brilliantseas

I'll be on the October 15 sailing. Look for feedback soon!

The October 2023 offer has been released and still offers $600 in free bar tab credit for 7+ night cruises in all regions and on all sailings through December 2024.

We did Ship Show on Valiant Lady in January following a dinner reservation. We told the server that we didn't want dinner, but we did order dessert. They easily accommodated this request.

@weasey Welcome Aboard!

I personally prefer the Vista class. Teppanyaki, IMAX, JiJi Asian Kitchen are the big differentiators.

Virgin is starting to introduce fly-on comedians as a form of entertainment on the Miami-based sailings. The shows take place in The Manor under the headline of "Festival Stage". Note that the Festival Stage shows include a variety of fly-on acts, from magicians and comedians to musicians and hypnotists, so you can't guarantee comedy shows on a particular sailing, but Virgin is listening to sailor feedback and bringing a wider variety of entertainment to their ships. In my personal opinion, this is incredibly important to keep the experience fresh as both Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady share much of the same onboard entertainment.

Join us on the Carnival Venezia for the February 11 - 23, 2024 Carnival Journeys cruise to the Southern Caribbean. This itinerary features some very unique ports of call, including Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten. What else makes this sailing special? Not only do we get to sail away from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at sunset, but we also get to watch the Super Bowl at sea! Who's joining me on this incredible sailing from New York on February 11, 2024?

Glad to hear it is back! On our November 2022 cruise on Paradise, it was replaced with a new "Adult Game Night." Our sailing was the first attempt at it, and while parts were entertaining, the pacing was slow and it really seemed to engage the Fun Squad team that was participating more than the guests. On Celebration in January, neither activity was offered.

Is anyone aware of the Quest returning on any Carnival ships post-restart? Has it gone the way of the hairy chest competition, or has it returned on some ships and we just haven't seen a cruise director who has embraced it yet?

Looking at a Carnival Venezia booking in February and it appears as if all categories are sold out except for 1A Upper/Lower and IS Inside Guarantee. My question is, does Carnival consider category 1A a part of the "Inside Guarantee" categories, or does category IS (Inside Guarantee) include only 4A or higher?

The smaller ships are ideal for Alaska. Not only can they maneuver into areas where the larger ships cannot, but they also have a higher ratio of balcony staterooms, which are highly desired for Alaskan sailings.

I would expect Sunshine to remain in the fleet beyond 2028. You're correct regarding Carnival's fleet plan. The ship got a major mid-life update that brought the interior areas of the ship closer to current standards. Unless there are major mechanical concerns with the ship at that point, they'll need to extend the life of the current fleet until they can afford to build two new classes of ship - one to replace the Spirit class in Alaska and the height-restricted ports, and another to replace the Destiny and Conquest class ships. I'd actually put money on Conquest and Glory being retired before Sunshine or Spirit given that the Conquest class ships have not had the benefit of the major mid-life refresh. Let's hope for a great fiscal 2024 so that Carnival Corp can begin planning for replacements of the Conquest and Spirit class with Carnival, and the Grand class with Princess.

We enjoyed the Center Stage version of Celestial Strings on Celebration back in January. It may have been the best of the shows we were able to see. The show pacing of Color My World lacked energy and variety, and Amor Cubano was just okay. We Are One was still in previews (we saw bits and pieces, which were very well done) and Magnificent Circus had to be canceled at the last minute. Soulbound was disappointing. Great set/lighting, didn't care for the actual show. Still enjoy Motor City and Epic Rock. I wish The Brits was still showing on more than one ship; a relic of the Fantasy class, I suppose?

