FlyingCruiserNJ's Victory Tour (Carnival Victory-OCEAN SUITE) 11/28-12/2

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 5: DEBARKATION DAY/POST-CRUISE EVERGLADES EXCURSION/TRAVEL HOME CONTINUED:

 

We headed out onto the next part of the journey, got this close-up gator pic.

 

 

They have baby gators here, I forget what this one was named, but he was in the 20-lb range and was less than a year old. I wasn't going to hold him at first but figured why not and took my turn doing so after many other people in our group had done the same. It is a $3 donation to hold him. Can't say you held a baby alligator very often, huh?

 

 

After that, it was close to 1300 and we just sort of went off on our own for an hour or so until it was time to get back to the bus for the trip back to the city. Got a shot of more gators just hanging out and enjoying the day as I moved along. It is a lot of walking to do the entire tour trail around the grounds and my mom didn't want to do it so she headed back to the welcome center to wait for me.

 

 

 

Elevated walkway, pretty neat, lush greenery all around.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 5: DEBARKATION DAY/POST-CRUISE EVERGLADES EXCURSION/TRAVEL HOME CONTINUED:

 

We were a little hungry by the time I got back to the welcome center, so we headed inside to the restaurant to get some food. We just got some fries and a Coke but they had gator bites as part of a pretty neat menu and many people got combo plates for lunch. We took out stuff out front, Ignacio warned us that the seagulls could swoop in and steal our food before we could react, we were like, yeah we know but we deal with these same gulls at the Jersey shore all the time on the boardwalk and know how to fend them off, haha.

 

Not long after, we made our way back to the bus, and were on our way back to Miami and Fort Lauderdale for our trips back home. Later Safari!

 

Ignacio gave us more history of how South Florida got so built-up, the Cuban immigration story, the military history of the area, and the migration of lots of northerners to the area to live, work and retire. Interesting stuff and although I knew quite a bit about that all, it was still neat to hear another perspective. We first stopped at MIA around 1400 to drop off about half our passengers, and then made our way up to FLL to drop us off. Ignacio also mentioned that based on current trends, much of south Florida could be underwater in the coming decades. Just to put things into perspective.

 

Got a nice shot of a golf course where there was a tournament going on it seemed, right near MIA airport. This wouldn't be Doral would it?

 

Got a nice pic of some American Airlines widebodies parked remotely, waiting for maintenance or just waiting to be towed back to take out an international flight somewhere. The whole US Airways mainline fleet is now repainted, most of the legacy AA is as well, what do you think of the new paint? I also failed to get a shot of a brand new 787 of LATAM Airlines as we exited the terminal area at MIA.

 

 

The tour pretty much ended when we dropped half the pax off at MIA, so Ignacio stopped talking although he would answer questions if we had any as we took the half-hour trip up 95, through a little traffic, back up to FLL.

For you who care, remember the Fedex DC-10 that had the landing accident a few months ago at FLL and burned up on the runway? Yeah, this is it. Great views of FLL from the surrounding highways, and yeah, here it is. Our SAS driver had told us that they had the titles painted over hours after the accident, LOL. Nobody got seriously hurt in that accident I don't think but the plane, one of the earliest DC-10s built, around 1970, was a total loss. Sad ending for such a classic frame, guess it just didn't feel like flying anymore and literally laid down on the runway to go to rest as I think it was a gear collapse and resulting engine fire that did it in.

 

 

 

We got back to FLL around 1430, got off the bus and got our bags, tipped the driver and guide and hung out at the ticket counter area, as we were still too early to check our bags in for an early evening flight. It wasn't too bad on a weekday but on a Saturday or Sunday, that airport is chaos with all the cruise ships coming and going. We checked in around 1600, headed thru security and to our gate where I surfed the web and charged my phone at one of the neat new charging bars they have in A terminal and got some lunch at the Cuban restaurant in the terminal. I dread waiting too long at that airport as it just is not that large, not too much to do, and food options are limited. But the grilled chicken, black beans and plantains I got were pretty good, albeit it ran like $11.

