MoMo07

Is anyone out there a geocacher and a cruiser? If so, you may be my soul mate :)

In a month I will be on Carnival Legend going to Alaska via Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, BC. I was wondering if anyone has geocached at these ports, and if so, we're there any great caches that stood out that you would recommend?

I see a virtual cache in Tracy Arm that I will get, and a virtual cache on the white pass that I will get while on the RR excursion in Skagway. But of the other traditional caches, what should I try to squeeze in ? :)

Where did you see John Heald will be the cruise director? We are on the June 9th Legend sailing and read where someone else will be the cruise director.

He said it on his Facebook page. I am sailing 6/2/15, the week before you. I sent him a FB message and he confirmed that he will be the CD on my cruise :D

What is the best time of he year to see whales in Alaska? I am assuming there is a time in early summer when they are seen migrating north, and times like this poster's cruise in early September when they migrate south? Does anyone know approximate times?

Yes it was in the fun times, along with whatever type of food they were going to offer as a tasting that night.

When I was on in February it was in the hallway between the casino and the Taj Mahal, not far from the coffee shop. But it was mobile so they could potentially move it.

I hope the person is ok. This must have been scary to hear.

That's awesome.... that is 25 chances at the cash cube.

Which I will win some day. Oh yes, I will.

Are you all receiving this in email or the USPS regular mail?

Just a reminder if you plan on purchasing any of the flowers from Carnival's specialty shops: you can't take them off the ship.

On my recent trip on Pride, day 7 of our 8 day cruise was my birthday. My significant other (SO) snuck away and visited the specialty shop to see what could be done to make my birthday special. They arranged to have a bouquet of beautiful roses and chocolate covered strawberries delivered to my room on my birthday. It was so beautiful and thoughtful, and the strawberries were the best I have ever had. In.my.life. I very much appreciated this surprise, tremendously. My birthday was amazing.

My SO is somewhat new to cruising, and didn't realize that customs prohibits bringing things like cut flowers off the ship. And no one mentioned this in the specialty shop. I was able to enjoy my beautiful flowers for less than 12 hours before I had to get off the ship. My SO felt so bad. We decided that instead of throwing them out, I gave them to a crew member who really stood out to us (in addition to extra tip).

I just wanted to share this.... because often people cruise during special occasions, and flowers are something that we often use to mark those special occasions. Carnival talks up purchasing them in the Funtimes and even during the CD's annoucnements on the overhead speakers. If you are going to do this, consider doing it on day 1 of the cruise so the receiver can have more time to enjoy them.

I had a waitress in the MDR on our recent Carnival Pride trip that I just loved. I know it is her job to be nice, but by the end she felt like a friend. She went above and beyond, did special things for us, confided in us, sought us out during the day on the Lido deck, etc.

She had at one point mentioned that she used facebook to stay in touch with friends and family back home. A very quick search on facebook brought her profile up.

Would it be weird for me to send her a facebook friend request? I do not want to invade her privacy (which I may have already done just by searching for her!!). I mean... there is a reason Carnival doesn't put their last names on their name tag, right? And it is very possible that guests are the last people crew want to friend.

But it would be nice to stay in touch, and to see what ship she is on in the future when I am booking my cruises. Have any of you ever remained friends with crew through social media after your cruise?

If money isn't a factor, and since the destinations are the same, I would take the longer cruise with the balcony. I always wish my cruises were longer when they end... and having a balcony is like my own little private getaway from everyone else on the ship.

These pictures are so amazingly clear and crisp. I feel like I am right there. Great camera, and great photography skills!!

What are early tenders? Going on my first cruise in April and i'm still learning all about how everything works. I did purchase FTTF so i'm curious now.

In some ports you do not pull up to a dock. The ship anchors out at sea (relatively close to the shore) and a smaller boat (called a tender) takes passengers from the Cruise boat to the shore, and from the shore to the Cruise boat. Since tenders are small, there may be lines to wait for the tender. If you have FTTF or are a Platinum or Gold member you do not have to wait in the line.

a power strip.

BTW, good luck in the casino! :D

I am noticing a lot of jeans, sweatshirts, sweaters, and heavier winter-type of clothing on the passengers in your pictures.

This is really good to know.... it is difficult to imagine how to pack for a cruise that begins in wintery Baltimore and ends in the warm Bahamas.

Wow! Interesting...we're going to Nassau in a couple weeks. Will be interested to see if any warning is made...

 

Sidenote..when we stopped in Ocho Rios this past summer, our CD vehemently made MULTIPLE statements/warnings for people to stay alert and never let go of their children's hands while out in port. This was the first time this type of warning had ever been made, it honestly made us a little nervous..

Our CD did this same thing on the Freedom for Ochos Rios. He also told us a few stories of things that had happened to guests to keep us aware of what has been going on recently.

We always park at the port when cruising out of Baltimore. It is very organized, it is easy to get to and easy to get out of.You park right next to the ship (as in pic below) and its a short walk to the terminal building. We have never had to deal with snow when cruising out of Baltimore but I have heard that when it snowed during a cruise that the cars were already shoveled out when the ship got back to the port (just what I have heard).

 

Thanks for the picture - that really helps. And if they really do shovel out the cars for us ... that is amazing! Talk about customer service :)

It makes sense... to make debarkation/embarkation run smoothly, I guess they have to do it so the parking lot can empty for the next group.

This is crazy. I have never seen waves in the pool like that, and the waves crashing over the front of the ship are HUGE!!!! I kept thinking "how is he not dropping his camera over the side of his balcony?!?!"

Thanks for sharing!!

It is so neat to be going on this adventure with you! It looks like if you want the ship to yourself, you need to get up early :) Thanks for all the great info ... you are going to make these next 6 days before I am on the Pride flyyyyy by for me!

You are my hero for live reviewing Pride!! I am getting on her when you get off... So take extra good care of her for me!!!!!

This is great.... Appreciate the live updates!! Keep them coming if you can!! (But enjoy your cruise too!)

15 more days!! :). Anyone know when she got into port this last Sunday? Is she still arriving later than normal. We have FTTF so wondering how early we should be at the port. Thanks :)

Just wondering what your experience was.... When did the boat get into port? I'm on the 2/2 cruise, and also have FTTF.

Thank you all so much for the great information!!! I have never had issues, but my cruise buddy gets motion sick just on the DC metro - so I am having her pick up a prescription for the motion sickness patch, just in case :).

Getting ready for my cruise on Pride in a week, and I have been reading all the amazing reviews on here. One thing I noticed was cruisers from November mentioned issues with the boats stabilizers. I also noticed quite a few comments about very choppy seas in the Atlantic on the way down to Florida.

My first question for those who have been on Pride recently: have the stabilizers been fixed? Did the ship roll a lot?

My second question is more general : does the Atlantic tend to be more choppy this time of year, and more choppy than the Caribbean in general?