Cruise life

Exactly my thoughts! All the other stuff is pretty much true, but if I had to drink ship's water for a week, they'd be carrying me off on a stretcher. Fifteen bucks or so spent in the Fun Shops pre-cruise for bottled water is money well spent. I'd also add that if you drink more than a few drinks a day, Cheers can be money well spent. Especially if you enjoy indulging on a cruise on drinks you probably wouldn't have at home.

I always indulge on the ship and I have never bought the cheers package. We always check what we spend and what it would have cost and it never adds up. You really need to consider the amount of alcohol the cheers package provides and it truly is an unrecommended amount by all health standards, even a lax one. The water, on the other hand, is worth paying triple for in order to get mineral or even bottled water on board without hauling huge quantities; we always bring a 24 pack in addition to purchasing glass bottled mineral water that is delivered to the room.

I enjoy talking on roll calls so I don't drive my family and friends crazy with my cruise talk. I like seeing what everyone has planned and discussing what to do. But I don't go to meet and greets. My husband is not social and does not like going so we don't.

My husband does not like the roll calls, but will attend the meet and greet and go to the cabin crawl and cocktail party, etc., if they are planned. We don't gamble and have never done a slot pull, however. We are doing a gift exchange on our next cruise, the crawl (hosting a quad 4k) and the meet and greet. We do sometimes meet people we end up spending time with on the cruise, sometimes dinners, buffet lunches, or even tours. It all depends on how we click and whether or not the timing works out.

Wow, the entitlement here is astounding! Aren't you all so lucky that you get more than 1 week of vacation time and have all that disposable income to spend on vacations.

Maybe some of us worked very hard, two jobs even, and saved for many, many years so now we can enjoy some of the fruits of our labor. You have no idea what situations people are in, how they may have sacrificed during their early years to be able to enjoy their later years. Many jobs take people away from their loved ones for months and even years at a time, for decades, so get over it. It's not entitlement, it's reaping what we have sown.

This is interesting about never going back. We could care less about balconies and spa cabins. We have been booking quads (OVs, never interiors due to bunk configurations) and buying a spa package or hanging out on the public decks. Our next cruise is on the Legend- Spirit class- and we booked another 4k, the interior with inside opening french doors and obstructed views, just for some air. Same/similar price as an interior with the OV quad configuration. We have been in regular suites, deluxe scenic OVs, balconies, even an owner's suite, but regular OVs are just fine and save us enough moolah to buy another cruise when you figure four of us into the total. I don't get hanging out in my luxury cabin when I'm on vacation, unless I am celebrating and maybe having people over, then a suite might be in order. And I agree, for those that cruise less frequently, a nicer cabin may be well-deserved, but not at all a requirement.

I totally understand wanting to do the adjoining cabins. Especially with young ones. Honestly I looked up those rooms you were talking about and if it were me, considering the adjoining cabins were a make or break thing for me. I would go with the ones on deck 9. Look at what's below you on deck 5. It looks to me like you are right above the central walk way of the promenade right outside the casino and leading to the Atrium elevators. That is a high traffic area, likely to be loud, and likely to be loud long into the night. With young children that's something that could keep them up into the night. I wouldn't chance it.

 

If you look at deck 9, below you on deck 8, theres a grey area, but I would assume that's a service area, but not likely to be near as loud as what is on deck 5. Also more cabins on deck 8. Above you on deck 10, you have the theater, but others will have to chime in on how loud it is. I wouldn't think you would get as much noise from the big screen. Although, I have heard of people hearing deck chairs moving at night.

 

Honestly, if it were my decision to make, I would choose deck 9.

Under deck 9 forward is the bridge. The OVs there are also new cabins. Very quiet location.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to completely exclude golds. If some parties are more crowded, just continue to make two parties when there are enough gold/plat/dia on board to justify it, either by dining times or color, as long as golds still get free drinks and appetizers.

 

 

 

Personally, I think having a joint party (where everyone claps for the ships they've sailed and the diamond member/s are introduced) makes gold members feel like they're part of a special club and encourages them to keep sailing Carnival. I would think gold members are the bread and butter for a cruise line. We're the people who have shown some loyalty, still have many ships and itineraries we haven't sailed, and are still in the enthusiastic infatuation stage in which we tell all our friends how much we love sailing Carnival. And, red members feel like gold is within their reach if they just keep sailing, unlike platinum, so why take away all the gold benefits?

You win BEST RESPONSE! This is so true and working your way up is fun...we are now on our way to Diamond -and still in that enthusiastic stage- and, although hubby says keep quiet, anyone that's been to a past guest party knows we are dancing in the aisles and cheering our sailed ships! This could get b-o-r-i-n-g if we were split up so I hope it doesn't go that way.

Yes, there was one two weeks ago.

LOL, love this post. A few weeks ago we had a record 4 so I took a picture of my countdown clocks!!

