LakeWobegon

I can't say enough good things about renting a car through National. They make it so easy. Join the Emerald Club and when you leave MCO you just walk to the row of cars and take one. You drop it off close to the Port and a free shuttle has you over at the terminal in minutes. Coming back, the same shuttle picks you up and you its easy to drop off you car at MCO too. I think it was about $90 each way, including gas, and tolls, when adding it all up. I like that you are in control too and can make stops for supplies or to eat at a restaurant, etc.

I agree. We stayed at the Radisson in May and it was very dated. My wife said you paid HOW MUCH for us to stay here? The door to our room wouldn't lock properly and we have pics of all of our luggage piled against the door as a warning system, especially since half a dozen Brevard County Sheriff's cars were there dealing with some situation on-site when we arrived. We won't stay there again. The hotels GTO-Girl notes are nice ones. We just got back from a week at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club Cape Canaveral. That's one of the closer ones to the Port and right across the street from Terminal 3 which Carnival uses for Mardis Gras and others. Lots of pre-cruisers staying there but I think it's typically for a few nights or more before a cruise. They might have a minumum stay of some sort. Still, I would recommend it.

Always a great meal in the steakhouse. Wonderful this past Mardis Gras cruise. Service was good but not what we were used to. One waiter serving many tables with no help and so I didn't get my first glass of wine for about 20 minutes after I had ordered. And it took a long time to get through the meal, through no fault of the waiter's but rather limited staff. That said, again, great food.

On 6/6/2022 at 2:45 PM, Eli_6 said:

I am not worried about getting a certificate of recovery. My husband is a physician and has a nurse practitioner who works for him and his sister is also a family practice nurse practitioner.  

 

As an aside, we tested my children and just got their results back this morning.  They were NEGATIVE!  Despite being in direct contact with two positive parents (one who actually got sick) they are still negative.  So, we are going to have to test them both before the cruise and to get back in the United States. Sigh.  I was sort of hoping they would be positive so no one would have to test.  But I guess vaccinated kids who were vaccinated last November are better off than their vaccinated and boosted parents.  I even only got my booster in late April.  It still saves us money on the adult testing, though, and clearly we are much more likely to test positive from an exposure than they are!

This happened to us. Got off Mardis Gras last week and my wife and I tested positive. So many in our FB group ended up at least reporting they were. Anyway, she and I made it through this past week OK. But, our two teenagers who've repeatedly tested negative were pretty sick. I read a good NY Times article noting how many times you have the virus in this instance, but there's not enough in your nostrils or throat to register and/or your immune system with the help of vaccines and/or boosters has already begun fighting it so aggressively.

I've never had an issue but you do have to be watchful. In every job, doctors, teachers, government officials, anyone you think you could trust, about half are mediocre or are downright untrustworthy in terms of performing their job. 

If you see a pool chair with nothing but a towel on it, take that linen to the dirty towel bin and make it your own. If anyone challenges you, just tell them the attendant must have done it. Or, just tell them you did it. However you want to roll.

Personally, if they've been there once, that's enough, IMHO. My kids have never been to Disney. I went as a kid, about 8 and can't remember anything about it, besides our cheap motel room outside the park being broken into. They've been on numerous cruises, though, and last year, we did two weeks in the Florida Keys that cost way more than a week at Disney. I asked my 17-year old if he felt deprived never going to Disney and he said, "wait, what are you talking about?" And shook his head at me. 😀

Yep. On our Vista cruise, I'd wear khaki pants and a dress shirt to dinner on formal nights, but we had people seated next to us wearing track shorts, basketball jerseys and ball caps. The only reason I don't wear shorts those nights is on the off chance the MDR host decides to enforce the dress code that night - and we usually want to take a picture or two. I wear nice khaki shorts and nice collared Columbia fishing shirts the other nights usually.

25 minutes ago, PokerFaceNJ said:

My kids are all grown up but I am unsure if I could leave them when they were younger on the ship while I got off at the port.  What happens if some unforeseen circumstance causes you to miss getting back on the ship?  Heaven forbid a hospital emergency and you don't return...what happens to the little ones?  Too upsetting and scary to think about it.  If I can't take the kids with me, I wouldn't go ashore anyway.  

I hear ya. Our teenagers have been going on cruises with us since they were little ones. They've never even been to a kids club of any type. We have a good time together and we've only got so many years left with them before they're adults.

8 hours ago, Kd1414 said:

where are you finding these deals? lol

If you're signed up for the VIFP club, just click Manage and VIFP Club and View My Offers and you will see them.

I think you can make it if the ship arrives on time, and you are in one of the first groups off. We'd never do it. But we never fly out before 2 pm as we like to linger on the ship as long as we can.

