ZoeyVictoria

I am not vegan, but tried several things on the vegan menu. The corn fritters were very good on the Independence but had a weird seasoning on the Explorer. The tomato soup seemed to be the regular tomato soup, but was available on a night when it was not on the regular menu. The grilled avocado was the best thing I ate during the entire week. The peanut butter Rice Krispie dessert was not great, think Rice Krispies mixed into generic peanut butter. I had a couple of other things, apparently they were good but forgettable. I am tired of the repetition in the MDR and the vegan menu was a nice change.

My sister-in-law was booked on a cruise with us that was canceled, so she has never sailed on Carnival. She is still getting those almost-free offers, two years later.

I have arrived early at Chops twice on embarkation day and been seated immediately. A 12:30 reservation made us the first guests at that table and they were happy to get a head start. But the third time we arrived early, there was only one server on duty and although we were seated, service was not what it should have been.

The server on Coco Cay thought Diamond drinks were excluded last summer, at the very beginning of the restart. He checked with his supervisor and came back to thank me for making him aware that they are now covered. But this is a full year later, and I think all servers should know about the new policy by now.

We were at Labadee last week and purchased drinks. The server (at our loungers on the beach, not at a bar) told us that Diamond drinks were not available on Labadee. When he returned with the drinks, he told me again that they weren’t included and he had to swipe my card. We let it go, intending to keep an eye on our account and go to GS if necessary. Nothing appeared on our account, neither a charge nor the “$.00” that usually appears for Diamond drinks.

I received that email three days prior to embarkation day, late in the evening. I received one rejection email per bid at 5:12 p.m. on embarkation day.

And refusing to make eye contact when someone in a wheelchair rolls up, pretending not to notice. Not just on cruises, I saw it at an ice skating show at Busch Gardens recently.

Refunds for excursions and other cruise planner items will be made more quickly than refunds for cruise fares and port fees/taxes.

A group of very rude people had a boombox blasting in the water at Labadee last week. Then the next day, a different person walked through the solarium with his blasting, all the way into the Windjammer where my SO was having lunch, so he could also enjoy it 🙄

She would probably appreciate having it happen on formal night, when she is dressed up.

The wristlets I use on ships are small, so I bought a box of bendable plastic straws that I could cram into the bags. We used them for a few months, but were really pleased to see the new biodegradable version.

We provided the negative test results on the Explorer last weekend, but they were not looked at. Nor the vaccination cards.

We have been in 2462 and loved it. It is a huge and uniquely designed cabin, wrapped around the crew stairwell. It has two full windows, with a small table and chairs along the wall between the windows. There was no noise from the crew stairwell, but there is some noise and vibration, mainly when arriving/leaving ports, a time when we are up anyway. I cannot answer your question about motion since we do not get seasick and are actually disappointed when there is no motion on a ship - we enjoy it. 2465 is the mirror image of 2462. 2470 and 2473 appear to be even larger; we have one of them booked for a November cruise on the Conquest because we enjoyed 2462 so much. We book odd or unusual cabins whenever possible.

@br76jook, Thank you for the fair and honest review. It is helpful to know where others may have had issues and possibly adjust our expectations. You mentioned the Getaway Island show, do you remember what other shows were available? And did you spend any time in Serenity?

I doubt that the person who took the voucher is the same person who turned in the purse. My guess is the voucher was removed and the purse abandoned, then found and turned in by another individual.

Yes, able to bid but did not win.

We were on the cruise where he hit 5,000 points. There was a huge celebration that included a brass band as he walked into the centrum. It was fascinating to observe, really over the top. We will be boarding the Explorer this Sunday, so we just barely missed seeing his 10,000 point celebration. That would have been a strange but fun coincidence.

Imitation crabmeat does not agree with me. I have always asked, but on more than one occasion I have been told it was not imitation and was sick an hour later.

That is true. We have been sitting close to others in the theater, in the MDR, and at bars and heard their mention of “Diamond drink” as they ordered, right before they did not tip.

I also see servers acting very pleased to see a cash tip. I have been under the impression that while tips on receipts are pooled, cash tips stay with the server. And I have noticed numerous people failing to tip.

It wouldn’t hurt to take tuna pouches as backup.

We are on the Explorer this Sunday, the 14th, and have the same three questions. We answered them and are showing completely checked in.

Which port are you sailing from on December 8? There is a 2-nighter on the Freedom out of Miami on December 5. Starts at $450 total for two in an inside guarantee, then one night in a hotel before your already booked cruise. Sounds like fun! Oops, just realized you said 8-night in December, not December 8!

Between the weather and the ship sometimes returning to a different terminal, this sounds like a good time of year for Park ‘n Cruise. Our favorite shuttle driver, Penny, now works for a different company. We are going to try Port Canaveral Parking on Courtney Parkway in October (8-night cruise), to see if Penny is right and to take advantage of their first-timer 30% discount.

Since November 2015, I have received $1,655 in statement credits from cruise purchases. I did not receive any of the previous batch that were reported, and none this time. I have 182 offers added to my card. I wonder if they are excluding people who have used too many offers and, in my case, don’t use the card for anything else? My SO has received $625 since May 2018, uses his card frequently, and did not receive the latest two batches of offers. There are 175 offers added to his card. We have completely separate, unrelated accounts.