euroguy

@Cruising Caribbean i do not believe the position for CCL will change due to state laws. In fact CCL is doubling down and bringing in more canines, security and even posting large signs that its not allowed, all of which i saw during my last cruise in April from Long Beach CA. Fyi California has legalized Marijuana. Additionally a recent statement from CCL re enforced this position.

Oh and yes my personal CCL assistant has earned her number in my phone with speed dial. I feel so prevledged and very appreciative.

I'm traveling on the newly acquired ship from Costa ... luminosa. I have already been on the Spirit before so seemed like the logical choice. The bummer is I thought it was a new ship but found out that it was built in 2009 and did a refurbish in 2022. after booking I've read horrible reviews about the staff and certain things that had not been updated in 2022 dry dock like restaurants and few other things. It is a spirit class ship which only carries around 2200 guests which is okay with me as it certsinly will feel less crowded and easier/faster to get on and off. I was surprised that the ship really only has 1 specialty restaurant which is the steak house. Regardless I plan to have a wonderful trip and appreciate that I get to see Alaska while on a cruise ship and maximize the positives and overlook the negatives. Glass half full vs empty. Of course the casino and I will make friends 😆

@Cruising Caribbean cruisehip positions regarding Marijuana. Cruise ships are regulated by federal laws not states. They 100% prohibit Marijuana regardless of the particular states laws as the federal government has not adopted the legalization of Marijuana. Simple and to the point, non negotiable. Thus the drug sniffing canines.

@kefthecruiser Im not 100% sure about ruling out all cruises during hurricane season especially if captained by an Italian captain. That would be like saying all doctors are bad because one misdiagnosed something. With that said being 2 Italian captains from the same cruise ownership does raise some question to use cation when deciding to cruise during hurricane season with CCL. I don't recall these types of issues from other cruise lines but I'm sure they must have happened. 2 more 7 day trips an I too will be platinum. Finally 😆

@Barbara Davis hello Barbara I too am a solo cruiser. Couple of the newer CCL ships are fitted with solo cruiser cabins but they have been slow to materialize to other ships as the ship needs to be dry docked to make such changes. One thing to always make sure to do is select only 1 passenger will be traveling in the cabin and you won't have to pay double port fees and taxes. Depending on the cruise thise can get up there. I just booked my Alaska cruise and saved $250 by doing that. I do receive a lot of free cabin offers which each offer includes different perks at different cabin rates. I do a comparison on thos perks as many say for example on this special you can have UP TO xyz $ for ABC. I always look for the biggest bang as as a solo cruiser you will receive the maximum amount of the offer. Example balcony cabin 7 days for $1200 and UP TO $750 on board ship credit. Yes you would get the max amount of $750 as ship credit. From that point you have several options what to do with it. #1 book some shore excursion through CCL #2 book specialty dining or classes on board #3 use for both excursions and specialy dining up or #4 just let it sit there on your account and let it pay for anything you might of charged to your sail and sign card, drinks, gratuity what knot. Basically it's free money to do as you please and being a solo cruiser it can go a long ways. My recent cruise in April I had $500 free casino $ and $750 on board ship credit. The $750 credit covered all my shore excursions and specialty dinning and ship gratuities as well as my bubbles card for a week. And I only paid $1050 for a week in a balcony. Deals can be had but you need to be smart about the choices. It has been discussed that CCL is in process of revamping the loyalty program soon and it might have some perks for solo cruisers but no official word yet. I hope this helps and happy sailing

Oh the reason she had to cancel my original on hold cabin for the week earlier sailing and put.under her control was because we can NOT hold a cabin and book for another but she could... so basically at one point I had 2 cabins on hold by her until she could complete my booking under the actual week I wanted and then released the back up cabin to the general public

