Tom-n-Cheryl

No explanation, beyond they "don't offer dessert with the specialty burger lunch (now or in the past)". Tom

Oh, I wanted to add... In my opinion that 🍪 dessert is the best dessert on the ship. It was like eating hot/barely cooked dough with ice cream... BLISS ! If you're at all a cookie aficionado, you'll understand. If not, move along - nothing to see here. 😁 Tom

(In my best Gomer Pyle voice): SURPRISE - SURPRISE - SURPRISE ! Osman, maître d' of Murano (who also was checking in folks today at the Lawn Club Grille), surprised me with the cookie dessert at the end of our meal in Murano this evening!!! Tom

Desserts were no longer offered. I would have opted for the warm chocolate chip cookie, and ate every bit of it. Frankly, I probably would have regretted that though (a touch of indigestion following the burger and wine), so perhaps it was for the best --- LOL Gearing up for Murano this evening - and my cageless goat cheese souffle. 🙂 Tom

Actually it was! We tried the wine pairing menu (I think it was ~$95pp extra?) on the Century, and upon tasting that wine, I was sold on reds. Prior to that, during my earlier wine years, I had not ventured down the red path. Of course, it was difficult following that, as many traditional reds fell short. I think we ended up purchasing 2-3 bottles on future cruises, but have not in several years now. I was curious, so I went back through some old emails (this was from 2008, Carnival Glory). If I saw a bottle for $198 now, I'd definitely give it a go. Of course, on Carnival, they have an ongoing promo where you get 50% off wines in the Steakhouse on the first night, and the first "cruise elegant" night. That puts Dom, Caymus Special, etc, down near the $100 price point, a relative value at sea!! --------------------------------- Hi Tom, We do have Chateau Lafite Rothschild on board. The following vintage are available 1983, 1985, 1989 & 1993 and the prices are between $198 - $395 excluding 15 % gratuity. Thank you, Tiz Emerald Room Ext: 1078 Beeper: 34189 ------------------------------ Needless to say, Carnival no longer stocks such wines... Tom

I could put together a more comprehensive list (but I won't) which would include: What happened to the pastry cage that used to come with the Goat Cheese Souffle in Murano's? What happened to the harpist who used to play in Ocean Liner's ? Why is Château Lafite Rothschild no longer a component of the wine pairing menu? Something tells me that there's already been numerous lists pertaining to what people miss on (the old) Celebrity! Tom

Agreed, regarding suite guests. I think we'd still opt for it, though it's a no brainer when it's included ! Tom

I did notice that The Porch (first time it's been open for lunch this cruise) was busy when we walked by - easily a dozen people in there. Perhaps since it's not open every day, the demand is increased on the days it is open. I never noticed it being this busy in February. Also, the specialty burger lunch at the Lawn Club Gill was busier than it was last time as well - probably close to 30 people in there. I did see a few people in there that I recognize from Luminae, so I'm guessing a fair % of the people that actually go there are in suites, and thus it may not represent additional income (if they're in top suites). Then again - noticing that these places were much busier than in February could have to do with the fact that in February, we didn't even have 900 guests onboard. This sailing it's triple that (2,777 last I heard). Tom

Oh, just to be complete... Blueberry Cobbler!! Tom

I don't want to run down and bring these things up as they occur, but once our cruises are complete, I'll get it all together (hopefully not adding anything else). Though, I'd imagine that most people either don't notice the changes, or don't care. That won't stop me from speaking up! Tom

It's really all about the little things. Surprise #1 was boarding the Reflection on Sunday and learning that The Porch is no longer open on port days for lunch... OK... Today, while enjoying my favorite burger (Signature) at the Lawn Club Grill, I asked about getting a dessert, specifically the warm chocolate cookie w/ice cream. I was told, "no, that's only for dinner". I asked when that changed (since I had both that and the blueberry dessert at the Lawn Club Grill in February for lunch). I was told, "no, we've never served dessert at lunch, only dinner". The fact that I then showed them time stamped (12:43 pm) photos of those desserts on our last cruise didn't seem to matter. Obviously daylight, and obviously, the same table: DAMN.... what else do you think is flying under the radar, in the quest to trim away the fat? !! It's not like the rate on suites is going down - in fact, the room we're in this Thanksgiving week is nearly $5,000 MORE next Thanksgiving... NO THANKSgiving !!! Tom

We've done that many times in the past, but it partially negates the "living in central Florida" advantage. By the time we stay at a nice hotel, maybe add in valet, a couple of meals - it might add in a good $300+. Plus, there's the added hassle factor associated with having to also pack for a hotel stay. We were on the fence, but decided to drive this one on the day of. That turned out to be a good call, as we had a 10am showing of our home, which added in some other complications.

