Alexv500

Hi everyone I am back!! Sorry I have not finished up the review yet! I have just been super busy with school, and getting ready for college apps! Also, we have finally booked our cruise for next year, and I am SUPERRR excited!!! Next year, me and Grandma will be hitting the Eastern Caribbean departing from beautiful Miami,0 and stopping at: Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan PR, and Grand Turk! This has always been my dream Caribbean itinerary, and the Carnival Glory offered that exact Caribbean cruise of my dreams for the week I am off on Spring Break! I am sad we couldn't do Princess this time, but I am excited to try Carnival, everyone has a different opinion about Carnival, so might as well go see for myself what it is like! Also on this cruise, my whole family is coming along and this will be their first cruise and they are super excited, especially my little brothers! :D So everyone is excited, now I have to help my mom find her flights, since they decided to come along just a few days ago, LOL. Lots of planning and researching ahead, it's going to be a longgggg 6 months, but the wait will be worth it, I am beyond excited! Especially with how hectic my senior year of high school is going to be, so much to do in order to get ready for college and graduation, so this vacation of a lifetime is going to be amazing!!

Anywho, on with the rest of my review on my amazing first cruise aboard the beautiful Ruby Princess!

Unfortunately the Miracle was not given the green thunder waterslide which actually looks pretty fast. Apparently not all "2.0" upgrades are equal. Miracle is the west coast step child I guess. No Guy's, blue iguana, or green thunder.

Makes me so mad they didn't give the Miracle the full 2.0 upgrades! Every other Spirit class ships have a all the upgrades, EXCEPT the Miracle! The Spirit recently underwent drydock and got all the good stuff, including Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, and the Seaside theater. All these would've been a hit and huge success here on the miracle! A ship that sails to Mexico every week at least needs to have a blue iguana cantina [emoji35]. The miracle deserves the full 2.0 upgrade, hopefully one day she'll get them.

Your review is amazing! I'm doing this same exact itinerary in March on the Glory as well, and I am super excited because this will be my first ever Caribbean cruise!! I am super excited to try those Guy's Burgers! :D but you have me worried about the MDR food! How was the food overall in the MDR? Did you like the American table concept?? I'm a super picky eater so hopefully I'll like the food, LOL. Also, I am beyond excited for St. Thomas and HMC! Thanks for all your AMAZING pictures of both these beautiful islands! Can't wait for the rest of your review! :)

I have said this same thing....PLEASE send the west coast a nicer, newer ship. We will be on the Miracle out of Long Beach in November and are excited, but we have already been on Miracle. It just seems like the west coast always has the the same older ships. We never get the new exciting ones that everyone raves about.

Tell me about it!! I know they would never send one of the newer dream class ships, BUT at least bring the Splendor back!! I feel like starting the hashtag #BringSplendorHome LOL. And we don't need 2 Fantasy class ships doing the same EXACT itineraries, either spice it up a little or send one to a new port such as SF or SD!

Alex- If all runs smoothly with the airfare, I plan on flying out he day before. I'm shooting for a 6am -7am flight. Flight back hopefully will be 2pm . Those are the times I'm shooting for :)

 

 

 

We always pick lower decks, middle and inside. All we need the cabin for is sleep and showers-lol!

 

 

 

I've been trying to read reviews for the Glory that were on the same ports. Little by little I plan on saving notes on info for the ports, cruise menu, things to do etc. I like to keep myself busy with cruise critic while I wait for my cruise

Our flight from LAX leaves at 9 am and then to come back home we leave Miami at 2PM, layover in Dallas, and then hop on another flight to LAX and get back home at 7PM.

This is my first Carnival cruise, but I've been a carnival fan for years, I know every ship by heart and their home ports. I'm like the Carnival encyclopedia, LOL! It's just so ironic I know so much and never sailed with them, so I am super excited!

That's what I do! I've been nonstop on the Internet doing my research and spending my time reading reviews and watching videos on YouTube! I have this amazing app called "ShipMate" and it's amazing, you can have a countdown and see all these pictures of the ship and destinations! It's going to be a LONGGG 6 months... Lol!

Alex- yes the Glory. I've been checking several times a day. I told my husband we need to grab a good deal when we see one. Lesson learned-lol!

 

I will check out kayak too. I need to look at the Glory floor plans. Last trip we ended up under a lounge or something with music. We would hear music until 1am. I don't want to do that again. We like middle of the ship and Rivera or main deck less movement

You will find a great deal soon :) those dang prices are just always changing nonstop!! You just have to be ready that very minute to grab those tickets!! I hope you can come on the same cruise as me, that would be so cool!! Same hotel and same cruise lol! We're staying on the Riviera Deck, we went cheap and just got an inside because we don't even spend time in the room, we'll be too busy enjoying the Caribbean! Who knows maybe we'll be on the same flight! Lol!

