smcgoldr

I was on the Celebration a few weeks ago and they asked for Early Dining to show up at 5pm twice. Not sure if it was because it was the 1st US sailing and they were working out the kinks. They didn't turn away people that showed up at 5:30, so it seemed odd to have a 30 minute window with people arriving when it was not a YTD room, but other nights everyone showed up at 5:30.

As for vaccination status, they must have entered something in the computer, because I saw 2 people stopped from getting off at Grand Turk and told they had to show a Vax card to guest services before they could be cleared to go ashore in Grand Turk. We had an online form we had to fill out about vax status within a week of booking. We were not asked at the terminal.

Depending on the state and how they do their marriage licenses, you may only need the last one. In Florida, they include your maiden name on the marriage license. The most recent marriage license would bridge the married name, the name prior to that marriage and the maiden name (if different). Not all states do this. Some only have the prior name and not the maiden name.

On 12/2/2022 at 12:20 PM, jimbob22 said:

And call me old school, but I do not recognize those metal ketchup holders as a legitimate vessel for providing a dinner portion of food.

 You must have ordered the ribs in the MDR. The beans and creamed corn came in the same little metal cup that they bring out ketchup in. I don't think it even equated to two forks worth. At first I was trying to figure out what the yellow white condiment was until I realized it was creamed corn.

Deli closed at 10pm. It was 9:55 one night and they were closed and packing it up, while I was in the pizza line. 

As for TN, guess I never updated that after my move. I just fixed it.

Less than 1/2 the guest had suit jackets on the ship last week. I don't even think 50% of the men had on ties for elegant night.

My daughter was on it in the spring and she told me to get her around 9:30, but was in the pickup area just before 9am. I forget if she did self assist or had them take her bags the night before debarkation. As long as there are no delays with getting people off and you are ready when they call your area, I think you would be close to 8:30.

I was on the inaugural sailing of the Celebration out of Miami. Since it is such a new ship, I wanted to give my views on the good and bad. Overall it was a great cruise, some of the offerings on the big ship are great, but at other times, I missed the smaller ships.

My overall impression of the ship were positive. Lots to do, didn't really feel like I was sailing with 6000 of my closest friends except when it was time to get off and all 6000 wanted to be at the same place at the same time. The roller coaster was fun, not sure I would do it again. $15 for 2 laps isn't bad, but when you pay for 6 people, it adds up. Definitely a must do once if you like rides. Ropes course was good. I was on another ship and you picked inside or outside lane and had to stay there. This one has tracks to swap side to side before every obstacle. My daughter was excited that one of the water slides was where the floor drops out. Mini golf was sheltered from the wind, no chasing the blowing golf ball around like when I was on the victory. Lots of live music every day. The one area that I didn't like was all the upper balconies looked down on public decks. I felt more separated from the water. You didn't hear water sounds, but people sounds. Also the middle decks extend out so far that in port from a balcony on deck 8, you couldn't see the pier in grand turk even though it was right below you. The other big thing I noticed was all the railings and walls were much higher. Probably 5' were the shorter areas, but most were 7 or 8' high. Much safer for preventing overboard, but you were looking through glass in most public area and very few spots could you look over the top.

For some more details, lets start with where they knocked it out of the park.

Food offerings - They have spread this out across the ship, so that no one area ever seemed to have long lines, even at busy times. There were still lines for the popular items, but nothing like I was expecting. On sea days you had free offerings at brunch in the main dinning room, Deck 8 - Pig and Anchor on aft, Pizza and sandwiches mid, Cuccina del Capitano fwd, Deck 16 - Big Chicken aft, Lido Mid, Street eats starboard front of pool, Blue iguana port front of pool, deck 17 guys burgers mid and serenity salad bar.

Entertainment - There were so many parallel options, that at times you had to really pick and choose. They had 4 main venues for shows. The theater, center stage, punch liner and limelight. 1st night early comedy was pretty full, but then shows were not full often. They used 3 venues for comedy and at times had overlapping shows in 2 of them. Late night they had comedians in the main theater a few times. Other than the piano bar and center stage for the circus, most places had seats 5-10 minutes before the show. The piano bar was always filled. They also had random areas with live music near the bars and at pig an anchor.

Area that could use improvement

Breakfast and brunch in the main dinning room was lacking in service. Our first sea day was a long wait for food, missed parts of what was ordered, mixed up ingredients in omelets every time we were there. After food was delivered we never saw the waiter again and finally gave up on seeing dessert and just left. The second day at brunch seemed to be better, still had omelet issues, but received all our items. Final breakfast was very slow to serve. The other issue we encountered was getting ketchup or jelly once the food arrived. It took close to 10 minutes one day. Definitely need to work on this area. We also found the dinning room staff at the hostess area to be less than friendly on numerous occasions.

