BeachlvgMom

The cigar smoking area  is on the deck above lido (deck 10 on Conquest class or deck 11 Dream or Vista class) starboard,  midship to aft.   Normally there is drink service from about 11am to about 5pm.  The hours of service tend to vary by ship.   My husband smokes cigars and this has been the case for us for about the last 3 years (we sail 2-3 times per year various ships).  Now the level of service also varies so we have found tipping 1-2 per trip helps keep the servers coming back our way. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

 We've carried on at three different ports on several different ships.   Each family member carries on their suitcase -25" each.  We go straight to the room and drop them off without lingering to get out of the stewards' way.  They fit through the scanners fine. We don't get hassled by the security staff either maybe because we are all able to lift our bags onto the scanner belt.   Since we are on early, we've not had a problem getting an elevator on any ship.  In Dec '18, we checked our bags on Vista to just try it out again and got our daughter's bag with the orange priority tape attached after 10pm with a note saying we inspected the bag but all was fine. Sorry for the inconvenience.  For 8 hours we were convinced the bag was lost since our other bags arrived around 1pm.  So we are resolved to carry on from here on out.  

 

On 3/20/2019 at 8:43 AM, roundrockhorn said:

Curious to know how the room temps were. I've read elsewhere, that even post dry dock, some of the rooms were still pretty hot. My wife and I will be sailing on 4/20 and will be in a balcony cabin on Deck 8. If these reports are accurate, I'm thinking I should bring a fan. 

Our room on deck 7 was very cool.  We kept the thermostat set at the lowest setting the entire time, and we were never uncomfortable.  At home we keep our thermostat set at 73 in the summer (in Texas) so that tells you of our tolerance level.  I was actually chilly at times.  When we were in Roatan with outside temp  at its warmest, the room stayed cool through the afternoon.

 

On that note, a lot of the doors leading to the outside on deck 9 had a touch pad added to the sidewall so the motion sensor doors would not be continually tripped to stay open. Someone on either side of the door had to tap the wall pad to open the sliding doors. This helped the lido dining area to stay considerably cooler throughout the warmer days. The new touch pads had many people standing in front of the glass doors waving their hands in the air until they figured out the door operation.   

Yes the muster drill was still held outdoors on Deck 4.

1 hour ago, Lottacruises said:

Looks like an outside elevator was added from deck 9 to 10....

Yes, there was an elevator that was kind of Plexiglas enclosed for mobility impaired guests to access the aft area of deck 10.  The aft elevators only go to deck 9.  There was also some Plexiglas shielding around the aft starboard stairwell from deck 9 to 10 added.  Great for keeping your umbrella in your drink from blowing away. LOL  If the weather is a bit gusty that wind in the aft area of deck 10 is almost impossible.  

2 hours ago, princess76021 said:

Thanks for your review. Does the hub work? Can you view your photos on the hub? Or TV?  Looking forward to hearing more. Will be on her for two weeks and want to be prepared!!!    

 

You're welcome!  Yes, Hub did work.  The what's happening, open times, food and drink options with menu features all worked on Freedom as they did on Vista and Dream class ships.  I did notice that if we selected a favorite activity, the reminder notification only gave about a 7 minute warning.  On Vista it was double that at about 15 minutes.  It didn't impact us that much because there were very few long lines or full venues.  We could not make specialty dining reservations or check in for your time dining through the app.  These features were not critical because we there were not the lines we've experienced on Vista  or Dream class ships.  We could view sign and sail account charges in real time.

 

Regarding photos, they were still the paper hunt and find near the Pixels Gallery.  There were some tablet kiosks near Red Frog that I think one could use to view photos, but I never tried them out.  I didn't see that I could view photos on the phone app on Freedom.

The TV features were very limited or not upgraded at all. There were no on-demand movies like on Vista.  That was a bit of a bummer.  You could not use your TV to view your sign and sail account etc like on Dream and Vista class ships.  Download or bring your own movies if that's your thing.

Another point on the TV, the channels are very limited.  When you're missing Teen Titans and Gumball because that's better than anything else on the TV, it's kind of telling.  My daughter and I got very sunburned one port day and we stayed in the room the next sea day. We ended up just listening to audio books and watching Netflix downloads instead of TV.

2 hours ago, Newe08 said:

 

Just curious, what room number were you?   We'll have a balcony on deck 7 as well and were hoping those were upgraded....especially with the USB ports next to the bed.  

 

We were in cabin 7375. There were no additional plugs added to the room that we could tell. Nothing added to the bed area.  Just the one plug over the vanity/desk area.

Oh the internet....

