hillbillycruisers

Who remembers the name of the Cruise Director years ago on the Ecstacy....he was funny, energetic, juggled, and played the fiddle? It's been a while, and I'm guessing he is no longer a CD...but that's just a guess.

A good CD helps make the cruise extra fun. We've had some very good ones, and unfortunately had one guy who was very arrogant and stuffy.

That's good. Maybe they switched piano players. The one on our cruise in November was very drab...and set the tone for a dismal piano bar. Two weeks ago on the Dream, we had a great one...fun...interacted well with the people...lots of crowd participation....very loud and fun. We always do the piano bar on cruises, and the one on the Vista in November has been our only bad experience. I know they do change the piano guys...our guy on the Dream told us he was a couple weeks away from a vacation.

Well....you know what they say about assuming. Been on 10 Carnival cruises...including one three months ago and one three weeks ago. And never have I ever said Carnival " sucks ". If I didn't like a Carnival cruise, I wouldn't shell out my money with them. So...yes...THAT is why I am on a Carnival board...and NO I am not responding to a product that I don't consume. Carnival will give you a fun cruise...they just don't give out the same amenities. They are the lowest price cruise for a reason. You get what you pay for, and with Carnival that is true.

Mz-s....This is 100 percent spot on.

We most certainly have cruised other options than Carnival...and not even close to " triple the fare " . Triple the amenities maybe. We don't " demand " anything.. we book a cruise, and we get what we get. On other cruise lines, we simply get more...no way to argue that. We book Carnival expecting a fun cruise, and that's what we get...but no amount of Carnival cheerleading gonna change the fact that they are not on par with some of their competition. If you book Carnival...expect a fun cruise, and odds are you'll get it...but don't expect The Ritz.

We were on the Vista in November and had a great Cruise Director...apparently she is no longer there. Vista was a good Cruise, but we did have the propulsion issues, and was late getting back to Galveston. We very much enjoyed Ji Ji's restaurant as a lunch alternative...and it's free. Liked the fact that...unlike the Dream...Vista has a Red Frog Pub...fun place to hang out as a group, play shuffleboard, etc. Didn't care for the drab piano bar atmosphere...it was like being in a morgue...at least on our cruise. And didn't like the theater seat set up....very poor designed, with few tables for drinks. Our Vista cruise went to our three favorite ports, at least when sailing out of Galveston.

Carnival still gives a fun cruise...however...if you are expecting bacon every morning at the buffet...you may be disappointed. If you are expecting a midnight buffet...you may be disappointed. If you are expecting 24 hour pizza and ice cream...you may be disappointed. If you are expecting free room service...you may be disappointed. All these things you had 15 years ago are long gone. Cutback Carnival strikes again.

It's definitely true...bad sea day is better ..but I'm now retired...so no more office. I also didn't mention Carnival's new Lido bacon every other day BS! 😀

I have seen peeps on other post say you MUST go do the muster thing before eating lunch on the Lido. Not true. We almost always board early, and first thing we do is eat lunch. Then we go do our muster. Most generally, we have this finished well before 1:30....when the rooms are ready. Our last cruise two weeks ago, we had finished eating, visited with friends for a while...AND completed our muster requirement by 12:30. The new muster process is extremely easy...and can be completed in just a few minutes. If you want to go before lunch...fine...but it's definitely not a must do. Just don't wait too long...

Apparently long gone are the happy days we once enjoyed of 24 hour pizza and ice cream....midnight buffets....and free room service. Cutback Carnival strikes again. 😞

We were told that while we still must get an arrival time for our documents, with FTTF, we could arrive earlier and board when they call the FTTF peeps. Since we've had the earliest arrival time on our last several cruises, it really didn't matter.

They haven't done this for years. It has disappeared, along with free room service, bacon every morning on the Lido, midnight buffets, unlimited free extra dinner entres, Printed Fun Times, and dinner attire rule enforcement. But hey...after spending thousands of dollars on cruises, you still get a free drink on your last night.

Ji Ji's is free during lunch, and very good!!

I agree one hundred percent. Who ever designed that show room needs to be beat!!!!!