Disembarkation was a mess. They had lines coming from different directions, making a u turn and then going back, but with limited staff and no ropes, people were making their own lines down the center, cutting past tables to make shortcuts, etc. It was obvious it was a new ship with new staff and their second debarkation.

Alchemy Bar - the staff was great, but the bar location was the issue. It is literally lining a hallway on one side with a railing looking down to deck 6 on the other. There were so many people always trying to get past the bar, while others were lined up 2 deep waiting on drinks. The constant flow of traffic during busy times took away from the bar experience. It really needs to be off the main travel path so that people passing by are not bumping into the bar guests. This layout felt like you were in a hallway, not a bar.

Late night food - after 10pm, all you have left is the pizza place. Good pizza, but lots of demand for it as the only place opened. Also one night at 11pm we went looking for ice cream and there are only 2 locations on this ship. One was closed and the other was out of ice cream. They are supposed to be opened until midnight, but not on the night we went looking. I asked a staff member and he told me the closed area, I told him it had a sign closed, he then told me the other location and I told him it was out of ice cream. He threw his hands up and want back to collecting condiments from lido deck tables.

Would I sail on it again, yes, but would look at other ships as options too. I did book Mardi Gras last night, so the Excel class are still high on my list, but I did miss aspects of the small ships and will be back to conquest or dream class again. Dates, Embarkation port and ports of call are my main deciding factors. (living 40 miles for Port Canaveral makes that my 1st choice) Excel class didn't wow me enough to be a deciding factor, but it was a nice ship.

I was on the balcony 2 floors above you on the Victory last fall. We loved that room and balcony. Ours came with 2 chairs and 2 loungers. The balcony along the side of the ship had covering, so on the rainy day, we were able to still use the balcony. It was nice to have both rear and side views. We didn't have any soot issues. I also like the room layout better than a traditional balcony room. The placement of the bathroom and the desk area created a better flow to the room. When ever possible, that is now our 1st choice cabin.

At 12 yrs old, they would be in Circle-C. They have their own room for 12-14 yrs old and do activities past 10pm. This is from a few years ago on the sunshine. My kids are beyond this age, but I would assume they still have a similar program.

You won't be able to get a cabin and balcony that connect on a Conquest class ship.  If you were to open the balcony divider on a room with connecting cabins, it would block one of the balcony doors from the stateroom. Carnival will not allow those dividers to be opened with the exception of balcony cleaning or emergency operations. The only dividers that can be opened are the ones don't block the balcony door.

To answer the question about which one you would choose. I guess it depends on what you want out of the cabin.

You won't be able to get a cabin and balcony that connect on a Conquest class ship.  If you were to open the balcony divider on a room with connecting cabins, it would block one of the balcony doors from the stateroom. Carnival will not allow those dividers to be opened with the exception of balcony cleaning or emergency operations. The only dividers that can be opened are the ones don't block the balcony door.

To answer the question about which one you would choose. I guess it depends on what you want out of the cabin. The open balcony is nice if you are looking to all be on the balcony at the same time. If you have 3 or 4 guest in a room and are looking for more interior freedom, ease of sharing bathrooms, etc. inside connectors are better. I have traveled in a connecting ocean view with a family of 6 split between rooms and the connecting rooms made it more like  a 2 room suite.

I have only been in a spa cabin on the Dream. The decor was a little different than the rest of the ship. The design/color was a little more relaxing. They also provided trials size Elemis brand soap, shampoo and conditioners in addition to the standard brand in the dispensers. The main thing, like the previous poster mentioned, is on the Dream class and above, they have the upgraded spa area exclusively for the spa cabins and guests who have purchased the spa pass. Also based on the cabin locations there is less foot traffic in the hallways. We really liked the spa cabins and have another one booked for March. For the difference in price between a balcony and spa balcony, I consider it well worth the cost.

We stayed in 7127. That is closer to the lobby elevators. It was a quiet on that deck. We didn't hear anything from above or below. We walked to the back elevators often when going to dinner or up to the lido area. We never noticed any smell of smoke on deck 7.

They are supposed to be ready for FTTF, since that is what you are paying for. I have heard a time or two where they were not ready for FTTF, but they guests were allowed to leave their luggage. One said they complained to Guest Services about the room not being ready and were give an OBC for the amount of the FTTF.

A few weeks ago on the Victory I thought we were going to be in a man overboard situation. Starting about 4am, they were calling for a missing passenger to contact guest services over all the public speakers. Around 5am, they started making the announcement in all quest cabins also. They would call for the passenger about every 15 minutes until somewhere around 7:30 when it stopped. You could here the concern in the tone of the person's voice making the announcements. We found out from another passenger that they were doing room to room searches and had come in there cabin to search closets, under the bed and in the shower. The passenger was 26 and found in another persons cabin. Never heard anymore details, but since she didn't contact guest services with her name being called for several hours, I suspect alcohol may have been a factor. Luckily she was found safe, but her family must have been panicked for several hours.

