nyonefivetwo

22 minutes ago, JohnAlleb77 said:

Next days, and over the weekend, the temperatures are high for early may. 

 

You can check the weather forecast for each port here : https://www.yr.no/en

Thank you! I totally get that – but still fairly chilly, while some of the days in Germany later on are pretty warm. Should be a temperature swing adventure! 

42 minutes ago, BuckeyeMark said:

I'm going to follow this. I see people who say, "I went to Europe for an 11-month odyssey and brought everything I needed in a manila envelope." Really?!  How am I supposed to pack for cold weather, formal nights, layers in case it's warm, rainy weather, and more in a carry-on suitcase? 

AMEN!!! 😆

Hi everyone!

I'm a solo, male traveler leaving for Amsterdam tomorrow to board a Norwegian Fjords cruise on Celebrity this weekend. And, I could use your advice! The cruise is 8 days, visiting 5 ports, but I'll also be spending 3 days in Amsterdam before and a week in Germany afterward.

Given that, I'm trying to pack for all the things I might encounter – cold weather, warm weather, rain, sun, formal nights, etc. Right now, my pingpong table is FULL of clothes for all the things, and I need help narrowing things down. I plan on doing laundry, so I don't need to pack for all 21 days, but what things would you pack (and how many) clothing-wise noting this itinerary? What should I leave out? At this rate I think I could fill 17 suitcases (okay maybe 3), and I definitely don't want that 🤣

So excited to follow along! I'll be boarding for Norway as you're disembarking in Amsterdam. Have a safe, fun voyage!!

I saw that Royal Caribbean recently updated their gift card policy to allow you to use them on-board as OBC. At the same time, they announced that you could use Royal Caribbean gift cards on Celebrity. Does anyone know if the same policy exists now on X? Or is it still just toward the cost of the booking?

Likely not – your actual tier credits aren't added up until a couple weeks after the cruise. I would have "tiered up" early on my last one, but I wasn't recognized as the next tier until the next cruise 😞 

Ship: Ascent

Length of Cruise: 7 Nights

Cruise Sail Date: 1/14/2024

Date email offer received: 9/5/2023

Captain’s Club Tier: Classic

Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Blue Chip Club Comp Cruise

Current Cabin: Veranda

Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

Cabin Category: Sky Suite

Bid Offer: $765

Notification Date: 12/13/2023

Accepted / Rejected: Accepted

On 11/26/2023 at 6:47 PM, notscb said:

Just an update for y'all:

My cruise on the panorama got cancelled so we decided to just go to PV and take the week there. I'm very excited and appreciate all of your positive suggestions 🙂

I hope you have a blast! On my last Panorama cruise, I spent some time at the Mantamar resort – the "home" to Pride and Bear Week in PV. I recommend checking it out! Nice beach chairs, strong drinks, and they definitely cater to the audience with the attractive bar staff and massage therapists (on the up-and-up...employed by the resort). Enjoy!!!

I'll be on-board, too! Traveling solo this cruise, so I may be looking for people to talk to 🙂 Here's to a great trip!

I'm a big fan of Captain Tony's! It's just past Cabo Adventures by the natural history museum. They have a wood fire grill that makes some killer carne asada (or my personal favorite grilled, cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped shrimp). The prices at the restaurants at the marina are slightly higher than those in the city, but it's still affordable. And they have great service and a roving band!

36 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Whale Watch Cabo was one of the most awe inspiring excursions I’ve ever experienced!  I had no idea how humbled I’d feel as a guest in the habitat of such massively beautiful animals. Our marine biologist guide and boat captain worked in tandem to provide  us with some up close and personal views of the whales. There were 4 adults and a baby and boy did they put on a show!  
 

Worth noting if you are looking for a whale watching excursion, there are a few different kind of boats. Some are coved with a canopy and others are completely open. Ours was covered and only had 8 passengers. Our guide took pictures with a professional camera and they are included in the ticket price. 