I hope this guide is helpful for those who are curious about current entertainment, especially the Playlist Productions shows in the main theaters. Which of these shows are your favorites? Carnival Breeze 88 Keys Flick Carnival Celebration Rio Carnival (Carnival Celebration Exclusive) Amor Cubano Color My World Magnificent Circus (Center Stage - Carnival Celebration Exclusive) Celestial Strings (Center Stage) We Are One (Center Stage) Carnival Conquest 80's Pop to the Max Carnival Dream 80's Pop to the Max America Rocks Flick Motor City Carnival Elation Epic Rock Heart of Soul Carnival Freedom 80's Pop to the Max Heart of Soul Carnival Glory Motor City Epic Rock Getaway Island Carnival Horizon Amor Cubano Vintage Pop Soulbound Celestial Strings Carnival Jubilee Soulbound Untitled New Playlist Production Celestial Strings (Center Stage) We Are One (Center Stage) Untitled New Center Stage Production (Center Stage) Carnival Legend The Brits (Carnival Legend Exclusive) Motor City Epic Rock Studio VIP Carnival Liberty America Rocks Carnival Luminosa Flick Vintage Pop America Rocks Carnival Magic Flick 88 Keys America Rocks County Road (Carnival Magic Exclusive) Carnival Mardi Gras Broadway Beats Rock Revolution Celestial Strings (Center Stage) Vegas Nights (Center Stage - Carnival Mardi Gras Exclusive) Carnival Miracle 80's Pop to the Max 88 Keys Heart of Soul Getaway Island Carnival Panorama Rock Revolution Soulbound Celestial Strings Carnival Paradise Epic Rock 80's Pop to the Max Carnival Pride 80's Pop to the Max 88 Keys Heart of Soul Getaway Island Carnival Radiance Rock Revolution Soulbound Carnival Spirit 80's Pop to the Max 88 Keys Epic Rock Getaway Island Carnival Splendor 80's Pop to the Max 88 Keys Epic Rock Studio VIP Carnival Sunrise Soulbound Vintage Pop Carnival Sunshine Studio VIP Epic Rock Latin Nights (installed, currently replaced with The World Works Here on 4/5-night sailings) Carnival Valor America Rocks Studio VIP Carnival Venezia Broadway Beats Color My World Epic Rock Vintage Pop Carnival Vista Amor Cubano America Rocks Flick Studio VIP

Havana Interior or standard balcony on Carnival Vista? Price is within $50, with the balcony actually being the lest expensive option.

Also recommend Virgin Voyages for solos. I've done the solo studio staterooms on NCL as well, but prefer VV for the dining and entertainment.

100% agree. I've sailed on Carnival Legend 2x, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Celebration, and Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady in the past two years. My favorite was Valiant Lady, but my Legend cruises were likely my #2, with Sunshine and Paradise in 3rd and 4th. The brand new ship, Carnival Celebration, with all the bells-and-whistles... yeah, not my cup of tea. I'll pay more to sail on Legend out of Baltimore. For the OP, don't miss Alter Idem, the current band in the RedFrog Pub. They were on two of my previous sailings and are currently contracted onboard Legend until November. They are the best cover band I've experienced on any cruise line.

