This Ain't No Disney Cruise, part 2 - My LIVE Trip Report From the Carnival Dream, January 13-27, 2024

[firefly333]

On 1/26/2024 at 2:26 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

Drama alert - the Captain,  Staff Captain, and CD have all ordered us back to our cabins as a precaution due to bad weather conditions. They will let us know when we can coe out and play some more.

 

It's rocky, but it's felt worse at other times. Internet is in and out, mostly out.

 

I have full faith in our crew that we will get through this, but in case we don't... map shows us in the middle of the Gulf, south of Louisiana. 

 

Bye for now.  🙏

Ha. I was sitting deck 5 along the wall perfectly comfortably when the river of water washed across where the bars are. In all my cruises I have never heard of a captain telling everyone to walk to their cabins. Walked at a 45 degree angle they the casino. I heard they called security to make gamblers stop. They didnt turn off the slot machines. They just made everyone get up and leave. Seemed safer to sit where I was than have to get to my cabin. (To get our sea jackets?) .. was wondering what you thought.

 

I kinda looked around for you but never figured out who you were. A poor guy at my Mdr table lost big, I'd guess over $5000 but he quit telling us it got so bad. Hes having to move savings to pay it off so it  was a lot.

 

It was a surprising nice cruise overall though I missed my free 5 drinks and wifi on rcl. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Food over all was good. I got the $25 credit for missing the party due to being stuck in my cabin. I'll go back 2nd read your review when I'm less tired.

[firefly333]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm at IAH airport.  I'll report on the rest of my experience later. But for now I wanted to answer these questions while the experience is fresh.

 

I boarded the shuttle at about 7:10. I left the ship at about 6:50. I was in the first group of self disembarkers to get off. There was a lot of us in that group. 

 

We left the terminal for the airport at about 7:50. So, in total, it was a 40 minute wait.

 

We arrived at Terminal A at about 9:05. This was used for those who were not flying United. We arrived at Terminal C at 9:20 for United passengers.  That adds up to 1:15 for the first passengers and 1:30 for the rest of us. 

 

Surprisingly, considering the note we received yesterday,  we did not have any significant delays for traffic, construction, or any other reason. I assume it was because we were one of the first groups out of the cruise port.

 

I think Terminals A and C were the only terminals they dropped off at. There was a subway at the airport to get to the other terminals.

 

I hope this answers your questions to your satisfaction. 

I didnt know that only way to get a self disembark number was now on the hub app. They did say it's new. So about last Wednesday maybe I asked guest services for a number. Nope. You can to do it yourself on the app. A unhappy with me staff logged into my hub app and said group A all full  group B. 

 

Ok this morning got sweet rolls from the front of the buffet. Back of the buffet was still locked up tight from water damage I guess. Went back to my cabin. Hauling myself down the haul and a staff says there is a disembark from deck 2, midship... just go there and so off i went. Didnt have to wait in scarlet dining room deck 4. 

 

I'm slow and got outside about 7 and turned on my phone for the first time all cruise to call my shuttle who had a little trouble finding me but after stopping for coffee at the hotel and off I went close to 8 am. Considering I was originally supposed to get off by 730 awesome . ...royal also didnt use facial for my cruise last april. I am not sure it's the terminal to blame. I think it's the ports we went to though everyone yelled at royal too. They both checked our passports but couldnt have been better on and off.

 

I'm the dork who missed one of my excursions. Wound up doing the submarine and just was charged the difference. Carnival did the best they could. My fault. Not theirs ... but if anyone ever misses a excursion, lol I got experience. I still want to do my excursion I booked and hoping next april I can try again as I have ABC islands booked april 2025. My fault. Not carnivals

 

I liked some of the new foods. I might be tired of rcl food but it was really nice. 

[satxdiver]

I45 south bound lanes were down to one lane but the northbound lanes were open.  We left the ship late, ~9:30, and by the time we got to our car and on the road it was after 10:00.  I feel sorry for those boarding the 3 ships today.  I imagine due to the one lane south on I45 the ships left port late because their shuttle buses from the airport were delayed. 

 

I was very disappointed last night as I was planning to listen to the band in the plaza.  It disappeared from the schedule on my cell phone.  I heard that some of the performers (rock band?) were sick with COVID..   I did hear a lot of coughing as we waited for our number to be called.  Luckily we both feel fine.  I hope everyone arrived safe home.  Until next cruise.    

