LouisianaCruiser4200

Best deals I've seen are a couple days before sailing. I saw a 7 day from New Orleans from $297 a person a couple weeks ago.  But it was 3 days before the sail date.

Of the ports I’ve visited: 

Most - Jamaica. They were downright aggressive at times.

- Costa Maya. We were lied to buy a taxi driver who dropped us off at the wrong beach club. He tried passing us off to his friend that owned another beach club. 

-Progreso. Average. A “no thanks” and they’d leave 

-Cozumel. 

Least -Grand Cayman. The only one to approach us was a taxi driver which we needed. 

4 hours ago, BoDidly said:

 

 

I'm not sure that I could really find fault in that they asked for tips.  Nor could I find fault in you feeling the way you do.

Belize people are desperate for money and it's always shown  . I feel for the people that's for sure and I have been known to tip them extra.  But still its a very ,very dangerous place because of the poverty .

 

I’ve only ever tendered in Cayman but it would’ve seemed so out of place for the shuttle operator to request a tip. 

Someone asked John Heald about getting the Mardi Gras to Galveston and he said her sister in 2021 would need a home and he would see what he can do 🙂

John is known for dropping little hints like this months before announcements. 

Maybe???

Could we be sending the beginning to the end of Carnival calling in Belize? It’s no surprise Belize isn’t a very popular destination. No beaches, very poor, high crime, etc. Accompanied with inadequate tenders (some of which are questionable in safety). As ships get bigger, do you think Carnival will call at Belize less if any?The Mardi Gras won’t call at Belize. Royal already rarely calls at Belize. Thoughts?

You wouldn’t see a bust in New Orleans I bet. The city has decriminalized marijuana. 

I cruised the breeze in December. Internet was very bad. Messages wouldn’t send. Anything with pictures worked first thing in the morning and that’s it

iMessage works on the social plan but messages only, no pictures.

No worries! But you liked the excursion? I am hoping it is fun and interesting, and not simply a "hard sell" of the rum...I'd love to hear your thoughts!

We loved it! We met at the end of the pier before you get to the shops. They told us we had time to look around before we left - (I took a few $1 shots of tequila before we left ;p) We were on a bus that fit about 15-20 and we had a single tour guide and a driver. The driver didn’t speak much English; the accent of the tour guide was thick but I could understand him. We took off for Merida which is about a 45 minute ride. As we rode, the guide told us about the stuff we passed. We stopped in Merida at an old home and got the history of that (just looked from the sidewalk). We went to the downtown square and toured an old home; there were beggars everywhere - forewarning. We then headed toward the rum factory but first stopped to get some handmade corn tortillas. These were good. The rum factory was neat - we got to sample a lot and got to see the entire process that was done there. We went in January and oh boy, it was HOT. Literally 95 degrees and my elderly grandmother couldn’t stand the heat in the distilling room so she went back in the house where it was air conditioned. There really wasn’t a hard sale on the rum; of course they push it, but they aren’t forcing you to buy it. I did notice the same rum at the port is only $1 more a bottle. A little warning: no lunch is provided during this tour and you’re gone during lunch. They provide a light snack of popcorn at the rum factory but it’s not much. I took some boxes of cereal from the ship to snack on which I would recommend. But don’t take any fruit or anything like that.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks - I found several tours on that site, but not the rum tour. :(

Sorry they must’ve removed it :(

I'd heard of Mr. Sanchos - but not sure all-inclusive is the best option for us. Neither of us drink much, and I had stomach surgery, so eat very little. We'll check out Paradise Beach!

 

We're looking at this one for Progreso - historic tour with rum tasting at the end. https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/yucatan-progreso-mexico/historic-merida-highlights-and-mayan-rum-tasting-320038?b=6A766173376D30782B6D796B6A5358326235586277513D3D

 

I was also thinking about Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Wondering if the 80 bucks may be worth priority tendering....SO MANY QUESTIONS in my head today!

I’ve done this excursion. Absolutely loved it. You can actually price match this excursion with the tour on this website and get some OBC! http://www.autoprogreso.com/MeridaEn.html

we might have been with you! The entire city turned out to see us arrive and sing when we left.

When did you go there? I would love if carnival would start to port at other places in Mexico. (More short cruise options from Galveston and NOLA!)

Valor and Fantasy ported in Progreso instead of Cozumel. It really was for the best. Better weather, calmer seas.

Valor/Fantasy rerouted from Cozumel to Progreso. Lot of dissapointed folks on those ships

A few years ago Carnival streamlined its itineraries to save on fuel costs. I think that impacts what you are suggesting. I don't see it likely that Carnival would regularly offer eastern Caribbean cruises from NOLA.

 

NOLA is my favorite port of embarkation. I'd like to see it too, but just don't see it as likely due to costs.

You’re probably right. They only recently started adding Costa Maya to itineraries when they could’ve been doing that all along. I think if they added this itinerary, it would be a rarity and an expensive one at that.

Theoretically, this 8 day schedule from NOLA would be possible. Would you be interested if Carnival offered it?

Eastern Caribbean from NOLA

Day 1 - Depart 4pm

Day 2 - Fun Day at Sea

Day 3 - Fun Day at Sea

Day 4 - Amber Cove 11am - 7pm

Day 5 - Grand Turk 7am - 5pm

Day 6 - Fun Day at Sea

Day 7 - Key West 9am - 5pm

Day 8 - Fun Day at Sea

Day 9 - Return 8am

In my humble opinion, topics like this point to why Carnival is moving towards a more casual experience at the MDR. Yes, there’s a lot of people who still enjoy the way dining on a cruise ship used to be: unhurried experience, getting to know your table mates, giving yourself time to savor each course, and dressing up the part.

 

Younger generations and new cruisers just want to go in, eat as fast as they can, as casually as they can, and get out.

 

Just remember this next time someone complaints about how Carnival (and other cruise lines) have dumbed down the dining experience. They haven’t. They are just responding to what cruisers these days want.

 

 

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Fair point. With the quality of the MDR food, I don’t see it as very elegant or fancy anymore. It’s a good meal, but it’s not something that needs to be drawn out and savored.

Yup.....and you are left sitting there looking at your water glass for 30 minutes. If you truly want an 'upscale' experience having a chatty wait staff is as far from it as you get.

Lol, yes. Exactly

Maybe I missed the mark with the "chatty" staff in option 2. It seems like from my experience that if the staff chats with you, they do so with other tables which slows the whole process down. On our last Valor cruise, we were in and out within an hour for dinner which was great. It allowed us to make all the shows. In the past, it's taken well over an hour and a half at dinner which made us miss shows.

Would you prefer

1) quick MDR experience of less than an hour with waitstaff that is similar to a land-based experience (quick, courteous but not chatty)

2) longer MDR experience (1.5-2 hours) with waitstaff that strikes up conversation with you.

I’ve had both and wanted to see other opinions on the matter.

I've had mixed results. Had value on Freedom and it worked better than I expected. Had value/social on Fantasy, was not good. Had value on Breeze and it was almost unusable. Had social on Valor and it worked well. Bought premium for this next Valor cruise

Just be warned, the WiFi is not always that good depending on the ship so good luck!

It'd be cool if John would let us know the rollout schedule :)

We were in 2317 and loved it

You'll be able to use any of those devices on the WiFi. As long as you have an internet browse, you can access it