zabaco

I appreciate your comments. We have previously cruised the Legend & Elation. I really want to try the larger ships with more bells & whistles but like hearing that the Fantasy class ships still have "got it going on". :D

We have also been on the Legend when it sailed out of Tampa. Great trip.

I have found that enjoying a cruise is more about who I am cruising with than anything else. My favorite cruises have been the Ecstasy and the Fascination. Both Fantasy class!

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I enjoy the Fantasy class ships-they are my favorite

Me, too.

This summer I did the Valor for 5 days and then the Ecstasy 6 days later for 4 days. I was able to directly compare many things because they were so close together. I fully expected to prefer the Valor.

There were some things I enjoyed on the Valor that the Ecstasy doesn't have (Alchemy bar, Guy's), but I actually preferred the Ecstasy.

We spoke to many crew members and they said they also prefer the smaller ships.

We got better service on the Ecstasy and the food was noticeably better.

This might not be true for all ship comparisons, obviously; however, I was happy to see that I can continue to sail happily on the Fantasy class ships for years to come without feeling like I am missing out.

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We definitely enjoyed our trip so much more due to Cheers. I know *I* got my money's worth, and even though my husband may not have personally, it was worth every penny for him to loosen up and try new things.

It wasn't about the money--it was about the feeling of being all inclusive. I will gladly pay extra for that feeling.

If you have never traveled with someone who says things like "let's skip breakfast and eat an early lunch" to save a buck, you may not understand what it is like to feel like you can't spend any money.

Cheers removed that feeling for us.

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Your post made me laugh out loud! :D

 

 

 

I can't believe OP has made me seriously considering purchasing Cheers for my upcoming cruise! I'm not a heavy drinker by any stretch and I'm also a CPA so I realize financially this is completely illogical for me. Without Cheers I probably wouldn't buy any drinks on my cruise, so now I'll be spending $300 I otherwise wouldn't have spent. For me, putting money on my S&S card to "prepay" for drinks wouldn't work. Knowing I can get that money back at the end of the cruise, I still wouldn't buy any drinks. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

After reading OP's post, I'm now looking at this from her perspective. I always want to order drinks, but I never do. I get one vacation a year, why not enjoy it? I may not get $300 worth of drinks, but I'll still be getting my money's worth! To me, the enjoyment of having some drinks and not worrying about the bar bill will probably be worth the $300.

 

 

 

If it were strictly about the $$, I wouldn't cruise at all. I go solo, so I'm already paying more per-person just to get on the ship than most other people! For me, that solo supplement (as much as I hate it) is the cost of my enjoyment. Same for Cheers, I believe will be the case.

 

 

 

Not to mention the other perks I have thought about while reading this thread. If I get a drink I don't like, I won't feel like I need to finish it anyway. And when I get a drink, I won't nurse it to the point it gets warm and nasty after an hour! If I finish my drink quickly, I can just get another! :) The same goes for bottled water I take ashore. I typically use my free Platinum water all cruise long and drink it sparingly. With Cheers I'll be able to get a fresh bottle every day.

 

 

 

Thanks OP for providing the new perspective for penny-pinchers like myself! :cool: The jury's still out on whether I'll actually buy it, but I think I'm going to take the plunge. What scares me is I think I'm going to like it, so I'll have to buy it every time I cruise from now on haha! :D

I love reading this!

I'm pretty sure I will never cruise without Cheers now. Being able to grab bottles of water WAS really nice. Even my husband agrees it was worth it. I'll just factor Cheers into the initial cost of booking from now on. It so greatly enhanced our experience that it's worth it.

Gratuity is included by I presume you can add a little extra? I am a firm believer in your system, take care of them and they will take care of you :D

We tipped $1 extra on each drink (using Cheers) and found we got spectacular service.

The Remedy from the Alchemy Bar is delicious. I also drank a lot of Chandon champagne onboard the Valor in July.

On the last day I discovered a drink at the Redfrog Rum Bar--Red's Remedy. Not the same as the one from the Alchemy Bar.

We went to Mr. Sanchos. It was a fantastic beach day and very easy. We did the all inclusive package.

I have heard that Nachi Cocum is also great, but I think it's more laid back.

I did the Valor July 3-8 and the Ecstasy July 14-18. I loved the Valor--BUT, I was shocked at how much I preferred the Ecstasy!

