PlanoTim

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Correct, it runs on Miami time.  

That's what I thought, and was my prior experience.  But for our upcoming cruise it didn't open till midnight at the departure port.  Maybe Carnival has changed their ways.

We had the same issue early this month trying to check in for our cruise out of Galveston.  Everyone on out roll call had the same problem.  We all tried to check in at midnight Eastern Time and were getting the “Undefined Days Till Sailing” message.  😭  We continued trying on a PC and phone every few minutes.  It started to work shortly after midnight – departure-port time.  Seems like check in was always at midnight Eastern Time in the past.  Oh, well.  We got a 10:30-11:00 arrival time. 🙂

We received this notice regarding our upcoming Carnival Jubilee cruise.  I thought it might be of interest to you.  It seems like it was sent to everyone since we don't use a scooter.  The letter gives the number for their Guest Access team.

Sincerely, Colleen Oliverio VP, Guest Services - Contact Centers

19 minutes ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

When does FTTF appear in excursions for purchase these days?  Our cruise is April 2025 on Liberty out of NOLA.  Thx

I think they wait to see how many Diamond/Platinum folks they have on the cruise.  I saw it become available for my upcoming Carnival Jubilee cruise about a month before we sail.

6 hours ago, dctravel said:

3. On the second sea day evening, we ended up in the Pig & Anchor (see a theme developing here) to see the Backyard Band. They are really quite good and play a mix of rock and roll and pop music.

I’m enjoying your review, dctravel.  Was there any dancing in the Pig & Anchor while the Backyard Band was playing?  It’s hard to tell from the deck plans if there is a dance floor.  Thanks,
Tim

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

Absolutely correct. And the offerings inside Texas waters are somewhat limited. Carnival has made the decision not to deal w/ Cheers because of the legal requirements. Don't like it? Your problem, not their's.

Yep, they are limited.  But, I’ve never been disappointed with the bar selections during the time the ship is in Texas waters.  They always have a beer I like and the spirits they have for the cocktails I like seem just fine for the few hours through sail away.  🍹

1 minute ago, StephPS79 said:

 

Considering Royal Caribbean's drink package price is usually anywhere from $70 (on a good day) to $100 per day (who can say, because they use that super annoying dynamic pricing), I think it's easy to figure out how they do it.

We cruise on Viking Ocean some and LOVE their drink package prices.  Carnival prices make me cringe.  $70 - $100 would make me weep. 😭

9 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

 Belive me it is a PITA for Royal to do in Galveston, bar shut down for 10-15 minutes in some cases to change out bottle with Texas Tax Stamps.

 

It is interesting I was on a Royal ship on their last 2 Galveston sailing before heading with no passengers to Florida.  Next to the last sailing they ran out of some types of liquor, then On last sailing they just used up the rest of the Texas Tax Stamped liquor 

Carnival also shuts down their bars briefly once they leave Texas waters so they can put the taxed booze away and bring out the regular stock.

21 minutes ago, PlanoTim said:

We sail out of Galveston some and Cheers starting on day two isn’t a huge issue for us.  I guess Carnival could offer it on day one, but only after they got out of Texas waters (5pm-ish).  But that might be an issue for some passengers, thinking they were paying for a whole day of Cheers and only able to use it after leaving the state late in the afternoon.  In fact some folks might think Cheers available from the moment the boarded, but with a limited selection of alcohol sourced and taxed in Texas, would be a rip-off.  Maybe they just figured it was easier to just start on day 2.  But they should be up front with their reasoning, IMHO.  Either that or go ask Royal Caribbean how that do it. 😋

I’ve also wondered if Carnival gets complaints at other ports that offer Cheers on day 1.  They charge full price on day 1, right?  But if you have a 2:30 PM port-arrival time you may not get to use Cheers till 3:00 PM or so.  Cheers starts at 6:00 AM every other day of the cruise.  So you are paying for the entire day on day 1 and not getting to use it till mid-afternoon.

