Pellaz

Yeah, I'm sailing in just a few days and it's startling how...unhelpful...the app is. For our upcoming cruise, only the Ultimate plan is being offered, no 3-night plans, which is a shame because we bought the latter on our cruise in 2020...but the UDP price is just too high.

They started it on Vista, but then dropped it and went back to normal elevator operations a few weeks later. We were onboard during that brief period when Destination Dispatch was used, and we liked it. But, as others have observed, there are capacity issues during busy periods (like embark) and because large parties only pressed their floor's button once. In fairness, I don't recall any instructions on the Vista saying to press it once per person. We have been on Horizon recently twice, and liked DD there also. On embark day they operate the elevators in manual mode, with a crew member in each car manually pressing floor buttons using the button pad behind the locked panel on the left side. After embark the system was returned to DD operation. And now I'm curious as to how the two systems' dispatch algorithms differ, and how they're similar. 🙂

And it's been years, but as I recall there's a handy dining pavilion close to it as well.

Since they might not allow your glasses on the slides, you could consider wearing your contacts, along with a pair of clear swim-goggles to keep your contacts from any harm.

We sailed on the Mardi Gras, very similar to Jubilee, and we were amazed at all the "free"/included dining venues. I discovered exactly what shawarma was, and also bulgogi beef, thanks to the station on the Lido and Street Eats, respectively. And then there are a myriad of other options, from Shaq's Big Chicken to the oft-overlooked Fresh Creations salad bar up in Serenity. If you haven't opted for YTD, please do so, since YTD also includes Cucina del Capitano and Chibang! as part of your dining experience as well as the MDR.

I was wondering about this also, since the only option offered for our charter sailing next week is Voom Surf + Stream at a whopping $28/day. We weren't sure if Royal had dropped all other tiered internet plans or if RC was "sticking it" to us charter cruisers. In the past, there's been a combined internet + soda package offered. Has that also gone the way of he dodo? For those of us who are...bemused...at the higher prices, is it still possible to purchase wi-fi by the hour, a la carte? Also, is it possible to purchase the Surf+Stream plan onboard, on the second or third day?

<Casually hiding my comical misconception of the character "Effy Trinket" from the Hunger Games movies at the casino.* "May the odds be forever in your favor!" 😄 > ---- * and yes, I know it's spelled "Effie"

We've been waiting so long for the conclusion of this fascinating tale that in the meantime, half of the U.S. froze over. 😄 (Seriously, we want to know about the dog. Or "dawg" if you're from UGA territory. 🙂)

Yep. Sure, I'd swap Nassau for Bonaire in a heartbeat, but there's a huge difference in distance and time requirements. I'm glad we got to Bonaire on the Horizon last October, completing our tour of the ABC Islands. OP, the Bahamas is (are?) certainly worth a visit at least once and can often be done "on the cheap" since they are close to Florida ports (except Tampa). -- Grand Turk, which is technically part of Turks & Caicos (actually contains the capital "city") but is part of the Bahamas island chain, is one of my favorite ports anywhere. Very casual, vendors are not pushy, one of the nicest built-port areas anywhere with a big free pool and the beach is literally a few hundred feet from the dock. -- I'm mostly done with Nassau except that I haven't seen their new cruise port facility yet. I've heard the vendors are less pushy there than they were in the old facility and I hope to check it out at some point. -- I really love Half Moon Cay...but the skyrocketing price of cabanas there has soured me on it a bit. We've really enjoyed our cabanas there on 3 previous visits, but I doubt we'd ever get one there again. Carnival is investing $70 million to build a dock there....finally. Can't wait! -- Bimini was okay. Couldn't ask for a closer port to Miami. 😄 -- Haven't been to Freeport. I'm told I ain't missin' much. 😄 -- Haven't been to Princess Cay yet (part of Eleuthera Island). I'd like to check it out at least once. -- Hope to get to Celebration Key, Carnival's new-build port on Grand Bahama Island, in 2025. 🙂

Interesting. What were the complaints about Venezia's pool? Oasis would of course be a much more "wow" ship, but that level of wow comes at a price, as you've noted.

Concur. OP, I think if you inform the host that your son is special-needs, they'll accommodate you with an exception. They will likely bring a child's-size portion for him -- and after all, that's what you'd be paying for -- but if he's used to that from the MDR kids' menu, that should be fine.

It's been a while since I've sailed on a Conquest-class, but I've been on Liberty -- my first "big" ship cruise! -- Conquest twice, and Freedom. I wouldn't hesitate to book any of them again, although my friends and I had gravitated to longer cruises on newer ships. After being on some of the bigger ships lately (MG, Vista, Horizon), I think it would be nice to go to something smaller after our Celebration cruise next year. I like the fact that the older ships in the class have three pools -- pretty good for a relatively small ship by today's standards, and I like the sliding roof over the aft pool and hot tubs. I also like the "secret" decks forward -- on some ships you can stand above the bridge-wings, too! -- and the quasi-secret Ol' Fashioned BBQ place on Panorama Deck.

