Pellaz

2 hours ago, ChutChut said:

So sorry you've encountered ignorant, indelicate people. One of the problems is so many people abuse the service dog situation that a lot people are callous to it. 

I was about to post this, too.  

So many people have tried to game the system with "emotional support animals" (including snakes, pigs and, reportedly, a miniature horse 😮 )  that the airlines and cruise lines have had to adopt stricter policies.  It's a darned shame, since trained service dogs are really amazing at what they do...and what they don't do.   

On 12/17/2023 at 6:18 AM, vjmatty said:

Right now for our dates the cruise planner is showing $219pp and the Atlantis site is $190pp.  For only two people it may not be worth booking Comfort Suites in advance but I may look into it. 

Much depends on the time of the year (high season, low season) and the prices of the hotel room-night + per-person additional fees vs. the price of an Atlantis day-pass or a cruise-line excursion.  It's also possible that either of the latter could be sold out.  For that matter, the hotel was near capacity when I stayed there recently.....

Comfort Suites Paradise Island charged $40 per-person as an additional fee when adding guests, when I last visited a month ago. 

(For reference, I paid about $1350 for 4 nights and roundtrip airfare from Atlanta via a certain "warm cable" booking site.)

Coming up with a firm amount for the hotel room-charge is tricky, but I generally assume $200/night or so as their baseline charge.  So, call it around $240 for two people, $280 for three, and $320 for four (which is the max per room).   This can make it "iffy" for two people, but a real deal for 3 or 4.  

I just contacted the hotel directly and yes indeed, the "hack" still works.  Room must be booked in advance (as late as the day before, but I'd book it sooner) and it is up to 4 people per room, at $40 per person extra.  

You'd get your printed guest cards at hotel check-in, then proceed over to the Royal Towers lobby (past the casino) and downstairs to the Aquaventure desk to get your wristbands.   You'll need to show the cards at the security checkpoint past the casino and the Crystal Shops to gain access to the lobby.  

If you need any advice or "best practices" tips for navigating Atlantis and Aquaventure, tag me in a  post on the appropriate CruiseCritic "port" board and ask; I was just there a month ago.  Your time over at Atlantis will be limited and you definitely don't want to waste any of it trying to figure out how to ride certain rides, where to go, etc.   

On 12/12/2023 at 10:51 PM, bonsai3s said:

A more comfortable bed.

Gods, yes.  I don't know what it is about Royal's beds (or maybe the bedding), but I almost always have trouble falling asleep.  Maybe the mattress is too firm, as others have mentioned?  

I'd also love the option of getting firmer pillows instead of really soft fluffy ones; those tend to feel warmer to me.

On 12/15/2023 at 6:29 PM, The Sunset Glow said:

Every ship needs a food venue on the pool deck - one where you can get a quick meal with your bathing suit on.

Absolutely!  

On 12/16/2023 at 10:51 AM, Shayhooper said:

Please stop reminding us that we will be getting a survey and making us confirm we will give them a 10 rating after every single meal. EVERY.SINGLE.MEAL.  It seriously ended each meal on a sour note that made us quite uncomfortable.  

That's not just on Royal, but other lines too.  It's maddening. 

So:   "Umm, I've had good service from you, but this is the third time you've mentioned giving you a 10 on the post-cruise survey.  For every reminder after tonight, my score drops by one point." 

On 12/16/2023 at 1:31 PM, JupiterTwo said:

My one thing was going to be to have a shawarma stand on the pool deck like Disney has. Royal doesn't need another pizza, burger, or hot dog offering. Shawarma is easy to carry in a pita, slice a few cuts from a meat on a rotisserie, add some veggies and sauce, and walk away.

I wasn't really sure what "shawarma" was...until I sailed on Carnival's Mardi Gras.  Tried some from the shawarma station in the Lido...and loved it.  

I also discovered what "bulgogi beef" is, on the same ship (it was offered at one of their "Street Eats" kiosks.)

I'd love to see more "free"/included dining options for lunch on the smaller ships...and by smaller I mean anything Freedom-class or smaller.  After cruising on Carnival I was shocked at the paucity of included venues on the Indy and the Freedom -- although El Loco Fresh was a welcome addition on the latter.  Still nowhere near as good as Blue Iguana Cantina, but I respect Royal's effort.  

Also, unless they've already adopted this fleet-wide, PLEASE issue sail-and-sign cards with a pre-punched hole for a lanyard.  I hated having to wait in line at Guest Services just to get my lanyard punched.  

