cherylroslyn

Love you guys!!!!! Sarah this is great. I am so happy to see your family enjoying another wonderful cruise!!!!

Isn't Coco Reef great? I loved it when I went there on my birthday two years ago....it is just such a great find...hopefully it will never get too popular:)

good point, I have got the occasional GTY but generally only when they offer no perks anyway.:D

I just wanted to let everyone know that I was able to upgrade to an Aqua Guarantee and keep all of my perks from the 123 Promo this past Sunday.

I did this as well as tons of people from my roll call. this is exactly the opposite of what happened this spring, when my entire roll call tried to upgrade and pay a higher price, but we were all told even with the higher price we would lose all perks.

So for the Guarantee I was able to keep everything and for other people they were able to keep everything for standard rate upgrade but you can't do any of this with Resident Rate or with Senior Rate.

So it doesn't

I know you are not allowed to take food off the ship while in port,but was wondering if this applied to coffee?

 

Is it possible to get a coffee at Cafe al Bacio and take it with you as you head off the ship for the day?

In the Caribbean I have done it at basically every port. Café El Bacio has "to go" containers just like a starbucks, and we usually go there hang out for a while grab a coffee drink it, and then grab a water and coffee to go.

My daughter is going to get one of these for our trip. She is in a sweet sixteen and wants a lounger, but they no longer give loungers.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/inflatable-ottoman

We are traveling with another couple (not in a suite) and our 2 kids. Our 2 kids, that are toddlers, won't make it through Luminae dinner so we'd just take them to the buffet. Could our other friends take their spot at Luminae since we have 4 booked in the suite anyways? Just curious, not sure we would still go since someone would have to stay back with the kids, but the thought crossed my mind.

I agree with Curt as far as the practicality of the entire issue. You will likely be asked a room number the first time in Luminae and then never asked again.

But alternatively I would consider eating in the suite. I guarantee your butler will bring you whatever you want, so you can always do in suite dinning. And have the kids sleeping in the bedroom...its a win/win

Carnival Cruise Line Adds Mobile App to More Ships

 

August 10, 2015

 

 

 

(2:15 p.m. EDT) -- Following a successful trial launch on Carnival Breeze, Carnival Cruise Line's HUB app will be added to the entire fleet within the next 12 months.

According to a statement from the line, the app -- which offers passengers free access to daily schedules, onboard account balances, dining info and deck plans -- has been so well received that it will debut on all vessels by summer of 2016.

The next five ships to welcome HUB will be Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Glory by the end of this year.

Additionally, Carnival has been improving its Internet capabilities by providing faster speeds and less expensive packages that include one specifically for use with social media.

--By Ashley Kosciolek, Editor

Have you seen their website??? In a word, THAT is why:)

I can't imagine their APP since their dysfunctional website is a constant source of new ranting threads and diatribes on cruisecritic.

I can say I've always seen the Amenities Guide in all my cabins, (suite inside, Aqua), but never really looked through it until a few cruises ago, that's when I discovered the menu is hidden within this guide.

 

I always thought to was a spa advertisement, as the cover is just a bunch of pictures, the title is on the back cover.

When I was sailing in Aqua last year I practically begged for a different pillow. It was only after I rolled up the two feather pillows that were each about as thick as a crepe and shoved them into the garbage and put it outside my door...that I finally got his attention and even got a new pillow that evening at bedtime:)

Of all the stewards I have had he was the weirdest I have ever encountered....it was an interesting ride:)

OMG Sara...just a little over a week, you must be so excited.....

I hope you, your husband and the kids have a great time!!!! You deserve it!!!! Its been a long time coming:)

Thank you for sharing the pictures of the menu and coffee beverages. I assume you can you ask for the drinks in a cup that can be carried back to the cabin or around the ship? That cappuccino would be hard to carry out of the cafe :)

Yes, they even have to go cups to bring off the ship, or around the ship.

