Badfinger

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

If Lowe's went out of business because Home Depot out pizza'ed the hut so to speak, sure. But I don't see that as what's happening here. I'd see Carnival's failure as a bellwether for the pleasure cruise industry at large.

 

Well, maybe the other lines are outdoing Carnival during these times.  Actually that would not be hard to do...they could just make us wait only 40 minutes for our breakfast in the MDR and that would be out-performing carnival by 1 hour, or having 2 guys working the pizza counter.  Based upon our last cruise, our 8th on CCL, they have set the bar very low.

20 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

If Carnival Corp dies then I don't see how any cruise line survives.

 

I would think just the opposite.  As an analogy...if Lowes went out of business, would not that be a great thing for Home Depot? 

I hope for you that they do!   Our recent Breeze cruise it was only open 3 times...on embarkation day for lunch, then the two sea days for lunch.  That was it.  Lasagna was good as always...and bread was the best yet!

 

1 hour ago, ultrafighter said:

Thanks for this.  We're sailing again on the Breeze in September.  Were you one of the ones who used VeriFly?  I'm probably going to download it unless I hear of something terrible.

 

We did not use Verifly on our recent Breeze cruise and I think it took all of 90 seconds for the guy to verify our Covid documents.  Per Carnival, if one uses Verifly that time is cut in half.  Oh boy.

My rule of thumb is to never pre-pay for anything unless absolutely necessary.  Especially for things like this that will be automatically billed anyways.

I would expect over 4,000 passengers on your cruise.

26 minutes ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Highly recommend getting to port departure city day before embarkation. 

 

We fly every other month and seeing quite a bit of cancellations.  Even to tourist heavy areas.

  

 

I think that is a bit overkill for a person who lives 20 minutes from the port.....

 

Maybe some food that it actually good?

4 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

We just got off the Breeze, we noticed the elegant night dress code was not enforced in the anytime dining room- cannot speak to the set-time. There were ball caps, cowboy hats, jeans, and shorts.  But with that said most people followed the dress code.

 

That was our experience on the Breeze.  The worst offender was a guy with cargo shorts and a log tee shirt on elegant night.  It did not bother me in the least.

3 hours ago, Hoosierpop said:

We just did B2B on the Glory. At 9:00 in the morning, it never took more than 15 minutes for 4 of us to get a table. So there are definitely differences between the ships.

 

As I said before, I didn’t think the lines were all that long compared to before. I just got a feel for when things were long and adjusted. Never took me that long to get food.

 

The Deli would get the longest in terms of wait. I’m guessing because it was made to order stuff compared to other venues.

 

This was our 7th cruise on either the Magic or Breeze, and by far the worst for lines and slow service.  Of course our Breeze cruise in October 2021 was amazing as only 1800 or so passengers on board so not fair to compare to that one.  But we were on two others with over 4400 passengers (mid summer, lots of families) and yeah, this recent cruise was the most frustrating of all, right down to the god awful WCMC in the MDR.  While I like cruising, it is hardly the only vacation that I like, and we are at that stage of life where we are no longer looking for bargain/cheap/good value vacations.  So add these long lines and slow service to the fact we have been to every port out of Galveston numerous times, and have done about everything that is of interest, until lines and service approve, we will spend our vacation dollars elsewhere.

From the Breeze in June:

 

Brunch:  Salmon Salad and Avocado Toast were really good.

 

Buffet:  Nothing.  Meh.  No.

 

MDR:  Grilled Salmon is always superb IMO.  This time the Baked Alaska was very good. (WCMC sucked bigly).  Some of the soups (mushroom, etc) were also very good.

 

Italian Restaurant (lunch): Lasagna

 

Guys:  Bring your Tums.

 

Anchor BBQ:  Cooking poor quality meat until it is tender still results in poor quality meal.

 

Pizza:  Only if you are hungry.

 

Deli:  Grilled Cheese and Turkey sandwiches are good.  Everything else...meh.

 

Blue E/Seafood Shack/Steakhouse:  Did not partake.

 

15 hours ago, JP350 said:

I don't want to say this, but I think that these staffing shortages will become long term, and morph into other problems that will inconvenience the cruiser. 

