summercruisin'

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I loved your review, and you gave me some great info before my Vista cruise in 10 days!!! I can't wait to check her out! We will be just down the hall from your cabin, and despite the different itinerary, we are looking forward to doing many of the onboard things you did - and most certainly nearly everything Matt hosts. If I'm being honest, he is a big part of why we chose this ship! ;). Your review was very helpful! *Although, I had decided to skip Chef's Table this time.....have done it a handful of times......but you have caused me to question that decision!*

Thanks again!

I'm hoping you get an answer! We are boarding the following week with a child with high functioning autism and have the same muster location. It helps us to know specifics about the location beforehand!

Thank you for this review! I look forward to hearing more about your trip. I am joining the 8/12 Vista crowd :cool:. It will be my 1st time on the Vista, my 2nd time doing this itinerary, and my 3rd time with Matt as CD :hearteyes: (in fact, he is one reason I booked this particular trip). Now, thanks to you, I'm looking forward to all the options this ship offers and to meeting Nono and Ryan!

Sorrento's will also be open when you board.

 

Johnny Rocket's has a flat fee of $7.

 

Two bottles of wine are allowed per stateroom, no matter the number of guests.

 

You cannot check-in someone who is not there.

Thanks! That's very helpful! To clarify, I meant should I do the online check-in that is required in advance of boarding.

Carnival Platinum cruiser here.....trying RCCL for the very first time. I am traveling with a large group for a weekend cruise to celebrate a 40th birthday (not mine!). I'm looking forward to trying out RCCL, but I have a lot of questions....

1. Is Windjammer seriously the only food option when we board? It is so sad this is my first question lol.

2. Can I take sodas on board during embarkation? How about water? Is there a mini-fridge?

3. Where can I find 3 night cruise menus?

4. Does Johnny Rockets cost extra?

5. What can I expect for formal/elegant night? Do I need to pack dressy clothes? Can I wear flops if they aren't the cheap rubber ones?

6. Can I take 2 bottles of wine on board, even if the husband "doesn't show up" for the cruise? That leads me to.....

7. Since the husband couldn't get off work, should I let them know in advance or just have him not show up? Should I check him in?

8. Where can I find the entertainment/activity schedule?

9. DS (15) may take DH's place. DS has high functioning autism. CCL works with us to do an alternate safety/muster drill since his sensory and anxiety issues can cause problems. We only use this option when the muster drill is one of those held outside, crowded together on the decks. How is the Majesty's safety/muster drill handled?

10. This is my first time on RCCL. Will it take FOREVER to get off the ship at the private island, since it is tendered (I'm assuming those who cruise with RCCL often, like Carnival's platinum and diamonds, will have priority)?

11. On CCL, I enjoy the cooking demo. Do they have anything like this on Majesty?

12. Are there any free/discounted drinks options?

13. Are there any "can't miss" events?

TIA!!! Very excited :D and will probably think of a billion more questions....

I cruise yearly, and I am going on #14 tomorrow (yay! :D). I'm also a shareholder, so like I have done for the past 4 cruises, I faxed my proof of ownership (and all the cruise info) to Carnival about a month in advance and watched my booking page......the shareholder benefit never posted. So, today, I called Carnival to see what was up.

I spent an hour on the phone :mad: while Carnival tried to get me to give up my $100. First they told me their policy is that the request and proof has to be sent in with the deposit (never heard of such a thing and never have done that before). I pulled up a Carnival statement of stockholder benefits which says that the request should be sent in at least 2 weeks in advance. The Carnival rep claimed she could not find that document online. I asked where to find the document that states the policy she was using to deny my request, and she could not tell me where to find that either. After insisting that I talk with someone else who could not only tell me where to find that policy but also fix the problem (since it seems crazy to me that Carnival would fight this much over a $100 benefit they have determined I've earned by being a shareholder), they finally put me on hold to "find my fax." When they came back, they claimed they never got it, even though I have my confirmation that it was successfully sent and they agreed it was sent to the correct number. :mad:

After allllll that, the rep said that if I bring proof of ownership of shares on the cruise with me tomorrow, they can credit me at guest services. Needless to say, I'm not excited to start my vacation jumping through hoops at guest services.