Things unique to Carnival:  

-- having many of the crew remember you by name.  From room-stewards to Havana Area deck crew to bartenders, it's always a nice feeling.   I know other cruise line employees probably do this, but they consistently try on Carnival (and it's a focus for guest-facing crew training), and on my last few Royal cruises it has been nonexistent.  

-- Towel animals.  These are also not technically unique to Carnival but I seldom get more than one or two on Royal, if at all.  And of course the Towel Animal Invasion on the pool-deck one morning toward the end of the cruise.  ❤️  

-- "Sssssshowtime!"   And also sometimes having crew members sing during dinner.  One of the female crew singers in the MDR on the Mardi Gras was absolutely amazing.  

-- Mongolian Wok or JiJi's Asian for stir-fry on embark day.  I make a beeline for those, on ships so equipped.  

15 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Yep.  In the last year I've missed 3 ports, none of them tender ports or private cruiseline ports.

 

And in some cases, it's not even docking that's the issue in windy weather.  We almost missed a port (Roatan I believe) once because the channel leading to the port is too narrow to safely navigate with the wind at certain speeds and directions.

The same is true for Grand Turk.  While missing the point is rare, it CAN happen due to high winds because the dredged approach (the "fairway"?) is quite narrow.  The Captain told us during the Behind the Fun tour that the max sustained wind speed there to dock safely was 35 mph (I think; it might have been 35 knots), and on that cruise, we JUST barely made it.   There were one to two-foot waves between the ship and the shore...which at Grand Turk is pretty startling...and every water excursion including my snuba trip was cancelled.  

On 12/13/2023 at 11:56 AM, smokeybandit said:

One night stays no longer qualify for the passes.

I believe this was clarified (on CruiseCritic's port board) to say "Same-day bookings no longer qualify."  

@jaredgold33 I'd suggest calling Comfort Suites directly and asking.  No need for any hesitation or potential embarrassment; they likely get questions like this often and they're pretty nice folks.  

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Perhaps you should have given away free (cheap) champagne?

Heck, for all I know, they might have!  😄  

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Whew, at least both the morgue and the brig are small.

No way of knowing how "deep" they go behind the doors, but yes, they seem small. 

I remember thinking the door to the brig was surprisingly narrow, too, at least on Horizon.  As a fluffy cruiser, maybe I wouldn't fit through the doorway, so....wheee!   I can act with carefree abandon onboard!  😄    (Nahh, I'd just be confined to quarters for the duration.)

2 hours ago, thundercrack said:

I am also in the boat (no pun intended😊) of your mom and husband and have bought quite a few pieces from the Park West Auction.  Mostly Thomas Kinkade and Disney prints,  but have bought others.  I would not consider myself or your mom and husband “suckers”, If I see something I think that I would get many years enjoyment from, at what I am willing to pay, I will buy it.  I have never considered them an investment, and am very realistic that they would not be worth much if my kids decide to sell after our passing (which I don’t think will happen as they already called dibs on the ones they want).

Oh, absolutely.  My mom and her hubby presumably got many years of enjoyment out of the artwork because they were hanging on the walls of the "great room," and the family-room downstairs.  I doubt they were looking into them as an investment, either...and yes, calling those purchsers "suckers" is indeed a bit too harsh.

2 hours ago, thundercrack said:

I’m sure everyone in their life has made a purchase that other would think foolish, can’t we just keep the negative opinions to ourselves?

I think the main focus here is not the quality or resale value, but the fact that Park West probably inflates the perceived value of the artwork.  

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

They actually show the morgue on behind the fun tours?

No, but typically you walk by the two doors, unsurprisingly labeled "Brig" and "Morgue."  

On the Horizon BtF tour a few weeks ago, our tour guide prefaced the walk-through by telling us that we would be passing by a few places that were too small for our group to stop near.  The crew laundry, crew gym, the morgue and the brig.  

3 hours ago, NJ CRUISE said:

I was playing a slot machine when the power went out. I happened to be in the middle of the bonus round on Dragon Link. There was a concern I would lose that game, but the machine did re-set just where I left off. So, no harm no foul.

Against the dark background of soot-spill, I thought this was pretty nifty.  I would never have expected slot machines to fare so well after a power outage.  

