KG1924

We've done a balcony guarantee a few times now-most recent being our trip this upcoming May. We got our assignment this time around 110 days or so out. The previous ones were all pretty similar but like others have said, it can literally be anytime up until boarding.

We've never gotten an upgrade but we've gotten really lucky as far as locations of the cabins. We like being by the stairs and we always seem to end up near there. Worst one we ended up with was right under the pool deck on the Allure, but thankfully it was under the snorkel/dive shop so no scrapping of deck chairs in the early hours. It's worth the risk to us if the savings is significant-this upcoming one was about $800 cheaper than booking a specific cabin so it was very much worth it!

Also, if you end up in a location that you don't love and there are other cabins in the same category available, you may be able to switch cabins but you have to call C&A-regular customer service will not allow it.

22 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

They're there every day including when the ships are there. The crews boat to/from their current residences on Harbour Cay (the island next door)

I'm not doubting that they're there everyday, it's just that multiple people pointed out that they witnessed the workers working on "island time" so I was just thinking maybe they don't do anything major while ships are actually in port as to avoid more noise. I obviously have no knowledge of that either way, but it's possible.

I'm so hoping that the swim up pool bar will be ready by May (not looking very promising). We're going via the Adventure of the Seas so even if the dock isn't ready, I'm wondering if it being a "smaller" ship would we still be able to tender?

Also, I would imagine that the workers are probably not working that much when people are on the island in an attempt to not disturb their visit. I know island time is real, so maybe not. But if I ran Royal (which I most certainly cannot do ) then it would make sense to limit all the noise so that customers can at lease enjoy some peace and quiet.

5 hours ago, Colorado Babe said:

WE saw the commercial last night for Coco Cay. My husband said book it.  I told him we already have 13 future cruises coming up and he would have to wait until 2020 to check it out.  He is a very active guy and get's bored at Labadee and Coco Cay before they put the amusement park in.  I am happy they are added more features to these ports.  Not everyone wants to hang out in a beach chair getting sun burnt.  🙂

We saw the commercial last weekend and my husband said the same thing....but I had to explain that we are already set to go there in a few months lol!! He obviously has no part in the planning of vacations  I'm hoping they'll have some things completed by May like they're scheduled to!

Personally I'm excited about them expanding to different areas. I like having a private island in the mix of "regular" islands-it's a no brainer and often cheap day for us (no kids, always have drink packages) I wouldn't like an entire cruise of just private islands-that's what land vacations are for.

We've sailed out of Galveston twice and it's a cute town! We've stayed both by the strand/downtown and on the ocean side, both are nice for different reasons depending what you want to do. I think we like staying down by the nightlife a bit more but we still took a cab over to the beach.

The only advice I would give is that January and February are prime times for fog down there. Our first trip we were delayed hours from boarding because of the fog. I don't think we actually got on the ship until 7pm (Carnival...Dream or Magic...can't remember lol) but that can happen with any cruise line. Our group just camped out at a restaurant next to the pier and patiently waited for our ship to finally come in. While an inconvenience when you want to get on the ship, it's more important to allow plenty of time for delays when getting off. I wouldn't book an early flight home at least.

It looks like you have found hotel choices within your budget for May 16. Make a refundable reservation now as a placeholder. The Premier Times Square is close to the subway at 42nd St where you can get the R or W train downtown to Cortlandt St for the 911 Memorial. I did the 911 trip on the R train in Feb, but I got on at 34th St.

 

Fly into LGA and home from EWR. Dial7 or Carmellimo from the hotel to Cape Liberty.

Thank you so much! Glad to know that my crazy thinking is at least going in the right direction :D

I hate to over take the thread, but I'm looking for essentially the same information and Carol, you seem like the expert around here!!

Also just 2 of us, sailing out of Bayonne in May though and only staying one day ahead. Some background:

-Coming from Chicago, so thankfully have lots of options for flights. It's too far for us to book on Southwest (we use points) but so far I'm thinking taking the earliest (6am Chicago time) flight to LaGuardia and then either uber or private car to the hotel.

