OldSaltyCruiser

My wife and I thought the pizza on our recent cruise on the Miracle was the best we ever had on a Carnival cruise. The pizza station is certainly the best place to get a great caesar salad.

My wife and I went to the Thrill Theater on the Vista and we were not impressed. It wasn't fun. Kids might like it through. The IMAX, however, was a great venue.

When my wife and I sailed transatlantic on the Vista last October in a Havana cabin. One of the employees who cleaned the Havana pool area every day was diligent about watching for passengers in the area without the Havana wristbands and politely asking them to leave.

We nicknamed him "The Sheriff".

I purchased the required 100 shares of Carnival years ago as part of my IRA. We receive these benefits on every sailing. A great little benefit for owning this stock. :D

Here are the shareholder benefits approved for sailings through July 2018. Typically, Carnival extends the expiration of the offer annually.

NORTH AMERICABRANDS

Onboard credit per stateroom on sailings of 14 days or longer US $ 250

Onboard credit per stateroom on sailings of 7 to 13 days US $ 100

Onboard credit per stateroom on sailings of 6 days or less US $ 50

This benefit also provided for sailing Carnival Corporation's Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Seabourn and Costa lines

I do not prepay the tips but do have the suggested tipping for the staff added to my sail and sign account during the cruise. In addition, I tip the porter who handle our bags a couple of dollars a bag, an additional amount for my cabin steward and an additional amount for my waitstaff (I do not use YTD). I found that if I tip my cabin steward and head waiter for my table a small amount the first day of the cruise and let them know what I would like to have (like lots of ice in the cabin) during the cruise, I get excellent service for the duration. I then tip them a small amount again at the end.

My wife and I are taking a 2 week cruise from LA on the Carnival Miracle departing September 2nd. Our first venture to Alaska. Any recommendations other than rain gear and layered warm clothing?

I appreciate the input.

I have used various cruise parking lots in Galveston that took you to the port in a shuttle. My recommendation is to check out Galveston Park N Cruise at New Strand and 25th St. who has become my parking area of choice. Located just across the street from the Carnival terminal, there is no need for a shuttle. They have both gated outdoor parking or indoor parking. Yes, they are a bit more expensive but not having to ride that shuttle is worth it to me. I opt for indoor.

Driving to Galveston from the north, I DO NOT follow Carnival's directions. Take I-45 south and follow it into town (do not get off at Harborside Drive). It becomes Broadway. Stay on Broadway and go straight until you get to 18th Street where you will turn left. Stay on 18th Street to Harborside Drive and turn left. The port entrance will be on your right at 21st Street . The reason I come this way is that traffic gets backed up on Harborside and they need to take a left into the port area. It's much easier to access the port taking that right at the traffic light.

Drop off your luggage (and passengers if you want) and make your way back out of the port area to Galveston Park N cruise. There you can park your car and just walk across the street. When we come back to port, we self disembark and just wheel our luggage back to the car. We found luggage with 4 wheels works very easily.

Hope that helps you.

I just booked a repositioning cruise on the Breeze sailing in Sept 2018 from Galveston, TX to Port Canaveral. It's a long way off but I would appreciate some suggestions on your preferred method of getting to the Orlando airport from Port Canaveral. I have never sailed in or out of this port.

Thanks!

Port and Starboard have never made a whole lot of difference to me but my Carnival PVP recommended I go Starboard on our September 2018 cruise from Galveston to Port Canaveral on the Breeze.

IMHO - As for placement on the ship, the higher the deck, the less likely the engine rumble may disturb your sleep. I know many that love to book on deck 1 but typically, I go for decks 6-8. I just don't want to be on the deck directly below the LIDO deck as it will get noisy in your cabin from the traffic and the crew moving lounges when they clean the deck at night. As for forward/aft, the middle of the ship gets the minimal "rocking".

Hope that helps.

Rich, they are sold for the same reason most retailers and restaurants sell gift cards. Buying them for yourself doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me as you are taking perfectly good money and restricting it to one vendor (unless you cash in the unused portion as the cashier's cage). Merchants love that as it improves their chance of making a sale in the future.

People will tend to spend money on a gift card more easily than giving up their greenbacks. Plus, a lot of people will not go through the effort to cash in a small remaining balance on a card as it takes a little effort. But for many people, giving a relative or friend a gift card instead of cash has become very popular.

Hope that helps.

That sort of depends on what ship you are on. If you are sailing on a ship with a Cucina del Capitano (Italian) or Ji Ji Asian, those upscale restaurants are open for lunch throughout the cruise for no fee. There is a fee for their dinners. Typically, we have not found them busy on embarkation day as most of the newbies haven't figured out where they are. Later in the week, be prepared to possibly have a wait.

