globetrotterjay

Thank you so much for the replies!!! 

So much helpful advice; I feel reassured it will be a great vacation.

I‘ve cut out gluten from my diet and added intense supplements/vitamins/probiotics — I feel like a new person. My joints are aching less and my skin hasn’t felt on fire (I’m 30 and have no other health problems so this undiagnosed issue has been life alternating). If this flair up didn’t happen I would totally agree with you and I’ll envy all those eating normal pizzas and bagels haha @cruiseny4life

That link is exactly what I needed thank you @Ladyshopper23

Thank you @BirdTravelsfor the pictures 

What better time than a month before sail date I’m on an elimination diet to figure out chronic skin inflammation? Already know about an almond allergy and sensitivity to dairy (my body and my brain do NOT get along and I have spent years trying to convince myself I can eat all these things that are actually making me sick) Heh…

So far I have reached out to the Haven’s pre concierge email and they told me they’ll send out a special dietary form to fill out and submit for the restaurants, but it has been noted in my file. Has anyone had any difficulties once aboard?

For those who have cruised with dietary restrictions: Any advice for staying smart while still enjoying myself? 

Particularly wondering which cocktails are no-go or unsuspecting snacks to avoid? 

I’ve dug up most menus and will come prepared what I plan to order. On port days I think I might just not eat unless on the ship. 

This might be the first cruise I come back not heavier 😂 

Not all lifestyles are flexible to last minute bookings, but it can definitely save you money if the ship is predicted not to be full. Back in the fall, I solo booked Epic Spa Haven. Spa & Haven officially sold out weeks ago, confirming I made the right choice for me. The price tag is cringey, but solo travelers are disadvantaged with upgrade opportunities. You still have to pay double occupancy, and if you’re looking to build latitude status, you don’t earn anything additional if your suite was obtained via bidding. Because Epic has the unique solo rooms, I looked into them. Significantly less, thousands. 1/4 the size of the room I booked and I’ll have a balcony that’s bigger than the entire solo room. Alone in cramped 100sqft with no view (window view is corridor) isn’t treating myself. No direct access to outdoors freaks me out. Your vacation is what you make it and you definitely get what you pay for. I live in WNY where we just experienced perhaps the worst blizzard storm our city has ever seen. I am so desperate for sunshine I need it available 24/7 while vacationing lol. The Haven is great if you’re solo. Having the luxury of eating any meal in my room, food quality is tremendously better, priority on/off/seats for shows, less chance of being around kids, minimal worry booking restaurants last minute. I definitely believe I overpaid, but once I get on board I know I’ve done all I can to give myself the best experience and now to get that first drink 😆

Hey everyone!

I love reading the updates in this thread and excited to contribute some knowledge.

Recently, I reached out via concierge email to inquire about the *treats* our butlers can stock in our room. Once onboard and you meet your Butler they can offer lots of other (unspecified) treats throughout the cruise, here is a general list:

Orange, apple, pineapple, and cranberry juices

Lemonade, unsweet/sweet iced tea, and water

Peanut and regular M&M, mix nuts, dry snacks (Chex Mix) and gummy bears 

Hope this helps! I’ll be solo in The Haven this February on Epic 💖

26 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

We booked a cruise for next year at the beginning of the summer when they were running a different sale. When I re-priced it two days ago with the 40 percent off it came within five dollars of my current price. I guess what I am saying is that book when you feel comfortable doing so not based on the current promotion. That said one time I did get a true sale from them. A few years ago they were offering 10 percent extra off for latitudes members and I was able to re-price my cruise and saved that extra 10 percent.

