My daughters (ages 12 and 13) and I were also with about 5 other families and their kids. Kids ranged in age from 4-19. We had a family of vegans and a family with dairy allergies.
Boarding: We were dropped off at Long Beach cruise terminal. We had the first boarding time of noon, and only had to wait for one group of friends who happened to be ahead of us in security line. We all arrived at almost exactly the same time, so all but one family boarded together. I had given most luggage to a porter when we were dropped off. I tipped him $1/bag. Boarding was easy. Headed to the buffet.
Blue Iguana, Guy's and the buffet were all open. I did not check if a dining room was open or not. The vegans got burritos at Blue Iguana and a couple of them went to the Deli and found veggie burgers there. THe rest of us found food and enjoyed our meals. We got drinks(a few had cheers, but I didn't). You no longer get your sign and sail at the check in in the terminal, so you have to use your boarding pass to get drinks until you get to your room and the cards are at your room.
HUB App: We had a total of 22 people, so we knew that the adults and tweens would need access to HUB. IN THEORY, the idea is great. However, it appears that Carnival has hired the most inept of programmers to actually execute the App. It is $5/person who uses it. That is $5 too much IMO. They should pay YOU to use it and report the excessive number of bugs. It was slow to load on my phone, so I'd have to shut off my phone in order for it to reboot. I was added on one chat with all of us, but I could never actually see that chat to be able to try to log out of it then back in. I never got the messages on that chat. Then, what was the easiest part, or should have been, would be person to person. Well, I hope you aren't talking trash about anyone, because random people would be thrown into the personal chats! (They were part of our group, so not TOTALLY random people, but....) Some messages never went through at all, so we would check on our kids with no response, get mad at them for not responding, then check their phones and they never got our messages. I hate using walkie talkies, but at least they are instant gratification for checking whereabouts.
Circle C- When signing in online, it says nothing about parents needing to check their kids in once on board. I mean, it is come and go as you please, so Ifigured all was well once I signed them up online. All of us with kids in that club were told BY OUR KIDS, not by Carnival staff, that we needed to go check our kids in a tthe club before they could stay. I would have gone there first thing when boarding if I had known ahead of time. Then again, who knows if they would have been open or not. Tanya was the one in charge there. Multiple times our kids went there late (It says they are open until 1am. After 11pm, it seemed if noone was there, they just locked the doors), and the doors were locked. So for anyone who wonders why tweens/teens are just roaming the ship, THIS IS WHY!! Also, she sent one of our kids out for wearing pajama cozy pants in the club. It was 10 pm! She tried to send my daughter out for a skirt that was "too short". My daughter had shorts on underneath it so was allowed to stay. My friends and I saw NO indication of any dress code. I even looked on Carnival's page last night to find one, and no such thing existed. For crying out loud, I had a Grumpy Bear Care Bear onesie on that I wore into the NIGHT CLUB! I was glad my kids went with their own friends. Had they relied on Circle C for their entertainment, i think I would have had 2 grumpy kids on my hands. Just about the only thing in there is a place to hang out and video games and some crafts.
Room- R135. It was a great location if you get seasick. Little movement even when it was storming outside and not safe for the tender boats at Catalina Island. 1 set of bunks and a twin against the window. A desk, set of 4 or 5 small drawers(we put swimsuits, socks, and undies in the just fine) 3 closets. 1 with room for long dresses, one a bit shorter because there is bedding underneath and one with shelves) Bathroom is toilet, small(1 shelf) above the sink and shower. Shower had awesome water pressure. Wish i had that at home! Room steward was Made who was great. Got us our robes, bottled water in a timely manner. Only downside was the location for elevators. It only went to deck 9, which wouldn't have been an issue had there been a way to access all of deck 9. It just dumps you off in front of a dining room. And I think it is actually the back side of the dining room! But, the ship is rather small, so a trip to the foward or aft stairs isn't that big of a walk.
Food- We enjoyed most everything we got on the cruise. I loved the fish taco I had at Blue Iguana. Was disappointed in the chile relleno the last night. I should have just ordered all apps the last night. The salmon cake was superb. The fruit bisques are a family favorite. Vegan friends ordered vegan chef's choice every night after the first night. The last night was a total miss. Random veggies in a pie crust with some wierd BBQ sauce tasting sauce or beans? We couldn't figre out what it was. They had a great tapioca pudding type dessert that was made with soy milk, a pudding and a fruit compote type dessert. Guys burgers was great. Only complaint we had was that food was virtually non existant after midnight. We were up at 3 am and the ice cream was closed and we wanted dessert. The next night we loaded plates with bread, desserts and other food and carried it around with us. They wouldn't let it into the night club, though, so we devoured it on site.
Drinks- Why are the only 2 bars open late at the casino and nightclub??? The 2 places that allow SMOKING!!?? One bar had only 2 wines available. We requested a shiraz, and they said only cab or merlot. They "Ran out of wine". You didn't run out, idiots. We were not born yesterday. We saw the wines we requested on the dinner menu the next night and they were available. You just didn't want to run and get a bottle. Or open a new one. The Alchemy bar was the beacon of light. Samael was my favorite. I ordered all of my drinks of menu, just giving direction like "vodka, fruity, but not really sweet." or "Something with spicy mango syrup". Samael was dead on with all the drinks he made me. Jorge seemed to be newer. His were ok, but tended to be more sour. Ludja (Pronounced Lydia) made me a great one with the spicy mango syrup. If you want a cocktail, but not a sugar laden syrupy mix from most bars, come here! The drinks take a while to make, but they taste superb and are pretty. Just don't get the strawberry one with the rosemary and the 2 rums. They add smoke to it and it tasted like a strawberry daquari got left next to a campfire!
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