Interesting that you suggest cruising one of the Excel Class ships if you're apprehensive about Carnival. It was actually my last Carnival sailing on the Celebration that made me decide that the newest class of Carnival ship has gotten too big for my liking after 20 cruises with the line. Yes, I realize I say this as I just booked the MSC Seaside for an October 2023 sailing. First, the positives about the Celebration: The ship is brand new, and beautiful! It is definitely a step up in terms of aesthetics from the older ships, although I would say the same about the Horizon (Vista class). Celebration Central offers amazing daytime views of the ocean. We enjoyed looking out in between, or even during, activities in this area. Summer Landing was a fun area for live music at night. We enjoyed the country band that utilizes Guy's Pig and Anchor space in the evenings. The Celestial Strings show in Celebration Central was amazing. We were looking forward to the circus show as well, however the one we were able to get seats for (more than an hour prior to showtime) ended up being canceled at the last minute for unexplained reasons. ChiBang! was a nice alternative to the MDR, and was still included in the base fare (no upcharge) on our sailing. I believe this was originally intended to be an upcharge restaurant along the lines of JiJi Asian Kitchen on the Vista class and Sunshine, but the MDRs on this ship get completely overwhelmed and ChiBang offers a relief valve for those with YTD. We ate here twice for dinner on our January sailing and thought the food was at least as good as the MDR, although not quite on the level of JiJi on either Horizon or Sunshine. Big Chicken and a few of the specialty stations in the Lido Marketplace were welcome additions. Street Eats was a miss for us as it was open limited hours and each stall generally only featured one item per day. Why we likely won't sail on an Excel Class ship again: The ship was simply too crowded. While embarkation as a Platinum guest wasn't bad, debarkation left us shoulder to shoulder in the stairwells, forward elevator lobby and hallways wrapping past the Punchliner Comedy Club for nearly an hour. There was no organization or queueing, it was shoulders and elbows to inch forward. Overcrowding was also an issue when it came to many activities. The queue for Punchliner was often "at capacity" before the doors even opened 30-minutes prior to showtime. Want to see the evening shows in Celebration Central? You'd better be there at least 60-minutes prior to the first show, or waiting for a "warm seat" when the first show ends to immediately claim it for the second show. It is a beautiful venue, but only seats a few hundred at best, and the floor seats in the back can only see a fraction of the screen or any aerial performances. Even things like trivia required arriving 30+ minutes prior to find a seat. MDR service was not good on this sailing. Not only was it slow, but the service staff in both dining rooms did not live up to other Carnival ships. Yes, I said both dining rooms as we were sent from the YTD dining room (Festivale) over to the scheduled seating dining room (Carnivale) one evening because YTD was over capacity and still had a long wait near the end of dinner service. In Festivale on embarkation night, service was so slow and the crew so poorly trained that the Assistant Waiter served our entree only to have the Staff Waiter immediately come over and take it from us, scolding the Assistant Waiter that he couldn't serve us because the table next to us arrived first and he didn't have their food yet. So our entrees sat on the server station for a few minutes getting cold while we waited for the Staff Waiter to serve the other table first, and then bring us our same plates back. At least he apologized and said they are supposed to serve the other table first, but it makes absolutely no sense as to why you would remove our entrees from right in front of us and make us wait for them while they sit getting cold a few feet away. I didn't personally enjoy the casino layout. It was difficult to maneuver through and I didn't care for the variety of slots onboard. Bar service was also severely lacking in the casino when compared to other Carnival ships. The main theater is a departure from the two level theaters on other ships. Not only did it lose the balcony, but it also lost the bar in the back of the theater and the pre-show bar service. Want a drink? Go to the casino bar. While the sightlines were generally fine from the sloped seating, we missed the balcony stadium seating or long benches offered on the floor in the older Carnival theaters. Color My World, the headline show for the week, was reasonably well done, although we didn't care for it as much as some of the other Playlist shows on offer throughout the fleet. There were many things to like about the new ship, and we still enjoyed our vacation. We had wonderful meals at Teppanyaki and Emeril's Bistro. Despite the size of the ship, we were able to find loungers in the Serenity area in the late afternoon on a sea day and tables in the Lido Marketplace at the peak of lunch. Our cabin and balcony met our expectations. It was really just the overcrowding of the entertainment venues, the poor MDR experience, and the lack of some of the "fun" of the smaller ships in the fleet that left something to be desired. If I were to rank all of the Carnival ships, excluding the Australia and Costa by Carnival ships, in order of desirability or likelihood that I would book a sailing on them for a future cruise, without consideration of departure port or itinerary, I'd rank them as follows: Horizon/Vista Panorama (just behind due to the replacement of IMAX with the trampoline park) Dream/Magic/Breeze Sunshine Spirit/Legend/Pride/Miracle Paradise/Elation Sunrise/Radiance (lower due to lack of JiJi and the multi-level Serenity on Sunshine) Celebration/Mardi Gras Conquest/Valor/Glory/Liberty/Freedom I'll be curious to compare our upcoming MSC Seaside cruise to see where Seaside falls on that list. I'll look forward to OP's thoughts on the subject as well.

Just booked a 7-night Western Caribbean onboard Seaside and noticed the available dining packages are a bit different than those offered on some of the other MSC ships. I'm considering the Asian trio package that includes one meal each at the sushi, Teppanyaki, and pan-Asian restaurants. Does anyone have a copy of the menus for these three restaurants? I know the dining package is limited to certain options on the menus and am curious, especially when it comes to the sushi restaurant.

We had 800 on our sailing on Valiant Lady. It was an amazing experience! I realize that it isn't sustainable, but it is possibly the best cruise I've ever been on in terms of personal service. We loved it and will be back in November!

Our sailing on Valiant Lady had both shows. They are not even intended for the same show venue; NSA takes place in The Manor and Miss Behave Show takes place in the Red Room. NSA on the first night of the four night cruise (I hear it is repeated on longer sailings), and Miss Behave Show in the early evening on Scarlet Night.

The pool/deck party runs for a little more than an hour before wrapping up and heading to The Manor for the after party. 20230106_235643.mp4 20230107_000042.mp4 The Octopus is left to guard the pool.

Even the crew gets in on the action, jumping into the pool in their full elegant night outfits, name tags and all. It is a right of passage for Virgin sailors and crew alike. 20230106_231435.mp4 20230106_231515.mp4 20230106_231620.mp4 Dr. Anna from the Never Sleep Alone show gets in on the seductive poolside action. 20230106_231940.mp4 20230106_233427.mp4 20230106_233744.mp4 20230106_232149.mp4

The energy rises as the party moves from poolside into the pool. 20230106_225753.mp4 20230106_225906.mp4 20230106_230035.mp4 20230106_230112.mp4 20230106_230208.mp4 20230106_231048.mp4

After dinner, we stopped by the Social Club for a few quick games of air hockey and NASCAR racing in the arcade. Before we knew it, it was time to move outside for the Scarlet Night deck party. The party starts with a choreographed routine on the edge of the pool, before the dancers move into the pool and then invite the crowd to join in. The Octopus Goddess arises... 20230106_225500.mp4 20230106_225753.mp4