Badfinger

My husband says we're living in the "Look at ME" generation. He's so right.

On our August Breeze cruise, there was a family/group of people front and center near the lido pool at the sail away party who all had (stupid) matching shirts. One guy, who appeared to be the patriarch, was wearing a captains hat (how original). He worked really hard to be the center of attention, trying to stay on camera. When the CD came out to start the proceedings, this guy gets right next to him, continuing the bad dancing, etc. In short order, other Carnival employees and Thing 1 and Thing 2 gathered around the CD, effective pushing the attention hog out of the frame. Once he realized nobody was "Looking At Me", he faded away. Too funny. That 5 minutes reminded me why I avoid the Lido Pool area during our cruises (I was passing through getting some water from the buffet area).

Galveston is the worst port, it's either fog, floods and hard to get to.

I find it very easy to drive to Galveston from San Antonio. Take the Sam Houston tollway around the south side of Houston...easy peasy...with three chances to stop at Buc'ees each direction. It is all good.

As for those mother nature issues...well, every port has their issues.

But if you fly...ok. But I would never fly to take a cruise as it adds so much to the cost it would not become our vacation of choice at those price levels.

I go to shop and now if every bottle is taxed coming in, guys I was bringing stuff home for say dont bother.

 

I know its probably only Galveston that taxes every bottle

 

But there were other things. I was on the top casino event cruise it seems and over 500 priorty onboard. priority wasnt very priorty lets say. with over 200 diamonds and over 300 platinum, nothing was fast. I will avoid casino top event cruises from now on lol

 

I havent been on RCL for even more years it seems. They changed the whole loyalty program since I been on and I didnt even realize it.

 

I guess I miss being online and its so expensive on the ship, just little things. But i dont have as much fun, been to all the close by ports. Though I havent done the partial panama transit, but id like to find a roomie to share the cost and not pay double.

 

used to be as a solo i could pay 1 1/2 if I booked a 1a, now its all double. Im tired of paying double.

 

i was crusing up to 8 times a year on various lines, then just got bored with it all. and dont hardly cruise now.

 

Some times you just get to where you know every menu so well and it looses its fun so you take a break. Now I just cruise a little bit.

We have "only" cruised 6 times, all on carnival. On our last cruise in August, it was clear that many things have become predictable and were bordering on routine. Neither are words you want to use when describing a vacation. No doubt we will be taking a break from cruising for a couple years. And who knows, maybe during those years we will find other vacations and/or interests that we will like better than cruising. Would not surprise me if we never cruise again.

I am 34 days post-op. I had my second physical therapy appointment today. The incision is still not fully healed so my pt is a bit limited in what he can do.

But...he did predict that I'll be about 50% weight-bearing in two to three weeks. (That means walking with both legs but still using crutches.) He also predicted that I'll be full weight bearing in about five to six weeks, which is during the cruise. :eek: (We leave in 32 days.) Oh, goody! (She says with sarcasm. :rolleyes:)

But, but...I see my ortho surgeon on 10/2 and we'll wait for what he says. After that appointment we'll determine if I will need a wheelchair, electric scooter, just crutches, etc.

Again, recovering on a cruise ship with friends is so much better than recovering at home.

 

Please keep the advise and well wishes coming.

My suggestion to you, even if you are given the green light for full weight bearing, would be to wear a boot during the cruise "most of the time", especially when you are going to be in wet areas or having to deal with any stairs. All you need is to lose your footing on some water or a discarded Guys burger. After I was cleared to go "boot free", I attended a couple high school football playoff games. One was outdoors in a light rain, and another was in NRG stadium in Houston. Yeah I wore my boot...I was not going to risk a slip or mis-step in unfamiliar surroundings. And after being on crutches as you are, cruising around in a boot is no big deal.

Are the 7 day couple thermal suite and thalassotherapy passes worth it?

Even though most here seem to prefer the t-pool, do not dismiss the three saunas. I find them equally enjoyable and relaxing as the t-pool. On the Breeze, I find the Oriental steam to be the most relaxing as there are flat bench’s you can lay on in addition to the regular seating. It is super quiet (no blowers like the t-pool) and a view of the water to boot!