 

We finally boarded our flight on-time, and headed out from a dark FLL Runway 10R, out over the Atlantic Ocean, near the Bahamas before heading back to the north through the same frontal cloud system and light chop that produced the rain earlier, and had an uneventful flight that arrived back in PHL mid-evening and after we collected our bags and got everything straightened out, headed home and with that, back to reality and another cruise vacation was over.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading and following along with my adventures as much as I enjoyed writing about them, as always, and thanks for being patient with me as this took quite a while to put together due to it being the holiday season and all that. I hope this helped you plan out a future cruise or even helped you pick out a cruise to go on, and I am glad we got a good conversation going along with the review. Reader participation makes these that much better, it was a pleasure to share my cruise vacation with you. I don't know when my next cruise will be, but it will probably be sometime in the late spring, I am currently looking at itinerary options and have yet to decide on one. Anyway, questions and comments are welcome and happy new year and happy cruising! I will also throw in a few random pics that I didn't get to earlier and will post a little editorial critique of each area of the cruise that I experienced and what I thought of the overall experience. Be sure to check that out.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

 

First, I will add in a few more pictures that I didn't work into the review - one of the wine we did not drink, a sweet Jersey white wine that I have since finished back home and was pretty good. Part of our wine allowance.

 

 

My Platinum gift - I am sure I could make some use of this somehow.

 

 

Our takeoff from FLL, sadly the end of the vacation but it was a fun one as usual.

 

 

So, with that out of the way, I do like to add my thoughts and grades as to ports, checkin, ship, cabin, service, food, etc at the end of the reviews.

 

CHECKIN EXPERIENCE:

 

They did the best they could with the boarding situation on embarkation day, I explained the issue with the delays and the lack of communication that we got about it pre-cruise but the terminal wait was not horrible. We took care of all our documents and spending account setup before the cruise so getting checked in was not a difficult thing, so that was not horrible. The boarding was somewhat disorganized but we were at the front of the mad rush to the gangway so it could have been worse. I would rate it a B+.

 

SERVICE:

 

The room steward we had was average to below. He just did not provide consistent service and you never knew when he would be through the room to take care of it for us and since we were in a suite, shouldn't steward service be better than average there? That was my only service complaint though. Dining room staff was great, guest services was good, entertainment staff, ship officers, etc were good and friendly, competent. Never a huge wait for a soda at any bar. Would give that an A-, Carnival needs to figure out this new room steward service thing - either do it once a day, same time, or keep it twice but make it consistent. It is a mess now, no pun intended.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

 

Was pretty good. The comedians were not my favorites in terms of style or content but at least they have comedy pretty much every night on Carnival and many lines do not have this anymore. The stage shows were great. I am not a huge fan of production shows but they were enjoyable. The live music was varied and good, and you could find it pretty much anytime somewhere on the ship. The cruise director did his job competently, no complaints there. The usual deck parties and seaday activities were handled well also it looks like. I will say that some of the best fun we had was something that we the passengers just sort of spontaneously did however, the beach ball thing. Wish that kind of thing would happen more on cruises. Will still give this an A-.

 

FOOD:

 

The MDR was great every night. Food and service. The buffets are average to subpar, and only seem to be getting worse. Chopsticks is a nice add however, but not as good as mongolian wok on other 2.0 ships. I have heard that the deli was good and of course the pizza was good and at peak times, they are overwhelmed with people wanting late evening snacks but they do the best they can. The seafood shack looks like an interesting addition, we will see if that catches on fleet-wide, no pun intended again. I didn't drink much but drinks were fine, soft drinks were plentiful at the many bars onboard. Didn't check out the room service so cannot comment on that. The burger bar and hot dog bars being on separate sides of the ship was kind of confusing, not sure what was up with that but the food there was fine as usual. A- because of the low buffet food quality and lack of any specialty dining or 2.0 upgrades but the rest of the food and drink was fine.

 

PORTS:

 

Key West and Cozumel are what they are. Have been to both many times. Cozumel can be just a day off the ship at a cruise-line themed port or if you are adventurous, you can go tour the island or whatever. We just stayed close by today, and same with Key West although you are in a functioning city as soon as you exit the ship there and there is so much to do in that place, you could never do it in one visit. I am still trying new stuff out there, even after all these visits. Will give it a B but for a short cruise, these are pretty much the options unless you want to go spend a few days in the Bahamas and maybe Half Moon Cay instead.

 

CABIN:

 

Had an ocean suite, and it cost a bunch more than a standard balcony or outside room would have. We figured we would give it a shot as it wasn't totally outrageously expensive for a 4-day cruise and neither of us had ever had one. I don't think I would ever do one again, at least not on Carnival. Just not enough value outside of extra space for the premium you have to pay. Maybe on other lines, where suite pax get extra perks. But in the future, the most I will do is a balcony cabin most likely. If you want to jam 3 or 4 people into the cabin though, perhaps a suite would make more sense however.