-Hotel-thinking we want to stay in Midtown area from what I've read. My main goal is to see 9/11 memorial, but would also like to see as much as we can like Times Square and Central Park. We would rather see sights and have a nice dinner then see a show or a guided tour other than the memorial. Would prefer to stay under $300 a night, don't need fancy but a good location would be top priority. Finding some 4-4.5 star hotels on Hotwire for our date (5/16) around the $250 range in Times Square, Midtown, and Central park areas. Also have been looking at The Premiere Times Square-good ratings and can book directly for around $250. Any thoughts?

-Sounds like private car service will be the way to go to get to the port.

-Still wondering if it would be better/easier to fly back home out of Newark? Again, can't see the flights yet, but looking at same dates in February, we can get a 3:15 nonstop home allowing plenty of time to get to the airport. The cruise is an 8 day, Fri-Sat. It sounds like Newark is closest to the port, correct? I was thinking LaGuardia before simply because it's a bit closer to where we want to stay.

Again, I apologize to the OP for barging in, but I figured there was no need to start another post for similar questions :D

We just stayed at the Fortune House this past spring for the night before our last cruise. Overall, we really liked it. It was the first time we stayed in the Brickell area so we didn't really know what we were doing but it's a very walkable area with lots of bars and restaurants. We also flew into FLL that afternoon, took an Uber both to the hotel and to the port in the morning. Only issue we ran into with that was crossing a bridge on the way to the port-we got caught as they were opening it so we sat for quite a bit (nobody's fault...and really only a 15 minute delay at the most)

Again, we didn't have much of a plan, we just wondered around, had appetizers at a cute open air place, then more at a sports bar (NCAA championship was going on) then to a rooftop bar. I apologize as I don't remember the names to any of them but there were plenty of options w/ in a 10 minute walk. Like any major city, drinks were on the high side, but most places had a happy hour or specials.

The hotel lobby was small, but very modern and clean and service was top notch. The room we had was good, felt very much like a condo but nice. We even took a late night swim in the pool and hot tub. We got a great price on Hotwire in comparison to other hotels in the area so we feel like we got a great value and would book it again.

I absolutely would!!! I'm assuming you'd be flying to Florida which is not that bad of a flight. Personally, I would take a late flight Thursday night (kiddos asleep) That way you guys can sleep in a bit on Friday, have a nice breakfast and then board the ship. It'll make the short weekend seem just a little longer. Even if you guys literally get on the ship and do nothing but relax, a couple days away from reality can never be a bad thing!

We've cruised both RC and Carnival and I agree with most everyone else on here...they really are pretty similar. The more we cruise though the more we realize that it's little things that make us enjoy some cruises over others. For the record, we've never been on the Anthem nor sailed out of Bayonne, so it may not be very much help for you.

-I very much prefer the drink packages on Royal. They've always been a little cheaper per day and there's no limit. We just got off the Carnival Vista a couple weeks ago and my wonderful Irish husband hit his limit multiple times over the 6 days and I hit it once as well (we don't do this at home....I swear!!) At no point was my husband ever fall down drunk in anyway, he can just really drink. I just don't like even having to think about what number I'm on to make sure I can still have a martini or two at night. I do like that both lines include bottled water and specialty coffees. Even if you aren't a huge drinker (like my hubby ;) ) it can still really save money and make a cruise truly feel all inclusive.

-Every ship I've been on I feel like Royal just controls the crowds better. I had low expectations for this on the Vista because I feel like that's all I read about before going. It was better then I anticipated, but it still felt tight. I know all lines are squeezing more cabins into the same footprints but Royal has always felt like it has more open space to me. Could just be me....

-Food is so subjective, and in reality you will never go hungry on any cruise! But I do think I like Carnival's daytime offerings a bit more. I really like the tacos/burritos on the larger Carnival ships and my husband likes the Guys burgers. Dining room seems about the same to me, service has seemed better on Royal though. I'm not sure if we just had a not so good server on the Vista (she was very sweet....but my goodness was service slow) or if they really are just cutting back but my most recent experiences in the main dining room were better on Royal as far as service.

