Badfinger

Seems you would want to confirm BEFORE booking if it is important to you.

Always liked the grilled salmon served nightly in the MDR. Pretty much my go to entree. On the last two cruises I tried a lot of the different soups in the MDR. Many of them are very good...but I guess enough salt and cream should make anything good. In general, anything beef/steak was an easy pass. IMO Carnival is just very poor at cuts of beef...probably due to no open flame. We really really really liked the avocado toast and salmon super salad at the brunch. 12-hour french toast has to be tried once by everybody. The yogurt parfait was very good as well..packed with nuts and raisins. To this day we make fun of those who just cannot get away from ordering the greasy omelets or bland pancakes during the brunch...we figure they go all Denny's once they sit down.

Well, you usually get what you pay for. Cheaper does not mean better. Usually means worse. Our neighbors were big cruisers just like we were. Last summer they decided on an all-inclusive in Mexico. By the time it was all said and done, they probably paid about $2k more for the entire family (had to fly vs drive to the port), but they have stated they would rather do an all inclusive in the future vs a cruise, even if it meant doing 2 inclusive vs 3 cruises. Everything was on their time. Obviously the rooms were much bigger and more luxurious than a cruise ship cabin, and they did not miss going into the tourist trap ports associated with cruises to get to their excursions.

Based upon our cruise this past January, any future cruise would have to almost be free to be of good value to us. Long waits in the MDR, long lines at the food places (pizza, burgers), horrible comedians and recycled theatre shows., and an increase in "self entertainment" like Karaoke, Trivia, etc. Yeah $10 per person sounds about right. My two "land vacations" last summer were fantastic. Guided fishing trips. Just me, the captain and his boat. Everything provided. Met him at the dock and within 12 minutes had "fish on". 5 hours later watched a beautiful sunset over a WI lake. Tremendous! $275 well spent.

I am an advocate for as late as possible Missing that first feeding at the buffet is a blessing in disguise because frankly it can be pretty disgusting seeing how much food people pile on their plates, how many kids are licking their fingers and then touching all the serving utensils, not to mention the maze of suitcases throughout the seating area. I would grab a light lunch en route which would give you a good appetite for your first MDR visiting that evening. Trust me by the end of the week your won't regret missing that one buffet meal.

That was our experience in June on the Breeze. HORRIBLE brunch service.

DREAM! The Cloud 9 Spas are fantastic, and you can always find a place in the sun to be by yourself away from all the Lido deck noise and crowds (some call this "the action") on the promenade deck. For me it is very simple moving forward....no Dream Class, no cruise.

Having done 7 cruises as a family of 4, I can only remember one time where we were not seated at a table/booth for 4. They put us with another family of 4 in MDR. Nice people, good conversation and "their kids" were not an issue. Hope they thought the same about our kids. Understand that even if you get a table for 4, there might be only 8" between your table and the next table, so may as well chat it up with them. Sitting so close in silence is just awkward IMO.

Anywhere but the lido buffet. It is just gross watching so many people strap on the feedbag like it is their last meal of the week. I would rather not eat lunch than go there on the first day.

Gone are the days of comedians who are clever, witty and used innuendos and double entendres in their monologues. The "comedians" that have performed in the comedy club on our last few cruises have either been guys who think crude and vulgar language is the equivalent of comedy, or bitter middle age women who think trashing on their ex-husband is comedy. I have actually walked out in the middle of the comedy shows on our last two cruises. 10 minutes was long enough to wait for a real comedian to show up. I guess in a way this is a cutback as well.

Buying more debt at a higher rate to pay off existing debt that has a lower rate...yeah, sure...sounds good. Does "death spiral" ring a bell?

We sailed in June and did the Brunch twice. We really enjoyed the yogurt parfait, Salmon Super Salad, Avocado Toast and 12-Hour french toast. Best of my knowledge those items are not on the buffet. Now if your idea of dining adventure is a ho-hum omelet or short-stack of pancakes, maybe other dining options would be for you (we made it a point on that cruise to order things we have never tried or have no chance of making at home). As for no filet...ooh...filet...probably the most tasteless cut of steak ever. That chewy whatever steak, while of lesser "quality" definitely had more flavor. Was it worth the 1:45 of time from the time we were seated until we were served and finished eating? One day it was because the others at our table were just going with the flow (time wise) and we pretty much enjoyed chatting with each other. We all realized we were probably not missing anything that might be going on around the ship. The second day...not...the two couples seated with us were likely the four most negative curmudgeons on the entire ship. One couple was young...say late 20's. The other late 60's. Would have just eaten cold left over buffet toast had I known. But what saved the day was that my son received all his food (and he ordered about 4 entrees and 4 appetizers} before the rest of us received our first item. I almost broke out laughing when the waiter would come up to the table with a plate and set it in front of him. I could just see the anger growing in the other 4. Entertainment is where you find it!

Yeah I ALWAYS pay good money to take a cruise to order food that I am ALWAYS unimpressed with.... Why even order it again...do you think in this world of cutbacks and supply chain issues that the frozen ROCK lobster tails they serve on cruise ships is suddenly going to taste like Main Lobster from the Atlantic off the coast of Maine? And BTW...I think that opinion is very common.