[firefly333]

9 hours ago, satxdiver said:

I45 south bound lanes were down to one lane but the northbound lanes were open.  We left the ship late, ~9:30, and by the time we got to our car and on the road it was after 10:00.  I feel sorry for those boarding the 3 ships today.  I imagine due to the one lane south on I45 the ships left port late because their shuttle buses from the airport were delayed. 

 

I was very disappointed last night as I was planning to listen to the band in the plaza.  It disappeared from the schedule on my cell phone.  I heard that some of the performers (rock band?) were sick with COVID..   I did hear a lot of coughing as we waited for our number to be called.  Luckily we both feel fine.  I hope everyone arrived safe home.  Until next cruise.    

I was surprised at the lack of bands scheduled the whole last sea day. Nothing was even scheduled in the afternoon and that was before we hit the storm. The day before maybe late I saw a one man band in the centrum I wondered if someone missing. 

 

I had been following the band southern voice and really loving their sound though they need a better repertoire. I asked for a line dance and he promised one night. Never came. I said did you forget? He said they played a fast number but hate to repeat songs. They played some favorite 3 days before. So I went the next day, still none. He said oh he didnt see me in the audience. They were newly formed and this was their first gig. From south Africa lol but had that texas twang. I thought they had the best sound but as I said I grew up in texas. These guys had a book of songs they sang to with over 700 songs. I talked to the guitar player several times. I'd like some line dances for us solo women. Not just couples dances. Never heard one and I listened to them a lot.

 

I had a girl at my Mdr table who hates texas. I kinda pulled back and she said see I didnt say I hate the people just texas. But it's her closest port. Hard not to react when someone keeps saying they hate texas. .. but dont take it personally. She was from Kansas or someplace cold. 

[Honolulu Blue]

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I had a girl at my Mdr table who hates texas. I kinda pulled back and she said see I didnt say I hate the people just texas. But it's her closest port. Hard not to react when someone keeps saying they hate texas. .. but dont take it personally. She was from Kansas or someplace cold. 

On the one day I went in the MDR, I was the only one that WAS NOT from Texas.

 

BTW, I don't hate Texans or Texas.  I have relatives in Texas.  Galveston isn't one of my favorite embarkation ports, but I'd say the same if its logistics and infrastructure were anywhere else in the country.

 

We were in a group of 7 (three couples and me) facing a window in a side room off the main MDR arranged like this:

 

X X X X

X X X me

 

Instead of the usual 1 foot between tables that I have found common in Carnival MDRs before, we each had TWO WHOLE FEET between us.  Heavenly!  Though it made it a little tough to hear each other when we decided to talk to each other.

[Honolulu Blue]

14 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I was sitting deck 5 along the wall perfectly comfortably when the river of water washed across where the bars are. In all my cruises I have never heard of a captain telling everyone to walk to their cabins. Walked at a 45 degree angle they the casino. I heard they called security to make gamblers stop. They didnt turn off the slot machines. They just made everyone get up and leave. Seemed safer to sit where I was than have to get to my cabin. (To get our sea jackets?) .. was wondering what you thought.

 

I kinda looked around for you but never figured out who you were. A poor guy at my Mdr table lost big, I'd guess over $5000 but he quit telling us it got so bad. Hes having to move savings to pay it off so it  was a lot.

 

It was a surprising nice cruise overall though I missed my free 5 drinks and wifi on rcl. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Food over all was good. I got the $25 credit for missing the party due to being stuck in my cabin. I'll go back 2nd read your review when I'm less tired.

Wow!  You actually had sea water come into the promenade?!?  That storm must have been more powerful and concentrated than I thought.  Usually in steerage we get the worst of any motion or disturbances, but as I noted elsewhere, it was bad there, but I had felt worse at other times.

 

You've never had the Captain order us back to our cabins on any of your cruises either?  Now I don't feel so bad.  I'll ask about this on the general Ask a Question board.  I'm sure the old salts there will tell me how routine this was. 🙂

 

Thanks for the details on the casino during the shutdown.  I think sending the passengers to their cabins was the right call.  Doing nothing was too risky and sending everyone to their muster stations would have just created a big old mess.

