stevec999

I can give you a comparison to Carnival as all of our cruises until our cruise on Zuiderdam last February were with Carnival.

First we enjoyed our cruise on the Zuiderdam, 11 day Panama canal. It was a great itinerary.

Food is similar in quality. Carnival had a larger selection in the MDR.

We think Carnivals steak house is better than Pinnacle grill, but do try Pinnacle the food is defiantly a step up from the MDR. One difference is while you pay an up charge for Pinnacle there are still items on the menu you will need to pay more for ($20 for lobster).

There were more choices of entertainment on Carnival but quality was similar.

HAL is much quieter and a lot lower energy. Depends on your taste as to how this will work out for you. We like the energy of Carnival but the quiet of HAL was nice too.

HAL is a much older crowd. Not a problem but something to be aware of. A lot more scooters and wheel chairs than on Carnival.

HAL has hot breakfast items on the room service menu, even on debarkation day. We really liked this and missed it on our last Carnival trip.

Really liked HALs salad station on Lido. Big selection and you point out what you want and they make it for you.

Crew on both lines very friendly and helpful.

We will sail HAL again but over all prefer Carnival.

Our booking included four shore excursions. My wife decided on which ones we wanted and had the TA book them. Our TA told us we would get a discount on the 5th one. When she tried to book the discount didn't show up, she called Oceania and talked to them and she was told that the four "free" excursions don't count towards the discount.

I have forwarded this thread to the TA and will have her check again when she gets back from her vacation in Greece.

we enjoyed the location in the galley. I don't think it would have been near as entertaining if it was held elsewhere. It was a little loud but had no issue hearing the chef.

The host for ours was the head (executive?) chef. We enjoyed the experience.

Check with your cell provider. We use T-mobile, texting and data are free in 140 different countries and calls are only 20 cents a minute (but not on the ship). Also if you have an internet package (Premium one is the best) and the phone supports it you can text and call while at sea using wifi (no extra cost).

We used them for many cruises to stay in touch with our daughter. They worked well but you can get far enough apart they won't work. Seldom happened for us and when it did just change location a bit until they work.

We usually had a check in schedule and DD knew that if we didn't answer to move and try again in a new location.

I took my first cruise 20ish years ago (Holiday). There have been many changes, for one I pay less for a veranda cabin then I did for an inside on my first cruise.

I do remember better service in the MDR. Glasses always full, the little scoops they used to clean up the crumbs. Lots of silverware that was never used :). Dinner was always a 2 hour affair and it seems to be about that now. Understand I have had a couple of times that the service in the MDR was bad and took 2.5 hours for dinner. Fortunately this is an exception and not the rule.

The food is different but the quality seems about the same. I had never had the flat iorn steak until one cruise most of the people at the table ordered it every night. I gave it a try (cooked medium) and was very surprised how good it was, not as good as the NY strip in the steak house but good.

As far as other lines we tried HAL last February. I found the selection of food in the MDR to be a bit lacking. For the first time ever there were a couple of nights that had absolutely nothing on the menu I wanted. Also the Pinnacle grill was not as good as the steak house on Carnival. We chose HAL based on the itinerary (partial Panama canal) had a great cruise and would use HAL again.

We want to see what more money buys so we have a Oceania booked for January. They have a reputation for food so we will see. Of course it is at a price, about four times the cost of our last Carnival cruise.

Next May we are going to give Celebrity a try. Lots of cruise lines keep looking until you find the one for you.

Does the premium beverage package include virgin drinks, soda, coffee or bottled water?

We were looking for something in May and I just happened to look at Celebrity's site. I saw the Celebrity Equinox sailing from Miami. They have a nice 11 itinerary in the middle of May which works out great for us since we have to wait until or daughter is done with finals.

With the perks and pricing they are offering it looks like a great deal. Having the TA work up pricing for us. Maybe taking our first cruise on Celebrity next may. :)

I do feel bad for all the folks that got their cruises canceled because of the repositioning of the ship.

I really never paid attention to how others dressed. With all the discussions of dress codes I actually paid attention on my cruise on the Zuiderdam last February.

On non gala nights I saw everything from jeans and t-shirts to dockers and jackets. On gala nights dockers and polos to full formal wear.

What I found interesting was the crazy color and patterns of some of the jacket and tie combinations. I saw plaid jackets with striped ties. Also jackets so bright they were blinding :), there was on particularly vibrant lime green one.

The net of all this, none of it had an impact on my evening. Of course I was one of the low class wearing dockers on gala night and jeans on other nights. Sure I ruined a few peoples dinner.

I don't like dressing up and I have reached a point that I won't. We are booked on Oceania next January. No dress up nights just dockers and collared shirts.

One poster mentioned bathing suits in the lido dinning area on Carnival. I can't imagine putting a swimming pool on each side of the lido cafe and people actually coming in and getting food. Oh yes, I saw the same thing happening on HAL.

Of course you can probably take my comments with a grain of salt because I actually enjoy Carnival.:D

I did this as well for my March cruise and it worked out well.

 

 

 

This isn't actually true. SMS does not use data, it is sent via the cellular signaling exchange between your handset and the network. MMS does require data, as does iMessage, but not SMS.

 

 

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Yes SMS does not use data and MMS does, trying to do to many things at once when I typed that :)

ATT also has a texting plan you can add for just one month. I think it was $30. It allows unlimited texts pretty much any place in the Caribbean (does not work on the ship). I added it to my plan on my cruise last February. Sent and revived a few hundred texts with no cost other than the plan.