I've sailed Fascination several times, Legend once, Fantasy once, and now the Valor and Ecstasy.

My favorite 2 ships have been Ecstasy and Fascination--both Fantasy class ships.

The crew on the Ecstasy surpassed the crew on the Valor. I asked several crew members, and the ones I spoke to all said they prefer to sail on the smaller ships.

Well, I have learned that I prefer the smaller ships, as well.

One more helpful hint--we tipped $1 on each drink. Tipping more is not required or expected, because gratuity is "included". However, we sure did get great service from the bar staff once they began to recognize us.

Thank you everyone,

 

 

 

We've decided to go for it! It's a last minute unplanned girls trip, so the no responsibility for a couple of 50 y/o women leaving kids and spouses behind will be lots of fun

Oh, then yes--it's a no-brainer! I did a girls' trip July 14-18 with 2 friends and it was awesome to be able to have whatever we wanted without overthinking it. We are in the 46-48 age range. I drank a lot of champagne and Prosecco. If we hadn't had the drink package I would have stuck to something else, because the glasses are small and each would cost $9-10. Not a good "value." But because of Cheers, I didn't care!

Yes, they are included. You get unlimited nonalcoholic beverages and up to 15 with alcohol. I took 2 cruises in July and found the drink package to be more than worth it.

I went on 2 cruises this summer and had opposite experiences with our assigned dining companions on the 2 trips.

On the first cruise, my husband and I were at a table for 10 at 8:15. After the first night, 6 diners (3 couples) never returned! It was odd. You could tell the first night that they weren't comfortable interacting with strangers, or didn't care for the formality of the MDR. We saw one of the couples later and they said they decided to stick to the buffet because it was easier. It felt so odd to be at a table for 10 with only 4 people after the first night. We decided to go go the steakhouse for the last 2 nights (we did notify the other couple at our table, who also went to the steakhouse one of those nights.) I was very disappointed in how our assigned dining table worked out, because I really enjoy meeting new people and being social over dinner.

On the second cruise, I was with 2 other friends on a girls' trip. We were also at a table for 10 at 8:15, and we had a fantastic group of table mates. We all looked forward to dinner, had great conversation, and even took group photos with the whole table on the last night. Dinner was one of the highlights of the day.

I love having an assigned time, enjoying the same wait staff, and I love getting to know my table mates; however, you can end up with a disappointing experience, as we did. My husband decided he wants to stick to anytime dining from now on, and we might just do that. I'm torn.

It is always interesting to me that anyone worries about what someone else is wearing. I recognize that there are many people who don't dress in my style, and that's okay! On a cruise, just like at home--there will be people wearing all sorts of things around me and it doesn't affect my experience one single bit.

I enjoying getting dressed up for dinner, but I respect that others are also on vacation and to them, being comfortable is more important. They deserve the chance to eat in the MDR as much as I do.

I love Pellegrino/Perrier and look forward to it on the Vista in five weeks. Im happy its included with Cheers, which it is not on NCL.

 

 

 

Are the Perrier in the coffee bars included? It doesnt say its excluded anywhere, so I guess it should.

 

 

 

Thanks!

Yes, it is included in the coffee bar, too!

Thank you.... We are on ecstasy in September and I was really hoping to skip the shuttle and walk. We have a 10:00 flight when we return and this will help. I just need to make sure my luggage is small enough...although coming back I don't think size matters when doing self assist.

 

 

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You are right. We walked right off the ship with our luggage, went down the walkway, and jumped in a cab all within about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the quick update and verification of this new process. It does help streamline things for drop offs.

 

 

 

I thought the food on the Ecstasy was the best I've had on a cruise in a long, time. Service, too.

 

 

 

What's funny is I'm going on the Valor in late September. I know I'll love the ship because I love the Conquest class. But, I may need to lower my expectations on food and service just a bit. LOL

You'll also love the Valor! We have decided that a small ship gives more personal service, but the Valor was still great.

If you visit the Alchemy bar on the Valor, the female bartender was excellent. The staff in the steakhouse was also fantastic.

We had several conversations with the staff on the Ecstasy and they all said they prefer to work on the smaller ships.

Zabaco - I'm SO glad you had a great time and enjoyed the Ecstasy itself! I also saw in another thread this was your 2nd cruise in a very short time. Lucky you!