 

I'm kind of tough to find, so don't feel bad that you didn't.  I feel bad for your fellow diner that lost so much.  Perhaps it wasn't so much to him.  And perhaps the entertainment value he got from it offset the amount of his losses.

 

I had a good time on this cruise.  I always had on Journeys cruises in the past, and I'm glad that this was the same.  I'm glad you got that credit.  And I hope you enjoy reading what I had to say.  I hope it brings back good memories for you.  🙏

[Honolulu Blue]

14 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I didnt know that only way to get a self disembark number was now on the hub app. They did say it's new. So about last Wednesday maybe I asked guest services for a number. Nope. You can to do it yourself on the app. A unhappy with me staff logged into my hub app and said group A all full  group B. 

 

Ok this morning got sweet rolls from the front of the buffet. Back of the buffet was still locked up tight from water damage I guess. Went back to my cabin. Hauling myself down the haul and a staff says there is a disembark from deck 2, midship... just go there and so off i went. Didnt have to wait in scarlet dining room deck 4. 

 

I'm slow and got outside about 7 and turned on my phone for the first time all cruise to call my shuttle who had a little trouble finding me but after stopping for coffee at the hotel and off I went close to 8 am. Considering I was originally supposed to get off by 730 awesome . ...royal also didnt use facial for my cruise last april. I am not sure it's the terminal to blame. I think it's the ports we went to though everyone yelled at royal too. They both checked our passports but couldnt have been better on and off.

 

I'm the dork who missed one of my excursions. Wound up doing the submarine and just was charged the difference. Carnival did the best they could. My fault. Not theirs ... but if anyone ever misses a excursion, lol I got experience. I still want to do my excursion I booked and hoping next april I can try again as I have ABC islands booked april 2025. My fault. Not carnivals

 

I liked some of the new foods. I might be tired of rcl food but it was really nice. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences on this cruise.

 

I kept looking for something special for us Platinum and Diamond cruisers in regards to disembarking, but it never came.  I used the app as soon as Tyler notified me it was available.  That's how I got group A.  Now you know.

 

I'm surprised the aft portion of Lido was still locked up the morning after.  There must have been substantial damage and/or flooding there.  I haven't heard anything about the Dream not departing on time yesterday, so I assume they must have cleaned it up well enough between cruises.

[Honolulu Blue]

10 hours ago, satxdiver said:

I45 south bound lanes were down to one lane but the northbound lanes were open.  We left the ship late, ~9:30, and by the time we got to our car and on the road it was after 10:00.  I feel sorry for those boarding the 3 ships today.  I imagine due to the one lane south on I45 the ships left port late because their shuttle buses from the airport were delayed. 

 

I was very disappointed last night as I was planning to listen to the band in the plaza.  It disappeared from the schedule on my cell phone.  I heard that some of the performers (rock band?) were sick with COVID..   I did hear a lot of coughing as we waited for our number to be called.  Luckily we both feel fine.  I hope everyone arrived safe home.  Until next cruise.    

I saw the construction southbound from my shuttle window.  I didn't notice anything northbound.  The letter we got warned us of construction in both directions.  Maybe they switched from one to the other to accommodate expected traffic flow.

 

 

 

P.S.  I feel fine.  In fact, I feel better than I've felt in a while.  Amazing what cruising does for me!

Edited January 28 by Honolulu Blue

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Wow!  You actually had sea water come into the promenade?!?  That storm must have been more powerful and concentrated than I thought.  Usually in steerage we get the worst of any motion or disturbances, but as I noted elsewhere, it was bad there, but I had felt worse at other times.

 

You've never had the Captain order us back to our cabins on any of your cruises either?  Now I don't feel so bad.  I'll ask about this on the general Ask a Question board.  I'm sure the old salts there will tell me how routine this was. 🙂

 

Thanks for the details on the casino during the shutdown.  I think sending the passengers to their cabins was the right call.  Doing nothing was too risky and sending everyone to their muster stations would have just created a big old mess.

 

I'm kind of tough to find, so don't feel bad that you didn't.  I feel bad for your fellow diner that lost so much.  Perhaps it wasn't so much to him.  And perhaps the entertainment value he got from it offset the amount of his losses.

