CruiseHealing

Reviewing different bookings in late 2023 the short cruise pricing appears to be just slightly higher than this year.  For the 6 night or higher cruises the prices are higher about 15%. 
 

The one thing I did notice were the frequency of +7 day cruises not going to far East Caribbean ports. (St Thomas, St Kitts etc) and are at least  25% higher.  Also Amber Cove, Grand Turk  privates island are being heavily used.  This is probably the result of fuel cost.  Stay close to save fuel dollars.  

A little off topic, but do you remember about 10 years ago you only had to have 10 cruises to reach Platinum status.  Our DD reached her status in high school with 43 sea days!  Now she’s closing in on reaching good the Diamond level.

2 hours ago, opensaysme said:

A lot of people are saying April and May. Does anyone think the ocean is choppier around that time compared to other times?

I have found the oceans rougher during January and February then April and May.  Just my personal observations.  

The comments above are also the same for Florida Parks and Attractions. We cruise from late January to the first week in March.  Then late April until a week before Memorial Day.  Then it’s late September to mid-November   If we want to go during the holidays to see the ships Christmas decorations it is the last week in November to mid December.

We did our times taking family vacations during Spring Break, summer and Christmas / NYE.  Great times but don’t want to cruise those periods again!

It was on the Sunshine first and is very popular.   We were on the inaugural Sunshine cruise out of PC and it was DWs birthday cruise so they gave her a free dinner.  We were hooked and will always eat there when we sail those ships that have it.

To your point I am surprised that it is not a the Dream Class ships.

That is like comparing a 5 Star Michelin (Ji Ji Asian Kitchen) restaurant to Applebees (ChiBang). Yes JiJi does have a charge, but it is well worth it.  Once you go; you will understand and will want to go again. 

1 hour ago, mimito4 said:

Bravo!  Now on the site. Can purchase a liter of liquor for the room now. Yes, more expensive than if you were buying at home, but come on, you have to let them make a profit. Cruise companies are bleeding money these days from the pandemic. I, for one, am thankful!

In our March and May cruise a liter of Bacardi on the site was $105, now $135.  Bacardi prices have been very consistent, this is too much of an increase. 

I just checked my May 2023 Alaska cruise and now can but a bottle of Barcadi Rum!  But the price has had a significant increase.

When budgeting a cruise, we all know there are a lot of factors that go into the budget when selecting a type of cabin.  With us living in Florida, as well as other people that are close (2 hours) to cruise ports, travel budgets are lower because we are not required for long drives, flights,  hotels, restaurants etc…. 
 

So for us a cruise vacation budget is fuel cost and parking at the port. So here is an estimate of my cost for a 7 day cruise:  Fuel cost $50 (300 miles round trip), parking $119 ($17 per day).  Total $167.  That’s pretty inexpensive considering what many people pay to get to the cruise port.   So the cost of a Aft balcony is somewhat reasonable.
 

My point is this; budgeting a cruise is so different for those that travel far away to cruise.  That may affect someone’s budget for a type of cabin.  We recently cruised out of Charleston and Long Beach and I understood the cost of traveling a long distance to cruise.  
 

When I was working I rarely had more than 6 hours of sleep per day.  So on many cruises we would book an inside cabin so I could take long afternoon naps.  Crank up the A/C and pure darkness!  I know some people will comment that I am wasting a my cruise vacation.  But for me I always walked off the cruise ship refreshed and ready to get back to work.

Now that we are retired we book aft & wrap around balconies.  I enjoy the extra space of the balcony to read novels.  Naps really aren’t needed any more.  No plans to go back to inside cabins.  But I do have fine memories of those cabins.

I forgot about the red tumblers. That is what they gave us in 2005 or 2006.  We cruise with our mugs because it holds about 30% more.  Our tumblers are probably packed in some box in the attic. They were also included with the price in the beverage (soda) package.

25 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

Carnival has never given the cup with the package.  There are many available, with one particular style discounted if you have BB.

On our first Carnival cruise on the Glory in 2003 they did give us a large Carnival insulated mug with a list of their ships.  To get the mug you had to buy the soda package when boarding.  The offer was not available after you left the Main lobby. We were surprised that they included the mug.  There is a price sticker on the bottom of $6.00. We still have all three mugs and I bring mine on every cruise, regardless of which cruiseline we are sailing.  Many people  (including employees) notice the mug and ask about it or tell me they used to have one. We always hand washed and air dried it.  Dishwashers destroy plastic during the dry cycle.