Same here! I am booked for February. I’ve visited their website here and there to see if I wanna kick myself for booking too soon/too late and price hasn’t changed more than raising a couple a bucks. I paid for a solo Haven, however price tag is definitely covering costs as if two guests. They advertise solo cruiser fare, would not wanna know the fee without this *promo*. It’s definitely not a price tag I’ll ever brag about, but Haven matters to me. Maybe one day I’ll meet another solo traveler and we can book together and save us both 🤪

I bring pictures of my dogs and include myself in one of them. It makes my heart happy to see *my girls* and I include myself because I solo cruise. God forbid I disappear, they have an instant picture of what I look like. Ya never know!! 

Definitely bring my own toiletries and travel size Lysol wipes. I feel better knowing I personally cleaned the top of my toilet seat and the handles around the room. 

Extra pens, plastic straws, extra tampons because even if i don’t need them another gal might, pimped out first aid, skincare face / hands / feet masks, ALOE !!, pedialyte

Thank you for the hamper reminder!! I forgot last cruise and what a difference they make 

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Your butler will deliver Starbucks, specialty dining, alcohol, milkshakes, etc. to your room...for a cost, even if you have the premium plus beverage plan. Specialty dining would be included in however many Free at Sea meals you have (if any). 

 

You will receive a floral arrangement on your first day. I'm not sure what the cost is to have them replenished, but I've found the arrangement stays fresh the entire cruise. Or, at least fresh enough, to continue appreciating the entire cruise. 

 

As for breakfast from the Haven Restaurant, or the MDR, or any other complimentary restaurant, you can have that delivered to your room at no cost. If you make the request well in advance you can even have service by course. That's a bit pretentious for me, so I just have all the food delivered at once. 

 

Since you are in the Haven you can still make your dining reservations. Even on a ship at 110% capacity we were able to make dining reservations online, just days ahead of the cruise. I'm not sure if this was a Haven perk or there was just availability. 

 

I believe, as of 1/2023, water will be provided as part of the normal beverage package (six liters). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. The butler will bring fruit, canapes, mini sandwiches, and other snacks to your room. If you have specific requests let your butler know. They'll bring you what you want, within reason. 

 

Have a most wonderful time! 

Thank you so much for your response!!

I read your original post before I embarked on Joy’s Haven penthouse suite in February and just reread with excitement as I’ll be in the Haven once again on Epic next year!

I will be staying in the Haven Spa Suite this time around and curious how it’ll feel to not be “in” Haven proper. I did hit the gym 5/7 days last cruise so being moments away from the gym this time will be appreciated. I floated 6 days on Carnival Vista a few years back where I stayed in a spa suite; can’t wait to compare thermal spas!

I intend to write a letter for my butler this time! Last time I verbally requested fresh oj for mimosas and was told fresh oj is only available at select times. Perhaps requesting in advance will work out better.

Could you/someone please be able to answer this? I’d like for my

butler to bring Starbucks coffee to my room. Last cruise I’d go there straight from the gym and felt gross all sweaty when others are looking nice. If I have the premium package that includes Starbucks, would that insinuate no additional fee for the butler to provide this service?

Thanks in advance, Jeni 🙂

Hi Everyone!!

February ‘23 I’ll be taking my second solo cruise and staying in the Haven again!

My previous experience with the Haven was almost a year ago on the beautiful Joy. I originally booked a mini-suite and had an upgrade accepted for the Haven Penthouse Suite. I was upgraded maybe 2-3 days before departure so I was head spinning with excitement and didn’t have the opportunity to do anything Haven-special in advance. I should also add I booked original suite less than two weeks out so overall treated it as a spontaneous adventure. This upcoming Epic cruise, I would like to be more thoughtful (and hello this price tag this time is double the c19 cruise so I really want to get monies worth!!)

I received the email letting me know 130 days prior concierge will be in touch. I booked with just over 100 days to go and worry I might miss out on pre bookings again?!

