CruizinSusan70

Ebay is another option.

Things evolve. Back in the day, balconies were rare on Carnival and specialty dining was non-existent. Early dining at a large table means you have to rely on your table mates which could lead to a 90-120 minute long meal. If you choose a table for two, you can determine how long the meal takes, but you're locked into the set time. With YTD if you want the same time each night it's entirely up to you and you can also request the same waiters if you're satisfied with them. If you're not, then you get a different set usually on night two. You also have the flexibility if you wish to shift dinner by 15-30 minutes. You don't have that option if you eat at 600 each night. YTD is a step forward, not a step backwards.

On the MG there was a late night show in the theater 2 or 3 times over the course of the week featuring 2 comedians each doing an adult set. Over 7 days there was comedy available at least six days totalling about 40 shows. Comedy and lunch time food choices is where Carnival shines on the Excel Class. Even though some disagree, it is part of what makes the Excel Class a game changer for Carnival.

Have not done traditional dining in years, so that's a moot point. The bundling with the Princess plus used to be 40 a day, recently increased to 50 a day. After factoring out gratuities, 35.50 covers wifi and drinks package. Even if the wifi is not used, 35.50 for the drink package is about half of what you pay for Cheers after gratuities. Congrats on your "free" Celebrity cruise.

Doesn't the Valor have the secret Platinum/Diamond elevator that whisks you from the front of the ship at the theater to the aft dining room? 😉

The simple solution is to eat at a different table if you have YTD if you wish to eat instead of dine. Those that have other places to be eat, while those that like to make dinner a two hour experience dine.

If you didn't need your cell phone to check in for dinner, it would be locked in the safe as it is for all of our cruises. Unless we're sailing on Princess or Celebrity which includes unlimited wifi. But we would never pay for wifi a la carte, it's not a necessity.

Since you've only sailed on four ships out of your 15 cruises that were over 100 K tons, experiencing a ship that is 180 K tons could seem a little overwhelming since the Dream was the largest you've been on. But choices are a good thing and cruisers that like to sail on the older ships from the secondary ports are vital to the bottom line. So, as a stockholder, I thank you. But at the same time I have to disagree about the Celebration being too big.

I will agree regarding your positive assessment of the Grand Marnier Souffle, but I think that the value and quality of the steakhouse was substantially better 10+ years ago and has been going downhill since. Certainly can find better ways to drop 96 bucks for two, but having choices are a good thing.

The food, entertainment and different bars that are available on the two Excel Class ships blow away anything else that the rest of the ships in the fleet provide. Other ships in the fleet may have some of the shows or some of the food venues that are available on the Excel Class, but certainly not all of them. I've cruised on the MG four times, more than any other ship I've cruised on and currently have five reservations on the Celebration since I knew that Carnival would make adjustments and Latitudes and Golden Jubilee are an improvement over Fortune Teller and Brass Magnolia. I have said it before and will say it again even though you may disagree with the statement that the Excel is a game changer for Carnival because they finally came up with a larger ship that had more food, entertainment and adult beverage options than the rest of their fleet that was more in line with the ship options that their competition has been offering for years.

But food and entertainment options that exceed what you get on the other 23 ships in the fleet besides the two in the Excel Class are game changing.

This is how things are these days. If you have late seating, you go to the early show and vice versa. If you have YTD, you have more flexibility on a daily basis depending upon the entertainment schedule.

It obviously wasn't a deal breaker for you since you sailed on the MG previously and then decided to sail on the Celebration TA even though the bathrooms were tiny and the cabins were narrow.

Yes, and no Grand Marnier Souffle for you either. Now go to your cabin and finish your homework.

As usual, food is very subjective and personally, not worth the 48 they are now charging. For one meal at the steakhouse for two people, you could go to Jiji's three times each for only a few extra dollars. Now that is value.

Comparing apples and oranges. Having sailed on multiple Breakaway Plus ships on NCL as well as their new Prima, the set up on those ships is nothing like the centralized deck 6-7-8 set up on the Excel Class. The Excel Class ships are larger than anything in NCL's fleet and none of their ships have a centralized stage area with three decks of tiered seating. But of course both lines have a main theater where many shows occur.

Since the ships are identical in that area, the issue of course would be the same on the MG. On deck 8, behind where people sit looking at Celebration Central is where the Sushi and Teppanyaki restaurants are located. On deck 7, behind the area is the casino on both sides aft and front. The area where people were walking was just aft of the Aquaria Bar. On deck 6, the rear area is adjacent to JavaBlue Cafe. So basically the rear section contains noise or obstructed views on all three decks, which makes certain seating areas up front very popular, especially on deck six, which is where the commotion occurred on the video.

The deck 8 starboard side with not much of a view was talking about the miniscule Havana pool area on the Excel Class and comparing it to the expansive Havana pool area on the Vista Class ships. Regarding the location of the cabins, since you brought that up, both classes have them port and starboard, while the Vista also has them aft and the Excel also has them forward.

It's all a matter of perspective. Now that you have had a taste of the Excel Class with your Celebration crossing, I have to assume that the Class is now in your rear view mirror. You still have of course other ships in the fleet as well as Princess and other lines to cruise on. Choices and options are always a good thing.

The elevators are not small at all. Spent four weeks this year on the Mardi Gras and you can comfortably fit 9 people or 8 people and a scooter on one of them.

The Improv on the Prima is about one third the size of the Punchliner on Carnival and the Prima holds 3100 people. Reservations are taken and were gone within an hour of embarkation. There is a physical as well as virtual stand by list.

I thought that the comedy situation on the MG was fine. There were 3 different venues. Limelight lounge held the family shows, the Punchliner held the adult shows and the theater held the late night adult shows with 2 comedians. With over 40 shows over the course of the week, it gave people multiple options to fill their comedic needs. The comedians prefer the smaller venues because it's more similar to a comedy club setting.

And people like yourself is why the older ships in the fleet will always have a following. Choices are a great thing whether it's within Carnival or sailing on one of their many competitors.

Was recently on the 11 day cruise from Galveston to Miami on the Prima. Not a perfect ship, but we had a great time. It will be homeported in Galveston as of Nov of 2023. The Viva will home port out of San Juan and will have many 7 day cruises with zero sea days. The third Prima Plus Class ship has been pushed back till 2025.

And they were the live entertainment on the inaugural of the NCL Prima last month, along with Chaka Khan.