Drazil65

We haven't needed/wanted to purchased it in over 3 yrs but during those times when we did purchase it, we did NOT do so whenever we had a suite. We have an excel suite on the Mardi Gras in 4 weeks and would not purchase it separately as the suite perks and platinum combo hits all the items we would be interested in at this time.

We only need a cabin for 3 so the balcony or suites have a sofa for DS, I am sure there would be a pull down bed for the 4th in most cases. It may depend on the ship also. We normally spend 5 days at Universal on the premises to take advantage of the transportation and the extra hour before the general public comes in (especially for HP world). We break up our days and will take a break in the afternoons then go back in the evening.

We cruise both RCCL and CCL, DS is 19 now and has been a regular cruiser a couple times a year (sans covid) since he was just under 2. DS definitely prefers CCL for activities, food options (the stuff he wants to eat), DH and I would more than likely choose CCL most of the time as well. Carnival seems to give us the better offers on any given day. I agree with the posts that suggest you sail on a 7 or 8 day cruise and maybe look into a balcony (or 2 if you need the kids in a separate cabin) or suite. Having that outside real estate space for some down time reading, drinking wine before dinner (👍) or watching the sunrise on a peaceful early morning in your pjs, its worth the space. You decide how much of the crowd you want to interact with and its easy to stay away from lido, the pools etc. and its nice knowing you have the option of getting away in your own cabin. Also, you picked the best theme park to spend a week at for your family, DS by far will always choose Universal over the rest (since he was about 8 yrs old), you will have a blast on the cruise and the park!

Can you split the drive in half (or maybe a few hrs at least) and leave 2 days early (leave the afternoon of the first day to get a jump on the drive)?

We are driving an extra 4 hrs in 4 weeks to get on the Mardi Gras, we have ports that are much closer (we were on the Sunshine this past May) and less than half that drive time BUT...we are very excited to be on MG and the extra drive time has fallen way down the list of concerns...

Always port side!

There was a thread going about Turks recently by people that had this port on recent cruise. Many of them reported that no one is checking for VAX at the port and CCL never said otherwise about it. So you may want to confirm before changing plans at this point (or find that thread and read the replies if you haven't already).

If you google hotels close to Jax cruise port you will get everything available or go to the port section of cruise critic.

My problem with Carnival is it's a new cutback every week and it's always a surprise what they'll take out from under your existing booking with no forewarning or ability to get your money back. Like a week or so ago they changed Mardi Gras bookings from San Juan to Nassau because they can't afford the fuel anymore. This week it's no more dessert mix (it's not ice cream) or extra entrees. Next week it could be no more room cleanings at all unless you pay I realize there seems to be a lot of changes within a short window of time and change (especially many) is hard for a lot of people. That being said, when is a good time for changes? All at once? Spread out? One a week? Two a week? There is never a good time for EVERYONE, someone is going to be upset or frustrated and someone will not feel affected, its individual. They will never please 100% of the customer base at the same time so it boils down to how it affects you, personally and whether or not you need to make a change. We have cruised CCL and RCCL mostly but have also done a couple on NCL (not fans) throughout the last couple of decades of cruising. All of these lines have had many, many changes, the one thing we have done is look at the cruise as a vacation foundation to build our individual experience on (and our experience has evolved with different phases in life). With DS now in college we no longer use the pools, the hot tubs, the children's areas or hang out on the very popular lido deck (we do not experience a lot of the new clientele everyone seems to mention) when we cruise. We learned a long time ago (whether on land or sea) not to depend or base our whole vacation experience on someone else and we build upon what makes us have the best vacation we deserve. We are responsible for making sure our choices reflect exactly what we are looking for and if we need to change something along the way we do. What's important to us is having our own space to chill away from crowds when we want to so we frequent a balcony or suite (in a few weeks we look forward to an excel corner suite on MG and will definitely make use of the extra large balcony when needed), use serenity and loft 19, we will eat in specialty restaurants or the MDR and pay an upcharge from the steakhouse or a 3rd entrée if DS or DH desires it), we will utilize some casino time and take in some comedy, DH and DS will snorkel or dive, we will drink what we want when we want it (we do not feel the need for cheers and we did preorder some items for upcoming cruise for balcony time before the change), appreciate the beauty of open water from the balcony, point is this is what makes up our cruise experience and only works for us.

Its .83 cents a bottle, it probably should have already been raised a while ago.

I hope that the economy doesn't nosedive completely and dry up the discretionary funds of this new clientele and Carnival is left with a diminished customer base because many of us that were once loyal have fled to avoid the drama. There were customers before you and there will be customers after you, but you should do what makes you happy. If Carnival no longer makes the grade for you, its in your best interest to move on dont you think? Its unrealistic to think everything stays the same over the years, everything changes and loyal or not, there is always someone waiting behind you to get on. People should never be miserable on vacation and when it gets to that point, time to move on to making yourself happy. There are plenty of options out there to make everyone happy while on a hard earned vacation.

I haven't stepped foot in a Hilton property since and don't intend to ever again...perhaps it's time to make the same type of choice with my cruises. That is what is great about having choices, you have them! Its all good!

