Woody14

I usually keep 100-150 dollars to use for extra tipping.  I generally will tip the following extra on the last night.

- favorite bartender or server (sometimes there are a few) - usually 10 or 20 each
- room steward a bit extra - usually all coins I have and any local currencies I have left over and depending on service (did I get towel animals, or feel like I was treated extra) I would give a total up to 50 (usually around 20-30)
- dinning staff if they were really good - I usually have fixed dinning in the main dinning room - 2 recent examples - had a good waiter, amazing drink server and amazing assistant waiter - I gave the waiter 10 extra and the other 2 20 each.   the other example the staff were just okay so I did not tip them extra but I took that money and gave it to other staff that were memorable

On 1/6/2023 at 9:45 AM, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 That sounds like a wild ride, no seatbelts! How fast do those things go? Do they travel on the sidewalk or the main road?

not sure about speed, but it always felt safe.   The travel on main roads.  At times there seemed to be more of them than any other vehicles.

1 hour ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 Do the pulmonias offer seatbelts? How many do they usually seat at a time?

no seat belts, most were 2 seaters but some sat 4

there are affordable ways

20 hours ago, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 This stop sounds like an exercise. I guess I would wear some sneakers and bring a water bottle for climbing the lighthouse! I bet the pulmonias were more fun than the traditional taxi! I have never ridden in a pulmonia before. Would you recommend exchanging currency one arriving at the port to get better overall rates?

I brought currency with me so I am not sure about exchanging at the port or the rates they offer sorry.   pulmonias were fun (especially if the drivers english was decent)

older ships, less fuel efficient and less options on board for additional revenue like specialty restaurants are going to be the first to go.

noticed on the 2 cruises I did in 2022 with once a day that the steward while they gave me a choice really did have a preference as to which choice I made.   likely had to do with what the rooms around me were doing as it seems that the lines doing once a day the stewards now have more rooms to do so if you are a long way away from the others of like it is definitely not convenient for them.

I loved the twice a day on Celebrity didn't think it would matter but it did.

On 12/28/2022 at 9:53 AM, 3Sisters said:

@Kendall James-VargasI don't think you can go wrong with exploring the Pacific Coast! El Faro lighthouse seems like a must see while in Mazatlan. The scenery looks unbeatable. 

did the lighthouse this summer, it was great.  We walked there from the port took about 25 minutes then hiked the trail up (note it does have 336 stairs).  it was a work out getting up.   it was a hot day so definitely do in the morning as there is basically no shade on the trail.   We then took a pulmonia (golfcart type taxi), they were at the bottom no problem,  to one of the shopping areas and walked around a bit then took another pulmonia back.    it seemed the pulmonia's gave better rates in USD than Peso but maybe that was just my conversions,  the vendors in shops usually gave a slightly better rate with Pesos.

On 12/26/2022 at 12:25 PM, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 That's awesome! Carnival Panorama was the first cruise ship to return to Mazatlan post-pandemic in August of 2021!

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-panorama-becomes-first-cruise-ship-to-return-to-mazatlan/55229

I have never sailed on the ship before, but the waterpark onboard looks amazing! 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-unveils-carnival-panorama-water-park/30796

Was it as cool as it looks?

Water park was good. slides were slow but fun,  Water was a bit on the cold side

On 12/26/2022 at 1:05 PM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 What ports of call did you visit in Mexico during your July 2022 cruise? 

We were west coast so it was Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan

my wife and I are 2 of those 5 million,  went in July on the Carnival Panorama

23 hours ago, Judith Miller said:

I had 19 people sing up for cruise in Feb to the Eastern Carribean.  Now all the rules are changing from the time we purchased our trip.. This policy change is not fair to customers who already booked  trips before changes

Curious as to what change are you referring to?   Are you referring to covid changes, dining changes or ???

On 10/27/2022 at 8:27 PM, Elaine Jay said:

I want Prosecco bubbly wine at night and it is only offered in the steak house. I wanted 2 bottles in my room. They said no. Offered another bubbly. Can I go to steak house in evenings and get a glass of what I want without eating there every night?

My wife drinks Prosecco as well and we had no problems with her getting a glass of this every night in the main dinning room on the Panorama in July.

if you are sailing October 6 you missed the boat 🙃 unless you are meaning next year then I would not even think about it yet things may change a lot by then.

here is the link to the carnival guidelines https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols?icid=advisory_cruisehealth_102522

21 hours ago, Bill Cothron said:

What new ship are they going to put in there

as to where?  a few more details might help

On 10/1/2022 at 10:08 AM, Sherri Shu said:

Can you board earlier than your assigned time?

Maybe.   if things are going well and the terminal is not backed up they let you in, if things are backed up or delayed for any reason they may not even let you in the terminal until your assigned time or after.  Most terminals have line up areas with times that they may or may not use depending on what is going on.   

Ultimately they want to get you through the terminal as fast as possible so they are not going to hold you back if there is space and availability to process you.

Almost any except the infinite veranda.   Sunset is my favourite however.