How would this work on Carnival?

[FlaMariner]

It's been awhile since we boarded a Carnival ship.....We have booked passage on the Panorama reposition cruise from Singapore this fall......Can folks help us out on how these situations roll on Carnival?  Holland America Line is our reference point. 

 

• We prefer fixed dining (same time, same table for two, same waiters).  We have early dining but no reference to a table for two.  Will I be able to get a table for two, same time, same waiters for the cruise?  We'd like to not stand in line each evening and simply head to our table.
• We enjoy wine at dinner.  Are there reasonably priced wine bottle packages?  Or how best economically to enjoy wine at dinner?
• We like the thermal suite.  I do not see that it is available to purchase online in the spa listings.  Any intel on the price and the experience?
• We enjoy the unlimited laundry service and we send out dirty clothes daily.  Is that available on Carnival and how much?

 

We'd appreciate any and all advice to help make this a great Carnival cruise! 

 

 

 

 

[staceyglow]

1. You don't have a guarantee that you will get a table for 2 with fixed dining. Upon embarkation, you can request the maitre d' to assign you to one, but no guarantees. If available, you could also switch to Your Time Dining and request a private table each time you check in. 

 

2. Yes, there are reasonably priced wine packages. I believe there are more details on the Carnival website. 

 

3. I don't have experience with the thermal suites. There might be info on the Carnival website. 

 

4. Unlimited laundry is not free unless you are Diamond level. I believe laundry is available for a price per bag, but I am not sure what that is. 

[TomCruise48]

You can pre-purchase 5 bottles of wine through the Cruise the Vineyard Wine Package for about $30/bottle + 18% gratuity.  If you book the Steakhouse for the first night or the first formal night, you can purchase one bottle of wine ($100/bottle or less list price) per adult for 50% off.  Each adult can carry on one 750ml bottle of wine in their carry-on luggage.  They may want to charge a corkage fee for the carry-on bottles if you bring them to the dining room, but they usually don't.  We never have a problem if we open the bottle in the stateroom and bring wine in a glass to dinner.

[Haljo1935]

16 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

It's been awhile since we boarded a Carnival ship.....We have booked passage on the Panorama reposition cruise from Singapore this fall......Can folks help us out on how these situations roll on Carnival?  Holland America Line is our reference point. 

 

• We prefer fixed dining (same time, same table for two, same waiters).  We have early dining but no reference to a table for two.  Will I be able to get a table for two, same time, same waiters for the cruise?  We'd like to not stand in line each evening and simply head to our table.
• We enjoy wine at dinner.  Are there reasonably priced wine bottle packages?  Or how best economically to enjoy wine at dinner?
• We like the thermal suite.  I do not see that it is available to purchase online in the spa listings.  Any intel on the price and the experience?
• We enjoy the unlimited laundry service and we send out dirty clothes daily.  Is that available on Carnival and how much?

 

We'd appreciate any and all advice to help make this a great Carnival cruise! 

We had a table for 2 same waiters, same time on Venezia in Sept '23 (13 days). We did not like the location and they moved us w/o issue. I've not been on Panorama, so can't speak to that ship, but would think they would accommodate if they're able.

 

Wine prices are similar to HAL. As @TomCruise48 said, you can buy a bottle for 50% if you book specialty dining the first night. And you can bring on wine if you have a favorite you want to bring. We weren't charged a corkage fee, but that could have just been an oversight?🤷‍♀️

 

I get a Thermalpass on every cruise on HAL, but it was not available on Venezia due to the ship not having the pool. You might call CCL to inquire about Panorama. 

 

I greatly miss the HAL laundry when on Carnival - free or not, it just doesn't compare. You cruise HAL, so you know their laundry service is highly praised. There was nothing wrong w/our laundry, but the bags are paper, so you can't stuff them like on HAL, all clothes came back folded (none on hangers) and special requests weren't really accepted. There is a laundry package you can buy; I think it's 3 bags/week - definitely not unlimited. Turnaround was quick - next day for all our bags.

 

One nice difference, is you can use your OBC ahead of time, so you're able to book specialty dining, spa, excursions before boarding w/OBC. If you cancel any of it, the refund back to OBC is immediate. That is so nice. Also, if you have leftover OBC (even non-refundable), you can buy gift cards w/it at Cherry on Top.😎

 

Dining tip - Teppanyaki is very very good; I highly recommend it for dinner or lunch. Lunch is the same menu w/same huge portions at a lower price and less crowded.

 

You will need a printed paper boarding pass. And unless Panorama is different, you will not be able to drop your luggage if your cabin is not ready (unless you are priority) so you'll want to be mindful of what you carry on.

 

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!!

[Honolulu Blue]

18 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

• We enjoy the unlimited laundry service and we send out dirty clothes daily.  Is that available on Carnival and how much?

 

I'll defer to the other posters on your other questions, but I feel the need to answer this question in more detail.

 

First of all, I need to ask your VIFP status with Carnival.  Platinum sailors (those with 75-199 days on Carnival) get some wash and fold bags for free - 2 for trips up to 6 days, 3 for trips of 7-13 days, and 5 on cruises of 14+ days.  I find that it's plenty for me and my cruises, but your mega-huge repositioning cruise and your needs mean you'd need more than this.  Moving on...