Doesn't matter to me. We take a "vacation" from soda when we cruise.

Checkin from 12:00-12:30 and head straight to the Italian restaurant for a peaceful lunch. We avoid the Lido Pool Zoo and the Gastric Nightmare that is the lido buffet at all costs on that first day.

On our last cruise, I went to get a zone tag about 5 minutes before they put them out. By the time I got to the board, zone 12 was the lowest zone left. Like a bunch of hyenas going in for the the kill. Many were just grabbing without care of how many they took.

Yes I can compare two experiences...and I do. Why should you not be able to do this? Is not Carnival trying to deliver the same experience to all cruisers regardless of ship or time of year? I have been on 9 cruises. 8 of them have been between June and August as we had our kids. So, yeah I can compare the horribly long lines of our last cruise in June to the previous 7 during the those months. Same port and same class of ship (Breeze or Magic). This past cruise the lines and level of service was frankly beyond bad, and because of that we have put a pause on cruising for the foreseeable future...maybe forever. But that is a good thing...one less person in line with you and more private guided fishing trips to MN and Canada for me! As for the comedians, sure they may not swear, but they still will not be funny. I don't think I have seen funny comedian on CCL since Cowboy Bill about 8 years ago. Hope for some he is still working ship some where. And thanks for the heads up about the NCL and RCI. I guess we won't think about going on them either if as you say long lines are the norm across all cruise lines.

Expect the worst and hope for the best? Based upon our June 2022 cruise you can expect: Long lines at the pizza, deli and mongolian wok at all times they are open. Rush hour lines at Guys and Blue Iguana. Very slow service during Sea Day brunch in the MDR. Online check-in only gives you false hope. Comedians that substitute vulgarity and swearing for comedy. I would not even bring those children to the family friendly shows. You will find some good food...but you will have to try a lot of food to decide what you like. Everything sounds so good on paper...on the plate...meh..not so much. IMO the best I had was the Salmon in the MDR, the Salmon Super Salad and Avocado Toast at the Sea Day Brunch, and of course the first Guys burger (repeat visits not needed). Even the melting cake was, well, ungood compared to any of our previous 7 CCL cruises. Absolute chaos on debarkation morning. Every forward elevator lobby and stairwell jam packed with people all with oversized suitcases blocking anybody from moving anywhere. And finally, don't expect to find me on that or any other CCL cruise for quite sometime.

You say it is your fault, but your response going forward is to take your money to another cruise line? Your admission of fault frankly seems disingenuous. And I am not saying this is you (well,......) but it seems many are quick to say "never got that email" as an excuse when the reality is "I never read that email". All that said, when we were booking our June 22 cruise back in early April, I received plenty of emails from Carnival reminding me about bookings that I put on hold, etc. So for me, their email system was working pretty darn well.

Our June cruise was number 8 for us. I know not a lot compared to many here. We can leave our house the morning of and drive to Galveston, so that has always kept the cost down. Even after cruise 3 or 4, both my wife and I decided that aside from an Alaskan cruise, flying to a different port to get to different destinations would be a deal breaker price wise. Not because we cannot afford it but after 3-4 cruises, "excitement" of being on a cruise was waning. And for the same money we can do some pretty nice fly to vacations. What use to be fun (all the pre-cruise planning, etc) became tedious chores. Food on the ship, while adequate to pretty good, never really changed, so nothing new there. Activities are pretty much identical or so similar as to provide us the same experience. This June cruise, with all the lines and LONG waiting times in the dining room, pretty much sealed it for us. While I could spend most of the time in the Cloud 9 Spa, my wife won't set foot in the place. And being we don't gamble or drink...yeah....enough for us. But I will reserve the right to book a solo cruise on a dream class during some off-season winter month...just for the spa.

I think our last straw was our Breeze cruise in June. But these cutbacks make it much less likely we will spend our vacation dollars on a Carnival cruise. Guided fishing trips to Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin have been my thing lately...just so much fun.

Never been to Grand Turk, but I do have this tee shirt. https://www.teepublic.com/tank-top/17018213-stalag-13-sgt-schultz-head-of-security-hogans-hero?feed_sku=17018213D2V&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=[G]+[G.NAM]+[L.ENG]+[GEN]+[C.TankTops]+[PLF]&utm_id=notset&utm_content=hogan's+heroes&ar_clx=yes&ar_channel=google&ar_campaign=71700000074371626&ar_adgroup=58700006418680250&ar_ad=PRODUCT_GROUP&ar_strategy=search&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[G]+[G.USA]+[L.ENG]+[GEN]+[C.TankTops-Top]+[PLA]&gclid=Cj0KCQjworiXBhDJARIsAMuzAuy7HqFtyvGU0SJcNPDj3e7tL13LNIEWaS_wSg174HZHbQQOTXE7O5UaAv_rEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Any chance they could put in someplace else besides the Bahama's?

The next time I sit in a lido deck lounge chair will be the first time. LOUD, crowded and no shade. Not my type of "action". I fail to see the attraction. Give me a lounge chair outside on deck 5 of a dream class ship, on the shady side all day long...only if my deck 11 balcony is in full sun at the time. That said, I am glad so many like it...makes other parts of the ship that much less crowded.

If? They will absolutely go up.