Mr. Nazzy

Not sure on roulette.  Min for blackjack, craps, and three card were all $10 on my June 19 Alaska cruise on Eclipse. 

Just to add to the others, we were on the same cruise and both came home with covid.  My wife started getting symptoms on the last sea day and I started on disembarkation day.  She took a test when the symptoms started, but was initially negative. We both tested positive the next day after arriving home.  We both have mild, but persistent symptoms. 

To answer the previous question on dining wait times - No.  The first day there was a bit of a queue to get into the main dining room.  We had a group of 6 and had anytime dining.  We typically ate around 630 and had the same team with us the entire cruise.  Service was fantastic throughout the cruise. If there was a staffing shortage, it wasn't obvious to us.

All said, we don't regret the trip at all. This was our first Alaska cruise. We had an amazing time and saw things we'd never see before.  We are already planning our next cruise. 

I'm on the June 19 Alaska on the Eclipse.  I submitted my bids on-line and don't recall seeing a targeted email, but it may have gone to spam.  Our upgrade offer was accepted this morning, moving from Veranda to Aqua.  I also bid on Concierge and Family stateroom.  Hopefully not too late for you. Good luck. 

As others have said, it's about 30 minutes from MB to San Pedro and generally an easy drive for this area.  I don't know your budget, but the Shade Hotel in Manhattan beach is a great hotel a short walk to the beach and in close proximity of some amazing restaurants. For dining, highly recommend Fishing with Dynamite, Love and Salt, Manhattan Beach Post, Rock 'n Fish, and the Strand House.  Reservations recommended for all of these. For breakfast, recommend The Kettle, or Uncle Bills Pancake House. 

A bit further south is Hermosa Beach which is also a fantastic place to stay.  Recommend the Sea Sprite which is right on the Strand and the beach.  Also an easy walk to the Hermosa Pier restaurants and bars. The Stanton HB is my favorite place to eat in Hermosa (and a great happy hour). The Lighthouse is great for live music nightly. Hermosa Brewing Company is great for craft beer and elevated bar food.  For breakfast, can't go wrong at Martha's or for breakfast with a Mexican spin, La Playita. 

I live in Hermosa, so if you have any other questions, feel free to message me. 

19 minutes ago, purplephenom said:

 

Are you talking about the dance floor near the Havana bar?  Is the Havana bar ever exclusive to Havana guests, or is the bar always open to all?  I'm just trying to understand what to expect.   

The interior havana bar is open to all guests all the time.  The outside bar and pool area is for Havana guests only until 7 pm.

5 hours ago, TG6 said:

From what I saw, it looked like everyone below could see right into your balcony and room when you are on the 6th and 7th deck.  I like a little bit of privacy.  Can they see in your room?

I was on deck 7, cabin 7456.  No one could see into our room.  If you are on the balcony standing or sitting close to the door, no one can really see you there either.  Step a few feet out and you can be seen from the rooms and the lido deck above.  Not sure on deck 6.  You may be able to see in those rooms from the havana hot tubs since they are elevated above deck 5.... I guess I just never really looked to confirm. 

32 minutes ago, five. said:

Pictures of both the day bed and loungers are in this thread.

I guess the neck pillows didn't make it.  None on the loungers on our cruise. Your comments on the pool temp are similar to my experience.  There was only really one day the water in the pool was not really cold.  I still jumped in a couple of the cold days, but not without some temporary discomfort.  Also note, it is salt water.  I learned that the hard way.

4 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

However, I LOVE the action at Lido. Contests, steel drums, music, etc. That fun vibe is important to me. I sometimes hit up the Serenity for some quiet, but the bulk of my time is at Lido.

I didn't mention this earlier, but I fully agree.  I definitely felt like I missed out on some of the things that made previous cruises so memorable.  I felt compelled to spend the majority of my time in the Havana area because I paid extra for it. 

17 minutes ago, purplephenom said:

 

 

I barely drink on cruises, so If i can just get some peace, chairs, and pool/hot tub space, I'm even more excited about Havana than before.  So thanks for starting this thread, you've convinced me I will enjoy Havana.  

You are welcome... I think haha.  I'm sure you will enjoy it.  I hope no one is under the impression I'm difficult to please.  I'm not.  I enjoyed it very much.  Just not enough to justify the extra expense on the next cruise.

Just now, nissach said:

Just curious if you mentioned the lack of bar service to GS?  If, yes, what was their response?  I get that it is only one bar out of many on the ship, and just because it is the Havana area does not mean no waiting at all.  I think I would have said something about the bartenders lack of enthusiasm??

I mentioned the need for a 2nd bartender in my post cruise survey but not to guest services.  I would never expect no waiting, but I waited longer at the Havana than any other bar on the ship.  So far as the grumpy bartender... I just let it go.  His grumpiness wasn't directed at us.  I won't call out people by name and potentially impact their livliehood over something like this. Like I said, I had an amazing vacation. 