My mom and I booked a cruise to Cozumel last year immediately upon returning from a cruise to the Bahamas. My son joined the Army a few months back. As luck would have it, his graduation date is the week we are taking our cruise. I called Carnival when he got his orders for Ft. Jackson but the person I talked to didn't seem terribly sympathetic to my plight. I am still supposed to incur a $100 cancellation fee whether or not I change the date or get a refund. Has anyone else dealt with this issue? I also have a cruise booked to Alaska for which I have paid an $800 deposit. Wish they would just let me roll the money over to that cruise. Very frustrating as we have spent thousands of dollars with this line and they don't seem to really care. Suggestions? Sympathy? Just tell me to suck it up, Buttercup? LOL

Why should the be sympathetic at all? You son is graduating. That is a wonderful event. Now if your family all died in fireball car accident on the way to the port...yeah...sympathy would be in order. But if the $100 is more important to you than watching him graduate basic training, then by all means go on the cruise. We would not even consider going on that cruise and would not think twice about surrounding the $100.

Always went on Royal Caribbean and Norweigen and now our daughter and her family want to go on Carnival and wants my wife and I to go with her. Most things I see about this ship looks really nice. Can someone give personal feedback about balcony rooms, food quality and do they have a walking track? Thanks ahead of time !

 

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Very windy on the walking track. A better workout is to go to the aft elevators, take one down to deck 0. Go up the stairs to deck 14. Repeat 4 times. A 25 minute workout that is a beast. But then you are good to go for the day. Hard to get any worthwhile workout on the track...people, workers cleaning, the wind...just not good.

Are the 7 day couple thermal suite and thalassotherapy passes worth it?

For our August 2018 cruise on the Breeze, I bought the weeklong pass for myself (we did not get a Cloud9 Spa Cabin like our previous four cruises). I went 2-3 times everyday (17 visits total about two hours each visit).

I would keep my swimming trunks in the Spa locker room...easier there than finding a place in our cabin to hang them. Also those showers are huge...I never showered in our cabin. And there is an endless supply of towels. I figured I used 7-8 towels during each visit to the Spa...or about 130 during the entire cruise!

I paid $139 for the pass. I would pay twice that amount without hesitation.

My wife on the other hand..she would not step foot in the Spa even if it was free.

Not really, it's down $10 from it's year high, also dividends are paid at certain time periods, not how long you owned the stock. I also have held CCL for many years and have double my money. Don't invest $6000 + just for OBC of $100

This ^

I have state before that buying this for the OBC is just a bad idea....but it is great for CCL as it provides an almost captive shareholder...and what other stock "dividend" (some like to compare it to that), requires you to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in order to use it? And beyond that, there are many stocks that are much better investments than CCL.

I have read several people talking about taking food back to their room from the buffet. Is it normal for people to do that? Are you able to get a cover from the staff or do you need to get creative on your own?

The reason we don't is because we usually get an interior cabin, and finding a "window table" in the lido is not all that hard. Just another chance to enjoy the view.

I’ll ask if the need anything from port. On occasion they’ll ask for something if they’re not getting off.

Only other time I made our three stewards some hats/ear warmers for Alaska a few weeks ago. It was on the Alaska Journeys cruise and the only time the Splendor’s in Alaska. Otherwise the Splendor is in Mexico. Many of the crew were cold.

"I made our three stewards some hats/ear warmers"

Yikes!

How soon do you have to cancel shore excursions . And also if you arrive at shore excursion destination and it is determined that you are unable to do it is a refund given? For instance, if you are over the weight limit or dont appear fit enough to do

I have never seen any excursion company weight anybody. But on the other hand, if the description says the weight limit is 250 pounds, and you are pushing 300, well you might not pass the eye test. We did a biking excursion and the limited was 250lbs. The bikes were pretty rickety, so I suppose if the bike broke they might question your weight.

As for cancellation, in August we were in Cozumel going on a Jet Ski excursion. At the port, we were told of potential bad weather (there were sprinkles, heavy clouds and some breeze at that time), and were given three options....back out and get a refund, wait one hour for better weather for the next departure, or go as planned. We chose to go as planned and had to sign a waiver...basically saying that upon signature of the waiver we were committing to the planned excursion and there would be no refund after that point, even if severe storm forced cancellation. Frankly it was only a few hundred dollars so not the end of the world if it was cancelled after our signature Worth the risk to us!

