Wanna_Cruize

Hey Sid, if you don't mind, could you tell me what you paid for the bottle of Hennessey Pure White?

Ryan Rose is a great CD, we loved having him on Inspiration. Before the Pandemic we were on a mission to get to Diamond before a JH cruise, so we were doing the 3 day cruises once a month or so. We'd bring him rice krispie treats every time we boarded. I was so happy to see him promoted to Panorama! We can't take the longer cruises now, so we miss seeing him. Make sure to see his outfit on disembarkation morning, it's a hoot!

Thanks Megan, I'll let DH know. Every time we go it's a bit higher, think we paid 442 for the case two months ago.

@MeganGC1983 if you don't mind, I'm interested to see what the current price for Hennessy White is for the 6 bottle package. SG posted a list of the current liquor bottles on board, and it looks like the Henney White is $79 a bottle or so now!! So, I guess I'm really AFRAID to know what the case price is.

Just board as usual, and then inform Guest Services that the 3rd guest won't be boarding. The refund for the port fees and taxes will be refunded to the original form of purchase. Just did this for a cabin for two that ended up being a solo. No questions asked, just thanked me for letting them know.

Oops, already posted.

Well, folks, I'll be back a bit later (hopefully tonight) to finish up the last day of the cruise. It got pretty hectic and crazy on Monday going back to work, and I've been non-stop since then. I'll also upload my camera pics including the video I made of the Ocean Suite. Sorry for the delay.

Can attest, backing in is the way to go.

So sorry to hear this. Happened to us for our January cruise, tested positive 3 days out. Carnival was very helpful in getting us rescheduled and refunding prior purchases. Hope he keeps having a mild case. Mine felt like a normal cold and was gone in a couple of days.

@CC Help Jenn Just tagging you to my live review. Looking for my 'rare' tag if possible. Thanks, have a great day!!

I do know after the casino, DH went to the cabin to sleep, and I checked out the Piano Bar for the first time. Alejandro was performing, and it was pretty full, but there were random seats if you don't mind sitting with other people. I did find a spot along the rail, and put in a request for Tiny Dancer and Jessie's Girl. Alejandro did OK, but the energy was not as jumping as I have experienced in other shows, and I had a lot of other items to check out that night, so I only stayed a bit. Maybe I'll give it a try again tonight. I think that's all the stuff from yesterday. In our cabin was a small bag of cookies, "Sweets for our Suite guests". Did I mention that we're in a suite for the first time ever? I think I did! 😂 Anyhow, I'm off to maybe grab a snack and then go to my Fire & Ice pedicure. I'll be back later with another report.

Probably, I know that a lot of people really miss the Quest show. We'll see, I'll check it out on our July cruise and see what it is then. Tonight they are having an event at 10pm in the limelight lounge titled "Throwback Hour with Your Fun Squad Host" - Description: "Talk about a blast from the past! Dance our heart out with the bet music from yesteryear in this groovy throwback set"

Geez, I'm really getting stuff out of order. Sorry it's so disjointed. Let's see, after Soulbound, we went to the casino to play some more cards. DH played some blackjack, and I played some Let It Ride. I won some, lost some, but we all had a good time. I always play the 3-card spot, because I believe it's easier to make that hand than the 5-card hand. I always put out a $1 bet for the dealer every time on that spot also, so if I win, they win. I may win or lose in the end, but they always win, and really appreciate the tips. I got a couple of straights, and some triplets, and I think the dealer ended up dropping over $100 into the tip jar when their shift was over. After a while I went and played with my DH on his table, he was up quite a bit. His dealer was making BANK though, because DH puts a $5 bet out for the dealer on each hand. Believe me, that gets a lot of attention from the Casino Boss and Host. In fact we had a nice conversation with Karisma the Casino Host, and she offered us any perk we wanted, as a thank you. We already had enough wine, and were still full from the Steakhouse on the first night, so I asked about a pedicure from the spa. Karisma said she'd call down and get an appt for me, so stop by later in the night and she'd let me know. Between Adult Game night and the Comedy show, I found here and got my appt time of 1pm today. Woo-hoo, pretty toes for me.

I think I found the reason for it. but not sure if it is confined to the 3-night cruises or not. Perhaps @csm5986142 who's getting on the ship Monday can find out. On Saturday and Sunday, there is only 1 set of comedy shows in the Limelight lounge, the PG shows. The 18+ shows are held in the main show lounge, combined into one show that starts at 10:45. It was a welcome change, because we were unable to get into the 10pm shows the first night because it was already too crowded. Last night at 10pm in the Limelight lounge they had something called Adult Game Night. I was curious about what that was going to be, so I went to it after the casino. They were absolutely checking IDs at the door (well, not for this 62 year old, I just smirked at him when I asked if he needed to see my ID). It was standing room only there. and was a pretty wild setup. The had DJ11 set up spinning some tunes, while they were getting everything set up. After obligatory screening of the audience, (If you are under 18, Get the $%$% out, if you are easily offended, GTFO, ) etc. The cruise director, Gabe, said he was the one to talk Carnival into trying this so it was important that what happened in Adult Game night stayed in Adult Game night, don't go posting it on Insta, etc. Then it went into basically team trivia, with very dirty team names, and very dirty questions. It was pretty wild, and there's nothing wrong with that. I decided to leave after a while because I needed to stop by to see the casino host before going into the late comedy show.

