starstruck05

So I didn't mention before but I'll do so now. There is definitely a plumbing problem. I'll spare you the direct details but our sink got clogged up the night before(when we came back from the room between dinner and the casino). The plummer came out and fixed it after about 30 minutes of work. Well, we noticed today that the shower, which was already draining slow, was even worse now and flooding the floor. This also, for some reason, post-shower is making the water in the toilet go almost completely away until you flush it and it fills back up to normal. We haven't reported this yet as it doesn't see like a total big deal but we will keep an eye on it. I could also mention here that the room temperature has hot and cold spots. It gets really cold on the sofa side but warm by the beds but the vents are closer to the beds. Interesting quirk. Anyway we were ready for Formal night dinner somewhere around 7 or just before. Less than 10 minutes for a table and the app worked right kind of. The table number changed half way to the dining room. I also completely forgot that the Lincoln dining room is off the Atrium and we can't use the middle elevators so all the way to the front we went. Might be way the table number changed; we may have taken too long to get there. We were seated to the back. Table 190, half booth half seat. Not a fan of these tables but it works. (Running theme here lol) Dinner was decent. I had the carbanra as a starter and of course a Caesar salad ( at this point just always assume I order the Caesar. I eat it almost everyday at home as well.) I got the Prime rib and Creme Brule for dessert. Prime rib was decent but I actually didn't want the au jus but it came that way when it normally comes on the side. I didn't send it back. Mom had the pork tarts, Caesar and the sea bass and the same Creme Brule. All decent however neither of us remember the tart being three small tarts but possibly one bigger one but memory is escaping us and we may be remembering something else. The "showtime" tonight was "Proud Mary" sung by Denise and I'm 99% sure she sung on our last cruise on the Valor as well. There had to have been 30 birthdays in the dining room and one anniversary. I might rethink cruising with so many Scorpios. (I'm a Sagittarius, IYKYK) We headed back to the room to change shoes and then we started reading again. I finished my first book and it was awesome and surprising. I won't give it away but if you like Murder Mystery, don't be put of by it technically being g a YA book. It doesn't read as one which is prefect. So now to why we took a nap earlier. No, it wasn't for a Casino promo. That's tomorrow for Gateway only. It's because my favorite activity on a cruise, even more than Triva, is Movies under the stars and I am blessed that not only were the movies sections pretty good this cruise but the one movie I've been procrastinating watching, even almost saw at the movies but changed my mind, is playing tonight at midnight. Blackphone. So I get to see a scary movie at sea, under the seas and one on my massive list of movies to watch. ( I'm pretty sure I mentioned the always working/never enough time thing already) Since the movie starts at midnight, we took a nap so we won't be tired considering I'm normally knocked out asleep by 11 most nights. It's 1030 pm right now as I'm writing this and I'm good, mom on the other hand is dozing off. One of us might not make it to the movie! Stay tuned for what happened!

