ranger10!

Plus I don't think the Cheers program covers Alchemy bar drinks.

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We always do YTD. Never have had much of a problem. But did notice that the larger ships have a longer service time. And we did have to wait on formal night. We would get to the dinning room by 6pm and the wait wasn't bad at all. Always have the same wait staff. Even when our group was 10 people. We like the flexibility if needed due to shore excursions and such.

We board the Liberty this Sunday, Jan. 24th. Can't wait. Take care of her for us! :)

We too are waiting for it to change. The last couple of years it has been the same. Hoping for a new one soon!

We prefer Carnival. On Norwegian there are just too many specialty dinning that you have to pay for. The dinning was really slow in the MDR and the food wasn't all that good. There wasn't many public places to sit due to so much room being taken up with the specialty dinning. We never met our room steward and our room was made up only 3 times during our cruise. This is our opinion and experience on Norwegian. Haven't ever had a bad experience on Carnival so we will stay with them.

In January we were on the Glory. Liked the tables without the cloth. We didn't have any condensation problem. They did keep the dinning room cold so that was probably the reason. I agree that the menu is rather large. It does need to fold or something. We liked the way they were decorated. No complaints!

On our last cruise in January there wasn't any wings in the MDR. We don't eat on the buffet so can't answer that one.

We always cruise during the winter months and we always go snorkeling. The water is fine. Never have we encountered cold water. Getting out of the water is very pleasant also. We don't get cold once out of the water. Save the $ and go in the winter. The temps. are perfect!

On the Glory end of January. We liked the new menu. Keep an open mind. It is different. Look it over carefully. If I remember right it did say if there was a side with it or not. For instance it does say chicken served on a bed of rice, etc. You just have to take your time and read the menu. We did not like the size of it. It is just to hard to hold onto. It is big. We didn't think it was confusing to read. Again take your time read it and figure it out. Enjoy the experience! The Warm Chocolate melting cake is offered every night. It did change it's name to Carnival Melting Cake. Still the same awesome stuff! I thought the tables looked nice without the table clothes. Didn't have to worry about getting them caught in my lap and such.

Just remember to keep an open mind. Don't let the comments on here dictate your experience. Everyone's taste are different.

Enjoy!

We've had that happen to us. They cancelled our sailing switched us to a different ship on with same ports we did last year. Wasn't happy so I called them and they switched us to a different ship again and new ports added a day from a 7 day cruise to an 8 day and didn't charge any extra. Luckily we did not have our flight booked yet!

1st elegant night on the Glory.

It is on the new menu as a side. They have added bacon to it. It's pretty good.

We didn't think the menu was confusing at all. The food was great, selection great along with flavor. What we didn't like was the size. It is a big menu. Not small at all. Rather awkward to hold. That is the only negative we had about it. If there wasn't anything you like you could order anything from the grill, Hamburger, chicken sand., ect. Each night the offerings were large so if there wasn't anything you could find that you didn't like then you are just too picky. Many people just don't like change. We do, it breaks up things up. Love the cold soups, but can live without them. The warm melting cake is still offered. So all is good! ;) Go with the attitude that it is different and expect changes. We liked it!

We sailed the Glory Jan 26. We loved the new menu. Our wait staff was excellent. The food was served fast and hot. About 1 1/2 eating time. We have cruised before with a group of 10 and it did take us longer. More people more time, it just takes more work. We had great steaks, chicken, aps. The whole thing was great. The one thing we didn't like was the size of the menu. It is huge and hard to hold onto. That is the only complaint we had. They do hang the menu outside the dinning room each day. We would check it in the afternoon. Couldn't wait to try the selections on that nights menu. So you can find out what is being served each day to decide if you want to go to the buffet or not. Personally we don't eat at the buffet. We go on cruises to be pampered and waited on. Not our idea of a fun time standing in line at the buffet. Not to mention the germs! Yuck!! I have witnessed too many children not being watched and using fingers or eating off of serving spoons. Anyway give the new menu a try. Expect it to be different and go from there. Make your own decisions don't go by what you read on here. If you don't find anything you like on the menu they will bring you something from the grill, hamburger, chicken sand. etc. All you have to do is ask. The worst they could say is No.

Sorry to hear others have had a bad experience. Ours was great. So like I said. Give it a try and form your own opinion.

Just off the Glory a week ago. They have the new menu. We really liked it. We had three wait staff for our table. Each team had 6 tables. Our service was really good. Food came out fast and it was hot. No complaints. The entertainment at night was great! The comedians funny, the shows very well done. We didn't have to pay for entertainment. Not all ships will have the rock concerts that you pay for. We are sailing on the Dream next Feb. It does not have a concert on board. So all entertainment will still be at no cost. Not sure were the paying for entertainment comment is coming from?! If we are on a ship that has a band that we would like to see we will pay the little bit of money $10 - 20 to go. Cheaper than going to a concert at home! Live bands are not a deal breaker for us. Don't care! Just sitting on the ship is more important than a live band or a DJ. Doesn't matter. We did notice that the ships now have a back up generator on board. It was a pretty big one that sit by the whale tail. We also saw it on other ships in port. Good idea!