WOW! These images are stunning!! We went whale watching in Cabo in December, and we saw one whale breach, but nothing as majestic as this! Great excursion choice!!

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

The Itinerary

I’m much more excited to walk around and fall into a local joint for tacos and a margarita!

 

I highly recommend Captain Tony's in Cabo. It's right at the marina, and it's delicious! The grilled, bacon-wrapped shrimp are my fav, but anything you get is good. And the tacos and margaritas are quite affordable!

And you'll have no problem finding a boat to the arch. If you have time, I recommend having one drop you off at Lover's Beach for an hour and hanging out a bit. You can see both the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez from the beach, and it's a beautiful, sandy spot to wander, people watch, and take pictures.

Following! I hope you have an amazing trip – I'll be sailing this itinerary in April!

Well...I reinstalled, and at least the test requirement was removed. Still no questionnaire, though...perhaps at the port?

FYI - I just got this response from customer service:

"In order to get the new requirements please make sure you update the app, or eventually reinstall the app.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Trying it now...if it doesn't work I'll let you know!

I'm having the same issue today! At first the questionnaire was there, but I couldn't select answers...now the questionnaire is gone, and it's saying that I have more steps to complete. My vaccination proof was accepted, but it's asking for a test (which it shouldn't be...). I'm stressed!! Following to see if anyone else has info...

Pretty much, yep!

FunPlay Credits can be used in the casino - either as free play in the slot machines or special FunPlay chips at table games. They're non-refundable, so be sure to use all $1000 before the end of the cruise!

7 hours ago, pinto18 said:

We will be on the ship with you so looking forward to your review!

We're going to have a blast! 🙂 

2 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

My DH and I will be "taste testing" the Carnival Panorama next October for our 44th anniversary.

 

We have done 1 Disney cruise and 9 Princess cruises.

 

We are trying out a lot of different main cruise lines and Carnival is first up to bat in October.

 

I know absolutely very little about Carnival ~ so this will be like a newbie all over again 🙂

 

Following...

I hope you love it! Princess and Disney are next on my to-do list, alongside Virgin and Celebrity. 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

The only potential issues I see is you have the steakhouse on lobster night and no JiJis at all. 

I did notice that...I'm not the biggest lobster fan, so looking forward to the Steakhouse more than the MDR that night 🙂 Also – I really want to try JiJis! I may go myself one of the nights. I've loved your reviews! Hope to do them justice.

Let's give this another go.

Hello Cruise Critic! I'm cruising in T-minus 3 Days, 6 hours, and 30-ish minutes on Carnival Panorama, and I can't wait! I attempted a live-ish update in December on a short cruise with my mom to Cabo San Lucas on Carnival Miracle, but we had a death in the family part-way through. Needless to say, that threw off my groove completely, and I gave up on the thread. Soooo let's try this again.

The Background Info

A couple weeks after returning from my December 2021 cruise, Carnival's My Offers page sprang to life with some deals I could not refuse. I leapt on the $20 balcony deal and cruised on Carnival Radiance in February. Shortly after I booked that, I received another offer for a deeply discounted cruise with $250 in Fun Play and free drinks in the casino (basically a free-ish cruise if you count the money-back in Fun Play (which I do...because I plan on turning that into a jackpot...or so I keep telling myself). I recently graduated with a master's degree, and my mom recently retired after 37 years in education (bless her soul) – so we decided to book this itinerary for a big celebration! And by big, I mean we invited Dad this time.

I booked a deluxe ocean view (6M) stateroom on deck one for myself, and we booked my parents into a cove balcony (7C) on Deck 2. Close enough to meet up for dinner – far enough away that we can escape from each other when we need to. 😅 This is Dad's first time on Carnival (his second cruise overall after a family trip aboard Freedom of the Seas a few years ago) and Mom's second time on Carnival. I'll reach the not-all-that-coveted VIPF Gold status this cruise, having previously experienced Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Breeze, Carnival Miracle, and Carnival Radiance. Bring on that "free drink on the final evening!" Who out there can recommend a good celebratory drink on Carnival? (I've heard the spiked milkshakes are divine...)