-Cabins seem similar in size to me but the balconies are bit bigger on Royal. I very much prefer the doors to Carnival's curtains in the shower, not a deal breaker either way. TV was VERY bad on Carnival recently. We haven't been on Royal since 2017 so it could have also gotten worse. We don't cruise to watch tv, but we do fall asleep to it every night and usually have a lazy day at least once each cruise where we zone out and nap. There was literally nothing to watch on the Vista lol! Probably not a big deal to most, but just something I noticed.

-I kind of like the reservation system on the larger Royal ships. We don't see many shows, but Royals are better quality overall. I like that there are multiple comedy shows on Carnival, but we had some bad ones on the Vista so it didn't really make a difference.

-Check in has always been very quick for us, but again, we haven't sailed on the Anthem yet so I can't really tell you how that is.

Wow, this is long winded!! If you enjoy Carnival you will definitely enjoy Royal. Have fun!

I'm sorry, I accidentally lied about my previous cruises lol! Apparently I've been on 6 RC, the Vista this weekend will be #5 on carnival for us.

Good luck in your decision! While I did say to try Carnival, the Freedom out of San Juan would be a great choice and would have a flowrider for your son!!

We've only ever cruised on Royal and Carnival and after our upcoming cruise on the Vista this weekend (yay :D ) we will have an even 5 on both. That being said, if ever given the choice we tend to prefer Royal for a few different reasons, but obviously our family has managed to talk us into Carnival again multiple times (in reality, we just like vacation and cruises are fun with a group...it's hardly like they twist our arms)

To me the biggest differences are the entertainment and the ships themselves. We aren't huge show people anyway, but the entertainment seems much better on Royal, especially on the Oasis class. That being said, we do like that Carnival has multiple comedians and multiple shows throughout the week-it can be hard to get into the comedy shows on the bigger Royal ships. I do feel like the larger classes of Royal have better layouts (Adventure/Explorer/Mariner and larger) as far as controlling crowds and a more open feel. I've read a lot of people thinking that the Oasis class is to inward focused and very little connection with the ocean. I've never felt any less connected the water on the Oasis vs. any other ship I've been on. We get ocean view balconies so maybe that's why??? We really enjoy the Royal Promenade where as Carnival doesn't seem to have a nice big open spot like that. Granted they have a bunch of bars, I guess I just like the party/city vibe you get with the promenade. Don't get me wrong, we've never hated any ship we've been on. Carnival just feels a bit more choppy to me and I always feel more crowded.

That being said, I think the MDR and the buffets are pretty much the same. Food is subjective, and they're feeding thousands of people...it's not going to be gourmet. However, I do like the other options on Carnival like the cantina and guys. The Freedom class doesn't really have anything like that, but the Oasis class does have a bit more options.

I can't help you with the bed comparisons-I've never had any issues with hard beds. I do think you can request a cushion of some sort to be put on the mattress from your room steward.

Carnival won't have the flowrider but most of their ships have slides and water parks of some sort. We don't have kids but often cruise with our nieces and nephews-they both seem to enjoy both lines (ages 2-12....a little younger than yours)

I would say to try Carnival (again?) but maybe stick with their larger ships? The Oasis and the Allure and pretty much in a class of their own, so it's hard to really compare. We've been on slightly smaller Royal ships and Carnival ships since the Oasis and Allure and while different, it's not like any of the ships sailing are tiny row boats ;) Personally, the Oasis class is my favorite, my husband loves the Freedom class, and we've both enjoyed every cruise we've been on.

Ignore list, wow, hurt!:D

BTW The Allure/and all Oasis sailing East visit only one port!

BTW those are the 4 in the same month you mentioned, so,,,,,,you got lucky! Good for you, but Carnival is almost always less!

And drink packages are almost always less on Carnival, so are drink prices!

But what you are saying just isn't true. The Allure and the Oasis do not have any 7 day sailings that visit only one port...at least none that I have seen. I will say that the itineraries are a bit boring since they can't fit in many ports, but their expanding their stops and a St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Bahamas itinerary is still a good week :)

We've always bought drink packages since they were introduced on both lines. To compare my most recent/upcoming sailings (Liberty of the Seas last spring break, Vista this upcoming spring break) We got RC's for $47/day and the Vista is $51 and some change/day. Personally, I really like that there is no limit on Royal. I've never ordered a drink that wasn't included, so I can't say if the price limit is a big deal or not. However, we have hit the 15 limit on Carnival sometimes...and it's annoying. So, yes, the drink packages can be more on Carnival but even if they're the exact same, I still much prefer the unlimited drink total.

