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Yes - we did for a European cruise.  We booked the cruise more than a year out and had to wait for flights to become available.  Pricing was good as I recall.

On 10/3/2022 at 1:56 PM, seaduction said:

If you buy a spa treatment like massage, does that allow you to use the thermal suite all day or just

after your treatment?

On the MG this past spring a spa treatment did not get you access to the locked thermal suite.  We paid $199 for two of us for the duration of the cruise for access.

On 10/2/2022 at 2:11 AM, vwrestler171 said:

I wasn't a fan of the cove balconies, I liked being closer to the water, but every day we had salt build up on everything, so we could really just it out there without wiping everything down first.

The salt buildup and the constant wetness are the reasons we will not do a cove balcony again.  Every time we wanted to go out and enjoy the balcony it was covered in either water or salt.

17 hours ago, Inveterate Cruiser said:

 

Was this a response direct from RCL's Club Royale or from URComped? If you go to URComped, since you are Carnival ECHO,  you should be able to get a RCL Balcony / Suite offer. Try them. 

It was from RCCL directly with a copy of the offer.  Maybe on URComped but I always prefer to go to the source rather than a commissioned entity.

21 hours ago, mondello said:

Sorry, I’m old school, rooted in the 20th century and don’t do fbook. Loft 19 will not open up for non-Excel Suites until the last minute since they have priority booking rights. The discounts they have been offering on Mardi Gras, $1750 and even $1500, may not be available when we desire. I’m not sure if a shared booking would be permitted as they can limit access to only guests from whichever cabin books a Cabana.

 

I am always interested in saving money but, the devil is in the details. Would need to know the capacity of Cabana, number of chairs and how the split would work. 8 day cruise, we could each use it every other day, 4 days each? Truthfully, I’d expect a problem with getting access beyond the velvet rope for those guests not named on the booking. The other problem is getting money from strangers as no good deed goes unpunished. Lots of stories about friends/family that don’t cough up the cash.

 

Guess I’ll have a gander on the book site, under wife’s account to explore this further. Preferably someone could chime in here if Carnival even allows cabins to share a cabana? I’d feel a heck of a lot better if I had some confirmation from Carnival that my money is going towards a valid Loft 19 Cabana.

I am on the phone with the Echo desk and will ask all of your questions.  It was just a thought as I do not see us using it every day all day.

On 9/4/2022 at 9:06 AM, Wakepatrol said:

We went zip lining and the falls this summer. We went independently and did a long strenuous hike make sure you have sone closed toe keens or Merrells, flip flops won’t cut it. We hiked did probably 8 zip lines  4 falls then ate a delicious lunch .

it took up most of the day and when it was over and had eaten we were pretty much toast. The excursion was out of this world

HI - would you mind sharing who you used for this excursion?  It is exactly what we want to do but we prefer to start early and beat the crowds.

Fair point ColeThornton but unclear how to do that so doing the best that I can.

I agree with most of the comments.  We sailed in a Havana aft balcony on both Vista and Horizon and LOVED IT.  I booked the same on Mardi Gras and HATED IT.  Area is so small, no direct sun on the balcony, and odd location.  I ended up moving from a Havana Cabana on the Celebration to a spa balcony.  I would do Havana on Vista or Horizon again in a heart beat but not on Celebration or Mardi Gras.  We used the larger Serenity deck on Mardi Gras and were very happy.  

I recently - within the last two weeks- attempted to get status match from RCL based on my Carnival status.  I am Echo on Carnival and the response I got was come aboard on your dime and we will access your worthiness after the cruise.  This was NOT the response I expected.  

As for the other comments and questions, I do get offers from Princess but they are not at the same level as Carnival. We have done two European cruises with Princess casino offers (and cancelled a third to the Baltic region this summer).

This message is for Mondello - we are also on the Celebration over Christmas and want to rent a cabana.  We are two and would love to join with another two/three to share.  Interested? Would also love to figure out how to reserve in advance but having trouble with that one.  There is a Facebook group with for the cruise with 685 members but I could not find you there so I am resorting to this method.

I am a big advocate of the hotel/resort day pass for a beach day.  We have booked the RIU in La Romana twice and loved it.  It is an all inclusive.  Great beach and full access to restaurants, bars, and drink service on the beach.  Hope this helps for other options. We booked in advance but paid when we got there.