 

Second, the wash and fold bags are $15 each for all you can fill ($50 if you get 5 done at the same time).  As mentioned elsewhere, they're paper and thus a little fragile.  They're roughly the size of a paper grocery bag, if you remember those.  Plan accordingly.

 

Third, there may or may not be bags in the cabin.  You can always get as many as you want from your cabin steward; just ask him/her.

 

Fourth, some people don't like what the service does to their clothes.  I haven't had any issues with it so far. 🙏  If you're traveling with any fragile clothing, I do recommend caution when sending things out for laundry.

 

Fifth, you can have items cleaned at the per-piece price.  Prices range from $2 to $15, depending on the type of piece and the type of service.  There will be a price sheet in the cabin (probably), but your steward can get as many of these as you need on request.

 

And finally, here's a Carnival site with many more details on the laundry service:  Laundry Service | Carnival Cruise Line

 

Enjoy your cruise!  👍  

[five.]

Here is a post I made on the topic of the thermal suites:

 

Here is a YouTube video on the thermal suite. It's not really a hot tub, not as good as HAL. Warm water at best:

 

It looks like my November 2023 8 night cruise was $149 per person for access. But the best way to know that is to login and look at your particular cruise. I have no idea how much a 25 day TP cruise would be. I looked around the site for an answer, but no luck.

[Wennfred]

Yes it’s possible to get the same table with the same waiters each night, I get that done even when they assign me “any time dining”. The two options are to get a medical note from your doctor stating your food sensitivities and food allergies, this also work for diabetics and for this reason you need to keep the same waiters to ensure they know you dietary restrictions. Option 2 is to draft up the memo yourself and hand it over to the Mater’d on day one.

 

Repositioning cruises usually do not sell out so there should be plenty of tables available to keep the same table each night.

[Taters]

@FlaMariner, I haven't been on Carnival since a bad experience in January, 2019, and have cruised solely on HAL since then.  (Our first HAL cruise was in 2011.)  Weren't you were my neighbor on Oosterdam last year in South America?😀

 

We are cruising on Carnival again in February/March, 2025 on an itinerary that no other line seems to be offering - Carnival Luminosa cruising 7 nights to Australia ports B2B with 11 nights to South Pacific islands.  We are confirmed for late dining at 7:45 PM, so they do offer fixed seating for dinner.  We are Platinum on Carnival so we'll get free laundry.  Even though it's not unlimited like on HAL (we're 4 star), it will be sufficient for our needs.

 

A big difference I've learned is that shorts are acceptable in the MDR at dinner except for the occasional dressy night.  I kind of like this for the simplicity of packing for a very hot climate.

 

We are really looking forward to our adventure.  This will be our first experience with Australia and South Pacific islands.  I hope you enjoy your cruise!

[TomCruise48]

We are diamond on Carnival, so we get unlimited wash and fold laundry service.  The paper bags that Carnival provides typically will hold enough clothes for the two of us for three days,  If you roll your clothes, you can get more in the bags.  On most cruises, if we get the laundry to our stateroom steward by 10:00am, it comes back the same evening.  We try to pack clothes that do not wrinkle easily.

 

The Panorama is the last Carnival new build to have self-service launderettes where you can use your ship pass to operate the washers and dryers.  These rooms also have irons and ironing boards that you can use for no charge,

[FlaMariner]

On 7/3/2024 at 2:55 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!!

 

Just awesome help @Haljo1935

 

...and I know you would know from where I am coming from!

 

Thank you.

 

[FlaMariner]

On 7/2/2024 at 11:30 PM, TomCruise48 said:

You can pre-purchase 5 bottles of wine through the Cruise the Vineyard Wine Package for about $30/bottle + 18% gratuity. 

 

Perfect!  That will work well for us.

 

Thanks,

[FlaMariner]

On 7/3/2024 at 5:07 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

First of all, I need to ask your VIFP status with Carnival. 

 

It looks like we are turning "gold" during this cruise and I've read that Carnival lets you use your new level if it happens on the cruise....Don't think that is going to help out with laundry.

 

Thanks for the details....Looks like we may be doing this dorm style with visits to the washateria. Will need to pack detergent pods. 

 

Thanks

[FlaMariner]

On 7/3/2024 at 8:10 AM, five. said:

Here is a YouTube video on the thermal suite. It's not really a hot tub, not as good as HAL.

 

Thanks for sharing the video & intel.......The pool seemed small?  We may have to wait until we board to see for ourselves....And see what the price will be.  The price is nowhere that I can discover when I log in. 

[FlaMariner]

17 hours ago, Taters said:

Weren't you were my neighbor on Oosterdam last year in South America?😀

 

Hey @Taters, yes, we were with y'all on that great South American Oosterdam cruise!  

 

Thanks for the intel....as you certainly know where we are coming from....

