xDisconnections

53 minutes ago, d12j28 said:

It's a "comp", just like any other casino does. I can guarantee you that if a gambler didn't like Carnival (or any other casino) the offers wouldn't matter. 

Can vouch -- have received several free cruise offers over the years (especially shortly after the VIFP Club was introduced in 2012) and have never taken Carnival up on their offer.

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Golds, Red, Blues, people walking by...the party was (still is) overrun by people bringing in everyone in their traveling party.  Taking first timers to a free drink party is a bragging point for past cruisers.  

9 minutes ago, Roscoe13 said:

Are you suggesting it's not allowed to bring a non diamond/platinum guest with you? 

Ah, memories. Reminds me of 2014.

58 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Jason, Jason, Jason

👀

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

12 straight days of available bacon on the Celebrity Apex. 🥓🥓🥓🥓

I’m told that we had daily bacon on the Regal Princess.

As a Platinum Member, I’m happy to give up sailing on Carnival to allow my vacation time to be spent on cruise lines with a product that provides a more enjoyable experience.

45 minutes ago, dcsham said:

They aren’t going to test you on board lol unless symptoms are reported. The ridiculousness of some comments on here are laughable. 
Not you OP. She knows who she is. 🙄
 

 

7 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Contact tracing for one, Richard 

 

I believe on Hawaii cruises, they are testing everyone on the ship prior to arrival. Never say never 

 

 

On longer voyages onboard some premium cruise lines, mandatory testing is completed onboard, usually every seven days. Symptoms or no symptoms.

6 minutes ago, groundloop said:

 

You do realize that we're in the Carnival section, right?  I'm making an educated guess that Carnival does things differently than Princess. 

I'm aware. Both cruise lines use similar network technologies and I haven't had an issue when sailing on Carnival, Royal or Princess.

Just now, groundloop said:

 

Have you tried this recently?  I tried wifi calling on Magic in September and on Pride  December and it didn't work (for me at least).

Yes.

No issues four weeks ago on Regal Princess.

Enable WiFi Calling before the cruise and purchase an onboard Internet package. You'll be able to call/text as you normally do without any additional roaming charges -- just enable airplane mode.

As I cruise now, I much prefer the Cruise Directors on other lines where they are more in the background and not as noticeable. With that said, Carnival has some pretty good Cruise Directors who know their product and audience very well. Despite that, some are better than others.

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

The technical side (online) is much better than it used to be.  The restrictions can be daunting (like no seat assignment), currently working thru one for a med cruise for October.  

I got around the seat assignments with IcelandAir by having Celebrity ticket my flights. They kept the same flexible/refundable cancellation policy despite ticketing it.

It depends on what you’re looking for and how open of a mind you have.

We just got off the Regal Princess. While we had a very nice time and I wouldn’t be opposed to booking another cruise, I’m also not running to book one right now. I have several land based trips lined up in lieu of what would have been cruise options.

Shouldn’t be an issue.

2 minutes ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

Not to hijack but...   In what universe does it make sense to forbid plastic straws yet encourage (or at least sell) 1000's of plastic bottles of water???  smh!!!

Revenue.

Carnival will provide you with a sugar straw for some drinks and annoyingly deny your request for others. Plastic straws in my area along the beach have made a massive comeback during Covid. Hopefully they return to the cruise lines soon.

#TeamPlastic

3 minutes ago, my kids mama said:

Nassau is also one of the few ports I haven't visited.  I was wondering if we were going to go there with the GC closure. So far, my least "liked" port was La Romana.  I read a post here on CC recently about someone that booked a cruise specifically that stopped in Costa Maya, just so he could go to Maya Chan again.  So far, all I can say is this; the reviews are stellar, and the email response I have received has been wonderful.  The price was decent too.  It's $69 pp for the day.  That includes, your own private area with table, chairs, day bed/palapa, floaty chairs in the water, Kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, drinks, and an awesome(from what I have read) mayan lunch. Oh, and also transportation to and from the ship. They even bring you a drink while you are out floating in the water. I know there might be an issue with the sea weed in the water.  After the year we have had in our family business, I am just looking forward to great service and relaxation. 