 

DEBARKATION:

 

Smooth but we had purchased excursions from Carnival which gave us more priority to debark. I have seen some really messed up debarkations which can leave a bad impression on people leaving a cruise if totally botched but this one went just fine. Good job there.

 

So, overall, this was a good cruise for what we were expecting. Yes, we were somewhat disappointed by subpar things such as the lousy gift shop, subpar steward service and bad tea time but the good stuff did outweigh the bad. I knew going in that this ship was not the most modern, and did not have many of the 2.0 upgrades that are rolling out across some ships but what they offered, was generally of good quality. I had not sailed Carnival in a while, and for the most part, was just fine with most of what we got. My next cruise will probably be on Carnival again and the vast majority of my cruises in the past have been on Carnival, so it is still my favorite cruise line. I have had few bad cruises and you can almost always say that a day cruising is better than a day working, so there is that but this was a good, enjoyable experience for a midweek post-Thanksgiving hop away from everything that I expected it to be.

 

Thanks for reading and have a great 2017!

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

Thank you once again for your excellent review! For entertainment, I give it an A+. The Christmas festivities and shows were absolutely beautiful. Marcelo is our favorite cruise director. We have sailed with him 3 times. My mother loved The Seafood Shack. She ate lunch there everyday. Everything is freshly made and delicious. She loved the Lobster Rolls. I forgot to mention that on my last two longer cruises on the Breeze and Splendor, I had to change on the second formal night because I felt so out of place all dressed up. Everyone dressed casual on the 2nd formal night on both sailings. I love to dress up. When I cruise with my mom, we always book a balcony because she loves it. When I cruise by myself or with my nephew I book an inside or ocean view, depending on the price. I have sailed on the Glory twice and also love it. Our room steward on this cruise was excellent. We chose to have the room serviced just at night time.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your great review and hope that your next will be in the near future.

[tw67]

Thank you again for your review! Most of it was completed before our Victory cruise this past week, and it kept me excited for it!!

[Anyislandwilldo]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a lovely review of your cruise!!

[sjn911]

Thanks for such a great thorough review!!

[TravelLots]

That was a great review! So, nice and thorough.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[riclop]

Thanks for the tour.

[Cr2zCr8zy]

Thank you for your review. I sailed the victory back in 2013 on a family reunion. I sail her again in 22 days. Wanting to watch the superbowl at sea...

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you once again for your excellent review! For entertainment, I give it an A+. The Christmas festivities and shows were absolutely beautiful. Marcelo is our favorite cruise director. We have sailed with him 3 times. My mother loved The Seafood Shack. She ate lunch there everyday. Everything is freshly made and delicious. She loved the Lobster Rolls. I forgot to mention that on my last two longer cruises on the Breeze and Splendor, I had to change on the second formal night because I felt so out of place all dressed up. Everyone dressed casual on the 2nd formal night on both sailings. I love to dress up. When I cruise with my mom, we always book a balcony because she loves it. When I cruise by myself or with my nephew I book an inside or ocean view, depending on the price. I have sailed on the Glory twice and also love it. Our room steward on this cruise was excellent. We chose to have the room serviced just at night time.

 

My apologies for taking so long to get back to everyone's comments, but thanks for taking the time to post them. It was totally my pleasure to write this whole thing up. Yes, they take a long time to do but they are worth it in the end. I especially like writing them in the wintertime when it is cold back up here in NJ. Granted the last few days have been warm but it was very cold and snowy most of the time and is going to snow again tomorrow. Yes, thinking about cruising does help get through the cold and dark winter months.

 

The Christmas festivities they did were done well also, I agree. The caroling was a nice touch, and the tree and everything to do with the season did add to the holiday cheer onboard for sure. I wouldn't say Marcelo was my favorite cruise director but he was certainly good and a pretty good balance of excitement, seriousness and information distribution to the passengers throughout the voyage. The Seafood Shack looked good but I just can't justify going to a seafood place on a ship when I have so many fresh seafood options right in my backyard at home. Too much other stuff to do on the ship, but I am glad you said it was good. Perhaps other ships will adopt the idea in the future. Surely better than Princess's Crab Shack that they had on the Grand, which looked to amount to only crab legs and maybe some other basic stuff that was served in the Lido dining room when I sailed it. Surely not my idea of a true crab shack experience.