🛳🛳My question for those that have Haven experience & knowledge to answer: What special pre-departure / advance requests are important to you? 🛳🛳 

Just to add: Last sailing I wrote a card thanking my butler for their service, requested to make sure he sees me every morning (because solo female traveler going missing is not a Netflix docuseries I want my name attached to LOL), and I would love having fruit and extra waters supplied, with a beginning of stay tip included of course 😉

This time around, I’d love to have Starbucks delivered to my room and request fresh florals for my room — is that too much? Also — will Haven restaurant allow my butler to deliver breakfast to my room? The spa access and gym proximity is great, but sometimes I don’t wanna eat alone in the restaurants and would love to eat on my balcony. 

Appreciate your replies!! 
 

— Jeni 

I took my first solo cruise this year on the Joy, 7 days. I went all out and upgraded to The Haven. It was kinda obnoxious getting asked all the time why i was alone, but I made a lot of cruise friends without ever going to a mingle meet up. I did excursions, activities, the gym every morning. If you have a fun, outgoing personality, you can have an awesome solo adventurer 

Such a beauty

Jerk wings

Can’t remember what this was whoops

Iceberg salad

Port Days:

I’ll start this post by saying we didn’t book any excursions. We solely wanted to experience the ship and just stroll around the port shops for stuff to bring home to family/friends. Sorry can’t offer any excursion advice, but an easy google search can provide tons of info.

Jamaica:

Unfortunately we kept getting woken up every morning by the gym upstairs. I was somewhat aware of the deck plan when booking, but to have a spa room you’re kind of inconvenienced by the noise no matter what. We got ready and headed up there to get a nice morning session in. It was slightly busy, but the sauna afterward was extremely empty. Got our dry sauna room to ourselves again which was awesome. Then headed back to the room to shower and change. I Made somehow knew our routine and the room was cleaned beautifully. Next was coffee from Mirah and to check out the port.

The port experience is everything you’ve read about. God awful if you’re trying to keep to yourself. Right off the ship are a number of little streetside shops selling a bunch of carved knickknacks, paintings, clothes, jewelry, etc. After walking past all that, you’ll start seeing duty free shops and restaurants popping up. We each snagged a Red Stripe and a few souvenirs and headed back to ship. Of course we were offered every drug under the sun, but if you give a stern “No” they sometimes take it, but usually just want you to visit their shop anyway.

Shortly after everyone was back on ship. We attended some trivias but always got our butts beat. Ah, still fun anyhow. We grabbed some drinks, met up with new friends we met last night, and well, relaxed of course!

For dinner we went a bit early because of all that was planned tonight. Horizons as always took us right in with a nice window seat. I’ll post dinner pictures after this post.

Now for the fun night, probably the best night of the entire cruise. It started with going to Love and Marriage show. What a fun time with cruise director, Matt! There were three couples picked. First were newlyweds, next was an unhappy couple, and lastly was a couple together for over 60 years! They were sitting right next to us and found out we lived right by each other. Very cool. It was a hilarious show and all contestants left with champagne.

Now we had to scurry back to our room to get ready for White Night!

I found an all white dress on sale from Forever 21 and my honey snagged a white tank top and white shorts from a thrift store for just a couple bucks. For those who don’t want to spend the money to participate, there are deals out there!

We were out and about pretty late that night and I hit my drink limit. Honey went back to the room and I went to Pizzaria del Capitano to grab us pizza. When I came back he was nearly passed out lol. Thank goodness we had a fridge to store the food til whenever.

Grand Cayman:

Since we had FTTF we had priority for the tender boat. Unfortunately we never made it off the ship this day. We did SO much on board we simply ran out of time to get off.

Started the morning at the gym and sauna followed by coffee of course. Chocolate Lovers was my favorite. Coffee, vodka, chocolate syrup all over ice. Ouuuu so GOOD!

The afternoon had some more trivia. We almost won today. I definitely feel the trivia is directed toward an older audience. For Guess That Song, every answer was well before I was born and if they flipped it around and had modern music not only would we have crushed it, but maybe more younger people would have played. I was happy with one carnival trophy, so as long as we kept having fun I didn’t care how many L’s we took.

