PinaCarada

We're sailing to Alaska from San Francisco in July and it will be our first time at that terminal. Do they have a diamond/platinum lounge in the terminal like the Long Beach port does? 

Here's the info from the Carnival site about the hours and about kids dinner. We have cruised 5 times this past year with our kids (4 and 6 years old) and have found this info to be true on all of the cruises.

2 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

This is what I'd do. Bring the kids to Lido early in evening and feed them, then drop them at Kids Club and go to Steakhouse.

 

For example, maybe plan on Lido dinner with kids at 5, and drop them off around 6, and do Steakhouse sometime after that. 

Camp Ocean doesn't open for the evening until 7:00. They usually close at 4 (5 if there's a family activity like bingo or a scavenger hunt), will do kids dinner at 6, and then open actual camp at 7.

Camp Ocean kids dinner is from 6-6:45. You drop them off directly in the kids dinner blocked-off area of the lido deck, and Camp staff will bring them up to Camp Ocean at 6:45-7 when dinner ends. Camp Ocean doesn't open for the non-dinner kids until 7.

Depending on what time you'd like to do the steakhouse, you have 2 options. If you're okay doing a later dinner, you can take them to the buffet for dinner (as other posters have suggested) and then drop them off right when Camp Ocean opens at 7. Make your reservation for 7 (one parent checks the kids in at Camp and the other checks in at the steakhouse until the other joins) or later. The other option is dropping them off for Camp Ocean dinner at 6 and then making your steakhouse reservation for any time after that. 

Something we've also done is checked in for anytime dining right at 5:30 and fed the kids in the MDR, while our steakhouse reservation was at 7. Dropped them off at Camp when it opened at 7 and then had our meal. The HUB app will tell you that you have a conflicting dining reservation (the 5:30 YTD and 7:00 steakhouse) but a hostess can override it for you and get you an MDR table.

17 hours ago, coops said:

Excellent clam chowder and excellent calamari. 

Another upvote for the calamari. We tried it on the Radiance last week and it was a big portion and was accompanied with Old Bay-dusted fries. Two thumbs up from my 4 year old, so you know it was good.

On the Jubliee, kids in family harbor rooms eat free only in Fahrenheit 555, Bonsai Sushi and Rudi's. They must dine with an adult and order off the kids' menu. I believe the reason why Bonsai Teppanyaki is excluded for family harbor kids is because there isn't a kids' menu.

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7985/~/carnival-jubilee-(jb)-family-harbor-lounge-and-staterooms

We booked a guaranteed interior for my dad for the Dec. 29-Jan. 2 Radiance cruise. We booked about 3 weeks out and within a few days, they assigned his cabin. He didn't get an email notification - I just kept refreshing his booking every day or so and saw that it popped up.

We had debarkation day breakfast in the MDR in April on the Radiance and in July on the Panorama. Both ships have 2 dining rooms though. 

@75Vette, when are you going on the Miracle? We're going in November if you don't get a definitive answer about that ship before then 🙂

Thank you for the great review so far! Looking forward to hearing more. We're going to Alaska for the first time for 11 days on the Miracle from San Francisco in July 2024 and I've been so overwhelmed looking at excursions. I'm thinking you're going to help me narrow some down 😉

6 hours ago, rainbowflag said:

The menu at the link shows the beef strip loin on the every day menu. John Heald announced last month the VP of Food was removing the strip loin and returning the flat iron steak they used to serve 4 years ago. This would be an improvement. I wonder what's up.

Yes! I saw him say that too. My guess is that they haven't transitioned back to the flat iron just yet (or maybe they have, and haven't updated that part of the menus yet).

Here are the new menus. Beef Wellington is on night 7. The cheese plate is back, and the chilled strawberry (and chia seed) soup, as @MisterOJ2 said, is on the second elegant night.

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

6 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

That did not come up for me. I booked first night anyway, but this is first time I've seen that notice.

I will be really unhappy if I don't get the free wine - had to change reservations to get the Steakhouse on night 1.

