keels81

40 minutes ago, conandrob240 said:

They told us a bit over 50%. Nothing feels crowded. Our cruise was a bit different with entertainment because of NYE. I loved Never Sleep Alone and Duel Reality was great too. Ship musicians are excellent and the parties have been fantastic. I really don’t want this cruise to end! Best cruise I’ve ever had by a mile!

Are we on the same cruise? On my VIP tour today, we were told it was at "capacity" at 87 percent with guests and comp'd talent/guests and it definitely feels crowded everywhere. Dinner takes 2+ hours, regardless of restaurants, if you aren't right there at opening with an opening time reservation. Gunbae tonight took us 3.5 hours (we sat down at 6:15 and left a little after 9:45, missing most of the Scarlet Night fun). They've run out of dishes and glassware every night to the point where bar service slows to a halt so they can handwash glassware to serve people. Last night at The Wake, they were using servers from The Galley to help expedite plate delivery and it so much of a disaster. I've never seen so much piled up plates of food/used dishes before and I've cruised Carnival and Royal, with dinners in their MDR.

It's definitely not as fun if you aren't a Mega RockStar/RockStar. Also, guests are treating the staff like straight-up trash, so they're not enjoying this cruise.

On 12/5/2022 at 8:38 AM, _tacocat_ said:

valiant is reaaally bad right now - there were apparently swells on the atlantic side, so we took the long way around cuba.  it's STILL so bad that i can't even imagine what or original course would have felt like haha.  our room is on 12, and we've been wobbling for the past 2 days.

 

the bigger issue seems to be that some shows like duel reality have gotten cancelled, and excursions are being cancelled left and right. 

 

i'm skeptical about the excursion thing because they don't seem to be weather related.  almost everything was showing as sold out before we boarded.  some of the excursions disappeared on day 1 and a ton of new ones that hadn't been on the list were added.  then more got cancelled.

 

there are 2 ships when we're in st croix (i guess this is a rarity?) and apparently a bunch while we're in san juan, so i'm thinking that someone dropped the ball on actually securing the tour companies and now we're at the mercy of whatever is left.  if so, this is pretty annoying because VV initially sold themselves on either going to ports where no one else did or going to ports when they were not inundated with other ships, and their itineraries are like 95% in their control. 

I was on the Carnival Celebration at the same time (we saw y'all in San Juan!) and it was borderline miserable until we got back into the old Bahamas channel on our sea days back to Miami.

On the excursion thing, on the Celebration almost every excursion involving snorkeling in Amber Cove and San Juan was canceled the night we left Miami (Sunday), and many things involving the south side of St. Maarten were also canceled.

We had a private (non-cruise excursion) and we were only able to go to the north side of the island to snorkel and sightsee because the chop was so bad. Watching planes at Maho, we'd have to reset about every 3-4 minutes because the waves were so strong we'd be all the way back by the Sunset Beach Bar. 

Can't speak to St. Croix since we didn't port there, but you weren't alone in having excursions canceled in San Juan. Don't know if it was weather or short on staffing as they still recover from hurricane damage, etc., but I was also surprised at how many ships were in port that day.

3 hours ago, CajunOyster said:

Play a 3 point molly (pass/odds/come/odds/come/odds) and you can play half the night on $100 unless you get a really bad break.  Stay away from the center of the table.  Dealers will try to talk you into hard ways and horn bets.  Don't let them.  Remember, there's a reason they want you to play them.

This is the way.

He probably should pack a pair of pants for Elegant/Formal night, but a nice polo/button down with golf shorts and decent shoes on the Glory is pretty much par for the course down here. Either way, he won't likely get a side-eye or get refused service.

I was on a Cove Balcony on 5 on the Celebration and would gladly book an interior there again and again and twice on Sunday. It's easy to walk up to six, walk down to the gangway to get off in port and because you're low, it's easier to get an elevator to go all the way to the top.

I was in a premium interior on 5 on Mardi Gras, so that's why I'd definitely pick 5 for an interior cabin.

On the Celebration, Craps is $10. There is only one table and if it's a casino cruise (like the Ultra I was just on), you'll need to stake out a spot at your preferred table hours before the casino opens or else you'll be waiting in a line upwards of four hours (specifically for craps) to get a spot, especially if the table is hot.  After our first sea day, players were taping their S&S cards to spots at their desired tables and didn't get off the ship so they were guaranteed a seat.

Blackjack was $10 at 6:5 pay table and there is only one table that isn't a forced progressive/bit game.

I've only seen $5 craps on cruises out of Galveston this year (Breeze, Vista). It's been $10 on Mardi Gras, Valor, and obviously Celebration.