The Itinerary

I loved Cabo San Lucas in December and can't wait to return, and I'm so excited to visit Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. Also, I'm pretty stoked to check out Carnival Panorama. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on Carnival Breeze a few years ago, so I think her big sister Panorama will show us a great time. We're flying into Long Beach the day before the cruise (any advice on showing my parents a good time?), and we have an arrival window of 11:30 on Saturday. We've reserved one night at the steakhouse, one night at Cucina del Capitano, a Carnival Kitchen pie-making class, and the "Rhythm of the Night" excursion in Puerto Vallarta that everyone raves about. Apart from that, we're going to play it by ear and enjoy the much anticipated rest, relaxation, and Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake. Here's what we're looking at itinerary-wise:

• Day 0 – Fly to Long Beach, CA (70° and Sunny)
• Day 1 – Board at Long Beach, CA (70° and Sunny)
• Day 2 – Fun Day at Sea + Fahrenheit 555° Steakhouse
• Day 3 – Fun Day at Sea
• Day 4 – Puerto Vallarta (91° and Partly Cloudy) + Rhythm of the Night
• Day 5 – Mazatlán (84° and Mostly Sunny) 
• Day 6 – Cabo San Lucas (89° and Some Sun) + Cucina del Capitano
• Day 7 – Fun Day at Sea + Carnival Kitchen Pie-making Class
• Day 8 – We don't talk about debarkation day (Coming home with a high likelihood of post-trip blues)

The Build-Up

Have I told you yet just how excited I am? It has only been two months since I last cruised, but it feels like I'm more ready to escape for a while now than I was in February. I've finished all my pre-cruise shopping, but I haven't even thought about starting to pack. We'll do our COVID-19 tests tonight or tomorrow, get all VeriFly'ed for the trip, and get the heck out of dodge on Friday!

The Equipment

I brought my Sony A7III camera and lenses with me on the last cruise, and I used the camera a whopping two times (who wants to cart that around all day when you're supposed to be relaxing?!). This time, I'm bringing my graduation present along: a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII. It's much more manageable, and – therefore – much more likely to make it out and about with me. 

Other than that, I'm bringing my phone (gotta love that Carnival Hub app), my Kindle (currently reading the Hell's Super series – which I recommend for everyone who loves some raunchy humor and an easy read), and some sunscreen (low on the SPF so I can work on that summer "not blinding white" look).

Let's do this thing!

I'll check-in with y'all soon!

This just might be my favorite thread ever! Love the pics - thanks for sharing!

I don't have the hand out, but I can confirm Melanie's note above. I would do your best to get back to your cabin by 8:30 – that's when the "vacate" time is on Radiance.

On 3/27/2022 at 3:03 PM, PhotoMike said:

We had 2 production shows on this cruise (impressive for a 4 nighter), and they were Rock Revolution and Soulbound. Guys...don't miss EITHER of these shows. They were terrific! We sat on the floor for both, and really felt immersed into the productions. Definitely a talented group of entertainers on the Radiance right now. Ryan Rose was great, we tried to hit up as many of his events as possible (the various themed deck parties), and they were all well-attended & very fun.

THIS! Oh my goodness. I was on Radiance just before you, and the productions cast was one of the best I've ever seen. And Ryan Rose was quite possibly the best cruise director I've ever had!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

23 hours ago, sthrnbll said:

So I bit the bullet and booked a cruise as a solo cruiser. Please tell me I did the right thing? My husband doesn't care for cruising. He would go if I asked but he won't be any fun. I just hope I'm not lonely but I am excited to do what I want.

GOOD FOR YOU!! I just experienced my first solo cruise in February, and I loved every minute of it. At any given time, I was able to do exactly what I wanted. Plus, people on Carnival are always so willing to chat with strangers, so I never felt lonely. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!