 

And I'm glad you were a walking person, too. ;) :D

 

It sounds like you found out at check-in that your luggage was too big and needed to check it? Also excellent information on how strict they are!

 

 

Here is the picture I posted way back when:

 

 

On the left is a smaller white tent. This looks to be where you check in when being dropped off and check your luggage if needed. You can see people walking over to the large white tent (just out of sight) that leads to the metal walkway to the terminal.

 

Please feel free to update any of that information I may have gotten incorrect.

 

Thanks so much for being a 2nd voice to verify the drop off system.

You have the details correct! This is where taxi services and the like drop off passengers. It was very smooth.

They have one of those luggage size checking boxes like in airports and if your luggage doesn't fit, you don't carry it on. We had medium sized luggage that was too big for that.

I was on the Valor July 3-8 and loved it, but we liked the Ecstasy better. The food was MUCH better on the Ecstasy and so was the service.

I just got off the Ecstasy today and had SUCH better service than I had on the Valor the week before.

Waiters in bars called us by name, as did the server we had for the Sea Day brunch. She remembered our names 2 days later and also remembered what we ordered.

Our steward wasn't very friendly but that can happen. He did his job.

The ship was clean and well maintained.

I was worried before I boarded, but was been one of my best cruises ever.

How was your trip? Hope you had a great time. Because of your other CHEERS! thread I am back on board buying it. You made me see it in another light and thank you for that. :D

 

 

 

Did you see if they would fix it for you?

Yay! I am glad you are getting Cheers and that you can think of it in a new way!

We had a fantastic trip on the Ecstasy. The ship was great and I loved every minute. Perhaps the fact that we very freely enjoyed Cheers helped make that true. :-)

I did see the charges on the Valor after getting my final statement and they removed them--The guest services person didn't want to remove them at first but I very nicely was able to convince her to do so after telling her that they didn't charge us for it in the Steakhouse, only in the dining room.

It all worked out!

Yes, I want to be a walking person, too. ;) Next time, it's possible we might be dropped off and carry our own luggage on. I was looking forward to being dropped off at the small white tent to check in and then wait under white tent if too early, or just walk on in.

 

 

 

But, the other info posted earlier says that's not the answer.

 

 

 

I'm very curious.......

I'm back today, and sad to be off of the Ecstasy. Like you, I don't understand any criticisms about this ship. The staff was phenomenal and the ship was extremely clean.

I wanted to let you know--we WERE walking people! :-) We arrived by Uber, and were dropped off in the lot close to the port entrance. We did have to check our luggage (only airline size carry ons were allowed and they were not going to budge on that) and then we passed through a security checkpoint before being allowed to walk across the metal walkway to the terminal. No shuttle required.

We are back from our cruise, and ordered Pellegrino each night in the MDR. They didn't charge us for it.

Apparently, the problem was a misunderstanding from our Valor main dining room wait staff.

We had a fantastic trip on the Ecstasy. The ship staff was top notch and I would not hesitate to sail on this ship again.

I have the answer to my original question in case anyone needs to know. We discovered that the port is absolutely NOT kidding with their luggage size requirements, and their dimensions override Carnival's. We were dropped off by Uber at a tent and they clarified that all carry on luggage must meet standard airline carry on size requirements.

We checked our luggage, and then walked up to the terminal for embarkation. It was a very smooth process.

The port has not improved in the last 3 years.... and we are going through the 'FUN' again in 52 days.

 

 

 

The restriction is probably due to the fact you have to take a shuttle to the pier, regardless if you are being dropped off from a hotel, friend, tax or parking on site. I would probably call Carnival to ask.

 

 

 

I usually am one of the first people on the ship, so I am not paying to much attention to folks around me with luggage. I cant say that I recall seeing anyone carry on anything larger than a standard carry on, but who knows..

 

 

 

Have fun! I am looking forward to my 5 day getaway soon!

We have decided that our strategy will be to smile at everyone as we walk in with our luggage. :-) Somehow I have a feeling that if I called Carnival they would repeat what's on their website, and our luggage does meet those carry on requirements.

This actually has changed as of the middle of May. Now you have the option of taking the shuttle into the terminal or you may just walk in. It was great, made getting into the terminal much faster if you do not need the shuttle for mobility or other reasons.

Wonderful info!

Know anything about luggage size?

I did not pay for it in The MDR, Steak House or the Chefs table on my last 2 cruises.

Perfect. That's what I thought.