Fla Mike

7 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

I booked for Labor Day weekend.

We'll see how they do and I'll report back.

We are going the week after.

Looking forward to your review.

34 minutes ago, linaka625 said:

Can you tell me why you won't even mention MSC Meraviglia? 

We did two MSC cruises in the past year.

One on the Divina, and on on the Meraviglia.

The Divina cruise was hands down one of our favorites... gorgeous ship, absolutely beautiful.

A fantastic crew, with service to match. Beautiful stateroom, (aft facing balcony)

The Meraviglia on the other hand was a loser from the minute we walked into the terminal, (both cruises left from PC).

From the mandatory COVID test (cruise was in Feb during the last surge) that they "must have misplaced" after we sat there for an hour, to the check-in agent insisting we had four people in our room because he had four key cards.

Of course, after we got it straight, he gave us the wrong ones.

Had to go back to the desk twice to get the cards to work cause they couldn't figure it out either.

I asked our room steward for a sharps container as I am diabetic, he had no clue. Had to find another steward to explain it to him.

The topper was the drink package, It was included,

We are not big drinkers but I like Jamesons on the rocks.

No Jamesons.

OK give me a Jim Beam.

They come back with a Canadian Club and tell me they are out of most of the booze on the plus package and to drink this or upgrade, very snotty and left.

This was at dinner.

So now this waiter totally ignores us for almost an hour before he takes our order.

I get the Maitre'd and he also had a major attitude.

Finally, after we left I got hold of the hotel manager and he comped the upgrade to our beverage package. 

You get the picture

The 2/1 sale intrigued me, so Lovey and I spent quite a bit of time looking at all the boob tube reviews on the reimagined “Margaritaville at Sea Paradise”, (yes, that is the ships official name now) these last few days and we decided to give it a try in September.

I know there has been some discussion surrounding price, with some pointing out that a three or four nighter on Carnival or MSC is just about the same price, and I did find that to be correct…for the base price.

But we took a few other factors into consideration as we pondered our cruise fate.

A three-night cruise on the Carnival Liberty, the same weekend, was exactly the same price. Now that is taking into account my VIFP discount and also adding the $12.00 pp per night fuel surcharge that BPCL (it really is the same line) is adding to the bill.

So, $129.00pp base cost, for an Oceanview makes the Liberty a no brainer?

Well, not so fast we discovered.

A few things that helped sway us towards “Margaritaville at Sea Paradise”

On the Carnival cruise the port charges are approx. $40pp more

Onsite parking is $24 more, (we don’t do off site) YMMV

An extra day at the kennel for the pooch, $65.

We also figured about and extra $50. on booze as one ten drink coupon will do us on “Margaritaville at Sea Paradise” as opposed to paying on Carnival. (We just do not drink enough to justify Cheers).

So, the way we looked at it the extra night would actually cost us around $219 more.

The final thing, for us at least, was, do we really want to do a weekend cruise on Carnival?  In my opinion that is just asking for too much.

We do cruise Carnival, at least once a year but on four-night minimums. We just came off the Freedom last month on the last cruise before “The Fire”. The crowd on that sailing obviously has not had much outside contact other humans. Never saw a crowd like that one before, and that was our third Carnival cruise since the restart.

I will not even mention our last MSC cruise on Meraviglia.

Anyway, this was just going to be a short getaway until our November cruise on Celebrity Edge and since we live in St Lucie County anyway, “Margaritaville at Sea Paradise” won.

We haven’t been on a BPCL ship since the Grand Celebration a few years ago.

Do a boob tube search on “Margaritaville at Sea Paradise” you may come away surprised.

I’ll let everyone know what WE think afterwards.

7 hours ago, keeponcruising said:

Griff and Alyssa YouTube channel has a review.  

Very good, fair, and honest review.

Most of the problems he mentioned are do to the age of the ship.

We will most likely give it a try now but wait until later in the summer.

8 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

The slogan written on the side of the ship:  "Changes in Latitude.  Changes in Attitude":  "Attitude", OK, I get.  But, changes in latitude?  What's the Marketing Department's thinking about using that word?  

Thinking about Jimmy's best selling album and also a Number One Song

More than a few Parrot Heads are grabbing their chests 😵

I found this very odd.. so I cannot enter Canada unless I download an app to my phone?

There are folks that refuse to use a smart phone, ( I am not one of them), so are they SOL?

No they are not.

The letter Greg received also has a link to the Arrive Can Website.

It seems, although I did not actually complete the sign-up process, that this can be done on a desktop by scanning all required info and then printing out you QR Code.

31 minutes ago, tx121 said:

I think it would be a FUN concept.

One look at the Miracle's MDR and you may change your mind.

I am on that cruise also, it will be the second night, Friday.

Yes, also on day two.

Everyone above is correct.

Once used insulin can go up to 28 days at room temperature.

If you are worried about keeping it cool while you travel, look into the Frio Insulin Cooling Wallet.

I never travel without at least two of the Duo's.

They have literally been a lifesaver.

This is sad to hear as I have really enjoyed it in the past and am looking forward to it on my upcoming Freedom cruise.

I didn't notice a change when I was on the Magic in September, but maybe the quantity consumed had something to do with it 😇

Perhaps AB-InBev is no longer producing it?