@Kendall James-Vargas update regarding my CCL assigned personal assistant. Well she paid.off in spades. I was planning for a trip to alaska for the dates of Aug 31 - Sept 7. Had been on the edge about booking it and finally decided to go for it and sure enough all all the balcony cabins gonzo. So found same trip and ship for the week earlier put a hold on a balcony cabin for that but it was really a stretch for me to go a week earlier due to work. I made 1 call explained what had happen and what I had done and what I was trying to actually get. She looked in the system and saw that a couple balcony cabins had been placed on hold but not paid for. She set an alert to her self so when the free hold was expired she could grab one for me. Then she canceled my cabin I had on hold on the week earlier then replaced that same cabin back on hold but under her control. The next day (today) at 750 a.m. I received a call from her and was promptly told she grabbed a balcony cabin for the week I actually wanted and remove the one for the prior week which I really did t want and wasn't sure I could actually go on and had placed on hold as back up plan. So basically end result got my free balcony cabin on the week I wanted all because of her... and yes the ship is almost completely sold out only couple suites left... maybe I can get a free upgrade 🤣 ok maybe not but she certainly got the job done that was needed. Wouldn't have been able to do it without my personal CCL assistant. Still not 100% sure why I got assigned to her but very glad I did. Im looking forward to seeing alaska in 70+ days and planning another cruise in April

Yes I meant to write mechanical but fat thumbed it and smart phone became dumb phone once more 😆 I'm really not sure why CCL would be holding info back especially if it's simply the azipod as you mentioned.

@3Sisters @Woody14 CCL made an announcement that the Panorama on it 7 day cruises is now leaving Cabo 30 min. Earlier and arriving 30 minutes later to home port in Long Beach due to some kind of meca iCal issue that is preventing the ship from reaching its normal cruising speed. With that said nothing was expressly stated as to what the mechanical issue was or how long it was going to take for repairs or when such repairs would take place. It certaincertainly rase the question as to what is wrong and is it safe. I would like to look at it as glass half full and safe but at same time it makes one wonder as carnival doesn't seem to be very forthcoming with information as to what the problem actually is.

@kefthecruiser @3Sisters let's face some simple facts 99.9% of all cruiseships sail in calm to slightly moderate seas and fair weather. Now with that stated I feel most people get complacent when it's the same o same o, then all of a sudden a situation occurs they make poor judgement calls which typically end up badly. Both the Costa Concordia and the most recent CCL Sunshine are prime examples. Yes I do agree that the officers of the Concordia should have over ruled the Captain as he was being stupid and their roles are not to just merly follow orders but to advise and if necessary take control of the ship to prevent such catastrophic losses to both equipment and most importantly human lives. In the case of the CCL Sunshine once more very poor judgement. Sure the ship can handle those types of storms and in fact much worse. With that said that doesn't mean the Captain should just do it anyways as the ship took unnecessary damage, and scared the hell out of the passengers. I suspect CCL lost some of those passengers as repeat cruisers because of the Captains choices. I for one will now never cruise on the Sunshine as long as that Captain is in charge. Along with that thought as well as the Costa makes me question the Italian Captains that CCL puts in charge of their ships and their judgeme t and preparedness for foul weather. I'm almost platinum with CCL and wish to get that level and will Co tinge with CCL until I reach it however I will be making sure that cruising conditions are truly fair weather vs. Flipping a coin or hoping it will be. Once I reach platinum level I plan to explore other lines as it appears that CCL is not currently checking off all the boxes with thcaptains in charge of so many souls on each cruise.

@kefthecruiser I have to say I've been wondering what the fall out for the Captain would be since he made such a poor judgement call and the whole crises could have been avoided, but not a word has been heard. It also brings the concern of cruise ship captains in general as to their experience with storms and judgement in general. A few years back a captain ran a ship aground in Europe I think it was a Costa ship (I could be wrong) which is Italian run and owned also by carnival.