After next month we are back to one per year:(

That's why we hope the OBC perk continues...and that we can sail a couple times per year (or at least once!).

We did not get ours on the Valor, but we had brought a case on and also ordered Pellegrino. Maybe we should have asked. Just fyi...

Did you have bad weather - that is disappointing - I didn't think there was a bad time to go to Hawaii.

The one thing I will mention is that we thought we would be swimming everywhere, but the currents and rip-tides in Hawaii are deadly. Maui was very rough; the kids were able to surf in a protected lagoon in Kona (there is a very protected tiny beach where the ship docks, as well).

Renting a car in Hilo and in Maui is super easy and you can go more places. In Hilo we went up the Wailea Coast to the cliffs and then turned around and drove up to the Volcano. The HVNP was a must for us. Seeing the steam vents, going thru the lava tube, visiting the caldera and visitor center takes at least 3 hours IMHO. We also stopped at some waterfalls along the way (hiked at one of them, a short, but beautiful distance). There is a small grocery store on the main road in town just before the cliffs- you can grab lunch there and eat by the cliffs. It takes about 4 hours to go back and forth to the cliffs with an hour to buy food and enjoy the area. You could spend days- and nights!- at the volcano.

In Maui, we went over to the Iao Needle- very close to the car rental office-which was breathtaking, then drove a PRH (partial road to Hana- just turn back wherever you want, after stopping at whatever interests you). We turned around after visiting the Botanical Garden and seeing where part of Jurassic Park was filmed. Eat the shrimp tacos from their food truck and get home-made lemonade. We then drove over to the other side of the island for a luau and spent the night. There are whale watching tours you can book on the island, just check early since you are going peak whale watching season. The Sheraton Luau by Black Rock was very nice, but I am sure there are many good ones. You will need time to research their differences.

We took a CCL tour to Hanalei in Kauai and took the kids surfing in Kona on our own.

Everyone says to book Pearl Harbor on your own, get there early. The time out on the actual site is only 15 minutes- most of the tour is a movie and visiting the museum on the mainland. If we did not have children with us, we may have taken a cab straight there and spent most of our day there first, but we did have young children so we chose a north shore tour. You can get your tickets online. Enjoy Hawaii!

She was integral to the processes and growth of Travel Agents and 3rd party Agencies development for Carnival bookings. That was her primary development and responsibility.

 

Not something the average cruiser cares specifically anything about.

 

We often book cruises directly without T/A's. Unless there are flights and more than one night hotels/land portions involved on our vacation. But Carnival on those trips is only a portion of the overall vacation, and isn't the reason I would ever choose to use a T/A.

 

We think the last few years of Cahill have been rather downhill for the brand, with many things now looking up for the future.

WooHoo, I hope that means the stock we just purchased will go up! Never paid much attention before, but hope the policy of giving OBC to stockholders is renewed next year:) The dividends will be nice, too. We are new to buying individual stocks, so this is good news- hope you are correct (as we believe you are, of course!).

The steam rooms / saunas are my favorite part of the Cloud 9 Spa. The different rooms have different temperatures & scents, so it's more than just a plain sauna. That & the T-pool, for me, are the only real benefits to the Cloud 9 Spa rooms, although that is plenty enough to make it worth it. The different decor, different color towels, tiny samples of hygiene products, & the gigantic slippers don't do much for me.

 

I don't subscribe to the mindset of "Once you get one, you'll never go back". Just like with balconies, a Spa room is nice, but it's so easy to go back to a cheap interior & no Spa the next time. If I had unlimited funds, then I wouldn't be able to go back. But limited funds help to solve that problem.

One can (and we do) book spa access the day of embarkation. You do not need to be booked into a spa cabin, but these access passes are limited, to how many I have no idea. Our spa balcony and spa interior on the Dream were our worst of 15 cabins for noise issues. Deck 11 is extremely high and I don't know why balconies are even popular that high up, people on the ground look like mice (almost!). A good portion of our deck floor could feel reverberations from the dropping of free weights at that time- not sure if they have remedied that by now as much as I post it. We spoke to both neighbors and those in interiors across the hall from us. In the quad interior, the issue was only on one night when the bow must have been headed in such a way as to allow loud crashing from below. It was very loud 11 decks up for several hours thru that first or second night. We also won't do those quad interiors again because they are truly some of the smallest cabins at sea, especially for 4, even if they are small kids. On a positive note, that quad was our best value ever. LOVE Cloud 9, but the regular saunas and steam rooms on older ships are acceptable, just sometimes very crowded.

I'm not sure I would say you won't see anything, but for sure seeing the VISTA being built would not be my priority on a med cruise, either! Yes, being "farcussed" is only something a CCL loyal cruiser could appreciate. It's a sentimental thing.

Everyone always says port is best, but never guaranteed, of course. GL!

