LoungingMcCoy

Thank you very much!

I went ahead and checked.  I'm not sure how this was supposed to be an "upgrade" if you're only moving a few rooms down the same deck!  lol 

We received a couple of upgrade offers for our Jan. 2020 cruise.  One of them I'm not interested in, but the other I might be.  I'd like to investigate more without committing. 

If I click the "Select and Continue" button am I going to be committed?  Probably a silly question but I'm happy with my room.  I'd like to see more about the upgrade but I don't want to lose our current room.

A couple of people have already said EMS, so that's taken.  So I want to be the person that drives the little car that squeegees the deck.

I'm not a gambler so I don't do the casino or bingo.  The shows also don't interest me.

We haven't done an art auction, but on our last cruise we did walk through the art gallery.  The guy that was working there was really pushy.  After reading this thread I can't imagine going to an auction where they're likely even more pushy! 

I'm not an aficionado, but I do enjoy looking at art. In the words of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons: "I don't know art but I know what I hate."  I saw a couple of prints that really caught my eye.  When I got home I did some research on the artist.  Apparently his works are pretty much only available on cruise ships.  I thought that was odd.

I didn't realize that there would be so many activities.  I resisted cruising for many years because I didn't want to just sit on a ship with nothing to do.  I also had the impression that everything was very structured and scheduled.

We stay at Best Western Plus New Orleans Airport Hotel in Kenner.  Close to the airport.  Free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and the shuttle will take you to dinner and pick you up.  Shuttle from the hotel to the port for a fee.  I can't remember what it costs.  Less than half an hour from the port.  Free breakfast.  It seems like there are some stores close by.

It isn't the nicest hotel, but it's clean.

I'm not a foodie.  In fact, I'm pretty picky.  The first time I heard about a meal like this, a few years ago, it sounded exotic and elegant and I wanted to give it a try.  My wife and I did the Chef's Table on our first cruise in January.  It was a great experience!  The galley tour was terribly interesting.  It was fun getting to try all the "exotic" foods and most of it tasted very good.  Our tablemates, for the most part, made the experience even more fun.  I can't see us doing the Chef's Table on every cruise, but I'm sure we'll do it again once the menu changes.

I can't speak for the Vista. The Triumph had an electronic poker table that was always empty. I checked a number of times. The Fun Times had listings for poker player meetups a couple of times but I never went to one. If I remember correctly the meetups were usually late, like 10:00 p.m. I never saw anything about a tournament. I was hoping to get into some poker action! Hopefully the Vista will be better for you.

I'm cold natured and I generally only wear shorts when I know it's going to be terribly hot and I'm going to be outside for an extended period of time. It never even occurred to me to bring shorts when we took our cruise to Mexico in January. It's January, right? How bad can it be? Big mistake.

My wife has always wanted to travel but I had my fill of travelling when I was a kid. Our cruise in January was kind of a spur of the moment idea due to some outside circumstances. What a great way to travel! Everything is taken care of from lodging, to food, to entertainment and it's comparatively inexpensive. You get to see some "exotic" places.

But I guess if I'm being honest, I want to keep cruising so maybe someday I can win a Carnival "ship on a stick". ;p

We'll be flying into NOLA for our cruise next January. I read somewhere on CC that people were having difficulty finding rooms so I went ahead and booked a room for the night before the cruise.

When should I book airline tickets? For our cruise last January I booked everything in August and had no difficulty other than a change to the flight time from NOLA making it at least an hour earlier than I originally booked. I was a little nervous about making it to the airport on time. :mad: I'm fine with doing it now but is there any advantage to waiting? Lower prices or a better variety of times? I definitely want to get tickets at least a few months in advance.

Thanks!

My wife and I did the Chef's Table on Carnival Triumph in January. I had wanted to try a fancy meal like that ever since I heard about it a few years ago. I'm by no means a foodie, but it was a great experience. I got to try some fancy food and some foods that I had never eaten before. Most every dish was very good but there were a couple I didn't like. The tour of the galley was very interesting. There was even a magician that did some magic tricks at the table!

I just looked at the menu. There are only about 3 dishes that aren't meat based including the appetizers in the reception. I'm not sure how strict your diet is, but even the tomato bisque had sweet cream in it. Hopefully they'll be able and willing to work with you.

If you decide to do it, my advice is to pace yourself. I'm not a big eater and I was absolutely stuffed at the end. You don't have to clean your plate for every dish!

Those pink cake pops available on embarkation day. *shudder*

I totally agree with this.

My wife, my parents, and I all applied for new passports last year. Mom and I had no problems, but dad and my wife had their applications rejected because of "issues" with the submitted photos. They had to get new photos taken and send them in. The new photos were accepted. Not a big deal, just kind of annoying.

It seems like I received my passport within a couple of months.

On my cruise I tried to buy photographs with cash but they wouldn't accept it. I was told they only accept the S&S card. I don't know if that's normal.

We brought $200 cash for souvenirs, food in the airports, tips, etc. and it really wasn't enough. Souvenirs in the ports and airport food were very expensive.

We sailed out of New Orleans in January. The shuttle from the hotel to the dock had to have a minimum number of people before they would run it so we wound up getting to the port early. We walked right in with no problems.

After reading about this on the forum I guess we got lucky and I wouldn't risk showing up early again if I could avoid it. The wife is demanding FTTF for our next cruise so it's hopefully not going to be an issue.

It's terribly unlikely that I'll ever reach Diamond or Platinum status but I would be very disappointed to have a perk like this taken away. It seems like a pretty sweet perk. Would it keep me from sailing with Carnival? I don't know.

With so many cruise line options I'd think this would be a big risk. Relying on current Diamonds and Platinums to stay loyal to Carnival while selling First Cabin Access. I'm sure somebody has crunched the numbers though. Assuming this is all true.

We did the Chef’s Table on Triumph in January. The wine was definitely flowing. It was a very fun experience. There was even a magician that came in and gave a short magic show. The food was great.

A word of advice. Unless you’re a really big eater you need to pace yourself and not feel like you have to clean your plate every course. I ate so much that I was miserable!

I won a medal on my first cruise. I spent the rest of the cruise trying to win a ship on a stick but I failed. It's now my goal in life to win a ship on a stick!

For me it was the Salmon Tartar Cornets and the Duck Textures from the Chef's Table.

My wife's favorite was the Surf and Turf from the dining room.