 

I don't have a problem with the increasing casual trends in the MDR on Carnival and other lines as it allows me to pack less stuff to take with me and also decreases time that it takes to get ready for dinner each night (aka more time to do other stuff in the late afternoons) but hopefully it doesn't end up like Applebee's, where t-shirts and gym shorts are the norm. That would be too much even for me. But I still do like getting somewhat dressed up at least once, for formal night as long as everyone else is as well. Still a hallmark of cruising that I hope never goes away.

 

I like balconies, especially on those 7-day or longer trips. I will only book one if it is less than somewhere around 50 percent more than an outside though, as I feel that if you pay more, you can never get double the price back in value for the week. I just don't spend enough time out there to justify doing that. Part of the reason we took the suite here was that it was not completely outrageous price-wise and we knew it would be a cruise where we spent little or nothing on anything else on or off the ship, as it was a cruise to ports we had seen many times so that extra money could go to the cabin. But I also don't mind outside cabins. I shy away from insides now more than in the past because I just feel that you can easily lose touch with everything going on outside and even the time because there is no natural light and you cannot see anything but the four walls surrounding you in the cabin. So unless it is a ridiculously good deal and/or a short cruise, I generally will not do insides anymore.

 

I was on the Glory back in 2013, Boston to St. John and it was a really nice ship. Watched the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final on the big screen on Lido and that ship also had fish and chips at the time. St. John is really nice in the spring and summer, too bad they don't cruise from Boston anymore, probably couldn't get the yields they needed to keep basing a ship there. That was also my first taste of the Blue Iguana Cantina if I am not mistaken and have been hooked on it since, love going there each day on the ships that have it. My next cruise might be on the Glory as well, out of Miami later in the year. And I haven't always wanted twice a day room service so it wouldn't be a huge disappointment to not get it but if they do it once a day now, be consistent with what they do in the room and when they come in. The experience I had with the once a day service on this ship was really confusing and kind of disappointing. But most of the time the stewards on my cruises are great so maybe this was an isolated thing.

 

Anyway, happy cruising and have a good day!

Edited January 13, 2017 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for your great review and hope that your next will be in the near future.

 

Thanks for reading along and for your nice comments and my next cruise will be sometime in the April timeframe, so I will surely put one together for that cruise, whenever it might be.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you again for your review! Most of it was completed before our Victory cruise this past week, and it kept me excited for it!!

 

It was totally my pleasure to do it. I am glad it helped you get ready for your cruise, how did you like it? Thanks for the nice comments and happy cruising!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a lovely review of your cruise!!

 

I am glad you liked it. Thank you for checking it out. The best thing is seeing that people really enjoyed it and that it helped them plan out their cruises or whatever else. That is the whole point of ship and cruise vacation reviews, I know reading other peoples' has helped me out in cruise planning for sure.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for such a great thorough review!!

 

It was totally my pleasure, I am glad you liked it and thanks for the positive comments!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

That was a great review! So, nice and thorough.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed it. I figure the more thorough and detailed, the better it is for those who are using it to help prepare for an upcoming cruise. I like to try to put the reader in the position of seeing the cruise vacation from the perspective of the person writing about it. Looks like I did a pretty good job, lol. :cool:

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the tour.

 

You are very welcome, glad you liked reading it and thanks for the nice comments!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for your review. I sailed the victory back in 2013 on a family reunion. I sail her again in 22 days. Wanting to watch the superbowl at sea...

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks for reading it and I am glad you enjoyed reading it. This was my second time and honestly, maybe it is because I am older and a more seasoned cruiser, but it was different this time around, compared to the first time. I did like sailing on it both times however. Have fun on your upcoming cruise, are they going to show it on the big screen on the Lido deck I wonder? If not, they do have the sports bar and the casino bar among probably some other places to watch it. I guess watching the superbowl on the big screen while at sea would be pretty cool. I sailed during the world series in 2009 (the one where the Phillies lost to the NYY) but the experience was still pretty neat. Enjoy the upcoming cruise!

