"12/12/12 LIFE'S A BREEZE" a cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" Cruise Novella

[cruisin USA]

Foward......... "Live from the Poopdeck"

 

 

 

Well, It's finally done. This novella is from our Dec. 8th-15th sailing of Carnival's newest ship the "Breeze". As always, I started writing this review as I could still feel myself swaying with the ship. The 9 days of Christmas season we had left when we came back, Christmas, New Years, NFL Playoffs, Superbowl,(even Valentines Day) prevented me from getting through the whole thing all at once. Not to mention all the great reviews already coming out from "Kokoman"(Good Job Bob), Italian Femmy(Love her pictures!), Anunung un Rama("Chrissandra",,,,,As always, a great tandom review!), and of course my FAVORITE of them all so far, "Froufies" TA review. (Love Ya Froufie!! Mary Ann says "Hello")

 

 

 

I will also point out that there are also 2 other reviews of this particular sailing. 1) from Ron L.

(http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1753254&highlight=breeze and 2)SonicBuffalo(who wrote his review 3 times....hehe)(http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1768903&highlight=sonicbuffalo).

 

 

 

Anyway.......I wrote when I found the time(which didn't come often). I do feel that taking my time a little on this one, helped me convey the "feeling" of the trip better. The plan(as always) is to try to be done within a week. Don't hold me to that. My last review, "Valentines Day at Sea"(125 KB of words alone) took almost 2 weeks to publish compared with this review weighing it at 146 KB(of words alone). Feel free to comment, or ask questions along the way. With the scene set, and the characters re-introduced, please continue on to read..........

 

 

 

 

 

　

12/12/12 "Life's a Breeze"

A Cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" Carnival Breeze Novella.

 

 

 

　

prelude

 

 

I remember it well. Mary Ann and I were sitting on our balcony, on our Valentines cruise aboard the Miracle earlier this year. We had been talking about going to Las Vegas in December like we did last year. I asked her whether she'd like to go to Vegas? or MAYBE we should go on another cruise? The look on her face told me what she'd rather be doing this December. We were going to cruise. We got back home. I started writing my review. I also started looking into what was available for December.

 

Search criteria?,,,,Well, as I stated in my last review, our first 5 cruises were aboard Fantasy class ships. We wanted to try another class. Something we hadn't been on yet. We also have been numerous times to Jamaica/Grand Cayman, Key West/Cozumel, and Grand Turk/HMC/Nassau, so we wanted to avoid those if possible. Something in the 5-8 day range. During my research, I found out that Carnival's newest ship. The "Breeze" would be starting in the Mediteranean in June, and that it would be coming over. and doing a Carribean itinerary starting in November. We found out that the Breeze was going to do the Grand Turk/Dominican Republic/Aruba/Curacao (A trip that we'd just done aboard the Miracle) for it'a inaugural voyage (besides a little 2 dayer that Bob(Kokoman) posted about "Live from the Breeze"). VERY pricey. Then...I see that they are doing an 8 day, St. Thomas/Antigua/Tortola/Nassau itinerary. I asked Mary Ann if she'd like to go on a cruise aboard Carnival's newest ship, on it's first voyage to the Virgin Islands? Need I say more? hehe. I booked the trip on Feb. 29th.....a little over a week after we were home from the Miracle. We booked early saver for a category OS. I used my last ever FCC(future cruise certificate....sigh), and I'm a stockholder in Carnival. That meant for the 8 day cruise, we had $200.00 in onboard credits before we even boarded ship,(and the early savers gave us hope that we might get more). We both eventually realized that we'd be cruising on 12/12/12....How cool is that? The last triple of the century! (Certainly there'll be no 13/13/13). Also we'd thought we'd hedge our luck by going on a cruise just before the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world. At least we'd for sure get one last cruise in....hehe

 

 

 

　

Roll Call

 

 

I checked the CC roll call boards for the December 8th sailing. The roll call was in full swing, with lots of people excited about being on this ship. There was mention of people staying at the Miami Intercontinental. They all were using LMT(last minute travel).com to book a room for $140.00 for the night(tax included). After a little more research, I decided that it would be fine for us. I called the number, and booked the room. Easy as that. It was fun(and informative) hearing about what everyone was planning on doing this cruise. One lady(Brenda) took it upon herself to design 2 t shirts for us. One was turquoise, (that was our official Misfit shirt). The other was commerative of our 12/12/12 stop in Antigua. The t shirts were GREAT, and I told the roll call that when I got them in the mail, that it was the closest thing I've done to a "document dance" in a LONG time(giggity giggity). Instead of the usual "roll call" list of everyone posted every few posts, another roll caller, "Louis" took it upon himself to build a spreadsheet that contained all the roll callers info(and kept it up to date!) The spreadsheet had the cruisers screen names, actual names, where they were from, how many cruises they had been on, if they were they attending the cocktail party, cabin category/cabin number(in some cases), excursions,...etc. It must have been a TON of work updating with all the new peeps, and info coming in. There was a sailing away party planned by the aft pool. There was a poker run and a gift exchange arranged(we didn't participate). There was also an "all you can drink" cocktail party arranged, and a "glowing away" planned for a night "TBD" Undeniably, the most organized roll call I've been part of. I checked in from time to time, but mostly lurked just to see the news. Winter ended. Spring,Summer, and Autumn came and went. Halloween passed. We found out that John Heald wouldn't be our CD this trip, and that our CD would be "Butch" It was around Thanksgiving when it really started sinking in. We'd be cruising in 2 weeks!!!!

 

 

 

 

Bon Voyage!!(Department)

 

 

I admit it. When we first started cruising, Mary Ann and I used to smuggle alcohol to save money, but with Carnival cracking down on smuggling, we've found the Carnival Bon Voyage Dept. to be an adequate(and economical) alternative. It's such a FUN way to start your vacation to have all sorts of Bon Voyage items waiting there for you when you get to the cabin.

 

It's soooo easy to order. You can order virtually most of the items online, but you have to call to order liquor(or a tux), so I like to take care of everything at once, ordering from a real person. All you need to have ready is your credit card, and your booking and cabin numbers. I called 800-522-7648(Included the number this time, cause folks asked me what it was last review). The operator was friendly and helpful. I ordered a case of Corona's(24 x 5 = 120). I found out last cruise that 1 case is max. I also ordered 2 Fifths of Jager(65 x 2 = 130) and a bottle of White Zinfandel(Barefoot-20), We would certainly also take advantage of Carnival policy of allowing 12 soft drinks(Red Bull for the Jager, Pepsi for me) and 1 bottle of Wine each(for Mary Ann)to bring along in our carry-ons.

 

The reasoning......Well, I understand that the alcohol portion of our order added up to over $270.00. But, had we ordered the Coronas on any of the bars on the ship, we'd have to pay the exact same price, but, the price of these delivered beers wouldn't include the $1 gratuity each, saving us almost $24 right off the bat! Another big plus for me......I like drinking out of glass bottles, and the bartenders will pour your Corona into a plastic cup every time.(Just had to find our own limes...more later). As far as the Jager. A shot of Jager on the ship was 6.50. Multiply that by the 30 shots per bottle(give or take a few) and our 2 bottles are going to cost $195 each!!! Red Bull was $4.75 We use 9-10 cans per fifth. That's about $47.50 per Fifth. $390 + $95 = $485 Oh ........let's not forget that 15 percent gratuity 485 + 72.75 = $549.75 Compared to the $270 plus the $40,(for 20 cans of Red Bull) not to mention the bundle we saved with 3 bottles of wine($20 for the ship’s bottle we ordered, plus $8 each for the other 2 = $36 more) = $346.00 total spent for alcohol, divided by 8 days is 43.25 a day, which is 21.63 spent per person per day. We saved over $200 vs what we'd have paid on the ship. With our OBC's we'd supplement, with DOD's and such, but this stash would last us throughout the entire trip.

