Rudyard

Thanks for the review. I'm glad to read you didn't have any issues with getting the times you wanted for specialty dining. We also have the 3 night package and I've been worried that we'd end up with times that were much later than we're used to. I'm a bit disappointed to find out (in another thread) that Royals MTD doesn't work like Carnival's YTD. I wanted to try a couple of nights in the MDR as I like the menus, but might just end up paying for a 4th night in a specialty restaurant and the rest in the Windjammer.

I wanted to get one for Vista on my last cruise. I saw a few of them on a hook near the cash register and was going to get one when I checked out. After picking up a few things I got to the register and they were all gone. Apparently one person came by and bought them all and they were the last ones. The person that checked me out said they get that a lot and most likely they were going to show up on eBay after the cruise. I checked when I got home and the cheapest were $45. Hopefully you'll have better luck. I checked a couple of weeks before Christmas so that may have been why they were that expensive.

Wow! Sorry to hear that. Did he give any kind of justification for not providing one? I've had to ask for one a couple of times since they started posting them on the HUB, both times because I forgot my glasses and couldn't see the fine print on my phone. Both time I got a menu within 30 seconds and the waiter seemed happy to do it.

Our last cruise we decided we were tired of fighting the crowds and having to throw elbows to get off the ship so didn't leave our cabin until around 8. We went to the Lido to eat breakfast and then just sat there drinking coffee with a few others that had the same idea. They eventually made an announcement around 10 that if you were still on board it was time to head down to disembark. We had no trouble getting an elevator and when we got to the atrium we walked right off the ship. After that we decided that's the way to do it from now on. No crowds, no rude people, no stress.

I booked a cruise on Allure for this September. We wanted an itinerary that included Roatan and it was actually cheaper than the same dates on Vista by about $200pp. Now I'm in the planning stages and am noticing how much more expensive the onboard experience is on Royal. Not complaining and it's not a deal breaker, but there was some initial sticker shock. Especially the price for specialty restaurants and internet. On the other hand I am looking forward to the wider variety of specialty restaurants (we're doing the 3 meal plan to offset the cost of the more expensive ones) and the shows, especially Mama Mia.

The bottles are back but the prices went up IIRC

This one of the reasons I'm hesitant to book a cruise on Dream despite wanting to do the 8 day eastern. Before the zombie apocalypse hit us I would have done it, but with the decline in the quality of the MDR and buffet it's nice to have as many backups as possible. I'm surprised they haven't put a Cucina into the area above the buffet.

I haven't had any of the popcorn since before covid so don't know if it's changed, but those people grabbing multiple bags were about on par with chair hogs IMO. The popper was so small it could only make enough for maybe 8 to 10 bags at a time (if that) and to see the first few people in line grab three or four bags when the line was already long sucked. Luckily it wasn't good popcorn and I soon gave up on even worrying about it.

Love the Coves! Couldn't get one for my cruise late this year as they were all sold out even though I booked a year out. My PVP said it was most likely due to all the refugees from the cancelled Jubilee cruises (of which I was one) snatching them up. Tried to get a Lido balcony (my go to when on a ship with no Coves) but those were gone too. Ended up on deck 11 so I'm not complaining.

Those are exactly the reasons we get it too. Our carry on bags get heavy after a while and even getting rid of them for a couple of hours is nice. Of the roughly half dozen times I've had FTTF I've only had to go to GS twice (on the same cruise) and it was well worth being able to bypass the dozen or so people in line, especially since my issues were simple ones that took just a couple of minutes to resolve. I've never understood why so many people seem to think it's all about getting on the ship earlier when that's one of the perks that most of us that buy it care the least about.

Did you check all the days of the cruise? When you click on the Select Date and Time button all the days of your cruise will show up but all of them will be grayed out except for the last sea day which is the only day the breakfast will be available.

I was looking forward to trying the Thrill Theater my first time on Breeze after the restart but it was still closed due to covid protocols. It was still closed on our next cruise a few months later and we found out the new casino was going to be expanding into that area.

Cruised on Vista two months ago tomorrow. Passports and boarding passes were all we needed.

I did see someone win a free cruise at Bingo a few years ago. Saw her later waiting for an elevator and got to talk with her. She said it was a 5 day cruise in an interior. She was going to look into paying the difference for a balcony when the time came. On my last cruise a first time cruiser won the $1000 playing Deal or No Deal. I think the other person only won $10. I played along and won a bingo package and $30 fun play in the casino.

It's been said that Carnival doesn't want the headache of dealing with state taxes. I know that out of Galveston, Royal lets you use it on day 1, but they have to deal with the state tax on each drink (or maybe just the package's overall price).

Not on Vista last month. They shut them all down right around the cutoff time.

It might also depend on where you cruise from. I've found the 5 day cruises out of Galveston to be comparable with the 7 days cruises as far as crowds, behavior, etc. The only drawback is that they are shorter. The 4 day cruises on the other hand... I did one and will never do another. They always leave on Thursday from Galveston so it's essentially a long weekend where everyone seemed to be trying to blow off steam and get frat boy drunk before we even left port. Lots of yelling and hollering in the hallways at night from people who obviously thought everyone trying to sleep would appreciate knowing just how wasted they were. Never again.

Cucina for lunch has become our go to venue on embarkation day the last couple of cruises mainly for the lack of a crowd. They can all fight each other for a Guy's burger. Plenty of time to get one of those later in the cruise.

I guess I got lucky last month. Vista arrived in Galveston late on embark day, but it was due to heavy fog. They were trying to sail on time but that was delayed for about an hour due to a medical emergency. Like on satxdiver's cruise we also had to stop off Cancun for a couple of hours to have the Mexican Coast Guard take off a crew member who suffered a stroke (found out later that he was doing well). Despite all that we made all our ports on time and had a full day in each one. We even got back to Galveston before the sun came up.

We had baskets on my first two Carnival cruises in '12 and '13. First time we had a nice basket with a lot of stuff. Second time the basket was much smaller with only three or four items. No more baskets after that.

First run movies (Violent Night and Wakanda Forever on my cruise) were in the $12 to $14 range (can't recall exactly how much). They had some short Nature/Space type movies that I think were around $6 or $7.

As someone else said, the theater is way too small. Many of the seats don't have the small tables the way theaters on other classes of ships do. If you play bingo, they give you a large clipboard to hold in your lap to put your bingo sheets on. If you're a karaoke fan it'll be held in two places. The Limelight Lounge which is a good sized venue for it, and the Havana Bar which is too small for that sort of activity. There were lots of people having to either sit where they couldn't see the singers or on the floor. If you like karaoke and it's in the Havana, get there early.

Not a smoker but I know cruisers who are. This bit from the article had me wondering if it will effect the Duty Free shops. "There will also be a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, meaning that cigarettes cannot even be on show inside shops."

Depends on the length of the cruise. I passed on it for my 7 day Vista cruise last month at $139. I bought it for my 5 day Breeze cruise later this year at $89. Both out of Galveston.

What's on it? I love Indian food and have been tempted to try it but always find something else I want more.