Time to put our swimsuits on and check out those water slides! So. Much. Fun. We went a few times since the line was inexistent. After we dried off and had a couple drinks, we found courage to try out the SkyCourse. Honey of course took the expert trail and I thought, “Hey why not?” Welllll boy I was in for the fright of my life! Thankful it was a ghost town so I got to take my time, but once I hit the half way point I just couldn’t continue further. DH had finished first and he was on the ground cheering me on. I felt so bad saying I had enough, but the workers were real cool. They said I either had to finish or do my best effort going backward. I chose to go back. I was so disappointed in myself for not finishing, but what can ya do. Time to sulk over my defeat with a cocktail.

We headed inside and went to the RedFrog. There is a dartboard! We love playing so we asked for some darts and to our sad surprise they only had a whopping two darts. Whaaaa, two?! We were looking forward to playing so we did our best giving it a go. What’s worse than playing two player cricket with two darts? A family of five with two parents that couldn’t care less how their children acted in a BAR. They were being so rough on the games, tossing them all around, screaming and running. Hello is there not a daycare you could’ve dropped them off for a bit? I digress. It’s dinner time and it’s elegant night.

Guess who has the fun times and still didn’t realise elegant night was TONIGHT? How embarrassing. We showed up in nice clothes, but certainly not elegant. A woman gave me a up-down nasty look and I had no idea why. After noticing the table clothes I understood lol whatever! Food was great, who cares, right?

Time passed and it became the Mega Deck Party time! How much fun, seriously. We drank and danced and smoked and had the greatest time. Serenity Night followed, but what a disappointment. I requested songs from the DJ and he said he wasn’t really allowed to play hip hop. Say what? Sure I’ll listen to Despacito featuring Justin Bieber for the eleventh time... The small group of us decided to call it a night around 2am. But couldn’t go to bed without queuing up in the pizza line!

Cozumel:

This was the port we looked most forward to. We’ve been to Mexico before and love the people, the food, and of course the weather. Absolutely started the morning with the gym, sauna, and coffee. Showered, sun screened, and on our way we went. There were many dressed up folks around the port entrance for photo ops. We had fun participating! Continuing the walk you must pass thru Duty Free. We knew we had to scoop some Mezcal, but decided to wait til after exploring. We wanted to do a last minute excursion here, but sadly by the time we showed up the ones we considered were either completely full or already departed. No biggie, can always go back. We did a bit of shopping and returned to the ship.

What’s there to do when excursions aren’t an option? More trivia of course! We gave it a go and big surprise didn’t come out on top. During one of the trivia you get to grade the person nearby you. Unfortunately after passing back the couple’s paper they fibbed their correct answer amount to get the ship trophy. My honey and I couldn’t believe it and left... if that’s what’s been happening all along then what’s the point?! Yolo c’est vie, let’s get another cocktail ;)

Oh I almost forgot! The reason we got off the ship so late was because of the noisy ceiling issue. We called guest services and they said they reserve rooms because they always receive complaints. Isn’t that silly? Why not disclose this information before booking? A gentleman came to our room to “listen for noise” which was blatantly loud and present for him to hear. He said he will work on switching rooms and after we come back from exploring the port we would receive a new room. Once we got back, nothing was worked on. We went to guest services and they were able to move us to a deck 6 balcony.

Room was very nice, but the room steward was a fart in the wind compared to I Made. We requested morning cleanings (we’re very clean basically all he had to do was make our bed and empty the trash), but he came in the evening when we happened to be in there so he’d come back while we were at dinner or wherever. He never left a towel animal even when the one time we saw him I mentioned how much I loved them. He didn’t hang fresh towels. Rather he just laid them on all my make up and sunscreen in the bathroom. Thought that was really weird.

More fun was had, dinner was great, we hung out on deck 11 for a while, and somehow stumbled into karaoke! My honey has only karaoked once in his life and it was before we met, so I was completely cheering him on to perform- and he did! He sang a song by Jimmy Eat World and slayed, baby! Had to leave shortly after because Quest was starting.

