Nunnyandnorm

I'm not sure due to fast typing if I expressed this correctly at the end, but with our work schedules it is tough to do a February cruise, which would be the only thing that would prevent us from doing another one....

Please don't misunderstand, Butch was cordial and gracious, we just didn't see him very often. As a comparison, Craig was around all of the time, and since his girlfriend lives about five minutes from us, and was onboard, we spent what would be considered more time with him than the average director. Still, he was around a lot more.

Hi!

The Bloggers Cruise is a special event for those that read/follow John Heald's blog, the Senior Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Lines. I guess a good way to compare it is a gathering of "super" Carnival fans, or those who are huge fans of John, either through his blog or personal experience. I've known John since 1998, and wanted my girlfriend to experience his wit and sense of humor.

We highly recommend Victor Bodden. The tour we took started with a tour of the area, to the highest point on Roatan, to their Monkey/Bird sanctuary, where you were able to interact with different breeds of monkeys, and different kinds of birds, then off to Bananarama Resort, where you have two to two and a half hours at the beach. The only negative, which had nothing to do with the tour, was the amount of vendors that constantly tried to hawk their wares while you were on the beach relaxing. It reminded us of Freeport to give you a point of reference if you've ever been on a beach there.

To us, it was a great value for the money spent, which was $30 a person.

Hope that helps...

Hello everyone!

My girlfriend and I took part in the Bloggers 7 event onboard the Carnival Sunshine, and had a wonderful experience as usual.

A little bit of background before my review.

We are both 41. No children. My ninth cruise, her fourth, all with Carnival. Since 2011, we have become regular cruisers. I am laid back, her not so much, unless its on vacation....this was our first Bloggers Cruise.

ARRIVAL

On Saturday, we boarded a flight to New Orleans, and arrived around 7:30, right in the middle of the insanity that was Mardi Gras and the NBA All Star Weekend. Originally, we were booked with a group at the Holiday Inn Express by the airport, but thanks to some good luck and an email by a cruising friend, we were able to get a comped room at the Hilton Riverside. Took about an hour to get to the hotel from the airport due to the heavy traffic.

Check in was smooth. We have been offered a fantastic program through Total Rewards thanks to our play in Cleveland, and receive 9,000 reward credits every Friday in January, February, and March (so far). This gives us $90.00 comp dollars each week, and we used our comps to eat at Besh Steakhouse inside Harrah's casino. The food was phenomenal. She had the 10 oz fillet, and I opted for the 30 day aged Prime New York Strip. We both had Bibb Salads as accompaniments, and some red wine to go with the meal. Total paid was $0 (save a $50 tip at the end for a great service). The hotel room was comfy, but it was very loud through the night due to the party crowd.

EMBARKATION

We arrived at the Carnival port around 9:45 a.m., and was surprised to see how many had already checked in, and were waiting to board. The process was relatively easy, however we did observe a great deal of confusion with new arrivals, as you have to make your way through those already checked in to get to the proper desk. Onboard by 11:15 or so.

I had been on the Destiny a few times before, and was happy with the new layout.

STATEROOM

Cabin #6165, inside stateroom. We are rarely in the room, so always opt for an inside cabin. Room was normal Carnival fare, although the bathroom was smaller than what either of us were used to. Seems as if the shower was larger, so made for less "working" area. We only had four hangers in our room when we checked in, but that was promptly resolved by our cabin steward. Room was relatively clean, although there were definitely signs of wear and tear, and a few of the shelves had significant dust. No matter to us.

I like the interactive nature of FunVision on other cruises, but that now seems to be a thing of the past.

Our room steward was great to work with.

FOOD

We both liked the many options that the upgraded Fun Ships provide. My girlfriend also commented on the layout of the Buffet area, as it made it more attractive for her to eat at.

One of the highlights for us personally was having dinner at Ji Ji Asian Kitchen. For those that aren't aware, the meal is served family style, with guests (at least for us) selecting two appetizers, two entrees, two sides, and desserts. We went with the Braised Pork Belly and Chicken Spring Rolls as apps, Kung Pao Chicken and Waygu Beef Short Rib as entrees, Hakka Style Noodles and Jasmine Rice as sides, and Crème Brule as our dessert. The food was incredible, but I must warn you, the Kung Pao Chicken was very spicy. Right up our alley, but not for everyone. Prior to the meal, we were also served an appetizer with four different toppings that ranged in heat. This was good as well.

We ate at Cucina del Capitano once, only for lunch. She had the lasagna, and liked it but commented there was too much beef. I had the pasta with mussels, and loved it.

Bonsai Sushi was another highlight. My girlfriend does not eat sushi, but did try a ginger salad as well as a California Roll. I had a variety of dishes on the menu, and enjoyed them all equally.

We were lucky enough to win dinner with John Heald during the cruise, and shared a meal at the Steakhouse with two other couples. We've eaten at the Freedom Steakhouse, and this experience was excellent as well. Great food (we both had filet), incredible sides (she had the mushrooms, I had the wasabe potatoes), great salads, and awesome apps (she had the crabcake, I had the Ahi Tuna Tartare). Just a great time all the way around, and was nice spending time with John and his assistant Dee, as well as the other couples, one of which happened to be our tablemates in the main dining room!

Guy's Burger was just okay for us. The fries were too salty for our taste. We enjoyed the Cantina, and had burritos and tacos over the course of our cruise. Salads were our preference on the buffet, and the ingredients were fresh. We ate at the Havana Bar for lunch one day as well, and the food was fine, nothing spectacular.

We normally don't eat breakfast out, so had room service deliver each morning. Fruit and cereal (and for her, coffee) are our main staples, and other than room service being late one day, everything was great.