Not an inconvenience for us....more of a deal breaker.  No more cruises for us until I hear accounts of shorter lines and faster service.  We encountered lines most everywhere we went, even on seemingly "off hours" for food.  One Sea Day it took 1 hour and 50 minutes from the time we did the online check in until we had food on the table for the Sea Day Brunch.  Totally unacceptable and absolute vacation buzz kill.  And what made it worse were the two couples we were seated with...just people I did not want to be around (but cannot blame Carnival for that).

Have only been on the Triumph, Magic and Breeze.  For me, no T-Pool means no Cruise for me.

 

You would really bring a drinking glass into one of those bathroom stalls?  Gross and disgusting come to mine...and yeah I realize there is alcohol in the glass. 

Sadly for me this last cruise it was Skim Milk.  The buffet just seemed so blah to me.  We ate in the MDR whenever we could.

We drive from San Antonio to Galveston.  An easy 4 hours with two stops along the way.  Sleep in until 7:00, get up and have a good breakfast, tidy up the house, load up the bags and head to the port for our 12:00-12:30 check-in.  Leaves plenty of time for an unexpected traffic issue or flat tire, but with Google Maps easy to monitor traffic and re-route as needed.   I figure our vacation starts as soon as we wake up , and last thing I want to do is start if off in a big rush.  

Just off a Breeze 5-day that stopped at Cozumel and Progresso.  My 8th cruise.  Last 5 on the Breeze.  4000+ passengers on board. Spa Balcony Deck 12

 

Lido/Continental at Breakfast:

- No small boxes of cereal on the two days I checked.  Cereal in MDR.  Weird.

- Cottage Cheese disappeared after day 1

- No chocolate mini muffins.

- Saw bacon only on one day of the two I checked.  Available in Sea Day / MDR all days.

 

Italian Restaurant

- No menu changes.  Lasagna good as ever.  But only open three times...lunch on embarkation day and two sea days.  Crowd seemed to discover it by the second sea day.

 

Lunch on Lido:

-  Very long lines at Mongolian, Deli and Guys.  Guys moved fast.  The other two...no so much.

-  In general lido lunch buffet was just blah.  Maybe just too familiar to me.

 

Sea Day Brunch:

- Menu seemed a bit smaller. 

- The Salmon Salad is OUTSTANDING!

-  By observation, the Skillet Cake must be horrible.  The three people seated with us at our table took one bite and that was it.

- Parfait made me feel I was eating healthy..needed more yogurt though.

 

MDR Breakfast on Port Days and last day:

- Smoked Salmon w/bagel..A+

- Broken Egg Sandwich was very good...but the panini bread crust makes for a tough eat..worth it!

- Avocado Toast was very good...but nobody seemed to order it.

 

Pizza, Anchor BBQ, Seafood Shack, BlueIguana: 

- Did not try.  Really wanted to try the $5 clam chowder, but just ran out of time.

 

Guys:

- Same old same old.  Good of course.  Did not eat the fries...because I don't eat fries.

 

Evening MDR

- Again for me the grilled salmon was the best item.

- Melting Cake.  Good grief..first night it was overcooked by 5 minutes..no melting at all.  Second night..pretty runny.  Third night..back to overcooked.  I guess I struck out.

- Baked Alaska was hugely different than what I remember.  Very good. Huge improvement!

- No Lobster...or pork chops!

-  Reports that all the steaks were pretty good.  

- I surprised myself and ordered the bean enchiladas the final night.  Flavor was great.  Filling was a bit light in volume.  Cheese on top was overwhelming. Give them a try.

- The mushroom and roasted broccoli soups were very good.

-  Striped bass and grilled tilapia surprised to the upside.  And I am not a tilapia fan at all.

- Lasagna Bolegnese (sp?) was just awful.  No..beyond awful.

 

Comedians:

- Saw some guy named Alex Elkin.  Very course and vulgar.  At times made me laugh really hard.  But I felt bad about it!

 

Shows:

- We killed some time watching Deal no Deal in the theatre.  Lady won the big prize.  Good for her.  But it seemed she was going to win all along.  Not implying anything.

-  Flick.  Saw it before.  Took a pass.

- Some passenger doing Karaoke brought down the house.  I guess she was good.  Not my style of music though.

 

Embarkation (12:00-12:30):

 - I carried on a small cuticle scissors and very small 1.5" blade pocket knife.  They took it.  Bummed.  I should have read the rules!