My wife and I enjoyed sailing in the Havana section of the Vista on the Transcontinental sailing bringing it from Barcelona to New York. Yes, having the Cabana pool area reserved for only those booked in cabins in the Havana section (they give you an armband to identify you). We never had a problem finding a lounge by the pool and the pool/hot tubs were never very crowded. Carnival staff were quite good at keeping non-Havana guests from intruding. Other nice little perk is that there is coffee and a few Cuban inspired breakfast items available in the morning at the bar area. The area was certainly quiet during the day. It made for a great cruise.

At night, the area is open to all guests and the Cuban disco in the bar comes alive. We never had a problem with the noise level.

As to your question if it was worth the extra money, that's why there are so many makes and models of cars. Some people are happy with a Kia while others want to ride in a Rolls Royce. Hope that helps you.

Unfortunately, the Captain's night cocktail parties went goodbye the way of the extravagant midnight buffets complete with the wide array of ice sculptures and the Dodo bird. Now, Captain's night is a parade of the Captain and his officers strolling down the Promenade deck saying hello to passengers who get a small discount on drinks.

I disagree with Carnival PVP's all being painted by the same brush and rated poorly. There are good and some poor employees within most companies. I have used the same Carnival PVP to book many cruises on Carnival. Yes, he works for Carnival but he is diligent in advising us with cabin selection and the various pricing plans Carnival offers. Others I have referred to him over the years have been quite pleased with his level of service.

My wife and I were at gold level in 2013 with 9 cruises/63 days sailed on Carnival when they were changing the requirements from 10 cruises to 75 days sailed to reach platinum level effective on 1/1/14. We opted to take a 4 day cruise on the Triumph at the end of December that year to become platinum in 2013.

Now hoping we can reach diamond before the rules change again.

Having stayed in a Havana cabin on the Vista on its transatlantic cruise, the walkway between the balcony (actually a "porch") cabins on deck 5 and the side of the ship was a public walkway. That being said, the amount of foot traffic was minimal. Havana guests are given a wrist band to access the pool area reserved for Havana guests during the day. Carnival staff was very good at keeping non-Havana guests from using the pool area during the day.

One nice little benefit from being in the Havana area - coffee and some breakfast items are available at the bar area in the morning. Was quite enjoyable in a peaceful part of the ship and not having to call/wait for room service.

Our group of 6 thoroughly enjoyed the cabana at Half Moon Cay. Soft drinks, water, fruit and vegetable trays waiting for us when we got there. Need to go to guest services as soon as you embark on the ship to choose a cabana number. I would like to see Carnival change this policy and allow one to reserve a specific cabana when they purchase this shore excursion online.

Higher numbered cabins do provide more privacy.

Both Cucina del Capiano and Ji Ji Asian have seated dining and should be open for lunch on the Vista on embarkation day for lunch. Both are located on deck 11 and both are free at lunchtime.

I agree with SadieN. If you are going to arrive as early as possible to avoid the line, you might as well go with assigned early dining and be assured you have a table/area for your large group to meet every night.

My wife and I used YTD a few times and found that waiting in line for dinner on a cruise ship was a waste of time. We now book assigned early dining and if we find that time to be inconvenient (late day in port, etc.) we will head down to the MDR and ask for a table at the second seating. Usually, they can find a place for us but we have not yet tried that with a large group.

Thanks NIC6318 , best suggestion so far. My neighbor would enjoy a dinner in the steakhouse but his wife eats like a bird and spending $35 for her dinner would be a waste. I guess alternately he and I could eat at the steakhouse and let the wife's have a girls night out in the MDR. :halo:

You have received some excellent suggestions on this board. One thing my wife and I have learned to always pack are large insulated tumblers (We use Yeti's) with lids on them for each of us. You can fill them with juice in the morning, lemonade or iced tea in the afternoon/evening at the drink dispensers on the LIDO deck.

My wife and I have found that if you book early dining and for whatever reason you decide to eat at the second seating, the host/hostess will find you a table for the evening. We tried "Your Time Dining" on several cruises and between having to stand in line and not having the same waitstaff each night, decided to go back to assigned early dining.

The amount of men wearing suits/tuxes has reduced greatly over the years. If you do decide to bring a suit along, I wouldn't try ironing it yourself with an iron in the self service laundry. It's too easy to ruin the fabric.

I'd either send it via your room steward to the ship laundry for pressing (I think it's $8 for suit jacket and pants) or place it on a hanger suspended on the cord in the shower, turn on a hot shower and allow it to steam the wrinkles out for a couple of minutes.

Some friends are taking their maiden cruise on the Carnival Dream. They asked me if the steakhouse would allow them to share a single dinner. :confused: I have no clue but I'm sure there is someone on this board who would.

Thank you for the input!