Price wise, we are spending around $2k for our ocean view balcony on the Vista for 6 days, and we got that rate as booked in a group booking. To compare to our Liberty sailing last year, same week, was $1900 for 7 days. Now the Vista is much newer than the Liberty, so my closest comparison is the Allure back in May of 2016 for 7 days, just under $2k.

Also, you are comparing the Glory to the Oasis/Allure....that's just not the same or even similar. Compare the Vista or at least the Breeze/Dream/Magic for at least a somewhat similar comparison when looking at price.

I've been on the Liberty and I've been on the sister ships of the Vista. In general we just prefer Royal over Carnival for a couple reasons....we tend to like the layout better on Royal (at least on larger ships, Voyager class and up), pools seem more spacious on Royal, the adults only area has a pool (not sure about Vista on that), and we like the drink packages better on Royal (no limit whereas Carnival has a 15 max...probably plenty for most lol)

That being said, we really did like the Dream, Magic, and the Breeze! Although similar, they had differences such as some had the Red Frog Pub on the outdoor promenade on deck 5 vs. up on the pool deck. I'm not sure how much they changed on the Vista in comparison, but I'm sure any changes were most likely improvements from the previous ships. As far as food, they seem about the same to me but I do think Carnival has more options for lunch/snacks while by the pool as opposed to the Liberty. We never went hungry on any cruise so that's a minor detail.

When looking into the Vista I was intrigued by the "exclusive" area-I'm sorry, I cannot remember what they called it but it was a section of regular cabins and suites that had their own pool and bar until early evening, then it opened back up for all cruisers. I like that they were trying something different that fits a bit better into our budget as opposed to suites on other lines, Royal included.

I don't have kids so I can't comment too much on the kiddo areas but I will say my nieces and nephews loved the kids area and the slides on the Liberty this past spring. Actually most of the adults liked the slides on the Liberty too :p Obviously the 1 and 2 year olds won't care too much about that!

Good luck on your decision! I don't think either ship will be a bad choice. Galveston is a fun port to try out at least once. Although it's not necessarily the most convenient ports we've still had a blast both time we've sailed out of there!

Edit to add that I just noticed that you're from Austin...please ignore the comment about Galveston as I'm assuming you're driving in...that takes out most of the "inconvenience" of it :)

Crewmembers that enforce the 30-minute chair hog rule.

Agreed....although I will say that on the last sea day on the Liberty in April they were really enforcing it early in the morning. A friend and I were out there very early (for me at least) and there were 2 crew members going around making sure nobody was saving seats. One woman close by was in her seat but had stuff down on multiple chairs next to her. They came around once and told her they would have to come soon, he came back about 20ish minutes later and said she had to remove the belongings because they weren't there. So, there's hope. I will say that they stopped enforcing as the day went on, but at least it prevented people coming in at the crack of dawn and saving seats for the entire day.

I think a lazy river would be amazing!!! I could see it winding along the entire ship with bridge walkways to not disturb passenger flow. Personally would be MUCH better then standing around shoulder to shoulder in little pools. One thing I would add would be bars along the way. Order and drop your card then have it ready to pick up when you go around again :p

On a side note, I so wish that cruise ships had actual pool bars in the adult pool area. That's one thing we do miss on cruises as opposed to all-inclusives. I'm sure there are many reasons why they don't do this but there is nothing better then sitting on a stool in the water with a cold drink. A girl can dream....

I would try emailing the email address from the PP, but keep in mind that just because MTD is only showing 5:30 as the only available option doesn't mean you won't be able to get reservations each day while on board. Meaning, if you just switch back to MTD w/ the other family you will most likely be able to get in somewhere around the time that you would want to with your entire group of 7. Now, if you're a planner and like to have everything set, I understand and this is not best case scenario but is an option. We had a group of 8 on the Allure last year and similar situation-was going to be just me and my husband but the 6 others joined somewhat last minute and MTD was the only option. Like you, the only open reservation times were very early or very late so we decided to wing it! It was a little chaotic the first night which we expected and the 2nd night we had to wait maybe 10 minutes. By the third night we found a great set of servers and managed to get a standing reservation with them every night at 8pm.

