Vagabond Knight

Does anyone know if you can bring specialty coffees from the coffee shop into the MDR during breakfast? Or, are there specialty coffees available in the MDR?

I don't recall if there were specialty coffees available in there on our last Carnival cruise a few years ago, but I do recall that we didn't think the regular MDR coffee was very good.

From experience, I highly recommend springing for the cruise/travel insurance even though it will cost you a few hundred more. Unexpected medical issues can arise at any age, but may be a bit more likely when the cruisers are 70+ years old.

Does anyone know why Carnival doesn't just put into the itinerary ahead of time which nights are "Elegant Nights?" There are a zillion (maybe slight exaggeration) topics asking when it is on this cruise or that ship. Cruisers would like to know so they can plan excursions and such accordingly, so why isn't this simply part of the up-front information for a given cruise?

Likewise, why aren't Chef's Table nights already decided in advance? We'd like to do this, but only on certain nights as we attempt to plan around other activities. I mean, they know the port schedules in advance, so why can't this just be on the schedule for particular days for a specific cruise itinerary?

Inquiring minds (and compulsive planners!) want to know. :confused:

Yes, for the Alaskan cruise, it's totally due to price. For some cruises, entertainment or ports of call may be the draw, but with Alaska it's all about the scenery and wildlife sightings for us. With the aft Vista Suite, we have a huge deck to ourselves with a wide sweeping view and we spend a LOT of time out on that deck. We find the food to be not as good as other cruise lines (in particular Celebrity) and the entertainment to be sorely lacking, but for us that's more important on other cruise destinations.

Along the same lines, I can't remember what TIME you're supposed to be there for the Chef's Table. Is that something that's consistent from cruise to cruise? Also wondering due to fitting in excursions and then getting back to the ship with enough time to dress for dinner.

Thanks, everyone!

So, the first Elegant Night should be on Wednesday (Fun Day @ Sea).

Recent Legend (Alaska) :confused:cruisers... when was the second one? Trying to plan activities/excursions with a few people and it would be helpful to know.

Thanks in advance!

So, the second night (day at sea) was the first elegant night. Was there a second elegant night later in the week?

I've been trying to get this answer to this very question for many months.

I've emailed multiple times and called multiple times and get told, "We have no way of knowing when dates will be posted for 2016 Alaskan cruises, so you'll just have to keep looking." It makes not sense to me that they can't even give me some idea of when (if?) the dates will be posted.

The last time I called, about two weeks ago, I pointed out that there were Carnival itineraries out there to other locations going all the way to 2017, but nothing for Alaska past 2015. I asked if they'd dropped Alaska as a destination, and the reply this time was a little different. The agent said, "Well, where they go each year changes. I don't know if they're going to Alaska in 2016." I then asked when we could at least find out one way or the other. Told her it makes no sense for me to just keep check "forever." (I mean, at what point do you simply conclude it's not happening.... a week before you would have gone?) She said that was my only option.

Frankly, I'm getting close to taking another option... booking with another cruise line.