 

In addition to the alcohol, I orderd us a Coca Cola Cooler set which included Carnival cups, a VERY handy soft sided cooler(and something I'd HIGHLY recommend), and 5 cans of coke. I also ordered us 2 Carnival beach towels, To make the trip even more special, I had our room "Bon Voyage" decorated.

I think that covers it.

 

　

　

 

Excursions

 

　

I had researched the various ports we were visiting. What REALLY caught my attention was "The Baths' at Virgin Gorda, at our Tortola stop. I saw the pictures, and couldn't believe all the "house sized" boulder strewn along the beach. I showed Mary Ann, and she agreed that we should do it. I'd also heard about the skyride to Paradise Point in St. Thomas. The reviews said it was a "Must See", although some had mentioned that there were quite a few steps leading up to the ride. Booking online was easy at the Carnival sight. I just went to "Manage My Cruise" and went to the "plan activities" button.

Found the excursions. Paid with my credit card!! We were all set.(to the tune of $216.00) As far as the other islands, we'd play it by ear. A group from roll call was going over to Jolly beach(on our Antigua stop)early. For 67.00 they'd get breakfast, all their drinks, and lunch, as well as use of the pool, and the hotel ammenties. Sounded like fun, but we tend not to get out too early on a cruise. I had heard that there was a free side to Jolly beach, and that they had a bar there as well as bathrooms and chairs/umbrellas. Put it on the "definite maybe" list on the back of my mind.

 

 

 

　

Thanks for the Memories!

 

 

For this trip, we decided to downscale a little bit. The OS was pretty pricey. We decided we had enough tuxedo photos, so I didn't order a tuxedo this time(First time in 10 cruises). That saved us over $100. We both agreed that we're not the "Chef's table" (too fancy) or "Steakhouse" (too much food)type people, Although we would consider the Italian restaurant). Mary Ann told me that she didn't want to do the "Behind the Fun" tour, but that I could go. No (Behind the)fun without her, so we were going to do this cruise pretty "bare bones",

 

　

　

First Things First.....

 

For us, this would be a trip of many firsts. First time being on a ship the day of the naming cermony(even though we didn't get to attend), First time this ship sailed this itininerary. First time on a total Carnival 2.0 ship. First time on board a ship with the "Awesome" drink program. and the first time we'd ever pre cruised in Miami. I think the "first" that impacted(was most aprehensive about) me the most was that this was our first time on a Dream Class ship. Till now we'd only been on ships of 2000 passengers. with a 1000 or so crew. (The Breeze carrys 4200 with 1300 crew). This would truly be a DIFFERENT kind of cruise for us, and we were looking forward to every minute of it!! One other thing.......This would also be the first time we'd travel as "VIFP's"... Speaking of which........

 

 

 

 

.......to be continued.......

[cruisin USA]

.......continuing......

 

 

 

AUTHORS NOTE---"If you don't want to hear me rant and rave about my issues with Carnival's new VIFP program, you may skip this particular post, and continue onto the next continuation"

 

　

Normally, I don't editorialize toooooo much in my novellas(or reviews), but I really need stop for a minute to vent a little about Carnival's new VIFP program. I know that what's done is done, but let's just look into what a little more consideration could have done to make this program a hit!

 

　

(Stepping up on Soapbox)........"AHEM"............

 

　

　

............"I'm Shaving my Beard."

 

　

It was bad enough that Carnival took 3 years to announce the official changes to it's VIP program. When I found out what those changes entailed, my jaw just dropped. No way did you do that!!! You made us wait for this???? You led us to believe that the new program would be "brilliant".(aka filled with wonderous suprises so fun that it took 3 years for you to come up with them), and instead, I feel my status has been downgraded. My question?......"Carnival.....What were you thinking?" Never has sooooo much anticipation led soooooo much of a letdown.

 

　

For those of you who cruise novices out there. Basically, Carnival used to have a loyalty program that broke up into 3 groups. Group 1. Blue Card(first time cruisers..aka the newbies). Group 2. Gold Card(past cruisers of 2-9 cruises) Group 3. Platinum Card(10 cruises+), There was also the Milestone program. (On your 25th, 50th, and 75th sailings you would receive a shipboard credit of 25%, 50%, or 75% of your cruise fare. On your 100th, you would earn a "complimentary Caribbean, Mexican Riviera or Alaskan voyage up to eight days in length).

(At this point, I will say that it took us 12 years to get 10 cruises. We might make 25 eventually, but we'll NEVER make it to 100.) Special Items were offered for returning guests, and the gifts got better with each Group level Newbies will either Love(or Not). Those who are "bitten" by the cruise bug, will return and be rewarded. Group 2 really didn't get much more. besides a gold sail and sign card and a "past guest" party with hor deurves and free drinks for an hour or so. There was also one more benefit(that's still there, but not being mentioned on the new rewards grid), I will mention in a moment.

 

It was Group 3(Platinum) where things started getting good. Free Carnival Logo Item, Free Personalized Stationary, Free Plays in the Slot or Blackjack Tournament, Free Fluff and Fold Laundry. Priority Embark(and Debark)ation. Priority boarding "ship to shore" on stops with "tenders" Complimentary canapes delivered to your cabin 1 day. Guaranteed Steakhouse reservations. ($5.00 in game tokens for Platinum cruisers under 18). All pretty cool stuff. When we first started cruising, all I could get away from my business was for 4-5 days at a time. We liked getting our gold cards for being past guests and looked forward to the day that we'd been on 10 cruises for a Platinum one. It took us 12 years but we finally got there. 4-5 days at a time, but still 10 cruises.

 

There are those(a vitual "dark" force)that would argue that we took the easy way, only going on short run cruises. I would beg to differ, and I will point out why. Let's see. The 10 tuxes I've rented over our first 10 cruises(plus shoes) Hmmmm there's $1000.00 spent right there. That's enough for 2 5-day cruises! Add to that, the last 7 cruises we've been in suites(or Vista Balconies) which are DOUBLE the price of someone paying for a 7 day insider. We've done the steakhouse, the chef table, and the behind the fun tour(3 times) for each of us. There's another cruise each! How about all the Carnival Excursions we've been on? We've done lot's of 'em, from Horseback riding in the ocean on HMC to Mystic Mountain(The Jamaican Bobsled) twice and Duns River Falls, to Dune Buggys and Stingray encounters in Grand Turk. Let's say about another 2 5-day cruises worth to equal me and Mary Ann from my tuxes. According to this math alone(not to mention the big profit they get from our drinks and casino play) We've(easily)PAID enough for 20 cruises over our past 10.(and no wonder that Carnival makes BILLIONS per quarter).

 

The reason I mention all of this is that along the way, the "dark force" got to Carnival. And they recently changed their Loyalty program thusly.........

 

First up....They changed the name of the program. Now, instead of being a VIP, program members are now "VIFP'S"(Very Important Fun Persons). Sheer title dillution., Bottom line. We're not VIP's anymore. I can see the point though. With all the new(bigger) ships. All sailing full. Soooo many passengers EVERY day of EVERY year! There must be lots of VIPS by now. Being someone who's seen firsthand that some of these people treat that platinum card like they have a "backstage pass", I can see that they needed to "tame the legions" from this thinking. One of my mottos is "You can call me what you like. Just don't call me "Late for Dinner"...hehe.