@Kendall James-Vargas as for how long itakes to see a return ... thats a difficult thing to answer. The 1st thing i do i walk the entire slot area before I take a seat. I make mental notes of which are ripe for the picking. This technique is a more advanced approach. Usually I hit something of value pretty quickly but not always. One thing I usually won't do is pump everything back in. If it drys up and just gives little then I move on to the next machine then play for bit hit some and hopefully will keep feeding me enough to keep playing same machine. Example say you hit $50 as long as it keeps you around %50 then hits something decent i keep playing it. One thing I do when I sit down this..put 100 in machine play to 50. If I hit something... let's say $50 and I only played $25 of my initial now I have $125 and then move my walk away limit to $75. Then hit 100 now I have 175 then I move my walk away amount to 100. Basically as you increase in winning move your walk away amount up. If you don't hit anymore and hit your walk away amount walk way. This way you still have a bank roll for another machine that might be more generous. And with some luck you will walk away with more than you started with and have more to play with on other machines. Another tip.is look for machines that have to or are near doing a bonus. I was recently playing on a machine and the piggy bank on the screen was cracked but not broken I new if I hit just a few of certain sybles it would break and take me to bonus 10 spindms later it broke and I won $75. Play a little more but nothing so I got up.and saw another exact machine that had same setup cracked piggy bank. Sat down 10 or so more spins and it broke and I got $100. Point is look for opportunities many people play a machine and for whatever they walk away and leave you the opportunity to make a few bucks.

@Kendall James-Vargas hay!!! I figured it out thanks for tip. Rwgarding slots go slow grasshopper try few of my tips and see how it goes don't have to play max bet but understand to reap the real rewards the higher the bet the better pay when you hit. If you decide to play $1 machine stay away from any that have a 5X pay spot on reel. Very difficult to hit good pays on them stick to the ones that a spot for 2X or 3X and 1-3 coins for max bet. This way your max bet is only $2-3 per spin and if you hit something you will get paid the best amount. Example if max bet on machine is $3 per spin and you only play $1 and hit a pay line that pays $50 on max bet of $3 for same Payline you might get $150-250 in winnings. Big difference in money in your pocket. Something to keep in mind. Live on the wild side and try $100 who knows maybe will win ...if not maybe you'll hit a bonus or other random features of the game to make it more fun. Look at it as if it's an adventure and just have fun and alleyways always always stick to the budget you feel comfortable with..... happy spinning !!!

@thecruisegirlI too recieve free room offers all the time. One thing to keep in mind is that those offers do expire and can change in a moments notice depending on demand or if the free offers limits have been meet. If you are really set to have a balcony I'm not sure I would wait to book for couple reasons. 1 you may not get the ship location you desire as the ship fills up choices decrease 2. The cruise industry right now is on fire and ships are selling out, so last minute deals may not be available.

@Kendall James-Vargas hay!!! I figured it out thanks for tip. Rwgarding slots go slow grasshopper try few of my tips and see how it goes don't have to play max bet but understand to reap the real rewards the higher the bet the better pay when you hit. If you decide to play $1 machine stay away from any that have a 5X pay spot on reel. Very difficult to hit good pays on them stick to the ones that a spot for 2X or 3X and 1-3 coins for max bet. This way your max bet is only $2-3 per spin and if you hit something you will get paid the best amount. Example if max bet on machine is $3 per spin and you only play $1 and hit a pay line that pays $50 on max bet of $3 for same Payline you might get $150-250 in winnings. Big difference in money in your pocket. Something to keep in mind. Live on the wild side and try $100 who knows maybe will win ...if not maybe you'll hit a bonus or other random features of the game to make it more fun. Look at it as if it's an adventure and just have fun and alleyways always always stick to the budget you feel comfortable with..... happy spinning !!!

Yes camels do spit but usually only when in a threatening situations. She was a sweetheart. The funny part was I really wasn't sure what they smelt like but I grew up on a farm with cows horses etc and camels smell very similar to a horse so it was not uncomfortable for me and in many ways they are just a different kinda horse imo. Yes I have seen the show tiger King which was sad on many levels. Tigers are so majestic, regal and simply beautiful. I do wish they had been a little older/larger..perhaps on my next adventure. Certainly checked off some of the bucket list items. I'm not sure about the brave part but certainly I'm adventurous and love living life and the experiences that the world has to offer.