[FlaMariner]

22 hours ago, Wennfred said:

Yes it’s possible to get the same table with the same waiters each night, I get that done even when they assign me “any time dining”. The two options are to get a medical note from your doctor stating your food sensitivities and food allergies, this also work for diabetics and for this reason you need to keep the same waiters to ensure they know you dietary restrictions. Option 2 is to draft up the memo yourself and hand it over to the Mater’d on day one.

 

I'd rather not lie.......but thanks for the tip.

 

We are assigned early sitting....and nothing noting a request or confirmation for "table for two" seems to be available on our reservation.  

 

What's going to happen to us when we approach the MDR podium on day 1 and say "We would like a table for two, please"?

 

Is it expected that we will be assigned a table with other folks for the entire 25 night cruise?  I might prefer to walk the plank than endure that. Kill me now.  LOL. 

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

5 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

It looks like we are turning "gold" during this cruise and I've read that Carnival lets you use your new level if it happens on the cruise....Don't think that is going to help out with laundry.

 

Thanks for the details....Looks like we may be doing this dorm style with visits to the washateria. Will need to pack detergent pods. 

 

Thanks

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad to be of assistance.

 

No, your gold status isn't going to help with laundry discounts. You'll have to pay like everyone else. 🙁

 

I haven't done self service laundry on any cruise ship, so I'll defer to others on that. I have heard some horror stories about the experience 😯, but I'm sure you'll be fine. 🙏

[FlaMariner]

17 hours ago, TomCruise48 said:

The Panorama is the last Carnival new build to have self-service launderettes where you can use your ship pass to operate the washers and dryers

 

We will be doing that....haven't done that since college.  

 

Thanks for the laundry intel. 

[FlaMariner]

18 hours ago, Taters said:

A big difference I've learned is that shorts are acceptable in the MDR at dinner except for the occasional dressy night.  I kind of like this for the simplicity of packing for a very hot climate.

 

Wow, that is big....And we are traveling in a warm climate.....I'm not sure Her Majesty will allow this but glad to know it is an option.

[slavigne5577]

My husband does his own laundry on cruises. His tip is to bring dryer sheets and check wash tub and dryer for objects before using.

[TinkLoverSam]

Rather than packing laundry pods that can explode in luggage I would pack laundry sheets that will be even smaller to pack and can't explode like these: 

[five.]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

The pool seemed small?

Yea, from experience I can tell you on the Vista class (Panorama) to not bother if the pool is the main draw for you. Unless it's free from OBC or something. That's the only reason we got it on our recent cruise. I told my wife it was a joke, but she really wanted it. All of the heated loungers and various sauna's are fine. It's just the pool that is a joke.

 

Of the carnival variants, the Magic (Dream class) ships has the best option. But I still prefer HAL over it I think.

[Taters]

4 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I'd rather not lie.......but thanks for the tip.

 

We are assigned early sitting....and nothing noting a request or confirmation for "table for two" seems to be available on our reservation.  

 

What's going to happen to us when we approach the MDR podium on day 1 and say "We would like a table for two, please"?

 

Is it expected that we will be assigned a table with other folks for the entire 25 night cruise?  I might prefer to walk the plank than endure that. Kill me now.  LOL. 

 

 

You might want to call Carnival to request a table for 2.  We are confirmed for a table for 2 for the first 7 night cruise and confirmed for a table for 4 for the B2B 11 night cruise, where friends will be joining us.  It can be done! 🙂

[jsglow]

5 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I'd rather not lie.......but thanks for the tip.

 

We are assigned early sitting....and nothing noting a request or confirmation for "table for two" seems to be available on our reservation.  

 

What's going to happen to us when we approach the MDR podium on day 1 and say "We would like a table for two, please"?

 

Is it expected that we will be assigned a table with other folks for the entire 25 night cruise?  I might prefer to walk the plank than endure that. Kill me now.  LOL. 

 

 

I'm going to put this as gently as I can. IF being assigned at a group table is entirely unacceptable, and you are unwilling or unable to switch to YTD before the cruise, you might want to reconsider your plans prior to final payment. I'm guessing that 75% of the onboard guests will be Diamond. Any reasonable request they make will be accommodated before your's. Hopefully you can make arrangements that are acceptable. But thousands of guests can't make special requests and expect accomodation. 

[Haljo1935]

13 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I'd rather not lie.......but thanks for the tip.

 

We are assigned early sitting....and nothing noting a request or confirmation for "table for two" seems to be available on our reservation.  

 

What's going to happen to us when we approach the MDR podium on day 1 and say "We would like a table for two, please"?

 

Is it expected that we will be assigned a table with other folks for the entire 25 night cruise?  I might prefer to walk the plank than endure that. Kill me now.  LOL. 

On Venezia Sept '23 13 days B2B we didn’t mention anything about dietary requirements - we simply said we'd like a table for 2 w/the same servers every night. We got no resistance or visible "side eye," even when we didn't like the location and asked to be moved.

I would hope Panorama gets you the same experience. 

[Haljo1935]

13 hours ago, slavigne5577 said:

My husband does his own laundry on cruises. His tip is to bring dryer sheets and check wash tub and dryer for objects before using.

+1