cruisinqt

I don’t know if you’ve been to Grand Turk or not (if you have ignore this) but Carnival has a really nice multi million dollar pier they built there with pools, restaurants & shops so there’s no need for an expensive excursion there. I recently did the Mardi Gras and I have to say it’s totally worth the extra money. Here are the things that I really liked: 1. Soda fountains at Lido & Guys bbq 2. Bolt roller coaster 3. Multiple new restaurants like Shaq’s, Emeril’s, Rudy’s, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Chibang, & Street Eats 4. More variety in entertainment like magic shows, the Family Feud, & multiple comedy shows daily in 2 locations simultaneously so there’s no long lines 5. The Summers Landing area is a fun place with foosball, shuffle board, a sports lounge area with TV’s & sofas, Guys bbq, soft serve ice cream machines, a microbrewery, and pool & hot tubs outside. It was our favorite hangout place. 6. The ships layout was the best I’ve seen on Carnival. And the decor is very regal and completely different from their other ships. It reminded me a lot of Royal Caribbean I can’t compare it to Odyssey of the Seas because I haven’t been on that ship yet. But I’ll be going on the Quantam of the Seas in May so I’ll be able to compare them then. But I would highly recommend the Mardi Gras.

The “Drinks On Us” casino offer has two different versions. The most common version is “Drinks On Us for you and a companion while in the casino.” The less common version is the “Drinks On Us everywhere on board the ship for you and a companion.” If your offer is either of those then the casino host can help you since the offer came directly from the casino. If you had some other offer with cheers for free then you’ll need to call Carnival. I’ve been cruising for over 20 years (I have 6 cruises booked next year so I cruise a lot) and I’m not seeing any free cheers deals in any of my offers. And I get just about every offer out there. It’s probably more than likely that your free drink offer came from the casino. But I could be wrong. I’m just trying to help. I hope you get things moved over. Good luck.

If you’ll notice under each deal it will say “limited inventory.” Each casino deal has a limited amount of offers per sailing. Once they’ve hit their limit for that sailing then the offer is off the table. Since it’s so close to your sailing the offer may not be available if it’s sold out but it won’t hurt to check. If you’re having trouble getting through to carnival you can always email the casino host and see if he can help you. The casino host has always bent over backwards to help me.

We were on the Mardi Gras a few months ago and yes it closes at 10 pm every night. We usually went there to relax every evening before bed. It’s pretty empty around 8 or 9 pm. It’s also empty in the mornings before 10 am. But midday is the worst. That’s even everyone goes.

That’s why there’s so many ridiculous rules no matter where we go or what we do. People trying to take advantage of the situation messes it up for everyone

I had similar feelings after doing the Grand Princess a few years back. I enjoyed the cruise it was a beautiful ship but things just pretty much shutdown after 10 pm. Yes the bars and casino were busy but nothing else. And like you I’m a night owl so that was a bit of a bummer. There were lots of activities scheduled during the day but they weren’t my cup of tea. I wasn’t very interested in ballroom dance classes, lectures, watching ice sculptures be carved, learning how to make towel animals, etc. The food was really good, especially in the MDR. And the shows were excellent, better than Carnival’s in my opinion. But I just felt a bit restless and bored oftentimes on that cruise. It just wasn’t my cup of tea I guess. I don’t dislike Princess, I can see why so many people like them, it just wasn’t for me. Royal on the other hand was very similar to Carnival so I sail them every now and then when I find a good deal. In fact I’m going on Quantam of the Seas in May for an Alaskan cruise.

It’s funny that most of the cruise snobs that warn people about Carnival have never been on a Carnival cruise. I admire their loyalty to their preferred cruise lines but they’re way off. I’ve been on them all; Hal, Royal, Princess, Norwegian, Carnival etc. (check out my signature for more info.) Carnival is very comparable to most other lines. Maybe 10-15 years ago they weren’t but now they have many amenities you’ll see on more upscale cruises for a fraction of the price. Like their adults only serenity area or the thermal suites in the spa. For just $159 pp you can enjoy sauna’s, steam rooms, a hot bubbly therapy pool, and heated marble loungers for the entire week. It’s very peaceful and relaxing and it’s adults only. Carnival ships also have roller coasters, sky rides, mini golf, imax theaters, and micro breweries. But one of my favorite things about Carnival is their late night adult comedy shows. I’m a night owl and love a good laugh. I also like that Carnival isn’t a snooze fest after 10 pm like some cruise lines.

Once you request a table usually within 10 minutes it tells you your table is ready. So don’t request a table until you’re certain you’re whole party is ready to head to dinner.