Yeah, we love Carnival, but for a long time avoided the line. One of the reasons was we saw some of the older ships in not great cosmetic shape on our first couple of cruises about 20 years ago. Rusty and worn down. Now, we really like the Vista class of ships (Vista, Horizon and Panorama) and can't wait to try the Mardis Gras in a few months. 

I guess it's a matter of taste and expectations. I know people that would love the cruise you described, knowing the cons. Not me, though. I do like how Carnival, as my wife described it, seems to have "something for everyone" in their different ships/experiences. 

I'll also add I was very impressed with the way NCL kept the Escape on some of the sailings we took on her first two seasons. It was impressive to see the team go to work when in port, hosing down the salt off the ship, repainting, and one guy always hanging over the side of the ship touching up the colorful mural. Kept it looking sharp. Carnival seems to do that too with its newer ships.

On 1/11/2022 at 7:43 PM, Lindsay0405 said:

I was going to wait until tomorrow evening and go talk to him again… 

How did it go? Responding a bit late but was doing a search on this topic as I was considering booking a Dreams Studio session. We did the portrait studio on an NCL cruise back in 2017 and it was about $1,000 for 50+ amazing digital photos and six large high-quality canvas wall-hangings. At the time, I thought that was nuts, but have really enjoyed the photos and wall art since then. I wouldn't do it every year, but in retrospect, we did get a lot for our $$$. 

Lee just joined Chris on the Mardis Gras and will be learning the ship/program for 4 weeks before taking over and then being the CD until mid-July, according to a FB post he made this weekend.

Agree wholeheartedly. I mean, I know gratuities are important to service workers' incomes, but at the same time, so is how you treat them. AND, there is huge motivation for a good review on a guest comment card. Those lead to promotions. Those lead to better jobs on the ship with more potential career-wise.

It reminds me of the argument "if you make tips automatic, service workers won't work as hard as they do now." That logic doesn't hold. They know not doing a good job doesn't bode well for their careers. And, they know those all those people standing in line the last day to remove their tips aren't doing it because of their job performance. Point being, in the end, overall tips are going to come out about the same.

I had one guy who exclusively sails Royal once tell me he went on a few Carnival cruises but has since "graduated" from those. Well, lah tee dah. We love Carnival and we're fairly sophisticated in our taste. It's a good time. I guess we don't feel we have to pretend to be important like the guy I mentioned. We just love life and so the Carnival vibe suits us!

It depends as BlerkOne said. Better to call and ask or have your person who helps you with booking cruises do so. 

I agree with the comment posted earlier that the major lines are more similar than they are different, overall. That said, after many cruises on NCL, Royal, Carnival - and gasp, MSC (Yacht Club), I would say Carnival is still my favorite because of the vibe and the food. We rarely if ever go to the buffet. The MDR, variety of free fast-food choices, and specialty restaurants are what we like. And per the vibe ... minus some of the contests at the main pool during the day, it's a fun yet classy one. There are a lot of snobs that would call it trashy, but I would call those people and their vibe, boring. 😀

I was on the phone with Carnival for 3 hours this morning. First rep told me I couldn't change the cruise rate to the much lower one now offered. Called back and second one gave me a cruise rate that was half the rate of my previous one! Well worth my time. I just multi-task with my wireless earbuds in.

Following! Though, if you call Carnival tomorrow, they should be able to tell you. We're doing this too on our next cruise. 

I usually just keep checking my cruise rate and once it lowers, get the price adjusted, or OBC for the difference if I've already made final payment, and justify the savings to buy a Cheers package. This time around, we plan to buy a wine package for dinners, then I'll buy a bottle of Glenmoranjie for evenings, and buy our drinks during the day to see if Cheers really benefits us at all. My guess is we'll come out slightly ahead not buying it. 

The cruise industry is handling COVID better than businesses on land. Where are the articles and stats comparing infection rates and hospitalizations compared to land-based resorts or going to your local mall? That doesn't sell advertising for the news outlets.

On 12/22/2021 at 3:24 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Done 4 since cruising returns went to Lido all 4 (as well as buffets on 4 land trips.  Washy washy before you go in and before you eat there is nothing to worry about.  

This. Pre-covid, we've always mandated everyone go and wash up after settting their food on the table from the buffett. There are plenty of hand washing stations that make it fast and convenient. I also agree with the health experts that say getting COVID from contacting surfaces is extremely rare. It's contracted via the air you breathe.

On 12/8/2021 at 11:31 AM, chengkp75 said:

I wouldn't either, but then again, I'm not part of the "instant gratification" generation that can't wait a minute for the water to clear, but just complains about it.

I drink orange-colored water from a fresh sping that's been tested as safe for a week at Scout Camp each year. Its simply the minerals in the water. That said, I don't want to do that on a cruise. : ) We always drink the tap water. Tastes just fine and I'm confident its safe.

Love the feedback too. We always take our plastic cups with us when we leave the MB and they can't go in the dishwasher at home. Must be washed by hand. 😀