Black Magic

Sid, you mentioned San Juan.  While I was on my walk-about there a couple of years ago, I came across a cool place called Greengo's.  They had a HUGE selections of tequilla and the deco inside seems to be up your ally.  I spent a good hour or so there enjoying the drinks and the relaxed vibe before swaying back to the ship.  

On 11/26/2022 at 4:38 PM, sid_9169 said:

Apparently I misplaced my hand drawn map of Old San Juan, so I'm going to have to whip up another one. I've also gotta pick up another batch of ear plugs, as I'm running short on those as well. I do have my large stacks of cash in order, hundreds, fifties, twenties, tens, fives, and ones... Got to be prepared for when those can drivers say "sorry, I don't have change for that"... Well, guess what? I've got exact change RIGHT HERE...

Hey Sid,  look into adding Greengos (yes, spelled that way) to your Old San Juan list.  It was a cool little Mexican restaurant/bar that had a huge selection of tequila.  The bartender even gave me a couple different "samples" to try.

I believe I saw Tiki mugs at the Sugarcane Mojito bar.  I also saw pineapple mugs at the atrium bar.

I was on this same cruise and this was the first NCL cruise for the family.  I have a teenager(who stayed in the cabin most of the time 🙄), so we didn't experience the lack of things for kids. I will say that I was disappointed in layout of the ship.  The pool deck was tight and crowded, even the way they arranged the loungers above the pool deck was odd.  Instead of one row facing the pool and one row facing the ocean.  Everybody got a nice view of the person directly across from them.  We ate at Cagney's and La Cucina, both were underwhelming.  The service at Cagney's was strange.  We(3 of us) were seated and ordered before a group of 6, yet were served after.  Not to mention, our sides came out several minutes after our main dish.  The shows were great, the stateroom was nice and the itinerary was wonderful.   And for the opinion that NCL is classier that Carnival, I can say that I couldn't see it.  People are people regardless of the brand of cruise line.

According to the port schedule, only the Getaway and the Caribbean Princess were supposed to be in port last Tuesday.  With saying that, I'm guessing two ships being in port is not the problem, as that seems to be the norm for St. Thomas. 

9 minutes ago, Colorado Buffalo said:

I'm on this ship Saturday. No word on if we are going or not but apparently passengers didn't find out till they got on board last Saturday.

We are sailing on her this Saturday as well.  Did anybody say if they replaced the port with another or just added a sea day?

Thank you both for the quick replies.  It definitely sounds like she'll still be able to get some work done(boo again). 

Thank you for the great review.  We leave this weekend on the Getaway for our first NCL cruise.  I noticed that you mentioned the lousy internet speed, but you were able to send updates to CC.  Were these post sent while in port or was the ship's WIFI good enough to hand non-streaming duties such as email and text?  Were there locations around that ship that had a stronger signal than others?  My wife will more than likely need to do some work(boo) from the ship and I'd like to let her know what to expect.  

I hate to hear that you missed the Cabo Wabo.  It really is a blast!  I suggest a return visit to Cabo in October for Sammy's B-Day Bash!

We are trying NCL after several Carnival(Dream and Vista class) and one RCC.  We are a family of three(sometimes 4 when we bring a friend for my son) and we vehemently prefer Carnival over RCC.  I feel that it boils down to what you like to do on YOUR vacation.  We enjoy the outdoor activities, as well as fun indoor games and shows.  RCC seemed to roll up the sidewalks after 9pm(4pm if you like the outdoor features).  Sure there were bars and a casino, but nothing fun for the family.  We are hoping to find that NCL has a less stuffy attitude than RCC.

Well, I just checked on my cruise and sure enough, there was a change.  Although we didn't lose any ports, it did change from Puerto Plata, DR to Amber Cove, DR.  The arrival date and time in port remained the same.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Dominican Republic's COVID status being raised by the CDC?

CDC adds 2 destinations to 'high' risk list for Covid-19 | CNN Travel

We have a July 23rd sailing on the Getaway that includes the Dominican Republic, but no canceled port yet.

Hey Sid, your mask has a slight EVH feel to it.  I dig it!

We cruised the Breeze early May and the fries were the frozen type.

We have sailed both out of Galveston.  We prefer the Vista over LOS.  The reason we do, is because we enjoyed the fun and energetic atmosphere.  We also felt that many of LOS activities stop at 10pm, where Carnival is just getting started(white party, 80's party, etc.).  LOS is a nicer ship for sure, but Vista checks more "fun" boxes for us.  Also, we have never stayed in the Havana area.  Regardless of what you choose... you'll be on a cruise, have fun!!!

