SurferJoe57

Ah, thank you. Didn't actually know.

Any comments on the adult pool....must you get up at early to snag a spot because cruisers save chairs for the day....does the staff monitor the saved chairs and remove things after a period of time at any of the pools

Noting that crews and ship's officers rotate every 6-12 months or so...

THIS particular PRIDE Serenity deck crew was good, attentive. I can't recall his name, but there was a nice man (Indian, and about 5' tall) who ran the towel desk and did general busboy work on Serenity (as of June 7). He remembered me by name every time, and I saw no evidence of lounger-squatting. That is, loungers were occupied or available for us, with the exception of short bathroom breaks or whatever. Nobody tried that "I"m saving all the loungers for my entire extended family, many of whom aren't even on this cruise!" stuff that irks legitimate sun worshippers like myself so much.

I normally do rush through breakfast to get a lounger but found if I missed the 0800 first wave, I could probably find one about 1030 or so as people wandered away to do something else. Wasn't bad.

Understanding that architecturally, the Vista is an evolved Breeze...

Where were you on the Breeze, did you like that location, or why not?

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My considerations in choosing a cabin are:

- Isolation from public spaces - so I try to find a location sandwiched between two other passenger decks - not directly above or below the disco, galley, MDR, etc.

- I like being aft; the rear extended cabins are my usual favorites, even the PRIDE, which has the oft-mentioned vibration issue back aft. Midships vibrates less of course. We used to have the occasional cigarette butt thrown onto our balcony by unthinking clods that were too cool to use an ashtray, but Carnival's fixed that with their smoking policy.

- Looking at the deck plans, I don't see Cat 8D as a wrap around; but I'm probably missing something.

If money was no object - I'd snag the Premier Vista 9C; secondarily 8M/8N - just because I enjoy being at the aft end of the ship. You get a better view in port, and it's more secluded and private. There might be some unpleasant "tail wagging vibration" issues - nobody knows as the ship's still under construction.

For the Transatlantic, we booked a Cove Balcony as we'd never tried one before. I expect it'll be a bit chilly but somewhat romantic.

As indicated below - waiting for the Vista transatlanic..unless I find away to squeeze one in sooner...

Super, I'm glad you had a great time. I think I read this right; you had a Vista Suite, the aft-end wrap around? We've had those on a few prior PRIDE sailings and absolutely loved it. (Spouse likes it as I don't go wandering off to sunbathe if we have a Vista balcony).

The only thing that annoyed (and is a continual issue for us) me with the PRIDE is the entertainer (or CD's dance classes or whatever) wafting up through the atrium to David's Steakhouse. It's just a ship design thing, and usually they knock it off by about 7:30 pm; but the hint is, don't make dinner reservations until later unless you want to have that ambient noise interfering with your dinner....

Keeping the thread alive as I've just started planning a WC; probably not until 2018-2020 though. Understand that the iteniaries change every year - but undoubtedly rotate back to the ports I want to visit (I'd like to visit some specific ports in Vietnam and Philippines), as I look at past and projected iteniaries, looks like either Cunard or HAL. Never sailed on either so I'm trying a few HAL voyages to see how I fit in.

Question for the HALsters - with Statendam leaving the fleet, will HAL dedicate or commission another smaller ship for world cruises?

and remember the passenger list! Boy don't do that anymore!

My parents thought it was a huge big deal that our cabin had a PORTHOLE...

They shot skeet off the stern; had some sort of funny hat contest...

But the menus - every day had an original Hawaiian themed lithograph on the cover, printed on very robust card stock.

Matson line: Lurline

San Pedro to Honolulu.

I was 8 years old.

I sailed the Lurline from Honolulu to Los Angele s in 1967'when I was 10. Still have the menus, which they printed daily.

I'm just happy to get the advice from someone who's got the experience.("Experience being the teacher that gives the test before the lesson.") As in: "At XYZ Port, you can take a taxi for $10 and rent a beach chair for $15 at ABC Hotel," or "On this ship, if you have AnyWho Dining Time, you can get a pager from the Hostess and drop around the corner to the Bar on Deck 3 to wait for your table," or "Buy your bottled water in advance and save XXX%."