Kwokpot (excellent username) - After reading your latest post I am now doubting myself and did some googling and see that there are lots of different answers.  All I can report is that the spa desk gave us the access card when we asked after our each of our massages for no additional cost and after our technicians brought us back to waiting area we went upstairs up to the spa desk to get a key card.  Combined I think we had about 9 treatments during the cruise and both my friend and I got the access card even when we did treatments at different times.

I agree with the comments with respect to the Panorama -- absolute favorite cabins on both the Vista and Horizon and I would book again in a heartbeat -- especially the extended aft balconies.  BUT, after sailing in the same cabin type on the Mardi Gras I will not book Havana on any of the Excellence class ships (Mardi Gras and Celebration).  Area on Mardi Gras was incredibly small and very little privacy or sun on the balcony.  After using the Havana area everyday on the Vista and Horizon, we relocated to the Serenity area on Mardi Gras.  Hope this helps.

If that question was for me - yes.  I was on the Mardi Gras this Spring and used the spa regularly.

YES - you can use the thermal lounge and other amenities.  The front desk will give you a special key card that opens the door to that area.

I agree with the above posters but strongly recommend that if you want to go you book in advance through the planner.  There are no lunch reservations available for our cruise and we are almost 200 days out.  Booking now will require payment using either a credit card or cruise credits just FYI

We sailed on the Mardi Gras in February in a Havana Balcony.  I really did not like it compared to the Havana rooms/area on the Vista and Horizon. The room is super tight, including the bathroom.  On other ships two singles are separated by the two nightstands so you have some breathing room but not on the Mardi Gras -- I would say there is maybe six inches between the beds.  The Havana area was also very small.  I moved from Havana to Spa cabin for our Christmas Celebration cruise as I did use the spa a lot on the Mardi Gras.

We just got back from Costa Maya and decided to spend the day at Nacional Beach Club.  We booked this as an all inclusive before we left and LOVED IT -- it is limited to 10 on a day pass.  I have been to Costa Maya many many times (before it was really a port) and I have never really liked my options frequently electing to stay on the ship.  Nacional Beach Club will be my go to.  We had breakfast and lunch and drinks and snacks and a massage.  The food was fantastic and plentiful (shrimp, lobster for lunch, omelettes for breakfast with French press coffee) and the service was over the top fantastic.  We were met at the entrance and escorted to the beach where we were set up in loungers.  I liked the idea of being in one spot to enjoy the sun and the day and this worked perfectly for us.  www.nacionalbeachclub.com 

We will only cruise on a ship with JiJI Asian Kitchen.  We usually eat there at least twice.  Food and service are amazing. The duck is my favorite appetizer and I love the kung pow chicken.  You will not be disappointed!

I have searched and searched and cannot come up with the November/December Imax movie offerings.  I found the Dive In movie list on Facebook but nothing for the Imax.  We are on the November 30, 2019 Horizon and want to get a sense of what is playing.  Anyone know? Thanks in advance.

We did Havana on the Horizon in March.  At this point I would take an inside Havana over non-Havana it was so wonderful.  Because you are two floors above the main Havana, there is no issue with non-Havana guests coming to your room.  It is a bit more difficult on the lower floor as cards are checked and people are asked to leave.  Hope this helps.

We were on an Elite cruise and it was wonderful.  Agree with other posters about car service, meals, liquor etc.  With respect to the excursion, we were given an option of a spa gift certificate for $150 in lieu of an excursion.  I had a wonderful massage!

On our December 2018 cruise we arrived at the terminal less than an hour before the doors closed and after the deadline for having bags taken curbside so we had no choice but to carry on.  There was NO issue with size or weight of bag and it was a smooth process. Botton line -- everything fits through the scanner when it has to.

I have sailed the Breeze three times and the Vista once.  Like both ships very much and would much prefer the Vista or Horizon because of the restaurant choices.  If you are a main dining room person, than go with the Breeze for the cost differential.  We generally eat at the speciality restaurants every night and the choices on the Vista are more extensive than on the Breeze.  JiJI's is our favorite and the absence of this on our December Breeze cruise was noted.  My group also likes the Imax theater as an option and this is another reason that we prefer the Vista over the Breeze.

We won a crystal replica of the Royal Princess (on board now). If anyone is interested and is on the ship now, leave a note at E444.