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What did you learn on your last Carnival cruise?


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On 8/27/2018 at 3:49 PM, RaiderDuck said:

We learned that Steve's Steakhouse/Maggie's Blue Rose in Catalina Island is an awesome place to eat. Steaks are upstairs, Mexican food and the bar are downstairs.

 

We learned that a lazy CD who hangs out in the Piano Bar 99% of the time doesn't wreck a cruise by any means, but does affect how enjoyable the shipboard entertainment is (she apparently no longer works for Carnival, so I won't say her name).

 

We learned a lot of other things... from the Behind the Fun tour. Highly recommended.

 

Cross dresser?

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13 hours ago, buddylover said:

LOL......and we learned EXACTLY the opposite.  We tried Fantasy class for the first and it will definitely be our LAST time!!  The "vacation" part (ports) was fine, it was the 'sea day' that did us in on that old smelly (mildew everywhere) ship.  Even the cabin, we stayed in a suite and it was smaller than any regular balcony cabin that we frequent on all the other ships....not 'our cup of tea'.....an expensive lesson we learned!

 

I somewhat agree. The Fantasy class exceeded my expectations, but is not my ideal ship. For Fascination-type itineraries, I won't be as scared anymore on which ship I get. If I have the choice though, I would definitely go bigger.

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I learned...that during the Safety Drill there are places people can go and sit down if they have difficulties standing. 

 

From reading some some posts here Carnival has started doing the drills inside instead of lining people up out in the heat.  👍 Hope thats still the case for our b2b in February on the Magic!

 

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On new ships such as the Breeze, Vista, and Horizon behind those wall panels in the hallway is your cabin's air handler. If the cabin is too warm, maintenance can access these units and backflush the system (bleed off air pockets which hinder cooling.) And, the new system where key cards await you in your cabin message box shortening embarkation. But wait! There's more! Gelato is now served during lunch on the Horizon. yum yum!721942316_BlondeSEcretary1.thumb.jpg.22652973fb9a20a1b11c24ad5d3567f6.jpg

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On 10/29/2018 at 10:06 AM, NCbmwmom said:

I learned that grabbing a clamshell in Serenity on sea days is the best way to spend the day in Glacier Bay. Blankets and extra towels make it cozy, and perfect for naps. 

Does Carnival supply the blankets? Or is there a throw blanket in your room you take with you? This sounds awesome!

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9 minutes ago, Damemphisman said:

Does Carnival supply the blankets? Or is there a throw blanket in your room you take with you? This sounds awesome!

I brought a blanket with me. I didnt see any Carnival blankets, but we also usually got 4 towels as well. I also had a wool wrap I had brought as well..

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On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 11:14 PM, Tigeroy said:

I learned...that during the Safety Drill there are places people can go and sit down if they have difficulties standing. 

 

From reading some some posts here Carnival has started doing the drills inside instead of lining people up out in the heat.  👍 Hope thats still the case for our b2b in February on the Magic!

 

 

We were on the Magic about a year ago and muster was indeed inside :)

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On 8/1/2018 at 8:12 PM, jlt2005cruise said:

Just booked airline tickets today...now for a hotel the night before. Any recommendations? Flying into fll

 

9 hours ago, HolySpearit said:

 

We were on the Magic about a year ago and muster was indeed inside 🙂

Thank you!  

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I learned that the Cheers package just kind of works for my group, even if maaaaaybe we don't end up truly getting every last dollar's worth.

 

It was nice to be able to try drinks we wouldn't have otherwise tried and not worry about what it costs. On several occasions, we didn't care for something we ordered and ended up giving up on it after a few sips. Had we been paying for them as we went, we probably would have felt compelled to finish them, which not only wouldn't have been pleasant, but would have kept us from instead ordering things that we enjoyed to replace them. 

 

On top of that, we found that we liked Cheers for all of the other perks. We got the 1.5 liter bottles of water each night in the dining room and took those back to our room to drink at night and in the morning and to take off the ship in port. It was also great for speciality coffee in the morning and for soda with lunch, in addition to bottles of water to stay hydrated throughout the day. 

 

If we hadn't come anywhere close to getting full value from the package, it would be a different story, but we, at the very least, came close to getting our money's worth (from a dollars and cents perspective) from the package and loved the convenience. 

