Gayle V

Sorry, no nice assurances from here. I think it would be foolhardy to say the least. I seriously think you're cutting it way too tight. I would only suggest trying it, if you will be OK with the results should you miss the flight.

Sure the later time will cost you more now, but you have to figure how many times worse that price could end up being if you miss the plane. No way to know how much more that same day ticket will cost, if you have to buy it that day; or if there will still be seats on a later flight. And yes, you have to wait around the airport for a later flight, but not near as long as you'd likely wait if you miss the first one and the later ones are full. How about the cost of a hotel if you have to wait till the next day, or the lost income if you miss an extra day of work to fly home then.

I know I wouldn't do it, but then I'm no gambler.

By the way, that Faster to the Fun deal may get you off earlier than you would do otherwise, but it can only get you off the ship AFTER the customs clears the ship. If there's a delay in clearing, you will be waiting just like everyone else. There's no guarantee in there of any specific time.

And all that being as it is, it's sure to be one lousy way to end a great vacation, rushing and stressing out about possibly missing your plane.

They are likely just trying to reduce the number who show early. Unfortunately they have to realize that a lot of people will have little choice other than to arrive early. If your plane is arriving that morning, you likely booked one to arrive early. What can you do with just a couple hours to kill, when you have luggage to haul around with you. Same if you stayed at a hotel the night before. Check out will almost surely be 11 am. If you don't go to the pier, what else do you do?. Given a choice between sitting around the airport or a hotel lobby to kill time vs heading to the ship, and possibly getting on-board early, most are going to line up at the pier.

They say that Carnival does have the largest cabin sizes of any of the cruise lines, maybe they are right.

Of the cruise lines we've tried, yes, comparing inside to inside, balcony to balcony, yes Carnival has had the largest cabins. Not the nicest decor, or furnishings, but noticeably bigger.

Hello Real Trip, Thank you for the review. We will be on the Liberty in just a few weeks.

Wondering what kind of safes did they have in the cabins, the ones that use a magnetic stip card, or the kind you type in a code?

I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I didn't bother to ask why, but we are having the same experience. This upcoming cruise on the Liberty is my tenth, was booked last summer, and paid for in November. We are listed as Platinum on the docs. Don't know why but happy enough about it. (Unfortunately won't be taking advantage of most of the perks though, as my SIL is cruising with us, (first cruise for her, and booked single) so we will board in the slow lane with her, and likely pass on priority tendering too, to stay together.) Still I'll get a kick out of having the Platinum card. I may even send out some laundry, just to say I got it for free. (Don't take much to make me happy;-)

What does Applebees have to do with this discussion? They don't serve family style.

 

My understanding is that if more than one person at the table orders the same appetizer (under the for the table) menu, or multiple orders of the same side dish it will be served family style.

 

We don't often eat with others, but I see this being a logistical problem for my sister and I. Since the space on a 2 top is limited, I just don't know how our multiple different sides are going to fit on the table.

 

And the only thing I would eat off the Feast appetizer plate is the mushroom I would like to order at least 2 if not 3, so are they going to serve me three plates at the same time or do I eat the mushroom have them serve another eat a mushroom have them serve another............

My goodness, this does sound like it's going to be more complicated for the waiters.

Carnivals magic number for tests seem to always be three, and then they end the test. Many are hoping this test fails as well. Rumor is this is not going well on the Glory.

Hello Lace, I am one of the unfortunate Guinea pigs for whom Carnival has decided to use their hard earned cruise vacation to experiment with cheap dinning. I would appreciate reading any direct feedback you've seen from the Glory. Other than viewing that video clip, I haven't read anything from someone who's actually experienced it.

Even a picnic gets a tablecloth.

Where's the "LIKE" button? EZ4, I really do like that !

For the OP, one of the other threads on this topic has a link to someone's vacation video that show's the tables, without tablecloths on casual nights, and with them for formal night. It showed the new abbreviated menu also. My own humble opinion was that the menu was fine, and not too much of a change, but the naked tables gave the impression that they were eating in a bar, not a restaurant.

Edited to add this link that I copied from that other thread.

I have a few from the Victory. Honestly, they look like the paper place-mats you might see at a restaurant. Nice enough, but no big deal. Mine have been lying in the bottom of a drawer for nearly 12 years. One of those many things people collect, too nice to throw away, but no use for them either.

I saw this youtube video showing the new menu/tables the other day.

 

Hello All4fun, Thank you so much. I feel much better about the menu now. It and the food in the video all look yummy. And the food itself seemed much like it always has.

But really too bad about the "no tablecloths". The tables without the cloths really did look like our neighborhood bar. Definitely lowers the class of the place. All I can say, is that while I don't like it, my annoyance should be damped down by the time we get there.

I sure would like to see a picture of the MDR without table clothes and the new menus...

I sure would too. If there is one posted somewhere already, I would really appreciate someone pointing it out.

On one of the Festive, formally known as Cruise Elegant nights, there is one dessert listed on the menu, but warm chocolate melting cake is available, along with a fruit bowl. You just have to ask your wait staff.

