csm5986142

Thanks Greg - sorry, I did screw that up. I also wanted to thank you for your awesome information on New Orleans. Our hotel staff tried to tell us not to walk to the port, but I pulled up your instructions (posted several months ago) and it was super easy.

We just flew home from there yesterday. We had a 10:20 am flight and had plenty of time to spare. Looking at our Lyft receipt, we were off the ship and in the car by 7:25 and at MSY by 7:54. We did use priority debarkation (carried off our luggage).

I have had this happen also. From my online account, I was able to print out (PDF) some screen shots and they accepted that.

I agree - we have been on Mardi Gras at 50% capacity and have been on it at spring break when we were over capacity and it was fine both times. The first time, there were not many passengers, but because of that several venues were hardly open (some of the bars had really limited hours, if they were open at all). At least 50% of the buffet was shut down. The didn't use half of the dining room. At full capacity all of these were open and it was fine. I also worried about embarkation/debarkation with so many people but it was fine. We enjoyed Mardi Gras so much that we are booked for Celebration in January and Jubilee Dec. 2023.

Yes, I think so. I agree every place is different, but for what it is worth, I have 4 kids and none of them ever had a spring break that late in April. The younger kids always had the first full week of April off. We have found that to be an extremely common spring break while at WDW or on cruises. Our college age kid has spring break in early March.

Yes, that is the best part! My favorite was an amazing Coconut Pineapple Vinaigrette, but they also had Balsamic Sherry Vinaigrette, Moroccan Vinaigrette, Caesar, Ranch, and Blue Cheese. Unfortunately if it gets too windy, they close the serenity deck and Fresh Creations, so don't put off going (it might not be available later). We were cruising during Hurricane Kay and it was closed for several days.

I do this also! I didn't mention it because people look at me like I'm crazy on the ship! But I agree, that is one thing I will miss (unless I sleep in until 11 so I can get my coffee with a dab of ice cream in it.). 😄

I believe it was deck 4 near the casino.

For embarkation lunch, go up the stairs near the rear buffet, to the Asian or Italian restaurant (there is an upcharge for dinner, but both are free for lunch). When we were on Panorama a couple months ago, the buffet was crazy busy during embarkation and people could hardly find a free table. We went upstairs to the Asian restaurant (it's called JiJis at night but something like the Asian Wok during the day). It was very quiet with just a few other couples in the entire restaurant. Service was amazingly quick and the food was really good. By later in the week people had figured it out and lines were long and service was slower. My other favorite thing about Panorama is Fresh Creations on the serenity deck (made to order salads where you select the ingredients and they put it together for you). Really good salad with different options than their typical salad bar. We grabbed a salad and brought it down to a lower deck and we had like 8 people ask us where to get it.

I am actually happy to see this (Carnival trying to minimize food waste). With inflation at a 40-year high businesses can't keep going on with business as usual. They either have to try to contain costs or raise prices. I guess Carnival is doing a little of both, but it's understandable. Add me to the list of people who really hate to see all the food wasted on ships (it's bothered me for years). I know... I know ... it's not "wasted", it's fed to the fish. Well, if Carnival has to keep paying top dollar to feed the fish, they are going to pass that price on to their customers (they have no choice).

I love the lido interior cabins on that class of ship. In my experience it's a very quiet location (if you aren't too close to the door that leads out to the deck). it's also a convenient location - we hardly had to take the elevators, but if we did, it's a large bank (atrium elevators) servicing that forward section of the ship.

The most recent was 43.55 before tip, and it took us 27 minutes to get there.

I think that would be fine. We have been on Radiance twice in the last year. Looking at my Uber receipts, we were off the ship and in the Uber between 8:00 - 8:15 am both times. We are also Platinum and do priority/self debarkation.

Long Beach is set up that way also.