On the Valor for spring break a couple weeks ago and there were two past guest parties, also, one at 4:15 and one at 5:30. Our invitation told us which one we were to attend. The servers were standing in the aisles waiting for us and drinks were flowing. I would much rather have the salmon and cocktails served to me here than stand in line at the taste bar, myself. I mentioned to my husband that a server had beer, and he was pleasantly served 3 in a row. I think this was one of our most crowded cruises, but best organized past guest parties. We had a great time! Can't wait to hear what is next!

Honestly while on board the only lectures I would want to attend would have to be related to the current itinerary and ship. It would interest me to learn about each ship's origin and unique facts pertinent to that ship. Anything related to each island- habitat and wildlife, political history, architecture, and excursions- would be fun for us. Shopping talks should be kept separate.

It's probably the best $50 you will spend in certain ports, especially with the mega liners. Get it and enjoy priority embarkation and tendering among 3,000 plus cruisers. Before we were platinum, we waited almost 2 hours once for tendering.

We have not stayed on board for an entire port day before, but we really enjoy waiting a few hours and getting off the ship at our leisure, then returning early before the lines to enjoy an easy lunch. We avoid booking early tours because we loathe the long lines in the halls. It's probably the worst part of cruising for us- watching people rush the gangway on port days.

When our boys just turned two we took them to Atlantis off the ship in Nassau. We took a cab and carried umbrella strollers. They did not use a car seat, but we did try to strap them in for what it's worth. If we had used a tour bus, there would have been no straps of any kind. I would avoid traveling long distances simply because some of these vehicles are hot, lacking a/c, with torn up scratchy fabric, etc. One cab in Cozumel this past year had a video playing up by the rearview mirror...you never know what you are going to get.

Congratulations on your Diamond status! Our kids just made Platinum last week on Valor and we go over 100 days next month on the Legend. We're trying to catch up with you!! Enjoy!

I can't edit that, but it should read a regular interior, not OV in the last sentence.

We love the Cloud 9 spas, have been on the Dream, Breeze and Sunshine. Breeze without a doubt has the largest and most amazing areas. The huge forward waiting area is over the top IMHO- love to sit there and have a tea or lemon water before or after using the spas.

The Dream has a smaller corner room that is nice and intimate, but the Breeze really allows for more space and huge views. Yes, the t-pools are nice.

The Sunshine Cloud 9 spa is definitely smaller, and the waiting area is tiny, but there is still iced lemon or orange water and teas, and a small view outside. What we liked about this spa is the scrubs left out for us to use freely before going into the steam room. Also, there is a hot tub up a couple levels on the outside deck that is kind of tucked away that you can reach easily from the spa. We did not have a spa room on the Breeze or Sunshine; on embarkation day we purchased a week pass directly from the spa desk. We did have spa cabins on the Dream twice, and the close proximity to the spa is nice, but we are used to wearing our bathrobes now to the spa and don't require a spa cabin. 13 days is a long time for an interior. I'd go OV and buy the package as soon as you board, or do a regular OV if you are really budget -minded.

I booked for March 5, 2016 cruise on Sunshine to Aruba because I've always wanted to go snorkeling there, but my hubby will only sail out if Port Carnival or Tampa. Now I am reading that Aruba is always windy in March and the ship did not even stop there last week. That coupled with the horrible reviews of overcrowding has got me ready to cancel. To further complicate things, I see where anytime dining requires you to go to a separate deck to get a ticket. Why is that? Which dining room is designated for anytime dining? I usually don't pay attention to reviews but these issues are not based on opinions but hard facts. Can anyone offer any encouragement? I really want to go to Aruba but not just to sail past it.

We are supposed to stop there next week, so I'll let you know! We were on the Sunshine in January, and we just went to the YTD table set up by the Taste Bar right at 5:30. We always got a ticket to go straight down to 3 to eat. If we were much later, say 6pm, we got a buzzer and went across the hall to the Red Frog Pub, or just sat anywhere in the vicinity...there are seats everywhere in this location and usually entertainment playing.

ITA if you want a good seat at the comedy show, go at least 20-30 minutes early to get a seat in the middle or you will be viewing a monitor. After the show, you are escorted out and take the stairs around to get back in line if you want to see the next performer. Our son did this every night and said it was crowded getting in for the second show- you can't stay for both shows unless you go around and get back in line.

The Serenity area is 3 decks and rarely is completely full. The waterfall area is beautiful.

The Havana area is extra seating for breakfast back by Ji Jis where the omelet stations are. Even if you get a burrito at Blue Iguana, you can carry your food back there and sit in the aft section, have a cuban coffee ($).

Enjoy, we had a great time! Don't worry about the rankings...if missing Aruba is going to ruin your cruise, you may want to do land vacations. Cruising requires some flexibility when it comes to safety and docking. I know it's a bummer to miss a port- we've missed 2 or 3 in 14 cruises- but I'd rather be safe than in a ship with a hole in the hull.