CruiserEK

I just came back last week from taking my first solo cruise.  I admit I was a bit nervous myself eating alone on the first night. By the second night I felt fine. 

I've been a pleased Google Fi user for the last couple of years and I have used the service on a few cruises. I have been able to get coverage at all of the ports I have been to. I have gotten poor to pretty good cellular and data coverage when the ship is in port depending on the signal quality and where I am on land or on the ship. I'm not too sure if the Wifi calling works on the ship as I have never really tried it onboard nor have I purchased any internet package to try it. Depending on the cruise line and what service level you purchase they may or may not block VOIP calling so your mileage may vary.

Google Fi does not connect to the ship's cell tower at least for the cruise lines I have been on (Norwegian, Carnival, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line). I tend to put the phone in airplane mode just to save some battery life when I am at sea. I have never seen any extra roaming charges other than for making a call when I am out of the country.

The data quality can range anywhere from 2G speeds all the ways up to LTE. It depends on the infrastructure and what can get in it's way. The data at $10/GB is a little pricey but it sort of beats having to find a public wifi hotspot that is managed by who knows. The 6GB cap is also in effect for international use. The most data I have used is 1-2GB while on vacation. But usually I only use about 250-500MB a month. I can also turn my phone into a WiFi hotspot and tether my data connection to at least 5 other devices at no additional cost other than the data used.

Calls are pretty cheap at $.20 a minute. At least once when I was in Cozumel I made a 10 minute call that only cost me $2.00. Compared to calling from the ship's phone making a call could cost $4.99+ a minute. I have texted from abroad which is no additional cost.

As much as Google Fi has helped me stay connected when I travel, I still prefer the small periods of time being disconnected and not always glued to social media or work.

Fix the Elevator and Stairs layout on future new-build ships: The newer ships built should have additional elevators and stairs in the middle of the ship. The Epic (except for the topmost decks), the Breakaway and Breakaway + class ships only have elevators and stairs in the fwd and aft parts of the ship. It is kind of a pain in the neck when you are midship and you need to get to a midship deck above or below you. I know the Epic has the escalator and the other ships have one set of stairs in the atrium area (which at times are blocked by photo takers). I think they could do better.

Fix the website: Their website has been a bit buggy over the years. I have had an issue with the reservation disappearing a day or two before the cruise, I still have favorites saved from over two years ago that I cannot remove, and the biggest issue I have had is with trying to book a voyage. There are times that they advertise a price, and when I click on it, the price advertised is either sold out or not available. Sometimes it shows the prices but the cruise is sold out. If it is sold out, then just say it is sold out before I waste my time trying to book a voyage.

There should be better singles rates and singles arrangements for non-Studio cabins: I have noticed especially on Caribbean voyages that Studio cabins usually cost more than interior, oceanview, and sometimes balcony and mini-suite rates. It is kind of a turn off to cruise on some of their ships when a tiny Studio cabin is $1100 and a slightly larger interior cabin is $800 for a weeklong voyage. But if you go with the interior cabin you lose out on the privileges of the Studio passengers. I don't really see any options for singles on their older ships. Correct me if I am wrong on this as it is been awhile since I last cruised with them. Things could have changed. I think they can improve on attracting more singles cruisers and corner an barely tapped market.

I must admit I have been afraid to do a solo cruise myself. I was quite hesitant and missed out on some good deals with little to no single supplement. I finally decided to take a local 2 day cruise that is coming up next week to see for myself whether or not I will even begin to like cruising single. I have spent the last 18+ years cruising with friends and/or family. I can say that I have spent enough time with others and alone to know what to expect. In most cases for me the more you put yourself out there and get noticed you will tend to find that there are more than enough people willing to talk to you and hang out with you. Some of the best times I have had being on a cruise was when I would loosen up and participate in the activities offered on the ship.  I still like to spend a little bit of time on my own either eating breakfast/lunch outside near the pool, lounging at a pool when it is less crowded and/or without loud music,  and relaxing at the ship's spa (the ones that have the thermal suite).