Food is subjective; my vegetarian daughter was horrified by Guy's but loved the bean burritos at Blue Iguana. Good to know there were options; good to know that Cabin 1234's balcony appears to be, but isn't actually obstructed by lifeboats as it's inbetween two lifeboats... It's these little things that get out of postings here that are so helpful.

Just off a 7 day Pride cruise on 7 June; the P&D Party was much more intimate, far more enjoyable. That being said, I really did look forward to them as a Gold level VIPF.

Mine has said that for two years. My wife is the one who gets offers and she is not the one who does the bookings.

That must be it. I'm experiencing the same thing - Wife gets all the offers and I do/pay for all the bookings...

.... I look at as good riddance to outdated and old-fashioned....

Though I do miss the chocolate on my pillow, I'm in total agreement on everything else. "These are the good old days," and I'm delighted to be here.

do you think there is any more risk sailing on the Pride in terms of azipod failure or anything else that could lead to being stranded at sea than any other cruise ship.

Most likely not. They'd get indications of overheating, etc., way before and just knock the speed down a little.

After exchanging a few notes with an engineer over on the HAL boards, I'm thinking it's more of a systemic hull loading / balance issue - 'harmonics' and not necessarily Azipods gone bad.

No worries. Go enjoy your cruise! It's a lovely ship, great iteniaries, fantastic staff.

This may be why...

 

 

Trout

Obviously not appealing. Sometimes when they do the Bromide treatment & flush, they don't backwash and you get all this halazone or whatever at the user (sink) end. I'm actually surprised that no one's ever seen this on any other cruise line...

"... confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided."

That is a pretty tough stance. Has Carnival always done that with alcohol?

I believe smuggling attempts resulted in confiscation. If you were openly trying to carry aboard in excess of what's permitted (with a corkage fee or whatever) I think they 'secured it' for the voyage duration.

I do like the water price. I usually carry a case of water onboard for excursions as I didn't want to pay $2.50 per bottle on the ship. Should HAL follow suit I will just pre-order a case. So much easier for me.

Just checked HAL to see if I could pre-order for my October Eurodam...they haven't' followed yet.

It was very nice having a ready stock of bottled water for excursions, the gym, etc., on the CCL Pride cruise I just came off last week though.

June 9, 2015 Hi there!

While your bags may not be packed just yet, we wanted to let you know about some changes to our Liquor & Beverage policy which is being modified effective with sailings departing July 9, 2015.

Often times, we find guests transporting alcohol onboard through unauthorized means resulting in unmonitored consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately, this has led to behavioral and safety related concerns. We have also found that bottled beverages are frequently used to transport alcohol and the screening measures needed to validate the contents delay the embarkation process for all guests. For these reasons, we find it necessary to modify our Liquor and Beverage policy, including restricting guests from bringing bottled beverages aboard our ships.

To avoid any potential disappointment at the start of your cruise, please familiarize yourselves with our new Liquor and Beverage Policy below, which will be strictly enforced.

• Guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages onboard that are packaged in bottles.

• A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, and milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought onboard on embarkation day only in guests' carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person.

• Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board with the following exception:

- At the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750 ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.

- A $15 corkage fee (a charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of wine served that was not bought on the premises), per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, steakhouse or bar.

• All liquor, beer, other forms of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages outside of the exceptions referenced above are strictly prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage and such items will be confiscated and discarded and no compensation will be provided.

• All alcohol purchased in ports of call or in the Fun Shops will be returned on the morning of debarkation.

• Guests are prohibited from bringing large coolers onboard since screening and movement of large coolers through embarkation is an impediment to the boarding and security process. However small, personal-sized coolers, no larger than 12"H x 12"L x 12"W for the purpose of housing small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages and/or medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.