 

I had a good time on this cruise.  I always had on Journeys cruises in the past, and I'm glad that this was the same.  I'm glad you got that credit.  And I hope you enjoy reading what I had to say.  I hope it brings back good memories for you.  🙏

Ocean plaza = promenade? Yes. First I saw 2 crew members go out the door during the storm and come back with towels. I thought what the heck? Over on the starboard side. I think the door opened on the port side where the bbq was is where the water came from. Not sure if someone opened a door or the wind. But I heard the door came open over by the bbq. But 2 crew deliberately opened the doors on the opposite side during the sideways rain. I saw them open the doors. 

 

I was reading a account of voyager ots and they had some casino machines topple. And booze. They kept the bar open but only served canned beer. Some girl was in her cabin and freaked and called customer service for help. Panic attacks. They came and calmed her down. Offered to move her cabin to a higher deck. On dream security had to be called to get people to leave the casino. Dont know why they couldnt just shut the machines down rather than call security. 

 

This wasnt the best time for the cheap seats. Hahahaha. I was deck 2, 1A porthole. I tried to get pictures while I was stuck in my cabin. I was 3 cabins from the front of the ship. I got all the motion. I was better off midship but noooo. Walk all the way forward and stay in your cabin. Hahahahaha. Got quite a bit of motion this cruise for sure. Out of costa rico rocky too. I brought mosquito spray and a poncho for the jungle train. That poncho was like a sauna. Ripped it off in 5 minutes, I'd rather be wet. 

 

Pretty awesome cruise overall. I'd rate my food 8 or 9. Last cruise on harmony 5 or 6. Though the watermelon wasnt very good they still had honeydew which rcl cut out. Dream ran out of fancy lettuce the last couple of days I noticed. I love arugula so much and it was on the salad bar at least one day. Count me in as a fan of the new carnival menu mostly. 

 

Deck 2 port hole. Water was hitting my port hole but taking a picture of water covering my port hole looks like nothing lol. Down in the cheap seats lol. When I booked only 1 other port hole left, deck 1 against the bulk head, at least I'm 3 back and deck 2. 

[Honolulu Blue]

20 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Ocean plaza = promenade? Yes. First I saw 2 crew members go out the door during the storm and come back with towels. I thought what the heck? Over on the starboard side. I think the door opened on the port side where the bbq was is where the water came from. Not sure if someone opened a door or the wind. But I heard the door came open over by the bbq. But 2 crew deliberately opened the doors on the opposite side during the sideways rain. I saw them open the doors. 

 

I was reading a account of voyager ots and they had some casino machines topple. And booze. They kept the bar open but only served canned beer. Some girl was in her cabin and freaked and called customer service for help. Panic attacks. They came and calmed her down. Offered to move her cabin to a higher deck. On dream security had to be called to get people to leave the casino. Dont know why they couldnt just shut the machines down rather than call security. 

 

This wasnt the best time for the cheap seats. Hahahaha. I was deck 2, 1A porthole. I tried to get pictures while I was stuck in my cabin. I was 3 cabins from the front of the ship. I got all the motion. I was better off midship but noooo. Walk all the way forward and stay in your cabin. Hahahahaha. Got quite a bit of motion this cruise for sure. Out of costa rico rocky too. I brought mosquito spray and a poncho for the jungle train. That poncho was like a sauna. Ripped it off in 5 minutes, I'd rather be wet. 

 

Pretty awesome cruise overall. I'd rate my food 8 or 9. Last cruise on harmony 5 or 6. Though the watermelon wasnt very good they still had honeydew which rcl cut out. Dream ran out of fancy lettuce the last couple of days I noticed. I love arugula so much and it was on the salad bar at least one day. Count me in as a fan of the new carnival menu mostly. 

 

Deck 2 port hole. Water was hitting my port hole but taking a picture of water covering my port hole looks like nothing lol. Down in the cheap seats lol. When I booked only 1 other port hole left, deck 1 against the bulk head, at least I'm 3 back and deck 2. 

Yeah, I'd consider the Ocean Plaza area the promenade.  I went through that area quite a bit on this cruise (and the Magic on another cruise), so I know the layout and am familiar with the areas you mentioned.

 

Oh wow, Voyager OTS was following us?  That was unlucky for them.  It sounds like they got hit even worse than we did.

 

No, this wasn't a great time to be in steerage.  This storm was bad.  The night moving away from CR was bad.  The worst, IMHO, was our sea day to Aruba.

