Enggrl

On 8/14/2023 at 12:20 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Hello CC family!

 

I can’t believe I am typing this….I think my mental breakdown has reached a whole new level. That, or maybe my drinking did and I accidentally got on the wrong website.  I, a loyal Carnival cruiser, have done the unthinkable….I booked a cruise on a different cruise line. WHAT AM I THINKING????

 

I actually think this could be a good thing. I love Carnival, but after 25 cruises I am getting, how should I say this…not quite bored, but not as entertained/pleasantly surprised each day, as I originally was. I think I need to sprinkle in cruises on other lines here and there to keep the experience fresh. Chris (my hubby) has agreed, but unfortunately for him, he isn’t along on this trip…my dear Mom is. She had expressed an interest in trying MSC back in 2020, and we actually had a cruise booked with them for September of that year, butttttt we all know what happened to that. So, as I was planning our first post-Covid mother/daughter adventure, I said what the heck….and booked us in Yacht Club cabin aboard MSC Seaside for August 20, 2023. We love the Havana area on the Vista class ships, so I thought this could be a similar experience to that.

 

I won’t be doing a full on review of the vacation on this board, since this is the Carnival forum, BUT I wanted to do a live comparison of the 2 lines to help anyone else who has sailed Carnival that may be wanting to try MSC. Each evening (or maybe every few days or as something that warrants a post happens) I will post pros and cons of MSC compared to Carnival. If you want my full live review, I will be doing that on the MSC forum (can I get directions to there, please? J/k).

 

So, without further ado….let the craziness begin. I feel like a fish out of water, this is all new. Hopefully this is just what I need to make my heart fonder of my dear old Carnival!

I think I cruised on the same  Mardi Gras last year with you and that was the last Carnival cruise for us. We jumped to Celebrity, have done one and have two more booked, one of which is in two weeks. I wish we had done this years ago. The staff, food, ship and basically everything else is so much better. We might cruise with Carnival once in a blue moon if the price is right and it’s an itinerary we want but we are basically done with Carnival. Our last cruise was not great, the food was average, too much fast food. The staff are overworked and the cruisers are getting out of control. Eg. Smoking, pot, fights and just plain rude behaviour.

Oops sorry, duplicate post. Please ignore.
 

Look for “Cruise with Ben and David”,  on YT they are vloggers  on this cruise right now. They are a lot of fun to watch and I find their videos very informative. 

22 minutes ago, DanvilleCruiser said:

I couldn’t find a listing for Delco’s Deli on the website, but the website notes that a deli counter is included in the Lido Marketplace.  Lido Marketplace is included in the cruise price.  

It’s actually on deck 8 beside the pizza place, a mirror of the Mardi Gras.

Delco’s Deli is beside the pizza place called Miami Slice on deck 8. It’s the same as the Mardi Gras and is included  in your cruise fare. 

27 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

I wanted to love these so badly because I LOVE breakfast burritos, but I just didn't. Did I get a bad batch of ingredients or something? Nothing tasted bad, per se (the eggs were kind of cold which wasn't great) but it just wasn't anything special.

It’s weird because I usually love them, great fresh ingredients and everything is hot but I was on the Magic in April and something just didn’t taste the same. I have no idea what it was because I always order the same ingredients. I’m going to try them again this next week on the Mardi Gras and see,

Buy a reusable silicone or metal straw. Bringing plastic straws onboard defeats the whole purpose of why Carnival got rid or disposable plastic straws. Unless, of course, you are taking them all home and recycling them. 

7 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

So do Diamond and Platinum board before Suites? Or Suites before Diamond and Platinum?  Or is it just based on boarding zones? Because it seems like I have experienced all three at one point or another...

So  I can only tell you what happened today at Terminal 3 Port Canaveral for the Mardi Gras. Maybe next week when we board it will be different. Who knows? It was Diamonds and Suites first, then Platinums, then boarding by zones. 

2 hours ago, peteandpris said:

Thanks for the information, We are sailing next week-end on Mardi Grasback to back and so excited to be platinum.