13 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Vent of the day... I guess that it would almost be acceptable to see co-workers being sorry and lazy while the boss isn't around. But, the level of sorriness and laziness that goes on here, right in front of the owners face is astounding... While we're doing the photography, there's a certain sense of attentiveness that needs to be present. But these guys are just literally sitting around playing with their phones not even ten feet from, and in full view of the owner... I, on the other hand, work diligently in the exact same area. The worst part is that I gain absolutely nothing by being attentive and present in the moment... Ok, vent over.......

Sure you do.... personal pride.

Well, I reached out to the T/A company yesterday and they couldn't see the offer on their side, so she contacted Carnival's Casino Dept.  Apparently I could have used it, but my cruise date was not within the date range that the offer was good for.  That sail-by date range was not mentioned on my email from Carnival, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered with it.  Thank you everybody for your replies.

Thank you.  I booked online, but I did give the T/A company a call prior and spoke to a representative regarding using the code and she that I can't do that.  With saying that, I think I'll give them another call to confirm.  I will report back here with what I find out.

I recently booked a cruise for next summer on the Horizon with one of the travel sites.  I have also received a casino promo code that has Drinks On Us and a few other perks.  Can I contact the T/A and have the promo code applied to my res?  FYI, I booked AFTER receiving the offer, but I'm just curious if I can apply it through the T/A.  Thank you in advance.

Does the P&A have shuffleboard, cornhole and foosball like Red Frog?  We've sailed on the Vista twice and we spend a lot of time as a family playing those games.  If they are not in the P&A, are there other locations to play these?  I know on the Vista there was a single cornhole game on the sports deck, but it was way too crowded to play a game without somebody walking in front of you.

We are considering booking this for our next cruise.  However, I have read some mixed reviews concerning the "all inclusive" portion of the excursion.  Some have said that you can only order drinks when you order your lunch?  How was your experience with this?

If your bank has branches in Texas, just deposit the cash and withdraw it on the day of the cruise.  Just speak to them to make sure you will be able to pull it the day of the cruise.

I pre-purchased a bottle through the Fun Shops for my last cruise(last August).  I didn't drink as much of it as I thought I would, so I had quite a bit left over.  I was curious if I could disembark with the bottle and consulted customer service, who said "no".  It was a use it or lose it situation.  I was really puzzled by this, as I had already paid FL taxes for the pre-purchase, so why would I not be allowed to keep it?  Does anybody know the rules on this?  Was I given wrong information?

We have sailed both.  LOTS the summer of 2017 and Vista this past summer.  We were a party of 4 on the LOTS with a 14yr old and an 11yr old and a party of 4 on the Vista with two 12yr olds.  Here are our feelings between the two.

Ship appearance:  Tough call.  Both are nice.  LOTS is more classy and Vista has a more relaxed vacation feel.

Waterparks:  LOTS had better slides and a flowrider, but crazy short hours of operation.  This was a bummer especially when returning to the ship on port days only to find things were closed or about to close.

Food:  Subjective.... we enjoy Guys free burgers much more than Johnny Rockets.

Atrium vs. promenade:  Cone of lights or shopping mall ... pick your poison.  LOL

Trivia:  Much more fun on the Vista.  The crew on the LOTS were very dry and zipped through the trivia.

Family night life:  When we were on the LOTS, we felt that they "rolled up the sidewalks" after 10pm.  We were always kind of wandering around looking for fun stuff to do as a family.  On the Vista, there was always some sort of fun party going on somewhere.

Shows:  We enjoyed the shows on LOTS more and the theater was much more functional than the Vista.

We are not brand loyal, but for OUR family, we enjoyed the Vista more.

We cruised on the Vista this past August. We also cruised on the Breeze(sister ship of the Magic) in August two years ago. We loved both ships and no, I did not feel that the Vista was more crowded than the Breeze even though both cruises were during summer break for the kids. You will find crowds at the usual places at the usual times... pools in the afternoon and buffet around breakfast and lunch. However, I still never thought it was "over crowded" and we always found a place to sit and eat. The Red Frog Pub on deck 5 is one of my favorite places to hang out during the afternoons. The sky bikes are fun, but I would suggest ridding them on a port day. The line will be more manageable and the view of the island is fantastic. If you do not plan on booking a Havana cabin, I would highly recommend going to the Havana pool after 7pm. We went there one evening and we were the only people in the pool and hot tubs. Yes, the theater is designed strangely, but it was done so to serve as the night club late at night. We saw several shows and we would sit on floor level, but on the outer edge just before the tiered seating. We never felt we had a bad seat. Just get there a bit early and you'll be fine. Overall, I think you'll enjoy it... especially if you are a person who focuses on the positive things and can shrug off the negatives.