On Horizon two weeks ago, the Serenity hot-tubs were kinda lukewarm (but the weather was HOT so we didn't mind too much), but the aft hot-tubs were quite warm-to-hot.  

--And I think those are the only two hot-tub areas on the Vista-class.   There are none in the "main" Lido pool area.  

On 11/1/2023 at 11:03 AM, Woody14 said:

the lunch for free is usually only on sea days.

Hmm, nope. 

OP, check your Hub app each day -- the "Captain's Pasta Bar" (Cucina at lunchtime) has generally been open every day in my experience, but it could vary by ship and staffing level.  

On 11/1/2023 at 2:21 PM, Top_of_the_Cube said:

I am not normally on the ship for lunch on port days, but a look at some of the posted Fun Times shows it is open on port and sea days.

 

This is the Magic, but probably the same for all non-Excel class ships that have the Cucina del Capitano.  I just don't know the situation on the Excels and the ships with different Italian restaurants.

It's very similar on the Excel-class ships for lunch, except that we were heartbroken to find that, at least on the Mardi Gras in 2021, the Cucina was NOT open for lunch on embark day; I don't think Chibang! was either.    😞  

On 11/3/2023 at 7:38 PM, happycruiser220 said:

Yup right next to the morgue. At least on Venezia. 

They seem to be right next to echother on many ship classes.  Vista class for sure, and also Dream and Conquest-class, as I hazily recall from Behind the Fun tours.  

On 11/3/2023 at 6:29 PM, Old Fart Cruisers said:

It's amazing how people actually think they are getting something valuable from Park West Gallery.  Apparently, there are a bunch of people willing to shell out a lot of money for these useless, mass produced 'ARTWORKS', or Park West wouldn't be auctioning their stuff on over 100 ships on Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Regent Seven Seas and Royal Caribbean. 

But then, as P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute"

My mom and her husband were included in those "suckers."   They bought a lot of art pieces aboard various cruise ships and lines.  Personally, I thought most of them were garish and kinda jarring, but I don't collect "fine art," just fantasy and sci-fi prints and artist-proofs.  

Came time for the estate sale.  The artwork was discounted pretty heavily...and still, NOT ONE piece sold.    😮  

5 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

True, but I don't really consider them main dining areas anymore on Carnival ships. They're never open for lunch, for one thing. The buffet by comparison has food for every meal.

Seaday Brunch, anyone?   Y'know, that thing that sounds like "lunch" because it includes lunch?  

On 10/6/2023 at 5:00 PM, Cuckoo7 said:

I won $5000 on a game like this on the Dream a couple of years ago.  They don't have it anymore.  Hit it on the 3rd try.  I thought I was pretty cool until I found out later it was programmed to go off at a certain time.

 

 

Oh, it was still pretty cool.  Feel special!  That machine surely isn't programmed to allow a winner in anything less than 5,000 tries, so the odds against you were at least 5,000 to 1.  🙂  

On 8/19/2023 at 1:06 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

We live just an hour from Tampa and would like to cruise on the Elation’s sister, the Paradise, for easy, short cruises. The last time we were on that ship, though, we did not enjoy it as much as we hoped because the ship was so loud. The theater and especially the lido deck seemed to have the volume way up compared to other ships. We missed the outdoor promenade deck and could not find a place to get away from the noise and relax. Did you find anywhere to sit outside and relax that was not noisy?

As previously mentioned, the Serenity area on Fantasy-class ships is nice and quiet.  Since it's located aft, it is blocked from all the noise on Lido Deck, and it's also nowhere near as windy as the forward-located Serenity areas on newer ships.  AND you get a great view of the ship's wake. 

The Serenity areas on the older ships DO lack their own bar, but there is a bar right up the stairs on Lido Deck, next to those awesome outside "wing" seating areas above Serenity.  

On 8/20/2023 at 8:13 AM, jean87510 said:

One thing I don't like is the announcements in the cabin.  I was awakened at 4am to an Alpha Alpha Alpha on deck 6, cabin whatever.  I hope all was well but I ended up going to gym at 5am.  

OP, that was an emergency call and those are normally directed to the shipwide all-call system, including inside staterooms. 😮  

Routine announcements are seldom directed to the all-call system, although after a certain hour on debark day they will do so, on the assumption that passengers REALLY need to be awake and preparing to vacate their staterooms.  🙂  

2 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Fresh water would be nice.  However, I spent 2 weeks cruising a B2B on the same ship, in the (saltwater) pools and would have never known the pools were salt water had I not learned prior.  The pools are only typically about 25 feet wide by 45 feet across and 4 feet deep, so swimming is not an asset.  Mostly just keeping cool and telling stories and lies amongst each other while enjoying a cocktail. 