We are on the same sailing but not doing a B2B. 😀

I just got confirmation from a Diamond cruiser on the Mardi Gras today that the priority check in is in the line that currently says Suites. She said they are still working on the changes and the signage is being sorted.  Suites and Diamonds go to the “Captains Lounge” as it’s called now instead of the Suites Lounge. The Platinum card holders  sat outside but in a roped off area close the the Captains Lounge. I guess it depends on how many D and P card holders there are on each cruise. They board Suites and Diamonds, followed by Platinum then after that they call out the boarding zones. No word on luggage priority yet. 
Well, at least we know Port Canaveral has figured most of it out now. Hopefully the other ports have also. 

44 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The lounge was closed when I was there in Feb

Ok well it wasn’t closed in April because we cruised on the Magic in April of this year. I know for a fact because I was wearing a boot on my foot after surgery and was sitting upstairs with other D and P’s and some people in wheelchairs and on scooters. 

7 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Not in Miami, the Captain's Club was just big enough for about 50 people.  That is where the goodies were kept.  The "overflow" area  in the main terminal you may have been near.  

The pics below are the Captains Club  in Miami, way more than 50 seats. 

5 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

They did what at every port?  There was no separate area at any other port I was at including the older terminal at PC.  

Every port I have been to before covid has had a separate lounge for Diamonds and platinums, including the terminal they use for the Magic at Port Canaveral. It’s upstairs and I was in it in April lol so YES there are lounges for D and P..

7 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The sign was pretty fancy and looked permanent 

I’m not too sure why you are even arguing? They said it’s going back to the way it was before so why are you so obsessed about suites getting priority boarding!? 

6 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Which begs the question why if it was just for precautions? The smallest group of guests in a large, glass walled enclosure while everyone else was cheek to cheek in chairs.  

Who knows, they did that at every port.

1 minute ago, Elaine5715 said:

The sign was pretty fancy and looked permanent 

Lol it’s for covid, obviously  you can see it can be changed easily. They obviously build the lounge to hold Diamonds, platinums and suites so why would they not go back to that,? Why would they build a lounge just for suites! Guess what…, they didn’t. 

7 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Yes, it said that last May.  The sign above the door was "Suites" and two guards at the door to check each boarding pass

Ok so it won’t say that now since they changed the boarding rules. It’s back to normal according to JH, weddings, diamond, Platinum , suites.

There is a low system out there forming in the Atlantic, supposed to strengthen and come up the coast. Trust  the Captain, they know what they are doing. Just go with the flow.  It’s a system that is in flux, the meteorologists don’t even know how it will form and affect the US coast. 

9 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Yeah.  Complete cluster if you’re not in a suite.  We sail MG again next week, we’ll see if it’s improved.  

It wasn’t built for Suite guests, look up the videos. It’s a VIP lounge but was used during covid for suites. 

8 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I was there and PC was clearly SUITES

I’ll let you know this next week. According to John Heald today, Diamond and Platinums  will be waiting in the VIP area.

Just now, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Yeah.  Complete cluster if you’re not in a suite.  We sail MG again next week, we’ll see if it’s improved.  

That’s wrong, the sign when they built it clearly says VIP! Maybe they changed it temporarily due to covid restrictions but that has changed and the lounge seats 500 people! 

2 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I was there and PC was clearly SUITES

Sorry but I just watched a video and it says VIP right on the sign, it’s a 500 seat waiting area. Of course, they only used it for suites during covid restrictions( maybe they had a temporary sign)  but those changes to Diamond and Platinum boarding this week mean that they board before suites so will be waiting in the VIP area. 

The sign on a video I watched says VIP. Also Diamonds and  Platinums board before Suites so I’m not sure.

36 minutes ago, Island Dog said:

I just checked in for my cruise in two weeks this a.m. and was disappointed to see my luggage tags just say "Platinum" and not "Priority" like the Suite guests are getting. 

 

Maybe they haven't updated the system yet to include Platinum. Maybe I'll just try to cram my stuff in two bags and just carry it all on directly to my stateroom. Lol.

We cruise in 8 days and are Platinum, our tags still say Platinum not priority. Our boarding pass has Platinum in the top right corner in small type. Who knows what will happen when we get to the port.