Long story short, if you can't get both into regular seating I personally would give MTD a try if you're able to be a little flexible. We waited until we boarded on the Liberty just to get another couple to switch to the same table (they were assigned same late seating as us, just different table) Even that was annoying and although we finally got it set, I personally don't like starting out my vacation standing in line to talk to the dinning room staff and risk not getting what we want anyway.

OP-you're way nicer than I am!!! :p I like to think that we are "go with the flow" kind of people while on vacation and it would really take a lot for me to complain to management. That said, I would have 100% been complaining to anyone that would listen if I had the issues you had!

No, this is not normal for MTD. We had a group of 8 on the Allure with no set reservations for most nights. Granted, we were going a little later than you, more around 8ish so not as much of a prime time but we were always accommodated w/in 15 mins max. After the first couple nights we had a standing reservation w/ a particular set of waiters without actually having a reservation if that makes sense. Different ships, but it shouldn't matter.

Our last trip was on the Liberty and we had a group of 17, so we opted to do standard late seating. Even that was a little bit of a headache because we had a couple decide to join us after we had made the dinner reservations before the trip. We went right to the MDR after we boarded and were told there was no way to accommodate the extra 2 without splitting up. That was completely untrue as they had the original group of 15 at 2 tables next to each other with extra seats at both. The whole thing was a communication error, but it took 4 adults from our group and 3 MDR staff members to finally get it set. The kicker of it all was that the section we sat in was almost completely empty the entire cruise. We could have each had our own table ;p

Hind sight is 20/20, but if you ever encounter that many issues w/ MTD again, especially with set reservations, I would have escalated it while on the ship (I know you guys tried....this really seems to be an issue with that particular hostess not doing her job correctly) 9 people is a large group, but it's not that crazy. We had over 50 for our wedding cruise! BTW, we had set dining for that as well, thankfully had an entire section of the dining room to ourselves.

I'm not sure if it's even an option, but I'm wondering that since your husband has the soda package already couldn't he just "upgrade" to the premium/ultimate whatever it's called now package and just pay the difference? I guess since you're looking at the internet and drinks package that may not be an option, but it's worth a shot. Then the price difference would be even less.

We do drink more then it sounds like your husband does, so for us it's a no brainer. I would still say go for it if you think he's on the edge of "breaking even". With out a doubt we drink more on vacation then in normal life (thank goodness....we would not accomplish much in real life if I started my day with a margarita ;p ) That way he won't even think about it if he wants just one more beer by the pool or a glass of wine even after dinner. Not to mention the coffee and water.

You can't control the weather....no reason to worry about it! There will still be plenty to do and worst case it would force you to relax which I find is hard to do on a cruise ;p

On our last cruise on the Liberty in April they were calling for severe storms/tornadoes for embarkation day. While it was pretty cloudy, the storms all moved a bit further north and we stayed dry the entire time. You just never know. Now if it stays rainy the entire time that could be a bummer, but highly unlikely. We went to an all-inclusive years ago in Play Del Carmen and it rained for the first 3 days straight.....we spent the entire time in the pool at the pool bar. We had the place to ourselves!

PS-I would also invest in the drink package if it's going to be a rainy sailing....everything is less miserable with a drink in hand ;)

I saved 800 dollars by not buying the drink package for me and my wife (14 night cruise). We drank tap water, ice tea, black coffee, flavoured water and bought two 24 can packs of soda (wich is better then machine soda). Also brought on a couple wine bottles.

 

People keep saying "if you drink more then 4 drinks a day bla bla" but often seem to forget that:

 

1: People buy drinks when in port.

 

2: People dont allways drink every day, atleast not as much. Example day: 3-4 drinks while in port and 1 on board, leaves my budget to 6-7 drink on board tomorrow to catch up with my drink package. and maybe i dont drink at all one day of the cruise and i can suddenly drink 5 drinks every day instaad of 4.

 

3: Wine brought on board.

