UPNYGuy

Believe me, it does. DW and I go sometimes 5 times a year. We know how to locate our muster stations by location on the back of the door, and know how to locate the life jackets. I am not downplaying the importance of the drills, just making a statement about how the drills can be an irritant for those of us that cruise frequently.

DW and I will cruise *much* less often if it goes back to the old way. When cruising shut down, we started venturing to all inclusive resorts, and found out that many aspects of the AI are more preferable to the cruise experience for us. No mustering is Number 1 on that list. Much larger accommodations is a close number 2. If the muster goes back the old way, it would become cruise to AK / UK / EU and AI / resort in Caribbean / mex. We spend most of our time cruising the Caribbean / mex, so our cruising time would be cut WAY down.

this is correct

You should try it if you havent yet. It is a fantastic rum, and one that really shows what Bacardi is capable of.

the paradise is a nice ship, but imo if your kids had a good time on another ship, they may be disappointed (and bored) on paradise. It does not have the bells and whistles of the newer ships, by any stretch of the imagination. This is fine for many people (including DW and I), but the design dates back to 1989-1990 if I remember right. If you are looking for a 'family friendly' atmosphere with lots of stuff for your kids to do, it isnt here. If a 4 day cruise is what you are looking at, the Royal Caribbean Freedom class (Freedom of the seas , Independence of the seas, liberty of the seas) and voyager class (Mariner / Explorer / Adventure of the seas) will likely be more to your (and their) liking. I *will* say that IMO Carnival has better food, but RC has carnival beat in the activities in short cruises department.

this is very true. DW and I have cruised on Oceania several times, and can vouch. We were on a reunion cruise, and it was a very senior clientele.

most bars on the vista ships have espresso machines. DW and I would come out from the Havana area, and if the Havana bar was not opened (and JavaBlue was a madhouse), we would go to the Ocean Plaza bar. Have they stopped doing this (Ocean Plaza bar being open in the A.M). It was a really easy place to grab a coffee (americano) or espresso.

and I just saw in your sig. that you have an upcoming cruise on Elation. It was in the drydock in freeport having work done. If it was like Paradise condition wise, you should have a fine cruise. DW and I quite liked paradise, and were actually shocked that Carnival put USB charger ports in the cabins.

panorama will likely be one of the last ships (if not the last ship) to get the new livery. Was it not the newest ship directly before the shutdown?

for the panorama? didnt realize it had to be drydocked already, but in 2024 it will be 5 years old if im thinking correctly.

Exactly! I actually have the Bacarda Gran Reserva Limitada on my counter. It is one I buy myself. I can get it for the price of just under 5 shots, so Carnival is definitely making some serious profit on these. It is a good way for you to see what your tastes are (and arent). I myself have to be in a mood for Jamaican rum (can have an elmers glue-vapor element to it).

did not know that. thanks for this. I typically avoid the pub and see no reason to go in there, but may venture in there from time to time now that I know this.

this isnt really a bad thing, especially if Carnival sees that they can do longer cruises that have huge demand. I dont want them to become Holland America, but some people want something different than the same ports, and view cruising as traveling rather than vacationing. Royal Caribbean sends their ships on some really long cruises.

this is correct. Also, the Hardy XO cognac is $17.50

thank you, it was a very good one.

red frog rum bar, *not* the pub

I have been on MSC Preziosa, a 135,000 GRT ship with roughly 3700-4000 pax that called on Flam. It was the ship I took for my Norwegian Fjords cruise. MSC used to send a 180,000 GRT ship there with 5,000 pax.

I won’t usually buy scotch or tequila on the ship as I can get it home for a better price and better quality, but your mileage may vary. The one thing I try to come home with is the Blancrux cognac (MUCH better than the Hennessy Pure White which imo is overpriced and overrated) if the ship has it.

multiple people in front of me told him they thought he was a bit much when he was on paradise in line disembarking.

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IMO Chris Salazar, Chris Williams, and Cam are my tops. Wouldn’t mind seeing any of those 3

exactly.... and every freaking time... annoyed the hell out of me every time I heard it

this is a video presented by Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line and Glenn Aprile, Director of New Build Product Development for Venezia.

this is correct.

This really is just a way for carnival corp to utilize excess (and currently unprofitable) tonnage in a way that makes sense. If it is a success, they *may* bring more ships over. In NY, it will compete with MSC (and the NYC market has a ton of italian-americans to draw from). My understanding is that this is going to be quite literally a Costa ship with a Carnival touch (crew, entertainment, etc). Very little drydocking is being done aside from the updated livery and some of the funship 2.0 stuff (https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3389) link explains funship 2.0 stuff