Carnival Luminosa - the prices keep dropping

[MMDown Under]

13 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

5 lomanosa cruises are on unbelievable prices only 2 are out of Australia and passport can be 10 yearly .

The Aussie ones should be snapped up.  

I let my passport lapse but can renew it for 5 years.  

[Flash harriet]

Part of the problem may be that New Caledonia and Fiji require you to have fully comprehensive travel insurance that covers Covid, and it is quite difficult to find insurance that will cover Covid if a cruise is involved.

[arxcards]

On 10/23/2022 at 4:46 PM, mr walker said:

I'm not sure of the reason(s) but it seems that the cruiselines maybe have misjudged demand for cruises out of Brisbane. I have been getting a lot of emails offering deals for both Carnival Luminosa  & Quantum OTS which suggests that the demand is not there to fill those big ships.

The overseas connection is expensive and a bit unreliable. Brisbane will go gangbusters when their US and European customers start flying-in with their usual numbers. That won't be this season, so get them while you can.

 

I would have booked one of the Luminosa cruises already, but even from Newcastle, the flights soaked up much of the savings from the cruise fare, so I haven't bothered to squeeze in any extra cruises.

[arxcards]

On 10/31/2022 at 5:50 PM, lyndarra said:

How can you find your number if you have cruised before?

 

Create an account at Carnival's au site, then there is a link for "find my VIFP number".

[Aus Traveller]

9 hours ago, Flash harriet said:

Part of the problem may be that New Caledonia and Fiji require you to have fully comprehensive travel insurance that covers Covid, and it is quite difficult to find insurance that will cover Covid if a cruise is involved.

I totally disagree. There are many travel insurance options that cover both COVID and cruising.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Create an account at Carnival's au site, then there is a link for "find my VIFP number".

I tried that but it didn't recognise the cruise we did years ago to Alaska on Carnival. If I really wanted to book a cruise on Luminosa I would contact Carnival to get the matter sorted out, but we have a beach holiday and two cruise booked in the next few months.

[Hernextdoor]

On 10/22/2022 at 9:09 AM, aussielozzie18 said:

VIFP offer via email to those lucky to receive  - 20th Nov - 11 nights to NZ - $250pp with $500 OBC from Brisbane on Carnival Luminosa in guarantee balcony.

 

Carnival really are struggling to fill this ship.

I am not surprised.  I did the inaugural cruise 10 days ago and I will never set foot on a Carnival ship again.  The food was an absolute disgrace.  Two hour wait in the restaurant for a meal which arrived cold. Everything was dry, overcooked and unappetising.  The buffet was pathetic in terms of choice as well as quality. On my last day I lost it with the catering officer and chef. I took 2 boiled ages from the breakfast buffet and when I peeled them and cut them open te yolks were green with a thick black ring around them. It was obvious that at the end of service they put the leftover eggs back in the fridge and then pull them out the next day and reheat them. Goodness knows how many times those eggs had been recycled. Even if they offered me a suit for free I wouldn't touch it. Avoid at all costs.

[arxcards]

31 minutes ago, Hernextdoor said:

I am not surprised.  I did the inaugural cruise 10 days ago and I will never set foot on a Carnival ship again.  The food was an absolute disgrace.  Two hour wait in the restaurant for a meal which arrived cold. Everything was dry, overcooked and unappetising.  The buffet was pathetic in terms of choice as well as quality. On my last day I lost it with the catering officer and chef. I took 2 boiled ages from the breakfast buffet and when I peeled them and cut them open te yolks were green with a thick black ring around them. It was obvious that at the end of service they put the leftover eggs back in the fridge and then pull them out the next day and reheat them. Goodness knows how many times those eggs had been recycled. Even if they offered me a suit for free I wouldn't touch it. Avoid at all costs.

Sounds like one to avoid, and you didn't get your moneys' worth.

 

The worst food I ever had on a cruise was Pacific Eden, for all the same sorts of reasons you mentioned, well not so sure about the eggs though. There is one thing in common with your cruise - both were inaugural. The hope is that Luminosa will get better in the same way Pacific Eden did, but we now avoid inaugurals altogether.

[Hernextdoor]

49 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Sounds like one to avoid, and you didn't get your moneys' worth.

 

The worst food I ever had on a cruise was Pacific Eden, for all the same sorts of reasons you mentioned, well not so sure about the eggs though. There is one thing in common with your cruise - both were inaugural. The hope is that Luminosa will get better in the same way Pacific Eden did, but we now avoid inaugurals altogether.

I understand the arguments against inaugural cruises, BUT if you work in a commercial kitchen and call yourself a chef you should be able to serve a boiled egg - doesn't matter whether you are sailing out of Brisbane, Barcelona or Bombay!

[chezzyr]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:19 AM, Hernextdoor said:

I am not surprised.  I did the inaugural cruise 10 days ago and I will never set foot on a Carnival ship again.  The food was an absolute disgrace.  Two hour wait in the restaurant for a meal which arrived cold. Everything was dry, overcooked and unappetising.  The buffet was pathetic in terms of choice as well as quality. On my last day I lost it with the catering officer and chef. I took 2 boiled ages from the breakfast buffet and when I peeled them and cut them open te yolks were green with a thick black ring around them. It was obvious that at the end of service they put the leftover eggs back in the fridge and then pull them out the next day and reheat them. Goodness knows how many times those eggs had been recycled. Even if they offered me a suit for free I wouldn't touch it. Avoid at all costs.

What a shame. I just did the NZ cruise on Luminosa. I had no problem with choice/variety. Sure the odd cold or tough item but I have found that on other cruise ships as well. I am just grateful I didn't have to cook or clean for a couple weeks. I'd sail Carnival again, I'd sail Luminosa again. I had a wonderful "bargain" solo cruise and am toying with another.

[Auscruisefam]

The prices for Luminosa are insanely low. I got an offer emailed $806 p/person for 11 nights. And that’s for a balcony. While it’s tempting there has to be major cuts being made all over the place to make that even remotely worthwhile for Carnival. 
I was considering giving it a go but the price that low actually concerns me. Still unsure if I will go ahead and book. 

[aussielozzie18]

Currently on board Luminosa.  Having an excellent time.  It’s a lovely ship and the food in the MDR is excellent as is the service.

The buffet is basic and doesn’t compare to other lines but that was the case on the Spirit before Covid.

Glad we made the decision to fly out from Sydney for this relatively cheap cruise.  No complaints from us.

Will continue my detailed review on my other post when back in Sydney.

[timtam2]

I'm also on Luminosa currently and I've been very happy with the MDR food and service. There is wider choice in the menus than Princess and less of the supposedly fancy (weird) stuff . I agree the buffet offering is basic.The layout and how they group the food is a bit awkward. 

      The entertainment schedule doesn't seem as well organised as in the past on Spirit and Splendor. Usually trivia and menus match the theme of the night e.g. tonight is Island Night menu but it's the 80s deck party. I rather think they are leaving the deck parties until the end of the cruise so if people crowd together, Mr Covid won't show up until everyone is off the ship!