K&RCurt

3 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

I was on Reflection for Thanksgiving and that was the 1st time we didn't change the clocks. I sail Silhouette next week and on the daily planner I did see something about the time change. It's so stupid, I wish we could stop doing it forever.

We were on Reflection the week before and we DID change time!

We were on Reflection in an Aqua cabin the week of Nov 13-20 and loved Blu.  We were sailing with friends and there were 4 of us for dinner 5 of the 7 nights (With one night at the Porch and one in Tuscan Grill.)  We were seated at a round table that was set up for 5 people (Why 5?) almost every time we ate in Blu, breakfast and Dinner, and had the same waiter every time.  The service was exemplary, the Hostess knew our names and cabin numbers after the first night, the Manager checked on on every time we were there and we felt the food and menu selection were wonderful.  And to whoever said they did not offer Beef and Chicken every night, they did indeed have a Steak, a roasted chicken dish and Salmon on the menu every night.

We also went to the Persian Garden several times and the heated Loungers, Aromatherapy room, steam room, Cold room and rain shower were awesome in our opinions.

I guess to each there own, but we are discussing changing our 2024 Mardi Gras cruise on Constellation from Concierge to Aqua now. 

We were on Reflection the week of 11/13-11/20.  At least for the Aqua Class cabins all new beds and bedding were put in place during the Dry Dock in October / November.  The transatlantic cruise prior to ours was at around 50% capacity and our Steward told us we were the first passengers to sleep in the new bed.  It was supremely comfortable!!

We were on Reflection the week of 11/13 - 20.  The new paint job looked great and a bunch of the "soft goods" were replaced.  Our Cabin Steward told us that our cabin was empty on the Transatlantic cruise prior to ours and that we were the first to sleep on the new mattress and bedding in our cabin.  It was extremely comfortable!  IMO the interior spaces looked great but it was our first time on Reflection so we have nothing to cosmpare it to. 

DW has a Bose set and I have the Sony.  Hers have better sound quality while mine have better noise cancelling.  I always have mine on when I fly, Huge bonus when there is a crying kid or a boorish chatterbox nearby!  I also use mine doing yard work and riding the lawn tractor.  

Not sure if the over the ear type or the in the ear type work "best" but I can't stand having the in the ear type on too long.

I could be wrong but I think there is an itinerary that does just Bonaire and Curacao skipping Aruba, it would have been a very slight diversion to pull into Aruba for the pick-up if this was the case.  Makes me wonder if the Port in Aruba charged Carnival the docking fees.

I think some are confusing the ship's Funnel, which is where various gasses, fumes and vapors exit the ship, with the distinctive Carnival "Whale Tail" design of the funnel on Carnival ships.

Hopefully our resident Ship's Engineer will come along and explain it better, but any application with an engine that burns hydrocarbon fuel (be it gasoline, kerosine, diesel, LNG) needs a way to get the products of cumbustion away from where the engine is installed.  On ships those exhaust pipes exit through the funnel.  I do not see how the funnels on The Mardi Gas are "very factually just decoration."

Carnival decided that the funnel on their ships have a unique design.  The fact that it has a unique design does not make it just a decoration, the fumes still need to exit the ship, and if a big "Whale Tail" structure is sitting on top of teh ship, the pipes / ducts for those fumes are pretty much going to go through it.

1 hour ago, pogoism9 said:

Apparently Italian ships are built as well as Italian cars....

It is the Swedish Azipods not the Italian ship.

15 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I realize guest services on the Pride will be able to make change, but will they also exchange U.S. dollars for small amounts of British Pounds or Euros, and if so are the exchange rares and fees fair?  I know I can use credit cards in most countries that we will be sailing to in Europe, but I would like to have some local currency, mostly for tips but also just in case there are street vendors or the like, that don't do credit cards.    Thanks in advance.

Just grab what you think you need from a local ATM.  First determine how your bank decides on exchange rate, but seriously for WAM it shouldn't be a big  deal.  In my various trips to Europe my Credit Union, combines with any ATM fees was a WAY better exchange rate than and commercial bank or currency exchange kiosk.

Yep I would grab it.

Think about it too long and it will go "poof."

We have sailed mostly in Balcony cabins or suites.

We decided to save some $ on one cruise and book an inside.  We were out of our mind claustrophobic by day 2 of a 10 day cruise, never agian.

IF the cruise lines (we have sailed on HAL, RC. Celebrity and Carnival) did something about chair hogs so you could find an empty deck lounger after 8:00am it might not have been as bad.  We usually get room service coffee and enjoy that on the balcony as we wake up, we sorely missed that with an inside cabin.

