FastShip24

On 8/30/2023 at 2:42 PM, csm5986142 said:

Most of my answers have already been given (just more options across the board - entertainment, lots of included in fare food venues, plus the Excel class ships have Grand Central which is another entertainment venue but very cool with a window view (when the LED screens are open) that spans 3 floors, etc.).  The technology is pretty amazing.  It's just a great comfortable area to hang out.

My first time on Mardi Gras a crew member told me, "on the smaller ships I can get to work in 3 minutes, on this one it takes me at least 15 minutes".  I thought that was funny, but it's true.  The Excel class ships are just so big and spread out it takes a while to navigate.  And I like the fact that I don't keep running into the same passengers.

Having said all that, as much as I love the shiny new big ships, we still happily sail on most of the smaller ones (not a huge fan of the Fantasy class but the rest are great).  Now that we've been on nearly all the ships, we care more about itenerary and departure port than ship class.

I think it depends on what you want to get out of your vacation.  We aren't looking for a lot of adventure or to be entertained every minute - we mostly want to rest and relax away from work, get a little sun, and any ship works well for that.  

 

 

Wow

8 minutes ago, ObstructedView2 said:

 

 

 

 

🍹

What I meant is regardless of ship size, you are a grain of sand in a vast sea of water.   No ship can be much smoother when the sea acts up

3 hours ago, Opie100 said:

What has been the observed experience so far of Carnival's Excel class (Mardi Gras and Celebration) in terms of stability at sea? Better than other ships their size? Same? Worse? Also interested in hearing how these large ships compare to the mid-size (or smaller) vessels. My DW loves vacationing and cruising but gets nervous with swaying. Thanks for any feedback here.

No.    Why.   You are a grain of sand on the sea. 

Oh brother.  Tell him to relax

On 8/6/2023 at 1:09 PM, Salidaboy209 said:

No comparison. The Panorama dining, public spaces, entertainment, and decor is far superior to the other ships you mentioned. The only drawback is the number of passengers it holds. Many places were just crowded. I’d recommend a Havana cabin. The Havana area gets you away from the crowds. You will not be disappointed. 

Been on the Panorama twice.  Beautiful ship.  Easy cruise

2 hours ago, angelsfort said:

You see lots of folks that say that for one reason or another they won't sail on the bigger ships (and vice versa, others won't sail on the smaller ships)

 

but I'm wondering why?!  How do they differ other than sheer size and guest capacity?   Are there more venues / shows on the larger ships?  few bars on the smaller ships?

 

If you're one of those people that have decided not to sail on certain ships, can you explain why?   Enquiring minds want to know!

I prefer smaller ships.  Less people and less tenders

On 8/28/2023 at 6:59 AM, 1025cruise said:

While you might luck out and get a can, technically it's supposed to be poured into a cup, with or without ice as you prefer.

I don't believe Carnival has fountain "guns" anywhere and always pours from a can.

I've gotten cans 99 percent of the time.   Bars, mdr etc.  

23 hours ago, Slidell_Cruiser said:

The Nickel and Dime Show continues…..

Do you pay for Soda? Specialty restaurants? Water?  Oh no. 1.50 gelato.  Don't eat it.   

On 8/21/2023 at 5:00 PM, Drew B 58 said:

So, the new menus started two months ago, first on Dream, then expanded to other ships.  Tens of thousands of passengers must have sampled them by now, but I haven’t seen any commentary or visual aids about the actual dishes.  Why do you suppose that is?  Or am I just looking in the wrong places?

Maybe because it's not a big deal

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I certainly hope so.

Celebrity is a cut above

19 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Quick question - what time is lunch available on HMC? Our stop there is from 8-4PM. I'm looking to book the stingray adventure for my daughter and I and was thinking it would be best to do it right before we eat lunch. Then we'll have the rest of the afternoon to just hang out and enjoy the beach! 

I would guess lunchtime 

On 8/27/2023 at 10:24 PM, Linsuesue said:

   I am booked on the Carnival Spirit to go to Alaska in July 2024. On July 14th of 2023 there were 59 excursions available. Shortly after that there were 64 excursions. I know there will be more added-like the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion…, but today when I checked there were only 24 excursions available. I have checked the port schedules for our cruise and there will be many big ships in each port each day. I dont know if this is a website glitch, or an indication of the extreme competition there will be for tour operators. Is anybody else going to Alaska next year noticing the same decrease in excursion availability?

9 months out🤔🤔🤔

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Our experiment with Celebrity didn't last too long. We had compared a Carnival cruise and a Celebrity cruise (southern Caribbean itineraries in 2/2025) and after adding in to the Carnival fare what was included in the Celebrity fare Celebrity was less expensive overall for either sailing, so we booked them. Fast forward until last month and Celebrity cancelled our cruise due to changing the ship's home port. When I checked the prices we compared a 7 day Celebrity S. Carib with an 8 day Carnival and Carnival won that battle handily this time. So now we are going to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. I visited Aruba in the late '70's in the Navy and have always wanted to go back. Now I just have to two years to go back. Any must do excursions on the ABC island itinerary? Any suggestions on Horizon?

You get what you pay for

1 minute ago, groundloop said:

I just got off Legend's 14 day cruise to Greenland.  We had Your Time Dining, which we've done for our past 10 or 12 cruises, and have always pretty much checked in as early as possible.  (On this particular cruise YTD and Early Dining started at 5:00 PM, while late dining started at 7:30 PM.)

 

One evening we felt like going to dinner a bit later and didn't check in on the Hub App until around 6 PM, at which time we had over an hour's wait and were finally seated at 7:15  So basically, it seems to me, Your Time Dining has devolved into essentially either Early or Late dining with the exception that you don't know which table you're going to be at.  

 

What's everyone else's experience with this?  Did we just get unlucky that one night?  

You just went at the most popular time

16 hours ago, mkcurran said:

I have friends cruising in just over a week and would like to surprise them with a pink flamingo of some sort in their cabin. But the online shop has nothing. Is it worth a call to see if I can arrainge something? 

Anybody cruising on the 5th that would like to help me in my mission?

If it's not online, where would the ship be able to obtain one?🤔

I have found one everyday.   They were quite tasty.

1 hour ago, Bbyg31 said:

Hi! I am going on a Carnival cruise to Ensenada and do not have time for a passport. I do have my drivers license, birth certificate, and marriage license. However… there is a small typo on my marriage license. My dad’s name is misspelled by one letter, so it won’t match my birth certificate. Is that an issue? 

You are fine

Some like Pepsi, some like coke.     Let there be both

Imagine going on a cruise and criticize one dessert.  Must have been a good cruise

So one dessert in a week?  

Anyone sail this trip?

23 minutes ago, Natros said:

We sailed a few times on Carnival many years ago and the coffee was not that great. I don’t drink, but I consume a lot of Coffee. We took a cruise on Royal Carribean and the free coffee was great. Which made me wonder if Carnival had changed to a better drip coffee?

I just went.  It was fine.   

1 hour ago, louanne93 said:

I read that due to the storm,  Mazatlan will be skipped on the Panorama and extra long days in Cabo and PV

7am 4pm.  

3 hours ago, mrpayroll said:

Will be on Mardi Gras starting August 26th with Your Time Dining. Anyone know which dining room is used for this ?  Thanks..

They will tell you. When you check in on the app, it will even tell you your table

2 hours ago, dizzlepop said:

UPDATE on Panorama:

 

Headed out today as scheduled, changed order of stops and two v three: Cabo Tuesday, PV Wednesday, skipping Mazatlán.

Nice.  Enjoy