This part really didn't bother me too much. but......

 

They ended up recently CHANGING the whole structure of the rewards program. Now, instead of counting "cruises taken", they now measure by "days cruised". The program was effective immediately, and affected all members(putting quite a few in "limbo" I bet). The new program has 5 levels. Here's the breakdown, and what each group gets.

 

(special Thank You to MemphisFan for this graph)

 

 

I will first point out that all levels get member only offers, and member e-newsletter.(same as before). Group 1 (BLUE) -Newbies get nothing extra cause this is a returning passenger program. Group 2(RED = 2-24 days cruised) gets a free drink at the comedy brunch(but they lose the past guest party). Group 3(GOLD = 25-74 days cruised) gets to go to the past guest party and gets a gold VIFP pin(big deal).

 

Group 4(PLATINUM = 75-199 days sailed) also got the downgrade. Although the Priority check in and boarding, Carnival Logo Items, and a few other things remained. The personalized stationary was gone. The Free Blackjack or Slot tournament entry was now "Buy one, get one free", and the unlimited fluff and fold is now limited to 2 bags on a 3-6 day and 3 bags on a 7+ day. They have added ship/year specific pins.(important to some, not to us). Our "guaranteed" main dining room and specialty restaurant reservations has also been downgraded to "priority".and Group 5(DIAMOND = Over 200 days sailed). gets most of what Platinum lost with a little more added.

 

 

 

The biggest problem I have with the program changes is that although we were "grandfathered" in Platinum, we still only had 41 cruise days.(4-4 day cruises and 5-5 day cruises) to get there. The very LEAST Carnival could have done would be to bring us ALL up to the minimum Platinum level(74 days), so that we would at least have a chance at the Diamond mark. As it is, our last 2 cruises were 8 days each bringing us up to 57 now. We realize we'll never make Diamond.....sigh. But realizing this, I'm not sure if we'll want to cruise every year anymore either. It sure isn't our fault that Carnival changed horses mid-stream.

 

 

 

On another level. Mary Ann's daughter(who was also working on being Platinum), has 5 cruises under her belt(We've taken both daughters on 2 of them). She was really looking forward to that Platinum status, but has told Mary Ann that since they pulled Platinum out of reach, her and her boyfriend might decide on other cruise lines in the future, or do something else altogether.

 

 

 

So you see. This change has affected people on different levels of the spectrum. ..........but I'm not one to complain about things without having a solution(Thanks Dad), Here's truly what would have been "Brilliant".

 

 

1st AND FOREMOST.......I would have kept the same format on the Past Guest Recognition Loyalty Program that helped Carnival become number 1 in the cruise industry. They built this loyalty program based on number of cruises, and there, I would keep it, with a few minor(semi brilliant) modifications.

 

 

 

In my model, we'll use the same 5 groups as now broke down with these modifications. I'm going to write it up, as to keep the same costs from my program as there are with the new program(with a LOT more impact/imagination). Please keep in mind that each subsequent group gets what the previous group gets, so I won't post the repetitions

 

 

　

--My Program--

 

 

　

Group1(BLUE-Newbies).(VIFP- 1 cruise day)

 

 

EXACTLY the same(for the same reasons).

 

 

*e-newsletters and special offers for club members

 

 

Impact from my changes-NONE

 

 

 

Group2(Red 2-4 cruises)(VIFP- 2-24 cruise days)

 

My Group 2 program is roughly equivalent to the VIFP. A person going on their second 5-day cruise would have 10 days in VIFP. 4 5-day cruises(or 3 8-dayers) would still be equal in both programs, although it might take you longer to go on the 5 cruises vs the 3(maybe not).

 

 

 

Continuing.........

 

 

 

My addition to this category is to put on something that's not mentioned Carnivals reward grid

 

*Past Guest Pricing.

 

Although "special offers"(along with the e newsletters) are already shown. Why they didn't include "Past Guest Pricing" on the grid? Past guest prices are a great incentive for people to cruise again!(and a missed opportunity for Carnival to show yet another advantage of returning).

 

 

And now for something completely different......hehe

 

 

 

*First One's on Us

 

This free drink at the Punchliner comedy brunch really has me perplexed. Of course they're using it as an incentive to get people into the brunch.

Is that the best they can do????? I think NOT. If I was going to give a free drink to a guest.(Er,,..I own a bar, I guess I've been in that position a few times). I would use that drink to it's maximum possible advantage. I'll tell you what I'd do with it.

 

To me(and more importantly to Carnival), a free drink is a free drink(as in, it wouldn't cost them any more wherever on the ship you get it).

 

What would have worked out a LOT better, would to just put a coupon on every past guest's bed at the start of the cruise saying something like....

 

 

 

"Welcome Aboard! and Welcome Back! We know you've been looking forward to this cruise aboard the (insert ship name here). and we've been looking forward to having you back! Your return business is important to us, and to show you our appreciation, your first cocktail is on us". (This coupon would be good for 1 "standard" cocktail on Day 1 of the voyage(thus, "First Drink"). That way all the freebies could be recorded on day 1, and the ship wouldn't have to mess with the accounting nightmare of it for the rest of the trip). Turning a "meh" into a "yeh".....I'd "seh"...hehe

 

 

 

Don't even mention it as part of the program. Take it off the rewards grid. Carnival has been getting a reputation of cutbacks lately.The goodwill and PR that would have generated from this undeclared new perk would have been GREAT!! Instead of the very wrong...."Here's your drink coupon, Here's what(and when, and where) you have to do to get it". I have heard that Carnival is considering changing this. Let's hope they do.

 

 

My Group 2 gets the exact same as VIFP, with the exception of my new "Welcome Back" drink program. Same drink, same cost......and the knowlege that they are entitle to past guest rates.(if they haven't got rid of those too)

 

 

Impact from my changes NONE, except they might attract more people with the advertisement of Past Guest rates on the reward grid. Let's also add a little goodwill (and buzz on the CC boards..hehe) from my way of dispensing the free drinks too, instead of the begrudging way I feel you're doing now.

 

　

Group 2(Gold 5-9 cruises)(VIFP 25-74 days cruised)

 

 

Here's where my program starts to veer from Carnivals. At the bottom level, my 5 day Cruiser get's the VIFP Gold level after 5 cruises, but 9 "5" day cruises will only add up to 45 cruise days(vs "75" VIFP days need for Platinum).

 

 

To remedy this, Carnival could offer side rewards based on how much you spend. So someone who's in a suite, might get double cruise days(seeing they paid twice as much as an average cruiser). Or you might get extra points for your casino play or even renting a tuxedo...hehe Excursions? Specialty Restaurants? (You bet). Anything you spend money on is kept track of. This way, people spending more on their vacation could equal out to the 74 day standard Carnival has set, or let folks who don't spend a lot take their time rising up.

 

　

Continuing......

 

　

*gold member pin(they got them made already. we gotta use 'em)

 

 

*past guest party

 

 

I said it earlier. A free drink is a free drink. And you can get at least a couple in at these party's. They can skip the appetizers. These folks have been eating well for days by the time this party comes up. The party's are ususally fun events, and last an hour or so. Definitely recommmended.