American seems to have the lowest prices. Almost grabbed 3 roundtrip flight for $998 but I needed to discuss it with hubby and he fell asleep :/ Prices went back up so I'm hoping I'll find another good deal. How do you get free bags...are you a member or rewards member? Please do tell :) I told hubby and my daughter 1-2 suitcase only and you better believe I will try to stuff my carry on bag-lol! Thanks to Alex, I will book Howard Johnson Hotel if we go. Hopefully they have free shuttle to the port and airport.

 

 

 

I just finished counting my change jar......$29 in coins :) We save all of our coins and recycle bottles and all the money goes into our vacation fund for shopping or extra fun stuff. We have about $308 in our vacation account :)

 

 

 

How crowded will eastern cruise beaches be during March19-26 ? Not sure when everyone's spring break is

3 tickets for $998?! That's really good!! They're always constantly changing, I would check everyday on Kayak, you just gotta be ready to book the moment you find a great deal because they tend to go up VERY quick!! What dates are you looking into?? Are you looking into the Carnival Glory March 19th sailing? :D Hope you book your trip soon! Hopefully the beaches won't be too crowded, but I don't mind, as long as I'm in the beautiful Caribbean! :)

Thanks for the info :)

 

 

 

 

 

any recommendation for an decent inexpensive hotel in Miami by the airport?

 

 

 

Question is the Early Saver Last call past guest Bonus rate the same as regular Early saver? The bonus one doesn't say price protection like the regular Early Saver. I might be ready to buy

 

 

 

Ship Glory out of Miami

 

Month of March

 

Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas; St. Thomas, USVI; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Grand Turk

 

 

 

Planning on arriving a day ahead and departing on the last day of the cruise. What time will ship get back to Miami. trying to figure out what time to get my return airfare

We're also flying in the day before too! We're staying at the Howard Johnson hotel near the airport got a pretty good deal on it (we booked it today) and it includes a free shuttle (I've heard to the Port of Miami, but I will call tomorrow and see if it's true!) We're doing the exact same itinerary on March 19th sailing. Oh by the way, I saw some outstanding deals on plane tickets to Miami from LAX today! The same flight I have booked already was like $385 this evening PP Roundtrip!! My aunt is also coming along with us, and she got that really good flight for that price!! The ship is due to arrive back in Miami at around 8am, but disembarkation is always hectic so leave some wiggle room just in case! Our flight back home to LA doesn't leave till 2PM so that gives us plenty of time to get off and head straight to the airport. I am super excited, this is my first Caribbean cruise and first time to Florida!! If you have any questions, let me know :)

Hi there! I live in Rancho Cucamonga, about 10 minutes away from Ontario airport and am also doing my first Caribbean cruise in March! We're flying out of LAX on American Airlines because they off many nonstop flights to Miami! And it's cheaper than flying out of Ontario, it's always so much more expensive to fly from Ontario. We're doing an Eastern Caribbean on the Glory sailing March 19th. Half moon Cay, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. The perfect itinerary IMO. I also did a Mexican Riviera also this past March.

I would either try American or Southwest from LAX. Southwest offers great fares from LAX. But I looked into southwest when I was looking at flights to Florida for my cruise in March, and I also couldn't see the wanna get away fares, so instead we booked tickets on American for $400pp round trip from LAX

I see JH just announced on his blog site that the Pride will be in Tampa for January and February 2017. Interesting...............

I just saw that too. I wonder why they're just going to send the Pride for a few months and then send it back to Baltimore. Hmm.. Will just have to wait for the rest of the dance to finish up! I'm waiting to see where the Splendor and Miracle go, if carnival is still going to move them to new homes!

Your excitement is infectious, and it's apparent you have a wonderful love for your family! Welcome to the extremely contagious cruise bug; you're gonna have it for life! [emoji568][emoji568][emoji568][emoji568]

I was super excited that day I cannot express all the excitement I was feeling that very day!! Embarkation was just super exciting and I couldn't believe where I was, at one point I had to touch the side of the ship to check if I wasn't dreaming, LOL! I have the cruise bug permanently, it won't be going away, I LOVE cruising!!

Welcome to the World of Cruising! I had tears in my eyes reading about your dream come true. We still get excited about every cruise we take, even after 36 years of cruising.

 

 

 

Now that you are addicted, I hope you have many more cruises to come...

Aww!! Thank you so much!! It was such an amazing moment boarding a cruise ship for the first time ever! I'm hooked on cruising now, I can't wait for the next cruise!!

Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going to try and find a nice and safe place to be at! Miami seems like such a magnificent city, but like every big city, it also has its not so safe areas. We might be looking into possibly An Airbnb place for the night, sometimes those come out cheaper than staying at a hotel! Definitely want to be near the beach

Hi all! Currently planning my first Caribbean cruise for March. We will be flying in the day before from LAX and will probably be arriving in the afternoon. I was wondering if anyone knows of any good hotels that aren't too expensive that include an airport shuttle and maybe even a shuttle to the port of Miami? We also want to explore a little bit of Miami such as the beach and downtown, anyone know of ways to get to downtown and the beach?? This would be my first time in Miami and first time on the east coast. Also any things to do post-cruise, our flight wouldn't be leaving till around 5PM so what's there to do?? Any tips and suggestions would also be greatly appreciated!

thanks again! :)

It's been quite a while since we've all heard of anything. Anyone know of anything yet with what's going on with Splendor and Miracle? They're the last two left in the dance

What a great review, thanks for posting! We loved Mexico also.

Thank you!! :D and isn't Mexico just beautiful? I just love it there, can't wait to go back one day! :)

I love reading your review! Can you please post a pic of your Ruby Princess model? I love collecting them and super curious what the Ruby one looks like. Can't wait to read the rest of it!

Thank you!! And yes, I'll post a pic at the end of the review :) I love my Ruby Princess model, such a wonderful souvenir from my amazing cruise!!

Just came across your review and really enjoyed it! I'm happy you enjoyed your first cruise so much. Let the addiction begin! :D

Thank you so much for reading, glad you enjoyed!! Let me tell you, I am HOOKED on cruising now, it's the best way to travel and vacation, I'm definitely a cruise addict now, just such an amazing experience! Cruise #2 is already in the works, looks like this time me and grandma will be hitting the Eastern Caribbean! :)

You are adorable.

 

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

Aww thank you so much!! You are too kind!! :D

Still enjoying your great review! Someone once told me the best way to avoid the "post cruise blues" is to always have a future cruise booked to look forward to :).

Thanks for continuing to follow along!! :) I still have post cruise blues, but the next cruise is currently being planned out and might be booked soon :)

Glad to hear about the end of your trip. I was wondering what had happened to you. My nephew and I really enjoyed the Ruby Princess - nice ship, great crew, super destination, and my nephew completely enjoyed the teen lounge called Remix because they had so many fun activities going on when we were not in port.

Glad to hear you had a great trip!! I told you the Ruby wouldn't disappoint! Sorry for barely replying, catching up on replying to everyone haha!

Hi Alex

 

 

 

Thanks to your wonderful review, I just booked the Mexican Riviera for September.

Hi Melody! Sorry I am barely replying to you! But I am so glad to hear my review inspired you to book a cruise, that made my day!! I am so excited for you, you're going to have An amazing time! :) Please post a review for me so I can see the amazing vacation you're going to have aboard the Crown Princess! I absolutely LOVED the Mexican Riviera, and I would definitely do this itinerary again in a heartbeat, that's how AMAZING it was!! :D

The Beginning of the End

Good Morninggg!! This was our LAST morning waking up on the ship, without having to get off (Like we would on disembarkation day the next day) The seas were still very rough today, we could even feel the movement from our cabin, which I thought was really cool, the movement didn't bother me very much, and thankfully neither my Grandma or myself ever got seasick!! Today was our last day at sea, so it was going to be a nice and relaxing day, minus for the part where we had to pack up our stuff, put out our suitcases, and say bye to everyone (More on that later!). I love sea days, and I know some people don't really like sea days, but I LOVEE sea days, they are simply the best days on a cruise!! We didn't have much planned for today, just to relax and stroll around, and stuff our faces with all the delicious food, like usual, LOL!

The empty pool, minus for like 2 people in it

I was really going to miss this view, sooo much!!

The Rough Seas Begin!!

Soon after departing from Cabo, rough seas started to kick in as we sailed north back home towards LA. Tomorrow we would have just one day left on this beautiful ship, and the reality that this amazing vacation was about to end soon was starting to kick in! The weather wasn't as nice as it was, and the waves were rough, all this created a sad mood, but we had to make the best of our last day! We had one more day to enjoy, and we were going to make the best of it!

Sailing north, homeward bound! (Sadly)

Today was a great day in Cabo, and I fell in love with that port!! We were exhausted from today, but it was AMAZING!! Tomorrow we would have our last day at sea, and all the dreaded events such as packing and saying goodbye to everyone would be ahead, it was going to be a rough day but we had to also enjoy our last day onboard!!

Next up: The Last Day at Sea :(

Hi Alex! As an experienced Royal Caribbean cruiser I thought I would put my 2 cents in. RCCL is one of our favorite lines. We also love Princess (my next cruise will br #21). We are going on the Ruby next fall to do the CA coastal cruise. If you have any questions on RCCL, please feel free to ask :)

You are so lucky, you are in for a treat, the Ruby is such a beautiful and an amazing ship! I hope to try RCL soon, I hear nothing but great things about them :)