nycny

Yes - we did for a European cruise. We booked the cruise more than a year out and had to wait for flights to become available. Pricing was good as I recall.

On the MG this past spring a spa treatment did not get you access to the locked thermal suite. We paid $199 for two of us for the duration of the cruise for access.

The salt buildup and the constant wetness are the reasons we will not do a cove balcony again. Every time we wanted to go out and enjoy the balcony it was covered in either water or salt.

It was from RCCL directly with a copy of the offer. Maybe on URComped but I always prefer to go to the source rather than a commissioned entity.

I am on the phone with the Echo desk and will ask all of your questions. It was just a thought as I do not see us using it every day all day.

HI - would you mind sharing who you used for this excursion? It is exactly what we want to do but we prefer to start early and beat the crowds.

Fair point ColeThornton but unclear how to do that so doing the best that I can.

I agree with most of the comments. We sailed in a Havana aft balcony on both Vista and Horizon and LOVED IT. I booked the same on Mardi Gras and HATED IT. Area is so small, no direct sun on the balcony, and odd location. I ended up moving from a Havana Cabana on the Celebration to a spa balcony. I would do Havana on Vista or Horizon again in a heart beat but not on Celebration or Mardi Gras. We used the larger Serenity deck on Mardi Gras and were very happy.

I recently - within the last two weeks- attempted to get status match from RCL based on my Carnival status. I am Echo on Carnival and the response I got was come aboard on your dime and we will access your worthiness after the cruise. This was NOT the response I expected. As for the other comments and questions, I do get offers from Princess but they are not at the same level as Carnival. We have done two European cruises with Princess casino offers (and cancelled a third to the Baltic region this summer).

This message is for Mondello - we are also on the Celebration over Christmas and want to rent a cabana. We are two and would love to join with another two/three to share. Interested? Would also love to figure out how to reserve in advance but having trouble with that one. There is a Facebook group with for the cruise with 685 members but I could not find you there so I am resorting to this method.

I am a big advocate of the hotel/resort day pass for a beach day. We have booked the RIU in La Romana twice and loved it. It is an all inclusive. Great beach and full access to restaurants, bars, and drink service on the beach. Hope this helps for other options. We booked in advance but paid when we got there.

Kwokpot (excellent username) - After reading your latest post I am now doubting myself and did some googling and see that there are lots of different answers. All I can report is that the spa desk gave us the access card when we asked after our each of our massages for no additional cost and after our technicians brought us back to waiting area we went upstairs up to the spa desk to get a key card. Combined I think we had about 9 treatments during the cruise and both my friend and I got the access card even when we did treatments at different times.

I agree with the comments with respect to the Panorama -- absolute favorite cabins on both the Vista and Horizon and I would book again in a heartbeat -- especially the extended aft balconies. BUT, after sailing in the same cabin type on the Mardi Gras I will not book Havana on any of the Excellence class ships (Mardi Gras and Celebration). Area on Mardi Gras was incredibly small and very little privacy or sun on the balcony. After using the Havana area everyday on the Vista and Horizon, we relocated to the Serenity area on Mardi Gras. Hope this helps.

If that question was for me - yes. I was on the Mardi Gras this Spring and used the spa regularly.

YES - you can use the thermal lounge and other amenities. The front desk will give you a special key card that opens the door to that area.