IMHO, Not upgraded.  In fact it wasn't until the 1st full seaday - Sunday morning - that the chat feature started working on the hub app. We visited guest services because of this and they were going to give us a refund of the chat charges if they couldn't get it fixed.  We had Andriod phones but Iphone users had the same connection issues.  I didn't see any evidence that they boosted the speed or added wifi repeaters/boosters to the cabin areas.

We were on the March 9 sailing post dry dock.  This was our 11th Carnival Cruise on 7 different ships. We were on Freedom about 2 1/2 years ago.  Here goes my take on the upgrades and changes I observed since our last visit.

 

Cabins

DH DD and I were in a balcony cabin deck 7.  Our cabin was not redone.  TV was still older...ah very old.  Couch was old but comfortable and clean.  The linens and pillows seemed extra fresh and perky.  The shower curtain seemed new.  The carpet wasn't new but looked freshly steam-cleaned.  The balcony looked like it was freshly painted.  

 

Waterworks upgrade.

The deck 10-11 smaller pool was consumed in the water works upgrade.  There is now an additional twister tube slide, splash pad with water dumping bucket and two mini racer slides for smaller kids.  I went down both slides with my daughter and enjoyed this upgrade a time or two.  :-)

 

The lido deck 9 decking was upgraded to the faux decking that isn't actually interlocking wood.  Decks 10 and/or 11 still have some of the older wooden decking in places.  

 

Camp Ocean:

The large open room on the older kids side was sectioned off.  There is now a craft area with hard surfaced floors.  There were a few other minor upgrades and touches but basically the area was the same.

 

Common Area Restrooms:

In general restrooms seemed to be still an upgrade in progress.  Ex. The Deck 5 women's restroom near the international lounge had one working hand dryer mounted directly over a paper trash bin when all paper towel dispensers had been removed.  Then there was bolting on the wall for either another dryer or removed bin. The sinks were clearly new with motion sensor activation.  

Lido restrooms mid ship and aft were still malfunctioning off an on.  A few times the entire men's restroom by Guy's Burgers was out of order waiting for a white jump-suited repair crew.

None of these works-in-progress hampered our enjoyment of the ship.  Just something to note and work around.  They will probably be fixed soon.

 

New Restaurants:

Bonsai Sushi Express.  This was a nice addition. My family had sushi one night for dinner in lido.  They give you a pager to let you know when to pick up your order. The menu is not as extensive as Bonsai on Vista or other newer ships.  Still a nice alternative. 

Deli, the deli was upgraded to the new menu somewhat.  The panini presses are out and the toaster ovens are in.  I miss the panini-pressed sandwiches but had a Ruben the new way and it wasn't bad.  The menu is a bit more like the Vista menu in that they offer fries and truffle fries, and those chocolate sea salt cookies. 

555 Steak house  - not sure if this was a new upgrade but they have the Wagyu beef and smoked oysters that appear in the newer menus.  Ate there one night....excellent.  By the way the only bar to carry Blantons Bourbon or Remy Martin Cognac is 555 steakhouse.  Get ya Cheers package ready!

 

Red frog had an annoying short in the audio system. It would short out and drove a few of us to other venues a time or two because you couldn't hear the performer or the sound would be too loud.   The bartender remarked that coming out of dry dock  some things that worked before don't work right after.. referring to the audio issue.  I'm sure they'll get that fixed.  Different people were working on the issue off and on without resolution.

 

External

Pretty much every outer surface I observed had a fresh coat of paint.  Very spiffy.  Oh and she can move it move it - Freedom that is... I'm not sure but I think they opened her up on our trip back to Galveston the last couple of sea days.  Early Friday morning I observed several lazy circles being cut in the gulf until about 10 or 11 am.  We must have made great time coming from Roatan. 

 

We are back on her in May.  Loved the trip.  The crew seemed very refreshed and friendly.  Hope you enjoy her. 

Thank you for the feeback WLC!

I'll be on Vista late December 2018.  I need to view and reply to work emails that at most will be 2 MB with attachments.  Most emails will be far smaller in data size.  I intend to connect using an Android email app on my S7 and a surface Pro tablet email via Microsoft Online(Office 365).  Previous threads on this topic were not recent, not Vista specific or did not really elaborate on connectivity for emails only social apps.  

I understand those who say vacation is for disconnecting.  Normally I do disconnect, but working an hour or two a day on board is the price I have to pay to travel this time of year at all.

I would greatly appreciate replies detailing your experience in connecting to work emails on Vista. 

• Please mention if you had the value or premium wifi plans.
• If you did connect, did you have places on the ship or times of day that had better connectivity than others?
• Even if you used the Internet Cafe computers, I would greatly appreciate that feedback as well.  
• Any other connectivity feedback is welcome.

Thank you kindly in advance!

Thank you for the great review and for your final thoughts! We are on Vista in two weeks!