- Lines moved along just fine.  There was a boarding pass check about 50 yards before entering the terminal which gave the appearance of huge slow line.

- We immediately went to the Italian restaurant to dine with about 8 other people total.  Our tradition. So relaxing.

- Room keys ready at 1:30 as advertised.  Luggage arrived about 3:30 or so.

- Muster was just checking in at your muster station location and watching a 3 minute live life jacket presentation.

 

Debarkation:

- Could have been worst ever. Seems to be a lot of first time cruisers and the glass elevator lobbies on decks 4-6 were packed with people and suitcases by 0730, well before any announcements.  Had a very hard time making our way through that mass back to the Casino.  Cluelessness and Ignorance ruled the lobbies. We had checked luggage zone 12 and they finally called for us about 0940.  Took another 30 minutes to get off the ship.

- Suggest everybody get a passport.  Getting off is so much easier and faster.  The birth certificate line once in the terminal was about 20 times longer than the passport line.  And moved much much faster.

 

Spa:

-  As expected.  Everything nice and warm and clean.  The two hot saunas might have been too hot.  Rarely anybody else in them.  A few times could not get in the T-Pool, but 10 minutes later, no issues.  A few times I was in it by myself for 15-20 minutes. Mid afternoon Sea Days busiest times.

 

Cabin:

- I knew it, I knew it, but did it anyways.  I booked a balcony on deck 12, knowing it is uncovered.  Never again.  Back to deck 11 for me.  Every time I wanted to sit out there, the sun was pretty much directly over head, just grilling me.  What a stupid I was booking deck 12 balcony.  I knew it, I knew, but did it anyways.

 

Ports:

 

Cozumel:  

-Wave Runners at Islands Beach Club.  Always a good time.  Same old crap for sale in the shops.  Bought a tank top.

 

Progresso:

- Uxmal Mayan Ruins. Long 1:45 bus ride.  Bus was fine with AC.  Ruins site was very hot. More shade than expected.  We knew this, but really enjoyed it. We were on site 3 hours and the formal tour lasted 90 minutes.  Most others went to the only restaurant to eat and drink after that.  We just re-explored everything.  Felt like we were the only ones there at times.  Great for pictures with no other tourists in the background.   Glad we did it, but don't need to see any more Mayan ruins.  If you do this..get in the front row of seats on the bus as we did..you can see so much more because the seat backs are pretty tall.

 

 

That is all...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My tip would be to try to change to an interior room on Deck 12.  They are "sideways" with the entry door between the headboards and bathroom wall.  Makes for a much more efficient use of space.  And the closets, bathroom door and entry door do not interfere with each other meaning a person can be messing around in one of the closets and not be blocking the entry door or bathroom door...or any combination of those three.  IIRC there are 1-2 of these rooms on deck 11 as well.

6 hours ago, ChuckF said:

It's all about how you like to spend your time while on the ship. Went on the Miracle in April and my wife loved all of the places she could find to sit and read her book.  That's not my deal.  I want space for activities (i.e., trivia) and bigger music venues, therefore I go for Dream class.  If you like different eating options, you'll probably go for one of the larger classes. It's just a matter of your cruising priorities. 

 

Don't forget about the outside of deck 5 on the dream class.  Hundreds of lounge chairs that MIGHT reach 25% capacity.  No chair hog worries there!

12 minutes ago, sarnold2245 said:

Trying to decide where to park for my upcoming June 18th sailing on the Carnival Vista.      Is it terminal 1 or 2, or does that change some sailings?    Trying to decide to either do the official garage if terminal 1 and their express lot if terminal 2.  

 

Not sure what the Official Garage is, but we have always  used Galveston Park N Cruise.  Inside buildings right across the street from the terminals.  No shuttle required and easy to wheel your luggage so no waiting in that long luggage drop line.  Not a long walk to either terminal.  Totally protected and secured.  Nice cool vehicle upon your return.  Well worth the extra $20 +/-.  I always tell the gal we are a loyal repeat customer and she sets us up nicely!

9 hours ago, AtomicCruiser said:

My wife and I will turn Diamond on our next Carnival cruise.  We have been on a couple lately (Breeze in March and Dream in April and May).  The ships are definitely understaffed.  We saw 1/2 hour wait in deli or coffee bar lines, slow service in restaurants, and minimal onboard activities.