FWIW, I was booked on a canceled Jubilee sailing and the itinerary listings on the TA site had been restricted/removed since late October so I had a feeling that they knew a delay was coming and sailings were to be canceled, but they just hadn't decided when to start canceling.

I can see the Pride itinerary listings and this is what it shows ... so, I think you're probably still good.

2 hours ago, icft said:

As far as the Vista, I'm with the OP. That is the worst ship I have ever sailed with the worst casino I have ever been in. We sailed it once not long after it moved to Galveston and refuse to sail on another Vista class ship because of the cramped conditions noted by the OP. 

Also agree. The Vista stinks, especially if you're a casino person. Not having a casino bar sucks and makes the terrible layout of that ship even worse. 

Ha! Maybe that explains why nobody was at Center Stage early. 🤣

26 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

When my son was little,I bought him the cheap polyester tuxes on eBay. Now that he’s 16, we go up just a little, and he gets the fashion suits at Kohls. My hubby bought his tux for less than $50 at a fundraiser that had taken donations from a rental wear store. Nothing is great quality, but they sure do look handsome.

 

 

 

Nothing to offer for the original topic at hand, but thank you for sharing these photos! Your family is absolutely beautiful and it was a real treat to see y'all through the years!

52 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

this guy says he has a different color each day. I’m surprised it’s day 5 before I’ve seen him.

 

 

 

 

I was planning to only bring the Christmas one with me on Sunday, but now you've got me rethinking things ... 

It's a no-brainer for my husband and I. Though I hate the plastic waste, I hate the taste of ship water even more and can easily go through 10 bottles of water in a day. I also love a Gatorade first thing in the morning, a couple specialty coffees later in the afternoon or espresso after dinner. And now Carnival has added the Celsius line of canned beverages to their non-alcoholic listing, and I could get close to breaking even before even getting to the booze.

Back when I was drinking mostly beer, I'd still buy it but it would definitely question whether spending that much a day on 15 Miller Lites was worth it. But I drink almost exclusively vodka now and with the quality of the cocktail program on board, it's almost like I'm making money.

2 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Now that’s a jacket

 

 

I'm surprised you haven't seen more of them at Saints games! Two fellas in my section have gold ones they wear every game.

17 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

They have this area roped off right now.

 

now back here there are some occupied tables. But I don’t know if they’re just drinking coffee or what.

 

 

a handful of tables taken up here but at least two of them are Carnival employees.

 

 

Nothing there. 519.57 kB · 0 downloads
 

 

Nothing there.

 

Thanks, Greg!! I appreciate you taking the time to check it out!

On 11/30/2022 at 1:44 PM, agslc5 said:

Yeah Dex took care of us too. I am a table player so it is harder for me to acquire points. I ended the cruise with around 4000 points. If you are a slot player im sure you probably hit the 6500 threshold. If you dont want to use a junket like URcomped just call the casino phone number for virgin and have them look you up in their system. I'm sure they have your play in the system. 

Yup. Call the casino line at VV and see what they can do for you. I was hoping for an offer for my NYE sailing on the Valiant Lady but since I'd sailed earlier this year on the Scarlet Lady, I wasn't eligible for one from URComped. I was able to be connected to the casino department and after looking up my player history (all craps, if that matters) and sending them the best offer I have from other lines they were able to hook me up.

Not the easiest way and it does seem like they'd prefer you to go through URComped, but it's a work-around until they get their official players club up and rolling.

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

As far as Amber Cove goes, my plan is to stay on the ship and call it a sea day... My past couple of visits to the Dominican Republic haven't been so fruitful, and it'll give me some more time to explore the new ship...

See you on board!

I have an excursion booked for Amber Cove but I may end up canceling it. It's the same one I did on the Mardi Gras back in July and I promised myself I'd make sure to get a little more "me time" in on this sailing than I typically do on trips with the girls.

I know you've been doing comedy and other shows most nights, but have you noticed if the Center Stage area is getting crowded super early for those shows? Some vlogger said that people were staking out spots like five hours in advance and ... well, I just find that hard to believe but I want to be prepared.

Good grief. It's like a game of telephone, or CruiseCritic as it were:

"Fellow passenger Whitney Gaines told the Daily Mail that she heard the man’s family talking about him during breakfast the morning after he disappeared.

They talked about how “he kept getting in trouble for vaping in non-designated smoke areas because there’s only one area where you can really go smoke,” Gaines told the outlet.

“I think they were kind of alluding to the fact that he stepped out to go somewhere,” she said, adding that his family believed he had been drunk before he vanished.

Gaines also told the Daily Mail that the man’s sister said she had been with him at a bar.

