tja273

We also really enjoyed the medallion program on Princess. Having drinks delivered to us wherever we decided to sit on the ship was nice. Not needing a card key swipe for anything (even room entry) was nice, too. Hopefully, since they are the same company, Carnival starts something similar soon.

On 9/29/2022 at 11:41 AM, Kay S said:

I have loyalty on Carnival and Princess.  Princess is "classier."  Carnival, IMO, has better food.  I really miss the deli on Carnival when I'm on Princess. Room service breakfast on Carnival is better.  Guy's burgers are so superior to Princess's, it's not even a contest. I have also had better customer service with Carnival, on balance.  Both are good with kids, though Carnival caters to them more.

I agree that we liked the food choices on Carnival better. Multiple different restaurants (included and extra) plus the sndwich bar at the buffet, the large dessert choices at the buffet, etc.

I also noticed the MDR dinners all seemed to be more "fancy" on Princess...usually more fancy than really appealed to us. We only ate dinner once in the MDR on Princess. We ate at the MDR almost every night on Carnival.

Bug Spray. Take your bug spray.

On 7/22/2022 at 8:45 PM, cruizluver said:

I am a bit confused about the AriveCan that some posts indicate need to be filled out if sailing Seattle/Seattle.  We are not planning to get off the ship in Victoria so do we need to fill out these forms? Just want to be prepared if we are required to download that app even though we aren't getting off in Canada.

Yes. Everyone on the ship must complete ArriveCan whether or not they will get off the ship in Victoria.

It was available at the Pier in Seattle. The cost of the test was charged to our cabin. Our test results from Walgreen's did not come back in time.

We were just in a mini suite on the Crown. We enjoyed the extra seating space inside (full couch with 2nd TV) and the larger balcony (two chairs, two ottomans and table). The only drawback on that type of ship is the the balcony on the mini suites do not have any cover. The decks above look right down on you.

We just used Lyft from the airport. It was fast and easy, but it is a longer walk to the cruise terminal (they make them use the furthest parking area). We took a cab back after the cruise, because it was just a shorter walk.

On 6/30/2022 at 12:12 PM, redtop101 said:

Yes, I’ve been following the Crown Princess on CruiseMapper.com and very happy to see she is no longer “limping” along - maintaining 20 knots quite regularly in open water. Now, if they could only fix the aft vibration issues in time for our Sept 22nd 10 night Pacific Coastal cruise. 

 

We were on deck 9 and mid-forward, so the vibration was never really an issue for us EXCEPT one night dining in the Botticelli Dining Room. If I didn't know about it ahead of time, I would have been concerned. It sounds and feels like they are pushing the remaining engines as hard as they can go. On the rest of the ship, for us, it wasn't a big deal.

On 6/28/2022 at 11:59 AM, nini said:

Hopefully, this thread can return to the original topic; "Best Place for Fish and Chips".

Does anyone know of one in Icy Strait or Prince Rupert?

We only saw three restaurants near the welcome center when there at the end of June. The Crab Shack (no fish and chips), a smokehouse type place (no fish and chips) and a third that was closed (menu had fish and chips...but they were closed).

On 6/30/2022 at 12:06 AM, Crew News said:

A short walk to the main tourist area will give you the chance to sample the offerings of the Crab Station. 

 

The Crab Station does not have fish and chips.

We were eaten alive on our excursion into the Yukon. It wasn't that bad in port or on the water (whale watching), but if you plan to head anywhere inland, take it with you.

Crown was at ISP from 5-8pm as scheduled. Not much to do, and one of the few restaurants was closed. Unless you want crab or smoked meats, eat on the ship.

I used mine with the stingrays. The operators will also be taking pictures to sell to you (about $60), but they will not stop you from taking your own.

Carnival usually has a combination excursion that does the stingrays and the turtle farm. We took that one in January.

