mz-s

People are willing to pay $15/gal for gas after a hurricane because they need it - but that is in fact criminal. I am not equating internet access to fuel, but Carnival evidently thinks internet access is their key to paying off the debt because they are charging ridiculous rates for it. They won't get it out of me, I can say that for sure.

$75/day for wifi is absolutely criminal in my opinion. I cannot fathom even considering paying that much money for internet access on a cruise.

Obviously Job #1 is to get industrial traffic flowing ASAP.

They'll come around with the pastry basket and offer you a pastry or two, but they no longer drop off a basket full of assorted pastries by default. If they still serve the cream cheese flavor, you can just ask for it then!

Looks like it's just a limited time trial for May for the time being. Maybe they'll expand it for your cruise if the testing goes well. This is the first I'm hearing of this. Interesting!

Carnival serves several kinds of Danishes but I don't know if I've ever noticed a cream cheese flavor.

Carnival blocks Wifi calling.

You'll be using Cellular at Sea which does work well for calls and SMS. I have not used the data portion but my hunch is it's fairly slow compared to the wifi on Carnival ships.

I don't know what they're recommending this year. Last year when I cruised out of Norfolk, Carnival told everyone to go to Cedar Grove parking, even if you were being dropped off. They had porters and shuttles there. This was to prevent congestion in the downtown area and to ensure everyone had the assistance they needed. I chose to park at Asphalt Lots, which is a private offsite company not affiliated with the cruise port or city at all. They ran their own shuttles and dropped us off across the street from the cruise terminal. We had to wheel our luggage to the terminal on our own. My wife and I travel light (we shared one suitcase) and are able bodied so that was not an issue at all for us.

I like Bulleit

Oh nice good to know...in the past the best the bar at the casino would have was woodford. Still makes a darn good Old Fashioned.

I am frankly surprised that the modern cut-rate Carnival experience where even bacon is a bridge too far still has a cruise director on every ship. I wonder if perhaps they're required by SOLAS or some international seafarer's union or something.

Some CDs are better than others. Some do go above and beyond. I acknowledge that it is much rarer for that to happen today than it was several years ago. Very few crew on Carnival are able or willing to put that special touch on things anymore. They just go through the motions. And they don't make an impact. I guess I just feel for folks who haven't felt that special touch on Carnival from the crew or from the experience itself, because it used to be there.

A lot of folks get the last minute offers, yes they do go quickly. I don't think location has much to do with it. I get last minute offers for Alaska cruises, Long Beach cruises, even Australian cruises sometimes - and I'm in NC, nowhere near any of those places.

Thank you for sharing, I'm sure you can get through it.

I never understood why people on here are proud of the fact that they don't know any CDs. It makes no difference to me or anyone else on here I'm sure...

Sorry you had to go through that. I know when I cruised out of Norfolk last year they recommended that everyone be dropped off at the offsite parking lot, they had accessible shuttles and porters there. But I don't know if they have the same setup this year since this was all so last-minute.

On Magic this past September, there was at least one roaming bar waiter in the smoke-free annex pretty much any time they had the tables open. That didn't mean it was always easy to get a drink. But probably easier than the smoking casino.

They specifically won't let Ubers or Taxis get close to the port because of congestion. Technically they're supposed to drop you off at the port's parking lot and you ride the port's shuttle buses to the terminal. So yeah the best workaround is to have the Uber drop you off a block or so away and walk in, if you are able.

If you are booking an upper lower last minute most likely that’s what you’ll be getting.

Not on modern Carnival. In times past, yes. But there are no more decorative plates or chargers on Carnival. They went away around the same time as the buffet trays and when American Table was instituted.

Bread is cheap but they're washing a dish either way. They don't just hand over a bread bowl with their bare hands, it's served on a plate that must be washed, may break, get stolen, etc. So eliminating the bread is only upside, if the customer will tolerate the change.

I think Blanton's is $18. There may not be any drinks over $20 right now actually.

If you don't go to the shows, games on Lido, etc., then yeah you won't know the CD. That is where they're most visible.

I don't wear or bring anything on a Carnival cruise that I'll miss if it goes overboard or if it gets faded in the washer...each to their own. I mostly use the laundry service because I hate the way my clothes smell like smoke from being in/walking past the casino.