These are some of the big things that happened in the news while I was cruising:

The Iraq War started while I was cruising on the Carnival Legend from March 18-26, 2003. I remember watching the news when this happened. The French Fries at the Lido deck grill and possibly the entire ship were renamed Freedom Fries.

While I was on the Carnival Legend April 1-9, 2007 cruise, we learned on the news that the cruise ship Sea Diamond sank.

When I was on the Carnival Liberty November 21-25,2006 cruise, the previous voyage was in the news because nearly 700 people on the repo cruise from Citivecchia, Italy to Fort Lauderdale,Florida were affected by a Norovirus outbreak. Our cruise was also mentioned in the news because it was going to be reduced from a 6 day to a 4 day cruise with different ports of call so that they could disinfect the ship. The ship (especially the cabin hallways) reeked of Lysol and we couldn't serve ourselves at the buffet.

Carnival Vibrance

Carnival Glee

Carnival Bliss

Carnival Melody

During my recent cruise on the Carnival Victory, Nick Jonas had made a surprise appearance at the Alchemy Bar before performing a concert. I was with a bachelor/bachelorette party group that just happened to be at the bar when he appeared. He was in a disguise as Jerry the bartender until he was about to leave. We all knew who he really was and played along with it except for one heckler in the back who kept on yelling out his name. He interacted with some of the members in our group that were sitting at the bar and also handed out some free drinks and bacon. We all got to raise a toast with him before he left to get ready for the concert. In addition, a film crew had been recording this event so all of us at the bar can be seen in the video that was later posted on Carnival's Facebook page. We had a great time!

Ship - Carnival Victory

Deck - 6 (Upper)

Stateroom # - 6268

Stateroom Category – 6A Balcony

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – No, loud noises and music played from the atrium will be heard in this cabin. The chimes from the nearby elevators can be heard in this room.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - The bathroom door was slightly off angle so the door was somewhat hard to close. Unpleasant outdoor smells managed to get into the room either through the closed balcony door or ventilation. The sink faucet had water pressure issues.

Any other comments? - This room has been recently renovated and modernized.

I might have a partial explanation for the first night if you are talking about the November 17-20 cruise. I was on that cruise too. Nick Jonas was on board and performed a concert during the first night of the cruise. I believe it started around 8PM. It is possible that most of the concert goers had the early sitting and opted for the buffet or something else in order to make it in time for the concert. The group I was in had the late sitting in the AFT Pacific dinning room and it was pretty much a full house for all 3 nights. As for the other responses, that might also be true for the duration of the cruise.

My niece and her friend just returned from a 3-day cruise to Nassau aboard Carnival Victory. Last night was the first chance that I got to talk with her about their cruise. She told me something that I found was very strange, and that I have never witnessed on any of our cruises.

 

When they went to the main dining room on the first night, they were LITERALLY the only people at the 6:00pm sitting. No one else was there! And this happened again on the second AND third night! She said that it was like a "Twighlight Zone" experience. Where were the only 3,000 passengers??? She showed me some videos that showed NO ONE else there!

 

Has anyone else ever experienced this before? Not me!

 

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The Carnival Victory has one in the middle of the sun deck terraces that is directly over the atrium entrance/exit.

Fresh off the Carnival Victory. Both me and my roommate are Platinum members. Our cabin steward delivered 2 complementary bottles of water to our cabin. There were already 2 bottles in the cabin but they were separate for purchasing.

I don't think the messaging and calling features exist anymore. I was just on the Getaway and the texting and calling functions did not appear to be present. If it still is, it then it was hard to find. I paid for the function to call and text last year, but the service never properly worked. Not worth it if it is still offered.

The app is free and it is useful for booking shows, shore excursions, and the tender. It is also useful for viewing freestyle daily activities. However on my recent cruise, the account activity log showed inaccurate charges for the entire voyage. I had to look at the charges on the in cabin TV.

I had booked a massage when I was on the Getaway. It was fairly good. I have a recent price list that I got when I was on this ship. The in port pricing is listed under value.SpaPrices.pdf

As what SuiteTraveler said, the prices are expensive. At the end of the service, they will add an 18% gratuity to the price and may try to sell you Elemis products. The products offered are expensive.