 

BTW, I was on deck 1.

 

Here's one of my better porthole shots.  This was during the storm.  Things were rougher than this photo makes them appear, but it's the best I can do.

 

[firefly333]

I took a 1st time cruiser I think was vista. That really loud banging sound we had the first couple of nights, on vista was every 90 seconds, for 3 nights.,she is a never again on carnival. That was the worst noise I've been thru. This cruise that banging wasnt as often more intermittent and only first couple of nights. 

 

I thought it was me in aruba. I felt like I was dying I was so hot, no breeze. 

 

Curacao I was supposed to feed the ostriches. I'm still so mad at myself. Usually the ticket says meet at this time and then you get in line and leave later. That one said meet at 9, bus departed promptly at 9. Everyone said it was fun and good reviews. I booked adventure OTS april 2025 at a too high of a price for ABC.  Cheaper later this year but I'm trying to move to florida. Need time. I keep telling myself next year the ostriches will still be there. Next 2 busses leaving at 930 were turtle farm and beach or sea and see. Sea and see it was. $10 extra. At least carnival was nice enough that I was allowed to change when I missed the bus. Kudos to carnival right? Trying to not beat myself up. Though I am mad at myself. 

 

If anyone wants a review of sea and see .. and I did the jungle train in costa Rica and birds in Columbia. 

 

 

Edited January 28 by firefly333

[firefly333]

Not sure if this was covered earlier. Last time I did colon Panama did the worst ever excursion and we ended up at the Agua Clara visitor centre for the locks where you can watch them move a ship up a lock etc. We only were given 1 hour and you have to go down and up and wait and 1 hour wasnt enough.

 

Anyway... so I didnt schedule again. About 10:30 am they announced a last minute shuttle to this visitors centre for $9.99. Had I felt better and eaten breakfast I would have jumped on it. I suspect you had to pay a entrance fee that wasnt covered by the shuttle. 

 

But if anyone ever does a similar cruise, listen for last  minute excursion offers. 9.99 to see the canal imo was a awesome deal. Spend more time there and not feel rushed? I was sitting up in the buffet and timing was bad.

 

$9.99 what a deal imo. Last minute shuttle to canal visitors centre. 

[Honolulu Blue]

19 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Not sure if this was covered earlier. Last time I did colon Panama did the worst ever excursion and we ended up at the Agua Clara visitor centre for the locks where you can watch them move a ship up a lock etc. We only were given 1 hour and you have to go down and up and wait and 1 hour wasnt enough.

 

Anyway... so I didnt schedule again. About 10:30 am they announced a last minute shuttle to this visitors centre for $9.99. Had I felt better and eaten breakfast I would have jumped on it. I suspect you had to pay a entrance fee that wasnt covered by the shuttle. 

 

But if anyone ever does a similar cruise, listen for last  minute excursion offers. 9.99 to see the canal imo was a awesome deal. Spend more time there and not feel rushed? I was sitting up in the buffet and timing was bad.

 

$9.99 what a deal imo. Last minute shuttle to canal visitors centre. 

Thank you for sharing this. I was in Panama City when thus was made, so I couldn't have witnessed it. Even if I had been there I could not have imagined taking them up on it. I've been through the canal before and the view from a  cruise ship is enough for me.

 

But I'm sorry you missed it. 😞

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thank you for sharing this. I was in Panama City when thus was made, so I couldn't have witnessed it. Even if I had been there I could not have imagined taking them up on it. I've been through the canal before and the view from a  cruise ship is enough for me.

 

But I'm sorry you missed it. 😞

I was just amazed they offered a last minute shuttle for $9.99. Cheapest ever excursion. 

[Honolulu Blue]

One last story before I work on that summary.  I apologize for it being late.

 

On the morning of our last sea day (yes, THAT DAY), after breakfast and as I was settling in to read one of my books just outside of Sam's, some little old lady (LOLly for short) said there was a duck above me and could I move out of the way so she could climb up and grab it.  I said sure.  So, she did exactly that.  She was pleased with her find and chatted with her friend about it.

 

@firefly333, was that YOU?? 🙂

 

So, yeah, cruise ship ducks were a thing on this cruise.  I heard a couple of other conversations about them at other things.  It's a culture that I don't understand, but if it makes people happy, then I have no objections.  🙃

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

One last story before I work on that summary.  I apologize for it being late.

