StephPS79

I was going to say this lol. I mean, SOMEone had to win, so not sure how much "fixing" could be done. Now the slot machines, lol. Those I think are fixed.

Carnival does anytime dining a lot better than RCI, in my opinion. You just click in the app when you are ready, and get a notification when your table is ready. Usually not much of a wait, but sometimes. But you can see what the wait is before you request the table, so just plan ahead, and you don't have to be there waiting while you wait.

Only input I have - we did the steakhouse for the first time on our 2/5/2023 cruise on the Glory, and thought it was 100% worth it. Food was great, we'll probably do the steakhouse on all future cruises. My only compliant is the overall meal was about 2 hours, which seems to be the norm for service meals these days, but that's more time than I'd like to spend seated at a table.

It should, unless it's currently broken. I've done both very recently.

We cruise both, whichever one is giving us a free room! I'll say, it's far easier to book Carnival casino offers that Royal. You can book Carnival on the website just like any other booking. Royal you have to book through a casino rep. Also, Royal's "select sailings" are far more limited than Carnival. One other thing I'll mention, the free drinks in the casino is better on Royal, you can order at the bar and don't have to wait for an attendant.

Just off the Glory 2/12, and this was the case - however, very limited amount of kids on the ship. Was on the Magic last June, and this was not the case.

Just had our wedding on a ship, and a photographer was included, but purchase of the photos was an additional charge. Here are my thoughts... I didn't expect the photos to be great, based on what you see from the photos around the ship. I was however, pleasantly surprised. Not the greatest work I've ever seen, but also a lot better than I anticipated. We actually passed on the photos after the ceremony, because we didn't think they would be that great or that we would purchase any, and quite frankly, we were over getting photographed at that point. However, after seeing the photos, I regretted not doing so. I'll partly agree with sanmarcosman above, you do spend some time in a small room where they give you a hard push. But I didn't think it was too much time, overall process took about 45 minutes. And didn't feel too pressured. The only time was when we were like, well, we'll just take the digitals, and then was offered a "deal" for a package with the less than listed prices. For record, we did then end up purchasing one of the "reduced" packages. Still not cheap. But what we got was nice quality. I would 100% say though the quality of what we received was far superior to what the photogs around the ship produce on elegant night, or any other shipboard stop.

There are definitely warnings on the new ships stating that the air cuts off when the balcony door is open, but don't think the older ships have this "feature." I still haven't fully decided if I believe the little warning signs, or if they are just there to persuade. I'll say recently on the Glory in an interior room, the hallway was quite warm, while our room was frigid. I'd find it hard to believe that a cabin with an open balcony door would impact other rooms by all that much, unless propped open, but I can see how inefficient this would be in a particular room, thus the push to keep doors closed. I did see the post from John Heald saying it was okay to sleep with the door open, which I found to be a bit odd...maybe they are taking the stance that the open door is better than the bed on the balcony lol...

Was on the Magic out of Norfolk last June, and booked for this May. TBH, I don't love the ship, but we live 15 minutes from the port. Actually pretty excited for the Sunshine, haven't sailed on her, but from the tour videos I've watch, it looks decent. I know it doesn't bother some people, but I find the color scheme and decor of the Magic to be downright unpleasant. I love some loud ship decor, but the green and brown just isn't it for me lol. And those lights... I was just on the Glory 2 weeks ago, and I really prefer the Conquest class, except for the lack of a few bells and whistles. I actually like that the atrium was the hub of activity on the Glory. Ocean Plaza just didn't have the same vibe for me. And I liked being able to stand on the different decks in the atrium and listen to music and watch people dance. Alchemy is busy enough, but being the main bar for Ocean Plaza made getting a drink there quite the feat. Not too mention the constant trivia and music right there (which I love... just not right there) took away a little of the glam of Alchemy. I do like the deck 5 lanai type deck on the Magic though. With Pig and Anchor there, I'd probably say this is the hidden gem of the ship. Although why the "whirlpools" on that deck aren't heated doesn't make any sense to me.

It was only open from 12p-2p, IIRC...

I can't confirm if it is on the Breeze, but on the onboard dining it shows for the Breeze - as Captain's Pasta Bar: https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/captains-pasta-bar They had it on the Magic last June. No reservations needed, mostly like a mix and match pasta and sauce selection. it was table service, limited hours. It was actually very nice, we enjoyed it.

A lot of people have a lot negative to say about the casino offers, not sure why. Everyone has a different opinion on what "a lot of money" is when spent at the casino, and love to say, "well they aren't really free" because you have to spend some money in the casino. Our current situation is - we have 3 different offers (interior, ocean view, and balcony offers) for a free* cruise that can each be used 3 times. So that's really 9 cruises we could book. This round of offers, you do have to sail by May 2024, so a little over a year, and could we really take 9 cruises in the next year? We couldn't, but some people could. We have spent no where near the amount of money 9 cruises would cost. We HAVE booked about 3 of these offers. I'd wager (haha get it) to say, we've spent less than the 3 cruises would cost, and may book maybe 1 more. And we have fun doing it. And, given past experience, after this current round of offers expire, they send a new round with further dates. But for whatever reason, there will always be naysayers against casino offers.

I must say, NY isn't a port I'd look to book, but the pictures of the Venenzia have gotten me a little intrigued! With minimal changes to the ship, I might be seeking one of these out. Looking forward to see what people think after sailing.

I love the Horizon, and southern itinerary. We have Celebration booked for February 2024, haven't been on it yet, but also have Horizon booked for ABC islands for November 2024, and if I'm being honest, I might be more excited about that one. That might be because we booked Havana for the Horizon for the first time, so looking forward to that, and I could feel differently after Celebration. But for now, that would be my choice!

I think we figured it was coming:

As noted, it doesn't have anything to do with the tier you purchase, or how well the wi-fi works. It's blocked. With that said, tech stuff makes my eyes cross and I can't sort any of it out, but I think I read something about a VPN to get around it? Like I said, most of it is mumbo jumbo to me lol, but that might be a possible solution.

Definitely depends on the bartender. I had some that were fine with with it, even for a beer or cocktail, and then one that refused to even give me a bottle of water for both cards.

I would have to disagree, offers aren't just for tenured ships, we have multiple offers to book Celebration, and a few for Jubilee. Pretty much available any month. Yes, they are select sailings and capacity controlled, but preferred time to cruise for us is off-season. I have zero complaints for a February 2024 free balcony on Celebration.

Is it possible that the $2000 is a pending charge, and not actually processed?

I don't know, I understand RCI's reasoning with this, with no drink cap, but with the 15 drink limit, not many people buying the drink package are sharing. I know I'm hoarding mine! And there's only so much sharing that can happen before the 15. I can't imagine it was really running up Carnival's bar tab. (I know lots of people will say they never hit the 15 limit, and then I question if the drink package is even the best option for those people.)

The only offers I get emails about are casino offers. All other offers are just under my VIFP #, and nothing really good, the same 3 or 4 regularly available 40% offers.

Just June? I love her! We are on Glory Feb 5th, I hope she is still there!

I'd probably just reserve from the Fun Shops in advance, you can you the OBC at checkout. You can pick the date and time that you want.

This is what we did our last time in St. Thomas, and will probably do it on our next time, or maybe check one of the other beaches in the area. Trunk Bay was beautiful though! Also wanted to explore the area right off the very, looked very cute!

When I was on the Magic in June, no one was ever in this area. It didn't look fun at all lol. I'm certainly not counting those as part of the casino.