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

My apologies for taking so long to get back to everyone's comments, but thanks for taking the time to post them. It was totally my pleasure to write this whole thing up. Yes, they take a long time to do but they are worth it in the end. I especially like writing them in the wintertime when it is cold back up here in NJ. Granted the last few days have been warm but it was very cold and snowy most of the time and is going to snow again tomorrow. Yes, thinking about cruising does help get through the cold and dark winter months.

 

The Christmas festivities they did were done well also, I agree. The caroling was a nice touch, and the tree and everything to do with the season did add to the holiday cheer onboard for sure. I wouldn't say Marcelo was my favorite cruise director but he was certainly good and a pretty good balance of excitement, seriousness and information distribution to the passengers throughout the voyage. The Seafood Shack looked good but I just can't justify going to a seafood place on a ship when I have so many fresh seafood options right in my backyard at home. Too much other stuff to do on the ship, but I am glad you said it was good. Perhaps other ships will adopt the idea in the future. Surely better than Princess's Crab Shack that they had on the Grand, which looked to amount to only crab legs and maybe some other basic stuff that was served in the Lido dining room when I sailed it. Surely not my idea of a true crab shack experience.

 

I don't have a problem with the increasing casual trends in the MDR on Carnival and other lines as it allows me to pack less stuff to take with me and also decreases time that it takes to get ready for dinner each night (aka more time to do other stuff in the late afternoons) but hopefully it doesn't end up like Applebee's, where t-shirts and gym shorts are the norm. That would be too much even for me. But I still do like getting somewhat dressed up at least once, for formal night as long as everyone else is as well. Still a hallmark of cruising that I hope never goes away.

 

I like balconies, especially on those 7-day or longer trips. I will only book one if it is less than somewhere around 50 percent more than an outside though, as I feel that if you pay more, you can never get double the price back in value for the week. I just don't spend enough time out there to justify doing that. Part of the reason we took the suite here was that it was not completely outrageous price-wise and we knew it would be a cruise where we spent little or nothing on anything else on or off the ship, as it was a cruise to ports we had seen many times so that extra money could go to the cabin. But I also don't mind outside cabins. I shy away from insides now more than in the past because I just feel that you can easily lose touch with everything going on outside and even the time because there is no natural light and you cannot see anything but the four walls surrounding you in the cabin. So unless it is a ridiculously good deal and/or a short cruise, I generally will not do insides anymore.

 

I was on the Glory back in 2013, Boston to St. John and it was a really nice ship. Watched the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final on the big screen on Lido and that ship also had fish and chips at the time. St. John is really nice in the spring and summer, too bad they don't cruise from Boston anymore, probably couldn't get the yields they needed to keep basing a ship there. That was also my first taste of the Blue Iguana Cantina if I am not mistaken and have been hooked on it since, love going there each day on the ships that have it. My next cruise might be on the Glory as well, out of Miami later in the year. And I haven't always wanted twice a day room service so it wouldn't be a huge disappointment to not get it but if they do it once a day now, be consistent with what they do in the room and when they come in. The experience I had with the once a day service on this ship was really confusing and kind of disappointing. But most of the time the stewards on my cruises are great so maybe this was an isolated thing.

 

Anyway, happy cruising and have a good day!

 

The Blue Iguana Cantina is my favorite food venue. I eat there everyday for lunch. I wish that all ships had it. My nephew's favorite is the Italian Restaurant Cucina. We ate there several times for dinner on the Breeze, and my nephew had lunch there everyday. It is so worth the $15 per person. I always ask for my cabin to be serviced twice, but my mom wanted to sleep longer so we asked for it to be serviced at night. I don't mind being in an inside at all. I'm hardly ever there. My nephew doesn't mind either, but my mom MUST have a balcony. She loves sitting out on it.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

The Blue Iguana Cantina is my favorite food venue. I eat there everyday for lunch. I wish that all ships had it. My nephew's favorite is the Italian Restaurant Cucina. We ate there several times for dinner on the Breeze, and my nephew had lunch there everyday. It is so worth the $15 per person. I always ask for my cabin to be serviced twice, but my mom wanted to sleep longer so we asked for it to be serviced at night. I don't mind being in an inside at all. I'm hardly ever there. My nephew doesn't mind either, but my mom MUST have a balcony. She loves sitting out on it.

