Dixe Lee

42 minutes ago, coevan said:

Vegan and vegetarian are worlds apart

Since I am neither these terms mean nothing to me but if I misspoke I apologize My point is that vegetarian options are available throughout and since the OP was referring to vegetarian I will stick with that 

1 hour ago, daisymay1960 said:

Why should we be restricted as to where we can eat ? All the eating areas should cater for vegetarians , and  provide as many choices .I have looked at the menu examples for mdr  and there doesn't seem to be a lot of vegetarian choice , and it's all very well saying eat at the buffet but would prefer to eat with the rest of my party !

I don’t think you are being restricted at all. There are many vegetarian options available both in the buffets and MDR. Those of us who go to Guys Burgers are generally going for the real meat burgers not vegan burgers. If vegan becomes a choice available to you so be it but why should that become a mandate when other vegan options are available throughout the ship?

Mobile and Carnival Cruise Lines will celebrate a three-year extension of its partnership on Monday, one day before the 15-year anniversary of the grand opening for Alabama’s only cruise terminal.

The celebration is set begin around noon aboard the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy, which was lured into Mobile in 2016 following the city’s five-year hiatus from cruising at the Mobile, Alabama Cruise Terminal.

16 minutes ago, amyj23 said:

For about the third or fourth time. We're not using it for shoes. And if you don't use one, AGAIN, why are you on this thread?? I'm asking for solutions. Not personal commentary about how you don't use one. 

We also don’t use ours for shoes Plenty of room on the closet floor for our shoes We find our OTDSH so helpful to store all kinds of items in one place Love the suggestions here on different styles and types We hang ours on the outside of the bathroom door Haven’t yet been on a ship when we could not do that but it sounds like there are some where we could not Interested to know which ships that would be. NCL? First cruise on NCL next May.

Just off the Fantasy and we were offered morning, evening or both. We chose morning. Got our towel animals every day and saved all of them. We had a porthole room and they decorated our porthole ledge. We also got robes, hair dryer, extra hangers and beach towels. All we had to do was ask. Our room steward, Pande, was great. With once daily room service, we did miss him one day as we slept in late. He left us a card under the door with instructions to call housekeeping to get room serviced. Did so and room was serviced within the hour. Once a day worked for us.

we just stayed there last week and the price was what you said! nice and clean and the shuttle was good. will stay there again.

Glad to hear good report on this hotel, especially recently. Good reviews are on Trip advisor as well.

For our January 27th sailing on the Fantasy, got a room at the Microtel in Saraland for the night before for $74 on Expedia. Free parking at the hotel during the cruise and shuttle to the port and back.

I have to update my post. The Expedia price does not include park and cruise. Another thread had a post that made me suspicious so I called the hotel and found out that the park and cruise price is $129.99, $148 with taxes and fees. Have to book with the hotel directly. Oh well, this is still cheaper than a hotel and parking at the port.

We have been to Xcaret twice. Once on our own and once with a guide. We saw more on our own, yes the guide does rush you but he makes sure you see the highlights. There is a lot to do at Xcaret. You need all day there so if you are in port 8 hours you will need all of them to really enjoy Xcaret.

For our January 27th sailing on the Fantasy, got a room at the Microtel in Saraland for the night before for $74 on Expedia. Free parking at the hotel during the cruise and shuttle to the port and back.

Hubby and I booked a January cruise on RCCL's Oasis specifically to go to Xcaret and don't see it listed as an excursion. It's one of our favorite places in the world. We always go to the underground river, snorkel inlet and beach area with just a cursory walk by the ruins and animals. We've only gone on cruise excursions so can't speak to the evening shows. I'd say "go for it" and if you love it you can always book a resort in the future.

I have seen many cruise itineraries where Xcaret is not an excursion choice. I believe that is because the ship has to be in port long enough to allow for the trip time it takes to get there and back and provide sufficient time in the park to make it a worthwhile excursion. I don't think one would get their money's worth if in Xcaret for only a couple of hours nor could you fully appreciate all that is offered.

Two months ago, we booked our cruise on IOS out of Southampton for October 2018. I have kept an eye on the prices since and, to my amazement this morning, the price dropped almost $100! This will be our 12th cruise and the first time I have seen our price drop. Called our TA and done. We are planning a 5 day road trip through England after the cruise and the savings will put more money in our pockets for that. Cool beans!