I was able to swim underwater laps in Horizon's aft pool in the evenings after most of the folks had cleared out.  It was deeper than 4 feet, close to 5 in fact.  

2 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

So, now scratching my head why these pools would be so amazing and how much more fun those pools would be without saltwater in them.

I really wish the pools onboard (but not the hot-tubs) were saline pools, instead of chlorinated, or full-content seawater.  Saline pools DO have some salt content, but not as much as seawater.   It's not as bad on your eyes (although I wear a mask or goggles) and not as injurious to swimsuits or swim jammers.  

On 10/20/2023 at 9:13 PM, UtahCruiser1230 said:

Ported in Amber Cove today, when we booked I immediately grabbed a hillside cabana.  It’s a pretty good bargain as it includes unlimited slides and zip lines.  My 12yo did laps on the slide for most of the day.

 

We all enjoyed the hot/cold tub on the deck of the cabana.  Spent a lot of time in the main pool as well.

 

 

 

 

Wow, you must have been in the hillside cabana right next to ours (we would have been to your left from this view).   We really liked the hillside cabanas -- cheaper than the others, with your own hot-tub, a really nice view, closer to the included zipline and body slide, and further away from the noisy pool-bar.  Close to the Sky Bar and those restrooms, too.  

On 10/15/2023 at 11:47 PM, UtahCruiser1230 said:

Main was the filet and short rib.

 

 

We felt those two mains should be on separate nights, not on the same night.  🙂  

On 10/16/2023 at 8:53 AM, five. said:

I have no recollection of frozen fruit in havana. That's a new one to me. We'll be on this ship and this itinerary in 40 days. Been awhile since we were on carnival. We are in a havana interior, cheap like that. The part that matters is outside anyways.

They served (softly) frozen fruit twice a day on the pool-deck back there, or at least they did last October.  We had a Havana cabana room then, but had to settle for a regular balcony in 2023.

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Sail date 10/14/2023. 8-day Southern Caribbean out of Miami. DH and myself, SIL and BIL, MIL and my Mom.

I was on this sailing also.  Overall we had a good time, but for the first time in a while, we never had "outstanding" service in the MDR causing us to ask for a particular crew again.  OTOH, we never had a bad experience there either.  🙂 

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Just important to note that you must have some sort of card in that slot anytime you want constant power. This could simply be charging your electronics at night. I ended up putting the hotel key I had used the night before embarkation and just left it all week.

After this incident, they should simply have the room stewards place extra name-cards in the slot permanently.  Cardboard business cards work as well as credit cards.   It's not as if power is THAT much of a problem onboard; the ship's diesel generators produce upward of 70 megawatts of power.  

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Smart Elevators: I did not have a problem with them but there were a lot of people complaining. If the wait was too long for us, we took the stairs.

Carnival REALLY should make the "tutorial" video available to everyone before the cruise, maybe in an email.  The system works well, EXCEPT when people don't follow directions and overload a car with a large group that the system isn't "expecting."  

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

We rode both slides, and they were awesome!!

Yep! 

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Aruba: Found someone outside of the port to take us all on a tour of the island. Our driver would stop at some beautiful places and would take pictures of the 6 of us. It was fun and would do it again. The cost was $30 per person, and it was just us in the bus. We went to Eagle Beach and watched the sunset. Breathtaking. We did some shopping at was back on the ship for our late dinner at 8:15.

 

Bonaire: We did the Adults Only Sail and Snorkel through Carnival. It was great. The snorkeling itself was a little disappointing but the crew made the whole experience well worth it.

I did the catamaran snorkeling in Aruba -- second time -- and it was fine.  The cat is surprisingly well-equipped; it even had a soda gun at the bar.  

We all did the Private Van With Driver for Bonaire and it was the highlight of the entire cruise.  Great driver/guide and we saw a huge part of the island, which was great since it was our first time there! 