Anyone know who I could contact at Carnival to let them know this should be handled better (someone who will at least pretend to care? :p)? I am already thinking of next year's cruise and don't want to have to repeat this aggravation in the future.

Thank you so much! We are doing this itinerary in August! :D

Watching this thread as I am on the Magic in August. First time with a Guy's and am very excited.

I will be cruising with you, laumicmah! :D First time on the Magic....but I've been on the Breeze twice, so I've had the pleasure of enjoying a Guy's burger or two :cool:. I can't wait to check out the Magic for the first time!! :)

Thanks so much everybody! You have given lots of great info, and I look forward to even more! :D

On that note, I should have given more info.....we are going on the Majesty (older, smaller ship) for a 3 nighter out of Canaveral. I wouldn't have chosen it for my first RCCL experience, but it isn't up to me ;). It leaves Canaveral on a Friday and then goes to Nassau and Coco Cay before returning on Monday.

There are some significant differences in the experience itself (beyond the change in cruise lines), including:

1. no kids traveling with us! In fact, I may be traveling solo, if DH can't arrange getting off work (he's in retail, and we are going in November.....just as holiday season is kicking into full gear :(, so he may get left out). Usually I travel with DH and my two kids, one of whom is on the autism spectrum (which shapes much of our cruise travel - so this will be huge!). Since we are going with a huge group of people celebrating my brother-in-law's 40th birthday, it is basically a weekend celebratory getaway, not a family trip.

2. going in November. As you can see from my signature and my username :D, I usually stick to cruising in the summer (because I am a teacher). I'm guessing there will be some significant differences between my summer days in the Bahamas and those in mid-November.

Thanks again for the info, and happy cruising!

Hi! It looks like I am going to be going on a RCCL cruise for the first time ever late in 2016 (only because it is a 40th birthday celebration for a family member). I've been on several CCL cruises, so I'm really comfortable with knowing what to expect, but RCCL is (obviously) going to be a new experience.

So, if you have cruised both, please help me know what to anticipate! :o What are the differences and likenesses between the two? How is embarkation managed? and debarkation? and the muster drill? Tipping? What do I expect for meal times? Are there things I need to pack that I don't have to for CCL (like beach towels, for instance? or shampoo?)? The one we are going on has a stop at Coco Cay. What should I expect there?

I posted on the CCL boards, because I am hoping for real, helpful advice, not commentary about which cruise line is better, necessarily. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

Of the first 11 cruises I took, I could not name a single CD we had. I do remember noting one that was a little annoying, but I don't remember his name either. BUT....cruise #12 changed everything......

Add me to the list of those that believe directors like Matt Mitcham make a huge difference to the cruise experience (never would have believed it)! Amazing director and the reason we booked #13. If I could afford to go to Europe next summer, I'd be with Matt Mitcham again. Guess I'll have to wait until the Vista goes Caribbean!! :p

We are on the Breeze in March, presently booked in an inside cabin for the second time. Airfare from Nova Scotia is ridiculous and we elected the inside cabin to do this cruise. But are wondering if there is any sun on the Cove balcony. Might be a less expensive option to the inside.

The only times you get a lot of sun on a cove balcony is for just a few hours each day while the sun is going up or down (depending on ship direction and side you're on). You may have about 2 hours or so of direct sun, if you catch it at the right time. But, IMHO, whether you want lots of sun or don't want lots of sun, the cove balcony is much better than an interior room. Being able to sit outside in peace, smelling the ocean air, hearing the water, and being mesmerized by the waves.....priceless. :)

I'm a fairly experienced cruiser (13 cruises, all Carnival), and my last two cruises were on the Breeze. I love the Breeze and don't understand why anyone wouldn't love her as well! I'm just finishing up my review of my most recent trip, and I hope I'm presenting the Breeze in a positive light. Now, I will say I'm a little more laid back than some cruisers and believe my cruise is primarily what I make of it, now what others do for me....and, although I find occasional frustrations, I'm so happy to be in the Caribbean, they just don't matter much!

and this black bean, rice, and corn thingie

and I think there was one more thing. But that seemed so long ago. And I had several drinks (just following Matt's orders, of course! :D

Afterwards, I returned to my balcony with a pomegranate martini to watch the water go by and try not to wallow in my sadness that the cruise was ending!