I’ve heard so many stories about Quest and couldn’t wait to check it out. Man that liquid lounge fills up fast! Fortunately we scored dope seats on the second level. Man, that show is wild. If you’re easily offended or very reserved, definitely skip this event. It was late enough for us to hit the hay after it ended so lights out!

Next up is the last sea day!

Love the title [emoji38], enjoying your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Haha thank you!!

Sorry y’all been super busy at work and home. Should have the review finished this weekend! Thanks for standing by :)

Some foodie pics from the first elegant night

Sea Day Brunch

Ron at the brewery tour!

Flight, yum!

The adventure:

It’s honestly fuzzy recalling what we did each particular day. We had such a great time. I’ll try to summarize everything chronologically, but I’ll definitely blame the Cheers package LOL

Since the spa room gave us two free classes, we signed up for morning yoga on the first sea day. It was about a 45 minute delay before starting. Not the smartest set up. A cycling class is in the cramped room beforehand, so the workers had to move out all the equipment for us. Class itself was great! They provide mats and towels. Felt kinda like hot yoga by the end, but a nice reset to get the day going. We ended up going to the gym every morning except the last sea day. Our ritual was gym first, sauna second, coffee by Mirah third.

The gym had tons of treadmills and cardio equipment, but when it’s crowded around the free weights, good luck getting the dumbbells you need or having space to use them. No benches, barbells, weight bars, or racks. I understand this from a liability/insurance point of view, but still bummed about it.

The saunas were a ghost town each time we went! We always had the dry sauna to ourselves so we each laid out on the two benches and listened to music. It felt like our own personal hang out spot and one of the best parts about having the spa package. The spa had little cubbies to place your belongings, cold towels in fridges, bigger towels to dry off or sit on (benches are very warm), and two single person any gender showers to wash off.

For lunch we went to Sea Day Brunch. Menu was plentiful and food was amazing. DH had steak and eggs and I ordered heuvos rancheros. We didn’t wait whatsoever to get inside and I don’t think the food took an excessive length to be delivered. There was a killer bloody mary menu, but unfortunately tomatoes kill my DH heartburn and I’m just not a fan. I ordered a mimosa and enjoyed every drip of it.

After brunch was our Brewery Tour!! We had received $50 onboard credit at time of booking and thought this was the perfect way to spend it. $24.99/person. Ron, the head brewer, was phenomenal. He brought out several pitchers of each beer to try and we definitely left with a buzz. We learned a ship ton ;) about the art of brewing onboard and how it’s slightly different from land brewing. My DH and I have traveled much of the each coast checking out breweries and now we can say we’ve been to the first North American brewery at sea. Very freaking cool.

At 3, we decided to split ways. He went to the gym and I went to the Ladies Pamper Party. He said gym was empty and got a good work out in. I sat at the party with my Gentlemen Jack and coke and people watched. The pamper party was just alright. It was my first seminar type event on a cruise ship so all I knew about them was they like to sell you things. Good gravy the past insight wasn’t kidding. Anyone with any type of low self esteem must’ve handed their S&S card right over to these people. I did get a free facial out of it, so I’m glad I stayed for half of it.

Once meeting back at the room, we found a $50 spa credit waiting for us. Super sweet, thanks again I Made! Of course had a cute towel animal as well. After showering and getting thirsty, we headed out for another drink. We got pretty turnt this sea day and I hit my 15, he hit 13.

Dinner time we went to Horizons for YTD. Originally we had late dining, but I made sure to check out the maitre d’ as soon as we boarded and they changed it with zero issue. We went to horizons each night and never any issues. We decided to always ask for window seats so we never had the same staff twice. We were allllways seated right away and went different times every night. Food was awesome. My DH is a former chef and he’s pretty critical. He loved almost every meal. (They cooked a medium rare steak pretty harsh on the medium one night, but he still ate it lol)

After dinner and further drinking, we checked out the Dive In Movies. Playing tonight was Murder on the Orient Express and The Greatest Showman. Both were very good. We didn’t show up early to anything (DH is one of those always just on time people) and we always had a seat. The first sea day it never felt crowded anywhere. We were blown away.