The show was very good. Different main singers from the last time we were here in April, and the full cast this time. I think Covid had a major effect the last time. Ir was very well done, we thought, and we sat on the floor this time right near one of the smaller stages, so we had singers coming alongside us and stepping on the small stage to sing their parts. The costuming and make-up was very well done. There were some new special effects. and we enjoyed it. Just realized we went directly into dinner, and I forgot to note that we ate dinner the MDR this time. I woke DH from his nap, at about 5:45 and told him to get dressed. I checked us in for a table for 2 and it only took about 10-15 minutes to get a table. We were up on the 4th deck of the dining room, right along the balcony observing the lower level. We had Joseph and Michael this time, and got excellent service again. They located DH's pre-arranged dinner order, and I put in mine. I opted just for.a Cesar salad and the Garlic Shrimps Dinner, and the Coffee cake. How am I still full from the Steakhouse the night before?? We brought our bottle of wine we brought onboard to enjoy with dinner, and I took the 50th Anniversary travel wine glass with me filled with my concoction from the room. Out dinner came out quickly, and and we were able to get out of there before Showtime started. We needed to hustle from the back of the ship (Sunset Dining room where YTD happens) to the front of the ship where the show lounge is. I already knew we could take the outside boardwalk on deck 4 all the way, and not have to navigate the crowds on Deck 5 making the trek. There are doors on both sides just outside the dining room that you jut push open, and the walk leisure down the row of lifeboats, waving to the cameras down there and hiding a couple of ducks along the way. That's how we ended up on Deck 4 for the show.

DH is off to his last massage of the trip. I have a bit of time to relax, before my next gig. Let's see, where did I leave off reporting on last night's festivities... After our family zoom time, Dh took a quick power nap, and I spent some time figuring out how to cram all the things we wanted to do in the rest of the evening. We had decided to go to Soulbound again, we enjoyed it the last time. There is only one show each night, not an early and late show anymore. So, you must plan accordingly. The Early dinner is at 6pm, and the late dinner is at 8:15 pm. The doors open for the show at 7:00 and the show starts at 7:30. However, the venue wasn't remotely full, so you don't have to rush in at 7, unless there are certain seats you MUST have. This venue has floor seating that you enter on Deck 4, with chairs that they layout in whatever pattern is used for each show. The show spills onto the floor, so there are small stages set next to batches of chairs, so you are really immersed in the experience. They warn you before the show to please stay in your seats during the show, and don't move the chairs around. From the floor, there are series of stairs going to the upper rows. This show lounge doesn't have 2 discrete levels. The upper rows are stadium style, so up 2-3 stairs and there's a row of seats along a railing, then up another 2-3 stairs and another row, etc. If you enter from the 5th floor, you end up in the middle layer of the stadium seats, and you can go up or down from there. IMG_8315.HEIC

Well failing at pics again. I may have to wait until I'm home on my regular computer to put pics in. It's Ensenada day, otherwise known as Sunday. We're in port here with the Navigator of the Seas. Our cabin is on the port side (even numbers), and because of the way the captain backs in, the balcony of our cabin faces the soccer patch and the port shopping area (that is still closed to the public). The way the Navigator is parked, her port cabins have the same view as us, just turned 45 degrees. So the Starboard cabins have a marginally better view, with the ginormous Mexican flag, marina, and new malecon they built over the past couple of years. We grabbed a quick bite in the Lido for the first time, and it was pretty crowded. No sign of bacon today, and the ham slices were.... how to say.... not really ham. Seemed to be more of a bologna texture. Not sure if that is a supply chain issue, or cost cutting issue. There was thinly sliced ham in the side section holding the yogurt, sliced deli meat & milk.

