ScottsSweetie

Some interesting responses here. I will never understand why people have such strong opinions on cruise lines they have never sailed. In my humble opinion, if you don't have personal experience with Carnival you should not be responding to this type of question. I am the opposite of the OP. I have 24 cruises on Carnival, and several others on other lines. I've sailed from 3 to 8 day cruises out of 9 different ports. I have yet to see a fight. I will be going on my first Princess cruise Thanksgiving week. I've heard a lot of things about Princess, both good and bad, over my cruising years. I will reserve judgement until experiencing it for myself. Editing to add: I've just read the thread concerning the white and gold party, wherein people are noting that a 10:30 start time is just too late for them. I guess that leaves more room for us young people (although at 60 I've not referred to myself as young in quite a while). This would be an example of a MAJOR difference in Princess & Carnival.

I'm researching my first Princess Cruise for Thanksgiving weekend. The Crown Grill (steakhouse) is $29/pp. I gave Carnival two chances on their steakhouse - both were disappointing. They won't fool me again.

I just have to say that this is the wonkiest, most non-user friendly app that I have ever tried to use. When I downloaded it yesterday, the android app store reflected 2956 reviews with a 1.6 out of a 5 star rating. I believe I concur with the majority of the reviewers.

Where in the app will these activities show up?

We don't do shorts in the DR even on non-formal nights, so that won't be an issue for us. Will be interesting, just as a personal anecdote, to see how compliance / enforcement compares to Carnival.😏

It would seem, from your comments, that formal evenings have morphed on Princess in a way very similar to Carnival. Thanks to all of you for your replies!!

Nothing other than being blessed to go on another cruise! When we cruise this time of year (anytime between October & Christmas), we always call it our Birthday/Christmas cruise. My birthday is October, DH is December and this is considered our birthday celebrations and our Christmas gifts to each other. So, a celebration only in our minds!

We are booking our first Princess cruise to Mexican Riviera (platinum status on Carnival + other lines cruised also). I'm wondering what the formal situation is on Princess for the 2 formal nights on our 7 day cruise. On Carnival, when they actually had formal evenings it seemed as if the first formal night was more formal (long gowns and suits) than the 2nd one (cocktail dresses or nice slacks). Is there a particular vibe on Princess for these two different evenings? Also, while I did a search on this topic and didn't really find an answer to that, I did find several threads that included comments like "I don't pack formal wear anymore"; "I bring leggings for formal evenings"; and other like things. I have read the definition on the Princess website but I would like to know what the facts are in real life. Also, I had previously read or heard that on formal evenings the dress code is enforced all over the ship (shows and other venues). True or false??

Hmmm. In that release, under the others already available section, they didn't mention the Farmhouse Ale, which is my favorite. Hope that doesn't mean it's going away.

I agree - this has been a little disappointing. I say good luck to you, then. We have never been impressed with the food on Royal or Norwegian. In particular the dessert offerings on both lines have been disappointing (not with choice but with flavor). I will say that Norwegian's buffet is slightly better than Carnival's, but there are so many other options on Carnival that it makes that a wash.

Yes, of course I know that. This was in regards to room service (a "full breakfast" on the balcony).

But this caveat is not listed under Carnival's procedures, so . . .

The midnight chocolate buffet has been gone for years, and I have never known a "real breakfast" (I'm assuming you mean more than continental) to be available on Carnival.

I've sailed 4 times since the restart and every single roll call has been completely dead. No idea why it's so different these days.

Perhaps. But the "old money" establishment in Charleston was never happy with the cruising industry being there. Many establishments downtown had fliers on their windows stating such. And since I'm such an empathetic person I made them happy by not entering their establishment. My "new money" talks, too.

Maybe check this place out https://seattleexpress.com/

I got my "Welcome Back - we miss you already" email today. I don't get on the ship until Thursday. 😏

I've never had trouble taking things like granola bars / pre-packaged crackers. I bring these items from home if I know we are having an extra long excursion or if we are going to be doing a lot of walking and away from the ship for hours. Not sure where you will fill up that refillable water bottle, though. Access to potable water may be very limited in some areas.

Yes, no doubt this is a contributor.

Haven't they already been doing this to a degree? Can't cruise if you're not vaccinated. Can't cruise if you're on oxygen. For several months you couldn't cruise without an exemption if you needed one. I'm a shareholder, and a cruiser - and I do not want a diminished product when I'm on the ship. I want adequate staffing in proportion to passenger capacity.

That's all fine and well. None of us can make the government move any faster, including Carnival. But they could lessen the impact on the cruising customer by lowering capacity until staffing becomes a non-issue.

This is the part I would worry about. A lot of stadiums / arenas have gone to a "clear bag only" policy - otherwise, no purses, no backpacks, no nothing! If you are on Carnival, who is apparently not participating in Port Valet, there is a luggage storage facility at SeaTac, but then you would be adding another paid trip. https://www.portseattle.org/services-amenities/bag-storage

It appears that CVS has stopped doing tests here in Phoenix through the Covid appointment system, and have moved to performing tests through the Minute Clinics. I wonder if they will begin charging now for travel tests with this move.

DH travels with his free government test that we got in the mail. He actually had to use one recently after a possible exposure and it was most convenient. Of course, the way things go it could be confiscated next time, but it hasn't been yet, and it's been in his carry on for several months.

I had posed the Port Valet question on the West Coast departures board a few weeks ago - here is a response received by @geneparmesan: My Carnival Spirit cruise ended yesterday (May 18th). I did not receive any Port Valet information or luggage tags on my last night (even though I received the reminder email two days before), so I assume that means Carnival is still not participating. We ended up carrying our luggage off ourselves. So, looks like still no Carnival participation in Port Valet.