kilmer17

Sorry in advance for the rambling splattercast review.

Sailed 10/18-10/21.

FTTF was a breeze.  Parked at 1145, on the lido deck by 1210.  Luggage didnt arrive until almost 3 though.

Had a cabin on lido deck way too close to the atrium.  Very loud until the lobby stopped music.  Ive had lido cabins before, just closer to the front.  Will keep this in mind next time and stay closer to the front.

Cabin steward was pleasant, ony saw him twice, but never needed anything on a 3 night.  Comp water not delivered until turn down first night.  Again no big deal.

Had Cheers.  Maxed out first and final night.  Really just ordered the last two each night just to say I "finished".  

Steakhouse first night.  Fantastic.  My wife didnt like the smoked oysters, but everything else was great.  Had the dessert art, it was really neat, but now that's done it, I'll stick to cheesecake next time.  It was empty.  IE, less than 1/3 of the tables were sat.

Walked around Nassau for a couple of hours.  Needed sandals and some cheap souvenirs.  Lunch at Athena never disappoints.

Entertainment- Top notch.  First time Ive seen Flick and it was really good.  America Rocks was better this time than the last.  Saw the comedians.  (Azeem twice, Michael Mace once) and both were great.  Piano Bar with Tony was fun as always.  Had multiple drinks at Alchemy.  

Took some money at the craps table which was a surprise.

Negatives (not really, just the least favorite)- Lido deck service was slow except sea day.  Sea Day brunch was slow for no reason.  It was half empty.  Food at MDR was not as good as Ive had in the past.  It wasnt bad, just not great.

Lido deck party for Halloween was great.  Donkey is a good CD.  This was our 2nd cruise with him.  His 80s sing along in the lobby is probably my favorite thing every cruise.

Overall it was a great quick and inexpensive getaway.  Definitely the least crowded Ive ever seen a ship.  I would be surprised if it was 80 percent full.  Never an issue finding a deck chair, and we didnt get to the lido until noon on seaday.  Voila!  two seats on first level up from the main deck.

Happy to answer ?s

Thank you for the review. Do you know what movies were played onboard?

I dont. I'll ask my kids and see if they can recall.

We were on Liberty Nov 19-23.

Family of 5, two balcony cabins on 8.

I'll start with the 2 negative issues, and they were minor.

FIrst, our balconies could not open up to connect without covering a door. But with an inside connection, it was fine. I missed the bigger balcony, but not that much.

Second. The Lido entertainment was ALWAYS the same underwater video and a single guy playing steel drum. Yawn. Didnt stop us from spending HOURS on the Lido. But would have liked to see some other options. The 3 piece violin act was outstanding in the lobby.

Ports- Stayed on the ship in Freeport because snorkel was cancelled with wind. Been there plenty, didnt miss anything.

Went to public beach in Nassau. It was great. Cheap chairs and umbrella and a water trike for the kids. Fantastic music and games for kids, plus great jerk chicken and cocktails. Beers were a bit pricey IMO.

Walked quickly down the side street to a few places we knew to go and got back on the ship around 3.

Now the nitty gritty.

The food was crazy good. This was our 7th Carnival cruise and had been of the opinion that the food in MDR was going downhill every year. Maybe ship specific, but this rocked! Scallops, crab ravioli, rabbit, pork, steak, soups, even the salads seemed to have some pzazz. Wait staff was fast, friendly, never waited long for a drink or extra item. Went to the steakhouse first night and no surprise that was the best meal of the trip. Bought 3 bottles of Caymus, had one that night, then one at MDR two other nights.

Guys burgers were scrumptious, Mongolian Wok was great. Never a long line for Omelettes in the AM. Had a lobster BLT from Seafood Shack. It was good, but not worth the price. Pizza was excellent.

No problems getting service on the lido deck (Shout out to Ron). Never had an issue finding plenty of chairs.

CD Donkey was very good. Not "Good Reverend Dr E" good, but solid CD.

Went to Hasbro, fun, but wish it was longer. Love and Marriage. Same schtick every time, still funny as hell. Was incredibly impressed with America Rocks. Live rock band with the staff singers etc. Very well done. Did motown and 80s sing along trivia in the atrium. Tons of fun.

Comedian was funny for all ages show, didnt see an adult one.

Took some money from the Craps table.

Oldest kid did Club o2. Met some folks, said it was fun.

Other kids didnt go to clubs.

Highlight of the trip- Drazen, Boianna and Titus at Alchemy. This was my 4th time on a ship with Alchemy, and they were the best of them all.

We had Cheers and hit 15 second and final night. It was time for bed anyway.

Arrival at Port Can. is a pain. bad traffic pattern and system for where Liberty docks. Much harder than Magic.

Had a suitcase go missing when we returned. Filed a claim with Carnival and our Ins co, but the next day the Ramada in Cocoa called as it had ended up on their shuttle. All good.

I would ask one of the beards why they leave the entire back of the ship on deck 10 empty. There is enough room for a huge sports complex and ropes course, or a waterworks. Just seems like wasted space.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you !!!!!

Did you keep fun times or menus?

Anyone have them they can share?

Funtimes?

MDR menus?

Steakhouse menu and wine list?

Any help is appreciated.