20221028_131706.mp4

Friday Oct 28, 2022 The morning started off slow. We requested requested a table for brunch around 930. App said 10 minute wait. Our room is actually right below the Washington dining room were brunch is so we waited. I checked the app and all of a sudden the screen changed and said to check in again. Oh no. Tried again and my mom's phone said the table was ready but no table number popped up. We went to the dining room and then her screen changed to check in. Chaos was had all around with many people waiting and two lines went to 1 line to check tables. Anyway we ended up at table 515 which was on the top level of the dining room and a booth. Typically we don't do booth but it's fine. Brunch was decent. I now always get a chicken Caesar and eggs any style. Mom got the French toast and eggs any style. There was an issue with her Danish she ordered that was not a Danish and not the one she ordered. She likes the cream cheese one. He told her it was. It was not. No big deal. Just won't order it again. Got the cookies which are different from the other various cookies onboard. After brunch we sat out on deck 5 and people watched and read. At the time of writing this (real time, on the cruise) I'm reading "a good girls guide to murder". I'll let you know how it is. I'm an avid reader and due to my work schedule I hardly ever find time to read anytime other than when I'm on a cruise. I brought one other hardcover book and 3 books lined up on my kindle and truly I can finish all of them on this cruise and still not miss any of my activities (triva mostly) I love and miss reading. We sat and people watched and then took a walk through the shops. White Hennessey was $79 a bottle, no direct special listed for multiple purchases. There was boxes and boxes and boxes of Crown Royal but seemed to be only the original. I am a Crown person and have gotten it on board several time but I prefer the flavored ones over basic Crown. I did not, however catch the price. We were on the hunt for a Christmas ornament but the only one was the 50th anniversary one which if push comes to shove, would work. Its $14 if anyone wanted to know. We then decided to go to the casino for the "hot seat" promotion, which was open to all. Played for about 30 minutearor so and got another drink. Didn't hit much, at this point, I'm down about $80 which i know isn't alot but also I tend to play back my wins unless they are huge so I have really played about $200 by now. Decided to head back to the room but the steward was cleaning it. We actually asked for evening service but switched this morning to day service since he did not come for "evening service" last night. Jay Jay is his name and while he is okay, it's been a bit inconsistent. We headed back up to the promenade deck and happened to be just in time for the Dr. Seuss parade. Very cute, very load. I'll try and upload the video. I also found the "Duck Lady" and she seemed to be pretty known. Some guy even had her sign his t-shirt he had other signatures on. We actually found a duck before we passed duck lady but I didn't go up to her but I can only assume it's one of hers. She had alot of ducks and not just the normal ones. She had beads and windup ducks and mystery bags. It was a whole vibe. We finally were able to make it back to the room and just chilled for a while. I did go up to the Lido and get the Old fashioned bbq (deck 10 aft but no elevator there) , which was okay. No sausage strangely. The sausage was my favorite. I grabbed some cookies downstairs and ice and took it back to the room and sat and read and ate. We took a nap for a reason I'll explain later and woke up around 530 and got ready for dinner.

We didn't hit too rough of waters and there is still a deck below but it is possible in some rough seas!

Hopefully you can see the video of the room. Excuse our way too much for 4 days luggage. 20221027_132302.mp4

Boarding started at 10:45 with suites and wheelchair guests, then A1 and A2. Went pretty well. I'm assume our "priority " boarding was geared towards having A2 other wise, it was just as normal boarding. We headed to out Muster Station, G which on the Valor, they are almost all on deck 4. Checked in and done in less than 3 minutes. You also now can watch the video on the app and if you feel so moved, listen to the ship horn. I don't remember seeing this on the app last cruise in August but this is also similar to what I heard other lines do as well. Anything that makes my life easier onboard, I'm down with. We took the Aft elevators to the back of the Lido and found a seat and got our traditional fun ship special and Guys burger. (Funderstruck burger is unmatched and I suggest everyone try it) I'm typing this up as I go (obviously posting after) so right now it is 12:35 pm and the Lido is busy but not crazy. No lines for food at all (except Guys and the Wok) So I mentioned the main reason to take this cruise was to try a Casino cruise. But we have 2 other reasons. One being we have never been able to cruise during a holiday. Technically we still aren't. Lol Halloween is the day we arrive back BUT we get to celebrate onboard on Sunday and that's enough for me. The other reason is as you can see in my signature, my next cruise I will be platinum. I'll be 1 day away once this cruise is over and my next is 5 days. My mom will also be 1 day away but her next cruise is in December with my Aunt. My next cruise will not only be my first Solo cruise but my first inside A1 room. After all these years loyal to Carnival, it's just nice to find new experiences! (Editing Starstruck adding that I had a couple "firsts" on this cruise!) We made it to the room around 1:20. We had a gateway cruise lanyard and a welcome letter in the mailbox, with our room keys, of course. The lanyards had a card inside that shows we get free drink in the casino for the entire cruise. Normally it just pops up on the sail and sign ( which it actually does show casino comp on it) We unpacked, decorated our door and relaxed. We have room 2473 deck 2 Aft. Almost as far back as you can get but I booked this room for the interesting layout over the location. Our other embarkation day tradtion is to eat at the steakhouse the first night. Not only to take advantage of the free wine but also because the dining room menu is usually pretty boring on the first night. It does now have the added chicken parm but it's not even my favorite dish from the Italian restaurant so no big loss here. We booked a 630 reservation. Jordan was our server and pretty excellent. A bit all over the place but his section was very full. We both had two apps, one entrée, two sides and a dessert. A couple of things have changed on the menu. No waygu beef besides the mini burger from the chef. No art of chocolate which doesn't bother me since I don't eat chocolate anyway. I got the risotto, a Caesar salad, spiced rub ribeye with the Yukon gold mash (no more Wasabi) and the broccoli (only real disappointment, believe it or not the dining room broccoli tastes better) and the cheesecake. Mom got the same except the New York strip, baked potato and the chocolate sphere. After diner we dropped the rest of the wine in the room and headed to the casino. Pretty busy, only had one drink and found the casino host. Not a ton of events happening this week only 3 specifically for the Gateaway cruise. (Actually only 1 -editing Starstruck) I grabbed pizza and called it a night.