We sail out of Galveston some and Cheers starting on day two isn’t a huge issue for us.  I guess Carnival could offer it on day one, but only after they got out of Texas waters (5pm-ish).  But that might be an issue for some passengers, thinking they were paying for a whole day of Cheers and only able to use it after leaving the state late in the afternoon.  In fact some folks might think Cheers available from the moment the boarded, but with a limited selection of alcohol sourced and taxed in Texas, would be a rip-off.  Maybe they just figured it was easier to just start on day 2.  But they should be up front with their reasoning, IMHO.  Either that or go ask Royal Caribbean how that do it. 😋

6 minutes ago, tha sista said:

Honestly if you’re new and want to sit down the last seat may not be available. If you are interested in playing and are willing to receive guidance just ask. Most of the players are very friendly. Heck even the dealers will help if you ask. OTOH if you want to muddle your way through and make a bunch of bozo plays some players may get up and leave.  You are correct it is your hand to play. 

Thanks.  I appreciate you time to help me understand.  My brother enjoys Blackjack and I'm sure he prefers a table where friendly folks are playing as expected.  I'll chat with him further about it sometime.

Now, can you explain to me in one sentence how to play Craps? 😁

41 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

If a player at the table hits when they shouldn't, they'll sometimes bust and take the card from the shoe that could have caused the dealer to bust.

Yep, I get that.  But I still figure that is their card to take or not.  This comes from a non-gambler, so I may just not "get it" because of my inexperience.  If I were to take a seat at the table (as a noob), should I take the last spot so it doesn't impact others as much?

On 3/20/2024 at 3:04 PM, tha sista said:

I have the same observation on the Vista. Staying on 15 and 16 with dealer 10 showing. A couple of these guys were playing $50 and $100 a hand. I couldn’t take it and walked away. 

I don’t gamble much.  I have nothing against it, just doesn’t trip my trigger.  So this question is to help me understand better - not a challenge.  What does it matter to the other players if someone stays on 15 & 16 against a dealer showing 10?  I mean isn’t it their card to take or not?  I know they may be sitting upstream from you and it could impact the cards you end up getting.  But you don’t know what the next card is and neither do they.  Isn’t it their option?  As I said, I’m just trying to understand.  Thanks.

8 hours ago, Sgwscruiser said:

This is the case with carnival also. Very limited Brands available.  Almost all of these are Bar Pour Brands that most people have never heard of.  I think People that purchase Cheers would be upset about not being able to get the brands they want so Carnival states that Cheers does not start till day 2 of the cruise 

This hasn’t been my experience when sailing on Carnival out of Galveston.  There certainly is a limited selection of brands until the ship is out of Texas waters, but they are popular brands.  For example, on our last cruise there was one gin selection available - Beefeater.  It was similar for other spirits.  Once the ship leaves Texas waters they close the bars briefly wile they put away the bottles they paid Texas tax on and put out their regular stock.

I agree, though, that the limited selection may be part of the reason Carnival chooses to not offer Cheers on day 1.
 

3 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

It's not weird, food is subjective. To me it is horribly sweet and syrupy, I cannot stomach it.

Yep, it sure is.  To me, the orange/mango 🥭 drink seems a bit watered down and not at all sweet and syrupy.  It also doesn’t taste acidic to me like most OJ does. 🍊

I’m probably weird -- well, no “probably” about it 😋 – but I like that orange/mango (or whatever it is) drink that they have at the Lido breakfast.  I don’t like the powdered OJ dink they have there, though.

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

And the hours are arbitrary, at least they were when we were on MG Oct 2021.  I would be all ready to have lunch at Emeril's and they were open for breakfast but not for lunch that day.  Then the opposite the next day.  Maybe the hours have become more consistent. 🤞

I thought maybe the varying hours was due to port/sea day differences.  But looking at some Fun Times posted here that doesn't seem to hold true 100% of the time.  I guess we'll just have to remember to keep checking and work Emeril's into our plan.

Thanks for all the info.  I'm really looking forward to trying the food for breakfast and dinner.  In fact I may have to do breakfast there a couple of times since Bananas Foster Crepes, Shrimp and Grits, and Beignets all in one sitting may be a bit over the top.  😁

Tim

We hope to have dinner at Emeril’s on our upcoming carnival Jubilee cruise.  Emeril’s seems to be a counter-service type of restaurant.  I could see no way to reserve a dining time there pre-cruise.  Do we use the Hub app to get in a virtual queue for Emeril’s and they send a notification when we can go order?  Or do we just go there and stand in line?  If so, are the lines typically long?