 

The Blue Iguana is one of my favorites as well. The burritos at lunch with beef, cilantro lime rice and beans are out of this world. Freshly made as well. Not usually the kind of lines that you get at the Mongolian Wok either. And I also agree about the Cucina. The lunch there is good, free and all that but the dinners are outstanding. Atmosphere, service, food presentation and quality and the fact it is only $15 is outstanding. Way, way better than any steakhouse on any ship I have gone to and I have gone to many on three different lines. The only pay restaurant I like more is the Teppanyaki on NCL, which is a different type of place but is awesome as well. Is the JiJi's on Carnival anything like that I wonder? Got a steak from the Cucina the last time I went there, on the Magic or Breeze, cannot remember and it was outstanding, along with a side of pasta and meatballs and garlic bread starting out. The desserts were also good, some kind of apple puff pastry. I just think that Carnival is going more to the specialty dining venues and pay restaurants and is neglecting the general themed buffet quality these days. Which is still fine with me because you can get plenty of food at places other than the buffet now and there are days I don't even go to the buffet, considering what ship I am sailing on and what is offered.

 

I figure you can still ask for twice a day servicing but it was hassle enough to get it done once and so I figure I didn't want our steward in there more than he had to be I guess. I often don't get morning service if I sleep late so I can do without it all things considered.

 

For my next cruise, I actually just booked a cruise at an INSANELY LOW rate through a special travel agency for February, on the Enchantment of the Seas out of Miami, and it was so good that my friend and I booked a balcony cabin and paid far less than you would if you booked an average inside cabin for a 3-day cruise. Let me just say that had we gone with the inside option, the cruise would have basically been free plus tax. I look forward to that, spur of the moment, long weekend booze cruise, and another review will be forthcoming, lol. Of course the biggie family cruise is still going to happen sometime in April, but this will be a good little long weekend to satisfy my cruise addiction until then, :cool:.

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

The Blue Iguana is one of my favorites as well. The burritos at lunch with beef, cilantro lime rice and beans are out of this world. Freshly made as well. Not usually the kind of lines that you get at the Mongolian Wok either. And I also agree about the Cucina. The lunch there is good, free and all that but the dinners are outstanding. Atmosphere, service, food presentation and quality and the fact it is only $15 is outstanding. Way, way better than any steakhouse on any ship I have gone to and I have gone to many on three different lines. The only pay restaurant I like more is the Teppanyaki on NCL, which is a different type of place but is awesome as well. Is the JiJi's on Carnival anything like that I wonder? Got a steak from the Cucina the last time I went there, on the Magic or Breeze, cannot remember and it was outstanding, along with a side of pasta and meatballs and garlic bread starting out. The desserts were also good, some kind of apple puff pastry. I just think that Carnival is going more to the specialty dining venues and pay restaurants and is neglecting the general themed buffet quality these days. Which is still fine with me because you can get plenty of food at places other than the buffet now and there are days I don't even go to the buffet, considering what ship I am sailing on and what is offered.

 

I figure you can still ask for twice a day servicing but it was hassle enough to get it done once and so I figure I didn't want our steward in there more than he had to be I guess. I often don't get morning service if I sleep late so I can do without it all things considered.

 

For my next cruise, I actually just booked a cruise at an INSANELY LOW rate through a special travel agency for February, on the Enchantment of the Seas out of Miami, and it was so good that my friend and I booked a balcony cabin and paid far less than you would if you booked an average inside cabin for a 3-day cruise. Let me just say that had we gone with the inside option, the cruise would have basically been free plus tax. I look forward to that, spur of the moment, long weekend booze cruise, and another review will be forthcoming, lol. Of course the biggie family cruise is still going to happen sometime in April, but this will be a good little long weekend to satisfy my cruise addiction until then, :cool:.

 

Congratulations on your booking! So glad that you got such a great deal! Have a great time! I have also gotten great deals on weekend cruises. I leave work at noon on Friday, drive to port, then on Monday morning, I go straight to work or start work at noon. I have sailed on four 3 day cruises. There weren't so bad except for the one on Labor Day Weekend which was full of nasty, rude drunks. I will never go on a 3 day cruise again. I love to have a whole wheat burrito with chicken, shrimp, and mild sauce from Blue Iguana Cantina! There is never a line. When we went on the Breeze, we had dinner at the buffet, and they were serving the same selections as in the dining room. For breakfast, I always have an omelette from the omelette station, and eat a muffin or 2 slices of whole wheat bread from the buffet. My nephew and mom love the selection at the buffet for breakfast. I also had the steak at Cucina, and it was absolutely delicious. We ate at the steakhouse once, and the filet mignon was a lot better in the dining room than at the steakhouse.

