IslandHppy

After a fun night with the Latin band (there was almost room to try a Tango but I looked it up - Tango is not Latin is seems). There was a couple who were very good at Salsa...Hips... Right after my complaint about the MDR being full - it was - the Hub indicated we have been moved to Anytime Dining. 530 Blue Plate here we come. On the way back to our cabin the house band was playing a Rumba. Hmmm. Rumba is a good dance for tiny crowded floors. I took a photo of the deck up on 9 Port- it looks newly painted. There have been rants about rust in the fleet here. I think things are good. Marine paint can be smelly. Chipping rust is noisy and dusty.

MDR dinner was a no. The Latin band was playing at 830. We were assigned at an early table for six. The best upgrade was a table for four. Anytime Dining was sold out and would not talk to us. The buffet was good but sparsely attended. The ship seems full. The good news is - the band was talented. There is just enough room to dance. Minmal smoke. DW was wondering what a 500 ml water was 🙂

Let me look on the PDFs. Snapseed and light print were not kind to us here.

Term of the day "crossover" so gold cards- yep. Big waiting list for non shared early dining. Dancing looks like a maybe - there is a Latin band in the Casino Bar - usually dodgy due to the lack of space and smoke. But there is possibly just enough room. Early indications are we have a happy ship. Our cabin seems oversize but is right by the gangway.

So in what might be a record we reached the parking garage entrance at 11:45 for our 12:00 and were in our deck chairs at 12:10. We stood in exactly zero lines. The Port of New Orleans has done this work before it seems. This was in Steerage- no VIP lines for us. One minor puzzle/ computer error- we are ATM three nights from Gold - our boarding passes say Gold. The waffles at the Indigo were several nautical miles past decadent.

I don't have much real data here. Newer larger ships have more venues and activity choices. But I think the idea the same leadership team can manage twice as many dining rooms is just not right. I have talked to crew who self select smaller ships. In your case talk to the host at your choice of restaurant right after boarding and let them know about your group.

Hopefully there is a competition between ships on the highest guest satisfaction scores 🙂 Everyone wins in that case. The new Indigo French Quarter did not disappoint for breakfast. We took the historic St Charles streetcar $1.25 or $3.00 for a day pass and found a lovely coffee shop- Gracious. Then a mandatory stop at the Quarter Stitch for high end yarn. The hunt for crawfish + grits and Gator French Toast took us to Evangeline. The Quarter Stitch crew liked Napoleon House.

Good advice. We did visit Beale Street last time. This time, on the way to a cruise, I wanted to wake up close to the port. DW was not up for fried food or the to go bar scene. So we randomly walked a few blocks down St Charles and found Napa Meets Garden District. Crawfish are on the menu tomorrow. And the eMed tests.

Experts were consulted on this. I hope not. We did make it to Memphis, which is an easy drive to the port. The Indigo is quirky and fun. It is an updated Holiday Inn Motel. We walked a few blocks to the Peabody Hotel- nicely maintained and has a duck fountain and a shop Elvis used to use for his outfits. Downtown is tidy but deserted. It needs apartments made from old office buildings.

Those times are selected during online check in but may be "sold out" - I did a late booking on the Glory and only times after 1130 were open.

Your voice was in my head "book the back to back" - not this time. And the idea on Bimini- yep. And skipping the inside cabin. Your next trip is pricey- you may be more popular than the Brand Ambassador.

Thanks, Jimbo. The idea when you are retired is you have more time and less money. So off peak travel dates are a yes. Access to amazing corporate car rental and hotel rates not so much. Driving to the port a few days is simplified by AARP hotel rates and the new apps. We picked IHG as we love Indigo properties or Holiday Inn Express in emergencies. The Express has the entertaining pancake machines. The Indigo is generally found to have a quirky local chef. The IHG app lets you find and book their hotels by location- but it defaults to "best available" aka $4 more than AARP rates- grrr. One thing if you drive a hybrid car - gas stops for ours are every 550 miles so you need to invent reasons to pull over to stop.