I bought 2 for 285 after doing the JW tasting on my cruise last summer. But then found it in a store in St. Thomas for 125.00/ bottle. I took a picture (after asking and buying some cigars etc) and the ship store credited me the difference.

Would love a picture of the steakhouse winelist and menu and topshelf whisky's if they have a list.

Thanks!

Any chance you have menu pics? Im especially looking for the Steakhouse with their wine list.

Just off the Victory with a party of 10. Never had a wait to be seated together. 3 nights at a big round table. One night at a long table.

We walked towards the taxi area and were going to cab it to Paradise, but found a guy with a tour company that could fit us all. Same price as it would have been for multiple cabs each way, but guarenteed.

We had the lobster roll and crab cakes. Both were excellent. Wanted to go back for dinner one night, but got sidetracked (Alchemy bar)

We were on the Victory last week.

Here's the high and low lights.

We had 3 cabins, 10 people.

My wife was notified 2 days before to show up two hours late. (assigned to 1030 check in) neither other cabin was notified.

Ended up boarding around 2 oclock. Not very well organized, I actually think we ended up boarding with the Platinum group, but the announcements werent very specific and nobody was checking paperwork, so we just went with the flow of people.

Had to fix my wife's Cheers package (I had two on my acct somehow). But that only took about 10 minutes at Guest Services. Rooms were ready around 3. We left port around 630-7.

It was our second time on the Victory.

The Good-

Marcelo was a great CD. His Fun Team was as well.

Got superb service on the Lido deck everyday.

Plenty of things to do. (although we thought one of the comedians R rated show was pretty bad)

Alchemy Bar is great

No wait for MDR even a party of 10

Shows were fun if a little cheesy.

The Seafood Shack is yummy and worth it.

Never had a problem getting 4 deck chairs together.

We brought our own golf balls, so never had an issue with them running out.

The Bad-

Omelette line. Just need to figure out how to separate it.

Line to board ship and lunch lines on Key West day. Should have figured, everyone back on board at 12-1.

Food in the MDR. Not bad, but not as good as the last few Carnival cruises. I dont understand why they dont put a Steakhouse or Cucina where the Ionian Bar is on deck 4. It's always empty.

Other observations.

The Sports Bar for the Thanksgiving day football was jammed, and people got a bit testy because the sheer volume of people made it diffcult to see some of the TVs.

I did use the casino "trick" to access cash from my S&S that I had loaded with gift cards. The casino employee told me that they only allow that once. Not sure how they could keep track of that or verify it, but thought I would pass along.

All 4 adults bought Cheers and all 4 of us made it to 15 on the last day (Sea Day). But it was almost 1 am, and we had our first bloody mary around 930. So it was an effort to get there.

Went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. Great value. We paid 30 dollars per person for transportation and access. Our bar/food tab was about 100 for the day.

We had 1 cabin on 8 and 2 on 9 (balconies). None of them had been updated.

Happy to answer any questions.

We leave Monday on Victory. Heading to KW and Cozumel. Im guessing KW will be fine, but the trip to Cozumel might get a bit rough. I wont be bothered much if they reroute to Nassau or somewhere else east.

Thank you!!!!!

Anyone have them?

Or does anyone know what movies are playing?

Last cruise I took a Yeti and a Tervis. I used the Yeti day one, but it got super hot in the sun. So I used the Tervis the rest of the week.

The Steakhouse on Magic had a few different bottles of Hennessy. Some over 50 and a few under 50. They also had some single malt scotch around the 50 dollar mark (The Macallan and a few glens) and a few other cognacs that I didnt know. And some decent reds by the glass around 20-25 dollars.

Never a crowd at the bar.

It's in a thread here somewhere.

FYI though, they have a bunch of other high end bottles that are not on the menu. Ask your server.

We were on this cruise just last week. First formal night was the first sea day (Sunday). Second was the night of San Juan (Wednesday).

 

Hope you have a great time! We sure did!!!

It was this way in July as well

There are some choices of high end scotch, cognac and whisky at the Steakhouse.

A couple of them were MORE than 50 a glass.

FYI, you dont have to be eating at the steakhouse to go to the bar and order drinks.

We were offered extra bottles to purchase at 50% on our last cruise. Better wine too.

You can get as many sides as you'd like. Additionally, kids ordering off the kids menu can also get adult sides at no upcharge.

We were on Magic in July and went to the Steakhouse every night multiple times for high end drinks and wines by the glass. Bar was never crowded.

Good to know there are available pool deck chairs- but I have another related question. Are there shady areas to lounge at the pool? Looking at photos of the Lido deck on Magic, I don't see any obvious areas. Help please?

Plenty of room under the roofline from the next deck up. Mostly sit down tables though. There is also 2 covered wading areas (for lack of a better term) that have built in seats (8-10) next to the pool.

And then there is the area right outside of the doors from the atrium. Probably 20-30 deck chairs that are always in the complete shade, but also with the door opening and closing all day. IE- Air Conditioning blowing out.

I never hung out by the aft pool, so I cant really answer about that pool area.

Thanks for the review.

Do you know (remember) which night they did the second elegant night? We're doing the same cruise next year and was wondering :)

It was Wed night. So monday and wednesday.