 

Btw, since you will having the new menus on your Liberty cruise, please come back and let us know how you like the dishes. Enjoy your cruise.

Hello Cruzen, I'll be happy to report back, but hope some other cruisers do so before then. I'll be less annoyed at the changes if I know about them ahead of time.

The only problem with the: "if you don't like it, go where you'll be happy" plan, is the fact that if we had been given this information before we booked Carnival, we mostly likely would have done exactly as you recommend and gone elsewhere. People who pay for one product and and find they'll be receiving something less, when there is no longer a chance to "go elsewhere", they have a right to feel disappointed.

Besides, if we don't express our disappointment how will Carnival ever know that the cheapening of their product is the reason we will book with another company next time. How will they know to stop ruining their company if we don't give them some feedback.

It's amazing how much can be stuffed into that flimsy paper bag.

We only send things that go thru the washer and dryer at home so they have a fighting chance onboard.

 

Dockers, men's shorts, several short sleeve and polo type shirts, underwear, socks.

On the Conquest everything came back neatly folded in two bags.

 

We have learnt to take a pix of what we send out. Once there was a mixup.

Excellent hint. Thank you.

Thanks everyone. I'm Platinum for the first time with this upcoming cruise, and was considering cutting back on the packing, with the intent to use the three free bags of wash and fold. Guess that's one of the perks I'll just forget about.

I'm ok with new menus, they looked good to me. What worries me is the family style serving everyone out of the same bowl or something. (Sounds GROSS) And the limits for choices makes it hard for people with food sensitivities....(automatically bringing a cake or something for dessert, one choice for everyone)

OMG, I'm learning a lot in this thread, and I don't like any of it.

Do I understand this correctly? They don't give you a choice of dessert anymore? They just bring you a predetermined single choice ? Really? I'm finding this difficult to believe.

I mean, they don't even hand you the menu any longer. They are just there on the table.

 

They did NOT have the customer in mind when they made this change, and I don't HAVE to like it. Being they are rolling it out slowly, it doesn't appear they have much faith in it either.

 

Now, about those tablecloths......

You're kidding me ! They don't even hand you the menu anymore? I hadn't heard that part. That's actually rude. I'm serious about the tablecloths too. That really reduces the atmosphere of the dining room considerably, IMO.

Heck give them a little more time, and they'll skip the menu entirely and just post it on the wall.

You absolutely have to know what kind of fare you booked, to know if you can make changes without penalty. It is entirely possible that the TA was right, also possible she was wrong. Carnival has so many different types of fares, all with different rules and restrictions. Some with non-refundable deposits, some with no changes at all allowed, some allow price drops for a limited time, some allow them for a longer time. Sometimes the price drop lowers your fare, sometimes you get a cabin credit. You have to read every word of the fare description for your exact type of fare. And beware, many of the fares have very similar sounding names. (Early saver vs Easy saver, etc.) Add to that some are only open to new bookings, meaning you didn't book this cruise before, then cancel it.

Without you being absolutely sure of the fare type you booked, and certain of the fare you later found available, and provide the dates of the booking and of the cruise departure, any answers here can only be speculation.

For those that have used this service: Do you trust them with your better clothes? I'm afraid they'll use hot water and wash the color out of my dark colors, or they'll be too rough on my nicer materials. What was your experience?

3 bags free wash and fold for Platinum on a seven day cruise.

Do they still give out the whale's tail pins, with the ships name to past passengers?

It would seem only fair that you SHOULD be able to count on having the cabin you booked, provided you are not in one of the situations the others mentioned here, but it can happen. You can be moved if they deem the move to be an upgrade. To avoid this you should have your travel agent put a notation of "no upgrades, no changes" on the booking. We have faced a similar situation in the past, and found we had been "upgraded" from our chosen cabin. We did not want that upgrade as we were near friends. Our TA had to contact the cruise line and fight for our cabin back. We got it, and we now always ask her to put the "no upgrade" notation on our bookings for us.

And it is not true that you will always be notified of an upgrade. For that incidence we only found out accidentally while dealing with another issue, we were not officially notified. And on at least two other occasions (back in the days when we booked inside cabins) we got upgraded to better (OV) cabins than the inside ones we had chosen. On only one of those episodes did we know about it before embarkation when it showed on the docs. For the other, we were surprised at boarding. (Caused some confusion with our luggage going to the other cabin, but that's another story).

Thanks for the answers everyone.

Well, that all depends on the group? :D Some Roll Call Groups participate, and some do not. It is always a toss up for each cruise.

 

Not that anyone would snuggle, ................

What?! No snuggling? What fun is that?

Hi all, This is our itinerary on the Liberty. Any clue as to which nights are likely to be the formal nights? {I'm hoping it's not on Sunday, because that's the Superbowl which is not exactly conducive to a formal atmosphere. Especially as kick off is at 6:30 pm }

Sat. - Embarkation

Sunday _ Half Moon Cay

Monday - Sea day

Tues. - St. Thomas

Wed.- San Juan

Thurs. Grand Turk

Friday.- Sea day

Sat - Debarkation

What do you think?