Time to get some sleep because tomorrow begins the port days!

I know y’all love seeing the events beforehand, here is the Entertainment Schedule

Embark Fun Times! (Keeps uploading sideways sorry about that)

Were on the Vista in December with my entire family and can't wait. SO excited to see your review here.

Thank you! You’re all going to have an amazing vacation

Guy’s BBQ

Spa was no joke this empty each time we went

Every drink was consistently this beautiful

(Trying to test out pictures)

Spa interior!

Miami:

We chose to carry all our crap to the room to avoid any issue of not receiving it ASAP. Loved that the room was ready when we arrived (Hello another FTTF perk). We stayed in a spa interior on the 11th floor (We ended up changing rooms, but more of that to come...). Our room steward was I Made!! Anyone who’s had I Made knows what a freaking gem that man is!! Incredibly sweet, always smiling, greeting us by name, and holy crap how did he always know when to clean our room?! Very impressed.

First impression of the room was tiny, but livable. Had a fridge and all the special spa amenities (robe, slippers, towels, shampoo, conditioner, and gel specifically supplied to just the spa rooms). The TV had Carnival channels, CNN, TruTV, cartoons, etc. We loved the ship cams! We quickly unpacked and than began the very exciting self guided tour.

First things first, the spa and gym. Gym is sorta disappointing if you’re an avid goer, but it’s definitely enough to get the job done while on vacation. A good variety of weight machines and a few dozen variety of cardio. The view is beautiful. More on the gym later. The spa is excellent. Saunas are fabulous, the jacuzzi-esque pool was small, but we always seemed to find it empty when we went so no issue there. I’ll get back to the spa area next post.

From there we explored each deck and moseyed our way to Guy’s Pig and Anchor BBQ (Outside deck 5). As previously mentioned on CC, empty on embark day! The Lido buffet was a mob scene and honestly avoided that nearly the entire time. Since we were dressed in pool gear, why not spend some time by the pool!

Deck 11 was our scene for majority of the time. We ordered our first drinkies, sat back, and let the relaxation commence! We had so much fun we forgot to attend dinner that night.

Smoking sections can be found deck 11 only one side, toward the back headed to Tides, casino, and deck five on the Lanai.

Here it is! Another review of the beautiful, still pretty shiny, Carnival Vista! Also answering a lot of the common questions I’ve seen on CC. Order of days are sea day, Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, sea day.

Backstory:

It’s always been a dream of mine to go on a cruise. My DH, well, he’s ready for any adventure I throw at him. We’re both late 20s from the east coast and love trying new things. I was looking specifically for a new ship with many activities. Who knew if we would ever cruise after this, so getting the full experience was most important. I chose Carnival Vista because it’s pretty new and read a lot online about how insanely great it is. Of course there are complainers, I just try to take every opinion lightly and not let it sway me from my own thoughts.

Embark:

Thankfully we were able to scoop the FTTF. Anyone that advises against, well I’ll just say I’m really happy I spent the extra money. The check in line was literally wrapping around the building. Initially my DH thought that was our line and I was like, “Oh hell no, let me find someone who works here and find out.” Come to find out the FTTF line was on the way other side from where we were dropped off. We laughed when we saw how short that line was. Our original check in before buying FTTF was 11:30-12 and we showed up a little after 12 with no issue. Blessed we didn’t have to wait nor sweat ourselves into pasty pools in that beautiful Miami sun. Total wait time from drop off to inside room maybe 20 minutes. Let the fun truly begin!

Anyone been on the vista recently and may know??

Oops my bad, the Vista