mz-s

You won't be able to get off the ship until your balance is satisfied.

It's just like at home, nothing goes down the commode except #1, #2, and TP. And don't forget about the courtesy flush.

If I was on the NCL board I'd probably complain about it there too.

Those prices are absolutely obscene. The water not so much I guess, but the rest of the prices are ridiculous. It's cheaper at Disney World, and they actually give you Coke there.

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1495/~/carnival-magic-(mc)-fact-sheet

That's not really possible to combine offers as they are specific to a VIFP# and everyone has a unique VIFP#. You just need to take a look at both of your offers and whoever has the better offer at the time, gets to be "guest #1" of that booking. Or, if you book cruises by calling in or using a PVP or TA, they should do the legwork of researching who has the better offer at the time.

Carnival will provide free transportation to folks who want to get back to Norfolk.

Agreed, even for a longer than normal drydock like this one I wouldn't expect too many issues. A coworker went on the very first cruise of Sunrise after the renovation and said much the same as @BETSY DOLL - ship was unfinished, disruptive work going on all cruise, etc. But that was the same type of deal, the ship had just undergone a huge renovation.

Choices are great, it's all about having the correct expectations. Someone who's frame of reference of cruising is one of the latest RCCL ships, or even Mardi Gras, will be shocked and not in a good way when they board the Sunrise.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3256/~/decorating-your-stateroom-door-and-stateroom

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2822/~/electric-outlets

When I was on Magic, pretty much all the upholstery around the ship was stained and the carpet was all worn. I did notice that on port days they were replacing carpets while the guests were onshore, so I am hopeful that they were working on that as time went on.

I don't think you'll be able to connect your Apple Watch to the wifi, it doesn't have a web-browser to navigate the captive portal.

Early Dining is typically unable to accommodate more cruisers once onboard, it gets to be full. But you can always ask the maitre'd once onboard.

I posted some thoughts (not really a review) of my September cruise on Magic back last year. The ship's features are nice, I liked the size of the lounges and LOVED the smoke-free casino. This was my first Dream class cruise. The food was sub-par, and the cleanliness of the ship was sub-par as well. If either of those have been improved since September, I'd book Magic again tomorrow.

That is incorrect information, where did you hear it?

For someone who is used to the latest and greatest ships from Royal Caribbean, the Sunrise is like stepping back in time 30 years in terms of amenities but dealing with the modern cut-rate Carnival experience of nasty food, poor service, and dirty ships - I can't blame them for never wanting to try Carnival again after that. Nothing Carnival has, except perhaps the Excel class, can hope to compete with most of Royal Caribbean's fleet. Carnival can only compete on price when there is a Royal Caribbean ship docked alongside at the same homeport. That's why people sail Sunrise out of Miami - she's the cheapest cruise you can take, almost without exception.

One of the older ships afloat right now, but was renovated about 5 years ago. They added new venues but also ripped out lounges and public spaces to add more staterooms. You'll probably be OK in the off season, after Thanksgiving but before Christmas - that's one of the slowest travel periods of the year, generally speaking. But you couldn't pay me to sail a Sunshine class ship during the busy season. You'll get so fed up of standing to the side to let a crowd pass, waiting in lines to do ANYTHING - wait for an elevator, wait for the bathroom, wait for a seat at Lido, 30 minute wait for a slice of nasty pizza, etc., that you'll never want to cruise again.

Varies from ship to ship. On my last cruise I was mostly in the smoke-free casino annex on Magic. That casino was rarely busy and so it was easy to get the bar's attention for a drink. I choose to avoid being around smoke so I spent very little time in the regular casino, so not sure how east getting a drink was up there. As others have mentioned, you won't be able to order a drink from the casino bar if you want the casino to pay for it unless you have "Drinks on Us Anywhere" which is a different offer.

The only apps that work on the social plan are what is listed on carnivals site. Facebook, Facebook messneger, WhatsApp, etc.

Other than the fact that it's their job? I am not getting into a tipping debate here. You can tip if you want, that is your business. But if the servers don't want to serve people who don't tip extra then they need to be sent home at the next stop. Guests shouldn't need to tip extra just to get the basic service we used to be able to expect on Carnival. I know that Carnival is basically a floating Red Roof Inn/Burger King these days, but come on.

The standard of service on Carnival is seriously degraded. In the past when you mentioned something about the food for example, even if it was just in passing, the Maitre'D would stop by and ask for more information. On my last cruise my lobster was so overcooked I asked to speak to the Maitre'D and they never even bothered to stop by my table. Not really related to OP's immediate issue here, but another data point as to the standard of service on Carnival being more like a Burger King or Red Roof Inn these days.

I didn't say it was the same. I just explained how the pooled gratuity system works.

The server gets the same share of every Cheers purchaser onboard, so yes their percentage of gratuity from you personally is quite small - but they're well taken care of by the gratuity system.

The dreams sessions are free, you just pay for the photo package afterwards. The packages are expensive. If it's a once in a lifetime cruise, which it sounds like it is for you, I would definitely recommend booking a sitting. You are under no obligation to buy anything afterward but obviously the whole point is to buy a package and they do sell you pretty hard.