It's a great deal for sure, it runs from 12noon to 2pm. I think I'm going to go back to ordering the Cruiser for it, rather than the Caribbean Iced Tea I got this time. The problem is, I end up augmenting it along the way, by adding additional OJ, etc, along with anything that may or may not have been held in small bottles in my toiletries to make it last for a day or so. Adding OJ and other items now has the drink looking a pasty grey color; not very appetizing to look at. Here's before and after pics. IMG_8180.HEICIMG_8298.HEIC

Thank you,

Also forgot to mention, I started hiding some of the small ducks I brought with me. Yes I’m one of those #cruisingducks nuts. It’s fun, and I try to hide lots of them down low for kids to find. I think I brought about 20 with me this time. Haven’t found any myself yet, but there’s still time. Getting set up for our weekly family Zoom call with my siblings. We committed to doing it once our Mom passed away, in order to keep the family more connected, and it’s been really nice to have a set time for everyone to chat a bit. I'll be giving them a tour of the suite we're in (for the first time ever... 😜 because in July for our Family Reunion cruise we'll have 3 of them all together so we can open the balconies up to each other. I’ll be back later for more intel, and to see if there are any other questions.

We traversed the Lido deck this time, and the Groove for St. Jude was setting up. There were a lot of people milling about, drinking in the outdoor bars, and in the Pool. Lots of people enjoying a bit of sunny weather. I was surprised that there really was no line at Guys. It as about 1:30-2:00 at this time. They DO run the line from both ends, so if there is a long line on the side queue, look towards the line in the middle of the ship, you can also get your burger there. That wasn’t what we were going for, so we pressed on. There was a line for the BBQ, but it went pretty quick. Just got a small sample of most of the sides, and some pulled pork. It was good. The potato salad was better than I had found on Panorama; that one had long planks of potato and very little mayo, etc. This was more traditional potato salad. After eating, we walked back on deck 10 to the front, and went down to deck 7 where our cabin is. Did I mention we’re in a suite for the first time? I think I did… 🤣

After dinner we stopped by the shops for a little more retail therapy. DH found a different rain jacket & other shirts he wanted, so I went to the cabin & got the two I had picked up the prior evening so we could exchange them. We probably have enough logo wear now to just take that on our future cruises. After that we spent a little time in the casino, playing Let It Ride. I love playing that game, because it holds at least the possibility of a large payout on a single hand. Blackjack can just be a grind sometimes, trying to time your exit on the upswing so you don’t just give it all back. We ended up playing for quite a while, and walked away with the same amount we started with, so I call that a win. We puttered around in the cabin for a bit, planning the rest of our day, before going out check out Guy’s Pig & Anchor Sea Day BBQ on Deck 10 aft. Yes, another trek from the front of the ship where our cabin is. Did I mention we’re in a suite for the first time? I think I did… 😛

The wait for brunch was only about 10 minutes or so for a table. We were given a really nice table for two along the window in the back left corner of the room. Michael and Richard were our wait team, and provided excellent service. We each ordered a glass of Champagne for our Platinum/Diamond perk, so we could make table side mimosas with the regular glass of orange juice. DH had an omelet and I had the Frittata. I also ordered the mozzarella sticks from the kids menu, based on a tip from another cruiser. They did come with fries, but this time were 1/2 curly fries and 1/2 crinkle fries. No marinara sauce, though. That was plenty of food for us, we skipped dessert. DH asked Richard if he could pre-order his dinner off the low-sodium options, and at first we were told that we should go to the hostess desk, and they would take the order then. A bit later, he actually showed up with the menu for tonight, and just took DH’s order himself. That was appreciated, and tipped accordingly for the extra service. We had tested a lot of the low sodium selections before, and there really is a difference, and they are still VERY tasty. Really anything on the menu you can select, but they need a count before dinner so they know how much to prepare. Tonight we’ll preorder tomorrow night’s dinner also. DH asked for low-sodium Sicilian Meatball Soup, Cesar salad, baked chicken breast and fruit plate.

(Changed to typing my notes in Word, then pasting them in the review. So, if they go poof, I don't have to retype them.) While I was having my coffee this morning, I went ahead and purchased the internet plan. I know I lost a couple of posts last night, when I tried it tethered to the hotspot on my phone’s cellular. It was going to be $25/day for the premium plan, or $50 for the cruise, so I just did that. The middle plan was going for $37 for the cruise, so I decided to splurge. It was just too hard to try and juggle the hotspot to do the live review. I’ve got lots of photos and screenshots of menus and stuff, but I’m having trouble validating my iCloud account, with MFA. I’m trying it on my laptop, but I need to revalidate that device, and it’s pushing it to my phone’s authenticator app, or a SMS, which Isn’t working when I try and switch devices. First world problems, so the pics will come later. When we’re in Mexico my phone will work on regular cellular, so I should be able to get it all together then. We’re probably just going to hang out on the ship anyway, we’ve been to Ensenada multiple times, and have done most excursions. After DH returned from his massage, we went to Sea Day Brunch. It’s held in the Sunset restaurant, all the way in the back, so it’s quite a trek from the front where our cabin is. Did I mention we were in a suite for the first time? I think I did…. 🙂

Thanks for posting that Kmom. Think I'm going to pass on that.