tropicaledrink

5 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Yes. 

AWESOME. We have this exact itinerary booked - good to know. On the Pride, the Lido version of cold brew was hot drip coffee poured over ice.....thanks Jamman!

8 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

I guess people like to line up. 14 days on the Vista and I never got a coffee from Java Blue,  always at the Ocean Plaza Bar. 😃

Does anyone happen to know if the Ocean Plaza Bar has real Cold Brew? That's my caffeine of choice, and it tends to only be at the main Java Blue locations 🫤

Another vote for the cioppino! It large, so definitely take that in to consideration with the rest of your order. I also like the wild caught tuna (it is served raw, so your mileage may vary) and my partner likes the oysters. For entrees - I personally have found the lobster to be just okay (especially the stuffed one - it gets tough because it's essentially cooked twice), but I do really enjoy both the crab cake and the Dover sole. I've only had the Key Lime Pie for dessert (it's the only safe nut free option - I am allergic), but I usually can only eat a bite or two!

On 2/17/2024 at 10:14 AM, blarko said:

What a strange thing to be “complementary”.

Welcome to Mobile! Just started this so someone else may have beat me to the punch, but Moon Pies are traditionally thrown from the Mardi Gras floats in Mobile. Lots of smashed moon pies on the ground during parades. I don't live near there any more, but it was a fun time when I did.

Hey I recognize that airport! They really need that additional parking garage before the 2026 completion date I have seen rumored. Have a great trip!

9 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

When I used to get them I would get ham, Mexican style eggs, hash browns, cheese, lettuce, onions, and Fresca.

 

I can’t stomach those fake watery eggs anymore. Now I only get blue iguana if I have an early excursion and I just grab the Huervos Rancheros.

 

I just started getting them without eggs! still tasty!

On 10/12/2019 at 2:17 PM, Jamman54 said:

It’s time for some food porn! Just a note here. When ordering our starters and mains, they also wanted us to order our desserts at the same time. We were both put off by this. Who knows if you’ll even want dessert until after you have finished the main course?

We were on the Sunshine the first week of October with YTD. 2 of our servers did this, the rest did not. We did hear a table near us ask if they could order after and their request was granted. 

Another wonderful review - thanks for taking us along on the adventure! 

Great review!

We were on the Pride just a couple of weeks before you (Sept 30 - Oct 7) and I already see some staff that changed over from the time we were on! It's crazy how quickly that can happen. We love the Pride as well and I am looking forward to reading about your Bermuda adventure!

Thanks for another epic review! We have sailed the Conquest, but not the Paradise. I look forward to the day we can have some epic longer cruises of our own. I am seriously jealous of your upcoming cruise schedule - but we will be on the Pride just a couple of weeks before you, so there is at least one to look forward too! The Pride is near the top of my list for favorite ships and I am excited to sail her again!

It's a long shot, but I would personally really love to see the Miracle sail from Jacksonville!

THE POP MACHINE!!! So, you purchase the soda package and they give you a plastic cup with a lid to use. You can either choose to use this cup and come to this drink station and refill on your own... instead of waiting in line at a bar for a cup.

 

They work exactly like they do at a fast food place (we have them here at Wendys).

 

I was told there's something in the cup that causes it to activate, but I swear I can't see or feel anything and I think they are just faking us out with this story.

 

 

Several issues with these machines that I will cover in my review, from placement to availability to function.

 

If it's like the machines we have on the campus I work at, there is a small chip in the bottom of the cup that activates the machine. The part that reads the chip is the black circle under the dispenser. I know they work here on campus, no idea on the Royal ship though. If you buy a disposable cup on campus, it only give you one fill up vs unlimited refills if you have purchased their "mug."

I couldn't remember which line you were sailing, so I checked a few boards to find this review! Excited to read along as we are seriously considering a Royal cruise for next year. :)

Good grief on your hotel though. What a mess.