 

 

Aside from the differences mentioned above there would be NO IMPACT based on the same rewards between my program and VIFP

 

　

　

　

Platinum(10-24 cruises).(VIFP 75-199 cruise days)

 

 

If you took an "8" day cruise each year, every year. It would take you 10 years to get to Platinum using their program. My program takes into account that some people can't get away for 8 days every vacation, and that if they still cruise once a year they will be Platinum in 10 years also. Just like it's been all along. Using my "side rewards" theme, either one of these people could be Platinum.

 

　

Platinum Rewards for both VIFP and my program.

 

　

*Chocalate Delight"(delivered to room on 5+ day cruises

 

 

*Priority Check in and boarding

 

 

*Priority Spa Reservations

 

 

*Priority Tender Boarding(ship to shore only)

 

 

*$5 Arcade Credits(guests under 18)

 

 

*Carnival Logo Gift

 

 

*Dedicated onboard Guest Services phone number

 

 

*Priority Line at Guest Services Desk

 

 

*Complimentary Wash and Fold Laundry(2 bags 3-5 day sailing-3 bags on 7+)

 

 

*Ship/Year specific pin(They got'em anyway, although I think that just the old ship pins without the year would be liked better.....and you wouldn't have to keep changing the designs EVERY year for every ship, See...I'm even saving Carnival money here).

\

 

All these things I agree with as far as extras. But Carnival has been promising so much(for soooo long) that I'd like to add or change a couple things.

 

 

Keep in mind, at this point the Impact of my Platium program vs VIFP Plat. is NONE

 

 

my additions/changes

 

 

*Guaranteed Main Dining room and Specialty Restaurant reservations(for both Platinum and Diamond now). NO IMPACT aka doesn't cost them a thing

 

 

*1 Free entry into either the Slot and Blackjack tournament.(The way it's always been, instead of them changing the free entry into "buy one get one free

 

 

I know Carnival thinks this costs them $20 for each entry. As I will point out later, Carnival makes good money on these tournaments. Giving people a free entry will get them into the Casino which most Casino's will admit is half the battle. The $20 Carnival thinks it's losing on the tournament entry is probably being lost by the person(or person's spouse) sitting at the slot machine while they wait for their turn to play. IMPACT -NEGLIGIBLE.

 

　

　

*Another one of my choices for a no cost Platinum perk, using my "Free Drink" approach. This is something you also couldn't advertise as a perk, as it WOULD knock down ship total sales(which we're avoiding). On the last day of the cruise, they could put a flyer type(low cost) coupon on your bed. offering 1 free photo from the photo gallery as a special memento of your cruise.

 

If you advertised it, peeps would just wait for the coupon. This might have to be a random type gift, but think about ALL those photos that each ships just throws away every cruise. Photos that wouldn't cost them an extra dime to just give you(After you've already bought your photos of course). There's been plenty of times when Mary Ann and I have toiled over which one of the 2 good shots we're going to buy.

 

 

I guess Carnival employees(or a computer program) could just look at the guest's sail and sign account. And depending on how much they spent at the photo gallery, give them a corresponding number of freebies. Say for example It's the second to last day of the cruise. I see that "Joe Mama" has purchased $200 in photos.(That's only 10, but I do KNOW what he's bought). Is it any skin off my nose to offer him a photo(or 2 or 3)? Say he's spent $300.00? I'd say "Give'm all the rest he wants". Why not? They're going to get thrown away anyway? Another CHEER for some goodwill.....K? IMPACT of this program is MINIMAL(Have to print out the coupon/flyer, but distribution would be as easy as including it with your last Fun Times) The beautiful memories they throw away every trip......sigh. But the goodwill it could generate(at NO extra cost to Carnival mind you) could be truly AWESOME

 

 

*10% off all Carnival Logo Items. Yes, this will eat a little into those profits. But we're talking about people who've been cruising on your line for a decade. Let's let the 10% go, knowing that all items sold advertises the line. We'll eat a little profit for a little promo. IMPACT MINIMAL(Especially if they raise prices 10%......hehe).

 

　

　

Diamond(25 days+)(VIFP- 200+ cruise days)

 

　

The 200 day "Top of Scale" VIFP would take a once a year, 8-day cruiser, 25 years to accomplish, whereas it'd also take 25 years for once a year cruisers in my program(albeit with less actual required cruise days). At which point who really cares about how many total days you've cruised through all those years.

 

The question should be......How do you take care of someone who's been coming back to your business every year for 25 years??? REALLY WELL would be my answer.(Might even get another 25 out of 'em....hehe).

 

 

Diamond Rewards for both VIFP and my program

 

 

*Special Invitation from the Captain(Heck with 25 years of cruising under my belt, I'd sure like a picture/meet and greet with the captain) Not sure what the invitation entails, but I think it's a Great idea.

 

 

*One-time free cabin upgrade OR 3rd and 4th guest sail free.

 

 

*One-time donation on behalf of guest to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital

 

 

*One time meal for 2 at Specialty Restaurant of choice.

 

 

*VIFP Luggage tag set upon entry to Diamond Level

 

 

*Dedicated toll-free number for sales and service.

 

　

I feel this is a pretty fair amount for 25 year veterans, but I do think we can add a couple more things to sweeten the pot a little. Things that I've pointed out doesn't cost Carnival very much or nothing at all.

 

　

*1 Free Entry in both the Slot and BlackJack Tournaments. 2 entries total now!! Impact Negligible, as explained earlier

 

 

*Non advertised perk. Coupon left on the bed the last day of the cruise for(at least)2 photos as special mementos of your trip. Carnival would not advertise this, as I pointed out in the above section. IMPACT NEGLIGIBLE as stated earlier.

 

 

*1 time only "Behind the Fun" tour. Just up the number from 15 paid to 20 a group with 5 Diamond members added each(if you have that many). Availability of the 5 Diamond spaces would be on a "first come, first served" basis per each cruise. How much more would it cost to just add to a group you already have going?.....NADA. A GREAT experience, and easy way to repay someone who's been loyal for soooooo long. IMPACT..MINIMAL

 

　

*1 day "Breakfast in Bed"' I've seen on TV that some cruise lines offer butler service. I know this is not the case with Carnival. But something CLOSE might be upgrading the continental breakfast choices on the door knob menu to a special selection of "Breakfast in Bed" choices. Eggs benedict? Maybe a special skillet type breakfast with potatos, cheese, choice of meat? Crepe Suzette?(Why not?...hehe) Made to order Omelets? Pancakes and syrup? You bet. Just dress the waiter special (maybe just a cool vest) to have that "butler" effect. All he would have to do is basically just bring the food as with any "room service" order. After 25 years of cruising it sounds like a great perk that would cost Carnival NADA.(Maybe a little for the new snazzy uniform). Just making a little better use of what they've already got. IMPACT MINIMAL

 

　

*15% off all items in the Carnival Logo Store.

People who have cruised your line for 25 years want to advertise it!!! Bring on more items!!!

 

　

Thats what I would have done with the VIP program. I think it's a lot more "brilliant" than what they came up with, especially since the cost differences would be a minimal.

 

　

I don't understand why they don't use the CC boards to their advantage by(along with many other questions along the way) having someone post, asking members about what they thought would be "reasonable" expectations for the new program. I'm sure they would have gotten a lot of BRILLIANT ideas here.

 

 

Bottom Line........I'm just some guy out here with a couple of ideas, and they're paying folks the big bucks to come up with something that frankly did not exceed my(hopefully our) expectations

 

　

Stepping off my soapbox(for now)......... Still shaving my beard though.

 

 

　

............Now, on with the review..............

 

 

 

........to be continued.........

 

[MelBCroozer]

Unusual review!

