Carnival Luminosa out of Seattle Aug 3rd

[csm5986142]

I wanted to share some info on our Luminosa voyage to Alaska because i was not able to find much info on this fairly new (to Carnival) ship back when i booked.  And the few reviews I found were not especially good. Fortunately we were pleasantly surprised.
Living in Washington this is the one port we can drive to (and we've  done the Alaska itenerary multiple times).
I did not realize this was the weekend for the Seafair Festival in Seattle. So even though Seafair didn't technically start until the following day (the 4th) the Blue Angels were practicing their show, flying above Seattle when we arrived around 12:45 (making traffic a nightmare). But it was awesome to watch them from the ship.
We purchased parking ahead of time at what I found to be the closest, most convenient location, at pier 91 through Republic Parking. It was a total of 206.50 for the week.
A shuttle was waiting to take us to the terminal (although we thought it was close enough to walk). It was gorgeous in Seattle - 80 degrees and sunny. Embarkation was so easy - we continued walking from the time we entered the terminal, right onto the ship. No crowds at all, but that might have been due to the fact that it was around 1:10 by the we finally got there, and most were already on the ship.
I had seen several negative reviews on this ship so i was nervous, but I didn't think it was bad at all (we were on Vista in June and it was in much worse shape).  Granted, luminosa is an older ship, but overall very clean, well maintained, and has a nice layout.  It never felt crowded to me and we didn't experience the long lines we have on other Carnival ships. It also has tons of seating all along the windows in various common areas of the ship. We could always find a quiet spot to sit and read or relax and watch the great views. We had dinner in the MDR and it was kind of slow but no more so than usual for the first night (and we were a party of 8 so that may have contributed). 
Our cabin was fantastic.  For the price of an interior, we got an outside cabin on deck 4, with a lifeboat outside our window (so a full length window instead of a slider/balcony). The room had lots of storage. The only negative - our shower did not drain well and I'd have to periodically turn it off so it didn't flood the bathroom. 
Sea Day- The next morning, was very foggy - we'd planned to just relax in the cabin watching out the window but since we couldn't see anything due to the fog, we headed to the gym/track. It was warmer than i expected (around 70/75 degrees) but they still had the retractable roof closed (it had been left open the previous day).
We went to the MDR for lunch where they had an asian theme menu. The food was very good and the porion sizes were small but with an appetizer, main, and dessert it was plenty of food. 
We checked out the casino and I was expecting it to be small and smoke-filled (based on reviews) but it was not bad at all. I heard this is a casino "Elite" sailing so it is super crowded. We went to the "Tea Time" later that afternoon where they had hot tea, delicious pastries and finger sandwiches.  That evening was  our first formal dinner night. Again service was very slow but the food was good (never hot but otherwise good).
Juneau - this morning we woke up to an announcement that we had entered the inside passage, and from our window we could see beautiful snow capped peaks and very calm water. We didn't get to Juneau until around 12:30 (and we had set out clocks back an hour the first night so the ship would be on Alaska time when we arrived).  It has been very warm so far, we haven't needed jackets or sweaters inside or out on deck, and today it's about 70 degrees. We have worn short sleeve shirts the entire time (and have been too warm). We didn't have anything specific planned, just walked around the town. With 3 other ships in port, i expected the town to be  crowded but it wasn't bad. We came back to a nice quiet ship to relax in the sun on the back serenity deck clam shells.  

[csm5986142]

This room is sold as an interior but it's an outside cabin on deck 4 with a lifeboat outdide the window - a great value my opinion!

[csm5986142]

The Spirit is up here with us in Juneau.

 

 

[TrqoisWtrs]

Nice score on the cabin.  :)  I'll be on her 30 days to Brisbane, so looking forward to more!  

[kwokpot]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:00 PM, cruisin*tigger said:

Nice score on the cabin.  🙂 I'll be on her 30 days to Brisbane, so looking forward to more!  

On the Legacy Carnival ships in this class (Spirit Class) the same type of cabin originally had Balcony slider type doors which allowed you to open them up and get fresh air. There was a railing so you couldn't go out. When they were adding the Fun ship upgrades during drydocks they sadly replaced the balcony slider doors with a fixed pane of glass. 

[crzndeb]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

On the Legacy Carnival ships in this class (Spirit Class) the same type of cabin originally had Balcony slider type doors which allowed you to open them up and get fresh air. There was a railing so you couldn't go out. When they were adding the Fun ship upgrades during drydocks they sadly replaced the balcony slider doors with a fixed pane of glass. 