We think Carnival has handled all the issues very well. So what if they have lowered prices. Makes cruising even more affordable. We will enjoy the price while we can. If you don't like CCL then move on. Stop complaining about it.

We rented a jeep. Went to cemetery beach, then toured the island. Fun time! Didn't cost much to rent the jeep.

Just an FYI. This is from John's Facebook page.

John Heald

Name: Bryan_____

Message: I have a complaint about Carnival’s customer service . I have e mailed the Inspiration matre dee twice and have had no response for my request to have a table for 4 for my family. We do not want to be put at a table with strangers. This is our second Carnival experience but we are not just off the turnip truck because it will be our 8th cruise as a family. No response shows that Carnival does not care. Before you say I am not using the right e mail address I know I am because others on _____- _______ have said it is. Can you at least respond and tell me whats up with this.

Booking number ******

Cruise date 1/31/13

So I have spoken with the Maitre D and I he will do his best to assist these guests and I will let them know. However can I take this opportunity to remind you that Maître Ds are under absolutely no obligation to reply to e mail requests from guests. Some may have time on occasion to help but it is not a company policy at all that guests have their table requests taken care of via e mail. You can imagine already I am sure the complications and the huge amount of extra work this would cause.

I have the ability to communicate with them and always try to help but even that is not guaranteed but if you do have a specific request let me know 5 days before the cruise and I will do my best. I do ask on behalf of my wonderful colleagues not to write directly to them and if you do, please don’t me mad if you do not receive a response. I thank them for all their hard work as they continue to provide a wonderful atmosphere and brilliant service in our dining rooms.

Cheers

Actually they did communicate it pretty well. It was in your fun times the night before as you said. They also announce it during different events the day before. Guess we always research which places we dock and where we tender. Don't go to the beaches everyone else goes to!:o

I just got back from a 5 day on the Victory and was shocked that we had to get tickets for the tender. I was on a cruise last March and don't remember the process. I saw it in the Fun Times, but thought that must be for the people who have FTTF or excursions booked.

 

It went fast enough but had I known ( the communication was less than stellar) I would have gotten our butts down to theatre earlier. There was 1 chair on Half Moon Cay by the time we got there and 700 people were still waiting behind us.

You are wasting your time by asking here! I would call them right away. The website may show no rooms available, however people cancel and plans change. We have upgraded calling them before.

We LOVE the aft wrap. If money is not an issue, then get it. We had an "L" cabin couple years ago. Loved that too. Get the aft.

We always do YTD. Never have had a problem. Last cruise there was a total of 10 of us. We arrived at the dinning room at 5:30 - 5:45. Always had the same table and wait staff. Never had to wait. Even formal night. We walked right up to the desk and they set us right away. That was on the Freedom.

We like YTD and will continue to use it. Our next cruise there will be 4 of us. We don't like sitting with people we don't know so YTD works for us.

We always decorate out door. On our last cruise there was a group of us. So the first night we decorated the other doors in our group. They had a fun surprise when they opened their door in the morning! It was fun. It also helped mark what doors were ares. Going to decorate our door again this year. The dollar store has awesome stuff at a good price. We use tape and have never had a problem getting it off.

We have done Chefs Table two or three times. It is very much worth the money. Generally started around 6ish I believe. But then again, I don't watch the clock much on the ship! Chef usually will come visit you at your table at lunch or the night before to say hi. The behind the scenes tour is so cool to see. To taste and learn about all the dishes, how they get their food etc is great. I think we were done by 9-9:30pm either way. I enjoy the wine, however it is only house wine and nothing exotic. Wine is a low key part of the dinner. Only there as a treat. They will ask if you even want wine. Just like we don't eat fish, they will substitute it. The chef and staff take every measure to make sure you are satisfied. Do yourself a favor and book it. Kick back and enjoy the experience. We are sailing again in Jan and will do the Chefs Table yet again... I hope!

Chad

We don't take a Magic Bullet, we take along one of those hand mixer thingies. We like to use it for fresh fruit smoothies. Believe it or not we do not put alcohol in it. When we have been in the Sun a lot a refreshing smoothie is awesome. We use the food we have paid for, just mix it up ourselves. Never has it been taken from us. I usually wrap it in a shirt or something to help protect the blade on it.

We bring a hand held blender and make our own fruit smoothies. You can find all the ingredients at the breakfast buffet. We also take extra fruit, yogurt and such, put it in the frig in our room then later when we have been outside and are hot we make refreshing fruit smoothies in our room. Go for it and make them yourself!

Have a great cruise!