cruisinqt

I’m from Texas and I’ve found that cruises out of Texas are far more expensive than the rest. Many years ago I started comparing prices and I found that I could cruise out of Florida (including airfare) cheaper than cruising out of Texas. And there’s so many more ports of call and ships to choose from too. I think it’s because there’s not many ports to cruise from in Texas so with no competition to worry about they keep the prices high. But with Florida there’s lots of ports which keeps the pricing much more competitive. There’s cruises out of Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Jacksonville. We don’t cruise out of Galveston much anymore. You ought to start comparing cruises out of Florida. You might be surprised.

At Emeril’s we had the rice and beans and it was very authentic. It had the rice in the center surrounded by a river of beans. It was very very good, I’d order it again. Another night I had the jambalaya and it was in a sizzling skillet with chicken, sausage and shrimp. I felt like I was in New Orleans because it was so spot on perfect with the seasoning. My husband had the sizzling cast iron shrimp scampi and the shrimp & oyster po boy. He's very critical of food but was in heaven and kept praising it. Throughout the week we tried several deserts including the bananas foster, the beignets, strawberries romanoff, and the lemon icebox pie. They were all delicious but the beignets and lemon icebox pie were top tier. We liked Emeril’s because they were open late, everything was pretty cheap, and the food was far superior to everything else. It became our go to late night snack place. You should definitely try it.

On our Mardi Gras cruise a few weeks ago they were completely sold out before we ever set sail. I was shocked because they are so expensive. My first thought was that they were overpriced and they wouldn’t sell many. I was wrong.

Have you checked your offers? Carnival has had some amazing offers lately that are really hard to pass up. I cruise with several other lines but the others just don’t give the great offers carnival does. You will likely spend more elsewhere. You could possibly have an offer that’s even better than the one you had booked. You should check it out.

With a cabana your balcony is really more of a patio. You would have to leave your balcony (patio) and walk across the sidewalk to get to the railing to look out at the ocean. You wouldn’t be able to see the ocean from your bed. I think a Havana cabana is more for those wanting an uncrowded pool to relax in and a larger patio to hang out at. Plus there’s the whole Havana bar that’s amazing. I can’t comment on the premium or extended view balconies as I’ve never had one. I’ve had opportunities but I’m not crazy about where they are usually located. I prefer to be in the center of the ship. Maybe one day I’ll try one though. A few weeks ago we did a spa balcony on the Mardi Gras and loved it. The room was a little narrower but much longer than normal including the balcony. We seemed to have more room to move around out there. We love doing the thermal suites. I enjoy the steam room and saunas. But doing the hot bubbly therapy pool then relaxing in the heated marble lounger is my favorite thing about cruising. I’ve had some of the best naps ever in those things.

We did the Bonsai Teppanyaki on the Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago. Several of us chose multiple meats including lobster and jumbo shrimp. There was no extra charge. In fact he cooked so much that there was extra for those that wanted a little more. It was the best food on the ship. The meat was so tender it just melted in your mouth. We even liked it better than the steak house. Not that the steak house wasn’t great. But the seasoning on the meat at the Teppanyaki place was just amazing and there was so much variety. If you’re looking at going there book it now. It will sell out long before the cruise. Our February cruise is already sold out. Glad we had booked it already.

We got off the Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago. The internet was much better. I’ve heard carnival added more satellites and expanded their WiFi. I was able to stream lots of videos. I did notice that several times after going into port once I got back onto the ship the WiFi would get bogged down. I’d completely sign out of everything on the app (WiFi and all) then sign back in again like a new user and it would be fast again. It’s been a glitch I’ve noticed with carnival. But yes the WiFi is much faster and worth it.

The internet was much better than the other ships. There were a few times I had to sign out then sign back in again to get it working properly. It was normally after being in port then once I got back on the ship my internet was slow and nothing was loading. I would just completely sign out of the hub app with the WiFi and everything then sign back in again like a new user and everything would be quick again. It’s a glitch I’ve noticed with carnival. But overall the Wi-Fi’s a lot better. I was on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, watching videos without any issues.

