MisterOJ2

We were in Bimini last week. It was our first time there. We spent $100 to rent a golf cart, drove it around a bit, parked at Radio Beach and had a very nice, relaxing beach day. It was great. My youngest daughter said it was one of her top 3 favorite "excursions" we've ever done.

I was just at Breezes last week. We booked it through Resort For A Day. The facilities were nice, but we didn't care for the food or drinks very much. The weather was also kinda crappy when we were there, so that didn't help. If it was nicer, I'm sure we would have liked the beach there. But since it was overcast and rainy, we stayed mostly by the pool. It was fine, but I don't think I would book another trip there.

Hi! So, I was pretty much in the same boat as you until my most recent cruise, which was last week. Although, I'd been to Nassau once on my very first cruise back in 2009. We were brand new to cruising and really didn't do anything there, though. We just got off the ship, walked around the straw market and got back on board. Like you, the majority of our cruises were to the western Caribbean. We love Cozumel and Roatan and even Costa Maya (mostly just because of Maya Chan, but still). Anyway, when we were looking at Christmas cruises, we saw that the one leaving Mobile went to the Bahamas and booked it because it would be "new" for us. The short version is that we really wished we'd gone to the western Caribbean instead. We've done December cruises down there before, but just not over Christmas. Maybe it was just bad luck, but the Bahamas seemed much cooler than Mexico. It didn't help that the weather was overcast most of the time. We booked a day pass to a resort in Nassau and it was very underwhelming. Food and drinks weren't great. If the weather was nice, it might have helped save the day, but it was very "meh." The area around the port was nice, but we didn't really enjoy the straw market for shopping. Shopping for souvenirs and alcohol in port at all three stops was not as nice as in most other ports either. We did have a day of beautiful weather in Bimini - and had a great day there. We rented a golf cart and drove around the island (which is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be) and hung out at Radio Beach, which was really nice. The weather in Freeport was so bad that we just got off the ship to do a bit of shopping in the port, but again, it wasn't very nice and the stuff offered there just wasn't great. I don't know that I'd book another trip with that kind of itinerary again. Bimini was nice, but the other two ports just didn't do anything for us.

I just got off the Spirit on Sunday. We ordered melting cakes on three or four nights and they were the normal size. Although some of them came out in the normal round dishes and other times, they came out in similarly-sized square dishes.

I'm not going to do a full review or anything, but I do have a few observations after just completing my most recent cruise. It was my first time on a Spirit-class ship and I really think it's my favorite class I've been on. Even though it was a completely sold-out sailing, it didn't feel crowded at all. Most all the events we went to, we were able to get a seat without any problem - despite not showing up early. There was only one comedy show that we went to about 5-10 minutes before it started that was full and we weren't able to get a seat. The same thing with the elevators. I think there was only once when we really had to wait to get on one - and it wasn't a long wait at all. I really liked how different the ship felt. With all the "stuff" being on the lower decks and no galley breaking up the flow in the middle. Having the shops in just a hallway seemed a bit odd to me, but not in a bad way. They never seemed crowded either, but we didn't spend much time in them. I've always been a fan of the Mongolian Wok on ships that have it. But Chopsticks on the Spirit is so much better. There were plenty of good choices and there was never a long, slow line like there usually is for the Mongolian Wok. It was very popular too, so the food on it always seemed fresh since people were eating a lot of it and it was constantly being replenished. The steakhouse was good and one of the prettiest I've been in. I really liked it a lot. And since it was just above the promenade, you could hear the violin trio while dining and that was a nice bit of atmosphere. Speaking of music - this particular cruise had some of the best musical artists of any I've been on. There seemed like a lot more acts than usual too. There was two different duos, a four-person funk/r&b band that was really outstanding, and a solo guitarist/singer. And the violin trio. One of the duos was just so-so, but the other was pretty good and we really like the r&b band that spent most of their time in the Red Frog Pub. We went by there a lot just to sit and listen to them. There seemed to be a dearth of fresh berries on board. My wife's parfait for breakfast in the dining room didn't have them like it usually does and the bartenders in Alchemy didn't have any for drinks either - which struck me as odd. That said, the bartenders in Alchemy - and all over the ship really, were all really good. I really liked the new mdr menus. The beef wellington was great. And so were several of the new appetizers. We only got one "elegant night" menu on the next to last day. Our first elegant night was on Christmas day and featured a special menu. There was only one comedian on for the first several days of the cruise. I suppose they had trouble booking people to be there over Christmas. He wasn't great. We got to more for the last part of the trip - one was okay and we never made it to the show for the other. That said, I really liked the Versailles Lounge for comedy. The decor in there was nice and the layout really worked well for the Punchliner. It was my first time experiencing Christmas on the ship and it didn't disappoint. Like many, many others on board - we wore our matching Christmas pajamas around the ship for much of the day - even to brunch in the mdr. We were not out of place AT ALL. Everyone was jolly and having a good time. The special little Christmas touches were all great and helped make it a festive atmosphere. Soul Play was SUCH a nice touch. I'm not artsy or crafty at all, but my two teenage daughters are and they LOVED it. They went to two different painting sessions and two craft sessions and really enjoyed them a lot. I wish they would add this to every ship. One bad thing was the weather. We really only got one nice day that was sunny and warm. Luckily it was when we were in Bimini and we were able to grab a golf cart and ride up to Radio Beach. It was such a nice day. By far the best of the trip and my youngest said it was probably one of her top three port days ever. That's the main things that come to mind. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

Going on the Spirit next week out of Mobile to the Bahamas. I've always thought that ship time would remain the same as the embarkation port, but now I'm starting to second-guess myself. The time on my ship next week will be CST the entire time, right?

