staceyglow

My general rule of thumb when dressing for the MDR is. "Would I wear this to a land-based full service restaurant?" I wish everyone else did the same, but that's not my call. 🙂

And that's why they aren't finding much.

If you are talking about the emergency briefing over the intercom (the one with the loud horn blasts), everyone's drink service is suspended during that time.

I believe they do have assistants (or an assistant) that don't get the face time that the main steward does. There have been times in the recent past where I have gone to my room while it was being cleaned, and there was someone with my cabin steward helping them.

I get it. But sometimes there is a difference between what the rules are and what actually happens. And this person was actually checked in at their muster station, so the second part of your comment isn't relevant to their experience.

They might be able to tell you are platinum when they scan you and know that you have seen the life jacket demo many times before.

Not necessarily. It depends on a number of things, including the number of diamonds and plats onboard. Sometimes they have to have 2 parties. We are early diners (checking into YTD as early as they let us) and I don't ever recall our 5:30 dining time conflicting with our Diamond/Platinum party.

Take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. There are posters who like to exaggerate and use hyperbole. I have over 150 days on Carnival and haven't seen any of the extreme situations people have posted about.

Wrong! Adults can bring both soda and wine. It's not an either/or. Per Carnival's website: On embarkation day, a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk), packaged in cans or cartons, may be brought on board and must be in the guest's carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12-ounces/354-ml each or less, per person. Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board with the following exception - at the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750-ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne, per person, in their carry-on luggage.* Outside this exception, all liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided. Guests sailing with us on back-to-back cruises are entitled to bring the same quantity as stated in this policy, per cruise. The additional quantities will be stored for safekeeping at the start of the first cruise and will be given to the guest as each following cruise begins. * Port, Vermouth, Sherry and other fortified wines cannot be brought on board. It says nothing about having to choose between soda or wine.

Heads up - if I am not mistaken, nothing that comes out of a soft serve meets the official definition of ice cream. Not at McDonald's, not at Dairy Queen, not even at Culver's (that's frozen custard, which I think is even better than ice cream).

TBH, when you are on a ship with thousands of other people, I don't think it is particularly reasonable to expect a quiet public room all to yourself, especially on a cruiseline that aggressively markets itself as "The Fun Ships". Besides the places I mentioned in an earlier post, the bar area in Serenity and the outside part of Ocean Plaza on the Vista class ships can be reasonably peaceful, especially in the mornings. If the sound bothers you, perhaps you should consider bringing noise-cancelling headphones on your trip.

I find the promenade deck away from the atriums reasonably quiet. Most of the bars on the level (piano bar, night club, Alchemy) aren't serving but are open and have tables, chairs, and sometimes even couches.

Like your cabin? 😃

That is great news! We have a transpacific booked next year, and we will be looking for things to do during the many sea days.

Well, there's your quiet space right there. The piano bar is also quiet during the day.

I have never participated in a slot pull,, but I do have one request for those who do: please be mindful of the other players, especially when choosing the machine you use. I have been on cruises where the participants have blocked many other machines, making them unplayable for others. One large group chose the machine closest to the casino cage, and the crowd around it made it almost impossible to get to the cashier, much less form an orderly line.

Are you asking if you can open your gifts in the restaurant? Because that definitely would not be cool. You would be taking up a table for a long time on a day that is sure to be very busy.

Maybe they didn't think it was such a good deal for them anymore, and that's why they discontinued the program.

Have you considered using a travel agent? Normally I am a PVP person, but not only can a travel agent give all that information to you, I think they can handle all the paperwork, payments, etc., so that you don't have to. It's my understanding that you would arrange the group tour with the travel agent and they handle everything else with the individual people.

They got the use of your $100 until you asked for it back. It's the same reason banks don't charge most people for checking accounts.

My guess is that there will be an elegant night on a port day. My first cruise was a long one that only had 1 sea day, which was the last day before debarkation. Our elegant nights were both on port days.

And juice.

Did you report that to Carnival? I certainly would have.

You aren't stupid, just unlucky in this particular instance. 🙃

You know what puts me in a foul mood? Smelling pot smoke on my cruise.🙂 I find it curious that you have been pulled on multiple occasions. If you don't mind me asking, is there a chance that you or your luggage could have been exposed to cannabis in a way that the dogs might have smelled it?