We have been on 8 cruises in the past year (10 since they started this new process) and in our case it totally depended on the port, except for guests in suites, they had priority in every single port. In every port (except for San Francisco) we boarded by boarding group and it was very quick and organized. San Francisco was a total mess (boarding was late, then they called for any guests in suites/diamond/platinum, all at once, which resulted in a huge crowd rushing toward the boarding area). To further add to the priority/no priority confusion, some ports have lines designated for Suite Passengers/Platinum/Diamond for expedited check-in, but even if you get through the check-in line quickly, you still have to wait for your boarding group to be called.

I was just curious what Carnival told you when you called? But it sounds like maybe you have determined (through screen shots and advice here) that it's a balcony guarantee, not Havana area? If you have time to come back up update us after your cabin is assigned, I'd love to know how it turns out. Living on the west coast we sail out of Long Beach frequently but I've never tried a guaranteed cabin.

I thought the same thing. Hopefully OP will come back and let us know how it turned out.

Yes, take a copy of your request (including proof of ownership) to guest services and they can apply it onboard.

I called Carnival when I had something similar happen, and in my case, was told it was a balcony guarantee (not HC). I know their agents can be hit or miss in helpfulness lately, but you might give it a try.

Wow, I'm jealous, what a deal. We are booked on Celebration in January, but the price for the Havana Cabana was significantly more than an extended balcony cabin, so we booked the ext. balcony.

You might want to at least give it a try - It all depends on what you are looking for. I know I'm really in the minority here, but I liked the Havana area on Mardi Gras better than Panorama (on Panorama it was too crowded for me). But I will admit I typically sail when the ships are really full. I don't do the pools/hot tubs, so I'm happy to just be guaranteed to find a quiet lounge chair without a lot of noise or people around (and Mardi Gras was perfect for that, super quiet and relaxing). No chair hogs/savers at all. Although the pool is not large, it's certainly big enough to get in a cool off, and at least on our cruise, it was so rarely used, 1 couple (or 1 family) usually had it all to themselves. I would book the Havana area on the Excel class ships every time if there weren't such a significant upcharge for it. Coincidentally it was also April when we were in our Havana Cabana on Mardi Gras and because of spring break, we over capacity with a ton of kids. But you never would have known in the Havana area.

Agree, great advice - be sure to keep an eye on your credit card (or whatever form of payment you used) even after your final paper statement is issued on the ship, as I've heard of people getting charged for laundry and beach towels days later. It's easy for me to keep on top of charges in the app while on the ship, but I always forget after I board the plane to go home. Out of sight our of mind I guess.

Thank you so much for posting this - it reminded to go back and see if any bungalows had come available and I just rented one. To answer your question, I'm a minimalist so I don't buy "stuff" but I do buy excursions. Train rides are my favorite - we have done the Panama Canal one and the scenic White Pass train in Alaska (my favorite). But I do have a family member who has purchased everything from jewelry/watches/liquor to several pieces of artwork.

The best way to know if this is good deal/offer based on your booking, is if you know how much you would have paid for a balcony cabin at the time you booked (versus the interior). I just did a mock booking on Mardi Gras for March 4th. I can book a balcony (double occupancy) for $350 per person more than an interior. Granted this example doesn't take into consideration the deck and location of the rooms, etc, but you get the idea. So assuming your upgraded rate is a total of $350 for 2 people, it sounds like it could possibly be about 50% less than you could have booked it for originally (depending on when you booked of course). In general for me it would not be worth it, but much of it is personal preference. We've been on Mardi Gras twice (balcony cabins both time) and there is so much to do on that ship, we spent very little time in the room. Also we recently sailed the Mexican Riviera during hurricane Kay and while many of the people with balcony cabins said the high winds caused their cabins to be noisy all night (for multiple nights), it was perfectly quiet in our interior cabin. Of course that was a different ship/different time of year, but food for thought. 🙂

Thank you for the suggestion (I will do this too). We are on Spirit for 16 days next fall, and I'm ridiculously traumatized by bugs (have always lived in a climate where we just don't have to deal with them very much).