times throughout the week “I really liked Norwegian and the Escape. I’m glad we went both times. But this is nicer. It has a better vibe. The service and food are both much better.” My kids (11 and 13) concurred.

 

Now, those are generalities. I will try to be more specificin my review – and without comparing to or knocking NCL throughout. I would go on one of the newer NCL ships again and have a good vacation if you must push me to. But the “better vibe” comment (comparing the better vibe on Vista to Escape) sort of sums up how we felt all week. The food comment I will elaborate on, but it had to do with two fronts – the MDR (food and service) and the fast and free options like the Blue Iguana Cantina and Guy’s BBQ for lunches.

Took this exact same itinerary on the Vista last year. It was a lot of fun and there is nothing really to complain about. As for being the "WalMart of the Seas", I can see why some might brand it that, but it doesn't interfere with having a good time, or deter me from sailing on CCL. I think a lot of it depends on which port you sail out of actually.

breaking the rules costs others because they build the prices with people that smuggle in mind so it hurts the honest people.

 

 

I realize the smugglers will all say that's nonsense but if someone doesn't believe that businesses take these things into account when they determine prices, they are very naive

They are going to charge high prices regardless, because they can! You are held captive and if you want to drink booze you will pay for it. Reminds me of going to a NLF or MLB game. Beers are $12 for a reason and it isn't because people are sneaking in their own.

Cruised last year with kids the exact same age. Bring plenty of diapers for the 1 year old because you cannot rely on the fun shops to have any at all, let alone ones in the kids size you need. If there is any way you can avoid having to lug their car seats along, do it, because the cabins don't have a lot of room to store them.

Bring lots of patience, there will be meltdowns and it may end up being you melting down! Keep in mind that you won't be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. No romantic dinners. No going to the comedy show. No going to the lido deck movie. Best you can hope for is once they fall asleep, you and your spouse can take turns going out and looking around, getting drinks, etc... But, you have kids, so you already know this. ;) We still had fun but it is challenging. Keep a positive attitude about it and you'll be just fine!

As long as they can get you to port of miami you'll be fine. It will be pretty obvious where your ship is docked.

Well, I would assume you would get a refund. Then, you could book something else.