It was free on our cruise a couple weeks ago

I think it applies to all assigned dining guests. It wouldn’t let me make any reservations on the hub app until after the unassigned dining guests had time to finish dinner. I think they’re trying to keep the restaurants open and free of lines for those people to dine. But if you want to make reservations at a specialty restaurant that requires a flat fee to dine you can normally do that anytime. We made reservations at the steak house and the Teppanyaki place ahead of time before our cruise. But it looked like you could reserve those restaurants on the ship via the app if they had any openings. It just won’t let you make reservations at the free places like Chibang or Big Chick or at the ones that had small fees per item like at Emeril’s or the sushi place.Those are alternative dining areas for those with unassigned dining. Some of them charge so they are still considered specialty restaurants. But I would strongly recommend making your (for a fee) specialty restaurant reservations ahead of time. They will likely be sold out by the time you cruise. For our cruise in February the Bonsai Teppanyaki place and steak house are already sold out. I found the dining menus and calendar of events for our cruise beforehand so I could figure out what days to book the specialty restaurants. I’m glad I did because those two restaurants had the best meals on the ship and I’m glad we tried them out.

There were times it felt crowded and then times it felt spacious with hardly any crowds at all. It just depended on where you were. Like anytime after 8:00 pm the area around the pizza place was a madhouse and super congested. Also, if there’s bingo in the main atrium on deck 6 then expect super long lines for cards and lots of congestion. The pool area and lido were always pretty busy. But on deck 7 from the alchemy bar all the way back to the Palm restaurant it was always very quiet and spacious. There are lots of comfy sofas and the bar never had more than a couple people at it. We loved that area. The adult serenity area (deck 18) was very spacious and quiet after dinner time. We loved hanging out in the hot tub there later in the evening. Emeril’s was never too busy and had beignets very comparable to what you’d find in New Orleans. And don’t get me started on their jambalaya or sizzling shrimp skillet. So, like most ships, if you stay away from the really popular areas then you’ll find lots of spacious areas to relax in that aren’t crowded at all. This is a huge ship so there were a lot of uncrowned areas we found and loved. I was really surprised because our cruise was sold out and it was the summer crowd with lots of kids but it wasn’t that noisy or crowded if you knew where to go. I didn’t notice anyone sick or having covid related problems. The workers were wiping down the insides of the elevators, the tables, the doors, I mean they were going out of their way to keep things clean. And this ship has automatic doors on all of the public restrooms. Just wave your hand and the door automatically opens for you from the inside and outside too. So I felt pretty safe about my health. Of course I used my hand sanitizer like crazy but I’ve always done that.

They left a card in our mail slot next to the door with a pretty good offer. It was $100 per person for a balcony cabin. We just couldn’t pass it up, especially on such a fantastic ship like this one.

Wow what a great response! And so many details too. Thanks. We booked an elite on the Panorama in November and another elite on the Celebration in February. So this info will come in handy. I’m doing a screenshot of this and saving it.

Thanks I’ll be careful

Our next cruise will be an elite cruise which is a first for us. Since we’ve never done it before, how does the car service work? The offer states: “Private Car Service To And From The Airport” but doesn’t explain how it’s done. How do we arrange for them to pick us up? And do they just drop us off at the port or do they do more? Like do they escort us on board or take us to a separate waiting area? I didn’t use a TA and booked everything myself online.

That’s good to know ahead of time. We will make sure to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the ship.

Thanks I’ll check it out then.

Oh whale watching sounds fun. And we love trains. I’ll look into those thanks.

I forgot to mention that I had total knee replacement on one leg a few months ago and will be having another total knee replacement on the remaining one soon. So maybe something with not too much walking. The train in Skagway sounds interesting I’ll check that out. Thanks for the info.

We did a couple Royal cruises but it was at least 12 years ago. We are Platinum with Carnival and Princess. We also have done a couple Norwegian cruises.