The Platinum/Diamond parties used to be very nice (sliders, other snacks, and plenty of drinks).  Not lately." On the Breeze, the party was at 11am (drink time?), due to staffing.

Also due to staffing issues (supposedly at Carnival home office), we have been trying unsuccessfully for months to get our benefit for completing 25 cruises.  It used to mean 25% off an upcoming cruise.  They have now changed that to 25% in onboard credits (OBC).  So, on a $4,000 Journeys Cruise, would you rather have $1,000 off, or $1,000 in use it or lose it credits?

Also noticeable on these cruises was the high number of blue and red badges.  Carnival is definitely catering to the newer cruisers, as they are spending tons of money onboard.  This and many of the reductions are all feeding the bottom line.  Obviously, they are not as concerned about tried and true loyalty (Diamond and Platinum) as they used to be.

So, no more lounge for preboarding, no more special Diamond meeting, minimal (if any) Platinum/Diamond parties, hard time getting benefits.  The next thing they will say is no more free laundry.  My be time to rethink that RV, even with high gas prices.

 

Carnival may not be specially catering to new cruisers, as much as new cruisers are there because the fares are/were much lower than a few years ago, along with seasoned cruisers staying away as they are aware of the current level of service on ships, not to mention the impacts of COVID on the overall experience (pre testing, masks in some ports, etc.).  As for laundry, never thought of doing laundry on a ship.  I can fit a lot of tee shirts and shorts in a  medium size suitcase!

 

On 5/26/2022 at 11:10 AM, Djptcp said:

DH and I just returned from a 5-day Paradise cruise. While onboard, we received a letter that there would be no special Diamond event and no Platinum/Diamond cocktail party. Their reason was that while trying to get all the Carnival ships back sailing there is a shortage of crew members due to some Visa issues. They did give us $50 pp onboard credit so at least we received something for our disappointment.

 

The ship sailed at full capacity and no masks, although recommended. Crew was wonderful, food was okay not great, entertainment was so-so. There are no specialty restaurants on the Paradise, but we did have Steakhouse Selections in the Main Dining Room for 3 of the 5 nights on board and they were good. I had the Surf and Turf the 3 nights and DH had that 2 times, the 3rd time he had the NY Strip Steak and it was full of grizzle.

 

Probably our last Carnival cruise for a long while as we have 4 Holland America cruises booked, our favorite cruise line. Food is far superior, ships are elegant, fantastic crew, and we receive many perks for being 4 Star Mariners (same as Diamond level) - double sailing days for suites, extra days for every $300 spent onboard, 50% discount on specialty restaurant dining, 50% discount on wine packages.  Being Diamonds on Carnival pales in comparison.

 

 

Your steak was full of hair (grizzle)?  Wow...never heard that complaint before.

Access to the Spa facilities (saunas, t-pool, etc), robe and slippers in your room, upgraded soaps in your room, and IIRC on-board discounts and priority access to spa services.  Your cabin will have different color scheme and the hallways will be quieter since less families tend to book Spa cabins.  And unless things have changed, the higher the deck the sooner your are called to debark if you carry off your luggage.

 

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

FWIW In my area, the only way to get tested at CVS is to make an appointment with the Minute Clinic. I don't know if there is a charge or not. Walgreens for the time being is still offering rapid antigen testing via drive-though.

 

Yes they are!  Just made our appointments for next Saturday at Walgreens drive through.  It is the rapid NAAT test.   Less than a mile away, present our insurance card, done!

44 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

The whole market is doing poorly with cruise stocks quite possibly doing the worst, and yet the most positive thing you can say is that other cruise stocks are also sinking?

 

Here you go, what cruise stocks are doing:

 

Cruise stocks lead S&P declines as cost increases, capacity concerns build | Seeking Alpha

 

Wow...$1B debt at 10.5% interest.  That is $150M a year just to service that debt.  Reduced passenger load, higher fuel and food costs.  No pun, but lots of headwinds for a CCL investor.  Sure you get OBC...but that is not "free" money...you have to spend money, hundreds if not thousands, to get that OBC.  Will be an interesting couple years for the cruise lines.