olemissreb

Things must really be busy for you! Hope they calm down soon and you can get back to your story. I really want to know how surprised your wife will be when her "Golden Year" is finally complete.

Count me in the San Juan departures. Yes the airport can be a PITA, but to be able to get off the plane and immediately feel like I'm on vacation is worth it. I just love the Southern itineraries too. We've been on 2 and am looking forward to more someday in the hopefully not to distant future!

I'm so loving these pictures and can't wait to get there next year!

 

On a side note - we did My Time Dining on our Adventure cruise 2 years go and we requested the same waiters every night and the Maitre D' complied every night but one - and even then "our" waiters waited on our table! We'll be on Celebrity next year with Anytime Dining so I hope we'll be able to request the same waiters like we did on AOS. MTD really is great especially if you have kids that just can't sit through a 2 hour dinner - although mine are getting better at it! And since we were able to request the same waiters, they got to know us and our habits just like early or late seating dinner.

 

Oh yeah - I've never been to Vegas either. DH has been for business, but didn't take me with him! :)

You will love the Royal Suite experience on Millie. If you have Nelson as your butler, you are very fortunate! He will take wonderful care of you!

 

Which RS were you in on the Millie? We will be in 6137 (or 6135 can't remember which is the RS and which is CC) for our Alaska adventure next year. Hope Nelson will still be there!

Oh my word! I'm loving this review! I'm getting so excited for our trip and I still have 10 months to wait! UGH!

 

How was it picking up your parents at the airport? Sounds like it was difficult to find a parking space. I think we'll probably be returning our car when we pick up my mother and then take a cab or shuttle to our hotel since we'll be leaving on the train for Seward the next morning.

 

Any other restaurants you can recommend in Anchorage? We'll have to try the Moose's Tooth when were there - my kids will love the pizza!

 

I hope you are having a romantic 28th engagement anniversary, olemissreb! :D

 

The day started out with my waking up with a piercing sinus headache. Then a dear friend texted me and invited me to her jewelry party and DH was happy to let me go and didn't even balk when I spent money. Tonight we are going to try a new cajun restaurant here in town and maybe go see the movie "Hope Springs". Of course we may just end up seeing the movie and then doing something else - who knows! The kids are with their grandparents so we have the house to ourselves (well except for the dog)!:D:o

 

I know you said your engagement anniversary wasn't as romantic as you'd hoped, but hopefully you can make up for it this weekend.

LOL as men we can be a bit dense and we don't do subtle hints well. Tell him to get off his ass and book a cruise for you guys!! Then tell him again since we generally don't hear it the first time :D:D

 

If I had more $$$ we would cruise at least quaterly if it were up to me.

 

Normally I would, but we are splurging on next summer's Alaskan adventure. 2 weeks - 1 inland doing a DIY tour and 1 week on the Millie in a Royal Suite with our kids in the Concierge Class room next door. Plus with at least one flightseeing tour planned and some of the other excursions that I have in mind, money will be tight for a while!

 

Maybe next fall I'll start bugging him!

john160 & terrific surprise - I need to put you guys in touch with my DH. Maybe you can give him some pointers! I would love for him to surprise me with a really nice trip like this. I end up planning all our vacations 'cause if I didn't, we wouldn't go anywhere!

Funny - my DH proposed to me on 8/11/1984! We were married 7 months later almost to the day!

Congratulations Grandpa! Enjoy that new grandbaby!

Where did you go? I've been enjoying this love story and all of a sudden you disappeared! Come back and let us know how the "gold envelopes" have been going the last 2 weeks!

We are thinking of booking a cruise for 2013 and are interested in the above suite. I notice that it's near the elevator and would like to know from anyone who was in the suite --do you hear the ding of the elevator? I know I can go further aft but don't care for the vibrations and engine noises.Thank you in advance.

 

Thanks for asking this! We are in a RS (6135) with the adjoining CC cabin (6137) on our Millie cruise next year. I was wondering about the elevator noise, but now I know I have nothing to worry about! I'll still bring my earplugs though to block out the snoring of my DH.

Hi

 

Does any one know if any of the cruise lines accomodate or provide services for a brief committal or funeral service to scatter ashes at sea?

 

Thanks

 

When I was getting ready for our cruise 2 years ago, there was someone who arranged through the cruiseline (Royal Caribbean) to have a small memorial service and scatter her husbands ashes at sea. The cruiseline obliged. If I remember correctly, some of the officers escorted her to a place below the regular passenger decks to a place where they could throw the ashes. The ashes were in a biodegradable box/urn. When she threw the ashes, one of the officers recorded the coordinates for her and the family. She said it was very respectful and very moving. When I read this, I talked to my family about allowing me to throw my dad's ashes, but my mother became a road block (long story and not worth the time to type it!).