Our Main Dining Room experience was excellent, although I must admit we are both looking forward to the new menus. Nothing stands out, as the food was prepared to our liking, and our staff which included Jose and Joyce was top notch. Our only complaint, and this was with the last cruise in October as well, was that the food simply came out too fast. We enjoy a dining experience, and like to take our times. Simply didn't happen on this cruise.

BLAME IT ON THE ALCOHOL

Well, we both enjoy our drinks, but not over the top. The one thing that struck me immediately was how many other options each bar provided on top of the standard Carnival drink menu fare. So we had at it.

Loved the ability to pour our own beers, and did that often. Alchemy Bar was a cruise highlight, and we tried many different concoctions from the menu. Cornelius was our bartender, and really sold us on our first visit, as he took the time to explain the uniqueness of each available option. We had a few sweet mixed drinks here and there at the other bars, and liked them all. When we spent time on the Serenity Deck, we ordered a bucket of Coronas, which came in a plastic bottle with a funnel top, and certainly made for quick drinking. We stopped at the Library Bar a few times, and had our own pours of various wines. Liked them all, and made sure to take a card home with us with the names of the wines printed. In the main showroom, we tried some of the unique mixed drinks there, and liked them as well. Service was consistent throughout, although Cornelius was definitely top notch.

LAYOUT

As I mentioned earlier, this was our first experience with the new structure of the ships. I didn't mind it at all, but my girlfriend prefers the open layout the older ships provide. It took us a day or so to get used to things, but had no trouble moving around the ship.

As always, it wasn't easy getting a spot in the pool area on either the Serenity Deck or the main floor. Other areas had ample available space, however. We loved loved loved the pool on the Serenity Deck with the cascading waterfall, and spent a lot of time there.

SHOWS/ENTERTAINMENT

We made sure to attend the majority of the shows. We do enjoy comedy, but didn't want to wait in line to get into any of them, so skipped. All four main productions were entertaining, and I was even pulled up onto the stage, and had a chance to be the Indian in the YMCA dance at the early production of the stage show with the new dancers, the tribute to Studio 54. Gronway Thom, who was brought in for the Bloggers, was absolutely incredible, and hilarious in an irreverent way. The mentalist/magician (sorry can't remember his name) did a great job, and provided a nice show as well. We did like the two guitar players (Andy/I Can't remember other persons name), as well as the main band that played throughout, but would have liked to see more of a variety nightly. We stopped by the Piano Bar twice, but didn't stay long, as it was packed and hot. Compliments to the piano player, as he brought it each night, and brought the fans....Our cruise director, Butch, was great. Didn't have much interaction with him, as he wasn't as "out there" as most cruise directors. Probably has something to do with the number of responsibilities he shoulders in addition to being a Cruise Director.

BLOGGERS EXPERIENCE

Overall, the Bloggers events were great. We met a lot of nice people from all over the world who share the same passion for cruising as we do. That was a major plus. My girlfriend actually had the highest score out of the many rounds of the Slot Tournament, but that only got her to the main event. She didn't win at the end (This was a special slot tournament for a free 7 day cruise just for the Bloggers). The only observation was this: 95% of the Bloggers were great people, but there were a small percentage that were very important, if you get my drift. They walked around like they owned the ship, and our tablemates even witnessed a fight between two of them (!). I enjoy interacting with others who share my likes, and most did, but a few of them either ignored you, or walked away!! It made me chuckle. But like I said, 95% were fantastic. John was entertaining as expected, and Calvyn was great as well, and a favorite of my girlfriend.

PORTS OF CALL

For Honduras, we did Victor Bodden's Fun n' Sun excursion. Great experience, and we had a fun time with the Monkeys, and the Bananarama Resort. Would consider it again. Great value for the money.

For Belize, we booked the Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef tour. The island was beautiful, and we snorkeled at our own pace, as my girlfriend has never taken part in that activity before. Enjoyable, relaxing, etc. etc.

For Cozumel, we headed to Nachi Cocum, and met a nice couple from British Columbia to share the taxi ride. Always a wonderful experience, and it was packed compared to what we were used to. But, it never seemed crowded.

DEBARKATION

This was a little different experience for us. Smooth process, and we were off the ship by 8:30 a.m. But for the first time, due to crazy Sunday airfare prices, we stayed an extra day, this time at the Harrah's Casino Hotel. Room was phenomenal, service was top notch. We spent some time in the morning at the casino, and walked around the French Quarter in the early afternoon, even catching a parade before the heavy rain brought us inside. Dinner that evening was at Gordon Biersch Brew Restaurant near the hotel. Drinks were great, food not so much. Her steak was undercooked, and my fish was way overcooked. Even though we used our Casino Comps to pay for the meal, we would look into other options on our next trip.

TRIP HOME

Well, our cab broke down on the way to the airport. Ha!! Then, we were seated with three kids under the age of 6, with a father who was not very good at parenting. Our flight was very early, and we tried to sleep as much as possible, but the kids kept waking us up. Definitely drew the short straw on that one. The stewardesses even apologized to us as we left the plane!!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Carnival to us is the best value for your money. This was an elevated experience in our minds, due to the new options, as well as being part of the Bloggers Cruise. Would definitely cruise Carnival again, and may take part in the Bloggers Cruise in a few years, only because our work scheduled make an early year vacation very difficult.

Phew. That's it. I hope you all find the review enjoyable, and informative. Any questions, please ask.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write a thorough, informative, and entertaining review. We are off to the Sunshine in February, and the Breeze is next on our list.

Fantastic review. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. We leave at the end of September on the Freedom, and are looking forward to it!!!!