DS joined me to keep me company. Here you can get some idea of the size of the cove balcony, the privacy, the shade, etc.

We thought about trying to get DD in (DS really didn't care and hasn't been to the last few of them), but we decided to follow the rules and leave her behind. :( Once we got there, we kind of regretted it, since there were several small children there and they were not required to present invitations. They even got to help Matt pass out beads at the party (something DD would have loved). Oh well.

Matt encouraged everyone to "drink up" and even claimed we couldn't leave unless we had at least 4 drinks in hand lol :D

So, we stocked the table with a good variety...

my favorite is the blue margarita!

we tried all the hors d'oeuvres. There was sushi

and something with a kinda sweet sauce (hoisin?) and a tiny bit of shredded pork on bread

After that, I spent some time packing and watching a storm developing out at sea

I don't remember what we did for lunch that day or the rest of the afternoon, but DH and I did attend the diamond and platinum guest party at 5:15 that day. It was held in the Limelight Lounge. We were a little disappointed to leave the kids behind (now that it is not a party for all past guests), especially since DD has always loved attending and dancing. We have some of our very favorite pics over the years from the past guest party.....a sweet one with DS (at age 7) dancing with his then-baby sister (she was about 18 months),

and several with DD at various ages dancing her heart out at that party.

Our last sea day :(....our cruise is almost over! DD wore her last t-shirt made for Matt (and, if you know him, you know what it said! "Bye, Matt! I said bye!"). We went to the morning show and then stayed for the towel puppet show after the towel folding lessons, directed by you-know-who! Got to love a cruise director that does everything from leading dances to hosting parties to answering questions at a q&a to getting on the floor with kids to patiently teach them how to fold towels (and pretend they are good at it!).

I got several videos to capture that beautiful accent....I mean to see my DD make cute animals, of course! But, I don't want to post too much video of other people's kids here, so I'll only post this really short one with mostly backs. Here he is asking the kids to make elephant noises....lol

http://vid4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/pmain13/Carnival%20Breeze%202015/20150725_101958_zpsgfn1xgct.mp4

They made an elephant, a dog, and a monkey. They also gave the kids towels to let them have a competition making their own towel animals. This was the first time we went to the towel folding demo, and it was lots of fun!

I don't remember what we had for dinner, but I do remember that during the meal, DD was worn out! She was so tired that she asked to skip dessert and go back to the cabin. I did NOT want to skip dessert :p, so I was happy when DS offered to escort her back.

Right after they left, the ship magician came by our table. I think I forgot to mention that on San Juan night, DS and I had gone to the variety show, and then he stayed while I left to go to the magician's show (since we had seen him at Chef's Table, I wanted to see how his actual show went). One thing I really liked about this magician is that after his show, he offered to visit our table during dinner. He let anyone who wanted a visit write their table number and dining time on a little slip of paper, and he promised to fit in a stop. I thought that was really cool of him. BUT, he just missed our kids! :cool: To his favor, he acted like he was as disappointed as I was, and he promised promised to come back the next night (last cruise night). Well, I told him that was even better, because we planned to celebrate DS's 14th birthday (which was actually on the day they kicked us off the ship :cool: "happy birthday to you, son! Party's over!" -- okay, so it was the end of the cruise, so I GUESS they had good reason). The ship magician asked a few questions and promised to come up with something special just for DS. Sweet!

We returned to find the towel animal that DD had requested when we passed our room steward on the way to dinner earlier. It's her favorite...