I also cannot believe Sakari is 10! :o

I might have to try that next time we cruise on lobster night. I don't know for sure but every cruise there is one morning I wake up with my face, ears, and eyes really swollen with hives and itching like crazy. I know I can't eat seafood without stabbing stomach pains (started when I was a teenager) and my dad later in life developed an allergy to lobster. They thought he was having a heart attack when it happened at a cookout, and he had been able to eat lobster right up until the incident. I think the morning is after the first elegant night with all the lobster tails being ordered.

 

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I would recommend talking to the maitre d' on embarkation day - the times and location are typically in the fun times :)

They can definitely work to make sure your food isn't cross contaminated!

They point of seeing the menu and ordering ahead of time is even a meal that doesn't need modifications will be made in a separate area specifically for food allergies. This way they can make sure there is no cross contamination. My friends 2 year old had a reaction to nuts just from touching an empty candy wrapper that was a chocolate something with nuts in it.

 

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YES.

Nuts (especially tree nuts, which are my allergy) are hidden in a lot of the dishes. For example - on one ship, they decided to sneak nuts in to the Smores parfait. It's never been that way on any other ship since then. That was a chef choice, and had I not made them aware of my allergy, it could have been bad.

We've done YTD nearly every time since it became an option. I've never once had an issue with food coming out hot, or incorrect. We do prefer to keep the same wait team if we like them (this last cruise we tried to be seated in their section on the last night and he was full. No problem. We came back an hour later and got him!). Our dinner times vary a lot, which is why we prefer YTD (we eat as soon as the doors open some nights, and have eaten as late as 8:45pm other nights). We've also had rotating servers and had no issues then either. I would say we've had rotating more than the same team each night.

My allergy is also airborne for some nuts, which is a bit easier on YTD as well - I can asked to be tucked away in a corner on problematic nights (although we have started skipping a couple of truly problematic nights and opting for a specialty restaurant or lido instead). It's a lot harder on set dining to get a table for 2 in my experience (because sitting with people other than my family gets awkward if I am like, could you please not order this dish while you are sitting right next to me or directly across from me), and for my particular situation, YTD works out better for me. YMMV.

Price has been a big concern for us the last couple of years with DH being back in school. With the times we could sail over the last couple of years, I have price compared to RCI, NCL, and Princess. Carnival always came out on top price wise - by quite a large margin. Granted, we were cruising at peak times. Also, factor in that a lot of the times we could sail - some lines just didn't have sailings in the time frames we needed them (looking at you Princess). Our preferred port in Florida is Port Canaveral, and Carnival maintains great sailings from there. I will say in the last couple of years, NCL and RCI have stepped this up and we came super close to sailing the Oasis later this year, but the date we wanted didn't work out, and we ended up on the Carnival Pride in September for several other reasons as well (Baltimore is our closest port that routinely offers 7 day sailings!)

Other reasons we love Carnival:

• Good included lunch options - we love the Pasta Bar and Tandoor on the newer ships, we both love Guys and Blue Iguana, and DH enjoys the Mongolian Wok. We also liked the Pig and Anchor on the Magic (less enjoyable on the Dream). We also both enjoy the deli and the pizza (for the most part - the Magic's pizza was disgusting last time we were on)
  
• Reasonable cover charges for not included restaurants - $15 for Cucina and JiJi is a huge deal. We also found Bonsai to very reasonably priced. We've noticed some competitors tend to price things very high in the paid retaurants
  
• ALCHEMY BARS - by far our favorite things on the ships
  
• Cloud 9 Spa on the newer ships - our last two sailings were on spa cabins on the Dream and Magic
  
• Relatable passengers who are looking to have fun
  
• Carnival's developed ports - Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, Mahogany Bay, Amber Cove - all well done areas in our opinion (and cost effective when trying to cruise on a budget)
  
• Amount of evening options offered - we enjoy the live music offerings and the Comedy shows. Main shows are okay, but we did thoroughly enjoy America Rocks!
  

And to be fair, a few things I don't love:

• Inconsistent staffing experiences - we've had both GREAT and terrible experiences with our stateroom stewards and dining staff. There is often a lack of consistency from ship to ship and sometimes even sailing to sailing.
  