My gosh, what have I started haha.  I appreciate everyone's passion on this forum.  I have no regrets about booking the Havana area, nor the extra price we paid for the experience.  We got what was advertised - an adults only area with a dedicated pool, hot tubs, and a bar. Carnival did a good job checking wristbands and politely asked non-Havana guests to leave on several occasions.  I guess I just expected more - better service primarily.  If you want a relaxing cruise, with no kids around, and mediocre service, then Havana is a good option if budget allows.  Regarding service, if Carnival would staff a 2nd bartender at Havana, much of the mediocreness would be resolved.  One bartender is truly overworked.

Beachiekeen - We typically travel to adults only all inclusives in Cancun/Riviera Maya, so I fully understand the no kids position.  This was a break from the norm for us.  The main pool was full of children, but the tides pool was mostly adults.  I imagine most kids want to stay closer to the waterpark area for the most part.  I booked this trip intentionally for a date when schools were still in session, but I was still surprised at how many kids were on board... I guess everyone homeschools now a days. 

But I agree - to each their own.  Just not worth it to us. 

5 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

There are cabins with actual balconies. The cabanas are open.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgshqq0iO-Q

 

Correct.  There are both aft view and wrap around balconies.  Butterbean was referring to the Havanna Cabanas on the 5th deck.  Havana Balcony rooms are on deck 6 and 7.

I sailed May 5-11 on the Vista in a Havanna Aft view extended balcony.  Here's my thoughts:

The good - The room itself was great.  Room attendant was fantastic. This was our first time in an aft view and I really loved it.  The Havanna pool area was really nice and never really crowded.  There was no towel game and plenty of loungers available at all times. The pool was typically pretty cold, and most people stuck to the hot tubs which were warm but not hot.  On the first sea day, we did really enjoy our time in the Havanna pool area.

The meh - The Havanna bar was staffed by one bartender who was resposible for both the inside and the outside bars.  Service was slow.  We nicknamed the daytime bartender Grumpy Cat.  He was irritated basically the enitre cruise.  He snapped at the waitress more than a few times while we were sitting at the bar.  The other bartender was fine, but not much on personality. 

Now let's talk about the music.  I get it, it's a Havanna theme, but the limited rotation of repeating latin music got really old.  There was strangley even a Christmas song in the rotation we heard 4 different times.  I wish they'd mix in some other songs just for some variety. We stayed on ship for one port and decided to go to the main pool primarily for a change in music.  On the second sea day, we started at the Havanna, but ended up heading to the Tides pool for better service and better music. 

Nothing above ruined our experience.  We had an amazing vacation.  But if we sail a Vista class ship again, we'll skip the extra expense of the Havanna area.  Just not worth it to us. 

Thanks for your review.  I've really enjoyed following along.  I'm on Vista next week with a stop in Costa Maya.  I have Jaimie's book... I'm starting to reconsider.  Maybe we'll just do some bar hoping along the Mayachan area.  Wonder if they will charge me to cancel.

Sorry to revive an older post, but this deal is still available.  Carnival gift cards are 10% off and can be purchased in $100 for $90 or $500 for $450.  You can choose regular mail or an e-gift card. 

I've shopped at the Cajun Market a couple of times.  Just be prepared for elevated prices compared to what you are probably used to.  It is convienient though. 

1 hour ago, Tiger0613 said:

They will.  That's what I did when I price matched this morning.

Sure enough they did.  Every little bit helps.  Thanks Tiger and WorkerBee. 

Mine went down over the weekend and I called and knocked $120 off my fare, while losing a $50 OBC.  Today the fare is the same, but they are offering $100 OBC.  Wonder if they'll add that to my booking if I call?  I'll give it a shot after work.

BTW - It pays to watch your fare closely.  I've knocked $200 off through watching the rates.  I've saved an additional $300 taking advantage of a couple AMEX offers. 

Thanks figdu.  I'll try it when I get home.

Has anyone used this more than once on the same card?  I booked a couple months ago for a May 2019 cruise.  The AMEX offer at the time was (IIRC) a 10,000 points credit for a $700 purchase on Carnival.  Can I now use this offer towards another payment or purchase of the Cheers package?

I took advantage of the $750 get $150 in points offer. I used my Amex for an initial payment of $750. Not sure how long it took for the points to show up. Logged in to my account a couple weeks after the payment to pay my bill and the points were there. Had a few extra points and ordered a $200 Carnival gift card from Amex. Card came in the mail today. Used it as an additional payment to my cruise. Wish I could use it again haha.

Hey Sid. It's nice to follow along with your journey. I went back and read the entire Vista live report as well. I'll be sailing Vista next May. I'm with you on the job aspect. Every time I take a vacation I become obsessed with planning and budgeting for the next one. It's my only escape from a job that offers me no fulfillment. With discipline, I manage a couple trips away a year. I've taken a hiatus from cruising (post divorce - it was something my ex and I enjoyed when things were... better) for a few years and been relaxing at all inclusives in the Caribbean and Mexico for the last few years. Your live reports have me very excited to get back to cruising. Thanks for doing this.

On Vista May 5, 2019. Bought FTTF a couple weeks ago.