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Stayed there about six times over 20 years strictly for cruises.  Great location but hotel has really gone downhill even after the renovation.  Last summer, no AC in room in July.  As you can imagine, it gets really hot.  Best they could do was offer a fan to blow the hot air around.

Also room was right next to the exercise room that was open 24/7.  Person came in to lift weights at 2:00am.  very loud.

I'll be bad in November but will not be staying there this time.

Good to know it's not just me.  final payment due tomorrow so hopefully it comes up soon

13 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I saw you guys standing there and wondered what was going on.  

That was us, LOL.  We felt like a couple with no country.

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

So lets talk about debarkation.  As usual, we were up early and I have posted a couple of the pics here that I took as we approached the city.  Breakfast was fast and easy for all and we had made plans for our group to get off regular debarkation group 5.  We had group 1.  We went down to the Radiance dining room (mid) lower level as we were instructed.  This is where Diamond and Plat self debark go as well, so that when available, they exit the ship first and are closest to the exit on 3.  The ship had a delayed custom  turnover (do not know the reason for that) and that might have been toe problem.  They did not start self debarkation till almost 8:45 (Plat and Diamond).  Half way thru this they started regular debarkation and then stopped as the baggage area was full and the crowds started backing up on the ramps from the ships.  My wife was a few ahead and went thru and I was trying to catch up and got stopped.  

 

When we finally got down they directed us down the building further before entering and then looping back up to where zone 1 bags were.  IF all had gone as plan, it probably would not have been an issue, but then once we had our bags they wanted us to go back to where Zone 6 bags were and then come back up to the customs agents.  To further complicate the issue there was a large party (maybe a family of about 10) who were blocking the way to the 1 busy custom agent.  A worker was getting a little harried to me to get out if the way.....I asked where to.....she said end of the line....I asked, show me a line and I would be happy to....my wife told me to shut up.   Ahhhhh that feels better. 

We also left the Sunrise today and I have to say the disembark was awful.  We had group 1 and went down to Radiance at 8:45 and were told we could get our luggage.  They let us off the ship but customs said they did not clear it yet.  We could not get back to the ship and we could not stay in the customs building.  We had to sit outside on concrete between the ship and building.  Luckily it was not very hot like when we left.

After about 20 minutes, they said the luggage is ready so we got in line and went to get the luggage only to be told it was not ready.  We said we were told it was, lady talked to supervisor and said group 1 is ready, we just don't announce it.  The good thing was there were 4 people at the customs checkout so we did not have the fiasco jimbo had but I could imagine how bad it would have gotten.

Got to LGA on time and back in Chicago.  Overall great cruise.

Awesome so far. We did NYC last year and doing it again next week.  Looking forward to seeing more.

That is the difference between priority and guaranteed dining room times.  Platinum and suite guests have priority but if the list has already been filled, you may be out of luck.  I have not gotten my "priority" time a couple of times due to late booking or a last minute dining change.  I guess we will all have to wait to get Diamond to get our guarantee.

I think the use of the pool during the day makes it well worth the money.  I did not like the cabana area as much as a regular balcony but I would stay there again because of the pool area.  I did not hear any music from the bar area and we were pretty close to it.

2 minutes ago, ProfCruise said:

 

I have it and after about 5 years I finally have enough points to mostly pay for a short cruise.  100,000 points = $1500. 

We are in the same boat.  As soon as we hit, 100,000 points, we are going to drop it for another one to get a good initial bonus.  I wish I didn't use the startup points for $200 OBC or I would already have a new card.

There are better cards out there, but the 1500 for 100,000 points is nice if you can get there.

If you have a small carry on, I would not check it unless you can do without it.  Odds are that it will arrive at your door but there have been instances when bags get misplaced for a good amount of time.  I just put the essentials in my carry on and check the rest.

If you have Cheers, "free" drinks are included with that service as long as they qualify under the Cheers rules (no towers, pitchers, etc.).  But you can get any beer or mixed single drink under $20.  I love their bloody mary.

