havanadaydreaming

i really like the sushi, i highly recommend getting it the day of or after embarkation. dont wait until end of week. we have never dined at the steakhouse on Carnival. we should have last month when we had $500 obc for 4 nt cruise. we like the Cucina but usually hit it for complimentary sea day lunch. same with Jiji.

My wife and i are looking at booking a cruise for our son for his college graduation. We are only able to do so since he left us NO COLLEGE DEBT!!! All things considered which ship would you recommend for a 23 yr old + a buddy? He has only sailed on the smallest Carnival ships. Only ports he has been to are Cozumel, Bimini and Amber Cove. I looooooooooove the Epic but that is out of our consideration due to weird cabin bathroom layout. Only other ships in the fleet we have sailed are the Escape and Sky. Loved both, also, but i think they too are out of consideration. i think we are looking at 4000 pass ship and Escape gets scratched off since all the others have been built or refurbished since Escape started sailing in 2015. Likely looking for a Florida port of departure. Time of year is up in the air...but likely Q1 or Q2 2023. \ I appreciate any and all feedback....much obliged!~

quick question for the NCL aficianados....if my wife and i are 1 pt away from next level on Lattitudes will our next sailing reflect future benefits? i think this has happened to us previously on NCL and we had to wait until the next cruise. I know on Carnival you get the perks the sailing you bump up. Not a big deal to us, either way. THANKS!

we were on the Elation recently and it was thoroughly enjoyable. only thing i missed was the Dive In Movie screen. i kinda dig the smaller ships and their unique design pieces.

I wonder if a Travel Agent would have more luck getting the offer applied? Sometimes their company's influence can get certain things done that we as lowly consumers cannot due to red tape. Good luck!

Looks like its $300 pp upgrade from inside to Havana inside. 7 nt. 3 sea days. Same deck. Debating it....

i would like to ask feedback from folks who have experience with the Havana access. What do you like best? What do you not particularly care for? Etc. Etc. (we are typically balcony people but are looking at getting an almost free inside cabin on Celebration Q1 2023. Decks 8-12 seem available, the higher the better for me. we have a MESS of gift cards, will have obc + free casino drinks) My wife is looking at upgrading to inside Havana, at a fairly nominal cost. But i wonder how much we would really use the Havana area. Thoughts? Many thanks CC'ers!

the only port i would skip getting off the ship would be Freeport. And that might change when the new port area is completed. bimini is pretty dull, too, but it's beautiful water. i figure how many times will i have the opportunity to meander around the places we sail. i kinda miss land after a day at sea and the least i can do is take a leasurely stroll. there is a lot of activities to do on CCL when docked, i must admit i'm tempted sometimes to just enjoy the ship.

We had a couple moments where drinks were a bit of a challenge last cruise but for the most part dranks were flowing freely.

We are close to booking that sailing, John. Soon as airfare decreases i think we'll jump on it.

not that it will keep us cruise fanatics from booking a voyage, but i think i heard Celebration runs 5500+ capacity? whooo boy, dat a lot of humanity on one ship. we've never sailed the RC monsters, i think our biggest ship we have sailed is right about 4k (Escape, Epic, Divina, Panorama/Horizon)

we just stayed at the Omni downtown before a cruise last month. historically we do the Intercontinental most often. But when we have a full day Miami Beach is a wonderful option if you are in the walkable zone. LOTS of great places to eat.

Most we have paid is $749pp for 7 nt balcony. Plus taxes, fees, grat.

I second this. Highly recommended.

my tip on Panorama is a very random one. the Guy Fieri bbq place had Blanton's and Col EH Taylor bourbon. i almost bought a bottle of EH for the room since i can NEVER find it back home.

The American storm model has the storm posing a bigger threat to land than the European model. ive ridden out tropical storms and Cat 1 hurricanes on vacations but anything bigger and im evacuating...

MSC matched us, i think we were Black. that was the highest level they had. we had a great time, but it was definitely a different experience than CCL and NCL. good luck!

i agree with JT - water is definitely not the crystal clear postcard type. we went to place run by Ex Pat. good service. can't remember the name but looks comparable to the Krazy Lobster pics.

we had noon check in on Conquest couple weeks ago. walked right on board, no line. im amazed how quick embarkation is nowadays. we used to wait in line for 30-40 minutes, or so it felt like.

best thing about the panorama is the elevator system. you punch in your floor ahead of time and get assigned an elevator car. no more line jumpers! its a nice ship. have fun!

definitely saw multiple people/day refilling water containers at the buffet on last cruise. most really struggled getting the ice in the cup. (we ate at the buffet for dinner each night and, oddly, we sat by the water station each time.

I saw them a week ago.

I have three $100 gift cards for Carnival, does anyone know how to add them to My Booking? We usually print them out and go to Guest Services, but if i can do it beforehand i would like to do so. Thanks!

Quick recap: i survived the Inside experience. All in all not much difference than oceanview cabin. Room felt a bit smaller and i missed sunlight...but it was perfectly serviceable. I slept in longer due to not setting alarm and sleeping in near total darkness. I REALLY missed a balcony and fresh air in the morning but c'est la vie.

Im a terrible AC cruiser. Been there 3x and we dont make it past the pool in port facility. Gimme some lively tunes, cool water and a frosty beer and im a-ok for the afternoon.