• Lack of varied itineraries
  
• Lack of kid free hot tubs - especially on the Vista class
  
• pretty much every dessert offered on Lido ;)
  

Overall, Carnival offers a stellar experience for what I have paid. I know what I am getting when I sail Carnival.

That being said, we want to try Princess for sure. MSC was on my list until some reviews on the Seaside started coming in. NCL is kind of iffy for me - their CEO has made some comments at points that have turned me off.

The sailing we are looking at for 2019 is a Canada/New England on RCI from Baltimore. It will be a smaller RCI ship, but the itinerary is great and much better than anything Carnival ever dreams of offering.

Happy Sailings to whatever you choose!

We had booked the Pride the day before the new schedule released and we ARE THRILLED we get another sailing with Dr. E!

I do think they are able to make some requests about their placements (not saying they are honored), but I can imagine that a smaller ship would be welcome after a long time on a bigger ship - and the CD cabins on the Spirit class have a balcony - just saying :p;).

Also, take in to consideration that the Pride has, on average, more time at sea. There are nearly 4 sea days, because the port stop at Freeport is so short. You need a CD who can manage sea days well, and in my experience, Dr. E is someone who fits that description!

There was 1 time that we did not get to board until 1p and it was due to a Coast Guard inspection that took longer than expected.

 

 

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Actually, this sailing was cleared about 10:45am (they came in and told us in the Captains Lounge). There were no weddings on this sailing. I am Platinum and set foot on the ship about 11:15am (per text messages). My sister and brother in law were in Zone 5 and on by 11:35am.

quick question, which nights were formal nights? I figure first full day at sea would be the first

Sea Days 1 and 2 on this sailing :)

It's interesting how much perspectives can vary!

We were on your sailing - also on Deck 11 (but Starboard) and we actually commented several times that we were surprised how little we stood in line. The two exceptions to long wait times for us were for our Shore Excursion in Belize (which is a story in itself) and we did wait about 30 minutes for the Pasta Bar on the last day. Other than though? Almost no lines. I don't know if it was because we did things at off times or what - but we were very surprised.

I agree the Dream is a little odd. They fixed the layout somewhat on the Magic in my opinion. Including the room furnishings in spa cabins :D

Also - our room steward was also not the greatest. Ours did not appear to have two floors, but she just wasn't fantastic. Lots of missed items. She was very kind. Just not the best we have had. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

We weren't given a sheet on the Dream, but we were asked. We decided to try once a day service for the first time - and will be asking for twice a day from now on. We found we actually needed the twice a day - otherwise we had to track down the steward to send out laundry, get additional towels if needed, etc. To top it off, our service was not the best. Items were not regularly taken from the room (clearly empty bar cups, a room service plate that was empty, etc), and I had to leave a note on Day 3 asking for our bathroom trash bin to be emptied. They were kind, but no where near the service level we are used to.

We keep the cabin clean - when they do clean, they are in and out very quickly. I don't even care that much about a deep clean twice a day. But please come get my trash, make or turn down the bed, and check the towels both times a day and I'll be happy.

I am so sad to see the end. Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this review and for sharing your family with us! I'll have to keep an eye on the NCL boards in April for your next one! We have only done Carnival, and I used to think NCL would not be to our liking, but your reviews have about convinced me to give them a shot!

I haven't been to Costa Maya since July 2007 - about a month before the Hurricane leveled it. It has grown a ton based off my pictures from then. I need to get back there. I'm (finally) getting back to Belize in 3 weeks for the first time since 2007 as well! :)

Great review as always. Kam and Sakari definitely have a family resemblance going on!

Yay! Nachi Cocum time! We have reservations for next month (first time) and I can't wait!

Great review as always!

We're only 4 cruises away from Platinum. As long as they don't do something that will change that, I'm good! :D

I feel you on that one - when they started talk at the beginning of the year, I was hoping it would be the normal drawn out process. I hit Platinum in May and DH will hit it in December. :)

We stayed in U16 on the Fascination. This cabin was actually larger than a regular ocean view. We definitely had a little more room to move around. On the Fantasy class, main and upper are my preferences - that way you have people sleeping above and below you. :)