I have been using a C-pap since 2006, and have been using my cabin tap water in my machine since 2008...that's because on a 2008 cruise, we were seated in the MDR with a very nice gentleman who just happened to be a somnoligist...or as us hillbillies say...sleep doctor. When I found out he was a sleep doctor, we of course had some very good conversations about sleep disorders, C-paps, etc. He assured me that using the ships tap water would not harm my machine in the least. He went on to say that if I ever found myself on vacation without access to distilled water, regular tap water can be used on any C-pap for a short period of time...say a week...with no worries. He obviously didn't recommend doing this for extended periods. I have since followed this advice...both on the boat and on vacation...and have never had any issues.

I have carried my CPap on with me in a separate backpack for several years. I stuff some clothes around it as well. Also, I have always used the water from the bathroom sink in it....with absolutely NO ill effects.

I did miss the JiJis for lunch.

We just returned from a 6 day Cruise on the Dream, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the comparison between the Dream, and our Cruise on the Vista last November. Both Cruises were out of Galveston. We had a great time on both, and there were pros and cons with each. Our MDR service was MUCH better on the Dream...great, funny staff...and they had us finished every night in around an hour, sometimes less. The Vista MDR aways took close to two hours...plus they messed up my order several times. Food quality was probably about the same on both. The piano bar on the Dream was a zillion times better than the Vista...Sean did an awesome job, and there was lots of fun crowd interaction and singing along. The piano bar on the Vista was more like a morgue....very, very dull. Unlike the Vista, The Dream did not require a cabin key card to manipulate the cabin lights...just a good old light switch. I found it a little odd that the Vista served breakfast 30 minutes earlier than the Dream each morning...something I really liked. A big plus for the Vista was having the Red Frog Pub in the place where the Dream had their art gallery. Who goes on a cruise to hang out in the art gallery?? And I'm even an artist. The biggest advantage the Dream had over the Vista was being able to arrive on time returning to Galveston...we actually arrived over an hour ahead of time. We were off the boat and sitting in our cab at 7:30 a.m. On the Vista, with its well known propulsion issues, we were over an hour late returning. Since we have an 11 hour drive back to Missouri, this is important. Also, the Dream has a much better show room...with many more tables for drinks. The show room on the Vista was set up poorly, in my opinion. I liked the Vista singers and dancers much better than the ones on the Dream. Of course, any Cruise should be a fun time...and I look forward to the next one. 😀

We carry cans of soda on with us every cruise. Last November boarding the Vista, I had loose cans in both my carry on and my backpack...and security let my bags roll right on thru without checking them. This last week...boarding the Dream...same amount of cans...same bags...they made me take out EVERY can to check them. Both times in Galveston. Next time, I'm putting them in a separate bag by themselves.

Sailed on the Dream in 2019, and much preferred it to our cruise last month on the Vista. The Vista was my least favorite cruise ever. The only thing I didn't like about the Dream was the art gallery. They put the art gallery in the space where the Red Frog Pub is on the Vista, and it was unfortunate. Who actually goes on a cruise for the art gallery??? We enjoy the Red Frog Pub on other ships, but not the Dream. I haven't been on the Dream in three years, maybe they came to their senses and moved the art gallery put of there...but I doubt it. The piano bar on the Dream was also a blast...on the Vista, it resembled a morgue.

Our last cruise in November...on the Vista.. we boarded as early as possible...which was immediately after the V.I.P. priority boarding....went straight to the Lido buffet...and it was easily the LEAST crowded for a lunch buffet that we saw the entire cruise. It got much more crowded as the late comers came on board...quite a bit in fact. It looked like a zoo at about 12:30. We'll be on the Dream in a couple weeks...using FTTF this time...so you can bet we'll be eatin with the earlies once again...and with our carry ons tucked away in our cabin. 😀

We cruised on the Vista in November and the above comment was spot on. Main Dining Room service...at least on Vista...was definitely slower, and they messed up the food order a few times as well. I believe its a staffing issue and they are trying to get by with less workers. We cruise on the Dream in two weeks, so hoping it's a better experience.

If anyone is still keeping a running total on how many will say " wear anything you want "...better mark my name on that list. While I'm sure the MDR sheriffs won't allow just anything, I sometimes wonder. I personally always try to dress according to the ' rules ', but sure see a lot of peeps who do not. Many times I've seen jeans and shorts on elegant night. This actually doesn't bother me in the slightest. Our last cruise in November, one of our table mates wore either jeans or shorts every single night, and most nights with a simple t shirt. He was always clean looking, and our entire table enjoyed his company very much. We had fabulous table mates...very fun people...and that means way more to me than what they are wearing. So...for the OP...go with the shorts!