BeachLoverstoo

We've done Chef's Table twice. Both times we made reservations on line, but once on board we went to the Steakhouse and asked what night we were scheduled. Last December on the Sunshine Journey's cruise there were six planned. We were happy with our night, but were told we could ask to be changed. Just didn't need to do that. Chef's Table was amazing even though we had the same menu both times, the presentation was so different we were surprised. Lots of flowing wine on both.

Taste bar is gone. The Ocean Plaza offers light breakfast and lunch. On embarkation day they serve barbecue, which is similar to the offerings on the ships that have the standalone BBQ.

The plaza is also where you check in for ATD, though now you can check in on the Hub app. Check the musical listings as there are some great shows around dinner time. As others said, lots of activities are held there. Build A Bear, the Seuss parade starts there, animal towel folding class and tons of trivia. With the pub and Alchemy right there it is a great gathering space.

Not for us. We were shaken awake every night with loud noises and banging. Glassware, ice bucket and everything else rattling. The first time I thought the ship had hit something. We asked around, but never got a good answer about what it was. It was nice to be close to the water and the gangway, but the lack of sleep negated those two things.

You can stop by the Steakhouse upon embarking and ask the manager there.

Was there overlap time between the cruises? We were looking at a couple that gave us as little as four days to 28. Looking for a happy medium, maybe a week.

In the Fun Times, look on the back under "Hungry for More?" for the tea time schedule. Not sure where it might be posted on the Hub App.

No, two steam rooms though.

We actually cancelled Cucina for hubby's birthday because they changed the menu, Nona's meatballs is now one not so great meatball and the carbonara is totally gone. I've heard you can ask in advance for the carbonara, but there is no guarantee. The new menu has been disappointing to us and we always dined there at least once for dinner each cruise.

I was surprised your “floating buffet” didn't include a visit to the Italian restaurant on embarkation day. We find it one of the few spots to enjoy as it is out of the way and not generally found until the first sea day. The only downside is the basketball court overhead.

I'm thrilled to see the violinists are on the Breeze. They were our go-to pre-dinner music on the Magic. We were hoping they'd be on board for the Journey's cruise next month.

Can you request a waiter or table? We love ATD and if we like our waiter on the first night, we request him each night. Wonder if that is possible?

Search for "Cruising the Vineyard' on the Carnival website and you will see some information, but no prices. Also note that the offerings on board might be different. We always get the five-bottle package and then supplement with the two bottles of wine we bring on board.

Was it the old or new Cucina menu?

If Carbonara was on the menu, it was the old one. I really hate that they took it off the new menu.

We usually book aft-facing cabins and love the view and the privacy. Not many folks roam all the way to the back. Most vibration will be felt going in and out of a port, not so much while at sea.

No, you can't mix and match. If you think you would prefer Anytime Dining you need to go to the Maitre D in the MDR and see if you can change to that. Check your Fun Times when you board for the times the Maitre D is available. We like Anytime, but just booked a cruise six weeks out and have late seating. We usually eat late (8 or 8:30), so only the flexibility of when we go is lost.

If you chose ATD, you arrive at the MDR when you like and they will either seat you or you might have a short wait. There is usually a line right at opening and then about 7 - 7:30, when those first diners are just finishing up. .

We've done two B2B and have a third planned. I didn't see it mentioned, but check with Guest Services to be sure you are on the B2B list. Also, while it might not be the norm, we also received a Welcome Back fruit basket with champagne on the second leg both times. The first time we had to change rooms. We spoke with our steward about how to handle that. He told us to pack our toiletries and the things in drawers, everything else was left for him to move. We also met with our soon-to-be steward and he said everything would be handled, and it was. After the photo op, we headed to our cabin and found a "Welcome Back" sign on the mirror. All of our things, including the items in the fridge, were moved, our clothes were hanging in the closets.

We had anytime dining which we have had on all cruises since it became available. We really like being able to eat whenever we want. The personal service usually found with assigned dining was also obtained on this cruise with anytime dining. The key is to find an area where you like the servers and just request them each night. We found our ideal staff on the first night, but didn't realize it until being seating somewhere else on the second and not being as happy. We asked for them every night after and only had to wait about 5 minutes twice. They remembered everything we liked after the first night and we felt like we did when we had assigned dining. We did eat in the buffet area once at dinner time just because we didn't feel like dressing "casual" and I wore shorts and a T-shirt. I know other people dress this way in the dining room, just not my style.

