It's a Ship!!!

I don't know if there is a "proper"Huevos. It seems every restaurant has a different take.

Well Carnival's is really weird. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but it should probably be called something else.

Authentic Huevos Rancheros is just supposed to be fried eggs over corn tortillas with a Ranchero sauce on top. The Ranchero sauce is basically just a cooked warm salsa.

Carnival's has no sauce, but gives you 3 cold salsas you can put on it, and for some inexplicable reason they put the eggs on top of a chicken quesadilla instead of a plain tortilla.

Seconding this, anyone know if this is on the Breeze???

Every ship (including the Breeze) with Blue Iguana has this, but the OP is asking if ships without the Blue Iguana have it as well.

OP, I was on the dream a few years ago, which had the Burrito Bar in the buffet, but not Blue Iguana. I didn't see the taco bowls there, but that doesn't mean they didn't have them. It was a while ago, and I just had a burrito, so I wasn't looking too closely.

HI all! I have a cruise booked for next April on the Dream in a cove balcony with my DH, DD, DS, and myself. It turns out that DH and DS may not be going. However, DD and I will still be able to.

Is there a penalty for cancelling 2 passengers from the cabin? Will I lose my cabin? I really want to keep it!

If it makes a difference, I am booked under ES and my final payment is not due until January.

Thanks for any info or advice!!

Before final payment, there is a $50 per person cancellation fee, then the rest of the deposit goes as a future cruise credit that must be used within 2 years of the date of cancellation.

You might be moved out of the cabin, but you are not necessarily in a peak time so you might not. Most of the time, they won't change your cabin right away, but there is definitely a possibility that they will change your cabin later on. The best thing to do would be to find a cabin that fits only 2 people, near where your current cabin is.

You have plenty of time until the final payment date, so you don't have to cancel right away. However, the chance of you getting a cabin in a good location for 2 people goes down the longer you wait.

If you go a little later, or you don't mind lunch for breakfast, the Hey Pork Chop was really good, especially the sauce. Steak and eggs or Eggs Benedict are always a solid choice. Their weird take on Huevos Rancheros was tasty, but if you live in an area with good Mexican restaurants you won't recognize it.

You will be in what they call "On Request," which is just a placeholder. They will eventually assign you something. If you don't have anything wait listed, they will usually just give you Late Dining. If you wait list something, they should let you know if it becomes available. Sometimes you will find out before boarding and sometimes you won't know until they hand you your card.

I've never encountered a Casino Host. I mainly play the slots so I guess there isn't ever an opportunity.

Cruise Director is a very minor part of my cruise experience. Some of them are funny, some of them are annoying, but none of them really changed my experience one way or another. I would say the ones I like best are the ones with a sense of humor.

I'm glad to hear you got it resolved and it was just a miscommunication. I know you got some flak from rude people here, but you really did have a legitimate complaint. I would have been mad too. Have a great cruise.

You know you're in the south when every restaurant serves Iced Tea, including authentic ethnic restaurants. Not that I'm complaining, I love that I can go into a Thai restaurant and get a glass of sweet tea.

As a side note, this thread made me thirsty and I had to go make some Iced Tea.

How about those plastic bottles of Pure Leaf or Gold Peak? Can we bring those onboard? They're not cans.

 

I prefer brewed, but what's person from the South supposed to live on for a week?! ;p

You can't take bottles on board any more. They do have bottles of the brand Honest Tea for purchase at the Coffee Shop. If you have Cheers it is included, but otherwise I think it's $3.50. I've never had it so I don't know how good it is.

I just want to clarify that there are two categories of cabins that have a porthole. The cabin OP is talking about is a Porthole cabin (PT), which comes with 2 twin beds that convert to a King. There are some Upper/Lower cabins (1A), that are in the same area and have a porthole, but they only have 1 twin bed and a sofa that converts into a twin bed, or 1 twin bed and an upper berth. The 1A cabins are usually cheaper, but not ideal for couples.

Several people on board have been able to change names for the $50 fee ... Call and talk to someone else and keep trying back til you get someone to do it ... Don't say anything extra just explain you need to change a name and that is it - If they won't do it hang up and call back after a bit

While that is true most of the time, there is a difference here between Early Saver and less restrictive fares. Early Saver doesn't allow name changes. Meaning, you have to completely cancel the person and will incur the appropriate penalties. For example if you are within 2 weeks of the ship sailing, the penalty is 100%. So you have to cancel the person, losing the full amount they paid, and then you have to pay that amount again to re-secure the booking.