We have been twice, most recently on our last cruise in September of last year. We loved it both times and it has grown tremendously since our first visit over 10 years ago. This is an all day excursion so keep that in mind. There is soooo much to see and do, everything from cultural events and demonstrations, animals to see, limited true Mayan ruins intermingled with replicas along with a Mayan cemetery, a small beach, many shops and restaurants, and much more. Be prepared for a lot of walking and you have to keep a fast pace to see just some of what is offered in one day. I agree with the last poster in that there is way too much to do for a cruise excursion but you will have a full, fun filled day if you go. Just know that you probably can't see it all, but you definitely won't be bored.

We have zip lined three times, Pigeon Forge Tennessee, Jamaica on a CCL cruise and Mahogany Bay on another CCL cruise. You need to find out if you will do the braking on the zipline to control your speed so you go fast enough to reach the end of the line but not come in too fast at the end. Not all of our zip lines required self braking but we felt the most in control that way. One hand holds the harness to keep from spinning with the other hand above and behind to apply the brakes. In Honduras we simply held onto our harness which you should be able to do with one arm/hand. The zipline company should be able to answer this question for you. I hope you can do it, it is a thrill!!!

I have firefox installed solely for Royal Caribbean.

I agree. I installed Firefox on my IPad and use it whenever I have trouble with websites using Safari.

FYI - I emailed Air2Sea to find out when flights would be available for our cruise October 2018 and here is the response we received- "We received your email regarding the message you received online when checking for flights. You are checking your flight way too soon. Air schedules will be available within 330 days from your date of travel. It is approximately 473 days from now till 20th of October next year. You may try checking for flights four to five months from now. Should you have any additional questions regarding Air2Sea please contact our support desk. For your convenience our representatives are available 24/7 and can be reached by calling 844-278-9745."

Thanks for the info! We started pricing flights for our cruise November 2018 from Atlanta to Heathrow. Yes we are way too far out to book flights but have been very interested in whether there are savings offered by Air2 Sea versus direct booking. Your info supports what we have read on posts from others and we would be very interested in what others have to say. All part of our research as well.

Last September DH and I were on the Glory. Sailed between our 60th birthdays. When I booked with our online TA, I asked if we could have a birthday celebration for each of us. On our first day at sea, we each got a birthday cake in the MDR and the staff that served our area all sang "happy birthday" to us. Normally, we would have been embarrassed by this, but this time it was wonderful, fun and the cake was delicious. When we checked in, our paperwork showed the evening when our birthday celebrations were scheduled. We also each got a $50 spa gift card. Even though the gift cards had no actual monetary value, I used mine for a facial and my husband used his to buy me some face cream that the spa attendant used on my face during my facial so I really lucked out all the way around :)

We LOVED you on our IOS cruise in January! The Pyramid Lounge became one of our favorite hangouts. We may have to consider sailing on Anthem just to enjoy your music again :)

We too had a 10 hour drive home but the savings were too good. Lots of shuttles and, yes, you may have to wait for one, we waited about 15 minutes, but the shuttle is comfortable, just like ones at major airports, etc. and the driver helped with our luggage and took us to our vehicle. That, too, was priceless, especially through the crowds and traffic.

Used park'n'go in January and very satisfied. Book ahead of time and it is a lot cheaper, $7.99/day. 6 night cruise, got there around 2 pm on Sunday, got back before noon the following Saturday cost us $52 and some change.

Oooops sorry wrong port. Yes, Eller Avenue is Port Everglades.

We used them for our long term parking. They are right at the entrance to the port. We parked, unloaded our luggage with their help and they took care of our vehicle from that point forward. Made our reservation in advance and paid only $7.99 per day so from Sunday around 1 pm through the following Saturday before noon totaled $52 and some change. When we returned, caught the shuttle back, driver took us right to our vehicle, helped with the luggage and when we left, got free cold waters. Yes, the staff was very, very busy but all were courteous and helpful and the cost was a lot less than port parking. Of course, we did not come in a day early and stay in a hotel, we drove in that morning from St Augustine which is were we stayed pre-cruise for a couple of days so did not look for options that included hotel, parking and shuttle. Park'n'go on Eller Avenue, would highly recommend them. Vehicle was secure, even advertise free jump if needed ( hopefully not :)

We played bingo on our last day which was January 30th, also played for a free cruise so I don't know if that made a difference but we paid $32 for 6 cards each for 4 plays. Others also played with an electronic machine that gave them more chances and that was $55

Marlboro reds, shorts, soft pack on Indy in casino

Don't know about the Allure but on Indy you could buy a pack in the casino. I would think you could do the same on Allure