dctravel

I can also recommend their grilled chicken, if you are tired of friend chicken, or like my son is allergic to dairy (in the breading of the fried chicken). You have to ask for it, but it was flavorful and juicy. Loved the fries. Best on the ship IMO (although the tots from Street eats are darn tasty too).

If you choose to rent a golf cart, inquire with the companies sooner rather than later. We talked with the folks at Red Shirts Golf Carts shortly after we booked our March 2024 cruise and they were sold out. We ended up deciding just to taxi to a beach club.

We love the Magic and have sailed on her twice. Carnival does not have a reservation system for shows (comedy or otherwise). They are first-come first-seated. As a result, you will sometimes (often?) see lines form about 30 minutes before the doors open. That can be annoying, but we found that one person could hold the spot while others used the restroom or got a drink to carry in.

As for shore excursions, I think that depends on what you want to do. If there is an excursion you really want, then reserving it online ahead of time makes a lot of sense. There is a shore excursion desk on each ship where you book. No idea if the choices are the same or different, but certainly, if something sells out, they are unlikely to be offering it onboard unless someone cancels.

I hope this helps some!

dctravel

Nearly all hotels in the Central Business District (CBD), near the convention center, and in the French Quarter could meet your purpose. As @Saint Greg noted, if you are driving or flying that would make a difference in terms of parking your car (if driving).

2 hours ago, shof515 said:

Every now and then there is a promo code where you save like 5-10% off when you bundle a shore excursion and wifi or photo package

 

usually around black friday they might be a promo code just for shore excursions

Yup! But at least in my recent experience (buying an excursion for our December cruise) the discount was on the wifi plan, not on the excursion. In that case, it was 15% off wifi when we paid full price for the excrusion.

We were on Jubilee over spring break and did NOT have the Cheers package. Most times when I went to get a drink, it was a very short wait. Different bars are popular on different sailings. There was always a crowd at the brewery on the Jubilee, but I never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a bar tenders attention. Obviously just my experience, but I think broadly you will find the places you like and be able to get drinks when you want them.

We are headed to Alaska at the end of July on the Solstice. We are so excited! We have anytime dining, and noted that many reservation times are already booked up for the main dining room. Will other times open up on board, or should I make reservations for times we are comfortable with (but not prefer) now so we don't get a too late or too early meal?

Thanks for the advice!

dctravel

You can tip whatever you feel is most appropriate. On our recent cruise, we had three bags and I gave them a $5/bag. But that was what I was comfortable with.

I enjoyed several of the Emeril's dishes on our Jubilee cruise. Especially like the fried catfish and the branzino.

Don't know what you decided, but check where on deck 15 that cabin is located. Deck 15 is under the Lido Deck (which is deck 16). The forward part of 15 has cabins above it on deck 16, but the rest of 15 is under the Lido activities. Might not be an issue, but something worth considering.

Appears to be the case (although things can change, obviously): https://www.saintgregtravel.com/mardi-gras-menus/

The ship was certainly busy, but beyond the lines to get into the theater, most areas were not crazy busy. There were lines for Shaq’s and costal slice, but bother loved pretty quickly. 
 

As a part-time college professor, I will note that spring break times can be variable, with earlier in March more likely to be a college spring break and later more likely to be k-12 (although not universally true, of course). Also, college kids are less likely to take a 7 day cruise than a 3 or 4, both for cost and time away. 

When we sailed out of Galveston in March (it was our first time there), I didn't really notice any movement at all as we were departing.  

6 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

 

 

Beer pitcher for 4 people? That sounds like a personal challenge!

5 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

On 4/25/2024 at 1:36 PM, dctravel said:

In Cozumel, we did a food tour through Cozumel Chefs (all the stops were family run restaurants and they were able to accommodate our allergies). 

 

That sounds like something we'd enjoy!  Would you please share the tour company you used?

We used Cozumel Chef (https://www.cozumelchef.com/). They were easy to work with and we had a great time! The tour was my family of 4, plus one other couple (who were staying at a resort, not there on a cruise). We had a private taxi for the 6 of us (plus the guide and driver). After we were done, the driver happily took us back to the pier for the standard price. Made it very easy!

5 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

He’s good.

 

 

 

Looks like I’m going to be up till midnight lol. 
 

He was on our Jubilee cruise at the end of March. He was good in the PG show (we didn't stay up, so went to see him with our kids).

14 hours ago, Ranyw said:

My wife actually liked the Westin so much she’s considering doing a land vacation there.  But I’d browse the photos and see which layout you like best.  Most of the hotels will be on the beach, just depends which layout you like most.  Have a great time !

Any idea if the Westin pool is heated?

Following along! Our trip to Alaska this July is our first trip to Alaska and first Celebrity cruise!

Following along! We do these ports (although on the Carnival Firenze) in December!

I'm in for following along. It will give me a cruise fix until my next one this summer!

On a side note, I got banned from a FB group for sharing a link to your website with the Jubilee menus. Apparently, I missed the part where you aren't allowed to share links to outside sites. Too bad too. Those confused folks could use your website and all of the great information you provide!

We went to Pez Quadro at the 40 Cannons Hotel when we were in Costa Maya on the Carnival Jubilee. Saw van taxis, but with only 4 of us, didn't worry about that too much. Pez Quadro was AI for drinks, but for food was one free order per person off the lunch menu. Food was good, beach was clean (any hawkers went away with a polite "no thank you"). We had a good time.

We just did this itinerary on the Carnival Jubilee. In Mahogany Bay (Roatan) we did a Maya Key excursion with snorkeling and lunch through the ship. Snorkeling was great, lunch good. Only complaint was how close some of the coral is to the surface. Just need to be careful as you swim.

In Costa Maya, we took a cab ($4pp each way) to a beach club in Mahahual. Beach club was great (Pez Quadro at 40 Canons Hotel) and was AI for drinks, with lunch (one order per person). There were hawkers on the beach, but a simple "no thank you" and they moved on. Port area, when we returned, looked to crowded for us.

In Cozumel, we did a food tour through Cozumel Chefs (all the stops were family run restaurants and they were able to accommodate our allergies). 

Following! We sail in December 🙂

Love the read so far!

Coral is definitely shallow. I nicked my hand, but not seriously. Pool looked nice, but we didn’t go in.