Just off my first Carnival Cruise- what surprised me

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, KKB said:

Curious--you couldn't play Pickleball anytime? 

 

Have sailed Princess & NCL out of Galveston--each time the drink package began as soon as we were in international water, an hour or 2 after departure.

Is Carnival different?

Yes carnival cheers starts day 2. I'm not sure but long ago people were always posting tips to save money and said it's not worth paying for day 1 for cheers, wait until day 2 to purchase. Because it doesnt start once onboard, so you lose most of day 1. So now carnival just starts everyone day 2.

 

Royal starts as soon as you board but uses only texas stamped liquor. They put it away as soon as they hit international waters. 

 

Each does it different out of texas.

[KKB]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

Yes carnival cheers starts day 2. I'm not sure but long ago people were always posting tips to save money and said it's not worth paying for day 1 for cheers, wait until day 2 to purchase. Because it doesnt start once onboard, so you lose most of day 1. So now carnival just starts everyone day 2.

 

Royal starts as soon as you board but uses only texas stamped liquor. They put it away as soon as they hit international waters. 

 

Each does it different out of texas.

NCL does that too--a specific menu to start.

Princess gives everyone w/ a package a $25 credit to buy drinks until we are in international waters.

Interesting that Carnival & Princess do it differently since they are the same company.

[TheLargeFamily]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

It's the chinese/mexican fusion concept. It's weird to me too. But it's the theme of the restaurant.

Thank goodness they didn't go crazy and melt cheese on top of the kung pao chicken.

[Indiansbaseball]

Strange…. 18 cruises with Carnival and there has always been a trash can in the room, usually under the desk area and one in the bathroom. Love the pizza ! 

Edited March 17 by Indiansbaseball

[staceyglow]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

NCL does that too--a specific menu to start.

Princess gives everyone w/ a package a $25 credit to buy drinks until we are in international waters.

Interesting that Carnival & Princess do it differently since they are the same company.

Princess and Carnival have a lot of policies that are not the same.  The management of each cruise line gets to make its own decisions at that level.

[TheLargeFamily]

23 minutes ago, KKB said:

Curious--you couldn't play Pickleball anytime? 

 

Have sailed Princess & NCL out of Galveston--each time the drink package began as soon as we were in international water, an hour or 2 after departure.

Is Carnival different?

No, the sports court was always in use for other things. There was almost always 2 half-court basketball games and a soccer game going simultaneously on the court. Lots of teens on our spring break cruise. Perhaps if I had a group of aggressive pickleball players with me, we could have staged a coup. 

 

As for the drinking, I guess Carnival is different. We had slightly limited beverage menus that whole embark day. Drink packages start the next day. I cannot remember how it was when we cruised out of Galveston with Royal 6 years ago.

[TheLargeFamily]

5 minutes ago, Indiansbaseball said:

Strange…. 18 cruises with Carnival and there has always been a trash can in the room, usually under the desk area and one in the bathroom. Love the pizza ! 

Yes, we had a trash can in one bathroom and in the common area of the stateroom, but the common areas of the boat has no trash cans. The bathrooms that offer paper towels have a small bucket (labeled for paper only)if there isn't a small trash integrated into the counter/cabinet.

 

Yes, that pizza is good! I wonder if it's the same recipe on all carnival ships???

[Indiansbaseball]

8 minutes ago, TheLargeFamily said:

Yes, we had a trash can in one bathroom and in the common area of the stateroom, but the common areas of the boat has no trash cans. The bathrooms that offer paper towels have a small bucket (labeled for paper only)if there isn't a small trash integrated into the counter/cabinet.

 

Yes, that pizza is good! I wonder if it's the same recipe on all carnival ships???

Sorry, I misread that. I thought you were talking about your room. Yes, outside, I put my glass or can on an already dirty table. 
As far as the pizza, I’ve been on 14 different ship and the pizza is pretty consistent from the pizza place. I’ve never ordered from room service or went to the late night buffet. I’ve heard it’s different there. 

[staceyglow]

I am pretty sure that the main reason that they don't have trash cans in the public areas is that they want to sort the garbage for proper environmentally appropriate disposal. It's easier to sort it off of a plate or tabletop than out of a garbage can.