Island Hopping

No smoking in the Havana bar.

The Lobster roll we had on the Vista was a 12" roll cut into two pieces. It was very good, but then I have never been to Maine to compare.

Just take a taxi, easiest way.

I don't know of any Carnival ships that the public can go out on the "Bow". On most Carnival ships that is a crew only area usually with a hot tub and loungers.

The Havana cabin occupants are the only ones allowed in the Havana pool area. They give you a wristband for access. Cabins are the same size as other cabins. There are Havana cabins on the aft of decks 5, 6 and 7. Age limit of 12 years old and up. No other special perks.

mgavin, you are correct on the time in Cabo. Ships time will be one hour behind local time. They tell you the last tender is 30 minutes before departure.

The Miracle on the Mexican Rivera cruise changes ship time a couple of times but are never the same time zone as the ports they visit. Ships time on the cruises we have taken has always been one hour behind local time in PV, Mazt and Cabo.

Cabo and Matz are on Mountain time zone, PV is on Central time zone.

Cocoa Beach Pier and Ron Jons Surf Shop.

If you go here, walk across the street to the Dinosaur Store.

http://www.dinosaurstore.com/

We just use clear packing tape.

Bought some of the pouches on-line a few years ago and after using them twice, they were in pretty bad shape. The porters would staple through them and also put colored tape on them that was hard to remove.

We were on the Vista in February. Over 80 had signed up pre cruise. We got an invitation in our cabin, it was scheduled the last sea day at 5 pm. We went, about 40 people showed up, there was one server for snacks and one server for drinks. No other carnival people showed up.

This is one tricky cruise for time changes. The Miracle doing the 7 day Mexican Riveria cruise will NOT stay on home port time, and will NOT be on the same time as the ports of call. We have done this cruise several times.

Ship time will be one hour behind local time in Cabo, PV and Mazatlan. The ship moves their time ahead and then moves it back during the cruise, but never matches local time.

Also, if you are booking independent tours, most go by local time as they do more business with local resorts and hotels then cruise ships. So make sure you know what time the tour operators are using.

Since the cruise does not leave till 10 pm, should be no problem unless you experience a long flight delay. I think quite a few fly in on day of cruise for this port.

We flew in a few days early so we could do a little sight seeing.

We boarded around noon. You can check in, then get off and explore more of Old San Juan. We were told to be back on board by 8:30.

First night in the MDR is open seating. Don't wait to long to go to dinner as Muster will be called around 9:30.

They sell out fast. The Havana cabins have access to the Havana bar, pool area and guaranteed loungers that other passengers do not have access too.

On our Vista cruise, all Havana cabins were sold 14 months out.

You might be able to book one when final payment is due and someone cancels.

We have stayed at the Sheraton and Hotel Plaza De Armas.

Sheraton, as above poster noted, is right across the street from the pier.

Hotel Plaza De Armas is right in the middle of old san Juan. It's a very old hotel, but nice. Most rooms do not have windows, but the ones in the front have windows and a balcony overlooking the Plaza De Armas. We loved staying here and will do so in the future. You could walk to the pier, but we took a taxi to carry our luggage. Cost of taxi was $6.

Not quite the same, but Carnival ports in Cabo two days back to back, but sails out to sea at night. Several people have asked to stay in Cabo overnight and the answer from Carnival is "OK, but if the ship does not come back into port the next day, you are on your own." I personally know two people who did this and loved it as they had friends in a condo nearby.

So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

 

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

 

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

Carnival has a fare rate called "Early Saver" If you book this rate, you can receive price reductions in the form of OBC right up till 48 hours before sailing. The catch is, this is a non-refundable fare. If you cancel before final payment is due, they will charge you $50 and hold the rest of your deposit for a future cruise with-in two years. If you cancel after final payment other restrictions apply.

All other Carnival fares you can receive price reductions up to final payment. After final payment no price reductions allowed.

Hope this answers your question.

Happy sailing :)

If it's not inflated and packed in your luggage they will not know it's there. On Halloween night I don't think anyone would care.

Make sure your luggage has tags. You can get them from the porters and attach them as you drop the luggage off.

We did the Segway tour and had a blast. Easy to learn to ride. Just a short walk from the pier.

https://www.segwaytourspr.com/guided-tours/

however the ships are self powered, so why the blackout?

Yes, the ships are self powered. But at some ports they are required to hook up to shore side power for environmental concerns while docked. Most California ports require ships to hook up to shore side power.

If all you have is $50 invested in the cruise, count it as lesson learned and get new friends.

We cruised Feb 2016 and they had no problem with cruising speed. We were on time in every port and did not notice any more vibration than on any other ship.

I agree with you completely. My last Carnival Glory cruise was off in a "I can't put my finger on it" kind of way. Service in general was rather lackadaisical and robotic (not the usual Carnival good cheer). Both American Table and Sea Day Brunch menus/options were horrible. When I cruise I enjoy a main dining room experience that has a table cloth & good menu. I'm not impressed with the over emphasis on casual main dining rooms. It's surprising that Carnival continues on with this BAD idea. No one I talked to who cruises Carnival regularly likes AT or SDB.

Really? Horrible?

Maybe the next card will say "we are not happy until you are not happy"[emoji51]

This is the motto of several posters on this thread.