OKC Cruisers

They usually do two different seatings for this, so if you aren't "breakfasty," you could do the later one as more of a brunch. Have the steak and eggs, it was quite tasty.

You can sign up on embarkation day, they will have a table set up with a crew member to answer your questions. You can also sign up anytime before the morning that it occurs on at Guest Services.

Also, remember that you pay per day...including the days you are in ports. That's where I would lose out. I don't care for specialty coffees, drink the water in the dining room or Lido and not a milkshake fan. I drink mixed drinks and would have to drink at least 5 a day to make it worth the cost. Not sure I could do it on days where I've been in port trying the local libations. :confused:

Pete

So far, Magic has been my favorite. Going on Breeze in December for the first time...looking forward to it.

Pete

We did it on our Liberty cruise this summer. We had our 8 year old Granddaughter with us. It was quite fun. $5 per person. The food was okay, but it was themed and very colorful. Wife had the Green Eggs and Ham (a sort of eggs benedict with green food coloring in the eggs), Granddaughter had the pancakes (food colored pink and red) and I had the steak and eggs (it was just steak and eggs, no food coloring).The characters Thing 1, Thing 2, the Cat in the Hat and, of course, Sam are there for photo ops (with a ship board photographer). They will also use your own camera to take photos as well which I thought was great.

Oh, and I don't know if it shows up this way on all the ships, but on our final bill, the breakfast charge of $15 showed up as "Wine Special."

It depends on the time of year you are there. during the winter months, the mosquitos are somewhat less active, but still present. I would always take repellant with me if you are one of those, like my wife, who it seems will be bitten by the only mosquito within a thousand miles anywhere she goes! To lighten our load, we take the Deep Woods Off wipes with us. They are like individually packaged wet wipes, but with DEET repellant on them. Found them at Walgreen's.

The issue of the passport often leads to some debate. Do you need the passport when you go ashore? No...you can use a government issued ID such as your Driver License. HOWEVER, remember, you are in a foreign country. If, heaven forbid, something happens and you cannot get back on the ship, you will wish you had your passport as it will make things easier to manage. I know that a lot of people worry about their passport being lost or stolen, but folks, if the police or security forces of the country you are in decide that your State of (insert your state here) Driver License is not acceptable to them, then you are at their mercy. A passport is THE recognized form of identification when traveling outside the borders of the US. This is backed by international treaties and laws.

As to your passport not being waterproof, there are a number of travel pouches specifically made for this purpose that are. Travel safe, travel smart.

Another vote for NACHI COCOM. We have been there at least a half a dozen times. Were just there last month, only about 20 people total there that day. My wife and granddaughter had the pool all to themselves for quite some time. Quiet...peaceful...this is what we seek. Like someone else said, though, if you crave more water toys, more music and a party atmosphere, Nachi ain't it. :D

Blue Iguana is my restaurant of choice for embarkation. Love the shrimp burritos and the fish tacos! Go down great with the Fun Ship drink of the day!

Pete

CARNIVAL CALLED!

Bag with everything inside FOUND.

 

Will be shipped to my house within the next week.

Excellent!! Great to hear! Hope all your future travels are less harrowing!

When is this set to sail again?

Tomorrow!

I hope all the naysayers who want instant gratification can watch this and realize just what a task that is being undertaken here. Not like changing out the water pump on a 67 Chevy!

Watching Galveston webcam as Carnival Liberty is getting it's bow thruster repairs. They have cut a substantial hole in the ship just above the waterline for the purpose, I assume, to get the rather large parts in and out of the ship. Quite an undertaking!

Oh, and we're getting on that ship this coming Monday, so I am watching the work with fascination.

You don't need an IQ of over 100 to see this. Meet and Greets are not new on Carnival. They've had them for Cruise Critic and Facebook groups for years, just never Cruise Critic sponsored. I imagine Cruise Critic needs the advertising, since melactive membership is at an all time low. It's a last feast at a straw, too late.

 

But Carnival offered to set up a room on every cruise on every ship WAY before Cruise Critic got involved. John Heald would even make sure there was bottles of champagne and ships on sticks to hand out. And it was always at an Agreed time, which I think was first sea day, day 2, early afternoon.

 

 

And now that Cruise Critc is involved, I'm trying to figure out who want them to fail more.

As I understand it, Cruise Critic is not involved. The cruise line has just agreed, in conjunction with Cruise Critic to sponsor an "official" Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle. It is the cruise line's staff that sets everything up. The only thing Cruise Critic provides is their name and the forums here to provide the roll calls.