Princess doesn’t visit La Romana so I can’t comment on it. It sounds like you’ll have a nice time at Maya Chan. It just isn’t for me.

Sargassum is a pretty big issue right now in Mexico as you mentioned but isn’t as bad as it was a few months ago. Hopefully it’ll be cleared up by the time you go.

3 minutes ago, my kids mama said:

Understood. I bet many ports seem boring to you. I have heard that the service of Maya Chan is what keeps people coming back.  I will see how I like it in December, then decide for January. 

I hope you enjoy it!

Personally, I try to avoid visiting public beaches or beaches that allow you to purchase day passes as the local beach I visit is part of a private beach club with Waldorf Astoria.

Most ports aren’t boring to me… there honestly is nothing to do in Costa Maya. This port is the only one I dislike visiting. I’m even happier in Nassau.

30 minutes ago, my kids mama said:

Gotcha.  I have had ports like that. Did you ever book Maya Chan when you were there?

Not of an interest to me as I live within 5 minutes of the beach.

I’m not a fan of Costa Maya and would likely stay on the ship next time. Having just been there on the Regal Princess a few days ago, I was reminded just how boring it is of a port stop — for us.

Personally, I would have preferred visiting our original port of call instead of Princess Cays.

Most memorable in a good way:

Butch, Wee Jimmy, MarQ, Dan Falconer and our most recent one was a British gentleman named Andy on Regal Princess.

Most memorable in a bad/unfortunate way:

Malcom Burns, John Heald and Jen Baxter

While not favorable, it doesn’t sound as bad as the mutiny on the swine flu cruise which prompted the prepaid gratuities being removed list to be posted. Carnival’s offer in the Horizon’s situation was fair and most passengers are likely sailing on deeply discounted fares.

5 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I have never had the steakhouse selection in the MDR but I have heard that it is not as good as the steakhouse because they don't have the equipment to cook the steak properly.

This is true on Princess.

One time I ordered something from the Crown Grill menu in the MDR and noticed it tasted pretty different. The headwaiter informed me they are prepared differently in the MDR when compared to Crown Grill and suggested that I ask for it to be prepared in the steakhouse going forward and delivered to the MDR. Since then, the request has been accommodated each time.
 

Sadly, the Crown Grill Selects are not currently offered in the MDR, at least on the Regal Princess.

4 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

HAL used to be sophisticated.  It's really not anymore.

Let's revisit this after you sail on Carnival 😉

For whatever its worth, we just got off the Regal Princess and their chocolate chip cookies changed as well and not for the better. The other types of cookies appeared to be the same.

Just another data point 🙂

15 hours ago, TechDiva said:

I felt the same.  I was on the Magic Halloween cruise and was excited about getting the cookies again, so I purchased 2 of them.  Normally I would have eaten them immediately but I nibbled at one of them throughout the day and ended up throwing the 2nd one away.  There really is something different about them.

8 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

I’m with you on the chocolate chip cookies! I think they’ve definitely changed their recipe! Not nearly as good before the COVID came along. It’s my lunchtime treat to go get a bowl full of the chocolate soft serve ice cream and then 3 of the chocolate chip cookies. So good. Been on 3 Magic cruises since the restart, cookies were not very good, was disappointing.  Glad you mentioned this, I will email Carnival and ask what they did. Y’all can all joke about this, but it’s the little things that make me happy on my cruise.

 

Update: I just emailed guest care, so when they reply, I’ll let y’all know! 
 

 

4 hours ago, SCBarker said:

I never thought to post it here, but since someone already did...

I immediately noticed a downgrade in chocolate chip cookies since the restart. My go-to lido desert used to be the aforementioned cookie(s) at the bottom of a soft-serve ice cream bowl.

There’s a very big probability the previous option they used is currently on backorder due to supply chain issues and was substituted for a different brand by their food-service distributor.