John Heald posted this back on July 12 too, and I know it says September 1, but it does confirm that you'll definitely get your free bottle on your cruise 🙂

10 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Embarkation day they may be open starting at 7pm or 8pm, through Night Owls, closing at 1am.

We also found this to be correct on our last 2 cruises. In April, the Radiance opened for drop off at 7 p.m. on embarkation day, and in July on the Panorama, it opened at 8 p.m. 

This screenshot is what comes up when you choose Specialty Dining from your Cruise Manager. Confirms:

- first night: free bottle of house wine OR 50% off select bottles that retail under $100

- second night: 50% off select bottles that retail under $100

On the Panorama, the MDR is open for breakfast on port days, sea day brunch on sea days, and dinner. I do believe there is still an afternoon tea on one day but I'm not positive.

It's not a glitch - there are most likely no 3-person rooms left in the area you're looking. When you book online, it makes you book a room for your exact occupancy, so when you put 3, it only gives you rooms with 3 beds - it won't show you any 4-person rooms. All the 3-person rooms may be booked, or there may not be many 3-person rooms in that area. What ship and floor/area are you looking to book? I would recommend checking out the pdf deck plans to see how many 3-person rooms are actually in that area. 

With that being said, we just stayed in a Family Harbor interior on the Panorama last week and I can't say enough good things about it. The room and lounge were great, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

14 hours ago, carefree20 said:

We're on the July 15th sailing. Hoping for clear skies and sunshine! Enjoy!!

We'll make sure the ship is in good shape for you! You enjoy, too!

28 minutes ago, carefree20 said:

Ah Ha! I see it... big as day! LoL!!! I was so excited to see my boarding pass I didn't see the huge circular FTTF logo! LoL!! Thanks. 

 

Happy sailing!

Glad you spotted it 🙂 Which upcoming sailing are you on? We're heading out next week on July 8.

4 hours ago, carefree20 said:

Glad you enjoyed your trip! One question: we have FTTF for our upcoming sailing. Did it print out on your luggage tags or boarding pass? I don't see it on mine. Thank you for those highlights, I will surely take note and seek them out. Thank you!!

Yes, FTTF will print on both your boarding pass and your luggage tags. On the boarding pass, it's in the upper left corner and pretty tiny. On your luggage tags, it's on the bottom of each side of the tag, right above the "Staple or Tape Here" message. 

Question after looking at the HMC drinks menu you posted- Don't see any wine listed is there any available?

Very good point, Xyz! I can't believe I didn't notice that there wasn't any wine offerings on the menu at the Half Moon Cay Bar. I also didn't happen to catch if there was any wine behind the bar area (and maybe it just wasn't listed on the menu), or if they didn't serve wine at all. They seemed to have a bigger booze set up at the pirate ship bar, so I am wondering if they do wine there. I'm sorry that I don't have a definitive answer for you, but maybe if anyone's been able to order wine on HMC, they can chime in! :)

Thanks for the review, I'm really enjoying it. We'll be cruising on her next Mar on a 14 days Journeys cruise. Looking forward to spending that much time onboard. We've cruised on the Miracle (same class ship) twice and loved it.

More pictures of the ship would be great.

Hi Rose! The ship tour is coming a little later. I've got a TON of ship photos and I figured I'd do one big section at the end highlighting each of the different areas of the ship. Stay tuned! :D

We headed up to our room and took a nap (what a surprise). Tonight was Guess That 80s Song with Kevin at 9:15 p.m., and we knew we wouldn't be able to eat in the MDR and make the game in time, so we made the decision to eat dinner at the Lido buffet for the FIRST TIME EVER.

And it was GOOD! We were pleasantly surprised. I don't think we'd make an active attempt in the future to chose it over the MDR unless we had another event that we really wanted to make, but it did the trick. Of course I hit up the salad bar, and Chopsticks was open so we were able to grab some Asian fare. The lasagna bolognese on the buffet line was exactly the same one from the MDR and was warm and tasty.

We grabbed some drinks and headed down to the casino to get some time in before my game. Around 9 p.m., I was getting ready to head over to the main atrium to stake out a spot, but AJ was totally into the Great Inca and told me he'd meet me around the time the game started.