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We learned that it is possible to switch your dining preference onboard.
Assigned late-dining (since early was already full).
Two nights in, we did not like our waitstaff at all (first time with that problem)
Maybe because it was late dining and they were already tired, but whatever the issue was, they were both inattentive and borderline rude.

Requested a switch to anytime dining and got it the next day (yay!).
First seating the waitstaff was wonderful! Exactly the kind of service we had gotten used to.

They were so good, in fact, that we requested their section every time the rest of the cruise!

Also learned that port days are great for visiting the water park, as there is virtually no one there!

Had a great time on the slides and enjoyed some Guy's burgers and fries in the Serenity area.(had to bring them over ourselvers, don't get excited!) Better than any of the sea days!

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19 hours ago, Chervil said:

Two nights in, we did not like our waitstaff at all (first time with that problem)
Maybe because it was late dining and they were already tired, but whatever the issue was, they were both inattentive and borderline rude.

 

We had the same issue back in May with our waitstaff at Early dining and also the first time really having that issue. The head waiter was obviously frustrated with his assistants and it showed in the service. A couple we made friends with had late seating and they said they absolutely loved their waitstaff. I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

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I learned that on the dessert menu there is a cheese plate. You just order it when you order your dinner and it's a nice appetizer to have with your rolls. It has about 4 or 5 different kinds of cheese cubes and a few grapes and strawberries and feeds two. 

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On 10/29/2018 at 1:33 PM, evandbob said:

Actually, Southern Italian food is not cuisine, and it doesn't require fine taste.  It is simple peasant food.  Pasta and gravy, bread and cheese are the main ingredients.

 

Northern Italian food requires a refined palate and involves complicated sauces.

I must be a peasant then. I enjoyed the meal we had in the Dream's pasta restaurant last week......:classic_cool:

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On 11/4/2018 at 12:37 PM, dheat789 said:

I learned that on the dessert menu there is a cheese plate. You just order it when you order your dinner and it's a nice appetizer to have with your rolls. It has about 4 or 5 different kinds of cheese cubes and a few grapes and strawberries and feeds two. 

I always order the cheese plate with my dessert.
It is a nice finish to the meal and there have been a few times I took it back to the room and we enjoyed it with some of the wine we brought.

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On 9/10/2018 at 4:36 PM, samiam0403 said:

Just off of Fantasy on Monday, and I learned that the Drinks On Us card from the casino now has the same restriction as Cheers - 15 drinks a day. And no, I never maxed out, although certainly not from lack of trying. :') 

How much do you have to spend in the casino to get the card? We’ve budget to gamble and I’d be interested to know if we can spend enough to drink on the house

On 9/10/2018 at 4:36 PM, samiam0403 said:

 

Edited by niciediva007
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10 hours ago, niciediva007 said:

How much do you have to spend in the casino to get the card? We’ve budget to gamble and I’d be interested to know if we can spend enough to drink on the house

I know this isn’t the answer you want, but it depends. You could start with $20, and as long as you keep winning and keep putting the money back in, you could earn the card. You’d need to earn 1500 points on a longer cruise, and 1000 on a shorter cruise. I’m sure someone will pop in with specifics, or you could do a search. Also, if you earn 5000 points on any cruise, the drink card will be included on your next cruise. Happy sailing - and gambling! 🙂

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12 hours ago, niciediva007 said:

How much do you have to spend in the casino to get the card? We’ve budget to gamble and I’d be interested to know if we can spend enough to drink on the house

 

I don’t know the point setup on the ships...but I do know what it is at a certain land based casino. Based on that setup and the point milestones samiam posted...$250 would have to be wagered on a slot machine on a short cruise and $375 would have to be wagered on a slot machine during a long cruise. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have to wager more to get the points on a ship...so I’d consider that a low end estimate.

Edited by Saint Greg
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On 8/28/2018 at 11:34 AM, Chris64 said:

 

Didn't know about the delivery since I saw no need to purchase the alcohol at increased prices. Not much of a deal anymore. Definitely not worth lugging all the extra weight off the ship!

Unfortunately, the stores in the port aren't dumb, they raised their prices to match Carnivals!

How does this work?  If I see a bottle of liquor that is served on the ship in port and take a pic of the price what do I do with it?  Does this work for pre-ordering bottles from the Fun Shop to have the liquor in the cabin upon arrival?

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