[re-re]

Great start, i love your reviews.:)

[cruisin USA]

Before We Go.........

 

 

　

About a month before we left, people from the roll call had been talking about all the OBC's they were receiving from the early saver guarantee. Some were getting hundreds of dollars! Unfortunately, our OS cabin wasn't budging. I kept looking and finally(about 3 weeks before our trip) I see a price drop of $80. I called myTA, and she got it applied for me. On top of that, Mastercard was having a promotion, that if you used their card to back your Sign and Sail card, you'd recieve a $50 OBC. We ended up with $330.00 in OBC's!! What a GREAT feeling!!!

 

　

Right after Thanksgiving, we had heard that the St. Thomas skyride was "closed for renovations"(new owners), and that it might not be open while we were there....(Fortunately, it had ended up opening about a week before we got there)

 

.

A few days before our trip, I got an e-mail from Carnival stating that "due to operational considerations" boarding wouldn't start till 2 pm!! I'm still pretty sure, it was due to the fact they wouldn't be able to house all the passengers(plus attendees) at the godmother/naming ceremony. At least we knew about the delay well in advance. Last cruise's medical emergency got us a "delay" e mail the night before the cruise.....Unfortunately we didn't have access to wifi, and didn't know until the morning of, from the consierge at our hotel.. At least this time we were prepared. Our roll call meeting at the aft pool was moved to 4pm, so that the early MDR people could still come and get acquainted.

 

　

　

On our Way!!

 

 

Despite having to finish work at 3 am,(and our flight leaving at 8am), this trip was much easier on me. Last trip(f you've read that review) ,I lost my keys, and had to leave without them....OUCH. Then when we got into Ft. Lauderdale, we see a man have a heart attack about 30 feet away from us. This time it was "smooth sailing" all the way to Miami. Got to Ft. Lauderdale, got our bags, and hailed a cab. Got to our hotel in about a half hour. (cab fare- $65.00 plus tip). The hotel is right in downtown Miami. I went up to go register while Mary Ann waited with the bags. I get into line, and not 30 seconds later. I see a gal approaching. She says "Gary?" I say "Hi Laura" to Laura(I recognized her picture from FB) Laura is with her husband and son. We talked for a couple of seconds, and off they went. The check in desk has a HUGE tv screen behind it. Presumably showing a live shot of waves crashing onto the Miami shoreline. Check in is quick and painless. We got to the room and freshened up.A Really nice room, with a view of downtown Miami.

 

 

 

If we looked WAYYYY right we could see the causeway that leads out to the Cruise ship pier.

 

 

 

It'd been a long trip though. We were both pretty tired(especially me), so we took a long afternoon nap.

 

 

.......to be continued.......

 

[cruisin USA]

.....continuing......

 

 

When we woke up, we got ready, and headed over to the Bayside mall. About a 10 minute walk. There is a park right next to the hotel. Lot's of people walking their dogs. We could see a CVS pharmacy right across the street. We knew we'd be stopping there on the way back. Bayside is a nice, outdoor mall with plenty of little shops, restaurants, and BARS! We saw the Hard Rock at the other end. Decided to head that way. Lot's of places to eat, with people standing in front of the restauraunts, trying to show us their menu. Lots of people hanging out. I saw some people setting up instruments. at an outdoor stage. They were getting ready for some live music. We ended up at the Hard Rock gift shop. Nothing really caught our eyes, so we headed back. We stopped at an outside bar for the first 2 Corona's of our trip. Fun just watching the world pass by, while we're just getting started on a GREAT vacation. After our Coronas, we headed back to the main section of the mall. The band that was setting up, was a Reggae band, complete with Steel Drums.(Love them Steel Drums!) Listened to them for a song or two and then we headed over to "Bubba Gumps," a Forrest Gump/shrimp themed restaurant where the roll callers were supposed to meet. There were Forrest "Gumpisms" everywhere,(including the T shirts the staff were wearing). We stayed for 1 Corona, but didn't see any "group", so we headed back. We stopped by the CVS to pick up 2 bottles of wine, 5-4 packs of Red Bull and a 12 pack of Pepsi, and a few other last minute items. We still needed to find limes though. Back to the hotel to unload our "booty", and we headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant about 8 pm for some dinner. (After all, we'd have to start getting used to eating at this time for the ship).

 

 

 

The hotel restaurant's name was ToroToro. We were seated. A dark elegant dining room. There were a few people when we got there, but the numbers increased as our dinner progressed. The server came by, introduced herself, and handed us menus. She explains that ToroToro is really 2 restaurants. 1) A steak house, and 2) A "small plate" sharing type restaurant. There's only one column for the steakhouse menu. Filet....$34.00 New York Strip $32.00. Hmmmmm. The small plate menu consisted of sharing portions. I had never had anything on that menu, and frankly didn't know what a lot of those things were. We ended up with Ham Croquettes(tasted like Gino's pizza rolls, only much more expensive), and a short rib, flatbread, double cheese that tasted like a philly steak and cheese(only much less of it). I guess it was just too fancy for our tastes. Mary Ann didn't like it at all. I didn't think it was too bad, but if we ever stay there again,(and chances are we will), it'll be dinner at Bubba Gumps, or some other place at Bayside. We went right to our room after dinner. We had a long day traveling, but it felt like we had a buffer to rest, and get ready for our cruise aboard the Breeze.

 

 

 

All Aboard!

 

 

 

Woke up realizing it was Cruise day. Mary Ann had gotten up earlier(as usual) and went for coffee. I got up, and looked out the window. It was another mostly cloudy day. There were people in a pavillion in the park next door doing yoga. When she got back, Mary Ann told me there were lot's of peeps with their "Misfit" t shirt on downstairs in the lobby. I got ready, and we both headed over to the shopping district of Miami, where we had heard from the concerige there was a market that might have limes. Lots of shops along the street. Lots of Luggage shops. There was a Wal Greens that we stopped in for a quick minute. We found the market, and they were out of limes. Fortunately, we found a small sidewalk restaurant that was willing to part with 2 limes. It's kind of our tradition, since every cruise we've ever taken(besides the Miracle), the ship had run out of limes. We headed back to the room, assembled the luggage, and were out of the room a couple of minutes past our check out time of Noon. We decided to hang out in the hotel lobby till about 1 pm, and then head over to the pier. We found a couple of comfy couches, and played with our i pads till it was time to head over. Caught a cab, and were to the cruise terminal within minutes. Found the VIP(er....VIFP)line and upon inspection of our boarding passes, we were sent on to check in. We followed the signs to a doorway. A lady at the door took our boarding passes, and told us to sit in the lounge until we were called. Not 5 minutes passed, and we were called. Check in was fast, It was only 1:20, and we had our sail n sign cards in hand, and were cleared to board!! Over a half hour before they even told people to arrive!!! A quick stop for our "boarding" picture, and we were working our way through the glass enclosed winding "gang" plank , and onto the deck of the Breeze.

 

 

......to be continued......

[cruisin USA]

......continuing......

 

 

Ship Ahoy!!!

