ohioNCLcruiser

40 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

Do you know if any after action report was performed on the efficacy of muster stations and muster drills after Costa Concordia? Have never been able to find anything online.

Due to the Concordia disaster the drills are required to be done before the ship sets sail and not within 24 hours of the ship setting sail. People who boarded the ship the day the Concordia "sank" did not have their drill done yet because Costa was going to have it the next day.

6 minutes ago, Madhatter12 said:

I think the celebration all the reviews said that the Internet was fast.

I know the Panorama has it on for the pilot program. The Celebration internet was very fast but word was it wasn't Starlink. It was a combination of more bandwidth and routers located all over the ship, including the balconies. 

This is great news for people like me who work remote, are allowed to work from anywhere but the dodgy and inconsistent ship internet (especially with video meetings) made it stressful to work from. 

31 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Jobs with the word “director” in the title aren’t usually entry level, high turnover jobs. But maybe that’s what this will be now. They’ve hired at least 10 in the past year. I think they’ll be hiring at least 5 over the next year.

It's interesting to see the various roles of Cruise Director from company to company. During my time at NCL the CD not only had to manage the cruise staff team, deck parties etc but they also played a big role in making sure various onboard revenue streams were hitting their targets. I don't belive the CDs at Carnival have that responsibility from conversations I have had with some. I feel like this makes them a bit easier to replace. 

For every Cruise Director there are a dozen fun squad members waiting to give it a try. The cruise industry cannot compete in both salary and benefits (medical, 401k etc) to land based jobs for anyone who can work in the US legally, like how most CDs can. Cruise lines are also the kind of companies who very much stick to their "Someone else will fill your role for the same or less..no negotiations so take it or go pack your cabin." The job is also tiring and eventually gets repetitive. There also isn't a lot of upward opportunities for CDs. 

Also Cruise Directors, no matter how good they are, sometimes get a little too comfortable with interacting with guests that leave the company no choice but to part ways.

Will be interesting to see who goes to the Venezia now.

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I looked on Costa's website and it appears that her last sailing is January 21, 2024. How long do yall think the conversion will take?  (I would guess the Venezia would give us an idea--anyone know how long she is in dry dock?) Do you think there will be a transatlantic and/or panama canal transit to get the ship from Europe to Long Beach after the conversion?  

This ship can't go through Panama Canal due to the hanging lifeboats so cross that off the list. If she goes around the horn that would be a very long cruise. I'm guessing she will position there empty like the Panorama did.

6 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I think that was Felippe who is next up on Miracle.

Yes it was Felippe.

52 minutes ago, nlktx49 said:

I have a cruise scheduled on Jubilee next year. Does anyone know if there is a non-smoking casino on it? None show on the deck plans, but then Dream has one and it doesn't show on its deck plans! 

The casino on this class of ship (Mardi Gras, Celebration) have a huge casino with the main part, including the casino bar, being non-smoking. I was *very* impressed how segregated it was. Never smelled an ounce of smoke in the non-smoking side which is about 70% of the casino. 

I've done two TAs with Carnival in 2022 and the second one had a few lectures during the day but the first one had none. I was a bit bummed about the topics myself but I know others loved them. I was hoping they would be travel related but they were topics such as how to stay safe online, taking better photos with a cell phone etc. On Holland America they had the history of ocean liners, the history of Pan American and TWA, the history of the different cruise lines etc.

One thing that Carnival does well on their TAs is they have throwback sea days. They bring a lot of the activities back from the "good ole days" of cruising. Pool deck activities, Captain's reception etc. Those can be a lot of fun. 

I'm booked on the TA that you are looking at and it should be fun and somewhat special since it will be the first cruise of the Carnival Venezia after transferring from Costa. It is Carnival with a twist of Italian style. Take a look at video tours of the Costa Venezia online. This ship is a great class of ship and is only a few years old.

Depending on what you like to do some areas will def be a downgrade from Harmony of the Seas such as the solarium and as many different outdoor neighborhoods to walk through. The Venezia will have a much better outdoor promenade deck than Harmony has with a lot of comfortable seating areas that provide both sun and shaded areas which I think is a big perk. Unlike Harmony these are also 100% non-obstructed views. 

11 minutes ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

What cruise lines register their ships in Portugal?

None of the mid to larger size cruise lines that I can think of. It can also be a temp holding company or bank that temp changed it's reg to Portugal. 

I think JiJis is the best specialty restaurant at sea, especially considering the lower price of it. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the ship is indeed going to get JiJis. That would be wonderful for the TA and other longer voyages. 

Just now, mz-s said:

 

The tides are shifting worldwide...the cruise lines are not going to be able to rely on a nearly endless supply of cheap labor forever. Cutting salaries hoping to make up the difference by slamming guest bills with hiked gratuities won't work forever. Crew will move on to other industries and/or lines, like the guests can and do. Tipping culture has come to a head in the US in particular and by and large, people are sick of it. We are tipped to death in this country.

