Starlight Durban Cruising

Can you tell me if the photos are working? This is the first time I've ever tried writing a review or uploading photos to CruiseCritic...

Yes they are - and they look good.

(I love Barcelona - and cruising - so post plenty :) ).

I had one of these cabins on Carnival Triumph in January 2011. We rarely saw anyone out on the forward deck except during sail away. Yes, people can see into your room in the evenings if you leave your cabin lights on, but this can be solved by closing your blinds in the evening, since you can't see anything at night anyway.

 

During the daytime, the one-way mirror type tinting on the windows prevents anyone from seeing into your room unless they press their faces directly against the glass.

I had one on the Splendor this month, and every time I came back to the cabin (day or night) the cabin attendant would have closed not only the sheers, but also the curtains. Did not bother me, I would just open the curtains during the day so that some light came in.

At night they need the curtains closed because the bridge needs total darkness for them to see out front. I have read that if you open the curtains at night and you leave the light on to the extent that it is interfering with visibility, then the bridge will send someone down to sort out the problem...

...And of course, when you do get your soda, the glass is so full of ice that there's barely a cup of liquid in the glass. I think RCI has a good idea there.

Yeah that amount of ice in each glass also irritated me with Carnival on recent cruises, but I would drink the glass dry right there at the bar, and have them refill immediately.

My picture reminded me of one other thing that I have to have a minor rant about. I have now been on three different ships that are equipped with the Seaside Theater for a total of four different cruises, and every single time there have been burnt out/non-functioning squares on the screen. It was not too bad on the Dream, just two small square areas (the blue areas seen above), but on the Victory and Triumph, it was really bad, with large areas either burnt out or flickering. I understand the weather can be hard on technology, but each square on these giant jumbotron-type screens is designed to be swapped out individually if/when they fail, and I don't understand why Carnival can't keep these things working.

 

If you are going to make the investment in such a large amenity, and one that is a centerpiece and focal point 24 hours a day in one of the most populated area of the ship, why can't you spend the money to maintain it. I know Carnival has electricians and lighting technicians onboard each ship, so why can't they stock a few extra parts and maintain the Seaside Theater screens on a more regular basis. I can understand if it just burnt out, but having screens with bad spots on four of four cruises that were equipped with the screens spells out poor/infrequent maintenance or repair to me.

I agree with you - I was on the Splendor last week and we had a flickering block the size of the basket in your picture. It would have not been that bad if it just flickered to black, but there would be this flash of white light as it flickered back and forth. Blinding to say the least.

(Good review, thanks).

I am a widow and don't "prefer to be alone". All my friends are fortunate enough to have a spouse or partner. Some are not interested in travelling, others suffer from sea sickness and prefer land holidays.

This should answer part of your question. I do cruise with son and family out of Australia.

I agree with the above. When my parents visit and I cruise with them then it tends to be that we spend most of the time together as a family. I only see them every other year so it is nice to spend time together when we can. Ok we do try to get a balcony cabin so that when someone gets on someone else's nerves :eek: then they can be sent to timeout on the balcony ... LOL.

When they are not here then I cruise single if I cannot get anyone else to tag along. But I must say that my April (single person) cruise was such a blast with the number of people that I met and chatted to onboard that I really did not miss having a second person in the cabin. OK it did help that we had a dynamic M&G and one of the groups in the M&G offered for me to join their dinner group. That was a really fun time.

There was a picture on the web that I saw this last week (from the Last Salute site) that showed the hole in the hull where the rock used to be. In the same picture above it are multiple square plates on the exterior of the hull which I think was probably a few decks up, so that looks to me like OV cabin windows that have been welded/plated shut. Perhaps they will do the same process with the hole where the rock was removed.

Meanwhile there appears to be a body of opinion in Italy that the stress on the starboard side that will happen when the parbuckle begins will be too great and the starboard side will collapse.

The Oceanos which sank off South Africa in the early 90's is laying fully on her side, and they do say that eventually the ship will "pancake" as ships are not made to lie on their sides. 20 years have passed and she has not fully collapsed yet as per the most recent dive reports. The bridge has collapsed but the rest of this old ship is still sitting there in about 100m of water.There are also Youtube videos of it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1157165

Another option - Spirit 4115 (between lifeboats).

My photos are here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1647296

I had cabin 4115 on a recent cruise to Hawaii on Spirit, and we kept our door open almost every night. We had a perfect view BETWEEN life boats. It was a great room to have!!!!

I had this one too. Totally loved it. The view was sufficient for me. I think 4114 on the opposite side is the same.

Thanks everyone.

it was Empress deck for us on the Inspiration for us.. E7..

Can anyone tell me if this cabin (E7 on Inspiration) can sleep a third person - either in a bunk or on a sofa-bed?

As with all things security-related you can't take your own wine-opener (corkscrew) onboard anymore.

Last year we took our (allowed) carry-on bottles of wine when we boarded the Carnival Splendor. Once onboard we realized we needed a corkscrew, so we called room service for them to lend us one, and a short while later they delivered a nice Carnival corkscrew for us to keep. Still comes in handy.