notscb

If you go public, please remember to have the conversation about the proposal in general before doing it so publicly 😬 I feel like proposals should never be a true surprise.

That ship is Freedom of the Seas and I'm not sure if they're still piloting it, but based on some recent youtube cruise reviewers it seems like they are. As long as there aren't any individual parts of the system that would get flagged by security on your way onboard, I don't see why you couldn't hypothetically try it?

I have to disagree. Cruise Critic even did a write up (https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2974) I think any cruise would be boring without a person making sure that events were scheduled across the venues of the ships and that the appropriate staffing was assigned and prepared to host the activity. I think most folks only see the cruise director at the shows in the evening and think they don't do anything all day, when in reality these folks are in charge of a vast number of staff and events throughout the day.

@Elaine5715 is absolutely correct. VeriFly is 100% unnecesary and only really saves a handful of seconds. Bring your paper copies and make sure everyone has their paper copies- even if it means calling your local health department to get a new copy of a vaccine card or something- and just have them in hand and ready to show. Super easy and cuts out an unnecessary app that might not even load at the terminal (in MIA, for example, the 4g and 5g service are notoriously awful at the terminal)

@Cyndi874 it looked like the folks who wanted just sushi were being sat at the sushi bar itself (which is a really neat experience IMHO). I don't remember seeing any tables that weren't surrounded by a hibachi station, but I could be remembering wrong.

It's weird how many folks go on vacation to be so upset at every turn. Any day standing in line on a cruise ship is still better than on land, IMHO.

The first time I had lobster was on a Carnival ship back in the early 2000's, and they had a garlic butter that was just the right warm temp and enhanced the flavor of the lobster. Thing is, if the actual protein is overcooked in the first place, nothing is really going to help.

I think this question also depends on whether or not you're cruising during a large school holiday (which I know is difficult to gauge at some points). I frequent aviation and travel threads other than this board and have seen massive lines for TSA at MCO, even if you have pre-check. I would agree that an afternoon flight would be a safe bet, and gives you time in the morning to get breakfast and off the ship at a more leisurely pace. FWIW, if you had asked about MIA from their port, that'd be a different story entirely (even if you were flying out of FLL instead).

Honestly... I had a $30 room credit left at the end of my time on Freedom so I figured why not get the lobster? I was...disappointed. It came out and tasted overcooked. The butter they put alongside wasn't anything special and didn't enhance any of the flavor or taste. I was disappointed (but of course still ate the entire thing because lobster).

That's interesting, I participated in the Sushi & Sake Lunch and I thought it was incredible. The pairings and the fact that we had the entire restaurant to our small group of about 20 people who signed up made for a great experience.

That sounds like an excellent time 🙂 It seems like Celebrity is the line of choice for many LGBT+ cruisers. Maybe it's just because Celebrity offers an upscale experience?

This looks super interesting! Smaller ship stuff is really a niche in this discussion that's missing. Thanks for the recommendation!

Wasn't that the kicker, though. They owned up to the mistake and still got three pages of thread out of it. OP, thanks for posting this and sharing the value of the PVP. I think many of us try to be as self-sufficient as possible in planning our travel and overlook the value of a good travel agent/advocate.

If you go to all of the offers and find the carnival one, there will be a little plus sign (mine shows in blue) in one of the upper corners to add it to your card for the time it lasts. It's easier if you don't click on it, just look for that little blue plus sign.

"Earn $40 back on your Carnival Cruises purchase, when you spend $100 or more." It was super helpful when the last round of offers thread went around, and I just logged into chase today to see this one pop up (first time since April, FWIW). I hope others have it as well!

You might want to revisit the original post that said they lost out on $434 FCC. So many of the commenters on this thread are quick to remind OP that they are an adult when OP already owned up to their mistake. I think this thread is still really beneficial to remind others to consider how they're handling regular/final payments. No need to be rude.

I think you missed the part where they said "I lost $600 OBC, $434 FCC, and the rate went up by $440." I can see where losing that much in addition to the rate increase would have me shopping around to a different line for a better price if I could find one.

...I know that. I didn't say it did. But at the end of the day, they still got paid (not as much as they would if you were onboard, they certainly lost the potential for oboard revenue by you not showing up).

Not to mention this is their primary responsibility to their shareholders. Excellent points and addition to the discussion.

I mean, if it was beyond the point of refundability and the cruise line made the $$, why not?

When I came home with "cabin cough," i also suspected it was because of the Air-Con and the position of the bed. I could actively feel it blowing right onto me throughout the night (I was solo in the cabin, if that matters to anyone) and came home with a nasty cough for about 6 weeks post-cruising. I finally had to call my PCP's office and get something for it (and continued to do precautionary covid testing which was also negative).

I absolutely loved the breakfast offerings at the Windjammer, especially the fresh waffles and meat station. I always felt like lunch/dinner was hit or miss unless you could find an MDR item, but breakfast was always solid.

Yes. On boarding day we had to go to Ben and Jerry's to ask for it when I was on Freedom in May (they were closed for regular business and only handing out cups originally, but I went later and still got the cup while they were open normally).

Yes. They're not far from each other, and the water at both is crystal clear and blue depending on weather.

I also forgot- flightconnections (.com) might be your friend in that you can put in your origin and destination and see who is flying there via which city. It might help you narrow down which airline might be best to fly given # of routes.