We just got off the Victory 2 weeks ago and had a great experience. It wasn't at all a booze cruise. The staff seemed to be some of the best that we had. Being only a 4 day cruise, I was shocked at how quiet the ship was after about 10 pm. There were people out, but not like I have seen on 7 or 8 day cruises. I thought the food was on the same quality level as other new ships I have been on. I like the size and layout of that ship. It is one of my favorites. Sad to see it is being redone next year. I like it the way it is. Enjoy you trip.

We just sailed a few weeks ago from the Victory with aft wrap balcony for the first time. I would take that over a suite. The balcony length along the railing was about 40'. Having both aft and side views were nice, but also we always seemed to have some sun and some shade (2 days were rain vs dry areas) and parts always had a nice breeze, while parts had still air. Definitely the best balcony we have ever had. Also with the back corner layout, we found the cabin felt bigger since the desk with the hair dryer was off to the side and not in the path to the bathroom.

If you want faster to the fun, keep checking. I saw some come available for our cruise a few days before sailing.

The common space that is lost to new cabins are in 2 main locations:

- Deck 3 Main Theater - The new theater will only be 2 decks. All of the seating that is under the balcony level of Deck 4 is gone. The new bottom floor will be deck 4 and have about 1/2 the main floor seating of the old Deck 3. However it is a flat floor with movable seating, so it can be used for multiple functions not just a theater.

- Deck 5 aft. All of the public space behind deck 5 rear elevators is turned into cabins. On the current victory, that holds a lounge used mainly for Karaoke, the comedy club and the piano bar. All of these areas will be squeezed into the existing deck 4 hallways and Ionian room. They will be smaller venues on the radiance than on the victory.

It is not a lot of lost space, but it does reduce the cabin to public space ratio. I have not sailed on the Sunrise, but I have been on both the Sunshine and the Victory. I noticed on the sunshine the comedy club filled fast creating long lines waiting for the doors to open. The end of the line seldom were able to get a seat and were turned away. The good seats in the main theater filled quickly since there were less of them. The piano bar often filled. There were usually people standing around the edges waiting for a seat. We often found a seat after a short wait, but we only needed 2 or 3 seats. Larger groups never seemed to get a seat and left for other venues.

Over all the changes don't ruin things, but they do cause you to plan ahead and not go to venues last minute. I love the Victory, sailed in numerous times, so I would like to sail it as the Radiance and get a real comparison of the same ship before and after.

The last ship I sailed on, I was told that it was a 5 minute wait between drinks, but they could serve an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic drink at the same time. If you wanted 2 non-alcoholic drinks, you had 2 wait 5 minutes between them or if you wanted 2 alcoholic drinks you had to wait 5 minutes between them. We often got a mixed or frozen drink and a bottle of water at the same time.

A little late with the answer. Just got off this morning and was going to let you know it was docked at D this morning. Enjoy your trip. Manol and Ionna at the alchemy are great and we really enoyed Lexi in the piano bar.

It has been several years since I sailed, so I am not sure if there is anything "other than normal" currently. When we sailed, check in was the same as we had experienced at other ports. There is a multi level parking garage next to the terminal. There are other cheaper options in the area, but we chose to park at the port for convenience. Sail away was a little different because it was well after dinner before we were in open waters. You spend hours on the Mississippi. 

I have been on this itinerary twice. The first time we did the tour of the Hemingway House on our own not through Carnival. We took a taxi there and walked back to port. We had plenty of time to do the tour and walk around the shops near the pier. The second time we just walked around the town. Went to the southern most point, the winter white house and in and out of the stores.

My first cruise was on the imagination (Key West/Cozumel) in 2010. I have sailed on the same Victory route you are asking about and we are actually doing it again next week. I really liked the Victory as a ship. It is bigger than the imagination and has some features of the bigger ships. It seems to have a really good passenger to public space ratio. I prefer longer sailings than the 4 days trips, but sometimes that is all that works in our schedule.

In comparing to the Imagination,

• I like that the life boats are on deck 4. It gives better views from the upper decks. I like to be able to see out to the water and not have to look between life boats.
• The stadium style lounge deck around the pool gives it more opened feel.
• From the top of the ship there are no areas that you can see forward, but there are forward viewing decks below the bridge around decks 6/7. 
• Lots of balconies cabins, if you like to have a balcony
• Victory has a 3 story theater, as opposed to the 2 stories on the Imagination
• Dining rooms are 2 floors with the center of the 2nd floor opened to create the high ceilings with large chandeliers.

Has anyone recently sailed on the Victory and know who are the current bartenders at the Alchemy?

You can get them to update your Sail and Sign cards so that they open the correct rooms.

I have only been to Chacchoben from Costa Maya and used Native Choice.  The vans were is really good shape, small group and a very knowledgeable guide. Not sure how different the ruins in Belize are but we really enjoyed going to Chacchoben.