Falling_down

1 hour ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I also wonder if the problem is that Royal, and some other places, just isn't paying enough?  

 

Bingo!

5 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

Pizza sauce should be made with HIGH quality canned tomatoes, SAN MARZANO D.O.P. are the best. Just crush them and use it right from the can. NEVER cook pizza sauce.

No sugar or anything else.

Put some mozz,  fresh basil on top and MAYBE a sprinkle of dried oregano or a drizzle of olive oil and that's the basic pizza. 

It is th standard for most places making good pizza.

Unfortunately, I doubt RC will ever splurge on high quality canned tomatoes so we are stuck with the metallic can taste on everything that has a red sauce.

8 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

I don't break my bottles before putting them in my recycle bin at home, no way I am breaking glass in a cruise ship cabin.

I was thinking something similar. I can't imagine my room attendant would be too thrilled if i started stomping on soda cans right on the carpet in the room. There is always a little liquid left in the can that would be all over the floor. 😂

26 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

It's amazing that with millions and even billions spent on mega ships with electric windows and 14th deck amusement parks, they still are unable or unwilling to make a decent pizza.

 

Hundreds of lowly pizza joints around the country where a teenaged kid who throws pizzas as an after-school job can toss a piece of dough, add sauce and other ingredients and make a great pizza. 

 

RC manages to botch a lot of "standard" food, not just the pizza. I think its the sauce where things really fly off the rails though. It tastes just like they opened a can of tomatoes and warmed it up. It even comes complete with an authentic "metallic can" taste. 🤣

I often wonder where these "Chef's" got their culinary degrees from (Free online printable or maybe there is a mail order culinary degree?).

Once the water park went over what it would cost me for a ticket and all day dining at a theme park around here we quit buying them. Right now, I can pick up a ticket with all day dining at Adventure Island (Tampa) or Aquatica (Orlando) for around $65. Add in the $20 for a souvenir cup that comes with free refills all day, it's a much better deal than the water park at Coco Cay. That buys me all the food and drinks I want, 9+ hours at the park, and three times as many attractions.

RC has officially out-priced Florida's notoriously overpriced theme parks 🤪

Just now, Island Dog said:

Thank you so much! Have a great cruise!

You are very welcome and thank you!

I leave on that itinerary and ship tomorrow. According to the app Mediterranean is Day 6 and formal nights are Day 3 and 7.

19 minutes ago, April45 said:

We received extra towels when requested and were out of the room all day anyway.

I am glad you were able to get them. TWICE in the last two months when I have asked for extra towels to accommodate the extra showers we take from being at the beach, they did not provide them. I was never given a reason why they couldn't bring them, they just didn't even when asked on more than a few occasions. 💁‍♀️

I don't know about you but I don't pay a $1000 or more per week at home to dry my derrière off with a wash cloth because that's all that's available after my husband and kids have showered. 🤪

2 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

And if they are naive  enough to start charging for Sorrento's , It's not hard to figure how many people would premptively (secure) a snack for later from WJ , incase they were hungry. I personally  have some nights where i feel like eating the ship and other nights I can fade away into lala land with nothing . If I know there is no free 'latenight' venue where I can stuff my face if I want to , I am gonna load up from windjammer for later . Some nights that will be eaten , but there will be MUCH more waste .

 

Cheers

I can only imagine the amount of people who would get sick doing this since the coolers in the room barely keep the drinks cold. I KNOW there would be someone out there who would grab a perishable food item, attempt to stuff it in the cooler (which is the equivalent of leaving it on the counter as far as temps go), then try to eat it in its bacteria laden state 5-6 hours later 🤮. The part of my brain that had food safety training pounded into it over the years is totally freaking out right now.

3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

For how much longer?  LOL

That's true! 🤪 I did hear that they are changing their policy on the Mardi Gras regarding ChiBang and the Italian place. People will get to eat their one time during their cruise free but there will be a charge for any additional dinners.

2 hours ago, timbom said:

Only food I like on Carnival is  their chicken shack. Guys burgers and BBQ and mexican food plus seafood bar chineese and sandwitch place.

You got that point right for sure. Carnival is wiping the floor with RC when it comes to food. Guys, the Deli, and the Mexican place's food is amazing. Even their MDR has better tasting food than RC does right now and it's all included.

I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered one while sitting in the casino one morning. I figured I would have to toss back a basic bland Bloody Mary because I didn't think about the fact that I was at a slot machine, not near the bar where the hot sauce is, and the waitress didn't ask if I wanted it spicy when I ordered it.

The horseradish, black pepper, hot sauce flavor and heat caught me off guard. I absolutely loved it. I think I had 4 of them that morning before my family woke up and wanted to go to breakfast 🙃. The only thing that could have made it better, I think, would have been a few more olives (they are kind of stingy with them) and some celery of course.

Does anyone happen to know what the brand name is of the bloody mary mix Carnival uses at their regular bars (not the Pig and Anchor)?

The search result took me to a post from 2014 🤔

The waitstaff do still dance. On one night they had someone singing instead though last week.

