EngIceDave

There can be slight variations in "available cabins" based on which chosen, I believe

Drive home was brutally slow. Wet, rainy and crashes galore. Looked like a local Saturday night demolition derby. OK, wrap up essay..... Let's start with the knee, and this goes to "How physical is this huge ship?" I'm a lean 6' tall guy. I like to think I am wimpy when it comes to pain, but I gut through the pain when I have too. If I can do it, you can do it. The ship has pretty level floors, no weird slopes, ramps or little "hidden curbs" that catch you. It is a well handicapped appointed ship. Elevators work, and as much as you'll complain about them, they still do a decent job, just be patient. No tricks to the elevator, works like a normal elevator. You can only fit one (1) wheelchair or scooter on an elevator at a time. Max is like a scooter and 3 people on each side unless thin and friendly. I did about 2 miles a day total on board. I did climb down more stairs than up. Sucks on the knee, but easier. Cabin was fine, we had a regular balcony on 14 forward. #14228 Numbering is a bit strange, pay attention at first. Like I said, cabin was fine. The nightlight in the bathroom is TOO BRIGHT and you cannot control it. 2am light blinding pee isn't cool. I built the threshold up with two hand towels and that slows the big light leak from the 1" gap at the door bottom for ventilation The shower is bigger feeling than the old curtain showers, but when sitting on the toilet is when the "it's a small bathroom" hits you. It is small, but, it's on a ship....Remember, you are on a ship, not at the Four Season. IMO, the supplied bath products are TERRIBLE. The blue body wash is a knock off of Axe Phoenix Body Wash (I know, my son used it) and no woman should even bathe in it. Shampoo is orange in color and alas, smells orangy. Ehhh....pack a few travel bottles from CVS instead. In the bed's headboard is the MOST USEFUL SPACE.....this lighted notch As you can see, it's a great space to stash your stuff in the evening at bedtime. Glasses, remote, ipad/iphone, and you can balance/set a bottle/glass on it and it stays. If really rough, of course not. Everyone knows about the closets, baskets and so on. and I believe that's where I am going to go on my review, a more of a "look out for" and how to help folks in the future. Everyone's seen the usual stuff on the ship, so i hope mine is a little different. The day of boarding was the NFL Championship Weekend, the AFC/NFC Divisional Championships. The games was on the big pool screen and all the bar and casino screens. There was no "tailgate snacks" or theming. Just the game was on. As mentioned prior, this was a "Premier Cruise" for casino guests. Casino seemed to be a total mixed bag of really heavy slot players and light players, I think you know what I mean. I saw some good wins and heard a couple hand pay announcements. I actually felt the gaming played fair. As mentioned prior, the busier the games the better they do, which is normal. I also found, IMO, middle wage play is best. Don't play minimum or maximum. Casino spaceissotightthisistheonlywayicaneexplainhowtightthecasinois....Get it? Anyone next to you moves to get up, you pretty much have to move too. Drink service was typical casino slow. Better to just go to the casino bar, get what you want and then play. If you're trying to game the system with the "drinks in the casino" package, they'll leave you hanging for a while. Tables were busy as was craps. Casino is three parts, two side by side and one room aft, best way to explain it. I didn't like the room aft, no idea why. This area is where TxTeach was playing VP and looking down a deck to the bar below. As for no smoking in the casino, when I walked aboard the first time and walked through, I could smell the difference. Once at sea and I guess more used to it and "nose blind" the whole casino, it all smelled the same, but not "smokey." Only on one occasion can I think of where it was smokey, and maybe that's because I walked through a could. Seemed very nice and wife said she never smelled smoke and smoke pizzes her off. They also AC the place through many of the slot machine stand boxes. You'll sit down and feel a draft from your ankles up Food was good overall. Nothing was inedible. Portions overall may be considered small, but they're actually more normal. Cheesecake Factory size portions are not normal. If you do maybe two apps and an entree with side and dessert, that's a good sized meal. If you need more, no judgement. When it comes to booking your dinner in the app, plan it out. Most every restaurant had 45-55 minute waits. This was common. So if you want to eat at 7pm, start looking at the app at about 6pm to book your slot. Celebration Central - This is a love hate relationship. I love the space, how it works and what they can do with it. What I hate is once a show starts, there's very little decent seating, couple hundred, max. It's only during this time I feel the space is wasted. It's odd. BTW, the white things on the ceiling I initially thought were to absorb sound, but they're multi-color LED lights to represent confetti, it's a running theme if you look for it...."hidden confetti" Grand Spectrum Theatre, this is what would've been the traditional theater all the way forward, just smaller. It's very tight in the aisles for fluffy folks. The seat backs all have vents right in your face, so no stuffy feeling even though it's tight. You can hear everything going on in the bathroom, in the cabin....every pee, fart, poop....paper thin walls inside the cabin. Also, if your neighbors sing in their shower, you can hear it in yours. Use any plastic card in the electric thing in your cabin by the door. Carnival Kitchen This was fun. I went solo and was paired up each time with another solo. Each station is two person. I did pizza making and cake decorating. In pizza making, it was all 100% from scratch, dough and sauce. Took about 2 hours In cake decorating, the cake was premade. You sliced it down to three layers and then shown how to decorate using piping bags and three different tips. One cool trick, between each layer, using a squirt bottle (like a ketchup bottle) to squirt a sugar water solution (3:1 water/sugar) onto each layer before icing, makes cake more moist. None of the food may leave the kitchen, none. It is not delivered later. Complaints? Small bathrooms in public areas. Just stupid. Poor planing. No trash cans. How can there be no trash cans at the elevator, in casino or even outside. They're hard to find and you carry your garbage a long way if you try to do the right thing. Dogs? Do you really have to sail with your dog? I don't want to risk the wrath of the interweb bearing down, but if you can't live a week without Spike, your Min-Pin, maybe you should try a driving vacation, not one at sea. Bad enough they have to clean up after you, but now they have to clean up your dog's "business," even if in the back crew areas. Some poor schmo has to clean it up. IMO, I think it's wrong. FYI AT&T Mobile service outside of the US Let me think and I'll come up with more, if you have questions, fire away

Welcome home to rainy Miami. Food pics are last night in ChiBang Clock was at the door as we exited. So that’s our exact exit time from the ship. Some poor dude rolled his truck on I95 near SR84 in Lauderdale.