We have been attending Royal Caribbean's Cruise Critic Meet & Mingles for years. They have always been held at mid-morning of first sea day. We have been to some that only had about 20 people show up all the way to one where 200+ were in attendance. There is always someone from the Cruise Director's staff in attendance. At some of the bigger ones, the CD themselves and a officer would attend.

Ahh, SailorJack, you have made my morning. Thanks for the most interesting, entertaining and downright hilarious cruise review I have ever read.

Pete

I would not book any flights earlier than noon just to be safe. Seattle traffic can be tricky. Last summer we decided to fly out the next day after disembarking and stayed at a hotel near SeaTac. We were off the ship and at the hotel by 11 am. Give yourself enough time to get through TSA Security and allow for Murphy's Law!

Hey all, showing my total newbie status here, what is special about 1A? What exactly do you mean when referring to 1A cabins?

 

Thank you!! :o :confused:

 

Also, this may be a common resource but I have found very detailed information on cabins on this deck plan website:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Carnival

 

Including pictures which will show you window type/size.

 

Happy sailing all! :)

Nothing so special about 1A's. They are often very small cabins with a single bed or bunk beds...usually in the small corners of the ship...kinda shoved in to utilize otherwise wasted space. But they are usually the least expensive cabin to book and, because of their size and cost, a great value for single cruisers. Thanks for the link to the cruise deck plans site, it's the first time I've seen it.

Pete

Magic has been our favorite of Carnival's ships. Once it get's its upgrade, it should be even better. We specifically liked the way the ship was laid out as, to us, it seemed to "flow" better. We also loved to sit in the evening on The Lanai. Also, we sail almost exclusively in inside staterooms and the one we had a Magic was very large compared to most other insides we have been in. Loved the Deli at the back of the Lido deck where we could grab a bite and sit and watch the ship's wake. Our next cruise is on her sister ship, Breeze.

Just wanted to say thank you for posting your review and photos. We were also on this cruise and part of the Roll Call. We elected not to take any of the tours organized through the roll call because of some previous bad experiences. This was our first time in all of these ports with the exception of St. Thomas, so we just elected to get of the ship and wade through the sea of taxi drivers offering tours until we found one we felt comfortable with. Like you, we generally like getting an overall tour of an island the first time we visit and then, when and if we come back, we'll find something more specific to do.

Looking forward to the wrap up of your review and the link to your photo album. Your photos have been great! Gotta ask because I'm a techie kind of guy, what camera were you using?

Pete

If selfie sticks are outlawed, only outlaws will have selfie sticks!

I think the biggest draw for Galveston is that it is within a days drive or a very quick (and relatively cheap) flight of over 30 million people. Yes, there are some drawbacks as mentioned. But when we look at a cruise vacation, the relatively inexpensive cost of getting to Galveston for us is often a major plus. We can hop in our car and be in Galveston that afternoon all for about $45 in gas. Or, we can fly direct to Hobby Airport on Southwest, sometimes for only $49 one way with 2 free checked bags.

For us, though, we have sailed out of Galveston so many times, the limited itineraries become boring.

Yep, on certain ships Carnival is "experimenting" with a program where guests can choose Morning Service, Evening Service or both. The "rumor" that they are cutting twice-a-day service is because the printed information they hand out for guests to choose doesn't specifically give you the "Both" option. It just had Morning or Evening on it. If you check both, you get both. So if your ship has this, just check both options and you shall have your towel animal!

Jeez, I hope not. I mean, I really liked Oasis, but c'mon...bigger is not always better!

Pete

As I understand it, the Social Media package is separate from the Hub App. The Hub App allows you to download the daily activities and info on your ship for free and you can have access to the messaging feature for the extra cost. The Social Media package allows you access to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc for $5 per day or $25 for entire cruise (Depending on cruise length).

Pete

We will be boarding Sunshine in 31 days for her first "Journeys" cruise and we are very excited. We have found that if you are inclined to find the negative in everything, then that's the kind of cruise you shall have.

It's a cruise...go forth and ENJOY! :D

The App does currently say it is for the Breeze, but you can go ahead and download it. The Breeze was the beta test ship for the App and it will be going fleet wide over the next year. Download it now, it will work on any ship once the service is put on that ship.

For Apple devices: It is an iPhone app, so if you search for it as an iPad App, you won't find it. It will work on your iPad, just need to search for it as an "iPhone" App.

It should work on an Apple iPod as well as it uses the ships Wi-Fi, not cellular, network.