 

On the morning of our last sea day (yes, THAT DAY), after breakfast and as I was settling in to read one of my books just outside of Sam's, some little old lady (LOLly for short) said there was a duck above me and could I move out of the way so she could climb up and grab it.  I said sure.  So, she did exactly that.  She was pleased with her find and chatted with her friend about it.

 

@firefly333, was that YOU?? 🙂

 

So, yeah, cruise ship ducks were a thing on this cruise.  I heard a couple of other conversations about them at other things.  It's a culture that I don't understand, but if it makes people happy, then I have no objections.  🙃

No alas and alack I found no ducks but saw several being found right in front of my eyes. What is SAM'S? I ate breakfast that morning in the Mdr. I finally caught on to asking for well done bacon. It was a little too limp for my taste otherwise. Some guy at my table got bscon hardly cooked at all. I only ate there 2 or 3 mornings, when bacon was on vacation. I want bacon and fried eggs. 

 

I saw a post from voyager out of Galveston who hit the same storm asking if anyone got a refund. Someone piped up carnival got refunds. Hahahaha. Maybe they heard about our $25 obc. They didnt get sent to their cabins, booze bottles fell and broke and casino machines toppled over. Poor dears could only order canned beer during the storm when bottles were breaking. 

[Honolulu Blue]

48 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

No alas and alack I found no ducks but saw several being found right in front of my eyes. What is SAM'S? I ate breakfast that morning in the Mdr. I finally caught on to asking for well done bacon. It was a little too limp for my taste otherwise. Some guy at my table got bscon hardly cooked at all. I only ate there 2 or 3 mornings, when bacon was on vacation. I want bacon and fried eggs. 

 

I saw a post from voyager out of Galveston who hit the same storm asking if anyone got a refund. Someone piped up carnival got refunds. Hahahaha. Maybe they heard about our $25 obc. They didnt get sent to their cabins, booze bottles fell and broke and casino machines toppled over. Poor dears could only order canned beer during the storm when bottles were breaking. 

I'm sorry you didn't find a duck to call your very own.  🦆  Sam's is more formally known as Sam's Piano Bar  

 

I like bacon, but I'm not too fussy about its preparation, or indeed whether it was served at all.  And I'm happy enough with the scrambled pseudo-eggs from the trough.  These revelations will get me kicked out of the Cruise Foodies Club, but I didn't really want to hang around with them anyway. 😄

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm sorry you didn't find a duck to call your very own.  🦆  Sam's is more formally known as Sam's Piano Bar  

 

I like bacon, but I'm not too fussy about its preparation, or indeed whether it was served at all.  And I'm happy enough with the scrambled pseudo-eggs from the trough.  These revelations will get me kicked out of the Cruise Foodies Club, but I didn't really want to hang around with them anyway. 😄

Darn how do I join this cruise foodies club. I had scrambled eggs from the buffet the other 11 mornings. Just those 3 times I got fried eggs. I stood in the egg line once and asked for hard fried eggs. Well true hard on the outside but both had runny yokes. I want the yokes cooked hard, not just the outside of the egg. Once was all I tried. Well done fried eggs dont seem to be a thing on carnival. Yuck, I hate runny yokes. So I was probably there behind you getting scrambled on the buffet line. Just a spoonful. Dont want much breakfast. OJ also good in Mdr but not drinkable in buffet. 

 

I think I'm a prime candidate for fussy eaters club. Does that make me a foodie?

[Honolulu Blue]

57 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Darn how do I join this cruise foodies club. I had scrambled eggs from the buffet the other 11 mornings. Just those 3 times I got fried eggs. I stood in the egg line once and asked for hard fried eggs. Well true hard on the outside but both had runny yokes. I want the yokes cooked hard, not just the outside of the egg. Once was all I tried. Well done fried eggs dont seem to be a thing on carnival. Yuck, I hate runny yokes. So I was probably there behind you getting scrambled on the buffet line. Just a spoonful. Dont want much breakfast. OJ also good in Mdr but not drinkable in buffet. 

 

I think I'm a prime candidate for fussy eaters club. Does that make me a foodie?