I would always choose the longer cruise with more stops every time. Plus the Horizon is newer and has few more bells and whistles. My husband loves the micro brewery and it’s very reasonably priced beer sampler on the Horizon. I love Guys Pig & Anchor Brewhouse with its great tasting bbq and live music on the Horizon. I just love grabbing a drink and relaxing in a booth to people watch. But we both agree that Bonsai Teppanyaki was the best tasting food we’ve had on a Carnival ship in a long time so it will always be a deciding factor between two cruises for us. The chefs cook the food to order in front of you and it’s an amazing meal and experience. Plus the Horizon has the imax theater and the skyride. Both are big hits with our family.

From what I hear people were abusing the situation. They were going back and forth between the 2 places hoarding cans of soda then taking them back to their cabins. That way their fridges were stocked for the whole family.

Not yet but I’m about to. Thanks for the help.

I just did some mock bookings and lots of cruises say the same thing. It’s weird. I’ve never noticed it until now. I happened to notice it this time and thought it was an international cruise thing but I guess not.

We are doing our first international cruise (London) and I noticed that when we arrive back in London to disembark it says “arrive 5:00 am depart 12:00 am.” I’m a longtime cruiser but none of its been overseas. I’ve never seen anything like this. What does it mean?

It’s not just Carnival. I cruise several lines and they’re all complaining about price increases and cutbacks. Over on the Royal Caribbean boards they’re flipping out about Diamond level cruisers not being able to use the concierge lounge anymore. They’re also pissed that they’re only getting once a day cleaning now, pre cruise food and beverages have gone way up, and cruise prices are much higher too. The truth is the ENTIRE cruise industry is hurting very badly financially. They had to shutdown operations completely for YEARS, not weeks, not months, but YEARS. Any business that is forced to shutdown for years is going to be hurting financially and make cutbacks in order to stay afloat. I’m not happy about the changes and cutbacks but I realize it’s happening industry wide and I’ll either have to deal with it no matter who I cruise with or stop cruising. So I guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with it because I love cruising too much to give it up.

Yeah that’s definitely a possibility I’ll have to consider.

Thanks I’ll check those out

It’s a codeshare flight through AA. I travel a lot around the US, the Caribbean, and nearby countries but I’m very new to long haul international flights. In the beginning I no idea what code sharing was until it was explained to me. I’ve learned a lot though thanks to Cruisecritic. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the help and info. It will come in handy now that I’ve retired because we plan to travel out of the country quite frequently.

If it was a casino rate you can email the casino and ask. They get back to you very quickly. They responded to me the same day.

It’s funny that you say that because my husband and I were just saying the same thing earlier at dinner. Yes the flight is shorter at 1 hour 20 minutes versus 2 hours 30 minutes for the train ride. But you need to be at the airport at least an hour and a half early. Then you wait forever to get off the plane, then your luggage is always the last one to come out.Then getting out of a large airport and to your car feels like you’re traversing a football field. In the long run the train is much quicker. Plus it’s cheaper with more scenery to enjoy. I showed my husband the video and we really want to ride the Iryo train. It looks fabulous and I did a mock booking and the prices aren’t that bad for what you get.

It’s nice to hear an honest review of them. That helps a lot, thanks.

We are also looking at Premium Economy seats for a flight to Madrid in October 2023. If you go to seatmaps.com you can select the airline and airplane you are considering and it will give you all the info on that flight. It will show you the seat configuration (like 2-4-2 or 3-3-3 etc), the seat width, seat recline, and seat pitch (distance from seat in front of you). It’s helped me immensely in narrowing down my selection of flights I’m interested in.

We are also looking at Premium Economy seats for a flight to Madrid in October 2023. If you go to seatmaps.com you can select the airline and airplane you are considering and it will give you all the info on that flight. It will show you the seat configuration (like 2-4-2 or 3-3-3 etc), the seat width, seat recline, and seat pitch (distance from seat in front of you). It’s helped me immensely in narrowing down my selection of flights I’m interested in.

We did the same ship and itinerary a couple weeks ago. We did our specialty dining on the first day of the cruise and then on the last sea day. We didn’t want to make any reservations on port days because we were afraid we’d be too tired to enjoy it. But if you’re looking to book on a port day Cabo would be best since it’s a short stop and you leave mid afternoon.

I just watched the video and wow I’m impressed. I never knew train rides could be so luxurious. Thanks for all of the info it helps a lot. We’ve definitely decided on flying to Madrid then taking a train to Barcelona. It looks like a lot of fun and a much better choice than flying.

Our favorite place to go to on the Panorama was the Shake Spot. I think they were open till 10 pm but I’m not 100% sure on that. My favorite was the chocolate caramel shake. My husbands was the strawberry creamsicle. They are very very good and worth the $$$.