I know I have ordered a soup/salad, appetizer, main, sides and a dessert there before. But, tbh, I don't think I've ever been able to finish the dessert because I was so stuffed.

I always thought the cakes looked so good, and then was underwhelmed by the way they tasted. The last couple cruises I've been on, I barely ate any cake from Lido.

I was never on a cruise with Cookie, but I have heard of him and know a lot of people really liked him. My favorite CD ever was Chris Williams "The Flying Scotsman" and he just announced in the past couple weeks that he's leaving Carnival too.

Incorrect. Have you cruised on Christmas recently?

I love how this thread started out one way, and then completely did a 180 as soon as people who have actually cruised recently on Christmas started chiming in. 😂

It is sad, but I also understand it. Like, I love reading and I love libraries. I always make a point to go check out the library when I'm on a ship that has one - but, those spaces are just so underutilized. Space on cruise ships is so limited, I can't really blame them for using it for something other than a library.

Even so, prosecutors would need someone from Park West to testify in a criminal trial. Because if no one from that company will state on the record, the value of the items stolen, it's pretty hard to prosecute someone for theft. If the state is going to try and get someone for grand larceny and they can't prove the value of the items stolen - that case is going nowhere. Prosecutors know that and won't file charges without that information.

I, for one, don't have a problem with them bringing the paper Fun Times back. But, I really do wish they would come up with a good system for just getting them to the people that want them. Back in the day, I really enjoyed getting them in my cabin each evening, but now with the Hub app - they're simply no longer necessary for me. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like this and printing and passing them out to every cabin on the ship just seems very wasteful to me.

I'm booked on an 8-day over Christmas this year. It's been a while since we've been to the Bahamas, so we didn't mind the itinerary. (Although when we originally booked, it was supposed to stop at Princess Cay, but it was changed to Bimini a few months later.) I'm looking forward to trying out the Spirit for the first time and cruising out of Mobile again (that port is just really convenient for us) but I do wish they would offer Western itineraries from there. We love going to Costa Maya and Cozumel and Roatan. But I guess if we want to do those, we can always just go to New Orleans.

So, I'm pretty excited about the new menus. I *think* I understand how they work. But I'm not 100 percent sure. If I'm wrong about any part of this, please let me know. * The new menus are basically set up for 8-day cruises, with the last night (Night Eight) being the menu that includes Beef Wellington. * The two elegant nights essentially have the same menu, only the second one will have lobster instead of the shrimp/fish cake. * On 7-day cruises, the second elegant night is on night 6. So, I assume that means without an eighth night, 7-day cruises don't get the Beef Wellington menu? Right? Okay, assuming that's all correct, what do you think that would mean for an 8-day cruise that takes place over Christmas? In the past, Carnival has had a special menu on Christmas Day. Do you think that probably will be the case again this year? And if so, does that probably mean my 8-day Christmas cruise will not get the menu that includes Beef Wellington, since the Christmas menu will take up one of the days?

I used to like the coffee on the Lido deck just fine, but I can't quite drink it anymore. Over the years, I think I've just started drinking a higher quality coffee at home and my tolerance for bad coffee isn't what it used to be. For what it's worth, I do think the coffee served in the MDR during breakfast/brunch and at dinner is not bad and much better than the stuff on the Lido deck. If I'm not having breakfast in the MDR (which I try to do every day) I will stop by Java Blue and just pay for coffee. The prices there are really reasonable, so I don't feel bad about it at all.

A version of the strawberry soup is on the elegant night menu. It's called "Chilled Strawberry and Chia Seed" now. And, I imagine it now has chia seeds in it.

Ohhh... So have the new menus not officially rolled out on any of the ships yet? For some reason, I was thinking they had already started on a few.

So, I know when Carnival first announced the new menus, they said they would be bringing back beef Wellington. But the new menus I've seen posted in various places don't include it. Has anyone been on a cruise with the new menus yet? I'm wondering if anyone can confirm that it either is or is not on the new set of menus.

The food is... not great. The cereal-crusted french toast isn't bad. The green eggs and ham is kinda gross though. Food is subjective though - you may like it. The entertainment isn't anything special. They will have a handful of crew members dressed up. I think I remember them doing a little dance as music played over the speakers. If your 2-year-old likes costumed characters, they will probably enjoy it. They do come around to the tables some. Is it still $5 a person, or have they upped the price in the past couple years? That's what it was when we did it with our kids - and that seemed about right. I don't know if I'd pay more then $5 though.

I'm pretty excited that I'll get the new menus on my Christmas cruise on the Spirit. Has anyone seen a second elegant night menu posted anywhere? So far, I've only seen two variations of the same menu - one with lobster and one without, which I assume means the first will be on loner cruises and the second on shorter ones?

IMO, the port day breakfast in the MDR is one of the best kept "secrets" on Carnival. In my experience, very few people take advantage of it on port days and because of that, it's often just as quick as going up and dealing with the crowds at the buffet. Plus, there are some really good menu items that are only available in the MDR for the port day breakfast, like the bruleed grapefruit with ginger sugar and the Indian breakfast dish that is to die for, but I can never remember the name of.

I think you're right. I was looking at booking a resort day pass in Freeport recently. I was looking at booking it through Resorts for a Day and was reading reviews of the place on one of the general travel sites - pretty sure it was TripAdvisor, but it might have been a different one. The reviews for the resort were largely positive, although there were a negative reviews. Then I realized I could book the same resort as a Carnival excursion and all the reviews on Carnival's website were TERRIBLE. Those reviews of the Carnival excursion made the resort sound terrible. Which... it's the same resort. There's no reason one review site should have largely positive reviews while the Carnival excursion has awful ones.

Oh, that's interesting. I hadn't heard that. I actually like that a lot. I never really cared much for the second elegant night menu and it seemed kinda anticlimactic having it so late in the cruise.