Pros and cons of Journeys cruises

[Eli_6]

17 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm looking at reviews on Google specific to the worm cave Seems like there are literally a handful of worms that are actually MOVED by people from the water to the caves. 

 

I know the City Center is a bit aways from the cruise terminal but we had a nice time touring the City Center. We went to the Old Town Hall, the Botanic Gardens are wonderful and they are right downtown, and the southbank area is really nice to have a meal at. There's a portion of the Brisbane ferry system that's free and we rode that and got to enjoy seeing the city from the river. Then there's a section of the river that has this great catwalk promenade right over the River that was a great walk. SO there's would be plenty to do if you went right into the City Center and did your siteseeing there, then make your way back to the crusie terminal.

I am anticipating it being underwhelming but my son really, really wants to do the glow worm caves. But thanks for the recs! 🙂

[Rudyard]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:44 PM, firefly333 said:

One of these yelled at me for boarding a elevator before her. I just planned on getting on and holding the elevator so she could board. We ran into each other the next 2 weeks and I tried to pretend I didnt see her. She did get nasty.

Yikes. I've done that a couple of times and the people I did it for were appreciative. I might rethink doing it in the future as I can easily see someone taking it the wrong way. 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:03 PM, ferfoodle said:

When your boarding pass says "rooms won't be ready until 1:30 pm including VIFP Diamond and Platinum guests" that's a con of Journey cruises. 

I’ve had that on my Diamond level boarding passes for the past three. Raises.  None were journey cruises.

[wardwhitty]

How many formal nights are there on a 14 day Journey’s cruise ?

[jsglow]

14 minutes ago, wardwhitty said:

How many formal nights are there on a 14 day Journey’s cruise ?

Typically 3; the two traditional ones you'd see on a 7 day plus one that they dub 'throwback' day. I believe but am not certain they hold that one on the day they do the frog races, etc.

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, jsglow said:

Typically 3; the two traditional ones you'd see on a 7 day plus one that they dub 'throwback' day. I believe but am not certain they hold that one on the day they do the frog races, etc.

I can confirm this.

 

Source:  Someone who has done several of these. 🙂

[DCDragonfly]

One thing I saw on my Journeys cruise I haven't seen before or since:  a seaday steakhouse brunch.  I can't remember the last time I ate so much! 

[jsglow]

57 minutes ago, DCDragonfly said:

One thing I saw on my Journeys cruise I haven't seen before or since:  a seaday steakhouse brunch.  I can't remember the last time I ate so much! 

Best meal Carnival does, by far. Don't ever pass it up. And very reasonably priced.

[Mary229]

I last sailed Carnival in 2001.  Journeys program is what brings me back. I sail a lot but only long sailings, my usual sailing is 30 days and Carnival’s transoceanics can get me there in comfort for a reasonable price. My DH is going kicking and screaming as he likes a very laid back vibe.  I told him they have good fried chicken - that piqued his interest😉

[Hunter69]

Have done 5 Journeys cruises, as mentioned previously, but I wouldn't say 45 plus, it was 60 plus age group, felt more like a Princess cruise. Had to do a lot of side stepping to pass slower people in main through fares...

[Pyxie]

On 5/19/2024 at 5:27 PM, DCDragonfly said:

One thing I saw on my Journeys cruise I haven't seen before or since:  a seaday steakhouse brunch.  I can't remember the last time I ate so much! 

 

They did this on our Alaska cruise that was not a Journeys.

[PA Dutchman]

On 5/13/2024 at 6:53 PM, Rudyard said:

Yikes. I've done that a couple of times and the people I did it for were appreciative. I might rethink doing it in the future as I can easily see someone taking it the wrong way. 

yes there are always people that feel they own Carnival, they come first 

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

I've loved all of our Journeys Cruises except a 16 day to Hawaii out of Long Beach on the Splendor (definitely not the way to see Hawaii) and the first Greenland cruise out of Baltimore which was plagued with problems.

 

Nothing could have saved the Hawaii cruise....too many sea days without any satellite service once we entered the Pacific and the Splendor is kind of a weird ship anyway as far as layout, so it felt very crowded.  We did have some extras that were fun, but we also lost one port (of only 3 to begin with) due to rough seas.  We have done Transatlantic cruises, but sailing out in the Pacific is a totally different experience.  The internet and the few satellite channels were out for days at a time.

 

I'm sure that the Greenland cruises have been improved somewhat, though it still is a lot of sea days to visit two very small fishing towns.  Alter Diem, the Red Frog Band for our cruise was the saving grace!  I probably would do that one again if I got an offer.

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, ryanpatricksmom said:

I've loved all of our Journeys Cruises except a 16 day to Hawaii out of Long Beach on the Splendor (definitely not the way to see Hawaii) and the first Greenland cruise out of Baltimore which was plagued with problems.

 

Nothing could have saved the Hawaii cruise....too many sea days without any satellite service once we entered the Pacific and the Splendor is kind of a weird ship anyway as far as layout, so it felt very crowded.  We did have some extras that were fun, but we also lost one port (of only 3 to begin with) due to rough seas.  We have done Transatlantic cruises, but sailing out in the Pacific is a totally different experience.  The internet and the few satellite channels were out for days at a time.

 

I'm sure that the Greenland cruises have been improved somewhat, though it still is a lot of sea days to visit two very small fishing towns.  Alter Diem, the Red Frog Band for our cruise was the saving grace!  I probably would do that one again if I got an offer.

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time on your Hawaii cruise but I'll have to push back a little and disagree about seeing Hawaii via cruiseship. We've done several cruises to see Hawaii either as a RT or as a TP en- route to Australia. Carnival RT Hawaii visits 4 islands and you're usually there long enough to rent a car so you can see lots of things on your own. I've seen Hawaii both as cruises and a land trip. Pre 9/11 it was easy-peasy flying intra-islands but now it's a lot more hassle. My sense is your issue is less about Hawaii and more about the amount of seadays. That's a totally different conversation,but one that is totally valid and actually quite important. Some people underestimate their ability to be on a ship with lots of seadays. 

Edited Sunday at 08:55 PM by kwokpot

[ryanpatricksmom]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time on your Hawaii cruise but I'll have to push back a little and disagree about seeing Hawaii via cruiseship. We've done several cruises to see Hawaii either as a RT or as a TP en- route to Australia. Carnival RT Hawaii visits 4 islands and you're usually there long enough to rent a car so you can see lots of things on your own. I've seen Hawaii both as cruises and a land trip. Pre 9/11 it was easy-peasy flying intra-islands but now it's a lot more hassle. My sense is your issue is less about Hawaii and more about the amount of seadays. That's a totally different conversation,but one that is totally valid and actually quite important. Some people underestimate their ability to be on a ship with lots of seadays. 

Oh, I loved Hawaii, no doubt about that ! After the cruise experience though, I felt as if flying to the islands would have been the better option....especially because we missed Kona.  I've never complained about extended sea days, in fact I like them.  To be out in the Pacific on a ship that felt crowded, with no satellite or internet service, gaining an hour every day....not my cup of tea!  Lesson learned.  That was before we had the ability to download from streaming sites, so a lot of our issues could be mitigated now, LOL!