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I also get discount coupons from Airport reservations.com that are good at Fulton. In January, I got a $10 discount on top of the lower price. Normally the coupons are $7. I will say the port deck is nicer. Fulton is older and very tight. New Orleans did have security issues with some of the other surface lot parking. There was an article about cars being broken into with windows smashed.

You cannot go wrong with either one. The savings at Fulton will buy you a bucket of beer. I like to save money. Also, I carry my luggage off the ship and the shuttle is always waiting. They do not wait for a full bus to take you to the deck. In January we were the first off the ship and the driver headed to the garage with only six on the bus.

I prefer Fulton. I have used the cruise port parking also.

I had the filet and short rib on the Glory in January. The short rib was tender and good. The filet was thin and tough. I finished the short rib and ate less than half of the filet.

My wife takes her expired drivers license with her when she gets off the ship at the various ports as identification. The people at the ports we have gone to in the Caribbean give it only a cursory look and wave you through.

Agree with the poor quality of beef in the MDR. I will not order a steak off the regular menu. Our local grocery stores have better beef.

If you want to try something that is not expensive. Check out Arubus.com. This is the public transportation in Aruba. The terminal is across the street from the cruise port. For $5 you can get a round trip ticket from your stopping point; such as Eagle Beach. The buses are clean and the ride is bumpy. My daughter and I took the bus to the last stop just below the California Lighthouse. There is a beach at that stop but we did not go to the beach. We had to get off the bus and get back on for our round trip. We could have stayed for several hours on the beach and caught another bus later. All for $5 per person. That is a lot cheaper than a cab. There are other stops along Eagle Beach also. Check out the website. The cost is a lot less than an excursion and you can stay as long as you want.

Every time my wife orders a salad in the MDR, she always has to ask for additional tomatoes. They consistently put very few with the bed of lettuce. The MDR consistently lacks consistency. As I have said before (and people do not like), the MDR is hotel banquet food. I have been to many large hotel conferences and the similarities are tremendous.

I have discovered some consistencies in the MDR. The fried chicken is consistently over cooked on every ship.

There seems to be an unusual # of ports cancelled due to weather. Princess Cay was cancelled on our cruise in November.

On New Years Eve there is a Moon Pie drop in downtown Mobile. More than you want to know about moon pies. I caught several on Fat Tuesday at a parade this week. I should have thrown them back. I don’t care for them or RC colas.

I have had inside rooms under the galley on other ships. Don’t do it!!!!!!!!!

I agree, however, Carnival must get a large return on their investment in Celebration Cay. In the future, almost every cruise from Mobile, AL goes to Celebration Cay.

Ship has to be outside of Mobile Bay. If you look at a map, it has to go past the narrow inlet between Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines enter the Gulf. If the ship leaves port at 4:00 PM, it is usually around 7:00 PM when the casino opens.

It is very unfortunate what happened to these two ladies. I am glad the perpetrators have been arrested. The Bahamas should prosecute them to the full extent. Criminal activity in the Bahamas is why I do not like any itinerary that includes Freeport or Nassau. This has been discussed many times on CC. These ports have their fans, but I am definitely not one and will try my best to not include either port on future cruises.

Carnival is very good at separating you from your money and making you feel good about it. Now, add the spa package and the cheers package, you will feel even better.

My wife went to her first Tea Time after 30 cruises. Her response “what a waste of time.” $3 for a tea bag.

I agree that each individual has to decide how they will deal with COVID/Flu/head cold/norovirus/etc…. In my opinion people will revert to old habits from the past. Those with compromised immune systems will try to practice better habits. I do believe the cruise industry is faltering by falling back into old habits. Ships are not being cleaned as they were after COVID. Maybe they were cleaned better because the occupancy was lower and staff was available. Now occupancy is exceeding 100% per Carnival new releases. The industry will need to step up their sanitation game plan or they could find themselves under fire again. With the staff having more rooms to clean, tables to bus with less staff in the same time frame, sanitation will take steps backward. We hope the results are not as before.

FYI Carnival Vista's Dry-Dock Information: New Information! Previous Wet-Dock: 2021 Upcoming Next Scheduled Dry-Dock: 2024 Update As Of 1/19/2024: The Carnival Vista's 2024 dry-dock is now taking place in Cadiz, Spain. The time out of service is scheduled to end 2/14/2024. It is expected the Carnival Vista's Skybox Sports Bar is being converted to the Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge as Carnival put the Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge as coming soon to the Carnival Vista online. Further, it is expected (but not confirmed) that Carnival will be adding the red, white, & blue hull livery to the Carnival Vista during this dry-dock. The Carnival Vista was launched in 2016. In 2019, Carnival took the ship out of service for a dry-dock that utilized a floating dry-dock. In 2021 the Carnival Vista had maintenance completed in a wet-dock.

We ate at a shared table for seaday brunch on the Glory last week. I sat across from my wife. A man sat next to my wife and she immediately put her hands over her nose and mouth. She ate quickly and left. She said the man had terrible BO. Table for two next time.

Reading the comments, is why I said “ figured nobody cared”. People will not cancel a cruise if they are sick before they embark. Too much money involved. I do not think travel insurance will payoff for a cold. Would I cancel a cruise if I was sick at embarkation? I have not faced that decision. I have gotten sick on the back end. Carnival is not sanitizing as they were shortly after COVID. I make this statement based on taking 10 cruises since the restart (observation). People will continue to get sick, hopefully it will not get to level of the CDC stepping in. Carnival Corporate says all the right things publicly about sanitation, however they need to be on a ship to observe actual practice.

There was an article about a deep clean of the Elation due to gastrointestinal virus this week.

Just got off the Glory Sunday with a sore throat. Now having headaches and stuffy head. Did not check for COVID, figured nobody cared, especially Carnival. Just about well now.

I have had a similar experience with the fridges not being cold, regardless of the cabinet door. However , I was surprised on the Glory last week. The fridge actually kept beer and soft drinks cold. I would look at this being the exception not the rule. Prepare to keep your ice bucket filled.

I get my free drink every cruise at the sea day brunch. My wife and I ask for a beer unopened and take it back to the room for later. On top of that, the sea day brunch is better than the lido buffet in my opinion.