We know some of our guests are accustomed to bringing on their own supply of bottled water so as part of this new policy we have significantly reduced the pricing for spring bottled water which will be conveniently delivered directly to your stateroom. Pricing is as follows:

- $2.99 (plus tax) for a 12-pack of 500 ML of bottled water for pre-cruise purchase. Please visit http://www.carnival.com/funshops to place your order before your cruise to ensure we have an ample supply onboard.

- $4.99 (plus gratuities) for a 12-pack of 500 ML of bottled water for purchase onboard.

We sincerely apologize for any disappointment these changes may cause however, we firmly believe this will result in a safer environment while also improving the embarkation process and the overall guest experience.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to welcoming you aboard!

Sincerely,

Just on Pride last week. I think the vibration felt the same as always. Did not notice on serenity, or on deck 2 MDR.

No difference from prior Pride cruises? We seemed to think so, but it wasn't horribly worse.

I saw a parallel thread over in the HAL boards about a vibration issue; a poster said he actually talked to some Marine engineers brought on board to look at weight redistribution/ballasting as one of their ships has a harmonics issue (sympathetic vibrations not unlike what you get from tonewoods in a guitar).

The vibration at the dock was pronounced and hoping it would be less once underway we spent a very unpleasant first night.

The fact that this hasn't been corrected leads one to believe it is a mechanical design problem involving harmonics amongst those big engine/generators and their load sharing. I would assume NA has experimented with altering with these.

Fascinating. There's a parallel thread over on the Carnival boards about the PRIDE and it's ever-worsening vibration problem. I'd suspected it was caused by the bearings going out on the Azipods (the CCL Miracle, another Spirit-class, had a bearing problem which caused some iteniary changes/slower transit speeds) as the problem SEEMED to be speed related. However...they also added quite a bit of topside weight in the last yard period (another swim pool, additional galley/restaurants topside) and that would definitely cause the harmonics issue you're mentioning here.

10:10 a.m. EDT)

I can understand the situation so now is water a no no to bring in a case?

I hope HAL does not implement this! I can understand the situation but buying water on board in advance is such a rip off!!

Just read this on CC news for today.

Denise:)

I just got the same email from CCL. Wasn't worried about HAL's policy as I'm too lazy to try and bring along my own case of bottled water; but I do understand the reasoning. It's not just pure-profit motivation - there are jokesters who fill mouthwash bottles with booze and even worse, bad people that would put explosive chemicals in water bottles.

The pre-paid water on Carnival is pretty darn inexpensive; don't know (as I haven't thought about it yet) what it'll cost me on HAL.

Based on the news from Baltimore, lately, I'm not sure that town is as full of exemplary people as this post would have us believe.

"Bawlmore" isn't as bad as the news sensationalizes. Cruises out of "Bawlmore" primarily attract folks from Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.

Remember the famous quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet."

....no he didn't say that....:cool:

I don't understand what all the fuss is about. The OP related their experiences on an aft cabin of a particular cruise ship.

I think...for those that have sailed the Pride before, it's worse than it was then.

For those that have sailed other hull/azipod designs, it's worse than those.

The ONLY thing I can compare the level of the Pride's vibration to is the USS Tripoli (and her sister ships, the Guadalcanal, etc), an old LPH from the early '60s. Those ships were dubbed "McNamara Specials," as they were bad designs subjected to repeated budget cuts while in the final design phases. They all had permanent lists to one side (eg, lopsided), vibrated like crazy, and broke down constantly. (The original design called for four steam boilers, two screws; they were built with two boilers and one screw).

...she said the cruisers from out of charleston were much more polite and easier to than any of the other ports(ships) she had worked on. I hope she is still there on my next Fantasy sailing.

I'd had crewmembers/bartenders tell me the exact same thing. Favorite crew ports are Charleston and Baltimore, "Nicer people," according to the staff. Michelle at the Alchemy Bar on the Pride just moved over from the Fantasy and would agree wholeheartedly with this.

Worst? Apparently Miami (no offense intended to anyone from Miami; but as people jet in from around the world to embark there...).

Sad that the Fantasy seems to be in it's last year.