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Seems like they're really pushing her along at 17.5kts. Shipfinder link.

Agreed. Marginal is even being kind. I will never go back to Nassau.

On most ships it's certainly automated to an extent, but not that far. There's generally still a technician at audio, carp, lighting, ME, etc. to ensure safety and operation. To keep on budget, (to add to your point as well), licensing these days is extremely expensive. Carnival might not be looking to invest as heavily in this for the rights to the songs or show they choose to use as their production.

Have not done that. Last time I had to get from one to the other I used a local transportation company. It's much, much cheaper and more plentiful option wise than just using carnival's. There are so many options in that corridor for transportation, I'd suggest avoiding the up-charge if you can. Last time I flew into FLL it was an early morning flight and I was able to catch the Flix Bus to downtown Miami, which drops you off right at the shops outside the port. From there I ubered and total costed me like $15 for both.

That needs to happen. I walked from where Oasis parks at Nassau to the town and was constantly harassed once I left the actual pier area. I didn't find the walk to be very far (even though they didn't have those nice shade things yet), but I did find the port itself to be very uncomfortable as a solo tourist who had a group of girls try to harass and follow him through a market after they had gotten into a fight on the street corner. It's good to hear that Nassau is doing something about their port situation. I know it doesn't help having 10,000+ people dropped into it on a given day when there's four ships there, but I vowed to myself to never go back there after my first visit.

Good luck! I really was hoping for a break from it, and even put it in the safe at one point just to remember that I needed it to check for my activity list for the day that I had saved.

Oooh! I can answer this one! I did Izumi lunch and sat next to a very lovely couple, one of whom was allergic to shellfish. They told the host prior to the lunch starting and the kitchen was very accommodating to them, including making a vegetarian sushi option and swapping steak out for shrimp or seafood at another point. They were extremely accommodating. I'm wondering if you could let guest services or the main dining room staff know ahead of time so that the venue has a heads up, but otherwise it seems like your party will be in good shape.

Yeah, It's entirely possible. There's a ton of information on the app and if I were looking for events to plan out my night with I could have easily missed it.

I didn't say age had anything to do with the app, I was saying that RCL is strongly encouraging their app over their cruse compass to convey information to the masses (as evidenced by the cruise compass no longer being sent to each stateroom). If the app is the new way of things for RCL, and they want folks to dress a certain way, that would also need to be communicated in the app and the cruise compass for folks using both. In my experience, it wasn't communicated on the app and I was surprised when I arrived for dinner and some people were wearing formal wear. edit: i just want to point out that I'm saying and and not "but." If folks want a formal night, it needs to be communicated in both places, as RCL is encouraging folks toward the app and away from the cruise compass.

Sure, and I guess my point was to the original comment that formal night is "wear whatever you want night." It's become that way because RCL and other lines have pushed people to their apps but haven't moved all of the content over with it, so how does one have an expectation of a formal night without it being communicated across the promoted channels? FWIW, if I were any old customer, I wouldn't want to read both the app (which has a ton of info in it) and a cruise compass. It's too much info.

...which wasn't delivered to my stateroom any day of my 4 day cruise. I know now that it likely was available at guest services, but again, on any size ship if that's the only way it's communicated then how can we expect people to know or prepare?

In all fairness, when I was on Freedom a few months ago now the app never indicated what kind of "night" it was when I clicked on and looked at the MDR in the app. I wondered how people figured it out, and as someone who is tech savvy never really saw it in the app. (In all fairness, I wasn't really looking for it, but would have noticed it)

If you have the key, you can carry on and drop off at the MDR for them to get to your cabin while you have chops menu lunch. (Unpopular take, but would accomplish what you're looking for)

All the more reason to choose Oasis 😛

Honestly, that's what I'm basing my concept of "cramped" on as well. On my last cruise, I saw a stateroom attendant working on an interior room that had the full bed and two drop down bunks that looked like such a disaster I couldn't even imagine being comfortable sleeping in that space, let alone trying to get ready or share the single bathroom with so many other people.

EXACTLY. 3 people in a cabin, maybe. 3 people to one (very small) bathroom- absolutely not. I truly don't know how people with kids and families do it, their cabins always seem so cramped.

Our friend has a partner who is, um, the textbook definition of an introvert. I'm sure he'd find a way to have a good time, but even the thought of coming probably is a non-starter. We're trying to think of another friend who might want to come and split the room if we can't avoid the solo supplement.

So far, it's about a wash between upgrading to the suite and just having the extra person get an interior room with the solo surcharge Carnival is pushing. The original rate of the cruise for an interior is listed at something in the mid $500's/per person. When you change it to 1 person, it doubles. That's why I had wondered about a two bedroom suite if that was a thing onboard. I'm really just looking to try to save a friend some money, and admit that I'm not really keen on the idea to have them join us in our room.

That's super helpful! It wasn't totally clear looking at the room types on Carnivals website, and I know some cruise lines do have two bedroom suites on their ships. We're currently in a cove balcony for a 6 night cruise. In my experience, when there's a balcony available, I tend to spend more time in my room that if I were in another category (oceanview or interior). I think my concern is by adding one more person to the room it'd be just extra cramped and not as comfortable.

I've been looking around and trying to figure out something about the Carnival Dream's staterooms- We're booked on a cruise on the Dream in December and have a friend who is saying they'd like to join us. I'd rather not have them join us in our cabin as the cabins are already a bit tight with even two people, so I wondered: Does anyone know if any of the suites onboard have two rooms? On the ships page on cruise critic it says there are some single inside cabins but I couldn't figure out how many. Carnival is charging full fare for a solo traveler at the moment, so I'm hoping y'all might have some creative suggestions on how to include this person on our vacation without breaking the bank.

If you're happy with included, then it's probably not. Remember that if you want to try a specific restaurant or dining option you can do so and just pay for it as you go (like with drinks, too).

Where do i get this 🤔

I wanted to share my experience trying to use an e-gift card to make a partial payment on my cruise for December. I initially purchased a Carnival gift card to take advantage of the $40 statement credit Chase offer that was expiring today. When purchasing the e-gift card, I received an email to claim and open it which took me to a page with the gift card number and PIN. When I went to Carnival's site and logged in to make the payment, the gift card number was coming up as "invalid." I put in a call to Carnival (<10 second wait) to see if they could help and the CSR told me that there were too many numbers. Long story short, if you get an e-gift card that starts with "000," you need to drop the "000" when entering the gift card on Carnival's site. Also, since I was enrolled in auto-pay (3 payments), I couldn't make a partial payment and the CSR had to do it on their end as the website was asking me to make the rest of the payment with a credit card. Just wanted to let others know in case you've got a gift card and are trying to use it on Carnival's website!

You know, some of us work part of our time from home and part in the office. If I can flex my schedule to put the from home days at the end of the week and reliably work from a ship, I'd take that opportunity any day.

I think based on your desire for a balanced itinerary with interesting ports to relaxing/quiet days onboard with some entertainment, I'd personally choose Celebrity. While Celebrity doesn't have as many activities onboard as RCL or Carnival, they do offer some really neat shows in their theater and their new ships are such a unique experience. I may be biased in that I think San Juan is a port that's worth stopping at no matter what itinerary, and is way more interesting than other Caribbean ports that are mainly just beaches as their main attraction. My impression of Princess and HAL is that those lines are really designed for more relaxed cruisers and folks who are happy to just be left alone vs doing onboard activities.