 

 

 

We walked through the doors and into the atrium. Just like boarding on all our previous cruises. It was nice getting aboard ahead of most of the passengers. The elevators already had lot's of people waiting. We decided to hoof it up from deck 3 to 7. I knew our cabin (7271) was not far from the glass elevators. So far, the layout of the ship was very familiar. It really didn't seem that much bigger than the 2000 passenger ships(yet). I had scanned through pictures of the balcony cabins and OS suites on the Breeze, on the Carnival website. Lot's of nice whites, with green and blue trims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was soooooo glad they were getting rid of that "80's ORANGE" themed decor on their newest ship. Got to the cabin, opened the door, and found a suite very similiar to the one we had on the Miracle, and just my luck, with all the ORANGE anyone could ever want......sigh....hehe

 

 

 

 

The decorations were up. The "Bon Voyage" sign had already fallen. Note to Carnival that you need to go up one grade on tape. I know you don't want too much sticky residue, but EVERY single cruise we've decorated,(including this one) we've had stuff falling from time to time throughout the cruise, that we'd have to put back up

 

 

 

Sitting there on the bed, were our first Fun Times(the ships activity paper) and our VIFP "Welcome Aboard" sheet. The letter outlined the benefits of being a Platinum member. At the bottom were our tickets for our free drinks at the Punchliner comedy brunch....sigh

 

The Bon Voyage items were all there!!

 

 

(including the 2 beach towels I forgot to mention I ordered)

 

We had supplies!!! Although I'd brought a corkscrew with us, it was nice to see they include a "Carnival Logo" corkscrew with the wine. It wasn't too long before 2 of our 3 bags arrived. Mary Ann's bag, and our 3rd bag with our decorations, and extras(including the 2 extra 4 packs of Red bull I had to stash to keep us both at 12 non alcohol items in our carry ons). Mary Ann emptied the refrigerator of the "mini bar" items, and stocked it up with our Beer, Wine, Pepsi, Red Bull, Coke, and Jager.

 

We got to meet our cabin steward Dwipa, from Indonesia. A nice fellow, who kept our cabin tidy, and kept us in ice throughout the trip. Mary Ann unpacked. We decorated our cabin in a subtle Christmas theme. The only thing we put on our door was a paper cutout wreath.

 

 

I saw lot's of door signs this trip. Some much more imaginative then ours. I figured that we were in a high traffic area on the ship, and things would bound to fall/get torn down. My bag was still in limbo. We decided to head up to the lido buffet, and get something to eat.

 

 

.....to be continued......

[cruisin USA]

......continuing.......

 

 

Chance Encounter

 

 

 

We headed to the aft elevators. If this ship was anything like the Miracle, taking those aft elevators up to lido would drop us right off at the buffet. It was a long way back. We're almost there. I see a young man with glasses with a group of young teenagers coming up from the very aft. It's Butch. I recognized him from a photo I had seen with a lot of the other cruise directors. As we found out later, these were Butch's nephews and nieces. We followed them to the elevators. Butch says that "Grandma's giving you each $50", and that he also was going to give everyone $50 too. Mary Ann has the comedic timing of Lucy. She says "Wow, we're all going to get $50!!!" Butch just gives her this look....hehehe. They get onto their elevator, we get onto ours. We ended up right at the buffet. We get into line. Butch comes walking through with the brood. A passenger stops him, and says that he had sailed with him previously. Butch says "I guess your stuck with me again". Self deprecation? I could tell he's probably used that line quite a few times. Off they go.

 

 

 

Love the buffet, I had a sliced roast beef(with horseradish)....YUM!!! I ended up getting us some "cake pops" and a slice of my new lido buffet favorite dessert, "double caramel cake" YUM O! After we fed ourselves, we headed to the aft bar and got our first "drink of the day" herein refered to as DOD's

 

 

 

I was disappointed that Carnival has stopped using the cool DOD glasses. No more Coconut Monkies, No more Whale tales.....sniff.

 

We got back to the cabin. Still no bag! As I said earlier, the sailing away party had been moved to 4pm. It was getting that time, and still no luggage(with my Misfit t-shirt in it we were supposed to wear). Finally the bags came. I had time to unpack, and put my t shirt on. We headed to the aft pool, Saw a LOT of people with our shirts on. We headed to the bar to get drinks before we joined them. I go up,and the bartender is waiting on someone. I wait patiently, and the bartender steps up and says that they're closed because of the muster station drill about to be taking place. ....heavy sigh. Just then, it comes over the PA. All the t shirts scatter. We head for the stairs. Our muster station is in the Sapphire dining room(upper). Along the way, we see a face I recognize. It's Ron from the roll call. He was VERY helpful to all on the roll call. He introduces us to his wife Amy. We get a short few seconds to talk before we join the crowd heading down the stairs for muster drill.

 

 

Muster Drill

 

 

We found our way along deck 4 to the Sapphire dining room. Along the way, we passed the tinted glass windows of the O2(teen) club. Looked like a pretty cool disco. We also passed the Thrill ride, the Art gallery, and the Library bar as we made our way forward. Finally we were at the top floor entrace to the Sapphire dining room. We found a seat, and waited for the announcements. It's soooo much nicer not having to lug that life jacket around(let alone having to wear it) during Muster like back in the old days....hehe. Although we didn't know it at the time. ALL the muster stations were on the inside rooms of the ship(at least for this cruise). I know I've stood on deck for most of them. We were told we'd be led to the stations if there were an actual emergency. After the announcements, we just sat there waiting for the signal. People were starting to trickle out. Finally the signal sounded. We headed back to the cabin to enjoy cocktails, and hang out on the balcony, to enjoy our own version of sail away.

 

 

....to be continued.......

[aggiejade]

Hi Gary and Mary Ann ~

 

Loving your review! Can't wait to read more!!

 

I so miss your pictures from your Miracle review:(. Also miss you on the Hawaii roll call but I so understand!

 

Take care my friends,

Nina

[cruisin USA]

.....continuing.....

 

I ended up making a quick trip up to the lido buffet to fill our cooler full of ice. Took a quick shot looking down ........

 

 

.....and up the atrium....

 

.....

 

 

.......on the way. Got back, and iced down some of our liquid "booty". We just hung out on the balcony for awhile. Although it was mostly cloudy, we didn't care. For a couple from the midwest, the warm Florida air felt GREAT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darkness fell. 6 pm came and went. Around 6:20 the ship starts moving. We head toward Miami, and do the turn. As we come about, we can clearly see the Intercontinental with the cool light show of the 18 story "shadow" gal go-go dancing on the side of the building.

 

 

 

 

We had seen the Liberty, and a Royal Carribean ship docked earlier. By the empty pier, we could see we were the last ship leaving port that night. We passed through the cruise ship channel. Evidently, they're expanding.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the channel, we can see the cranes, and the railroad cars that are used to send cargo across the U.S. I can also see the other 2 ships ahead of us. They're taking a slightly different course than us. We follow the buoys out to deep water, and off we go. After all the planning and prepping over the last 10 months.......We're finally on our way!!!!

 

 

We just stood on our balcony, having our first jager bombs of the trip, watching the lights of Miami fade into the background. Mary Ann had opened her first bottle of wine, while I started on the Corona.The other 2 ships took a more southerly course, while we stayed more on a westerly direction. It's just sooooo cool. Sitting on your balcony, as the waves crash against the ship beneath you. The salt air!!! Wind blowing at your face. With the occasional "mist" you'd feel. Cocktail in hand, we just took it all in. It'd been almost 10 months since we'd last cruised. Life is good!!!

 

 

 

.....to be continued.....

Edited February 21, 2013 by cruisin USA

[gelo7]

Good review.

[rhcpchika1]

i am beyond hooked - loving the review!

[LUPY48]

Hey Gary, good to see you back, posting your wonderful review!!

[cruisin USA]

.....continuing.....