We are on board on Friday, would love to know the name(s) of your wait staff as we are ATD and hope to find good servers. We usually ask when buying the wine package and have had amazingly good results, but it never hurts to ask on here.

For those considering the Panama Canal cruise, note there is a typo in the earlier post. The 14-day Journey's is in 2019.We transferred our booking for an 8-day on Miracle to this one yesterday. So excited.

Carnival Legend will also operate a round-trip 14-day Panama Canal cruise from Tampa Dec. 1-15, 2019. The voyage will feature stops at Cozumel and Limon (Costa Rica) before transiting the Panama Canal, then visit Cartagena, Aruba, Curacao and Grand Cayman.

retired cruzer, Congratulations on your 50th. We loved the Fantasy. Older, but lots of fun.

I sure understand about getting older, but even though we are celebrating our 50th in October, we are still pretty active.

I've seen the scooters in the hall and would imagine two would be challenging to maneuver passed, but unless you can get an HC, they will have to stay in the corridor. I'd check with your PVP on the possibility of an HC opening for you. Good luck..

We enjoyed the Italian restaurant on the Magic in Feb and i would say order the Caesar salad - the presentation is quite unique. Also the arancini presentation has changed with the new menu. We adopted the chef on our B2B last year and she sent out quite a few 'off menu' items, but anything with shrimp was good. I liked that they changed the bread to a garlicy delight..

Once on board, you can go to the steakhouse and they can tell you what night you are having the Chef's Table. I'd suggest making steakhouse reservations online as I wonder if (like the Maqic) the steakhouse is quite small. On a B2B we never could get a table, but the first week was a casino cruise and the second was Wheel of Fortune tourney. Participants were comped dinner reservations we were told when we asked why there wasn't one night available in two weeks

We saw a lady with a BLT when we tried the new deli menu on the Magic It is a large sandwich made with really good bread and amazing bacon. Hubby and I share. I thought the fries and cookie were good, but hubby opted for Guy's fries. We were on the ship for a B2B and the second week, the cook recognized me and remembered my order. (OMG) I saw lots of requests for special sandwiches, so I'm thinking it could be the difference in ships/cooks. But I also heard lots of folks complain about what they got - ask for what you want and you may get it. Can't hurt to try. If not satisfied, get something else, like this:.

We found the little soup and sandwich place on deck 5 made a great turkey on roll to order. There's almost no one there and i get a made-to-order salad at the shop around the corner and have an adult beverage from the Pub where we can always find a table at lunch.

Looking forward to your review. We are to be on the Magic the 31st of this month. I just "checked" to see if there were any rooms available, and the website I was on said, SOLD OUT for the date we are going. So I have a feeling, it will be a FULL ship.:) Hopefully I will be able to write a review on it as well, as I have done reviews over the 25 years that I have cruised off and on on different ships.

An Easter cruise? There's probably lots of families that week..

I also found that they set up a great salad bar at lunch inside right near the BBQ. Unfortunately, I found it on our last sea day!

The salad bar is perfect - you pick the items and the server prepares it. Also around the corner just past the coffee shop, they do soup and sandwiches on sea days. Sandwiches are made to order (like the deli) and offer a version of the turkey on country roll. Usually no lines and you can sit in the pub and get a nice adult beverage.

Go to cucina del Capitano. Free lunch and usually no one in there.

 

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I agree with this idea. guests are served - no need to stand in line and there is an elevator right near the entrance. Food is quite good and the venue is rarely crowded on the first day at lunch.

It was out of Aruba! We arrived in the afternoon so we did the sunset sail from 5:30p to 7:30p which was $32pp and included an open bar! It was SOOOOO fun! They have other longer sailings that leave earlier in the day for ships that arrive in the morning. We had a blast! Just took the local bus up to the Marriott stop, hung out on the beach near MoomBa bar where you board. Then we went to the bar after

Thanks, I'll check it out. We were in Aruba in 2016 and did Trikes Aruba, which was amazing, but expensive. This time we are in port later and looking for something like this.

Also our first time on Sunshine so I've been reading every review I can find. Looking forward to a new, to us ship, and it's Serenity deck. Just off the Magic and we didn't like the location on the Dream class. A hassle to get to and then frequently closed due to high winds.

We have reservations for JiJi's did you eat there?