Very similar ships, except Breeze has the IMAX experience and Magic has the Guy's Pig and Anchor. I enjoyed both ships with the win going to the Breeze. Having said that, because they are so similar I would likely go with the ship with best itinerary. A ferry from St. Thomas to St. Johns will lead you to beautiful uncrowded beaches.

The Breeze has the Pig and Anchor too.

Which ship you prefer

 

Magic st kitts. St marten

 

Breeze. St Thomas amber cove

 

And why.

Looking more for blue clear not crowded beaches or island tours more so then suba diving kinda tours

 

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Either ship is great. You should check to see if any other ships are in port on the same days.

Hi there,

 

I know deck 12 gets more sun on the balcony (which I do not want), so I am leaning to deck 11, but had a couple of questions if anyone may be able to help:

 

What are the other cons of deck 11 besides having to walk up to the spa?

 

Is there a private spa entrance from deck 11 or do you have to walk out to public stairs and up to the main entrance of the spa?

 

Can one walk to the kids club (also on deck 11) from the cabins (on deck 11) or will we have to walk down and around and back up to deck 11? It looks like there may be decking going around on the deck plans but not sure if this is just open space.

 

Thank you!

Never paid attention to where the kids clubs are, but you can walk on deck 11 all the way to the back of ship. Makes for a quick trip to the lido or aft area for pizza or Indian food...avoiding that hot mess on the lido deck. As for which deck, having been on the Magic and Breeze a total of 5 times, my favorite cabins are interiors on deck 12. There are only four of them and unlike the other interiors, they are turned 90* which makes the layout of the room different and much more spacious. No bumping into each other getting into the closets, bathroom or going out the door. On deck 11 you can access that "private" elevator/stairs up to the spa. Realize on deck 12 you have to go up one flight of steps to get to the Spa which is on deck 14. But if channeling your inner vampire sounds like your priority, then it sounds like deck 11 is for you. Deck 12 has a lot less cabins and is much quieter than 11, but I would not call deck 11 noisy either (especially compared to the lido deck cabins...those hallways are just a free-for all).

I was referring to fish on the main menu. The one night she had fish it was the salmon offered on the alternatives. There are other lines that offer barramundi, basa, etc.

That salmon is excellent. I could eat it every night vs the 3-4 nights I usually order it.

On Fascination, our steward left us a $50 gift card. It was only good in the Spa and was non-transferable. We did not use it. I thought it may be a gimmick.

 

Is there anything you can get in the Spa for $50? Or would it be like $50 off a $100 manicure (which is still no deal?)

We received one. My wife was not interested. Either of my sons could have gotten and haircut with it, but neither needed one. I used it for pedicure. I think all said and done it cost me $13 out of pocket. Pretty good deal IMO.

I wish I had one on our last cruise. On the 6th night they announced over the PA to the entire ship that the Spa was offering one-hour $99 full body massage...but it had to be that night and it was already 7:30 and you had to book it for no later than 9pm. I jumped on it...it was great...and seemed like a very fair price.

I would pick Conquest. This class of ship just seems to be the right size. We've sailed Breeze, Dream and they felt crowded.

Sailed Conquest, Liberty, and Glory (sister ships) and enjoyed every ship tremendously.

 

Breeze is newer and has more bells and whistles but there are also a lot more people. We found that we had to show up 30-45 mins early for any show, movie, event or we couldn't find a seat.

I just got off the Breeze 19 August. We had no problem showing up at the comedy club and main theatre shows 5 minutes before curtain and found decent seats no problem. The biggest crowds were lido on embarkation day and elevator lobbies at disembarkation. On the first sea day the lido breakfast line took about 10 minutes, but it got better from there. Otherwise we had no issues with crowds, lines or wait times. And this was summer with lots of kids.

Even that increase,a good option value.

Most non chain steak houses will charge this for just the steak alone. You add the other items mentioned the same meal equals over double and more.

Willing to bet still going to be someone complaining about the cost of why dine there. Its an option. There were sailings I didn't bother and other like my upcoming cruise I will dine more than one night.