I'm starting to think, at this port at least ( ! ), that such an option might be a good call. In general, provided good quality/ample onsite parking, I prefer to park at the port. Thus being able to avoid shuttles all together. Port Everglades also stands out as (one sailing) where we woke up on debarkation morning, looked out from our balcony - only to find that we returned to a different terminal. That was a fun surprise (shuttle again). Yes, first world problems no doubt ! Tom

I was told by someone at check-in, when I asked about the "coming renovations" (or similar) poster in the terminal that the plan is to demo and rebuild. I can't help but think that the rebuild will include onsite parking. It was obvious from the ship that there was a parking area (2 level?) there, but zero cars were using it. Perhaps it was deemed unsafe or something? It was odd seeing it totally unused. When we sailed on the Reflection in February, the ship had drawn the same short straw (terminal 29). I was holding out hope that this season it would NOT be at 29 again... darn it! Absolutely the weather had a impact on that day, but it's obvious that Port Everglades simply does not have ample parking, even for those later arriving souls at any terminal. Time to invest some $'s, but it will take years to see these changes. At least Pt Canaveral seems able to build ample parking for their terminals - perhaps explaining their rise through the ranks over time! LINK Tom

Trust me, I tried to get there early. Unforeseen circumstances caused us to get to the port late. But, after getting there, it was obvious that there was insufficient facilities there to accommodate the ships

My vote is for Port Canaveral, though I might be just a tad biased!

See the thread I started earlier today about Port Everglades. Could be useful reading!

It's as if they have no protocol for suite guest check-ins. Of course, it was after 2 pm by this time, so perhaps they were "over it", don't know! Once we entered the terminal (directed to the regular line until I noticed the suite line), we were misdirected twice and led around to two different check-in people. One had checked me in while we were in the "suite waiting area", and they took us to someone else to check Cheryl in. Just odd and disjointed, no smooth flow! Tom

(Summary: Just make sure to arrive by noon, I'd guess!) Due to a last minute complication, we got a late start from our Sunday morning drive from our home (near Pt Canaveral) and arrived at the port close to 1. It probably took 15 additional minutes (extraordinarily long line of cars blacked up at #29) to get to the luggage drop off. I left Cheryl there with our carry-on and headed over to the Palm Garage, since the Reflection is unfortunately at pier #29 and thus does not have any parking. Once I arrived at the Palm Garage, I discovered that it was full. I was given very poor (hurried, because he's going to need to tell everyone behind you the same thing and it was raining!) directions to another garage (Northport). Well, a couple of wrong/U-turns later I was parking. It was now 1:40 and I walked down to level 1 where I discovered chaos at the spot to catch the shuttle. There was easily 100 people in a shuttle waiting line - to take them to their respective terminals. There were no shuttles for several minutes, and some people were getting concerned regarding their departure times. Shuttles finally started arriving, and I was in line on perhaps the fourth or fifth. Just as I was about to step on, a bus arrived specifically for Royal and Celebrity. By that time I decided to keep with the shuttle I was already in line for, as it was about to depart and I figured it would take some time to load up a bus, and all the luggage some people hadn't bothered to check! I was fortunate as the Reflection ended up being the first stop on that shuttle (just a few of us), with the bulk of the passengers heading to other ships (mainly HAL from what I could overhear). Inside the terminal, it was decidedly disorganized. I've never cared for Pot Everglades, and this whole mess did nothing to change that! Tom

Good thinking! We actually used to have clips (for curtains) on our packing list. Tom

Yes, Sushi on Five is open. It obviously generates more/sufficient income. Not much on that menu which appeals to us. Tom

Just dropped the final ropes...

The captain just came on and said we'd be leaving at 10:30. Damn, 10 to 5:00 tomorrow in Nassau.

Hey, if this means that tomorrow is a sea day instead of Nassau, I'm totally good with that! That way, both the porch and the lawn club grill might actually be open for lunch! Tom

We'll, with what they get paid though... !