There are always a lot of reasons to not cruise. Take a look at the checkbook balance, or the family calendar. However, inspired by @MeganGC1983 the idea is to go anyway. New Orleans is our closest cruise terminal, and is still a long drive. Airports, airplanes, lost luggage and air rage are a no. (And day of cruise flights- eeek). The Valor is lovely, but I am not a fan of the ports. If fares keep going up seven day runs, a back to back on the Valor would be a plan. Once you have been to Europe, one is forever spoiled. I like the alternative "eastern" run- the Bahamas are nice, and the extra sea days are a plus. Key West has a great dining spot- the Southernmost Beach Cafe, where you can pretend you are in the Bahamas 🙂 And the Key Lime pie is amazing and you can find Key Lime jelly beans which are addicting. I was hoping the free trolley was still running. Inside fares were outstanding- ($190) and Carnival cleverly offers deals to past guests. (I think "better" lines often do not - LOL). No Ocean View cabins were available, and balcony fare were crazy. I like a "retirees and tropical storm season" vibe aboard. Schools in New Orleans were back in session as far as I could tell. I booked a "to be assigned" inside as the porthole ones were not available. DW knits and a couch/side chair is a big feature for her. We have never had an inside cabin, and that fact gnawed on me a little. Looking out the window reminds me, even in calm weather, that I am at sea 🙂 Our cabin was assigned quickly as we were a few weeks from departure. The email offers kept arriving and a few days later some OV cabins appeared at $509. I called in - they were unable to book that fare - "it gave an error" - only a $549 fare was available. I said why not. The next day my account said "your fare includes Cheers"- RU1. We drink sparingly if at all- but this is apparently a plan to encourage purchase of the packages. This is an example of "Artificial Intelligence" - i.e. someone programmed it.

Saint Greg does a good job here. I find these very useful. Fun Times - Saint Greg's Travels (saintgregtravel.com)

Well done -thank you 🙂

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-deals/vifp-club/past-guest-offers-RU1/terms.aspx

We had a strange thing happen. I wanted to upgrade a cheap paid close in booking from inside to ocean view. The only rate they could find/book for OV was including free Cheers. (Trying to book the plain inside to OV upgrade gave an "error" to two different agents. The cheapest OV cabin was like $514 and the rate with Cheers was $549. We don't drink much/at all. So at the end of the cruise, assuming we get a bottle of water or two all week, what will be on our onboard folio? Do we pay 18% on the whole retail value of Cheers? Or 18% per drink/order? Or is the 18% included as part of the fare?

One idea here is a feature on the Carnival Hub app where guests could report "customer service/ safety" type issues. If it is super warm, or there is a spilled drink in a walkway or the like you can press a button. I think the app knows where you are on the ship? It might even be there already.

"In addition to the environmental benefits, the program upon completion is expected to generate over $150 million in annual fuel cost savings." I'm not sure saving $150m a year in fuel costs is related to closing the pizza desk at 4AM. Another useless expense, food waste, aka "taste and toss" is probably $100m a year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_(SSN-589)

Four big problems with this ship class. 1. Balcony cabins are lacking. 2. Suites are missing mostly. 3. Specialty dining was not a thing back then. 4. Loyalty lounges. I am fine in an Oceanview cabin, but many are not. And looking at the pricing online, inside cabins are no longer a thing. So these ships are first in line for retirement. No other line wants them either. It is like a car without cupholders.

The old rule was that day of cruise flights were scary and day before flights were 100% safe. If you mix weather and pilot shortages we might want to add a day here. Flying and exact plans are not a thing. If it is a big trip add a spare day. The idea of a connection adds risk also. Even in the good old days a bad storm in Dallas, Atlanta or NY was a promise of a flight mess.

We enjoyed fabulous service for a silly low fare on the Carnival Valor a few weeks back. Someone needs to list in detail all the many service cutbacks particularly in the MDR. I have writer's cramp from filling out Dear Hotel Director cards on other lines.

The Valor last week was run like a Swiss watch. But in fact American bacon was not visible on the buffet any day. I did not ask if it was supply chain or cost related. Sausage was abundant. The Blue Iguana was lovely.

We'll give this a try. The fare for an ouside cabin was silly low. Like $163. We decided to drive. Experts warned us this was Jazz Festival week- so hotel prices are silly. We stayed in Hattiesburg at the Indigo the night before which was cute and classy. I had to dig for my Carnival member number- we are dancers and like a promenade deck so phased out Carnival. But the price was too good and the timing worked. I had two goals- be at sea and avoid catching any illnesses. We did buy the insurance. The pre cruise testing was led by my DW who said enough study and got out her iPad and we found the eMed kits were easy. Parking was super easy- we arrived at 9 for our 11- and organized. We dropped into the mall and came back at 11. Each person needs a paper boarding pass. The Verifly app was a bit of a pain. But we got the green check marks. We showed our phones to the staff - vaccine cards were not examined there. The total check in was quick and painless. Once aboard drop into your muster station for a scan.