When I had a 4k on the Spirit back in 2012, it was French doors that opened in. Maybe some ships had sliders.

[kwokpot]

46 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

When I had a 4k on the Spirit back in 2012, it was French doors that opened in. Maybe some ships had sliders.

No, you are absolutely correct. It was French doors. I misremembered. 

[ThemeParkCrusier]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, csm5986142 said:

This room is sold as an interior but it's an outside cabin on deck 4 with a lifeboat outdide the window - a great value my opinion!

Can you tell me what was your cabin number for that view? Thanks

[csm5986142]

2 hours ago, ThemeParkCrusier said:

Can you tell me what was your cabin number for that view? Thanks

 

Yes thanks for asking because that does make a big difference - we were lucky to be on the end so the whole window was not obstructed. It's 4345.

[csm5986142]

Skagway - the next day, we were in Skagway. It was very warm - about 70 degrees. We have done the train excursion in the past and would recommend it. This time, we chose the gold panning/sled dog excursion. We only wanted to see the dogs, but the only thing available was the combination. We didn't really care for the gold panning, but to be fair we weren't interested in it from the beginning. We absolutley loved the dogs. It was interesting to learn about the races, see the dogs, and best of all they had 3 puppies we could hold/pet. 
The next day was Tracy Arm Fjord (we didn't do the excursion since we've done glacier bay in the past) so it was another sea day for us. 

 

[csm5986142]

Sea Day - Tuesday was our last sea day and second formal night. We had pretty rough seas for about 24 hours (I asked a crew member if that was typical and he said no, just our sailing and the one before us). 

It was also pretty foggy so the views were not great, but we did spot 1 whale fairly close to the ship.

One thing I really like about this ship is that you can walk all the way around deck 11 (I think it's 11) - it gets a little tricky by the basketball court where you have to either take a narrow path or go up then down about 5 steps.  I thought it was way better than sticking to the little track which is only on the mid section of the ship.

Dinner in the MDR was slow (not a big deal to us) but good.

We loved the show that evening (America Rocks).

 

[csm5986142]

Today we were in Victoria.

Shortly after we docked it was announced that health/safety inspectors had boarded the ship for a random inspection. And another announcement that we would get an extra hour in this port (so back on board by 8:30 pm instead of 7:30) - I'm not sure if the two were related.

We had no plans for Victoria and just started walking towards town. We went past the Parliament Building and the Empress Hotel. Both are beautiful. We found a mall downtown and lots of little shops - did a bit of shopping before heading back to the ship. The entire journey was almost exactly 5 miles total, so lots to do within walking distance of the port.  A very nice area with really nice people!

I had to do some work while in this port and had good cell service as long as I stayed out on deck (I didn't buy wifi this time).  Fortunately we had good weather (a little chilly in the shade but this is the first time I've worn the sweater I brought). 

[csm5986142]

And lastly, Debarkation went smoothly this morning.  They had Platinum passengers meet at 7:00 am for priority debarkation and we were allowed off at approximately 7:20 am.  We did have to show our passport when we got off the ship (I haven't had to do that for the last 4 or 5 cruises we've been on, so I was kind of surprised) but they kept the line moving quickly.

Overall this was a great cruise and we will likely do it again in the future.

Let me know if you have any questions about the Luminosa and I'll do my best to answer.

[silvercrikhix]

Thank you for sharing your experience. There isn’t much info about Luminosa yet.  A big review is in this forum but that’s almost all there is. I do have lots of questions, since you offered! 😊 TIA!  We’re on her in 13 days with a group of 9 including 5 newbies, so I’m a bit nervous about the Luminosa. 

 

How was the naturalist on board?  Could you hear what was being said when they spoke/narrated?  
Did you have just the one outlet at the desk? Did you have a curtain or door for your shower?  

Was your bed comfy enough as is?  If there were comedians did you watch/like them?  

Were the MDR entrees smallish still?  Did you try/like any of the grill items, like burgers and tacos?   Was there a laundry special that you know of? 

Edited August 12, 2023 by silvercrikhix

[Colorado Beach Bum]

46 minutes ago, silvercrikhix said:

Thank you for sharing your experience. There isn’t much info about Luminosa yet.  A big review is in this forum but that’s almost all there is. I do have lots of questions, since you offered! 😊 TIA!  We’re on her in 13 days with a group of 9 including 5 newbies, so I’m a bit nervous about the Luminosa. 

 

How was the naturalist on board?  Could you hear what was being said when they spoke/narrated?  
Did you have just the one outlet at the desk? Did you have a curtain or door for your shower?  