Fussy eaters aren't quite the same as foodies, but they're close.  How is your French?  True foodies can pronounce even the most common foods in perfect French. 😛

 

I grabbed about the same quantity of those pseudo-eggs at the trough - a spoonful or maybe a little less, depending on my appetite and mood.

[Honolulu Blue]

All right, time for what we've all been waiting for - a summary of my experience.

 

These are the many items I give a thumbs up to (not in any particular order):

 

• ·        Journeys cruises in general - horse races, expanded menu, expanded days, exotic ports... I see little not to like.
• ·        Side room of the MDR - if they promised to put me here whenever I asked, I'd dine at the MDR more often.  I liked the more intimate experience early.
• ·        Beating the weather to arrive 2 days early - Sometimes I make good decisions in my life.  This was one of the better ones.
• ·        The La Quinta nearest IAH - It had everything I could have wanted (continental breakfast, free shuttle to the airport, near some decent food options, room not terrible, OK price)
• ·        The excursions – to Montego Bay, Panama City, and more rural parts of Costa Rica
• ·        Food @ the buffet, Guy’s, BlueIguana, MDR - I'd say it was good or better everywhere, all the time.  But then again, you now know how much of a foodie I am not
• ·        Local food – jerk chicken in MoBay, Cacao nibs and starfruit
• ·        Billy and Elton trivia and generous cruisers
• ·        The medallion and the trophy - I've never won both on the same cruise before.  And I liked the new medallion better than the old
• ·        80s Pop to the Max - Best music ever surrounded by some talented dancers and singers.  Typical Playlist show, but it hit me right in the heart.
• ·        Horse races - Hard to explain but fun to watch
• ·        Our 8+ comedians with 20+ shows with many different times, formats, and locations
• ·        The “secret” trough dining on 11 - It's just as good as on the Conquest class ships I've been on.  As the ships fill up, this could become important to know about
• ·        Sports betting via kiosk and app - Easy peasy
• ·        Tyler Meehan, our CD - I liked him a lot.  He's my favorite current Carnival CD, though not by a lot over any of the others.
• ·        The map - Made it easy to follow along and to tell others where I've been and where I'm going
• ·        Room service delivery - Always decently quick with hot/cold food.  Princess should take notes.
• ·        The lack of sales flyers - I only missed Park West a little bit
• ·        The Wave morning shows - Always entertaining.  Tyler runs a good show.
• ·        Casino Wizard blackjack – is this the best machine in the house?  I could argue that it is.
• ·        Casino kiosk – both bill breaking and player bank cashout worked great and are nice to have
• ·        Laundry service - always returned to me refreshed in 30 hours or fewer
• ·        Renaissance Mall, Aruba – a Starbucks and steady Internet, two casinos nearby, lots of pretty scenery
• ·        Paper newsletters (most of the time) - the first two days worried me, but they did the right thing for most of the cruise
• ·        Walking around Curacao 
• ·        Sharing with CC members - thank you everyone!

 

Unfortunately, there were some things I had to give thumbs down to:

 

• ·        The weather (sometimes) - the wind caused us some rough seas at times and rough going in ports at other times.  It was REALLY hot in Cartagena.  We got episodic rain showers in Limon.  And there was that little storm midway through the Gulf as we were making out way home...
• ·        Being confined to quarters - probably necessary, but not very nice
• ·        Shuttle to Galveston from IAH - being made to wait nearly 3 hours for a bus to the port was bitterly disappointing
• ·        The lack of FB access by Web - small thing, but Josh, Mark, and Elon should really figure out what to do about this
• ·        7 AM stop in Limon - Limon was great.  I just wish I didn't have to get ready so early in order to explore it.
• ·        The self-debark shuffle - Carnival seems to have far more people who try to self-disembark than other cruise lines.  Some of them really shouldn't be self-disembarking, IMHO.  This is a bit of a problem.

 

That's all folks.  Thank you all so very much for reading and commenting!  I don't have any Carnival cruises currently scheduled, but I'm eyeing one for late 2025.  We'll see if I pull the trigger on that one.

[firefly333]

18 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Fussy eaters aren't quite the same as foodies, but they're close.  How is your French?  True foodies can pronounce even the most common foods in perfect French. 😛

 

I grabbed about the same quantity of those pseudo-eggs at the trough - a spoonful or maybe a little less, depending on my appetite and mood.

Oh oh, I apparently have a terrible ear for other languages. 4 years of latin does that help?