So if OP doesn't have early saver, they should call back and get someone who knows what they are talking about. If the OP does have Early Saver, then the Carnival rep was probably right.

She's actually at almost $48,000 of her $55,000 goal. Just 2 days left. I hope she makes it home.

Sometimes they have waived or reduced single supplement sales, but I haven't seen one in a while. You might want to check out Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Line. They both have one person studio cabins on their newer ships. They are tiny, but it may save you some money over paying full price for a regular cabin. Of course those ships may not go when and where you want, but there are more options now than there used to be.

Does anyone know if Carnival ever offers an extension to the final payment date? I am just curious, it's down to crunch time and money is tight right now.

They do sometimes, but it will usually depend on a couple of things. The first is how much has already been paid on the booking. If you are close to paying it off, they will be more likely to extend the due date. They also ask you the reason you need it extended. They are more likely to extend the booking if there is a good reason why you can't make the original due date. I wouldn't expect them to extend it more than a week or so.

It looks like everyone has answered your questions, but I do have one thing to add. Like others have said you aren't usually allowed to go to Your Time dining if you miss your 6:00 PM dining time. However, I have a friend who was allowed to do this on a cruise a couple years ago. They were inexperienced cruisers and didn't realize that wasn't allowed. So they just walked up to the Your Time dining room and the hostess sat them without a problem. They just assumed that was how it worked. Then a few nights later they went to do the same and were told it wasn't normally allowed, but they would make an exception. So they were able to do it twice, but it sounds like something that would be up to the current host at the entrance to the your time dining room.

The roll call so far has people in their 30s 40s and 50s. Im the oldest so far at 64 my ds who is coming because his fare was free is 24

I did the Vista TA and was a bit disappointed. Went to sleep most nights at 11. Several of the ports on this PC transit port time is before 7 am. So early hours are necessary.

 

Looking forward to the 24 full menu room service. Full hot breakfast or MDR Filet delivered to ur room is a slice of heaven to me.

 

Does the Z have a piano bar. We all love it.

 

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I went on a Carnival cruise in November of last year, and a Holland America cruise in March of this year, so I can give a pretty recent comparison.

People are exaggerating about them closing down by 9:00 PM. I will say there are not really any late night food options besides room service, but there were plenty of things going on until 11:00 PM or later. That is still early compared to Carnival, but not as bad as people are saying. For example, on my HAL cruise in March, there was a happy hour at one of the bars from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM. There were frequently shows in the BB King Blues Club that started at 10:30 or 11:00. The Casino was usually crowded past 11:00. On one night they had a Filipino crew show that started at 11:00.

The Zuiderdam will be getting the entertainment upgrades this fall, so it will have Billboard On Board, BB King Blues Club, and Lincoln Center Stage. Billboard on board is the new piano bar venue, BB King Blues Club is a blues, jazz, and R & B type of music venue, and Lincoln Center Stage is classical chamber music. On our cruise there was a band in BB King Blues Club, two pianists at Billboard, and a really great quintet at Lincoln Center Stage. The best show I've ever seen on a cruise was Frozen Planet Live. It combined the main show band with the quintet from Lincoln Center Stage to play live music set to BBC's Frozen Planet played on a screen in the theater. It was amazing, and the music really brought you into what was happening on the screen.

So for me, the entertainment was a lot different on Holland America compared to Carnival. I missed the Comedy Club on Carnival, but the new music venues on Holland were really great. I don't really care for the main shows on Carnival, but there were actually a few I enjoyed on Holland, because they weren't just all singing and dancing in garish costumes. It seems like there is more to do on Carnival during the sea days, but I did like Holland America's movie theater with relatively new movies. Of course Carnival has the movies on the big screen outside, but only at night, so I'm usually doing something else. Just come early because the movie theater is small and by the end of the cruise it fills up really fast.

Food was better on Holland America overall, but I still enjoy Carnival's food. For instance, I like all of Carnival's options during lunch like Guys, Blue Iguana, Deli, Pizza and Tandoor (on some ships). However I will say that Holland America's Dive In (Burgers and Hot Dogs) is amazing. I still like the many options at Guys, but Dive In has gourmet burgers and hot dogs, and a really good cheese sauce (as in real cheddar and not Velveeta) that you can get with the fries, and now I'm hungry just thinking about it.