Can't answer the massage question because we usually go to Paradise Beach and don't hang out in the port area.

Our general rule of thumb is $5 per person in the room per day and we adjust this, of course, based on the service provided during our cruise.

Like almost everyone else has mentioned, tip what you are comfortable with. If that means nothing beyond the prepaid gratuity amount or you feel like giving them more that's your decision because there is no standard or average amount that I have seen. It varies wildly from one person to the next.

Why this is so controversial is beyond me...tip or don't tip based on your own experience because it is YOUR vacation and no one else's so only you can determine if someone has earned a tip. 

If your family is big on sushi, I would just buy a la cart. I took my teens there for lunch doing the prix fixe and they we not happy with the "half rolls" you get now. Adding in the extra full sized rolls I ended up ordering for them so they didn't have to get lunch after lunch, I spent more than if I would have if I would have just ordered a la cart.

I wish they would have just left the sushi 8 pieces but RC's new motto seems to be nickel and diming everyone to death by charging the same or more for half the product or service.

Does anyone know if the only outlets in cabin 8500 on the Mariner are in the bedroom area?

We have 3 adults and a teen (Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom, and Daughter 😁) staying in this cabin and I'm wondering how many outlets there are available. We have between us 4 cell phones, rechargeable hearing aids, and a laptop. I was considering pulling out the cooler (or TV) to see how it was plugged in and using a multi-outlet cube on one or both to give us a few more outlets if necessary in the "living room" area. Has anyone done that before? I have 2 American style plug cubes and 2 Euro plug adapter cubes.

4 hours ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

You went on a 4 day booze cruise on what I expect is an old ship. What did you expect?

I certainly didn't expect a Cheech and Chong go on a cruise live action movie that's for sure 🤪

16 hours ago, seasidemama said:

 

Which ship?

Paradise

16 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Titanic  

Pretty sure its in better shape than the Paradise 🙃

9 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Oh my, how horrible!  How could ANY cruise line let their ship get so run down. We don't cruise with Carnival anymore. Too many things going wrong.  I will say that if you go on longer cruises on a new ship, you will find a different experience.  We were on the Mardi Gras for the second time this past January and decided that we needed to move on from Carnival even though we are almost Diamond with them.  I was encouraged when they announced the new food menus as people have been complaining about food for such a long time.  

We booked the 4 day cruise at the same time we booked a 7 day on Mardi Gras for March 2024. I am really hoping we will have a better experience on the longer cruise on a newer ship. *fingers crossed*

3 hours ago, RoperDK said:

On a positive note, some cruise lines are deciding to make changes already.  Carnival is improving the dining room menus and bringing back loyalty events that had been discontinued.        

I just got off a 4 day Carnival cruise (my first in 11 years) and I have to agree with you on the food. They beat RC hand over fist on absolutely everything food (and even drink) related. However, the rest of the cruise was an absolute DISASTER. Rampant drug use all over the ship both inside and out, dilapidated decking and rusty faded chairs, the AC sucks and most venues were incredibly hot including our rooms, the entire shower fixture (shower head, pipe and all) fell down on my teenage daughter while she was showering and it took them two days to fix it, never mind the condition of the ship itself (they really suck at cleaning or picking up trash laying around in general and the lack of general maintenance of the ship itself is sad) had me reconsidering ever sailing with them again.

1 hour ago, karl_nj said:

On a cruise there is just a hook, so the towel is all bunched up and doesn't dry as well.  There will also be days where I shower more then one a day, if I end up going to the beach.

⬆️ EXACTLY!

On 7/3/2023 at 3:53 PM, laura85 said:

I’m not super chatty with room attendants, and honestly rarely even run in to them after the first day. Our next cruise will have my husband and I plus 5 year old daughter in one balcony room. My main concern is just that the sofa will be stuck as a bed all week? 

It will. The once a day cleaning isn't a huge issue if there are only two people in a cabin but you add a third or even a fourth and it turns into a disaster real quick. The couch being pulled out all the time really limits the space you have to move around and never mind the giant pile of towels left on the floor after everyone showers. When there are 3 of us in a room (my self, my hubs, and my teen) between empty water bottles, soda cans, and papers (receipts, handouts around the ship, door mail, etc) our trash can is overflowing daily. I also get stuck making the bed daily if I want to take a nap because I roll around so much while I sleep and yank the sheets off. 

1 hour ago, deliver42 said:

I'm not sure Sorrento's is a step above Little Caesar's. It's probably the worst pizza at sea. They'd better get rid of Jason liberty, and put a more passenger friendly person as CEO. Liberty was CFO, and that doesn't translate to CEO. Too many take aways, and not enough give backs. I'm Diamond, but if this keeps up, I will stop cruising Royal. There are too many other options.

You may have gotten that backwards...Little Caesar's is a step above 🤣

15 hours ago, Dwright826 said:

If you get the cheers package, you get all the coffee you want!

Unfortunately, that's not an option for anyone under 21 😞 Between coffee, bottled water, and mocktails my teen costs me more than a cheers package since shes not a big soda drinker 🤦‍♀️