May 24th 2028 – QLD Barrier Reef Cruise

For those who haven’t cruised before. Some things to consider (other than price) with cabin locations:

• The cheaper cabins at the ends of the ship often involve a lot more walking to get to the main entertainment areas, so we will try to avoid these locations.
• Cabins on the front of the ship can have more movement (not as suitable for those with sea-sickness), and interior cabins on low decks will be on the waterline so may have more wave noise in rough seas.
• Midship cabins (located in the middle of the ship) are more expensive and popular because they have less motion and are generally closer to elevators which often means less walking around and less sea-sickness. These are where I try to place us all unless requested otherwise
• Cabins located below/above the theatres and nightclubs can be noisy (you will hear late night music if you go to bed early). So we will try to avoid these locations
• Cabins below the pool deck may also hear extra noise in the mornings when the pool area is set up, and at night when there are parties around the pool. So we will try to avoid these locations

For those who haven’t cruised before (or haven’t cruise with Carnival), there are different options for dinner, and your dinner preference needs to be specified with your booking and cannot be changed once you are onboard.

• Dining room restaurant (free) – “Golden Peal/Black Pearl” – Works like a normal restaurant, where you order from a 3-course menu (changes each day). Takes approx 1 hour to dine if waiting for all 3 courses, and is free of charge.
• Buffet (free) – “Lido Marketplace” – This is a self-serve buffet where there will be different foods available, and guests serve themselves as much as they would like. Quicker, but has potential sanitary issues with other passengers handling utensils etc.
• Pizza (free) – Has the same 5 pizza varieties all day/night. Served to you.
• Speciality Dining ($PAID) – There are extra places you can choose to eat, but they have an additional charge. These include the Masala Tiger (Indian food stall), Mongolian Wok (Asian food stall), Mad Sizzle (kebabs, wings etc.), and Fahrenheit 555 (Steak restaurant)

The 2 dining-rooms have additional options, both have pros and cons, so I will explain those here:

• Assigned Seating – This means that you pick either the “EARLY” or “LATE” timeslot at the “Golden Pearl” restaurant, where you will be assigned the same table each night and will need to eat there each night at that time you have chosen.
  
• Yourtime Open Seating – This means that you are not assigned a table or dining time, and instead you need to use their phone app to book a table at the “Black Peal” restaurant any night you wish to dine at the restaurant.

Assigned seating has the advantage that you know you have a booking every night for the same time, you don’t have to book anything, you won’t have to wait for a table, and you will get to know the waiters attending your table which makes for a more personalised experience. The disadvantage is that the times are unlikely to be when you’d ideally like to eat – “Early” is set for 5:15-30 and “Late” is set for 7:30-45, and you are expected to be there each night at your set time, and your tablemates will be made to wait if you do not show up on time. If you have a chapter or group of friends who wish to always have dinner together, you would need to go see the Maitre d’ as soon as you can, and ask to be assigned to the same table, but hopefully all our Hatters will be seated together in the same area and can swap seats if we want.

Yourtime open seating has the advantage that you have a bit more flexibility in choosing the time you eat, and can choose to eat at the buffet some nights if you prefer as you’re not expected to eat at the restaurant every night like you are with Assigned Seating. The disadvantages of this however are that you cannot book a time in advance, you need to use the phone app to make a reservation when they open each night, and then wait until you get a notification that your table is ready. This can take anywhere from 5 to 30+ mins depending on how busy it is, and you’ll typically wait about 15-20mins. At this stage I do not know how you book a table for more people than who is in your cabin (if that is possible) – so I am not sure how a group of people makes a booking.

My personal recommendations/thoughts.
For ease, I’d recommend picking the Assigned Seating rather than Anytime. I’d also recommend the EARLY timeslot. That should mean you’re finished dinner by 6:30pm and can then attend the earlier session of the evening performance. If you get hungry later you can grab a snack from the buffet.