Kermarkim

We used it last August on Carnival Luminosa during our Alaskan cruise. It was the absolute best not having to carry our bags around while we were sightseeing before our flight. I wish all the other ports had this service.

Comedians who don’t know how to be funny for the early showtimes. Based on my last 4 cruises, it is apparent that these comedians only know how to perform in the 18+ shows: However, they are under contract to also do family sets but most are not up to the task.

My recommendation is to try as many foods as possible in the main dining room especially foods you would never generally order or pay for at a restaurant. If you don’t like it, you can always get something else. I did not know on my first cruise over 30 years ago that you can order more than one thing and left a little dissatisfied with some of my choices. It never happened again😜. However, Carnival has a new dining room policy: you can still order as many appetizers as you wish and desserts but only the first two entrees are free (or included). They now charge $5 for the 3rd+ entree which you probably won’t need a 3rd after all the appetizers but it’s still good to know. My other suggestion is to download the carnival hub app and scan each days programs and mark which ones you would like to do. The app will notify you when one of your favorite activities are about to happen so you don’t forget and miss anything. The app is free.

Muster first to get it out of the way. Then head to Lido and have my first of several Guy's Burgers, then buffet for a choice of cake and ice cream. Then head poolside and people watch for a while. Then take a mini self-guided tour of the ship to familiarize myself where all my favorite hangouts are and then once cabin is ready go and check that out an hopefully begin to unpack if luggage has arrived and then make it back to the sail away party and dance contests on the lido.

It might be sold out if you can't find it. It is still available on my 4 day cruise this Monday coming up on the Conquest for $80 pp. And I see it on my 5 day cruise on the Valor coming up in December for $80 pp.

We did Chef's table on the Carnival Luminosa to Alaska this past August. I believe at the time I booked it was only $80 pp, but we started out in the galley kitchen for the tour and with champagne and a few appetizers, then went to the dessert station where we got a lesson with the head Pastry Chef on how to make the Carnival Melting Cake. We then headed to the private balcony above the main dining room where 16 of us wined and dined through about 10 courses. Half-way thru, a magician came thru and did several tricks. It was unlimited red/white wine the entire time. We had so many different treats, including duck, sea bass, lamb, New York Strip, etc., etc. We even tried a little caviar. This was well worth the $80. I really enjoyed the Chef's comments and narration of the dishes throughout the journey of awakening our palates. The association with the other 7 couples was great as well. 5 out of the 8 couples were all celebrating wedding anniversaries including us at 36 years. I will definitely do Chef's Table again. Not on every cruise, but it worth going again.

Whenever I have redeemed points for the cruise ship cash onboard credit, I had to provide my cruise booking #, date and ship name and it does state estimated delivery 7-10 days but I never received anything in the mail. But my credit has always been on my account when I boarded the ship right on time. I have done this for the past 7 or 8 cruises.

Formerly it was a toss up between Flick and America Rocks. I recently saw Vintage Pop for the first time on the Luminosa and absolutely loved it. I think that is now my new favorite show. My least favorite is Getaway Island. I only saw it once this past December on the Freesom and I was not a fan. It might have been the performers or maybe I was just tired that evening but it’s the first time I wanted to leave but my group wanted to stay.

I would say definitely worth it. We just did it on our Alaskan cruise on the Luminosa. DH and I loved it. I was nervous because DH is a pescatarian. We simply informed them and the Chef substituted all the meat dishes with a variety of seafoood, a mushroom dish, a risotto and a lobster bisque. Each substitution was actually quite tasty and at times even better than what I had. The wine was continuously flowing all evening which was lovely. I would definitely do it again.

Well back from the Alaskan cruise on Luminosa and Chef's Table was on the first Elegant Night. It was so well worth it. We really enjoyed it and plan on doing it again. I can't believe after so many cruises that we have never tried Chef's Table. I don't think its necessary to do every cruise, but definitely will try it in the future again.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm going on my 19th cruise (15 with Carnival) this Thursday, 7/27 on Carnival Luminosa. I have 2 firsts happening (first Alaskan cruise and for the first time, I will doing Chef's Table). Is Chef's table generally held on Elegant Night or does anyone have any history with this? And what is the suggested dress code for Chef's Table if it is not on an elegant night. Thanks.

How was the Alaskan weather at each dock?