A little background about me: I have only three geniune talents in life, and in no particular order, they are dodgeball, braiding hair, and being able to name songs and artists of most genres (not country, woof) within a few seconds of the opening riffs. I've always try to attend the name that tune games on our past cruises in hopes that I will win a coveted ship on a stick. 80s are one of my favorite genres, and I was hoping to do some damage tonight.

When I arrived at the atrium, it was PACKED - totally filled to the edges of the dance floor, no seats available at the bar or any of the chairs, and people leaning up against the railing of the deck above. I was starting to feel nervous to compete against so many people.

AJ showed up for a split second to deliver me a glass of wine, and he left me immediately for the Great Inca. Thanks for the help, AJ! I was on my own. :eek:

Kevin, the Cruise Director, appeared on stage and introduced the format: he would play a short snippet of 20 songs, and we would have to guess the song and the artist. Each correct answer would result in 1 point, for a grand possible-total of 40 points.

We were on a tender by 3:15 and it was a quick, beautiful ride back over to the Pride.

It took quite a while to debark from the tender because it was filled to capacity and only one line was filtering off the boat and onto the ship. If you're on one of these last few tenders, be prepared to stand in line for a bit while you're waiting to get back on the ship.

Half Moon Cay is DEFINITELY the most beautiful place on Earth. I would choose another Carnival itinerary that calls here in a heartbeat. I've never seen water that is a deeper shade of turquoise and so clear that you can see straight down to your toes, even during a downpour. The sand on the beach is soft and powdery, and the sand once you're in the water is just as smooth and there are no rocks in sight.

You can be completely happy here without booking any additional excursions or add-ons, and Carnival runs fun free activities like tug-of-war and a sandcastle building contest. The free island BBQ is also tasty and sufficient. However, there's plenty of extras for those who want to do a little more physical activity, including paddle boats, paddle boards, and mini sailboats, plus a wide range of excursions including a stingray encounter, horseback riding in the surf, and jet ski rides.

The cabanas and villas also seem to be a great value and come with a lot of perks - loungers, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, rafts and snorkel equipment, personal showers, and a hot tub (in the villas) - but most importantly, shade (right AJ?). He even suggested we book a cabana the next time we're in HMC as long as we have another couple to share it with.

I wanted to add one last note about snorkeling in HMC. We love to snorkel and own our own equipment that we bring on every cruise. Mitsugirly mentions a great place in HMC to snorkel in her review, but we didn't head down that way. We used our goggles and snorkels only in HMC, and though there wasn't a ton to see, having the goggles was a definite plus. Next time, if we're just planning to lounge on the beach again, we will leave our bulky fins on the ship and just worry about bringing our goggles and possibly the snorkels.

Here's one last gorgeous shot from HMC:

Here's another photo of me in my sweet raft. This was right before the giant paddle board monster attacked the Carnival Pride, reaching up to the upper decks and plucking unsuspecting chogs from their deck chairs. Thank goodness AJ and I were safe on the shore.

The last tender was scheduled to depart at 4 p.m., but we started packing up around 3 and lazily made our way over to the loading area. The near-side of the beach was still hopping at 3 p.m. ...

... but our section of the beach was nearly deserted.

I was able to snap a few more shots on the way out of the On the Rocks bar. DJ Goa had stopped his set by this point. He had played a good mix of the requisite Lido deck dance songs (Cupid Shuffle, the Wobble, etc.) and reggae-sounding pop hits (Buju Banton, Kevin Little, etc.) and I thought the volume was set to a good level. He had been set up on the left-hand platform and had a quite a congregation of enthusiastic dancers in the beach area in front of him all day.

Here is the "I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever" bar. We didn't order any drinks from here during the day, but it was only because we were so much closer to the pirate ship bar.

I am still looking for us in your pictures. We were in cabana #7 the day you were there!

 

Half Moon Cay definitely lived up to the hype, it was paradise!

 

I am loving your review!

Kimba, was your daughter my "twinsie" who was also wearing a bathing suit with black bottoms and an orange top? She was a riot!

Thanks for following along :D