We rarely pre-buy liquor from Carnival. With 30 Carnival cruises this really doesn’t bother us.  But what does bother us is the cutbacks we have experienced over the past 5 years. (Note the cutbacks have gotten worst over the last year). We are Platinum and have less than 15 days to go become Diamond.  But we think the cutbacks will continue at an accelerated pace and continue to diminish the cruising experience.

Therefore we believe it’s time to look at other cruiselines.  We have sailed Disney, NCL and RCL.  Time to add Celebrity, Virgin and MSC to the list!

Usually half way through our cruise I go to guest services to get a print out of the damage report.  I also do this the day before debarking.  This way if they make a mistake I have isolated the surprise to occurring on last day.  

48 minutes ago, CM1984 said:

 

. . . then splurged and booked a limo both ways.  

I would do the Elation again......  I hope you have a great time!

 

Mimi, Virginia

Way to go big on the limo!  Keep it up and you could become a social media influencer!!!! 

We spend more time on our balcony.  We are also at 40 cruises and we try to spend more time away from the crowds.  We are booking aft cabins when we can. We go to Serenity mid morning and leave by 2 pm.  That is If we go there at all.  After so many cruises we have seen pretty much everything on a cruise, so we know we are probably not missing anything.

Regarding the Carnival Elation, it is the best Fantasy class ship.  The Paradise would be second. We live in Jax and this morning we talk about how much we enjoyed the smaller ships for 4 to 5 day cruises.  I’m sure we will be on the Elation soon.

I will take a bowl of that then when finished I will order another one. 

We have 39 cruises under our belt and I have seen 1 dog.  We were on the Carnival Dream in September 2012.  I was wandering around the jewelry store and this lady was carrying a chihuahua in her large bag.  A cute little dog. I told my wife and she walked over to to see if I had gone crazy. She came back and said “yup it’s a chihuahua and do you know who lady is?”  I said no clue. It’s the entertainer Charo.  The next day Charo actually sat next to my wife at the Lido deck pool.  My wife asked about the dog and she told her that she is responsible to take to dog out and clean up after to her.  Both Charo and the dog were very nice.

So will the Alaska cruise in 2023 be an additional cruise for Alaska with Spirit or will it replace Spirit?  The Spirit replaced the Freedom for 2023 Alaska cruise.

On 5/9/2022 at 8:55 PM, pc_load_letter said:

I think first time cruisers will come back when testing is done away with, vax mandates dropped, kids clubs fully  open are all implemented.

I agree with that comment, but also many experienced cruisers will limit the amount of cruising until testing and vac mandates end.  I know that could be another 2 years from now, but that is how many cruisers feel.

We sail on the Panorama this Saturday. It will be our 39th cruise, with 5 cruises post pandemic.  This will be our last cruise until the testing requirement and vac mandate is removed. There are to many other travel options that do not burden you with this silliness!

I know that D&Ps can complete their docs 2 days before everyone else on the cruise.  But does Carnival pre-board D&Ps after suites? Also do they still provide a separate waiting area/lounge for D&Ps, like they did prepandemic?

I have been on both ships.  The statements above give you an idea what to expect on the ship.   I would recommend looking at the shore excursions to see what you prefer.  That is the best way to help you answer your question of which cruise is better.  
 

Another factors includes cost of flying to Miami or Galveston.  Form Galveston Hobby Airport in Houston is 45 minutes to 1hour from Galveston.  Miami has their airport from the cruise port as well as Fort Lauderdale about 40 minutes away.

If you have not been to South Beach try flying in a day early (or after the cruise) and experience the South Beach vibe.  Galveston is an old fishing / harbor town. Lots of historic buildings and stores. Hotel cost are higher in South Beach, but overall Miami and Galveston are compareable in hotel costs.

The Horizon cruise is one less day so flying in early can be used for tourist time in FLA.

Have Fun! 
 

We have a Havana Stateroom on Deck 8 aft.  Will we have access to the Havana Family Lounge?
 

We sailed on the Carnival Horizon on July 4, 2021. It was the first Carnival ship to sail out of Florida since the pandemic.  The Lido Deck buffet was all self serve.

Log into your Carnival Account. Go to Manage My Bookings and select your cruise.  The from that page click the upper right corner to bring down those items and select Booking & Order Details.  Now scroll down halfway. Below the cabin photo you will see “View Balance Details” click that.