Don't forget to add the value of the inclusive meal you would have eaten elsewhere on the ship. I always figured a dinner in the MDR would be about $30 (at least given the appetizers and dessert) on the economy, so that would put the "cost" of the steakhouse dinner to be at least $68.

Even though i don''t eat at the steakhouse (I would rather take that $35 and go for a lunch at the local Brazilian Steakhouse a few months after the cruise), seems like a fair deal and the $3 increase is nothing.

Just off the Splendor and the T pool was working fine. One day water temp medium, one day very warm but all in all was great. Jets were all working fine. We really enjoyed our spa cabin. They were checking water temps when we were there..

On our previous four cruises on The Magic and Breeze, I found the T-Pool to be just not quite hot enough...one could sit in it for as long as they wanted without over-heating. But this past Breeze cruise, like you and above, there were a couple days it was really hot..probably 101-102* (which I really like, but some were complaining...). I would do a couple cycles through all three saunas, heated loungers and T-Pool. It was all good

My sister, a friend and I are going to Cozumel on the Carnival Fantasy. We are all over 60 and not interested in snorkeling.

Please recommend a fun excursion for us. Thanks.[/quot

 

Wave runners. Fun for all ages! Absolute blast.

Is the chocolate buffet a thing of the past? I have been on two 7 day cruises on the Vista already and have not seen it or perhaps I missed it. Doing a Journey Cruise soon on the Breeze and I hope to see it. Thanks.

It was on the Breeze last month. Last sea day in the lido. Started at 12:00.

To me, the total number of offerings was less than in the past. I spotted two cakes that looked really good, so I got one piece of each. Turned out that even though they had different names, there were the exact same cake (maybe the chef mixed them up?). They were good...but two pieces was too much for me, so I wasted half (expected to eat half of each piece). Anyone who saw my plate might think I did not like it No, it was fine, just too much. They also have these orange candy pieces dipped in dark chocolate that are pretty good. And based upon my past experiences, some of it is really bad...waxy and no cocoa flavor at all. The fountain is awful.

I am not defending the un-defendable in the overall quality of the chocolate as to me it rates one notch below a Hershey Bar and I think Hershey Bars are below average, but IMO you see so many plates laying around full of chocolate because people will eat a meal at the lido or a couple Guys Burgers or the BBQ, then load up a plate full of chocolate..only to find their eyes are bigger than their stomach. Kids are probably the biggest offenders. Plus at that point in the cruise, many are just tired of eating.

Yep, news flash! Galveston floods, especially Harborside drive. It'll drain quick enough if yall just wait til it receeds. Highly likely to flood again next weekend. Turn Around, Don't Drown!

 

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No way would I be wading through those flood waters. Just think if a manhole lid was displaced and you step through that hole. Dead dead dead dead....and dead. But hey, it WAS going to be a fun cruise.

You can't do this anymore at ports that provide S&S cards at the rooms. Unless you have some kind of priority, your cards will not be put in your mailbox until 1:30 PM.

 

I have never understood why so many people state they like FTTF because they can drop luggage off in the room right away. Maybe I am missing something, but we have always dropped off luggage with porters when cruising with Carnival. I always carry on a small bag with important stuff like medications, electronic devices like a Kindle, etc. I can easily carry this around the ship all day if needed. However, the first thing we do every cruise is head right to the atrium bar and usually spend 1-2 hours there. By that time our room was available in our pre-platinum days.

 

But from a business perspective, you have to respect Carnival for providing a "service" that is free for passengers and getting them to pay up to $100 for it depending on the length of the cruise.

They did not come up with this idea...Six Flags, etc have had flash passes that put you to the front of the line for at least a decade. Costs the park basically nothing.

Pictures I saw showed people walking in water just above their ankles.....about 10" deep. Nowhere near thigh high. Your video might show something different.

But come on people. The road is flooded. Yet you continue to driver down a flooded road to an area you know is going to be horribly congested and chaotic. Then they (cruisers) complain (in a social media post I read) that Carnival does not have a protocol. A protocol...to cover stupidity? Yeah your life if worth risking for silly cruise....drive on...drive on.