Edited January 16, 2017 by CARNIVALCRUISE3

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Congratulations on your booking! So glad that you got such a great deal! Have a great time! I have also gotten great deals on weekend cruises. I leave work at noon on Friday, drive to port, then on Monday morning, I go straight to work or start work at noon. I have sailed on four 3 day cruises. There weren't so bad except for the one on Labor Day Weekend which was full of nasty, rude drunks. I will never go on a 3 day cruise again. I love to have a whole wheat burrito with chicken, shrimp, and mild sauce from Blue Iguana Cantina! There is never a line. When we went on the Breeze, we had dinner at the buffet, and they were serving the same selections as in the dining room. For breakfast, I always have an omelette from the omelette station, and eat a muffin or 2 slices of whole wheat bread from the buffet. My nephew and mom love the selection at the buffet for breakfast. I also had the steak at Cucina, and it was absolutely delicious. We ate at the steakhouse once, and the filet mignon was a lot better in the dining room than at the steakhouse.

 

I often get offers for pretty good deals on select weekend cruises but my friend M told me about it last weekend and insisted we take it. I have traveled everywhere with this dude and cruised a few times with him and we were going to go somewhere back in December but due to prior commitments I had during that time it wasn't feasible. But now, it works out with both our schedules and we decided to jump at it. And good thing we did, as the balcony category was already sold out at the prices advertised the very next morning. We are trying to get a group of people together to go with us as insides and oceanviews were still available but not sure if that is going to happen with rather short notice. But anyway, I am excited for it regardless. As I said before, it will keep my cruise addiction in check until my big family trip on the Glory come April.

 

Weekend cruises are a mixed bag in terms of who cruises on them and where they go to/from. Generally I have had good luck with the behavior of people on these cruises, sure they drink a lot and have fun but no fights or anything that I have ever seen. I know it does happen on short cruises however. It is a completely different experience from the longer cruises that are more family-oriented and go to more ports. I am not sure if I am going to fly down on Friday morning or Thursday night and get a cheap hotel, haven't decided yet and will probably have to gauge weather conditions and other factors in the days leading up to see what I will do. Flying in day-of during the winter is always a risk.

 

And I totally forgot that yes, the wheat tortillas for the burritos are the way to go at Blue Iguana. I do love that place though. Never had a bad experience in the times I have gone there on a few different ships. I remember when the buffet used to have WCMC at least a few nights of a cruise, but I haven't seen it there when I have passed by on the way back from the pool in recent years. Even when I did get it when it was offered, it was nowhere near as good as the mdr. The lunch offerings are just stagnant if not diminished quality from what I remember. Nowadays the roast beef is lower quality it seems, the pasta dishes don't seem to be as good nor the fish. It just seems the specialty stuff is way, way better at the expense of the buffet maybe.

 

At dinner, I just prefer the sit-down style of the mdr and when I have tried some stuff at the buffet, I just did not think it was that good. But plenty of people only do the buffet for dinner as the mdr is half-empty some nights so obviously some people do like it. Some of the room service offerings looked good but I never ordered any as I don't like to pay for food when I can get it for free in the restaurants or walking to the buffet or pizzeria. I do like the omelets but hate waiting in line for a half hour to get one done at peak times, that and the cereal and guava passion fruit juice is the best part of breakfast, lol.

 

The Cucina rocks, and I have been to it on two different ships. I forget what I got the first time but yes, the steak was excellent on my second trip. We went later so not many people there, but I wish more people took advantage of the Cucina as it is really good and yes, at $15 a person a great value. The steakhouses are OK, not great, I had the ribeye one time and was not impressed. The steaks in the mdr and even at seaday brunch are better IMO. I don't like how the seating is arranged, and not enough variety for the desserts, if you are not a fan of chocolate, not much there for you. Perhaps I like more laid-back dining atmospheres and that is why I am not a fan but if it is not great for the $35 a person, why do it? Have you ever gone to the Red Frog pub? Good idea in theory and the trivia, music and foosball tables are fun and everything, but the snacks that you can get for a-la-carte pricing aren't up to par. Only on the newer ships but could use some improvement. But the bbq places they have are good as is Guy's Burger Joint.

