BABYJOSIE98

Hubby and I booked the Islander for Nov 19th along with our adult daughter and her boyfriend. I am so excited to see this ship and go to Key West again.  I have been so heartbroken over the loss of Jimmy Buffett😢 and I told my husband I really want to go on Margaritaville at sea cruise.  I swear,  I said if they add a longer cruise to Key West we are going... Then the next day it was announced about The Islander ship and he said "Book it"

So I did!🌴  I am actually excited it is a smaller ship and more intimate. We are going to have a blast! I like going out of Tampa too.  Finns up Jimmy🦈

We just booked the Breeze for 01/24/21.  Been a few years since on Breeze, but one of my favorites!  Does the Breeze still have the Mongolian BBQ?  I just love that and missed it on the Vista and the Horizon.

Hoping it is still there...I know it had a refirb in 2017??   I love Sea Food shack too.

Michelle

It was just my wife and me so I wasn't paying too close attention to large table availability, but here's what I recall:

Tropicana: Several very large tables. (I don't THINK the Taste or Savor would have tables large enough).

Cagneys: I don't believe they have tables large enough.

Moderno: There were several large groups eating in there--16 MIGHT be possible.

Le Bistro: Definitely not enough room.

La Cucina: Possibly--especially if you're willing to sit outside. I don't specifically recall if they had large tables.

 

If your travel agent is unable to assist, make a beeline to see the Maitre D' the day you board--I think he/she is available from 1pm-3pm on embarkation day for dinner reservations and issues.

 

Have a good cruise--sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!

:DThank you so much! I did email my TA and he is going to take of setting this up for us in one of the MDR's. I told him we will take which ever one can accommodate us all! It will be fun to eat together as a group one evening and maybe we can get a picture!

I grabbed a table for 4 on night #5 too at 5:30 pm at Tropicana in hopes of seeing the Burn the Floor dancers!

Thank you for the review! We are going with 16 of our friends in Jan...One our first sea day we have 2 Birthdays! Do you have any suggestions for restaurants that could hold our entire group for dinner?? Should we just stick with the main dining room and have my Travel agent set us up a group reservation ahead of time?? He took care of this for us last time and we went to the Italian, but we had to be at 2 different tables and did not have this many people???

Can't wait!:p:p

This thread has convinced me that Margaritaville has a $15.95 cover charge not only as a revenue source, but for crowd control. Paying a little extra one or two days for a great burger in a place I know I can get a seat because many refuse to pay is a no-brainer for us. It actually sounds more appealing to me with the cover than without.

I totally agree! We always set aside money to eat at a few of the up charge spots on the ship and you get an appetizer , main course and dessert! We will definitely check it out in January!

Plus our TA got our group the drink package, gratuities on the drinks and then service gratuities as a perk when we booked. Plus we got a $50 OBC! So we can splurge a little!

We hit the Margaritaville on the Escape last month....I tell you, I was not looking forward to the up charge, but after my wife and I went, I would do it again! We had the pretzels/nachos for apps, a couple of salads, the Volcano burger, and then Key Lime Pie for dessert. I was contemplating paying the up charge for just the pie after that. :) We only did one drink each while there, but the food was actually really darn good!

Good to hear! I think the day we are in Harvest Cay Belize we will enjoy the beach for a bit and then walk back on and do a late lunch at Margaritaville.:tropical-drink::beer-mug:

Can't wait to visit Margaritaville in January while on Getaway!

We may have to pay the up charge and eat there at least once.;p;p

I hope they have the Bloody Mary on the menu!YUM

Good to know! Thank you! So excited!;)

So excited to read all the posts about these rooms! We too booked this Cat on the Vista for the Jan 7th sailing. Room 10203 on Lido as interior, but with a Obstructed window walkway view! Which is fine with me since we can have some natural light in the room.:p The price was great and I love Lido deck! So we can access the walkway out front fairly easy from our location?? Correct? I was wondering about that.

So ready to leave! Freezing here in STL! UGH!

I would not try to drop bags much before 9:30-10:00 -- earlier than that and you run the risk of getting mixed up with the passengers getting off the ship. I would call Carnival to see what their official answer is.

I was going to drop off around 10:30am and then run the car to MIA. Our boarding time is for 12:30pm:confused:

My cruise was paid off last month and I just went into my reservation and added them myself yesterday. Went into cruise details and it listed my cruise fare and it showed pre paid gratuities and add. Clicked it and it added it for all 3 of us and I paid it and then got a confirmation email showing my updated invoice.

Just in case you had not called yet:D

Also double check on changing your drop off location. I'd be surprised if changing your drop off from the airport to an in town location (959 West Avenue, for Budget) would make that big a difference. Also make a new reservation, and see what that prices out to.

I did and it was a huge price jump!! That is why I decided to keep what I had:eek:

We will be there early! Plan on getting up and leaving Orlando before 7 am so we will just plan to drop off luggage first. I check occasionally to see if the price drops, but it only goes up.