It also provides a small amount of data (120Mb) which you need to send SMS. You have to be careful because if you leave your data on you will use up the 120Mb very quickly. I would keep data turned off until I wanted to send an SMS (picture message) then I would turn it on and and send then turn it back off.

It also provides a lower cost per minute for calls. $1 minute I think. Again only while not on the ships system (cellular at sea),

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/international/roaming.html

We travel enough that I am going to switch to T-mobile. Their plans include unlimited text and data in over 140 countries and calls are only $.20 a minute. So if you travel a lot and the T-mobile coverage in your area is good, it might be something to consider.

We don't drink, just asked for soda and it was provided. It was an enjoyable experience.

It doesn't seem to mater which line, if you go to the forum for that line they are "talking" about all the cut backs.

We had only sailed Carnival and have always enjoyed it. We were tired of the itineraries so started looking around. We ended up booking on HAL. We were a bit more than anxious because Carnival was so familiar and comfortable for us. Lots of angst building up before the HAL cruise.

Well that cruise was last February and we survived and had a good time. While HAL was different we had a good time and it was fun to be the young people on the cruise (I am 58) :). Also we didn't notice any cut backs.

Of course we were back on Carnival in May and will be on Carnival yet again in October. I am guessing the biggest shock for us will be January 2016 when will be on the Oceania Riviera for 10 days.

Carnival pricing is good for what is offered. I would lean more towards a price increase to get more. We enjoy Carnival and will continue to sail with them but are branching out a bit to see what is available.

We tried HAL in February and it was just a small amount more. Very different experience than Carnival but still enjoyable. Will write up a short review after our Carnival trip next week.

We are curious if more money actually improves the cruise experience. So to that end we are booked on a Oceania next January. For my wife and I it is about 3 times the price of the Carnival ship next week for us and our daughter. It will be interesting for sure :).

Have not been on a carnival ship with Guys but the Dive in burgers seemed about the same as the pre guys burgers on Carnival.

I did not care for the Dive in fries myself. I think I ordered burgers 5 times and it took 10-20 minutes , so a little slow. Also every order they got something wrong. Wasn't a big deal I was just surprised they had so much trouble getting the orders right.

I will be on a Carnival ship with Guys next Saturday so I will be able to compare :)

For us it is the itinerary. We are always looking to go places we have never been. We have had to branch out to other lines to find new places to visit. HAL last February and Oceania next January.

Cabin wise we get veranda cabins usually on one of the highest decks. On the class ship you are looking at we like deck 11. One up from Lido and forward of the pool.

We do have a Carnival in May, it goes to St Kitts which is new to us.

It was not available when we were on the Zuiderdam last February(2016).

Does Holland do a full transit? Maybe to San Diego?

HAL does full and partial transits . We did a partial in February.

Grand Turk is always a good beach day. Just walk off the ship and find a spot. It can get crazy with multiple ships in port.

San Juan, see the Fort and walk around Old San Juan. The old city area is relatively safe.

St Martian , we have just walked off the ship and also have done tours. Wife wants to do one of the sailing catamaran snorkel tours this next time.

St Kitts, never been but when we are there next month we are taking a tour that a train takes you around much of the island and you finish up on a boat ride.

BTW we will be on the Conquest with you on the 14th ;).

We usually take ships tours. They do cost more but in the big picture its not that much and a lot less hassle. Plus if you ship misses a port or your tour gets back late you don't have to worry about it.

On our cruise last month our tours in Columbia and Costa Rico were both back well after the ships departure time and the ship was there waiting.

Steve

Our first cruise on HAL is next week. It was the itinerary that attracted us. We will see how it goes but it will be awhile before we do HAL again. Next two cruises are booked on other lines.

I always enjoy comments like "It is cheaper and those you cruise with will reflect that".

We sail Carnival because we enjoy it. I happen to like the décor, I find it energizing. I always told my wife when we stop enjoying Carnival we will try another line. Ends up we are tired of the Itineraries so we started looking around. We will be on HAL next month and Carnival again in May. Next winter we are looking at Oceana.

As far as the people you will find a very diverse group. Age and income, people who tell you the people will be low class because Carnival is less expensive are clueless. We can "afford" any of the cruise lines as can the friends we cruise with. We might even try RCI sometime in the future.

Try Carnival, that is the only way you will know for sure. Go with a good attitude and you will have fun even if you decide it's not the line for you.

We are thinking about booking the Riviera for our 2017 winter cruise. I do get a bit nervous when I read about problems on the ship. I do know things happen and never let them ruin a trip. It will be our first time on O, the Riviera has an itinerary we really like

Probably won't book until after our HAL cruise in February. Will keep watching here and see how the reports go.

On the subject of robes. Carnival does not remove the robes from the cabins the last night.

Also the remote control frequencies we use in the U.S. are not legal everywhere. Some places take using unauthorized frequencies very serious. The ones your Phantom uses (2.4GHZ, 5.8GHZ) are used by the military in some countries.

Just because you have seen videos from these areas does not mean it is legal or allowed.

For us it is Carnival, number of children are very dependent on time of year. Lots of energy and activities but plenty of quiet places to relax. We have a HAL cruise booked for February 2016. We picked based on the itinerary (11 day Panama canal ). A little worried it may be a little quiet for us.

For reference I am 58 and wife is 46. From what I read we will be among the youngest on the ship.

I was sailing on her in January and will be embarking again in two weeks. If no one else has reported back in the meantime, then I will update you! :)

Take lots of pictures of the ship to share. :)