 

 

 

 

Soon enough, it was time to get ready for dinner. We changed. Got my customary "dinner Pepsi" out of the ice, and headed down to eat. We got to the Blush dining room a little early since it was our first night, and we knew there'd be a crowd. I have to admit, that when I saw the first pictures of the Blush dining room, The motif reminded me of a bowling alley, with it's reds and oranges. It didn't look so bad in person. The lights of the room gave everything an orange hue. We made our way to table 732.

 

 

 

A 4 seated table, at the end of a row of "deuces"(tables for 2), We were WAY away from where I knew the "action" would be. No way I'm walking over to the rail to watch the waiters dance on the tables. Suprisingly, we found out that(thoughout the entire trip) we'd be sitting across from the exact same people we'd sat across from last trip aboard the Miracle.....sigh

 

 

 

 

We were eached passed menus. The bread server was Lucas, and he was a man of many talents as we found out later. 10 years ago there might have been 5 or 6 choices on the dinner menu. Nowadays, there's plenty to choose from. Literally "Something for Everyone". From Salmon, to Pasta, to Vegetarian, to Poultry, to Heartsmart each and EVERY night!! We started a conversation with the couple next to us. Within 10 minutes, we knew they were from Canada, and owned a hunting lodge. That they spent most of December in Florida....blah, blah, blah. The man kept saying he was looking to "upgrade" concerning his wife.(Of course he was kidding, but when we were back at the cabin, I told Mary Ann I thought it was a kinda tacky thing to say....multiple times). He was flirting with our waitress most of the week, even though he seemed pretty harmless. He joked a few times about wanting to see her dance. No big deal, but since we were on the very end next to a window covered with blinds, these were the only 2 folks we could converse with over dinner......double sigh.

 

 

 

Dinner was GREAT as always, I started with "Creme of Sundried Tomato"(with herb croutons)soup, followed by "Heart of Iceberg Lettuce"(w/1000 island). For my main course I picked "Chicken le Greque""(broiled boneless chicken with herbs and tomato confit virgin olive oil and basil oil). For her main course, Mary Ann picked "Panned seared fillet of Tilapia"(with green pea fondue and vichy carrots). For dessert, we split a Vanilla Crem Brulee and Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. A GREAT way to top off dinner. To my dissappointment though, they now charge $2.75 for a Cappucino after dinner. Time for Plan B......"I'll have a coffee"(Sorry, It's against my principle to pay for something that's been complimentary all these years...sigh, Too bad I couldn't just whip out that Platinum card and get one for free....hey?!?,,,,) I had coffee after dinner this trip with our dessert for every meal.There was no waiters show that night(presumably due to the late sailing.. We were disappointed. I consider it a missed fun opportunity to "Welcome" us all aboard.

 

 

......to be continued.....

[workn2cruise]

Loving this review Gary. Looking forward to more!!!

[Icon5]

Thanks for the review ! enjoying it!

How did you get the case of beer from BV? just saw the 4packs - unless you just order 6 x 4pack - or can you buy an actual case?

[jenale80]

Wow, what a thorough and interesting review ~ love it!

[cruisin USA]

....continuing.....

 

 

 

After dinner, we bid adieu to our tablemates, and headed for our cabin to have a cocktail before we went to the Welcome Aboard show. The place was pretty packed. We had to sit a little farther back that we're used to.(Note to self, "Arrive earlier" to shows for best seating) I guess with 4200 people aboard, you have to adjust for a few things(more later). The lights darkened. Butch came out. Basically, it was him for most of the show. No "FUN" letters, orchestra playing, or any dancing. No appearences by the junior entertainment staff telling people about themselves, where they were from, and what their favorite activity aboard was.

 

Butch is an entertaining guy though. He introduces himself. Talks a little about "life while cruising" He mentions a lot of the ammenities, and a little bit about the ports we're going to visit. Everyone is enjoying his presentation. At one point while the crowd is all clapping Butch picks out,a guy in the 3rd row, and tells him that "he's not even smiling", and he should let go. He then finds 2 guys in the audience to come up, and also chooses Mr. No Smile. Butch pulls the first guy out upfront with him. The guy is in the service. Butch Thanks him for his service(BIG APPLAUSE). He tells him to address his wife, and tell her what it means for him to be on vacation with her. The soft music comes out, and this guy goes into this Barry White, speech, about how he loved her, and that he was going to have something to tell her in about a month. It was heartfelt, and very touching. Then, each of the guys has to go out and strut his stuff on the catwalk. The older fellow does a pretty good job. Then comes out the serviceman. He really get's DOWN. The audience was really into it, with plenty of hoots and hollars. Mr. "No Smiles" comes out. Walks forward 3 steps, pushes his arm forward, as in "no way" and then back to his position.....Boo! One special note. Butch must have taken some memory classes. He uses each of the guys(and their gals) names, and where they are from without missing 1 beat. Cudos. Butch ended up giving them each a bottle of champagne for them and their gals. He says that if we can get 3 strangers to get together to do what they just did, that anything is possible. Butch continues speaking, as the guys exit the stage. While he's talking, a "farmer" looking guy with overalls starts walking up the stairs. from the audience. Obviously this guy is a plant(ended up being 1 of the ships 2 comedians). He plays the rube to a T, with Butch playing the straight man. It was pretty funny. Butch finishes up by telling us each to have a good time, and that if you see someone you want to meet, just go up to them and say that "Butch sent me". He also added that you might be in trouble if the person doesn't know who Butch is. Different kind of Welcome Aboard show, but still enjoyable. We made our way out the doors to the elevators.

 

 

 

One thing I did notice on this ship. The elevators are laid out just like most of the Carnival ship's we'd been on.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, with double the people aboard(and the same amount of elevators), we found it easier to take the stairs as much as possible during high traffic times. One other thing about these elevators. At most hotels,(and other ships we've been on), if you press the up button, The up button for both sides of elevators goes on. Not here. We found that we'd have to press both up buttons for a better chance. What a silly way to design things. One other thing, It seemed that 1 of the aft elevators was out throughout the trip. Marked with an "X" to signify "Out of Order"

 

 

 

We did eventually get an elevator. It's pretty cool having a room real close to them.(Actually, I thought we'd be bothered by the traffic, but it was never an issue).

 

 

It was almost midnight before we got back to the room. We'd explored very little of the ship, but knew by the time this voyage was finished we'd have seen most of it. We'd start that tomorrow. For now, it was time for bed.

 

 

 

I ended up turning on the television. The TV has about 20 channels. Aside from the Lido deck view, the view from the front of the ship. Ships info, Cruise director channel..etc, there was TNT(sometimes in spanish, with english speaking commerials..????) Cartoon network, A local Miami station. In my last review, I said that eventually Carnival would be having pay per view movies, and interactive tv just like hotels do. Well, here it was. Tons of movies to rent. There were lots of things we could also check on with the tv. For one, they broadcast what was for dinner in the main dining room for each night. We could check our sail n sign account(Wasn't worrying about that just yet). Even see the room service menu!! Great job Carnival!

 

 

......to be continued.....

Edited February 21, 2013 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

.....continuing.....

 

 

Sea Day 1

 

 

 

 

When I woke up, Mary Ann was already up(as always), and out on the balcony. I turned on the tv to find Butch and the assistant cruise director "Amy" having a morning talk show. Where else would I have found out that the ACD was a 3 lb "premie" who grew to 6'3'' (Thus her affectionate nickname of "6-3"). or that the Conquest CD's cabin is HUGE!! Little inside Carnival "tidbits" LOVED it!! They did the show really well. I have to admit I was suprised. Not quite Kelly and Michael, but pretty darn close.