Hi yall and welcome to my first review in a long time. I thought it was important to do this one as I found little to no info about Casino Getaway cruises before mine. Since going on it, I can see why. I stepped off the ship early this morning and kept notes on my phone. I really though this review going to be all about the casino but as we all know, "ish" happens and the cruise went a whole different direction. Buckle up, we are in for some bumps! This cruise is our (my mom and I) First Casino cruise. Since I had almost zero info about how Premier cruises work. I found info on Elite cruises but we aren't that boogie and I may not want to admit if I give the casino that much money to qualify for one of those. This cruise was almost not booked. I waited until the offer was almost gone. I had to calculate if I had enough vacation time to cover it, having using most of it on our Dream cruise. I managed to have exactly enough for 3 days vacation and 2 normal off days which allowed me to go. So with zero info, I booked this cruise with the promise of priority boarding, chances to win Casino cash and prizes and goodies in the room. Since I live in New Orleans, 10 minutes from the port, my cruise journey started at 5 am when I woke up to my ankle in pain. I haven't had pain like this in a long time. I managed to find an ankle wrap in the dark and tried to go back to sleep but that didn't happen. I hobbed on my ankle to the shower and got ready around 730. Our bags were already in the car so we just needed to grab purses and head out. Our check in time was 10 am and A2 Boarding. We left the house at 915 and made it to the port by 935 with normal morning/Port of Nola traffic. One broken nail and $90 later (I hate this for us because they keep raising the parking rates at the port for NO reason. ) We parked on level 4 and rode the elevator down. I'm pretty sure this question will come up so I'll answer it now. Why didn't I park with one of the cheaper companies? To be 100% transparent, it's about security. I used to work for Port of New Orleans for Royal Caribbean and still know alot of the people who work at the port. I know how security works and how serious they take it and some of the outside lots just simply don't. You can't access the garage at the port unless you are on a cruise or work there. That isn't the case for several of the other outside companies. I have a story about Fulton Place garage too, but I'll save that for another time. We walked right into check in. No verifly or vaccine info needed anymore(still had it already done just in case) . Boarding pass was checked and passport scanned and then to sit down. No more secondary section in Port of Nola unless you needed to set up anything with guest service. I love that for us. Oh I missed the part through security that the agent made me take my boots off because she thought they set the metal detector off. Slight inconvenience and annoying as she took my shoes and handed it to the other officer to run it through the scanner...

This is a bummer. I was looking to book next New Year's cruise to San Juan specifically. Oh Well. I'll save some serious coins I guess.

It was never due to covid. Carnival reduced the bacon long before Covid started. The amount of bacon consumed and or wasted on the ship was extremely expensive for the bottom line so they at first made it where someone handed you bacon then made it every other day. But it's a mute point because you can get it in an omelet everyday or in the dining room every day. It's a really over blown thing TBH (on CC comments not by Carnival)

Yes you can bring prepackaged snacks. There are a few you can buy onboard from the gift shops but they are usually double or triple what you would normally pay at home. However there is no direct pharmacy onboard. The medical center has minimal medication but since it's through the cruiseline, you will pay significantly more than you would pay on land. I suggest bringing what you think you may need before going on board and only lean on the medical team in an emergency.

Thank you for updating! I had so much hope. I'm sorry all that happened to you and your family.

You should read the terms and conditions of your cruise contact. From any cruise line. Shoot, read Southwest or Detla's t&c. Amazon's too. You'll be surprised. Amazon's actually says they're not responsible once your package leave the warehouse and they do not have to replace your order if you don't receive it. No one's reads contracts these days. Just agree. You agree to alot you have no idea about.