Was your bed comfy enough as is?  If there were comedians did you watch/like them?  

Were the MDR entrees smallish still?  Did you try/like any of the grill items, like burgers and tacos?   Was there a laundry special that you know of? 

Hi. We were on end of June so I’ll answer from our experience. 
 

Naturalist was good.  If you are paying attention no problem hearing over the speaker. She was also very present up on deck and was more than happy to answer questions.  Did not attend the many presentations she had in the showroom. 
 

Just one outlet and shower curtain. 
 

Thought bed was comfy as is. 
 

I didn’t think comedians were great.  Not good enough to want to see them again. 
 

Thought portions in MDR were fine and overall decent tasting and timely service (always under 90 mins for party of six). Burgers just like Guys except for some of the condiments. Burritos just like Blue Iguana.  Also enjoyed the BBQ which was similar to Guys and open everyday, the Asian buffet and thought deli was a slight upgrade over other ships. 
 

Not aware of laundry specials as we have Diamond benefit which we did take advantage of and service was great. 

[Tripmode33]

10 hours ago, silvercrikhix said:

 There isn’t much info about Luminosa yet.  A big review is in this forum but that’s almost all there is.  😊

For others seeking Luminosa feedback, please remember that her first six months of service were based in Australia. Australians tend to leave their feedback on the CC forum page for Australia and New Zealand cruising rather than on this main page.  So you could 'jump forum' and read lots of Luminosa feedback.

We did three cruises on her during her Australian season and loved the ship.

[csm5986142]

19 hours ago, silvercrikhix said:

How was the naturalist on board?  Could you hear what was being said when they spoke/narrated?  
Did you have just the one outlet at the desk? Did you have a curtain or door for your shower?  

Was your bed comfy enough as is?  If there were comedians did you watch/like them?  

Were the MDR entrees smallish still?  Did you try/like any of the grill items, like burgers and tacos?   Was there a laundry special that you know of? 

 

The naturalist was good and we could hear her fine.  We didn't have much luck trying to run out on deck when she would announce whales had been spotted, but we just didn't see many this time.

We had one outlet at the desk and 4 USB chargers in one of our nightstands.  

I typically love the Carnival beds (this was our 26th cruise) and prefer a firm mattress, but I think the mattress might have been new and not quite broken in yet (they seemed especially firm this time).

We did not care for the one comedian (sorry, I don't even remember his name) so we did not go back.

I thought the MDR portions were kind of small (especially if you only order a main dish) but with an appetizer, main, and dessert, it ends up being plenty of food for me.

I don't recall seeing a laundry special and since we are platinum and get 3 free bags per person, I might have missed it.

I thought the burgers/fries/tacos were good (and similar to the other Carnival ships (although they aren't branded the same way).  Sadly we didn't care for the food we had at "chopsticks" but maybe just a timing issue (it's buffet style and may have been sitting there a while).

One other thing I just remembered (and maybe this is standard and I just never noticed it before) but this ship offers a brunch (10:30 - 1:00) in the steakhouse for $25 per person that looked interesting (but we never managed to find a time to go).

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by csm5986142

[silvercrikhix]

Thank you Colorado & cam59. We appreciate your sharing your experiences on Luminosa. 
‘Is the steakhouse brunch reservable somewhere or 1st come 1st served? 

[csm5986142]

 

For the brunch  in the steakhouse, you make a reservation in the app.

 

 

[silvercrikhix]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:27 PM, csm5986142 said:

 

For the brunch  in the steakhouse, you make a reservation in the app.

 

Thank you very much 🛳️ 

 

[silvercrikhix]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:27 PM, csm5986142 said:

 

For the brunch  in the steakhouse, you make a reservation in the app.

 

 

‘Was this available every day? 

[csm5986142]

14 hours ago, silvercrikhix said:

Was this available every day? 

 

Sorry, I did not notice, but the meals in the MDR were kind of strange/inconsistent on this ship (so the steakhouse might have been too). 

Our first full day was a Sea Day, yet there was no Sea Day Brunch, but they did do a breakfast in the MDR, closed briefly, then opened for lunch.

The next day we arrived in Juneau (around noon) and yet they DID offer a Sea Day Brunch that morning.

And then one day dinner in the MDR simply said "open seating" so we weren't sure what to expect (there was no option to check in for YTD on the app) so we just went to the dining room when we were ready to eat and were shown to a table like usual (we just didn't have to check in ahead of time). 

[ninjacat123]

Thanks for the review!  An Alaskan cruise is on our bucket list👍