As far as "happy hour" on table games, I don't think I have ever seen them lower their limits on game unless it is really dead and it still will not go lower than the set minimum of $6 ($5 bet with 1$ sucker bet for BJ or $6 bet).  Sometimes a 25 will go down to 10 but not lower than 6.  And to tell you the truth, the tables are usually busy throughout the day and night.

2 hours ago, Aplmac said:

Carnival Corp.

needs to sell all those Old Things (Fantasy Class)

which would modernize the fleet substantially!

How exactly is this supposed to prevent fires.  I am pretty sure that fires can occur on new ships as well as old ships.  

Perhaps you should start a new thread on how you dislike Fantasy Class ships.

I do not see the big draw to this package either.  Does the $15 voucher even cover the cost of the other restaurants?

Personally for me, I do not like the steakhouse and will each at Ji Jis 2-3 times a cruise so I will just continue to pay as I go.

About five years ago there was a promo for referring new cruisers who book.  I booked a cruise with 2 new couples and my PVP said I could get $50 for each person.  When I booked, it was the first time I even heard about this promo.

Anyway, that's the only time that I have ever seen a refer a friend promo.

Thanks for the information everyone.  So it looks like if I book now, I can take advantage of a future sale.

Is this valid until final payment?  I know Carnival has a lot of different options to book and depending on the fare, you can get a lower cost or OBC after final payment.

Hello,

Longtime Carnival and RCL cruisers and we are looking at doing the British Isles out of Southampton in July of 2020.

Does anyone know when the sales come out for 2020?  I started looking late last year and they had some for summer of 2019 like drink package, tips, etc., but I have not seen anything for summer 2020 yet.

Thanks

I don't believe that they check it.  We have added our credit card to our adult son and his gf and have never had a problem.

Never really thought that it would be an issue.  Guess I never read the fine print. 

There are no cost savings benefits to buying cruise cash.  Some people buy it to help them budget for their cruise.  It is not cheaper if you purchase before cruising.

If you want to save money, buy gift cards from AARP for 10% off and when you get on board, you can go to guest services and put the gift cards on your account or use them to buy cruise cash before the cruise.

36 minutes ago, 17andacruiseaddict said:

 

 

This seems like a good solution. Keep em in the fridge or have your room steward constantly fill the ice bucket. Either way, cold beer. 🙂

Ice bucket works best if you like your beer cold, and who doesn't!  

I always go to a bar and get a bucket and the steward keeps it filled with ice.

Ji Jis and the Italian restaurant are free for lunch and you pay for dinner.  

Regarding Bonsai Teppanyaki, I do not think there is free lunch there.  I believe that is all extra.  I only went to dinner there so i am not 100% sure but dinner was well worth it.

I was on Horizon a month ago and we used the app to make reservations. Out of 5 nights we went, the app was not working twice. We had to go to deck 5 and check in, not a big deal. The problem was since the app was not working, we could not communicate with the rest of our party and did not eat with them. That's what happens when you rely on technology.

Thanks for the great live review. We are looking to do this cruise in 2020. Long time Carnival cruises and this is will be our first on Princess. Great to hear about the ship and stops.

You will be fine. 25 year requirement is if someone in the cabin is under 21. My son went with 9 friends on a cruise after college and they were all 21 and 22. No problems.

I agree with the others. I enjoyed it but would not do it again. I didn't understand all the rave reviews. It was a good time but nothing spectacular.

Could you be thinking of Big French Key? It is adjacent to LFK, but a different island.

 

 

Carnival did have an excursion to BFK.

No, I know I was at LFK. This was about 5 years ago and Carnival excursions went there and this was before BFK even existed. I'm not really saying LFK was bad the last time, just that it was not as good as I remembered.

We went to LFK when it was a Carnival excursion some years back and had a blast. We went back two years ago and it was a disappointment. It was really crowded and the service was lacking. The first time we went there you could go into the water and relax. The next time you couldn't get into the water without getting kicked or splashed by kids (and adults).

I would not go back there again but am glad I got to enjoy it before it became popular.

What are the other Gold perks?

Actually, water is a Red perk also so only additional perks are drink and gold pin.