We are long time cruisers but haven’t cruised Royal Caribbean in many many years. We booked an Alaskan cruise on Quantam Of The Seas for May of next year. I’m reading the boards here and feel lost. I feel like a newby. Everything with Royal is so different from what I’m used to. Like booking shows and getting special deals on dining packages etc. And to make matters worse, we booked Alaska which is a place we’ve never cruised to. I have no idea where to start on what tours to do. I’ve been on the Alaska boards and everything looks interesting so I don’t know where to start. Can anyone give me a brief overview of what to do and expect on a Royal Caribbean cruise? And also some advice on which Alaskan tours Royal offers that are the best? We are a family of 4 with my husband and I being in our 50’s and our daughters being in their mid 20’s. These are our ports: Sitka,Alaska Skagway, Alaska Juneau, Alaska Victoria, British Columbia Thanks for your help in advance guys.

I did miss shawarma. I meant to try it out but never got back around to it. When we do the Celebration in February I’ll check it out.

I just loved the Pig & Anchor area. With swirls ice cream available 24/7, a free buffet, a nice bar, and all of that seating it was our favorite hangout on the ship. My husband loved to sit in one of the big overstuffed sofas or arm chairs and watch sports on the big screen. I liked playing foosball or shuffleboard. And it was never overcrowded because there just so much dang seating.

You’ll love this ship. We liked it so much we booked her sister ship the Celebration while we were still on our cruise. We’ve never done that before but we are retired now and have more time to cruise. And this new class of ship has so much to offer that we couldn’t resist the great deals we were being offered.

Just got off the Mardi Gras Saturday and I love all the changes carnival made. I’ve been waiting for changes like this for over 20 years. From the self serve soda fountains to the touch less door openers on the bathrooms, the changes they’ve made were very well thought out. They even brought back the magic shows and did 6 or more comedy shows every night so there weren’t massive punchliner comedy show lines. And the main theater Playlist shows were some of the best I’ve seen. The lido had tons of mini stations all over making the lines non existent. I also loved the addition of the hot dog stand and gelato place in the lido too. The Street Eats area was awesome with the Time Fries creation of the day being one of my favorites. And the fact that you can now go to a specialty restaurant and order from the MDR menu was pure genius. Our family always argues over where to eat dinner- MDR or a specialty restaurant. I also love that the showers have real doors, there are charging ports, shelves, and nightlights next to the beds. I was also a big fan of the new sliding glass balcony doors. The main theater had no poles in the way with stadium style seating which made every seat have a great view. And with 16 specialty restaurants to choose from the dinner and lunch lines weren’t bad at all (except for the pizza place late at night.) And for the first time ever on a cruise I never saw long lines at guest services. I don’t know if it was because their service was top notch and no one had complaints or because it was so organized with lots of employees on hand. But it was a first for me. There’s always long lines at guest services so the lack of lines stood out to me. There were a few glitches though. Like the soda fountains being timed for those with the bottomless bubbles program. By the time you grab your glass, fill it with ice and get it in place the timer is almost finished. You’ve gotta be fast and prepared in advance to get a decent amount of soda. We figured it out but it was a pain in the butt sometimes. They need to fix this. It’s just not enough time. Plus once you swipe your card and get some soda it won’t let you get more right away. You have to wait ten minutes which is irritating if you screwed up and didn’t get any soda in your glass. Also, the automatic doors leading in and out of the lido don’t always open when guests stand in front of them. You have to hold down the button on the door which confuses most people who just lightly tap it leaving an irritated crowd behind them. The bingo crowds were the worst I’ve ever seen. One time the line went from in front of Cherries On Top all the way down to Emeril’s Bistro which had to be at least a 45 minute wait. And of course every night after 8:00 pm the pizza crowd was super long. At least 30 or more people in line every time I went by. But this was only in the evenings. But overall it was one of the best ships I’ve been on. There’s just way more to do and eat at on this ship. I’ll throw in a few tips that might help future cruisers. 1.Java Blue Cafe has free hot breakfast sandwiches & pastries every morning and there are no lines. 2.Guys Pig & Anchor has a free breakfast buffet every morning with no crowds. 3.Big Chick has fresh omelets for those of you wanting to skip the long omelet lines 4. If you want to try out different restaurants for dinner, don’t do assigned dining. Assigned dining guests can’t make reservations at them until after 7:45. 5. Guys Pig & Anchor has soda fountains and swirls ice cream machines for those of you wanting to avoid the lido crowds for these things. I hope this helps you future Mardi Gras cruisers out there. Happy sailing.