If MSC really wanted to, they could undercut every other cruise line out there. They are one of the world's biggest shipping firms and, with the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, their container shipping side stands to make even more profit.* Sometimes I'm surprised they haven't undercut everyone else already, especially since they have been breaking into new markets like the U.S. Not for the second entrée, but yes, there is a "nominal" $5 charge for a third entree. If MSC is charging for a second entrée...that's really sad. As I said above, MSC ain't hurtin'. ---- * the reasons are complicated; see "What Is Going On With Shipping?" on YouTube for more

Wait, I thought cabins were normally available by 1 pm? 😮 Yes, Carnival still does this (specifically for the first to arrive at the Red Frog Pub). I'm not sure if it's a free beer, or if it's a free alcoholic drink of any kind, though. Umm, perhaps I should have said "included" beer? 😄

Sorry, I thought I could safely assume that you'd know the meaning of my quote marks around the word, indicating that the author is fully aware that the word, when normally written, isn't totally applicable to reality. I apologize for my error.

Oh, it's arguably inane. But repeatedly belaboring the point when -- by your own words right up there ^^^^ -- "it's obvious to most clear-thinking folks" becomes inarguably tiresome. You can safely assume that most CruiseCritic users are smart enough to have made that incredibly difficult logical leap. Whew, same here. And "mystery meat" is an apt description -- it tasted like those nasty frozen, boxed hamburger patties you find in bunkers at the supermarket (I'm thinking specifically of "Flanders" brand). Seriously awful. Honesty compels me to add that since then, the WJ burgers on the Indy and the Freedom have been...serviceable. Nowhere near as bad. I HAVE been surprised at the paucity of "free" lunchtime dining venues on Freedom-class ships as compared to any of Carnival's Conquest-class (and larger) ships.

Oh, no, this is definitely NOT the case. On Liberty OTS, the burgers at the back of the Windjammer were TERRIBLE. I hadn't had a burger THAT bad since maybe college or high-school. Not only was it a hockey-puck, but it tasted like it was 50% "fillers and extenders"...or more. I'd take virtually any fast-food burger over that, any day and twice on Sunday. (More recently, the burgers in the WJ on the Indy and the Freedom were much improved...whew.) Johnny Rockets' DOES serve a decent burger (and onion rings, yumm), but as a general rule I don't pay food upcharges on cruises. As mentioned by others, Guy's Burgers, "free"/included on most (all?) Carnival ships, are the best I've had on a cruise. No, sorry, you can't. As you have repeatedly stated, they are not free. 😄

Brilliant. And what a great show...which is now almost 20 years old itself. 😮

Royal should have refunded the excursion cost immediately, as is standard for any "failed" excursions. They should also have offered free internet to affected guests who did not already have Wi-Fi, and a comp to those who did, to be able to contact family, handle lost items, etc. The wi-fi would cost them a negligible amount anyway. However, I'm not so sure Royal is liable for lost items on the excursion. If anything, the Blue Lagoon charter company CERTAINLY would be. They should have already contacted the victims about it. Good grief, their boat sank and it could be due to negligence. And of course, this is a situation where trip/cruise insurance would signify greatly.

Aquaventure was significantly busier when I was there around mid-November, with longer lines for the rides. I'm not sure if that was mostly Atlantis hotel guests or Comfort Suites guests or day-pass holders or cruise-excursion visitors. Seemed like Atlantis (the hotel) was fairly busy, though, and Comfort Suites told me they were at or near capacity. When I arrived for my 4-night stay, they were able to assign me a room and give me my card for Atlantis access, but my room wouldn't be ready for a couple of hours. I dropped my luggage off in the lobby and went over to Aquaventure in the meantime. 🙂 I'm curious to see if Baha Mar, the BIG new hotel property west of Nassau, will be offering any capacity to cruise visitors, or if day-passes are offered. They have what looks like a nice, brand-new waterpark that includes things that Aquaventure doesn't have, like a wave-pool.

Oh yes, with only two you are likely to be better off buying day-passes and taking a taxi or the water taxi over to Paradise Island. Which hotel? Atlantis? A 33% capacity there wouldn't surprise me -- it's a BIG property -- but I had thought they were doing better. Comfort Suites tends to be a bit more full.

I've spoken with cruisers who booked the cruise line excursion or purchased day-passes who had only three or so hours at Atlantis -- their ship arrived at Nassau early in the morning, Atlantis slides opened at 10 am, back on board was in the afternoon. You really have to know exactly where to go, what activities must be done in a certain order, hope the lines are short, etc. And hope that the weather cooperates. Although Aquaventure seldom closes, they will close for bad thunderstorms. Yep, that's why I booked CFAR travel insurance before my last trip to Atlantis and CSPI. Even $450 might not be too bad for four people if Atlantis day-passes are $200 each.

No, I wasn't on the Vista two weeks ago. My BtF tour was several years ago. The Captain added reflectively "Very tricky approach to Grand Turk with high winds -- and there is no port-pilot." Do you perchance go on Cruise To the Edge? I've been eyeing that one for a few years now. I very nearly went on the Prog Nation At Sea cruise years ago...and maybe I should have, since it became a once-and-done due to too-low cabin sales.

Even with the price increases, Carnival's specialty dining is still either less than, or on par with, the prices on the other mass-market lines...Chef's Table excluded.

Yep. Chipotle mayonnaise! 🙂 I mean, I appreciated the fact that Royal finally added SOMETHING new and "free" for lunch on the Freedom, but....yeah. It was nowhere near as good as ye ol' Blue Iguana.