Tom-n-Cheryl

Last night was rocky - woke up a couple of times through the night having to deal with banging closet doors and such. It wouldn't have been as much fun if my alarm had not been set for 5:45 this morning!

Yep - here she was as we were leaving port this afternoon. The sun came out (for the most part) during the last hour or so we were in port. Too little, too late 🙂 Tom

Here she is in Nassau this afternoon (looks like the Conquest behind her). Tom

On the Celebration in October, and all prior sailings since we've been booking with On Us Everywhere promos, they were using the word Everywhere instead of Premium. From my perspective though - it just works like it has in the past. If I think about it this evening, I might ask the host. Tom

We're on the Liberty now, and I just noticed that our drink charges on our account are notated as "On Us Premium". I'm not sure if that represents some change to their system (either in function of the program, or just name). It appears that this change occurred prior to us boarding the ship on Friday (image of some type of transaction): Anyone have experience with this? Tom

Update - now it's going to be 8-4 in Nassau today. I can see a patch of blue sky heading our way, not sure if that will be short lived or not. 🙂 Tom

Well, I'll have things to say about that (probably another thread). Some more territory has been ceded on the customer experience front. I never planned on getting off the ship anyway so it's just three day getaway.

Ship wide announcement just now - they've cancelled Bimini for tomorrow, and instead will call on Nassau (10-7). Sunday (Nassau): Windy with showers and thunderstorms likely. High 78F. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Tom

It's definitely dreary, windy, and rainy - but the seas are, thus far, not nearly as rough as I had expected. If it's anything like this, and we are able to dock in Bimini tomorrow, I can't imagine it being a good beach day. Fortunately, we gave Bimini try earlier this year (after stopping there 1-2 times before and opting to stay onboard), and can honestly say that we were planning to stay onboard anyway this trip. Tom

We went in circles the entire day waiting for the channel into the Port of Tampa to open up. We didn't pull up to the pier until nearly midnight. At that point what do you think Carnival decided to do? Do you think that they allowed us to stay on board and leave the next morning after a long day? Nope. Here you go. Get off the ship! This was before they really became aware of negative publicity and started offering people some kind of compensation.

Hopefully it won't top our trip back into Tampa on the Miracle many years ago (coming in on the tails of Cat 4 Hurricane Dennis in 2005). We dodged Hurricane Cindy leaving port and then got a lashing from Dennis on the way back home... ugh ! This poor guy sat hunkered down right where you see him for over a day. Any port in a storm !! Tom

I will say - the forecast conditions have improved ! ! ! Winds (same), but the seas are now going to be 11-17 feet rather than 12-17. So, there's that... Tom

It was not available when we booked (rather late). I ended up with a GS. Often, on the Liberty - we'd opt for an aft corner (deck 6) for the balcony. I'm actually happy to be mid-ship for this sailing as opposed to the aft. 🙂 Tom

Well - my dinners in the steakhouse would be much more enjoyable that way... and I'd lose a LOT less in the casino !! The Mardi Gras will be coming in the next morning (same terminal). Tom

Who needs something like BOLT (at an extra cost) - just jump on the Carnival Liberty with us tomorrow... LOL Tom

Business practices have changed as well (or, COVID is used as an excuse). We're purchasing lighting for a new home - from the same place we did business with 5 years ago. After picking out several nice pieces and placing the order - I asked "how much down"? I was told, "it's no longer half down, it's pay in full". I asked "why the change"? The answer, "it's been that way since COVID". uh huh... thanks Tom

Question - since I saw the comment about dining reservations - our Rotterdam cruise next year is a splurge for us (Pinnacle suite - 40th anniversary). Will there be a concierge available to make reservations for us, and would they need to be done on day 1 as well? My experience on Celebrity (Royal or Penthouse suites) was that you could get in most anywhere "same day", at pretty much whatever time was desired. Tom

Perhaps I was just not sufficiently observant - but years ago (decade+ ?) they didn't offer Eggs Benedict at the buffet. So, from my perspective at least, I'm pleased that that was added. Having said that - PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY EGGS BENEDICT AWAY (hearing Paul Simon in my head now)... Tom

Cheryl has spoiled me (makes a great Reuben). I don't bother with that thing Carnival offers up.

That's like booking on a Carnival Fantasy class ship (really, I don't know - never been on the Voyager). But with Royal, I can say I'd never consider a sailing on any pre-Oasis class ship. Tom

Agreed. I'm pretty comfortable with that now. I wish I had felt (fully) this way back when CCL was dropping below $10 !! At least I'm out of the red now - and CCL is slowing crawling out of their deep hole. Tom

I said the same thing on the Pride 21 years ago about the Supper Club (when it was $25 per person). Boy, was I wrong about that - so many years ago. Having said that, I'm pretty sure I'll never pay $150 for a chef's table dinner in Carnival. . . And, having said that (!), we'll often hit that pp figure in the Steakhouse when the wine/champagne is figured in - especially now with the changes to the half price bottle program. Frankly, a smart move by Carnival. Tom

That's what the past fans of Celebrity told me (and anyone who would listen) when we "discovered" the line. I thought it was great. Of course, from my perspective, it's not like it was 15 years ago - and it's changing quickly... Sky Suites no longer have a butler, etc... Tom

Well, if it's just the savings (from limiting what omelette you can have) that added a few grand to my CCL stock today, I'm for more of this... LOL Tom

Perhaps that sailing was an Eastern itinerary... yep, must be it.