Edited January 20, 2017 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

I have gone on so many 4 day cruises since I live 30 minutes away from The Port of Miami, and there has always been great crowds and lots of families, not wild at all. Only that 3 day cruise was bad with a lot of drunks. On all of my 29 cruises, I have seen maybe one or two super drunk people on the ship. I sailed on a Super Bowl Weekend cruise years ago because I got such a great year. Have a great time on your cruise. I will be sailing aboard the Vista on April 8th. I can't wait.

 

I'm up at 6am every morning so I'm always the first one or one of the first ones at the omelette station.

 

I love the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, and don't remember ever seeing it at the buffet for dinner.

I have never been to Red Frog. We wanted to try it, but there was so much aboard the Breeze to eat. We loved the BBQ on the Breeze.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I have gone on so many 4 day cruises since I live 30 minutes away from The Port of Miami, and there has always been great crowds and lots of families, not wild at all. Only that 3 day cruise was bad with a lot of drunks. On all of my 29 cruises, I have seen maybe one or two super drunk people on the ship. I sailed on a Super Bowl Weekend cruise years ago because I got such a great year. Have a great time on your cruise. I will be sailing aboard the Vista on April 8th. I can't wait.

 

I'm up at 6am every morning so I'm always the first one or one of the first ones at the omelette station.

 

I love the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, and don't remember ever seeing it at the buffet for dinner.

I have never been to Red Frog. We wanted to try it, but there was so much aboard the Breeze to eat. We loved the BBQ on the Breeze.

 

I find myself doing these long weekend cruises more and more because I feel that I can cruise more if I do that and take one or two longer trips a year. Never have to go more than a few months without some sort of cruise, lol. I still have to work out the logistics of flying a thousand miles to get to the port but I am pretty good at making that all work. I know my mom cruises even more than I do. But yeah, I am taking care of getting my cruise documents and all that together now, going to try to pack at most a rollerboard carry-on size suitcase or maybe can get away with just a backpack. I don't plan on dressing up at all on this cruise, and it should be warm enough to not have to layer up any. Should be fun and have a great time on your Vista cruise. A review of some sort would be awesome, interested in what you think of it. Sounds like the Breeze, on steroids from what I have heard and read. :D I will put together some sort of review of this upcoming cruise of mine as well, although I don't know how much time I will spend taking pictures and notes considering 3 days is not a long time to party and I am traveling with a party animal so I have to try to keep up.

 

I wish I could get up at 0600 for breakfast. I can't do it at home, I barely make it up in time to get ready and out of the house in the morning, forget breakfast. But I have heard that dawn is one of the best times to be out and about on cruises. Maybe I will try it sometime. The best I have ever done is waking up for a minute from a deep or not so deep sleep and going outside to the balcony if I have one to watch the early morning sunrise and then going back to bed, haha. However, I have been among the first to get to the lunch stations upon boarding the ship on a few cruises - like early enough to see them still fueling and making frequent announcements that smoking is explicitly banned until it is done. It gives one a sense of accomplishment to have all that food to yourself before the masses of people arrive shortly afterwards, :cool:.

 

I remember in the past, they used to put wcmc out from time to time at the buffet and I did see it one night when I was just too dog tired from my daytime activities and slept through the mdr dinner and had to get my food on lido as it was after 2100 when I woke up. I have not seen it in recent years though. It has to be served fresh out of the oven to be good I think. The plantain chips are bland and tasteless and the jerk wings were not up to par at the Red Frog the one time I went. The sliders we got were the best part of the meal. And at $3.33 for each item, we were expecting better. Took forever to get served also and it was not crowded when we went. But the atmosphere is pretty neat.

 

The c-side bbq is awesome when it is open which is not that much but it is good. They had to do it inside on the Magic when we cruised on it out of Galveston a few years ago as it was raining all day and it was not as good as having the open pit outside. Wonder how Guy's branding will affect it, good or bad. I will say as a side note, that I do watch diners, drive ins and dives along with his speed cooking show on Food Network partly because of Guy's Burgers on the ships and am not ashamed to say it, :). Wish I could make some of those dishes at home. The Breeze took everything from all the ships and pretty much put it together in one place, and you are right, it is overwhelming but they did a great job with it all if you ask me. The lido marketplace layout means plenty of room, never seems overcrowded but the floors are still slippery which from what I have read and heard, still has not been corrected and was a bit of a hazard. Hard to not find something that you will like on that ship though.

Edited January 26, 2017 by FlyingCruiserNJ