EmpressofPurple

Anybody else onboard with internet? I work every day when I travel, so I purchase the highest quality offered on every cruise. I'm loving this trip so far. Ship is beautiful - Still exploring all the beautiful venues. Have already (randomly) met six other solo travelers, plus couples and families, many frequent floaters like myself, all warm and friendly. And I found a duck! Tiny and red, tucked in a chair cushion outside the dining room my first night. After a pretty abysmal check-in process, the cruise is very smooth. Enjoyed the Venetian mask-making craft project in the Gondola lounge (simultaneous with various trivia games in the same large space), and the "fireside chat" in the theatre with Carnival President Christine Duffy and Chief Culinary Officer Emeril (only wish they had invited audience questions). Food selection is limited but I always manage to find something good to eat, even as a relatively new Vegan, Love the Burrito bar! And I just saw there's a veggie burger available in the deli, I'll try that one day, too. Looking forward to getting through the ports and enjoying that long stretch of sea days - transatlantics are my favorite, especially westbound with all those 25-hour days.

Thank you! I have done this tour, it's lovely but does not include the opportunity to soak in the hot springs, only to visit them (in fact, the springs are boiling hot and one cannot touch them). Enjoy the time with the adult children, I love traveling with mine, too. 🙂

Thanks for the kind words and good wishes, I trust I will keep my friend in happy memory. I travel solo a lot so I'm sure I'll meet new friends - and hopefully find someone to share that cab! I've been traveling in Europe since arriving on the VV transatlantic May 7: 2 nights Barcelona, then a week on the MSC Grandiosa circle med cruise (just fascinating the way they pick up and drop off passengers in nearly every port)... now 4 days each Budapest, Bratislava (where I am now), then Vienna... then just 1 night Barcelona, at the Hyatt Regency Tower (Denny and I had stayed there before and we were going to be sharing a room before the cruise) - I'm excited to see the new "Carnival Italian Style" cruise! Actually, when the VV ship was in port in Cadiz, I saw the Venezia in the shipyard being refitted!! Again, many thanks for the sweet thoughts, it will help.

Hello all! I haven't participated in roll calls in a while - and although I'm Pinnacle on Royal Caribbean, this is my first Carnival cruise in over 20 years!! I've had a heartbreak reading through this thread, as my best friend Denise (Denny) posted here early on - we were doing this cruise together - but in the interim she has passed away, so I'm now sailing solo. 😪 Determined to have a wonderful time in her memory; we met on a cruise in 2014 and have done dozens together over the past 9 years. I miss her more than I can say - indeed, we were supposed to come over on the Virgin Voyages TA together, but she was gone before we set sail. Anyway... I have tours booked for all the ports except Ponta Delgada... where I want to take a cab to the Terra Nostra hotel and buy their 10-euro pass for access to the gardens and the large thermal pool (jacuzzis are closed right now for renovation). However, the cab there from the port is 50 euro each way - still about the same price as most of the Carnival tours, but I'd much rather share the cab with 1 or 2 people, and we'd have a lovely spa day at a very affordable price. I'm not interested in an island tour as I've done a few here, and don't need to do it again. If no one wants to share, I may do it alone... or just wander the city near the port, which is beautiful I look forward to meeting new friends onboard.