So in general Holland America is a more laid back and relaxing experience, with good food and music. Yes there will be a lot of older people, but not as bad as the reputation. You are going to see some great places, so I'm sure you will have a great cruise.

Would someone please tell me if you only get a call from the upgrade/upsell fairy IF you book direct through Carnival?

 

I book through an online agent - example the cruise I am going on that Carnival quoted me - I got the same exact cabin but got $ cash back reward. But I have NEVER got an upgrade/upsell call from Carnival - ever - 13 cruises non book direct!

You can definitely get an upsell if you book through a travel agent, but they just call the travel agent instead of you. Then the agent would tell you if you had an offer and ask if you would like to take it. Although I don't know how it works with online agencies, because they usually don't provide a whole lot of service after the booking.

It looks like your sailing has Cozumel Plus, which just means you are in port longer in Cozumel, so you can do things that take more time. Chichen Itza is only available on those sailings. It is a very long day with a lot of traveling, but it sounds amazing to me.

Chichen Itza is one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, and seeing all of them is on my bucket list. My next cruise doesn't have Cozumel Plus, but I know I will get there eventually.

I will say that I did Altun Ha in Belize, and it was a very good tour. I got to climb to the top and it was really an incredible view. It is one that doesn't take hours of traveling, so if you want one a little less involved, this one is a good one.

Its a ship!!! I emailed them and here is the response I received.

 

 

Hi Vicki,

 

 

Hi!

 

Thank you so much for contacting us. Although we have made many minor adjustments over the past few years, fundamentally the race is the same as it was when you did it originally. We of course would love to see you again, but we completely understand your choosing another option. For what it’s worth, we have made it a goal of ours to add a second race or significantly change the current one. When we do that, we will let you know. In the meantime, if you are ever in Los Angeles, Galveston, Kona or Sydney, Australia, please check us out there. Please let us know if you have any other questions. We thank you very much again, and we hope to see you at another starting line… somewhere.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Larry, Bob, & Scott

Team Amazing Cozumel Race®

LARF, inc./FantasticRace

310-779-1263

fantasticrace.com

amazingcozumelrace.com

Thanks for posting the reply. At least now we know there might be a new race in the future. I didn't even know they had them in other places, so that's good to know too.

There is only one way I know of that will truly get them to stop calling you. Tell them you use a travel agent. If the PVP keeps calling you after you tell them that, they will get fired. You might have to unblock their number first so you can actually get a call from them to tell them.

For a long time Carnival was trying to cut out travel agents, but when they were having trouble a few years ago they decided that they needed travel agents after all. So now they are extra careful to make sure they aren't cutting into a travel agent's business.

I did it 2 years ago, and the only thing you mentioned that we didn't do was the putt putt. I just don't know if the map and clues have changed. Even if you do some of the same activities, it would still be fun to do it again if it was a different puzzle.

Here is an email for them if you want to ask them directly. amazingczrace@gmail.com

If you email them and hear back, let me know, because I'll be cruising in December and would like to do it again if it has changed.

It isn't worth it to me. Normally I say you have to try something before you can say if it is worth it or not, but in this case I have never been on a cruise where these perks would have mattered to me enough to pay $70. I have never been in line at guest services longer than 10 minutes. I have never needed to be the first off the ship in a tender port because I either have no excursion or book through the cruise line. I usually get on the ship early enough anyway, and I'm patient enough to wait in a line for a little while. I have no problem carrying my small backpack with me to eat lunch. My bags have always been in my cabin before dinner.

Some of those perks would be nice to have in certain situations, but certainly not worth the same price as a dinner for 2 in the steakhouse. However I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite.

You should have no problem. By that time there probably won't even be a wait for the tender to the port.

The name on the booking has to match the birth certificate and government issued photo ID. I would just use your maiden name on the booking, and then you won't need the name change card or the marriage license.

The Magic has the Alchemy now, so pretty much anything there. The Deal closer is amazing if you like chocolate. The best part of Alchemy is getting the bartenders to make you something off menu. Sometimes they will have a specialty they like to make, but they will also make you something based on your tastes. If you are there a lot, they will start suggesting something you might like to try.