“She said, ‘He was with me, and then he wasn’t,’” the passenger recounted hearing the woman say.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. As your mom was an avid cruiser, I'm SURE she had some traditions or must-do's ... maybe narrow it down to the top 7 and put them in envelopes. Each day over coffee or breakfast (or a mimosa!), however she would start her day -- y'all open one envelope at random and make her favorite tradition a NEW tradition for the two of you?

5 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

It's a different comparison once the second ship in the new class comes out.  When the MG debuted, Carnival pulled the best from various ships in the fleet and they were then trained on the nuisances of the ship and it was a baptism by fire for all of the crew.  With the Celebration, many can shift over from the MG, but there will also be many that are not familiar with the layout since the Excel Class is so different from the rest of the fleet.  So, it's another baptism for some, but just a shift for others. 

Exactly. 

Many of the crew on the Mardi Gras now have been told their next contracts will likely be on the Jubilee as many of the opening crew of the Mardi (on the Celebration now) have been promised non-Excel, higher-level contracts after their inaugural Celebration contract. 

5 minutes ago, ctlyf said:

That's so interesting... in 2018, we sailed on a different cruise line on their newest and largest ship... not the inaugural sailing but a few months after. In chatting with our servers in the MDR and our cabin steward, we understand that line pulled their best employees from other ships to put them on their newest ships inaugural season. Strange that Carnival would have any inexperienced crew on such an important voyage. 

From my crew friends on board, they tried to get as many that were familiar with the layout of the Mardi Gras as they could because it was so different and they needed at least leads in every area that had experience with an Excel-class ship. But as so it goes with other jobs/industries, lots of the inaugural season of Mardi crew in those positions moved on to other ships via promotion to higher/senior positions.

The current Mardi crew is only the second contract cycle for the whole ship.

21 minutes ago, SunnyBeaches72 said:

This was supposed to be the best Carnival offered and if that’s the case then yes I won’t do Carnival again. That said, I hear Mardi Gras is much better. Apologies if I’m being aggressive here. I’m just really that angry. 

You're entirely justified in your feelings! That would upset me as well, and also be off-putting for a first-timer when I'd heard such great things.

Mardi has been sailing for quite some time now with seasoned crew, whereas most of the Celebration crew just came on contract for the TA and these sailings ... I know they were pulling as many Excel-class vets as they could get from the Mardi since they knew the ship layout for crew (which is WILDLY different than other ships, even Vista Class) but even then, there are many new kids on the block. And with a little time, I have faith it will be at the quality that people saying about the Mardi currently. If you were frustrated with them, I can only imagine how frustrated they must be with themselves because the one thing I can say about almost all cruise staff is they truly have a servant's heart and want to provide the best they can for guests. We all have bad days at our job.

I sail next Sunday and am completely happy to accept slower service because this trip is to experience a brand-new ship and see some of my favorite crew from my three Mardi sailings that have made the move to Celebration.

11 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

Already updated! It’s crazy to me that Carnival updates past sailings in one day but it takes my Marriott Bonvoy app like 3-4. 
 

 

okay. So by my math, I have MG NYE to get to 181, a 12 night Pride in May to 193, and an 8 night Dream in July to 201 and the magic number. That said, I’m not ruling out finding a 7 over spring break in March if something pops open, but that’ll be a later post holidays call

The gals and I are looking for a 7 day in March as well (they live in Fort Worth, so really close to you) ... keep us updated if you pick something and maybe we'll join! We need another 7 somewhere to put 2 into Gold because she's going to be really butt-hurt on the Jubilee when I'm Platinum, 1 is Gold and she is still Red. 🤣

2 hours ago, rcandv said:

There are river pilots that board the vessels in the river going both ways.  Usually, a pilot gets on in New Orleans and then switch out at Pilot Town which is further down the river until they get in the pass.  

Thanks! I imagined so since most ships need a river pilot, but wasn't sure how long they guided the ships out. I was on the Valor in January and that was the only time I stayed up late enough to watch us (inbound) pass the Glory (outbound) but never remembered a stop or seeing the switch out.

I'm now more convinced than ever it had something to do/occurred around the pilot leaving the ship. *puts on tinfoil hat*

44 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

If I can vent for a minute I have a real problem with a “49er fan” who doesn’t even know that the Saints were in the same division as the 49ers. We struggled for years. We had 9 and 10 win teams that didn’t even make the playoffs and 12 win teams that were wild cards all because the 49ers were so good with Montana and young. When we won the division in 1991 it felt like a superbowl to me. That division championship t-shirt was so important to me. And some arseclown who doesn’t even know we were division rivals thinks he deserves to sit next to me and ridicule me. Forget him. When he’s sitting on his sofa watching the next home game I’ll be here.

 

 

Maybe you can coach to turn this sinking ship around