 

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I failed to add how much- 20% per party fee rounded up by $5's.

 

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I can not imagine having a child in the camps all day and NOT tipping. I realize it is the job of the counselors, but you are entrusting your children to someone for x many hours a day and not paying for day care.

 

Sorry, but those saying they only tip for the night service, please explain to me the difference in the service between day and night. I would think it would be more work for the staff during the day, based on my experience. Do you feel at home you could have someone watch your child/children daily and not pay? That's why I don't understand not tipping them.

 

I guess I am out of touch with reality based on some of the comments on here.

I'll bite. My daughter is rarely in camp during the day. She's with us on the ship or off at a port during the day. She might do a scavenger hunt, but she's consistent at attending camp at night. This is why we tip at night.

 

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Cleaning wipes (clorox, lysol etc). I take the roll out of the tube and put the wipes in a gallon zip lock or two.

 

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I tip for the late night parties only. My daughter (10) wants to wring every moment of fun so she insists we pick her up at midnight. She has a phone with her and texts me to stay as I'm trying to convince her that Dad and I need to sleep, lol. I figure at that point the camp workers more than deserve a tip so i add the tip when signing the receipt. During the day there are several counselors that rotate in and out. It would be hard to tip them all as you don't really know which counselor is working with your child vs other duties. I will say that mentioning a counselor by name in a positive post-cruise review is also a gift that can affect counselors careers. Your children could tell you who their fav's are and why. Happy cruising!

 

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Yes. Gave my son a dead phone (no cell service) just in case he lost it. Worked perfectly.

 

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Yes, it should work. I gave my 9 yr old DD an old Samsung S5 android phone that had no cell service. I downloaded the app using wifi at home. It worked perfectly on Breeze all 7 days in April 2017. She used the chat feature, viewed funtimes and used the photo features of the hub app.

 

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Oh and congratulations on your anniversary. Hope you have a fabulous cruise!

 

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Most of the tvs outside of suite flat screens will not support dvd or game hookups. I would suggest a portable dvd player. They are about $50 on amazon. Very useful in other settings as well. Here's a clip of Carnival's policy:

 

Connecting Personal Devices to the Stateroom Television

Guests are*not*permitted to connect Digital Cameras/Camcorders, DVDs/VCRs, USB sticks, iPods, Nintendo/X-Box Play units with the television in the staterooms; all connection ports are disabled.

 

In Suite accommodations*only,*guests are able to connect their own DVD/video source through the television using an audio/video input plate; guests must supply their own RCA connection cables.

 

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Probably a dumb question, but if you buy the Cheers package before departure from the website is it credited towards your sail and sign account, or is it a separate charge on your credit card completely?

It is a separate charge. Just purchased Cheers for a May 29, 2016 7-day sailing on Breeze. A $689.32 Bon Voyage purchase is showing as a current charge on my online cc account. The puchase does not show in my cruise details on the Carnival website like an excursion purchase does. I did receive an email confirmation of the purchase which I will save in case of future isses.

Happy cruising!

 

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Did you ever venture into the jazz club or Havana Bar/Lounge? I think they are near the Alchemy Bar? We sail in a few weeks and those locations look like cozy spots.

 

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Just off Magic May 31st. We were suite with no FTTF and were red cards. We did not get priority debarkation. In Dec 2014 on Triumph we were suite only again and did get priority debarkation. Either the rules changed recently or it depends on the ship. Following to get the answer if someone knows for sure.

I used the self service laundry on deck 7 on the Triumph mid Dec 2014. Quarters only. $3 to wash and $3 to dry. The washers had agitators so I had to break up my what I called med load into two. Got a roll of quarters from guest services very easily! Oh Flings travel very nicely. The boxes of powder detergent in the vending machines was pricy and not a good selection. Maybe there are other alternatives elsewhere. Tide gives my family a rash so I bring my own detergents. Hope my rambling helped.

The last time I cruised on carnival they had a sampler of 5 mini Martinis for $20 dollars. They would then mix them up on the bar and if you guessed what all of them were you won a prize. Do they still have this.

Alchemy had the sampler on the Triumph in Dec. My DH helped me with it as the spead is about the equivalent of 2 martinis. The mixologist suggested this because we couldn't decide. I thought this was a great value since I cannot try 5 without passing out. [emoji44] We won cute martini glass charms. I would go this route again. Alchemy bar supplied a nice snack of olives, havarty cheese, and nuts on request. Loved the experience.

I submitted a price drop form online on Monday night 1/12/15 and received the confirmation of an on board credit late Tuesday the 13th via email for a May '15 cruise on Magic. I've seen in other posts that others waited up to 7 days. I don't think they contact you if it was denied but have no personal experience of that yet. Best of luck and happy cruising!