pcrum

No salt on the rim?

Just curious why two different kinds of orange liquors?

Does anyone know if the Prima has Howl at the Moon? It is one of our favorite things about NCL.

I had no idea that such a small, portable air pump existed. That is ingenious!

Also make sure to bring any feminine items you might need. On our last cruise, we came across a woman in the MSC private island gift shop looking for tampons. They didn't carry them. She indicated that the ship giftshop on the ship (Divina) also did not have them. As others have indicated, any OTC meds are also important. The selection in the gift shops on the ship are very sparse and expensive. Not every port has a CVS within easy access.

I love the magnetic hooks for hanging hats, beach bags, lanyards, etc. Keeps things organized.

We parked at the POM from 12/27-12/31/22 and paid $22/day. You pay as you exit the garage. I did not see anything set up for people who might have pre-paid in advance. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but we did not see anything related to pre-payments.

I turned 60 this year and my new mantra is "Life is too short to drink cheap champagne!" FAS + is the way to go! 😀

We sailed 12/27/22-12/31/22. We booked with the gratuities, wifi, and premium beverage package included. We were also given $100/person onboard credit. We did a concierge balcony as it was my 60th birthday cruise. We were invited to the helipad to watch the sail-away from Miami since we were concierge class. We felt it was great value with the all included price (I don't see that the premium beverage package is included on new sailings--we booked in April, 2022). If you go to the Celebrity boards, you will see that starting on Jan. 1, they made some cutbacks. Apparently the room is only serviced once a day now and some menu items have changed (we had prime rib in the MDR for the first night and that does not seem to be on the menu after Jan. 1). I would still sail Celebrity again and have been looking for another cruise on either Summit or Constellation. That solarium was just pure relaxation.

Not sure which Celebrity ship you are looking at, but we just tried Celebrity for the first time in December. We did the Summit out of Miami for 4 nights. I believe the Summit also goes to Alaska. I would not hesitate to sail that ship again, even though it is one of the older ones. It has been completely redone and we loved everything about it. The solarium is free and has a huge whirlpool. This is comparable to the whirlpool in the thermal area on NCL that you pay extra for. I'd sail Summit again just for that Solarium area, which would be great on an Alaskan cruise, because it is enclosed. I believe all Millennium class ships have this area.

I can book a 3-night cruise today for Sept. 14, 2023 with the drink package included.

Thank you. What was the price?

Hi: We will be on the Seaside in Sept. I am reading @APDMOM's excellent review from 2019. Does Seaside still use the wristbands? Our only prior experience with MSC is a short 3-night Divina cruise last year and no one mentioned wristbands, but I know that Divina is an older ship. Thank you.

Thank you!

Hi: We have booked a 10-night cruise in Sept. on the Seaside with the Easy Plus Drinks Package included. On our last MSC cruise (3-night), we upgraded to the Premium Package on board. The price for the upgrade if I do it now is $200/person; seems a no-brainer to upgrade for $20/day per person. Does anyone know if it's cheaper if I wait to upgrade while onboard? For our 3-night cruise, they did not offer upgrades ahead of the sailing so we had no choice but to do the upgrade onboard. Thank you.

Thank you.

Do you know the brand of champagne they served? Was it brut (i.e., not sweet)? Thank you.

We did a 3 night cruise on MSC in September. We had no problem upgrading our drinks package once onboard. We also booked with the drinks, Wi-Fi included. We could book specialty dining once onboard. We had no idea what to expect and just thought, “ it’s for 3 nights—how bad could it be?” Ended up loving it and booked a longer, 10 night cruise while onboard. We did the Fantastica package. The food was amazing. We did a dinner at the steakhouse and the seafood tower rivaled the best steakhouse on land. I think MSC has the best pizza at sea. The drinks package works on the private island too. Staff were outstanding, we had no complaints. Did the status match prior to sailing. Platinum on Carnival got us gold on MSC. I have not been on Carnival since 2013 and have no plans to return. We love MSC. Also like Celebrity and NCL.

I just hope they don’t do away with Howl at the Moon. We did a TA on Epic in 2019 and loved Howl at the Moon. The Beatles cover band was also good. I would hate to see them go.

Enjoyed the review. One question: what is the appeal of the Big Chicken? The egg didn’t look like an egg at all. Does it taste like a Chick Fil A chicken biscuit? I’m surprised to see so many rave over fast food chicken. On the other hand, all varieties of the loaded fries looked delicious! Welcome home and enjoy the holidays!

And this is why we have not sailed Carnival in a while. I always felt like they skimped on the food. Ugg, just when I was thinking maybe to give them another go…

Are you in Terminal C. That’s our new terminal. My daughter just flew out of it and loved it. They have Wine Bar George and Chef Art’s Homecoming from Disney Springs.

Looks delicious!! Hard to see the mushrooms for the cheese!

Thanks for a great review. We have not sailed Carnival since 2013 and I really thought it was not for us anymore, after trying NCL and MSC. Your review is the first one that has really made me think that we might want to try one of the newer Carnival ships. That Havana coffee and bar area looks really cool. Now, if Carnival would just go all inclusive with the drinks package included in the fare… Thanks also for your work as a teacher. I gave middle school teaching a go, but did not last! I now do HR at a university, lol. Teachers and nurses are the true heroes of our society! Enjoy the NYE cruise. We are on Celebrity Summit out of Miami (a new line for us), returning NYE. Someday we will do NYE at sea. It’s my birthday, so a double celebration.