 

I went to the diamond lunch and the steak wasnt edible. It showed 3 sauces below it and if they had asked I'd have done that green one. I dont do gravy. And it came covered in peppercorn sauce and I could tell by looking it was all gristle. Guy at next table his looked perfect. I was told you have to ask for no sauce. That lunch was not a hit with me. His steak wasnt all gristle looking either and no sauce. Next time I know I have to specify. I left and got pizza. That was a miss but didnt cost me anything either.

 

My white pizza lunch, maybe a little more cheese but I love carnival pizza. White pizza with pepperoni. 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Oh oh, I apparently have a terrible ear for other languages. 4 years of latin does that help?

 

I went to the diamond lunch and the steak wasnt edible. It showed 3 sauces below it and if they had asked I'd have done that green one. I dont do gravy. And it came covered in peppercorn sauce and I could tell by looking it was all gristle. Guy at next table his looked perfect. I was told you have to ask for no sauce. That lunch was not a hit with me. His steak wasnt all gristle looking either and no sauce. Next time I know I have to specify. I left and got pizza. That was a miss but didnt cost me anything either.

 

My white pizza lunch, maybe a little more cheese but I love carnival pizza. White pizza with pepperoni. 

 

French is a Romance language that comes from Latin, so I think it would serve you well.

 

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your Diamond lunch.  I suppose I'll eventually get there on Carnival, though probably not any time soon.  I'm always interested in hearing about benefits that higher status individuals get.

 

Call me a snob, but I'm cool on pizza with fewer than two toppings.  Perhaps I'm reminded of my college days when that was all I could afford?

[firefly333]

My 7 am in limon was one of the last called. We were way past 1 hour late. Floating dock or whatever had to be fixed. Not carnivals fault. The metal thing was dancing back and forth when I was getting off. Spirit was supposed to dock next to me and gave up so I'm thankful we docked at all. I did the jungle train. Sold out. Every seat sold on that train. Me as a solo crammed with a random stranger each way. We went to a banana plantation where a guy was chained to that overhead wire. He ran back and forth to show us how they do it without bruising the bananas. They put blue bags over the growing bananas and then have stripes of white or red as they grow, and change the color bands at certain weeks. We all got a free banana. There was a restaurant there I heard was awesome. I bought cocoa beans but seem to have lost them. Cocoa beans with ginger. Wish I'd had more time and tried the restaurant. I didnt see anything made me want to move there. The one I was early to meet left a hour late, the one I got there right on time they just left lol. 

 

I got lots of pictures of the birds and animals in the port sanctuary in Columbia. I deleted some but got more left. Free. 

Edited January 29 by firefly333

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

French is a Romance language that comes from Latin, so I think it would serve you well.

 

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your Diamond lunch.  I suppose I'll eventually get there on Carnival, though probably not any time soon.  I'm always interested in hearing about benefits that higher status individuals get.

 

Call me a snob, but I'm cool on pizza with fewer than two toppings.  Perhaps I'm reminded of my college days when that was all I could afford?

It's not about the toppings, I like the thin crispy crust. I dislike rcl pizza. I tried it once in 3 weeks on harmony. Dont like that crust and cant get it without red sauce. Carnival has this in the win column for me.

 

Guys burgers still good but french fries about half were too hard and burnt to eat. .. rcl wins for fries but I wouldnt touch their free burgers. Never tasted one. Just big ole burgers. I like guys more thin and greasy. And double tomatoes please. I dont want a burger I cant open my mouth enough to eat. 

 

Lol I warned I'm miss picky eater. 

[firefly333]

As I'm sure you know there were 400 diamonds onboard. So they broke the lunch into 2 days. Did half day 2 and other half day 3. 400 at once was too many. I was day 2. The steak looked like a rib eye to me but I'm not a steak eater. Pulled up several places. Not a solid flat steak. Also had grilled shrimp if you didnt like the steak. And something else. Just bad luck as I would have eaten the guys steak sitting next table over. 

 

1200 platinums? I wasnt going to that drink party the last day on a dare. Not with 1600 people vying for a free drink. So the $25 obc was a bonus since I wasnt going anyway. It paid for my upgrade to the submarine excursion I got switched to. 

 

I'd sure do it again if the price was lower for solos. Loved it.

Edited January 29 by firefly333