We have a full size car for 3 days for $128 and now it is way over $200.

We have returned a car to Miami Airport several times and then took the FREE shuttle to the port. It runs regularly and has lots of room for luggage and is easy peasy!

I will check with Budget again and see if the airport location offers the shuttle to the port.

Michelle

Well I had looked into a shuttle from MIA, but since this car rental has a location at the port area for cruise passengers they don't offer one from the airport as far as I can tell. We can't change the drop off location because we got such a great deal and any changes make the price go way up!!!!

We are booked through Southwest with Budget and had to pick MIA when we made the reservation. I will inquire again , but pretty sure they do not from the airport. Not a big deal cause we really do not mind using UBER. The cost is pretty cheap, but was worried about lugguge. We should have time to drop off the bags and then return the car.

I could use UBER X too depending on cost.

Thank you all.....

Hey,

We are driving down from Orlando to board the Carnival Vista on Jan 7th. Would it be a pain to just go to the Port of Miami and drop our luggage before returning the car to MIA? We plan to just use UBER to get back to the port?;)

There are 3 of us and I was not sure if an UBER driver could fit all our bags so I thought if we were early enough we could just drop the bags at the port? We plan to arrive between 10-10:30am?

Thank you!

;)Yes please! let me know how it works for you....

We really do plan to do this in Ocho Rios. I am pretty sure from what I read it is easy to book the swim for my daughter and then by the day passes for my hubby and I. Then grab a taxi since it is close by.

Can't wait to hear all about it.

We do not go till January!

Michelle

Thanks for the great report!

We sail on the Vista in January and I can't wait! We love the Carnival Breeze and so I know I will love Vista..:D

We eat the Guy's Burgers almost every day at lunch! They are so yummy! We like the breakfast at the Blue Iguana too....

Right now we are Lido deck forward with a window, but thinking of upgrading to a balcony at some point.;)

I have sailed many lines and I just love Carnival's newer ships! Such a fun vibe and love the food! I can't wait for chocolate molten cake at dinner!

Loved reading your review!

Hey allBooked on Carnival Vista for next January and our 19 year old daughter wants to swim with the dolphins. Wanting to just book on our own and take a taxi to the park. Can we book her for the Dolphin swim and then hubby and I just pay to get in the park for the day and get to watch her with the Dolphins. We are not really interested in swimming with them, but we want to spend the day there.

Thanks for any advice. I think I found it was $69 to get into the park and the swim I will book her for is $149.

Michelle

Yes, BLACKBURNROVERS is correct. You don’t sign for the drinks anymore. We used one dollars bills to tip the servers and they really seemed to appreciate it.

 

Any drinks you order while the ship is still at Port Canaveral will be taxed and that will show up on your final bill.

 

 

Have a great cruise.

Thanks all of you for the quick response. I will make sure we have some $1 for the servers!

So excited to go!!!

We are leaving tomorrow for our Saturday Epic sailing!

So we all have the UBP so do you still sign for drinks and have the option to leave more of a tip?? Can you have some $1 bills and give them a cash tip??

Just wondering what is best. I know it always helps service to tip the bartenders and our group is really good about it.

We sail Epic next week with 15 of our friends! We are a pretty easy going group and usually have fun no matter what. Hoping our ship is not full to capacity!.

I do have the shows booked along with La Cucina and Cagneys. We all have the UBP too!

I am bummed about the lack of outdoor deck space, but we will deal and hubby and I are early risers and will post likely stake out our spot aft at Spice H20 each morning...The others will just have to be up early if they want to hang with us.

I do love reading all the reviews including dislikes and likes.

We always take steps! I hate crowded elevators and waiting for them..So that is not a big deal! We will need the exercise!

I am just excited to go somewhere warm!! YAY!

Yay! We will be boarding next Saturday and are group of 17 is very excited to see what Epic has to offer!

Do they put the games on the big screen over the pool deck like other cruise lines???

We like to sit outside and watch it on that screen, but we can go to the bar if needed.

We are on Epic this coming Saturday and I think the play off games are on Sunday so the boys will be very happy!

I also have been reading a lot of negative reviews on the Epic so I posted a similar thread a week or so ago. Heres the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2435312

 

I hope you have fun! Please report back your thoughts after your cruise!

Thanks! Just read your thread! I think we will be ok.....

I will be sure to report back after we have sailed...

I am starting to feel better about it all and most the bad reviews have come from Christmas week it seems..

So our cruise may not be sold completely out or have as many families... I am not worried!

Thanks for the tips on tender tickets for the private Island and comedy shows. I will make sure I do that and I will try using the TV! That seems the easiest.

we do have the shows booked and our TA booked all 17 of us at La Cucina for the first night! we have 2 Birthdays in our group of 17 on sail a way day.

Then I did reserve Cagney Steakhouse too!

I am really getting excited! I knew you guys would make me feel better....