I agree with you 100%. It will be an interesting few years to see how it all plays out.

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Without a shred of evidence...

The cruise industry is not a great industry from a workers right point of view. Did you know that credit card fees are removed from the service charge pool? I worked guest services onboard NCL and have friends doing it with Carnival. The "flags of convenience" don't suddenly just become a part time perk for the cruise lines. I would bet money 100% of the extra grat increases don't go to the crew entirely OR their base pay is reduced, just like NCL announced with their service charge increases. 

28 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Do we even know if the staff is getting more money in the end?  Or is Carnival just paying less "salary" to them and telling them they will get more "gratuity"? 

I don't trust for a second this increase goes to the crew. I'd be shocked if they see anything extra on their pay. 

56 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

After reading reviews although both ships are Vista class it seems Horizon gets better reviews than the Vista does

 

Just wondering what others think. We were on the Horizon and loved it. Looking at an 8 day on Vista but not so sure.

The Vista doesn't have Guy's Pig and Anchor Flavortown bar and evening BBQ restaurant (which I love) but the Horizon does, if that makes any difference to you.

I'll be keeping track of how much time the wifi is offline, especially with the premium level promises, and def ask for a credit at the end of the voyage. 

I consider myself to be an above average tipper (handing out decent amount of cash at the end for anyone who went above and beyond) and I believe in the service charge to help a lot of crew to a point.  Especially now that cabin service is once a day a cabin of four is paying almost 40 bucks a day to their cabin steward as a tip. These increases get closer and closer to the BS Las Vegas or resort style service charges. I'm edging closer into the group of these need to be included in the price or reducing them to try to make a point to Carnival. 

The other group I feel bad for about this increase is the Guest Services team, which I did for years onboard cruise ships. The amount of additional people that will come to adjust or remove the tips entirely will certainly increase. At NCL we got in trouble if a certain % adjusted their tips even though they were not mandatory. I hope Carnival doesn't put that pressure on the Guest Service agents. 

For anyone who does adjust or remove the tips please make sure you write on the page that you are removing them due to Carnival's increased charge policy and not because of the crew.

If your group has no problem walking I suggest getting your luggage and just walking down the sidewalk to the other terminal. Cabs will be available if needed and since you are going to another ship they might not be too upset about the low fare. 

Before covid a standard dry dock would be around 2 weeks. The Pride has a long dry dock but not a mega long dry dock. Based on this, and the bad condition the Pride is in, I would expect her to have most of her Joe Farcus décor removed. So many pieces of the décor are broken in half, missing or cracked without any spares to replace them. They would basically have to remove it. While I like the crazy designs he came up with, I find the Pride to be depressingly dark. Everything has poor lighting and sitting in the atrium feels like sitting in a dark basement to me. The ship's layout is my favorite. 

I'm hoping no lounge gets converted to more cabins. 

One other thing about the Celebration restrooms I found odd..not a single one that I went into had a wastebasket. 

Hello! I personally did not but I have a friend that did the Horizon and Vista. At the time they said the internet never lost its connection (unlike the recent Pride TA) but had slow periods at times. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this. I work remote and am planning on working a few days on the Celebration TA coming up and I feel more relieved now that I will at least be able to get and reply to emails. 

I would *hope* that the Celebration internet will even be better in the post covid world of ship building. 

15 minutes ago, quattrohead said:

I am sure there is a forum just like this one for flying squawking about the same issues. 😂

You know it..airliners (dot) net! 😄

Some rumors amongst the officers and staff on the Ecstasy's final few sailings is with some Costa ships coming (ones that haven't been announced yet) and some ship shuffling around they suspect the Elation will be sent off to retirement in 2023. (Yes I know they are booking her through 2024 and has a dry dock scheduled in early 2023 as of now..just a rumor from them)

1 hour ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

is "head down the coast line" walkable or do you need to grab a cab?

10000% walkable. Its right there.

That is very disappointing about Kauai as I personally believe it is the most beautiful of all the islands. With that said Kona is the cutest little town on the big island. I absolutely love Kona and I think it is well worth the tender ride. Make sure you go to The Kona Inn for a Mai Tai. They are the best I have ever had but if you have two be prepared to take a long nap after.

Kona is the perfect port to do it yourself. When you get off the tender platform head down the coast line. Lots of shops, restaurants, museum houses, local items etc. Pick up some Kona Donkey Balls they have about 100 different flavors and are delish. 

3 hours ago, Buck64 said:

Good point.  Exactly what I was thinking!  As long as the sea trials go smoothly I don't see any reason for a delay.

I have high homes there are no delays but the sea trails are just part of it. Can still have quite a bit of the hotel/resort side of the things needing to be finished like outfitting, interior décor elements etc.

Thanks for sharing your feedback. I agree about the sandwiches being the specialty of Carnival's food. I think when people say they weren't able to find anything to eat onboard they mainly mean it didn't live up to their expectations compared to other cruise line's food quality.