TBH the $15 for 2 people was less than I expected. I budgeted for $10 each there and back. The ride also longer than it appears on a map because you can't go straight there. Mind you this was back in I think April.

It depends on the ship and the individual cruise.

Actually I can answer your Margaritaville question too because we did the exact same thing. We did take a taxi from the pier to Margaritaville, since my mom had mobility issues. The driver ended up taking a whole group of us rather than just me and my mom. It was actually harder getting a ride back because it was just us but the team over there was wonderful in helping. I want to say they charged less than $15 for the two of us but YMMV on that. So you'll have better luck getting there if you are willing to share a ride.

I live in New Orleans. I think I'll be okay when I visit Cozumel in 22 days.

So I worked checking at Port of New Orleans (but for RC) and it is port staff that can decide what is accepted but it still has to clear with "tsa" at the port i.e. one of their supervisors and hopefully that same sup is there when you get back. I of course I've in Louisiana and we have LAWallet which someone mentioned earlier with hold your ID on the app as well as Vax info and if you have a hunting or fishing license. I thought I had heard Cali had something similar but I can't find anything one it. So your best bet is two things. Of course go to the DMV in the morning but ask if they can provide you proof of your picture in the system. The second thing is to bring every single form of photo ID you can find to the cruise terminal to back you up. The student/college ID says to a certain age on Carnival.com but I have never seen anyone directly care about that. I never did and I still have and used my college ID from years ago as it's not dated. Worse case of course no cruise but the port staff is not there to make your vacation go away. They WANT to get you on the ship and I promise if you come with enough stuff to help them out, they will work their best to get you onboard. I forgot to mention along with terminal "tsa" and port staff sup , also the guest service manager onboard has to approve it too.

They won't hold you up. You simply don't need to tell anyone anything. They will count her as a no show. Port and taxes refunded. She can file insurance after the cruise leaves but it depends on what proof they ask for.

It was in April on the Dream but yes we spoke to someone who worked crew and they mentioned it too. Some ships take it more seriously than other. TBH probably would have just let him have his fun if it wasn't so much that we couldn't use our balconies we paid way too much money for.

I like this topic! My unrealistic ideal cruise would be to leave from NOLA. Key West Grand Cayman Aruba Curaco Half Moon Cay Barbados/Bermuda/Puerto Rico (never been to any of these) And 2 sea days at least but maybe more. So at least 8 days.

Cruised a month ago out of Moblie. No test asked for at all. You only need one if you are not vaccinated or are going somewhere that requires testing beforehand, like Canada or Bermuda.

I was actually witness to Carnival enforcement of the no smoking policy on our cruise from Galveston. I meant to make a post about it. Our next door neighbor was smoking weed on the balcony making it unusable for anyone who didn't want to smell it. Personally , I don't care about people smoking whatever they want to smoke. I'm the only one of my friends who does not because I grew up with my grandma smoking cigarettes in the house and hated the smell. Still do but it's someone's own personal choice. Anyway, so it was such a heavy amount of smoke and smell that none of the surrounding cabins could use their balconies. We ended up calling guest service as well as a few others. It stopped for a few hours and also we could hear is family arguing with him to stop doing it before and after security came. Then he did it again and security cane again. Wash rinse repeat 3 more times. So at the end of the cruise, we are in our room last minute packing and could hear commotion next door. The man received a letter from Carnival and his end of cruise bill that they give everyone and started screaming that he wasn't paying Carnival anything. He had been billed $500 for the smoking and could not leave the ship until it was paid. He family refused to help. He kept saying he didn't have anymore money. Security was at the door when we left our room.

The ships usually try to sail around the storms if possible. You can expect some itinerary changes and/or missed ports. If they decide before, you will receive an email from Carnival. Otherwise, they will inform on board. Even trying to go around a storm, you can't avoid the rough seas so be prepared. Been on two ships in storms and it's not fun but also not unbearable.

TBH, I may be in the minority here, but I have zero issues with not having the free options besides breakfast for room service. We have all seen the piles and piles of wasted food in the hallways. People are less likely to waste it if they paid outright for it. Also the cost of room service is hardly anything compared to the prices you pay for it at land-based hotels and resorts. I'm looked forward to what they add to the menu as well.