So instead of all of this taking away ice cream nonsense, They did not take away the ice cream only shorten the availability of it. 99% of the cruisers will be ok with this as they still have it available for 13 hrs a day...the 13 hrs the majority of cruisers are awake and eating on a regular basis. When I am booking a cruise I cannot say the availability of ice cream plays into the decision, ever. I am sure most people will get over it and enjoy their cruise anyway and if not, well there are other options out there if its that important.

We have done Sunshine out of Charleston several times since it is a close port for us (we drive obliviously) and this would be the cruise I would pick of the 2 posted. We were on this ship this past May and although she is showing her age we still had a blast. This is the smallest ship we would cruise on but the serenity deck is a favorite for us. We had a balcony on Empress deck and it was as we expected, all good. Which ever you choose, have a great time!

Quick question, as things have changed with the hotels, have you searched on google or TA for hotels in PC offering shuttle service? Also, you might go to the port specific area of these boards for additional info.

$49.95 per cabin. When it does in fact come back, I doubt very much this will be the price considering it was up around $90 I think pre covid...

As soon as I read this, I knew I would be used by either my husband or my son to order them a third entree. Exactly! DH and DS usually order the additional steak portion from the steakhouse in the MDR if they feel like steak along with their MDR entrée(s). I will definitely be used for additional entrees no doubt.

We have been to and pretty love each one of those ports so destination would be pretty much equal for us. Truthfully I dont think you can go wrong with either ship and would probably personally choose Celebration only because we have not sailed her yet. We like the bigger ships and newer is good too for us so I guess the only negative for us would be the embarkation port. We would choose Miami as we really do not care for Galveston at all (personal choice). Good Luck!

Every once in a while we do the buffet for dinner if we are running late and want to see an early show. *Agree with the carving station for beef, a little too rare for me but perfect for DH and DS, definitely take a look first. *My SIL is also prefers "mustard" type of potato salad, she actually gets the buffet potato salad and adds a squirt of mustard from the condiment tray to mix in, she said its good. *I do the salad bar and then will add a nice piece of grilled chicken or salmon (if on the buffet that day) to the top, makes a nice meal and filling. *We do utilize the deli options and find the line goes pretty quickly normally then add some sides from the buffet to complete the meal. We normally grab some swirls ice cream or frozen yogurt (me) after a meal in a drink cup (not cone) and head back to the buffet to find fresh fruit to add (strawberries, pineapple etc.) on top. Every once in while there will be additions at the dessert bar area (to add on top of cakes etc) that we can use on ice cream as well (chocolate or caramel syrup) to make more of a sundae.

The camps, for this very reason, do not feed the kids. This, but keep in mind no way to control simple things like a kid in camp that ate nuts prior to going to camp and touches the same toy or game controller that your kid then picks up. There will always be a risk of contamination from kids that are exposed to some kind of nut or even if they eat peanut butter related things and touch their mouth then a toy. For this reason my SIL did not let my nephew (severe nut allergy) go to camps. He of course was disappointed but we found other things to occupy him while cruising and it was better than the risk of close contact with other children. No incidents and a great cruise! Good Luck!

San Juan was the only port that we really wanted to visit on our cruise. Who else can do this and just expect us to say "Oh well, I guess there is nothing we can do about it because the Company wants to save some money Read your cruise contract, it has always been a possibility on any cruise for whatever reason CCL deems it (and it does happen more often that you think). All cruise lines have this stipulation included so not unique to CCL as it is impossible to account for every situation that may come up. Many companies reserve the right to change or move things around and it is always in the fine print. As annoying or disappointing as it is, you now have the options to cancel (hopefully you purchased travel insurance of some type to cover a cancellation), move the cruise to another date in the future or deal with it and not let it ruin your cruise.

What the call center should have done, was provide me with the same information that you did. They should all be informed on the latest CCL Covid guidelines so they can address any customer questions or concerns. CCL call center gave you whatever information they currently have, that is what you got basically. They do not track and have no obligation (they are not a medical facility) to let you know what you should do. If you had called a medical office or the health department they would have told you to wear a mask and if you were bad off to see your doctor to get the covid meds if applicable. Getting covid on a cruise is a always a risk at this point but after 2 years of dealing with this in this country, we should all be very well versed on our choices and options.

We are in an excel suite this December on MG and got the pop up for a cabana about a week ago. We wont get one as we can use the loft area without one and have the excel suite balcony with our cabin. I dont see the sense in paying extra for one as I do not believe we would utilize it sufficiently for the week.

We are booked on MG 12/16/23 cruise and so far still showing San Juan on itinerary. We enjoy this port and although we would rather have this port on this cruise we will adjust if it gets changed. We have been to most of them anyway at this point so not a big deal, its still a cruise!

If something happens while you are out of country and require medical, you will be required to pay for the service upfront. You can get travel insurance that states they will advance/provide the upfront money to a hospital for a medical emergency or being admitted. This is typically under "primary" medical money paid out, they will pay first.