Equest

I think this is one of the reasons that they are going after the first time cruisers. They buy photos, gifts and such a lot more then after a few cruises. I know we spend less and less on the ship as we have done more cruises. They still make money on us as we do partake in the drinks and casino, but buy very little elase on board. Will dine in the steak house one night on each cruise.

Bingo!

use.

 

 

I believe cabins have only one outlet for a reason. Bringing power strips and loading them up with the entire family's toys and having a few hundred cabins doing this seems to just be begging to start an electrical fire.

 

Don't know about anyone else, but that thought scares the crap out of me! There's a REASON that cabins have only one outlet!

 

Sorry for the mini-rant. Just a suggestion to people that if you feel you must have extra outlets, please bring something that is a surge protector and not just a power strip. And know that you may not be able to board with it.

 

Oh, and my little surge protector did not work on Fantasy because of the location of the plug (couldn't plug it in). There are some that have a swivel that should work on that class ship.

Your words of caution should be on every thread dealing with this topic.

I just renewed my passport and there is an option to use your full middle name on the online application. My middle name is printed on mine.

Shorts and jeans are the norm with some wearing dresses. On my last cruise the club was packed for 3-4 nights until a fight broke out, then it was dead.

In December I showed up at 12:30 and boarded at 2:30, did not have priority boarding and the lines are crazy long. Security shook every bottle of water and examined seals on every bottle of soda, I was amazed at the amount of booze they confiscated. Looking back I should have bought FTTF.

People can wear what they want, but I harken to a day when people wore a jacket and tie to a nice restaurant.

 

I have never once said a word to a person on board about being under dressed in the dining room, but they like to point out often how dressed up I am and it is always someone in a t-shirt or shorts. Seems to me that your choice of dress in the dining room should go both ways, but people appear to be threatened by a suit and tie these days.

 

I can only assume they feel under dressed, but wear what you like and leave me to mine. They often the next night are dressed nicer and maybe they feel I pushed them there by my dress.

I have also had people comment about me being dressed up for wearing dress shirt, wool slacks and leather shoes.

If you're going to be sitting "at the bar", you should be participating in the process by drinking and singing and possibly requesting songs and if warranted, tipping the piano bar player.

 

What you're not supposed to do is ignore the piano bar player and engage in loud conversation during a song. The more that the audience participates in the process, the better the show is. Some of the players are really good at engaging the audience and this results in an evening of great entertainment. Because of this they have a large, loyal following, like Ron Pass and on our Breeze cruise with him seats at the bar were hard to come by and he put on a whale of a show.

Well said! Audience participation is key, a group of fun loving piano bar junkies can make the experience awesome. In reality most piano bar talent is average, participants make or break the piano bar experience for a cruise. Laugh, smile, sing, have a good time and encourage others to do the same.

In a way, both. Carnival is hiring less talented piano singers and the passenger attendance to the venue is waaay down. So, it is not so much that the piano bar used to be frequented by a livelier bunch, it's just that a "bunch" of only 6 or 7 people is not very lively.:(

I recently experienced the piano bar for the first time since smoking ban and I believe there are several reasons for the decline. The piano bar was one of the few places smokers could hang out, I noticed more smokers hanging out on the Lido and casino bar this time. The 12 people who regularly hung out at the piano bar appeared not to drink much and they did not know piano bar customs. How I feel about Lucille leaving can come as shock to the uninitiated especially when only one person voices it. The talent made a comment about having more activity this cruise than the rest of his tour combined, I took it to mean 11 people learning why Hank drinks and how good times never seemed so good, so good, so good is not the norm.

I couldn't agree more!

 

We used to close down the piano bar every night but not anymore. We miss it a lot since it was our favorite nighttime venue.

 

Last year on the Freedom the piano singer was Martin Aucoin. We tried to give him a chance, but he couldn't sing. I have never heard someone who was actually being paid to sing sound so off key. After my sister and my friend left me at the piano bar, there were only 3 other patrons left besides me, and then I soon left.

 

As much as I hate cigarette smoke, I think maybe they should make the piano bar a smoking venue again. When people could smoke in there, it was always hopping--you could barely find a seat. Maybe if the bar generated more revenue they could pay for the better singers.

 

This past year we've taken a break from Carnival but are considering the Breeze for next year. I'm hoping the piano bar improves by then.

Has the talent changed much or did a livelier bunch frequent the piano bar when smoking was allowed?

If man overboard happens accidentally wouldn’t we hear more about people falling off a balcony and hitting the deck below? My vote is most man overboard are suicide and murder. It is not politically correct to say, the most blatant Darwinism I see are people who have trouble walking on dry land taking a cruise and then hanging out at the pool.

Not sure, but are you implying I'm not a gentleman if I choose to wear shorts in the MDR?:confused:

I am not implying anything, just pointing out one reason why some choose to exceed the minimum standard.

Gentleman: “a man whose conduct conforms to a high standard of propriety or correct behavior.” (Merriam-Webster)

Yes you can wear shorts in MDR accept elegant nights, many of use choose not to.

When I was in the military we took a trip to Thailand, while there our medical officer had to do water tests daily on tap water. For fun she also tested the toilet water and bottled water. The toilet culture was nasty yet the tap water tested better than bottled water. While you are testing water, test the ship’s tap and bottled water.

Anybody looked behind the cheesy wall art?

Women with the skill set required of a cruise director are likely in high demand for better jobs.

Word on the street, some people have ordered booze from room service at bon voyage prices and others have been denied. I have preordered but have not tried room service.