We have friends who swear by insides and won't sail any other way.

As with most things YMMV, if you do not use the balcony when you book that category it doesn't make much sense to pay for it.

Insulin is fine out of refridgeration for 2 weeks, you do not need to worry abot a few hourse waiting to get to your caabin.

17 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Or add Fritas from El Rey or El Mago instead  of Guy's. 

OMG please this!

Pretty much the same for us in Mid October, by the time we got under the Route 50 Bridge it was too dark and chilly to stay outside.

On the way back we stayed out fairly late and I went out on the balcony to see how it was outside.  Saw lots of lights in the distance and a red and green light bobbing along in the nearer distance.  Got to watch the Pilot boat meat the shuip and the Pilot jump on.  Went and put on a sweater and tayed out as we went over the tunnel part of the Chesapeak bay Bridge / Tunnel.  It was a pretty cool sight and it seemed like there wasn't a ton of room between teh ship and the tunnel "Island."  I am sure it was a greater distance than I perceived!  We passed over the tunnel around 12:45 AM.

Also limited to 12, 12oz cans per person in the cabin.

14 hours ago, Trueblueky said:

Native Choice?

We used them and thought they were great.

Yes!

Diego Mex was our guide.

I wasn't sure if it was OK to mention the provider.

No Alchemy Bar on Paradise.

We have been to Costa Maya and you are correct, the port area is a manufactured tourist trap.

Nevertheless, we had a great a great time on a private tour of the Chacchoben ruins wich also included a fabulous lunch at a private home owned by Mayan decendants.  It was FAR less than the Carnival tour, only 6 people in a van, got to the ruins before the bus loads from the cruise line and we had a private guide through the whole thing.

3 hours ago, Astromaid said:

On embarkation day we usually do an alternate to the buffet that is less crowded, like the Pig and Anchor or the Seafood Shack. It does not look like Pride has any tucked out of the corner restaurants like this, and Guys Burgers are always crowded first day. Any suggestions? Is the deli a less crowded option?

The Deli is just another station in the Lido resaurant, so doesn't offer any advantage crowd wise.

We generally go to Guys on embarkation no matter what ship.  As staceyglow mentioned the Serenity area is usually pretty empty during embarkaction and is a good option to go sit.

There are also cabanas by the Margritaville pool on Grand Turk.

We got a phone call for an upsell offer back in May 2019 on the Paradise to Cuba.  Never saw it in my Cruise Manager, but I said "Hell Yes" on the phone so may have jsut never seen it.  Went from one of the balconies that were added to the top deck to a suite for $200 total.  Well worth it!  This happened 5 days from sailing.

The easiest way to get to where you order water and other drinks for the room is as follows:

On the first page after you log in to your booking "Cruise Manager Home" look under the Carnival Logo on the top far left of the page.  There will be a link titled "categories," Click on the down arrow next to this.

There will then be a menu that displays.  In the left column, 4th line from the top there is a link to "In Room Food & Beverages." Click on this link.  The bottled water is on the first line of the options.

The two times we have been to Mahogany Beach we rented a Beach Cabana.  There were 6 of us and divinging the cost it was reasonable PP.  I believe the Cabana rental includes 4 people but you can add up to 4 more for a total of 8 once on the ship.  This included the chair lift for the day (Honestly we did it once to see the views, the rest of the time we walked as it is quicker!) There is a private beach area for the Cabana Guests with some modified Palapas for shade and big cusioned loungers as well as regular loungers and there were drinks and snacks included in the cabana.  There is a strip of the beach by the water where anyone can walk and that leads to the snorkel pier mentioned above.

I can only take so much sun, due to my pale Northern European genetics so I appreciate a Cabana and other shade to limit my sun exposure.  I also find clamshells to become sauna-like due to no air circulation so the Cabana works best for us.

We had 69 and our friends had 73 and our Stewards said the divider could not be open.  69 was an accessable cabin as we both got the suites for a steal 4 days before the cruise, so I can't say if that was why the divider didn't open or if they are all that was.

On 3/5/2022 at 9:53 AM, Purvis1231 said:

This is not true for my daughter insulin pump- she can wear it passing through the x-ray but she is advised not to pass it through the x-ray machine that scans purse, bags, etc. 

Same with mine. It is fine going through the personal xray, but not the baggage xray.  I still get a pat down as my CGM transmitter shows on the screen as does the infusion set, and I get a hand swab test after they have me rub the pump.  Never an issue.

Also, to those concerened about the mini-fridge temps, insulin is just fine at room temprature for a month.  You don't even need to keep the amount required on a typical cruise cold.