Thanks another Cheryl LOL

 

I hope he is still there for our sailing. He's fantastic! He made our dining experience that much more pleasurable. :)

He will be there until October 24th.....he leaves the ship when the South bound repo docks in San Juan. The only problem is that he is in Blu and you won't get to see much of him if you are not in Blu, but stop by and say hi to him, I know he will appreciate it because he is so gracious. He also told me he may end up moving around so that would be good for us as well.....because I'm not in Blu in October...though I wish I were:)

Having sailed inside, balcony & concierge class, I'd like to make a bold statement. There is no appreciable difference or value to upgrading to me between a balcony and concierge class. Yes in concierge you get some canapes delivered in the afternoon, they are really nothing to write home about. Oh and you must be waiting for them in your room to get them delivered. :eek: There are a couple of umbrellas available for you to use in case of rain (it never rains and who wants to carry an umbrella around with them all day). There is a cheap pair of pocket sized binoculars that are laughable for sighting objects from your balcony. You get priority boarding, which was no different from regular boarding at the time we embarked and you get a bottle of sparkling wine which we did not drink. The only decent perk realized was additional captains club points based on nights cruised in concierge. I probably left out some other perks which were so un-amazing to us, I already forgot! :D So are you missing anything? Not really. My personal opinion is to stay put and have a great cruise. Enjoy wherever you stay and know that you will arrive at the same time as everyone else!

The only advantage to CC is the fact that you get more points for Captains Club and if you book with the promos the Concierge cabin gets all three perks....so if you can get it for a couple hundred bucks more it is worth it...its worth no more than the value of the two additional perks.

On M class you would need a magnifying glass and a ruler to see the differences in cabin sizes between a verandah and a concierge cabin.

If it is a couple bucks difference sure go for it...otherwise its totally not worth it.

Does anyone know what nights are formal on the 8 day Summit repo cruise to Bayonne?

They were the day we left St. Thomas (Tuesday) and the day we left Bermuda (Friday).....

Sorry that BILLP1 had a bad experience in Blu. We, too, were on the May 3 Summit cruise and had the opposite experience. We waited for a table only on the first evening even though we needed a table for four and we came at different times each night. The manager of Blu, David, was outstanding. He was everywhere! We had two waiters over the seven days - Jose and Rambo - and both were excellent as were their assistants. We bought at least one bottle of wine each night, and the sommelier, Elvis, was very accommodating. Yes, the picture someone posted was Elvis! We found the food to be very good. This was our third time in Aqua class, and by far the best Blu experience as far as service was concerned. This is the first cruise on which we did not dine in a specialty restaurant as Blu felt special every night. We ate breakfast in Blu once. It was just okay. I do not believe it was open for lunch on embarkation day.

My experience was the same as clo6216, but I was on the week before. David, the Maitre 'd was simply the best I have ever seen on any ship. Really getting involved and helping his staff, running around with juice or butter, whatever was needed. We too had Jose and Rambo, with their assistants, and they were excellent.

Yes Sarah, that is the lovely Elvis and he was fabulous!!!!!

Cheryl you just reminded my of my experience on the Summit in 2013 on the north bound repo. I never had a problem with the water on Princess but you are correct in noticing a strong chlorine smell in the water. It wasn't consistent day to day but in the MDR when I sipped the water that was poured I noticed it. I remembered I had the drink package and ordered bottled water from then on. I also noticed it in the bathroom when brushing my teeth. I started to rinse with the bottled water as well.

 

As far as the OP is concerned I think they got sick from the lemon aid concentrate. I tried the juice that came out of the dispenser in the buffet and it was so bad it gave me the head shakes.

OMG this was the exact cruise it happened on!!!!!!!!!!

4/27/13 Summit Repo

See everyone....maybe there was something wrong with the water on that cruise, on that day, in that cabin.....like I have said from the very beginning!!!!!!

"That water", as was stated several times, is the SAME water used ALL OVER THE SHIP.

 

If you wouldn't dream of drinking that water, then don't put ice in your drinks, don't eat any of the pastas, or anything else cooked in water. Don't have coffee or tea.

 

Come to think of it, you may want to bring plastic utensils, paper cups and paper plates since all of the utensils, glasses and dishes are washed in that same water.

 

(Perhaps your hat got dripped on by someone washing windows or scrubbing the deck above, or any number of other things that may have caused it.)

Perhaps you didn't read the post, DinaS, I put the hat in the sink and watched the white spots appear as I ran the water over it. No one was washing windows inside my bathroom.

Go ahead and explain that..... I saw the white spots appear as I ran the water over the hat.

You think these systems are perfect? There can be higher ratios in the water from time to time, not enough to kill someone maybe, but there was definitely something off on that sailing and I smelled it as well as my travelling partners. I have sailed Summit at least 14 times, you don't have to believe me....but you should watch your tone with me......

Cheryl do you happen to remember any of the names of the craft beers that were available or even better have a list?

No Sarah, I'm sorry I don't. They were not beers I had ever heard of and some were quite expensive. I will ask my friend Joe, he might remember some of them. I'll check back here after I speak to him.