I get what you're saying...but from my perspective I saved $1400+ by buying the package

1. We don't get that many drinks when in port, depending on what we're doing. For example, Cave tubing doesn't allow for much time to have a few drinks other then right at the end...and we were just tired at that point. The other two islands we did do all inclusives, but some specific drinks are just not able to be had. We had a bud light only drinker with us...neither of the places we went to had that so he just had a few of the local beers and then got a bud light as soon as he got back on board. That's always been the reason we like cruises over all-inclusives....when you want a specific drink, cruises will have it (for what we drink) If you only like certain types of drinks (beer especially) it can be hard to get that on certain islands.

2. I've never felt the need to "catch up" or get my money's worth. Plus it's not just alcohol. The coffee and water that we drank would have probably been $20+ a day. It's so nice to have a couple extra bottles in the cabin to throw in your bag and go.

3. We don't bring wine, water, or pop on board. We like walking on the ship with usually just my purse with our paperwork and exploring the ship without lugging anything with us. The package allows us to not even have to think about bringing anything with us.

I would still say get it. Our most recent trip was an eye opener for us for the value. The booze is a no brainer to us because our tabs at the end of the week have always been over $1500 (:o I know....that's sad-and it's truly mostly drinks and extra tips....I only usually buy a single ornament otherwise) but we paid a bit more attention this time and feel we really got our money's worth. We realized we are getting older and gone are the days of drinking nothing but alcohol all evening then waking up and starting again....while we still pretty much do that (lol) we've learned that we also need LOTS of water to go along with it. It was wonderful to grab a bottle of water every couple drinks and another before heading to bed. And of course as we were heading off to an island we would get a nice latte and a bottle of water. So it's not just booze-I would bet our tab would have been closer to 2k+ this past trip but because of the package our bill was about $200 (extra tips, some of our daily grats and a few other small purchases)

My family was with us as well as another couple of friends. Everyone got the package. My parents are not huge drinkers but they were able to be "adventurous" this trip. My dad and I had the dining room beverage server bring us a different martini every night. I wouldn't feel guilty for ordering a drink and not liking it with the package vs. paying $12-$15 for a drink and not wanting it. And don't worry...there was only one that I didn't like and my dad finished mine for me...we don't waste things in our family! And even though we had a few people that were straight beer drinkers, they still felt that the package was the way to go with the water and such.

I had already said I would choose Option B, but is interesting how every bodies likes and dislikes are different. We have visited quite a number of Caribbean ports and our least favourites ar Aruba and St Maarten.

It really is interesting....Aruba and St. Maarten are 2 of our favorites lol!!! I think Aruba will always be one of our favorites because it was our very first port on our very first cruise. It was my husbands first time in the ocean ever and the stop was literally all day-it's been awhile but I feel like we didn't have to be back on the ship until after midnight. And even though we've been to St. Maarten more times then I can count, I still love it-it's easy, clean, nice beaches, etc.

That being said, I would also choose Option B in this case since we haven't been to Barbados or Antigua yet.

Magic for sure. As a PP said, kids will be there either way because of a holiday sailing. I've never been on the Enchantment, but I would imagine the Magic has way more activities to keep kids busy simply because it's newer/bigger.

Also, we really enjoyed the daytime food options on Magic. I believe they have guys burgers (hubby loved) and the burrito place (I loved! Especially the breakfast burrito) Don't quote me on that because we went on the Magic, Dream, and Breeze fairly close together and I get those all confused very easily. One of them did not have those options when we sailed and I feel like it was the Dream, but that could have also changed since I've been on it. Dinners always seem similar to me in main dining rooms on both lines....never awful, not always amazing, but even being a very picky eater I always find something I enjoy.

Oooh! I hope my room is like that! I'm not really picky but it looks so oddly placed. Mostly curious. Thanks for the tips!!

If it's a brand new cabin then I'm sure it will have the new decor. I'm so with you that I really don't care what things look like in the cabin as long as it functions....but when I saw her cabins I got kind of jealous lol!! Probably just because it felt sparkling new.

I'm sorry I can't offer more about your cabin. We were on deck 9. I will say that we generally prefer decks 6 or 7 on any class with a promenade and close to stairs/elevators. From the looks of it I think you're about as close as you can get to the stairs! It does look interesting though...please come back and tell us about it!