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Amber Cove: We rented an Ocean Cabana through Carnival. Very disappointing. It was $500.00 and would hold up to 8 people. There were 6 of us. They had a whopping two lounging chairs outside on the deck and that was it – mind you, this is supposed to be for 8 people. We asked for more, so he brought us two more from the pool area, but no more could fit after that. We saw people with floats, so we asked how we could get one. They were $12.00 each. Just seemed to nickel and dime us for a float?? The drinks were not great and cost about $13 each. Hamburgers were $17. We ended up going back on the ship for lunch. The zip line was fun but that was a one and done deal. We would not rent this again.

We six rented a Hillside Cabana -- it was the LAST cabana of any kind available when I snagged it -- and we were very happy with it.  Our own hot-tub, A/C, close proximity to the Sky Bar, slide and zipline (those were included free), and gorgeous views.  We paid less for it since the hilltops are regarded as the least desirable of the three cabana-types, but we thought it was great. 

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Debarkation: A TRUE NIGHTMARE!!!!!! This makes me never want to cruise out of Miami again. Some was not the fault of the port…the facial recognition scanner was down so the people with passports had to go through the same line as the people without, which slowed everything down. All of our (the 6 of us) checked luggage was to come out on belt A. About 75% of it did, but we found a couple on C and one on D. There was just no rhyme or reason with any of it.

Oh, it was a mess.   It didn't help that the escalator failed at one point, clogging up the gangway.  

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Cons:

• No hot water on the ship on night 1. This was not a big deal to me at all, but I only mention it because I heard a lot of people complaining about it. They had the water heater fixed the very next morning.

Our hot water never went out, but our friend Jay's did.  Our other cruise-friends had no issues.  

On 10/24/2023 at 5:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Overall, it was a great trip. This was my 8^th cruise with Carnival, and I will definitely go again. I guess you learn a little more with each cruise so I will take all that happened, the good and the bad, and move on to the next one.

We felt the same way.  We really enjoyed the cruise, even though there were a few bumps and hiccups here and there, and we're looking forward to next year on the Celebration.  

On 10/25/2023 at 7:31 PM, simplelife said:

Must be hit-or-miss, We sailed Sunrise in September and had a wonderful cruise with no problems

Same here; my $35 cruise on the Sunrise just after COVID was fine, A/C-wise.  

Not so on the Liberty about ten years ago; our oceanview wasn't being "conditioned" (i.e., it was moist air, not dry).  Only after invoking the Carnival Vacation Guarantee (r.i.p.) did we get moved to a balcony that had opened up due to folks who'd missed the sailing. 

On our just-completed Horizon cruise, we thought the room started out fine but began getting moist and stuffy.  A guest services officer came up with a digital thermometer, shrogged and said, "well, it's showing 71 degrees" and we thought that'd be the end of it..but we noticed that the problem went away and the room seemed "fresher" afterward.  Maybe Engineering reset a damper elsewhere or something.  

As a followup, I can now confirm that the more limited menu is now in effect aboard the Horizon at Jiji's, with certain preselected ingredients for each choice of bowl or broth.  I'll append a photo of the menu below.  

I liked both the beef and the chicken options (I don't care for shrimp); I thought the beef bowl was slightly better.   I was leery of it at first because of the Sichuan peppercorns ("Sichuan" means "hot and spicy" to me, and I prefer milder food), but the server said it wasn't TOO spicy and she was correct.  🙂  

On 10/16/2023 at 8:42 AM, Wennfred said:

Guys Burgers is usually my first meal when I arrive, it’s basically the best burger at sea, most will have a Guys burger daily, they are that good. They also have a station with onions, mushrooms and chilli which you can dress up your burger. I don’t have the buns since I have been on a ketogenic lifestyle for the past 3 years.

Regarding getting a burger without the bun and potentially extra messiness, I noticed on the Horizon this last cruise that they were no longer providing utensils at Guy's Burgers.  Previously they'd have silverware wrapped in those red "washcloth" towels, but not any more.   They likely dropped the silverware because very few people actually used or needed them for handling burgers or fries.

When I asked a Guy's employee out at the condiments bar, he kindly dashed across to Blue Iguana and got me a "standard" set wrapped in the usual blue cloth napkin.  

As a followup, we departed on Horizon from Terminal F...but we returned to Terminal D eight days later.  😮  

Embarkation was delayed because even at 10:30 am or so, there were still 800 people from the prior sailing still on board due to only one gangway being available.  

Debarkation was also a cluster due to a few factors, including failure of the down-escalator from the gangway level.   "The escalator is out of service and has become...stairs."  🙂    (In fact, they were closed off due to repairs in-progress.)