Makes sense and I do know they get other perks we're not privy to Finished out casino just under 10,000 points (9500)...not bad. Yes, I lost money. But I paid basically nothing upfront for our cruise or beverages anywhere, I just paid for it in the casino. Likely paid more than the normal rate. Went to ChiBang for dinner, it was good, and as some mentioned prior, they are smaller portions but we both thought they were fine if we did two appetizers, an entree/side and dessert. More than enough. We both really enjoyed the ship, and there are little tricks and tweaks it takes a few days to get the hang of for optimum planning and service. For example, just plan in advance that the specialty restaurants will be an hour wait. Just plan on it, right off. So, if you think you'll be hungry by 7:00, don't start looking to make a reservation then, start looking at the app times at least an hour prior. Tonight is the first time we feel any rocking, or a more side to side sway. Watched a movie out by the pool tonight....When did they make a Black Panther vs Avatar? Wakanda forever! I can stream some video, it's touchy. I was able to watch to Houston Supercross on Peacock (NBC Streaming app) tonight outside while watching the movie (Multi-tasking). We drive back in the morning and I'll think about what to submit in the final report.

Look closely, I think they're circling for an attack...I think we can take 'em.

Slow rollin' it home....

Dear Carnival, Please add more trash cans on the decks and elevator areas. Thank you, Dave

That was Wifey-poo's, she said it was good, but a little tough for lobster (that means over cooked). I did the ropes course, that's fun.

Agreed, that one is mostly kids

Friendly suggestions for my fellow passengers in the future.... Ever been to New York City? Ever walk on the sidewalks? RULE ONE of walking in NYC is do not stop. Just don't do it, do not stop in the middle of the walkway, they'll knock you down. If you are confused or need to stop, step to the side. Same on the ship folks. It's smaller passages, more narrow than your local Piggly Wiggly's aisles. Speaking of your shopping at Piggly Wiggly, when you get to the aisle, down at the end, do you blast out of that aisle with no care about what's coming or do you slow down to make sure you don't hit anyone making the turn? Please slow down, look, both ways like Mama taught you, and then go. Too many folks just walk without a thought or care for their fellow passengers....and it is mostly older people, not the younger folks. Just observations and suggestions.

I'm not sure if the Captain is just a wuss, or if these other little puny ships are just faster and running away.

Got that right, no Barefoot wine here.... LOL I got the cab to take home and make beef bourguignon ("Boeuf," for you snobbery folks) People are more chill today.

This is why they charge for room service

Dinner at Rudi’s last night Casino comped dinner and the bottle of wine, max of $40

FIRE PANIC 🔥 Apparently someone saw smoke on deck 0, locker 17, wherever that is Captain called for fire squad be ready, and later said no problem

Well, logic dictates that the more spins on a machine the more wins. Less spins, less wins. My thinking on the wager thing is something I have followed for a while, again, works for me, not a scheme or plan, is that the lowest possible wager is the sucker bet, they give enough to keep you going, but never enough to make you walk away happy (long play or winner). Playing a level or two up, seems to pay a little more, while going max or high limit burns money faster than a flame. I have also noticed, "second money in" makes it wake up. Ever play $20 to zero, then put in a second $20 and then it wins? Just little things I have noticed. I am down $ in the casino, but not by a large amount (subjective). I failed to mention that a host found me and offered us dinner tonight at Rudi's on them. This surprises me, as there are way more people with higher point totals, but maybe because they're part of the Ultra cruise and I'm not. BTW, two "People in the casino" complaints. DO NOT bang on the machines or the buttons. It changes nothing other than breaking it so no one else can play. You do not need to beat the button. Maybe if they had a hammer to beat the button, they'd win? I like to believe if you're nice to the machines, they'll be nice too. Don't drive your scooter drunk in the casino, it's small enough as it is. Hammering through people in their seats, near toppling them all over isn't funny or cool. It really happened. His backing out was even worse, if you can imagine.

200 sets of Deal or No Deal games at $50 is $8,000 We won back our $50 investment. Highest winner was $200

Deal or No Deal?

I was extremely disappointed in the Captain's lack of testicular fortitude in not attacking and plundering the smaller, more puny ship

CAKE DECORATION CLASS! Cake is a premade sponge cake you slice into three layers. No choice in colors. It was fun, I did learn a little bit. The grandmas over there won IMO They no longer deliver the cake to you at dinner. They’ve stopped that post cooties. Anything made in the classes must be consumed in the class.

See the woman on the scooter? I was waiting for an elevator and she rolled up with her posse complaining about catching a cold while sniffing and snorting. Waiting for the elevator, I realized this woman expects me to just get into the tiny box with her. UUUH, NO

BTW, 1/2 of 5000 ship capacity is 2500 x Cheers package at $400 (rounding off) is $1,000,000

Tell you what, I almost ditched this class. I’m tired. It’s a big a$$ ship.

I’m on the 30 day Luminosa trans-pac in the fall