Does your planner still show the trip?

3 minutes ago, Retiredmedic said:

I am talking about how Carnival does not have exactly high standards for some of their upkeep.

It's not just Carnival.

I was on the Celebrity Infinity and The Ruby Princess pre COVID and neither was in as good of shape as the Magic was in for our cruise in September.

Carnival Victory

If you think the blue bathrooms are ugly... some of us remember the PINK ones!

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Too many opt out... Since I never opt out if I get this offer it's very good for me.

Was speaking to my PVP about the very same thing, too many people opting out.

I just booked us on a cruise on the Freedom for May, not sure of the promo, but it was basically free, and as the OP stated the  gratuities were to be prepaid.

I'm good with that, I always pre pay them anyway, it is one less thing I have to worry about, and we always tip extra.

As we spoke and without them saying it outright,  it became obvious that there is concern at the corporate level that these give-away rates will attract the crowd that will run to the Guest Service desk to have the grats removed once they hit their account.

I have to agree, we have all seen that line at GS, the staff works to hard to get stiffed.

If you are that person, who actually does like to tip at the end in cash... great!

That is the way it was back in the day, and IMHO, should still be...but...too many are just plain old stiffing the staff these days.

We have always wanted to stay in one of the "L" shaped balconies but they always seem to be gone when we are looking at cruises.

When decided to take a short cruise on the Freedom in May and room 7439 was available, Lovey said to book it.

For anyone that has stayed in one of these rooms, what were the pros and cons for you?

Did you miss not having the couch?

Was the room too cramped?

 Any photos to share?

11 hours ago, Kansaslunchlady said:

My husband is type one diabetic. No problem bringing all his supplies on board. Let your room steward know if you need a sharps container.

^^^This^^^

Also for traveling, please consider the Frio Insulin Wallets.

The have literally been a life saver for me keeping my pens cool when traveling.

They can also be had on Amazon.

One last tip... bring along an empty larger prescription pill bottle to store used pen needles in until you receive the sharps container.

Thanks for your review...

Your comments on the Infinite Veranda make me very happy I was able to score a Sunset Veranda (on deck 9) on Edge for our November Cruise!

Thanks for your honest review.

Pretty much the same on our Feb 13 sailing.

As much as our Nov Divina cruise was awesome, the Mera was... Meh.

Lovey still says the Divina is the best looking ship she has been on!

Agree about the COVID testing, a complete cluster.

Booked an almost free Carnival cruise for May,  not that I'm expecting much, but the food WILL be better, then, back to the real world with a Celebrity cruise in November.

13 hours ago, MOteacher said:

Deck 3 is the best kept secret

Yes, it really is.

My original plan was to book an inside cabin with a 4 day'er on Liberty, with one of those insane rates they are offering now and use deck 3 as our balcony.

As I searched a little further, I found a cruise a week earlier on Freedom with a balcony cabin only $9.00pp more than the inside on Liberty.

We are retired and live close to PC so it's a no brainer for us.

Some of these current VIFP rates are unbelievable.

It will cost more to board the dog for four days than the cost of a balcony cabin for two!

Thanks, yes please

There are still loungers on the deck 3 walk like the ones shown?

Thanks

50 minutes ago, hamrag said:

I'd suggest no is the answer to your question.

I'm really hating to write this...really.

If you get a good deal, including the "all in package" I'd say give it a try, maybe. Otherwise look elsewhere.

My comments DO NOT refer to the Yacht Club.

Like you we have been on many lines, I like to use the Phrase from " Carnival To Cunard", and everything in between, (no ultra luxury).

We took our first MSC cruise on the Divina in November 2021 and it was stellar.

The service, food and the ship were far above average for the price paid.

We took some cruise newbies with us and they were blown away.

Lovey still says the Divina is the most beautiful of ships she has been on !

Yes, we had some Customer Service woes, but nothing like some others.

We liked it so much, as soon as we got home, we canceled our March 2002 Princess cruise for MSC Meraviglia in early February 2022.

Total opposite experience...

The ship was beautiful, but that is where it ends.

From the minute we walked into the terminal it was a "cluster".

Two and a half hours to board, due to the total incompetence of the shoreside staff.

A room steward who never heard of a sharps container, and thought bringing a box of tissues and an extra roll of TP was like asking him to walk into a burning building. Yet he almost begged for and extra gratuity the last day.

A waiter in the MDR who had no problem yelling at me to wait my turn after I asked if we could get some initial service after being seated for close to 30 minutes. Obviously, the Maître D' had to get involved.

Kids and diapered infants in the Bamboo Pool area, which we thought was adults only. After I inquired, I was told, it's OK, we let the kids be.

Yes, there was some good, the service in the Sky Lounge was first class. The Activities Staff was great, and we ended up with a waitress in the MDR that was phenomenal.

So, with all that said, still not the worst cruise we have ever been on, but never again.

Back to Princess, Celebrity, and HAL.

And, depending what we are looking for even... Carnival

There is, but you'll pay at least triple for whatever you need.

We bring a small kit with us with anticipated needs such as Tylenol, Band-Aids, Neosporin, Alka-Seltzer, Bonine, etc. You get the hint. Always good to bring your own