🤣 lollipops and bribery always works for me 🤣 🤣 sometimes i require 2 lollipops 🍭 😅

I wasn't so much tired from the climb, I was a bit terrified as the steps where very small as means are short and have small feet..I'm 6'2 with 13's 😆 then over a hundreds of years the rain and wear on the steps are slippery and the one I climbed in Belize you started on the outer outside edges and worked your way through the inside up steep steps to the top which had a hole that you came out on top. No railings or anything so one miss step and splat!!! Once on top it was large but again no railings...I stayed in the center which over looked the whole myan town/village and heard the howler money's in the jungle surrounding the pyramid I was on. It was pretty amazing experience, I now know what the ruler would see and hear when up top. I've never gone during a holiday. I think my mom would protest and really need to spend those days with here as never know when it's the last as she getting to that age. My most recent cruise a month ago the "safari" cruise I swam and played with dolphins for an hour, got to hug and get a kiss from a Camel then took a ride on her on the beach for about 45 minutes and then the grand finally I got to spend about an hour interacting with 2 tiger cubs, 1 Siberia and 1 bangle. The Siberia cub was a month old and bagley was 3 months old. I really wanted to play with an older tiger but thats what they had available at the time. Below are a few pics

Kendall 1st off how do you add the @euroguy to a message... I can't seem to figure it out lol You're sorta correct on your understanding of the slots. The hight the denomination yes the better the odds. Your actual bet doesn't make a difference as to better odds but of course if you hit a pay line with higher bet you will receive a bigger win. Rule of thumb is play max bet but I know not everyone can afford that, so I say play the highest bet amount you feel comfortable with. Unfortunately it's kinda difficult to explain all the various ins and outs to picking the right machine and with so many different one available it's like a sea of confusion at times. Just remember the higher the denomination machine the better the odds. But of course as you move to higher denomination machine the minimum and maximum cost per spin go up. The machine I won $2900 on this past weekend was an older penny machine tucked away in the corner away from main area and max bet was $1.75 per spin and $50 and about 15-20 minutes later $2900 in my pocket. The 2nd jacket that u hit for $1230 was a newer penny machine and was betting initially betting $2 per spin and saw a pattern of being generous so I bumped up my bet to $4 then hit a decent jackpot after about $100 spent. You need to pay attention to patterns and try and find machines that are tucked away from the main area. Hope that helps.

Hello Lorrie I was just on the Panorama a month ago and don't recall anything regarding "starlink" wifi. I do know they have internet available for a price and of course the CCL app which I used wifi for. Sorry I can't be of more help.

And another 🤣 20190210_182015.mp4

Proven methods for slots ... another fun day at local casino near me. $50 play almost $2900 won 🏆

Kendall having all the different options is kind of a double edged sword. In one hand I'm like wow ok cool when do I want to go, what locations so on and so forth. On the other hand with so many options and dates and locations it's a bit overwhelming to sort through. Regarding weekend trips I looked a bit into them as that was my initial thinking take fee days here and there and then a couple longer one. Problem with most short 4 day cruises have mid week departures so I would have to do local cruises and wouldn't be able to do out of state ones unless I could figure out a way to do back to backs lol. Yes I have once sailed out of Florida some years ago. At the time they had a 8 of 9 day cruise that hit several stops including Belize. It was a marvelous trip as the whole purpose was to visit Myan Pyramids and towns at each stop. I called it the Myan Trip, (my last trip a month ago was the Saffari trip) It was so amazing, even was able to climb to the top of one (which was terrifying) and checked off an item on my bucket list. Yes I usually make my trips a theme and base my adventures on the theme. Sometimes it works in opposite. Thank you for the insight regarding travel times for Florida that certainly gives me something to chew on.

Bill you are 100% correct about the shrimp. I posted that as well in this thread initially. I always looked forward to the shrimp cocktail and in the past been k kwn to order a 2nd this last cruise I was so increadibly disappointed. I remember when the shrimp where nice jumbo shrimp in hanging off the side of a glass filled with cocktail sauce. This time like your wife when it came my mouth dropped from shock. 5 tiny shrimp layed down in a bowel with cocktail sauce. I really hope CCL reads these post and makes adjustments. I did provide a feed back review directly to CCL about the food.