Hope that’s water Zumba in the pool. So much fun!

More regularly scheduled dive in movies to appeal to all age groups; more theatre events with audience participation such as Love & Marriage show (this one is getting old); more Lido deck competitions (not the hairy man contest) but something to get everyone involved like that contest did and something more family friendly. Lastly change up the Playlist Productions on each ship. They run the same plays for years and I love to cruise Carnival but it would be nice to see something new. I've seen all the productions that are on the ships out of Miami and Pt Canaveral multiple time. Maybe they can switch it up. Can't take "Flick" one more time. 😉

I think there are no wrong or right rankings. Whatever you like, you like. Whatever you prefer, you prefer. For my part, my order goes like this for food preference: Disney/MSC are neck in neck. With MSC having the best pizza on the seas. Next is Carnival (2nd best pizza on the seas) then lastly NCL. I can't remember Princess because it was so long ago. With that being said, I found Disney to be the most boring cruise I've ever gone on. MSC is getting better but has a far way to go. Carnival is the most fun cruises for my taste and the food is great for me.

When I had difficulty booking the Steakhouse on a cruise that I booked literally almost a year out, I called Carnival and they transferred me to the Fun Shops and they were able to open up the bookings. It wasn't really sold out. You can give it a try.

Yes it is a safeguard but has never been viewed by Carnival when I checked in. I have gone on at least 6 cruises with my son without my husband and was never asked for a letter from my husband. In addition, I have taken my son's friend with us on a few cruises. I did get a notarized letter from the parents for permission to travel out of the country with them and Carnival once again never asked to see it even though the child had a different last name than mine. Lastly, I just returned from an MSC cruise 2 weeks ago and took my grandchildren and got a notarized letter from my daughter which was not signed by the Dad that it was ok to take the children out of the country. MSC did ask if I had a letter. They did not collect it, they simply looked at it and told me to keep it handy if I had any troubles in the Bahamas that someone may ask for it. We only went to MSC's private island so it was not an issue. I guess better safe than sorry. However, if it doesn't need to be notarized, I don't know how they know who signed it. That's the odd part to me.

You can still order a six pack of soda in advance of the cruise to have delivered to your room for only $10.

The last cruise I was on, was December 2023 on the Freedom and this did not appear to be the rule. I will be on my next Carnival cruise in July so interested in learning if this is a new policy. And when you say "food" does that include the popcorn that Carnival sells also by the bar for the movie?

I believe that the food has declined across most cruise lines over the years. I've been cruising for over 25+ years and I have always been satisfied with Carnival's food choices and quality. Carnival is my favorite cruise line and it is not for the food but I will choose Carnival every time. There is nothing for you to be concerned about unless food is your only determining factor of a wonderful vacation. I just cruised Carnival post COVID shutdown in August and was thoroughly satisfied even though I noticed the changes (some as a result of supply chain issues, others due to shortage of staff and probably the portion sizes and hours of operation due to economics). I think the best food I may have had on a cruise was on Disney but that was the most boring cruise from an entertainment factor that I have ever been on. I also think Disney Cabins are nicer than Carnival and their private island is a plus. However, my family has never had as much fun on Disney or any other cruise line as we have on Carnival. We will be giving MSC another shot in May 2023 on one of their newer ships but also have Carnival booked for July 2023.

So excited to hear this. I will be on the 5 night Freedom early December. This makes me excited. Will you be sharing any photos or other commentary. Looking forward to hearing more if you are sharing. 🙂

Thanks for the tip. AARP is still down, so I followed your suggestion and downloaded the Allstate app and just purchased $300 ecards for $270. Combined with my onboard credit, that should be enough for my S&S account on Freedom this December. I will go in again in a couple of months and purchase enough to pay off my Alaska cruise next summer. That should save me $200 of cruise rate. This is awesome.

BTW MeganGC1983, I searched on my Aug 26-29th Liberty cruise for Mr. Chow and I could not find him. Not sure if he was on the ship or just unavailable whenever I searched. I had your pic with me so I could remember what he looked like. Great cruise anyway. 🤩

I just called Carnival because the rates went down on my Alaska cruise in July 2023 and they are now offering an onboard credit. And they made the adjustments in a matter of minutes. At this point I had only paid the deposit. I was able to save $270.