On 4/15/2019 at 3:21 PM, Ideb said:

After walking around inside Mega for a while, we decided to get a taxi and go back to the port. We shopped some more there and bought some shirts and souvenirs then went to Three Amigos restaurant for a bite to eat. We weren't really hungry but just wanted to get something to snack on and drink before getting back on the ship and have a little taste of true Mexican food.

 

 

I remember that guy! "Would you like to ride my ass?!?!?"

Totally worth the cost. The wagyu steak was "melt in your mouth" tender and delicious.

10 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Stop wearing sunscreen and get skin cancer! Yay, cancer for everyone! may want to rephrase your title.

 

Compozer, you may not have burned, but I have a red haired milky white child who needs sunblock under his rashguard in order not to burn. And yes, we wear huge hats. Still have to slather SPF lotion on our faces and all the other body parts.

Correct. Everyone (yes, even those that "don't ever burn") should wear REEF SAFE sunscreen. Prevent damage to our reefs AND skin cancer.

Consider where you will spend most of your time. If you want to be at the pools, sun bathing, eating (other than the MDR), a higher deck is nice so you can avoid waiting for elevators every time you go back and forth. If activities and shows are your thing (trivia, bingo, comedy shows, music shows), maybe the lower deck.

On 3/18/2019 at 5:10 AM, jsglow said:

IDEAL for us would be an isolated table for 2 in early dining.  But we recognize that as a Gold level cruiser, that can't be expected.  So we go with ATD and sit at a 2 top.  Works out fine.

 

Next time we cruise with our adult kids, I'm sure we'll request an early 4 person booth and get it.

On the Dream, this would be table 386 in the Crimson Upper dining room. 🙂 On our anniversary trip in January, we were assigned this table. It is near the back of the dining room in an isolated area overlooking the lower dining room. We took 3-4 steps down into a glassed in area with only three tables for two actually spaced apart pretty well. It was perfect.

10 minutes ago, Ariel1985 said:

Is the Port of NOLA now putting the S&S in the cabin “mailbox?” They did for the Vista out of Miami, and made embarkation a breeze!

They did this for our cruise on the Dream in January out of NOLA.

20 minutes ago, michiganredrose said:

I have done anytime the last few cruises but I have realized that I go to dinner at 6:00 every night anyway. On a port day where we leave at 5:00, I am on the ship by 4:00 at the very latest, which gave us plenty of time to get ready for dinner. 

 

 

I agree. Early dining was great for us, and we loved our wait staff. Eating at 8PM has little appeal unless you plan to be up until midnight.

9 hours ago, Nerkbuck said:

Is it really worth the hassle to carry your own soda onboard, and then have to go back to your stateroom every time you want one???

 

We would take one with us when headed out to lunch, usually. Not much different than having to stop at a bar on the way, waiting, ordering, and paying for their soda. We also had them in the room if we wanted to lounge on the balcony, etc.

On 3/13/2019 at 8:08 AM, Lee Cruiser said:

I am curious as if that may have been coming from the area on deck 5.  Has anyone stayed on deck seven smelled a lot of smoke from that area?  Is it the area just outside the nightclub?

This was not from Deck 5 or the area on Deck 11. We were on Deck 11, near the front on the port side. With the ship moving, there is no way this came from anywhere but forward of our balcony.

I imagine when the ship is in port, you might get some drifting smoke from the smoking areas, but I do not know personally.

On 12/9/2018 at 8:02 PM, Saint Greg said:

Make it easier. Above guys burgers and back.

When we were on the Dream in January, the smoking area appeared to stretch all the way forward on Deck 11 until you hit the cabins, including people smoking just outside the doors to enter the interior portion of the ship. 

Also, while smoking on the balconies is prohibited, that did not stop some people from doing it, despite the threat of a $500 fine and forced debarkation. Several times we were driven from our balcony by smoke (though we could not tell exactly where it was coming from).

Carnival offered an excursion that included both of these in January.