Celebrity states that they have "a global selection of wines" in the Classic package. If they had NO wines in the classic package available in The Wine Bar, it would definitely warrant a trip to see the Hotel Director.

 

As it is, it has already been stated that we can't get drinks in the Martini Bar with the classic package (that's also seemingly dependent on the ship and the bartenders), and now you are saying the Wine Bar also doesn't have red wine available in the Classic package.

 

I won't hesitate to bring these issues to the attention of someone higher up, if this is the case on our upcoming cruise.

That is a high end wine bar, and it doesn't have any reds on the classic package. It has some wines that are available on the premium package, but even those are somewhat limited. There are plenty of places you can get a red wine, including right under the wine bar at revelations. You can walk in and sit with your red wine, you just can't purchase it there.

Hi We leave 2 weeks from today on our cruise so thanks for the TR.

 

We haven't cruised in almost 20 years & have heard a lot of doom & gloom on this site about the cruise line changes so we are hoping it's as good as the 8 cruises we took a long time ago.

 

Question: you said the ferries were crowded. How far in advance do you need to queue up for them? Was there a line just to buy transportation tokens? We chose select dining also & booked times already so will we have to wait for a table? I think I am sorry we didn't choose a seating but 6pm was too early & 830 too late.

 

I can't believe they didn't have red wine either as that's what I prefer. Hope they get it in for our sailing!

 

Did you feel you would have to upgrade to premium or was the classic beverage package good enough?

 

You said food was good in MDR but you had Blu- we just have regular MDR so is the food the same?

 

We are looking forward to going- last time we went to Bermuda we sailed our own boat there so this will be quite different.

There are plenty of red wines covered by the basic package throughout the ship. You will ot be getting them in Cellar Masters because Cellar Masters is a high end wine bar, the fact that there is a white that is covered is just an anomaly. They are not trying to have cheaper wines at that location because they want to sell the wide selection of more expensive wines. Red wine that is covered is available in the dining room, rendezvous, revelations, bistro on five, café al bacio, at the buffet bar, pool bar, sunset bar and mast bar.

We also just got off the Summit today and agree that the food in Blu was excellent but felt that the service was not quite as good as it had been on previous cruises. We had to wait on four of the seven nights with a beeper and that took anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. They just seemed shot staffed. One night we waited for almost thirty minutes for our main course to arrive.

 

Also the wine bar now has no Red wine if you are on the basic package. It was funny watching the bar man TOTO trying to explain that. Yes you could get white wine or beer but no red.

None of the beers at cellar masters are covered on the basic package. I was just on the week before you, they are all very expensive IPA's and mico brews, some are not even covered by the premium package.

loved TOTO he was so great:)

I wish that was true, however it was from the lemonade- as soon as I stopped drinking it I felt better, then went back to drink it felt sick... I was sick when I got home for a long time ...:(

I put a pink hat in the sink and ran water over it on the Summit because it got dirty at port. The hat cam out of the sink with white spots, telling me bleach was in that water. I would not dream of drinking that water. I rinse with toothpaste and have never tasted a heavy chlorine taste, but I have smelled it on and off on that ship.

The hat is all the evidence that I needed that the water, at least on that ship, in that room, on that day was not safe.

This will be our third time on the REPO with you! Can you say SLOT PULL?:)

I'm not in charge anymore:) But I would love to participate. I believe some of the 0other ladies have taken over......I would be happy to help in any way.....

We were just on the Summit for the repositioning cruise and were delighted to see these cards laid out on chairs!!! The pool butlers were busy all the time straightening up, putting up towels and leaving these cards. It was great. I think just having the visible 'butlers' (their shirts say pool butler largely across their back) is a great deterrent! We were very happy with the Summit!

I was on that cruise too, I guess I just didn't see any or maybe they didn't do it in the solarium. Good news, thanks for posting:)

A full day at Tortola but no stop in Bermuda. 3 sea days before you stop at St. Maarten. The south bound repo is not on my bucket list at all.

We do that one every year as well.....

It is a nice itinerary, you would be surprised how nice the three sea days are up from. The cruise is too short, so it is necessary to stay in Puerto Rico for a few days when you dock in San Juan.

I returned from the Summit on Sunday ad I did not see one card on a lounger despite the fact that every single lounger in the Solarium was "occupied" with stuff but totally "unoccupied" by a human behind....and I a talking for hours and hours at a time.....

Besides that -- doesn't the guitarist for U2 already have proprietary rights to his stage name? :p;)

As does Ford.....

And there is a shaving cream by that name as well....