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My Wonderfully Magical Cruise...


Raven Days

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This was my 6th Cruise all on Carnival and Mark's 1st. I booked a balcony cabin on deck 9 cabin 9272 near the Atrium Lobby. I bought Faster to the Fun as well. I also booked 1 excursion for myself and 3 for my friend. I will give my review for each as I detail my experiences.

 

To start, I booked the wrong hotel for Galveston. I typically stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites on the Seawall. I chose the Hampton Inn in Texas City by mistake. The hotel was nice. It is an older property and since it's not a "suites" hotel there are no mini fridges and microwaves in the room. The elevator does makes some scary noises, but there was never any issues with it. The breakfast was a hot breakfast...again not bad. The room was nice and clean and the Wifi worked great. The hotel is near the Mall of the Mainland. It seems to have been a great mall at one time, but evidently it was struck by a tornado on January 10, 2012 causing some serious damage to several stores. Most of the anchor stores left, leaving only Sears. There were maybe 20 other stores still there and only a few were open at 6pm on a Saturday night. It did seem to have a popular movie theater that had several people waiting for movies to begin.

 

Here are 3 photos of the Hampton Inn Texas City hotel -

 

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The next morning we were up and to the port by 9.30am. It was a fast drive from Texas City to the Galveston Park and Cruise. I had pre-booked online for outside parking. It was $54.13 to park for the week. This parking is directly across the street from the terminal and I have used them on each cruise. I was able to drop off Mark and our bags and then park. As I mentioned I bought the FTTF pass and the porters put a orange sticker on the side of each bag. After I parked my car, we had a bit of a wait until the terminal opened up. I think it opened at 10 or 10.15am. Since we were FTTF we were taken through security first. I had packed 1 12 pack of juice and a 12 pack of bottled soda. The security person took each item out and shook it and then replaced it. It only took about 5-7 minutes and we were back in the line to head up the escalators to check in. Again since I had FTTF we were 1st in line to get our S&S card. And then directed to a roped off area near the area to board the ship. We were boarded around 11.30 or maybe even earlier. I really don't remember. I know it didn't seem that long. We were boarded AFTER Platinum and Diamond guests and after the Captains Table guests. Which was to be expected. We were on-board and in our cabin in 5 minutes after they opened boarding. Our cabin was ready. No luggage. It did take a hour or so to get our luggage. Again an improvement over not having the FTTF pass.

 

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Thanks for posting a review!! Can't wait to hear more... I was just inquiring on how the FTTF worked in Galveston. I believe you are going to answer all my question...

 

Do you recall if you can walk from the cabins on deck 11 to the Italian restaurant? Just curious..

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Thanks for posting a review!! Can't wait to hear more... I was just inquiring on how the FTTF worked in Galveston. I believe you are going to answer all my question...

 

Do you recall if you can walk from the cabins on deck 11 to the Italian restaurant? Just curious..

 

The Italian restaurant is actually on Deck 10 behind the Lido buffet. You do have to climb stairs to reach it. I will be posting photos' of that soon as well.

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After we got to our cabin, we unpacked our carry on's. I had brought on board soda and juice. I took out what was in the mini fridge and put it on the side shelf. I didn't do an inventory then...but I will in the future. We didn't use anything that was in the mini fridge. But I got charged for an OJ and a Heineken. I do not nor have I EVER drank beer from a can...and never a Heineken. And since I brought on 6 12 oz bottles of OJ & the same amount of Cranberry Juice and would not have used what was in the mini fridge. I went down to guest services and the guy was very nice and he removed the charges from my bill. So if you bring your own stuff on board, do a inventory of what is there when you get in the cabin, and if anything is missing, make sure your cabin steward knows right away! Here is another good usage of the FTTF.... several times I went to guest services for one reason or another...and most times the regular line was full. I was able to walk right up and be waited on quickly. Yes, I got some glares and even interrogated by an older guy who was Plantuim. He kept asking me if I was sure I was in the right line and what level I was. I was polite and kept my info to myself. So ...so far the FTTF has worked fantastic...but there is more! I will get to that later.

 

Cabin....to anyone who is looking to book this cabin - or those in the vicinity. Be aware that it is quite near the Atrium lobby and I could hear the lobby bar singer catawalling (I mean singing) late into the night. I brought on a fan for just that purpose, so it really didn't bother me...but I can see how it could be a problem. I never smelled smoke - tobacco smoke at least - and there was people next to me who smoked...I did smell the "other" smoke several times around me when I was on the balcony.

 

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Food:

 

After we unpacked what we had, we went on the Lido Deck for lunch. Since we got on so much faster then others, there was only a tiny line for burgers. They were actually pretty good....We were assigned to the Southern Lights Dinning Room, table 708. No view. And it was a table for 8. The food in the MDR was really hit or miss. Some stuff was really good and stuff was really bad. There was some that was so terrible that I couldn't even eat it. I wouldn't suggest anything fired. Everything I ordered that was fried was dripping in grease. YUCK. We splurged on the Prime Steak House and OMG was it worth it! I am not a steak person, but that was the best steak I have ever had. It was cooked exactally like I wanted it...Medium Well. I would have eaten there every night had I been able to afford it. And be warned that the desserts are HUGE!

 

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My staple dessert each night in the MDR

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We had breakfast every morning on the Lido deck. My friend was not impressed with the eggs. I really do not think they are real eggs. They were runny. And if you like bacon that is more done or crispy you must ask for it. Two days in a row I got bacon that needed more time in the skillet! The Tandoor was very good. I like Indian food and really enjoyed having it on the ship.

 

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More soon...

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Photo's of Prime Steak House:

 

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Our table:

 

Note here....I booked our table before we got on the ship. I had heard that waiting could mean that they would be booked. I opted for Tuesday night at 6.30, we got there early and we were able to be seated right away.

 

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The total for me and my friend was $90 including a tip. It included a complementary appetizer - just a tiny taste if you will of what ever the chef had prepared - it is not something you can order. It was Beef Tar Tar for my friend and some sort of potato cheese soup for me. You also get a starter - he had a Lobster Bisque - For me - Shrimp Cocktail. It includes a salad and your entree as well as dessert. Ohh and the bread! We feel in love with the Rosemary and Olive oil Focaccia....that stuff was heaven. We both ordered the Cheese cake and it was enough for 5 people. But it was the best cheese cake I have ever had. So if you can afford, I highly recommend booking this venue!

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And different Food Venues around the ship..including the Red Frog Pub....we liked this place. The food was good and for $3.33 for the food, who can complain?

 

Hot Dog Stand on Deck 11 ( think) it's near the Sport Square and I only went once and it was closed.

 

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Sushi Bar...it was never open when I went by..so I never ate here either.

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Northern Lights MDR...

 

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Now..this is a table with a view!

 

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Thanks for posting a review!! Can't wait to hear more... I was just inquiring on how the FTTF worked in Galveston. I believe you are going to answer all my question...

 

Do you recall if you can walk from the cabins on deck 11 to the Italian restaurant? Just curious..

 

 

Awesome review Raven Days! Picomullet, you can get to the Italian restaurant from Deck 11, just walk all the way to the back (aft) & go inside the glass doors. We did this when we boarded & had our rolling carry-on.

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