I would be grateful to hear some experience others have had with this.  Thanks,

Tim

On 3/20/2024 at 11:43 AM, dallasdan said:

I have AT&T and when we are in Mexico I take my phone off of airplane mode and use it like normal.  No extra charges. With AT&T Canada and Mexico are included.  

My AT&T plan used to include just Canada and Mexico - in addition to the US territories.  But a couple of years ago when we got new phones they added all of the Americas - North, Central, & South.

On 3/13/2024 at 10:40 AM, SDPadreFan said:

Since you mentioned an Alaskan Bug - we've had that too. Give some consideration to Carnival's 10 day sailing to Alaska out of San Francisco. We did that and the price was virtually the same as a 7 day out of Seattle. But the same ocean conditions will be present. Rough going north and smooth going south. It will be pretty much the same from either San Francisco or Seattle because both stay out in the Pacific until they get past Vancouver Island. They really only head to the inside passage (and very smooth waters) when they either get close to Ketchikan or Juneau (depending on the first port of call). Late June through early August is the best time weather wise (but priciest). There is one line that does more of a pure Inside Passage run from Vancouver, Canada and that is a Holland America ship. All the others pretty much sail out into the Pacific and around Vancouver Island. Even the ones that leave from Vancouver, Canada (save for that one Holland America ship). I've got my eye on that one as perhaps our next cruise to Alaska (thinking 2026 or later).

But a little bad news for you - once you've gotten that Alaska Bug, most people are stuck with it and return to Alaska again and again. I know we'll be going back. And one more thing to be aware of. Alaska excursions are EXPENSIVE (but very worth it for the most part). But I consider the prices justified because those people only have about 5 months of the year to make money off of tourists and the rest of the time there is very little income coming in for them.

I believe our Viking Ocean cruise from Vancouver took the Inside Passage route from Vancouver.

We did the Tabasco cooking class a couple of years ago and had a blast.  Each pair has a cooking station and you make a few dishes during the excursion.  All the dishes are made with Tabasco.  Afterwards you eat the food you created.

I think we started by making our own margarita.  Then they kept additional drinks coming as we cooked.  If you wanted something other than margaritas, they would gladly make something else for you.  I saw people get soft drinks, beer, pina coladas, etc. 🍹

The ingredients are mostly prepped, so you’re not spending a lot of time chopping onions and such.  The instructor is very entertaining and makes the excursion fun.  It seemed like everyone was having a good time and I saw no failed dishes.

While we were eating our meal, the instructor made a special frozen pineapple margarita – very tasty.  Afterward we were given the option to go back to the port (10-15 minute ride) or hang out at Blu for a while, then be taken back to the port.

We had a great time and felt the excursion was well worth the time and money.

The Mexology class (also at Blu) seems to be organized similarly, but with more emphasis on mixing drinks.  We haven’t done that one yet but will in about 7 weeks.

I hope that helps some.
Tim

On 3/4/2024 at 4:41 PM, dctravel said:

I got credit for a 1989 cruise on the original Mardi Gras. They needed something that proved you were on the ship. After searching through pictures at my parents house, I finally found a picture that showed the date from when we were boarding the ship. Founds lots of other pictures too (including of Carnival's resort in Nassau (the Crystal Palace), now long gone) that we went to for an excursion, but only the embarkation picture had the date.

It was many years ago, but we had a Tropicale cruise (1989?) that didn’t show up on our list of past cruises.  I think all we had was the sail date and a carnival photo of us at the captain’s party.  The photo had the ship name stenciled in the corner.  We provided that information to Carnival and they added it to our past cruises.

2 hours ago, bahacca said:

We haven't sailed since 2018. Do we still need lanyards for our sign and sail cards? I have heard menus are now digital, so you need your phone. If you find you need your phone on you at all times, do you use a phone lanyard, small purse?(Guys, be quiet. Not all of our clothing has pockets like yours!😉)

Sorry, not being quiet. 😋  I don't use a lanyard and neither does my wife.  If I'm with her when she doesn't have pockets and isn't carrying a small purse (clutch?), then I'll carry her phone.  This typically happens in the evening because most of her daytime clothes have pockets.  She sometimes uses a waist-band thingy that holds her phone (especially when jogging).  I've also seen small stick-on card holders that attach to the back of a phone.  She is considering one of those to keep her phone and S&S together.

I wish they would add a Ribeye Cap to the steakhouse menu. 🍴😛