My still exhausted DH :rolleyes: stayed in the room after dinner with my for-real exhausted DD, and DS and I went to the piano bar for a little while. Obviously, we didn't sit at the bar (he was still only 13!!), but we did sit in the seats that are away from it a little but still within hearing. We enjoyed listening to a variety of songs, but this piano player was not as energetic as some I've seen before. After a while, we decided to walk along deck 5 a bit and then to turn in for the night!

I headed back to the cabin for a pre-dinner glass of wine on the balcony, listening to the waves :D and to prep for dinner.

watched the sunset....

and then headed to dinner with the fam. These palm tree panels are along the decks. They give the ship a great Caribbean feel!

Here you can see that the course is actually two in one....a harder side and an easier side...

these are the stations where you can catch your breath, choose your next challenge, or let someone move ahead

after that, we treated ourselves to ice cream on the Lido deck. A movie was about to begin (I think it was Cinderella that night)

And DH joined us to play some ping pong by the sea. Usually it takes a while to get a clear table, just fyi

I forgot to mention that the day before (San Juan day), we had tried to fit in a trip around the ropes course after our nap. Unfortunately, we got there just as they were about to close (by the way, they stop the line about 15-20 minutes before they actually plan to close). The kids were both very disappointed, so I promised I would try very hard to get us on there after our day in Grand Turk. So, when we got back onboard, DD and I took quick showers (she in the cabin; I in the spa/gym), and then we headed up to the Sports Deck. We almost missed it again :eek: because, in our hurry, I failed to notice that DD had put a skirt on, so while they waited in line, I had to run back to the cabin to grab shorts that could go under her skirt. We were in the last group to get on the course! whew! :cool:

Getting geared up!

They wouldn't let me take my camera on the course, even with a strap :(, so I didn't get any pictures of DS on the course. Once he made it around one time, he was DONE. He did NOT enjoy it, and he moved so quickly, he left DD and me behind :p. DD claimed that she didn't like it and moved very slowly with lots of encouragement. There were some really nice people up there with us who encouraged her and were very patient! Thankfully, it is possible to move aside at each "station" and let others ahead! DD and I slowly made our way around the "easier" course, and when we got back to start, darn if that child didn't say "I'm going around again!" :p

I got off to take pictures of her on there (could not convince DS to go back up).

There were people who were even more reluctant to return than we.

Goodbye, Grand Turk!

After some cool refreshment ;), DD and I headed back out onto the beach for a while. There were several ship employees (mostly entertainment staff) swimming alongside us. That was kinda cool. We hung out for an hour or so, and then DD wanted to go to the pool, so we walked back up the beach to go to Margaritaville.

AND, if I thought the beach was crowded......

The entire pool was pretty much packed. :eek: People everywhere. This is where my usually latent germ phobia kicked into high gear. So, I sat awkwardly along the side of the pool while DD had a great time swimming. She begged me to let her try the FlowRider, but I just don't think she is quite old (or brave) enough for that yet. I could see myself spending some $30 or so for her to get a great view from the top of it (but never setting foot on it).

The Sunshine left about an hour before we did, so the beach and pool began to clear our near the end of our day. We decided to go back to the beach for a last dip in the Caribbean Sea for this year :(. We stayed back until the very last minute, and then walked back down the pier just at the time we were supposed to be back onboard. There was not a terribly long line. Before we knew it, our last port day was over, and we were looking at the empty beach from our balcony.

After a few minutes there, DS headed back to the ship on his own and DD and I headed down the beach towards Jack's Shack. As you will see in the pics, the beach was really crowded.....most crowded I've seen it before. But, it was a beautiful day, and I was in the Caribbean, so life was good. :D

We found Topher!

and then I looked up at Jack's Shack, wondering what sort of cool refreshment I would enjoy......

wait.....is that? Hmmmm......looks like Matt is here! :D

and this, friends, is what happens when the husband decides to stay on the ship! :D