brilliantseas

Still a slim chance... Two of the Fantasy class float on, including one in Tampa. As much as I love the Fantasy class, I can't imagine MAS will go after another ship that was built before balconies were the norm. So long as Paradise isn't losing money, I suspect it'll stay in the fleet in the short-term, but the people behind the Margaritaville brand aren't happy with the quality of the overall experience, so once Islander proves to be profitable, I suspect they'll look to find another vessel to replace Paradise in the short cruise market. If they choose to stay at Port of Palm Beach, the most obvious choices would be Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky, as they are likely the only mainstream cruise ships built with bow-to-stern balconies that are still small enough to berth at Palm Beach. Alternatively, MAS could choose to move south to Fort Lauderdale with a larger vessel, with the port also being closer to the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. If volume permits, I could even see Carnival Conquest, Carnival Luminosa, Costa Deliziosa, or Costa Fortuna being acquisition targets for placement in Fort Lauderdale or Miami in the next 2-3 years. It will be interesting to see which of the "big three" cave first on a new-build small ship class to serve Tampa, Jacksonville, Baltimore (height constrained ports). There are a lot of smaller ships with balconies in all three fleets that would likely serve well to complement Islander in the MAS fleet if and when they come on the market.

July 12-16 for us. Enjoy your sailing! Last cruise was on the Carnival Spirit, so this will feel very familiar.

I'll be on the October 15 sailing. Look for feedback soon!

The October 2023 offer has been released and still offers $600 in free bar tab credit for 7+ night cruises in all regions and on all sailings through December 2024.

We did Ship Show on Valiant Lady in January following a dinner reservation. We told the server that we didn't want dinner, but we did order dessert. They easily accommodated this request.

@weasey Welcome Aboard!

I personally prefer the Vista class. Teppanyaki, IMAX, JiJi Asian Kitchen are the big differentiators.

Virgin is starting to introduce fly-on comedians as a form of entertainment on the Miami-based sailings. The shows take place in The Manor under the headline of "Festival Stage". Note that the Festival Stage shows include a variety of fly-on acts, from magicians and comedians to musicians and hypnotists, so you can't guarantee comedy shows on a particular sailing, but Virgin is listening to sailor feedback and bringing a wider variety of entertainment to their ships. In my personal opinion, this is incredibly important to keep the experience fresh as both Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady share much of the same onboard entertainment.

Join us on the Carnival Venezia for the February 11 - 23, 2024 Carnival Journeys cruise to the Southern Caribbean. This itinerary features some very unique ports of call, including Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten. What else makes this sailing special? Not only do we get to sail away from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at sunset, but we also get to watch the Super Bowl at sea! Who's joining me on this incredible sailing from New York on February 11, 2024?

Glad to hear it is back! On our November 2022 cruise on Paradise, it was replaced with a new "Adult Game Night." Our sailing was the first attempt at it, and while parts were entertaining, the pacing was slow and it really seemed to engage the Fun Squad team that was participating more than the guests. On Celebration in January, neither activity was offered.

Is anyone aware of the Quest returning on any Carnival ships post-restart? Has it gone the way of the hairy chest competition, or has it returned on some ships and we just haven't seen a cruise director who has embraced it yet?

Looking at a Carnival Venezia booking in February and it appears as if all categories are sold out except for 1A Upper/Lower and IS Inside Guarantee. My question is, does Carnival consider category 1A a part of the "Inside Guarantee" categories, or does category IS (Inside Guarantee) include only 4A or higher?

The smaller ships are ideal for Alaska. Not only can they maneuver into areas where the larger ships cannot, but they also have a higher ratio of balcony staterooms, which are highly desired for Alaskan sailings.

I would expect Sunshine to remain in the fleet beyond 2028. You're correct regarding Carnival's fleet plan. The ship got a major mid-life update that brought the interior areas of the ship closer to current standards. Unless there are major mechanical concerns with the ship at that point, they'll need to extend the life of the current fleet until they can afford to build two new classes of ship - one to replace the Spirit class in Alaska and the height-restricted ports, and another to replace the Destiny and Conquest class ships. I'd actually put money on Conquest and Glory being retired before Sunshine or Spirit given that the Conquest class ships have not had the benefit of the major mid-life refresh. Let's hope for a great fiscal 2024 so that Carnival Corp can begin planning for replacements of the Conquest and Spirit class with Carnival, and the Grand class with Princess.

We enjoyed the Center Stage version of Celestial Strings on Celebration back in January. It may have been the best of the shows we were able to see. The show pacing of Color My World lacked energy and variety, and Amor Cubano was just okay. We Are One was still in previews (we saw bits and pieces, which were very well done) and Magnificent Circus had to be canceled at the last minute. Soulbound was disappointing. Great set/lighting, didn't care for the actual show. Still enjoy Motor City and Epic Rock. I wish The Brits was still showing on more than one ship; a relic of the Fantasy class, I suppose?