campdaan

One question I have for you is: How easy is it to book non-Carnival excursions? I'm hoping I can just walk off the ship and find some vendors selling excursions as I am hoping to save money by booking on land.

Easiest way I've found is to do your homework and look at the ports of call boards here on Cruisecritic.

Not only will you get firsthand reviews, you will also find who is the most reputable.

I've walked off the ship and found excursions, but it's usually a taxi tour, or transportation to a specific site.

The WOW excursions, like catamarans or speedboats usually sell out in advance, so booking them ahead of time is the key.

Anytime you are in a foreign place, you should be very careful whom you choose.

Don't be the guy who saved a few bucks and becomes the next YouTube sensation doing the wave to the ship as it leaves his ass on the dock.

Or worse.

Just my opinion.

I'm sitting on my double balcony as we surf along.

The Captain gave his noontime update by saying we were sailing South in 12-15 foot swells that are coming from the North, so we are basically surfing.

When I look at the horizon and line it up with a fixed item, like a railing, I can gauge our motion and it's pretty cool.

Side to side is minimal, but looking towards the back of the ship, it's obvious we are going up and down.

I used this motion as an excuse for my 6-7 putts on the par 2 mini golf... Not that I'm that good anyways.

We did the steakhouse last night which was great as always, but they were really slow and dragged out the time between courses. Total time was almost 2 1/2 hours.

Which was actually great quality time with the family.

I had the flamin' tomato soup and salmon eggs Benedict at brunch this morning, which was as great as I remembered.

Just had a Guy's burger. The ringer. Which was just fine.

I'm a little disappointed that the only news on TV is the fake news channel, and its fake sub-channels, but the good internet has made up for it.

Speaking of the TV, I noticed there was a double outlet behind it, and I plugged in a multiple outlet tap for all my chargers. There is also a double outlet by the phone. Which I plugged in a small LED nightlight, and it throws the perfect amount of light to navigate that trip to the bathroom.

The roulette tables are only $5 minimum, compared to $10 minimum on the Magic last year, and the Glory the year before. And I'm even at the table, and have had some quality time there playing, and teasing the drinkers and smokers.

Music on the Lido has been great. Glad they turned down the volume from previous cruises. Nothing worse than shouting to people right next to you as your ears bleed.

More later.

Embarked on the Sunshine yesterday, March 3, 2018.

Flew out of Boston Friday morning before Armageddon hit, with heavy rains, wind, and flight cancellations.

The itinerary has been reversed, so rather than head for Grand Turk, we are headed to St. Maarten.

This is my 15th Carnival Cruise, and this is the oldest and smallest ship I've sailed on. So far, the Sunshine has been awesome.

We are on Lido deck and lo and behold, we have a fridge in our room. Which was unexpected by all reports here. The shower is huge compared to every othe ship we have been on. And Emma, the Cruise director is awesome.

The Ship is rockin and rollin, but it's all good.

I'll check stuff out for people, if you like, but don't expect me to post fun times, camp carnival stuff, etc.

Just want to add. I pre-purchased the middle Internet plan, and it has been awesome. I'm able to play YouTube stuff and surf my favorite sites at a reasonable speed.

More later.

14 Days until the Sunshine.

Not dancing yet, but preparing to dance...

This is our 15th Cruise.

I'll get excited when I get the email saying it's time to check in for the flight.

I'll really be excited when I here the elevator voice say "Deck 9, Lido Deck !"... :D

The grilled cheese BLT looked pretty tasty...

Great videos !

So is cabin 6234 a connecting cabin? Can't follow the link

The balcony on 6234 connects with the balcony of 6230.

This means if you had both of those rooms booked you could have the balcony partition open to share a common connecting balcony.

Does anyone know what is across the hall from 9201 on the Conquest? It looks like the whole corner is a blank space on the deck plans, just wondered if it is a cleaning closet or something like that..

It's the wall of the corridor.

Try here:

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/761

I've had 9201 on the Valor and the Glory.

Its an amazing room.

I met Samantha Brown from the travel channel when they filmed aboard the Freedom, in 2009.

And Micheal Winslow, from the Police Academy movies, on the Glory a few years later.

Todd Wittmer

Your Husband has an awesome Wife...:D

We were on the same Cruise.

Thought it was awesome.

Great crowd of Cruisers.

Thanks for your review.

Had Spring Breakers on my recent 7-Day Western Magic cruise, and on last years 7-Day Eastern on the Glory.

To be honest. They were great.

Always looked like they were having a good time, and were well behaved.

They added a great "flavor" to the passenger mix.

Booked the Sunshine for early March next year. Hope they are in the mix.

Just off the Magic, March 11, and got Tervis tumblers.

Mr. Sancho's is awesome.

All inclusive is just over $50.

They only take reservations, so it's not overcrowded.

Excellent coconut shrimp !

We were on the same Cruise.

Had an excellent time.

We even had an Elvis sighting in Belize.

Just got off the Magic.

Had an awesome time.

Just off the Magic today. Loved Cove Balcony #2314 and friends had #2318 connecting rooms but not a connecting balcony. Go figure.

We have #2314 this coming week. We are also booked with #2310, which has connecting balconies.

What cabins are DOV ?

Can anyone post some specific cabin numbers ?

If you want a locker, ask at the Spa front desk.

They will give you a locker key, and hold your Sail and Sign card.

On our 2005 Glory Cruise, we had Carlo Lombard, who was filling in for John Heald.

At that time, Carnival's senior Cruise Director was Brett Alans.

How's that for obscure history ?

Thanks, Great review.

The Tropicante sounds great.

I'll have to look it up.

In a few weeks we will be doing the same itinerary.

Are the Roulette tables $5 minimum, or $10. ?