 

 

 

 

We both got ready, and headed out to lido for breakfast.

 

We ended up just following our hallway to the aft elevators, and headed up to the lido buffet. I had heard that they had changed to powdered eggs on the buffet. I told that to Mary Ann, to which she replied that "Maybe they've always been like that". I filled my plate with the usual. Melon, Breakfast Potatoes, Ham, Bacon, Sausage, and Scrambled, with 2 chocolate milks, and an orange juice. Everything was fine, except......I bit into the eggs. Yuk......Definitely different from last time. It wasn't so much the taste, but the texture. That was the last time we ever went for the scrambled eggs on the lido......sigh.....more later.

After breakfast, we decided to explore the ship. There was a lot we hadn't seen yet. We found ourselves next to the Comedy showroom. Just a quick peek inside. When we came out, Ron and Amy were there in front of the Farenheit 55 Steakhouse. Turns out they were going to a cooking demonstration. Looked like they were either early or they were the only 2 who showed up. Ron confirmed for me that our cocktail party was for 1 pm in the Liquid disco(I wasn't sure if it was 1 or 3)Monday(tomorrow). We worked our way forward and eventually up and out onto the lido deck, and proceeded forward. It was pretty cloudy, but the sunshine peeked out every once in a while. It did sprinkle/rain a little throughout the day and into the night, but it didn't bother us. We worked our way towards the Serenity deck. I thought to myself that it was a little strange having to walk past the kid's water park, and up a flight of stairs to get there, (but found out on the way back, we could get there from the Cloud Nine spa also). 1st impression?..... Not nearly as "serene" (or nice) as on the Miracle. Although it's quiet, there's quite a Breeze(no pun intended) blowing throughout(cause it's on the front of the ship instead of the aft). We visited there a couple of times through the trip. I don't think we ever did see an available chair or "clam". We saw a glass door, and proceeded down the elevator to the Cloud 9 spa, where we exited and made our way back to our cabin for a little restbit

 

 

 

......to be continued.....

[Wags67]

I've been looking forward to 'reliving' our cruise through your review, Gary.

It was my pleasure to meet you at IC, even it was very brief!

Keep up your Excellent novella!

[DEBnGAB]

Woo Hoo!!! Another Cruisin USA review....love it! Cant wait to read more!

[cruisin USA]

.....continuing.....

 

Sorry, I had that last post in the cue, and I was called away. When I came back it was posted....with no chance to delete

 

This is how it was supposed to look like.

 

 

Sea Day 1

 

 

 

When I woke up, Mary Ann was already up(as always), and out on the balcony. I turned on the tv to find Butch and the assistant cruise director "Amy" having a morning talk show. Where else would I have found out that the ACD was a 3 lb "premie" who grew to 6'3'' (Thus her affectionate nickname of "6-3"). or that the Conquest CD's cabin is HUGE!! Little inside Carnival "tidbits" LOVED it!! They did the show really well. I have to admit I was suprised. Not quite Kelly and Michael, but pretty darn close.

 

 

 

We both got ready, and headed out to lido for breakfast.

 

We ended up just following our hallway to the aft elevators, and headed up to the lido buffet. I had heard that they had changed to powdered eggs on the buffet. I told that to Mary Ann, to which she replied that "Maybe they've always been like that". I filled my plate with the usual. Melon, Breakfast Potatoes, Ham, Bacon, Sausage, and Scrambled, with 2 chocolate milks, and an orange juice.

 

 

 

 

They're cooking the bacon differently now. Instead of hard as a rock(should be illegal, as I've said before), if anything it was a bit under done. Funny thing, Now instead of them doling out ham, it's bacon that they serve you with tongs now....hehe Everything was fine, except......I bit into the eggs. Yuk......Definitely different from last time. It wasn't so much the taste, but the texture. That was the last time we ever went for the scrambled eggs on the lido......sigh.....more later.

 

 

After breakfast, we decided to explore the ship. There was a lot we hadn't seen yet. We found ourselves next to the Comedy showroom. Just a quick peek inside. When we came out, Ron and Amy were there in front of the Farenheit 55 Steakhouse. Turns out they were going to a cooking demonstration. Looked like they were either early or they were the only 2 who showed up. Ron confirmed for me that our cocktail party was for 1 pm in the Liquid disco(I wasn't sure if it was 1 or 3)Monday(tomorrow). We worked our way forward and eventually up and out onto the lido deck, and proceeded forward. It was pretty cloudy, but the sunshine peeked out every once in a while. It did sprinkle/rain a little throughout the day and into the night, but it didn't bother us. We worked our way towards the Serenity deck. I thought to myself that it was a little strange having to walk past the kid's water park, and up a flight of stairs to get there, (but found out on the way back, we could get there from the Cloud Nine spa also). 1st impression?..... Not nearly as "serene" (or nice) as on the Miracle. Although it's quiet, there's quite a Breeze(no pun intended) blowing throughout(cause it's on the front of the ship instead of the aft). We visited there a couple of times through the trip. I don't think we ever did see an available chair or "clam". We saw a glass door, and proceeded down the elevator to the Cloud 9 spa, where we exited and made our way back to our cabin for a little restbit.

 

 

......to be continued.....

 

At this point I am going to stop for a bit. Reply to all who have joined in, and continue on later on tonight, when I'm not so apt to get called away. Thank you for your patience

[battchief1]

Thanks for the review

[cruisin USA]

Taking a time-out to say "Hello"

 

 

MelBCroozer....."Unusual"?????....Hopefully meant as in "not the usual"

 

 

 

rere..... Thank you for your kind words, and "Welcome Aboard" again!!

 

 

 

 

{{{{{{Nina}}}}}} Thank you also for your kind words. Sorry about the pics. All the pictures on ALL of my reviews here have disappeared do to me linking them to a certain social networking site...sigh, and the cloud service that those pics are at now.....sigh... I do think that I might repost "We Missed the Boat" someday, in it's entirety. That was a valuable lesson learned that everyone should know. Hawaii is next up for us. Should be interesting considering all the people(including the OP) who have dropped off already because of you know what. How many did we lose?? Glad to hear you're still aboard. We are too. No matter what. See you at the roll call eventually. Haven't even wanted to lurk there, but I'm sure I'll be stopping by.

 

 

 

gelo7....Glad you like it

 

 

 

rhcpchika1(We dig the peppers too). You rock, Thanks for telling me you're enjoying my review. There's a LOT more left to go!!!

 

 

 

 

LUPY48....Heard you dropped our Hawaii trip. Can't blame you I'm sure you'll be reading about it somewhere....hehe

 

 

 

 

Sheri...You're still going right????? Thanks for reading, and I'm sure we'll be in touch at roll call(eventually).

 

 

 

Icon5.......If you look closer at the picture, you can see the case of beer(marked "Coronita") at the bottom left. The ordering procedure is described earlier in the review.

 

 

jenale80........Thank you for your kind words

 

 

 

 

Laura....The only CC'er from the trip to check in. Hope this review brings back some GREAT memories of this cruise.

 

 

 

 

DEBNGAB......Here we go again!! Thank you for coming back for yet another LNL review

 

 

battchief1........... Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

I think that about covers it for now. As always, feel free to comment or post. I love hearing from people who enjoy my reviews.

 

 

 

 

Gary aka cruisin USA

[lovecruzing]

Just saw your review Gary, going to start reading it. I'm sure it will bring back lots of memories for me. Looking forward to the ride.

 

 

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