 

Contact your cruise line and see what they can do. I hope you are able to carry out your loved one's wishes and may you find peace.

We have been doing the AI resorts vacation since 1991, and we have just booked our 1st cruise on the Carnival Dream. We will be the newbies all the way as there is so much more to research as far as what ship, itinerary, what port to leave from etc. We won't know what to do onboard or where to go until we are actually onboard and I'm sure we will stick out like a sore thumb as the saying goes. Time will tell...

B

 

 

You won't stick out - no one will know you are on your first cruise unless you tell them. You've found Cruise Critic (welcome aboard) so it is quite likely that if you've done a fair amount of research, you may know even more than some of the seasoned cruisers that aren't members of CC. Head over to the Carnival boards, the ports of call boards and most important the Carnival Roll Call boards and ask any and all questions that you may have. Members will be glad to help you out.

We've done 4 cruises (soon to be 5) and only one AI. While I enjoyed the AI, I like cruising more.

 

AI: Pro - it was relaxing. We stayed at Ciboney in Ocho Rios. We'd been to Ocho Rios before so we really had no desire to go to Dunns River Falls or really see the town. We did book an excursion to a Blue Mountain coffee bean plantation and to Kingston (all the same tour). The resort we were at had 3 or 4 restaurants ranging from casual (sandwiches) to upscale. The food was terrific. All the alcohol you could drink was included - anything you wanted! LOVED that - we had a glass of Grand Marnier just about every night after dinner. Ciboney also offered a chef to come to your cabana suite and cook you dinner and serve it at your own pool (well we shared the pool with 4 other couples in the cabana) - we did this for my birthday and it was by far the most romantic thing EVER! I do have to admit though that this was probably the most relaxed I've been on a vacation.

 

CON - there wasn't a whole lot to do at the resort other than relax (ok so this could go in the pro column too if that is what you are looking for). You could book excursions, but just as with a cruise they do cost extra and frankly the one we were on didn't deliver the way it was described (had to pay for our own lunch even though the tour description said it was included). My thoughts were: why book an AI if you are going to be out and about the whole time - seemed like a hotel would work fine for that and probably cheaper. The strawberry daiquiri's were "funky" tasting, but I think that may have been because they used a Jamaican rum or maybe it was the pre-mixed stuff, not sure.

 

Cruises: PRO - depending on the ship - so many things or so few things to do depending on your mood. Good food. Many different ports with all kinds of different things to do, just about every day.

 

CONS: All alcohol is extra (unless you cruise on a line with a drink package). Food can be "hit or miss" simply because of the volume in which it is cooked. Depending on the cruiseline, smoking can be horrendous!

 

As far as price, our cruises and our AI have all been comparable. Would I do an AI again? Yes, if I wanted nothing more than to get away, relax and have my way with my husband!:o Most of the time though, I think you'll find me on a cruise.

Thank you so much for your review and pictures! We had considered the Radiance, but have pretty much decided on Celebrity's Millie (unless they reposition the Solstice there for summer 2013). I sooooooooooooo want to book right now, but still have about 3 weeks before Celebrity releases their 2013 AK itineraries.

I know I'm cruising when I walk across the gangway and hear my card "bing" and I'm actually on the ship (drinking my complimentary glass of champagne if I'm on Celebrity). Then I'm cruising and everything magically disappears!

 

2013 can't get here soon enough - ALASKA! Can't wait!

Yes, of course!

 

I was able to contact the kayaker through the park service at Bartlett Cove. This gentleman took the ferry from Bellingham to Sitka last summer where her put his kayak in the water and paddled around Southeast Alaska for 8 weeks. He was camping in Glacier Bay at the time. Pretty impressive trip.

 

 

Thank you!

 

My arms are tired reading about the kayaker! I'm being ambitious scheduling a raft trip down the Nenana River when we get there next year - and not the trip with the Class IV & V rapids either! :)

Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park

 

 

 

 

This is the COOLEST picture I have ever seen! Can I download it and use it as my screensaver?

OH MY WORD!!! These pictures are all gorgeous and I so can't wait to get to Alaska in 2013! Wish I didn't have to wait a year, but it was the compromise I made to get an extra week inland instead of just the cruise - added bonus I get my hubby for 2 straight weeks! Something he hasn't done since we were married almost 27 years ago!

Not sure since I haven't booked it yet. Next cruise will be in late June or early July 2013. So way too many!

[quote name='gyanhumara']Or, you beg the attorneys not to be chosen for the jury because you have a Very Important Responsibility -- replying to the questions on CC! :D

(Actually, you could just tell them that you read the Bible every day. I did this once, back when I really was reading at least a chapter of the Bible every day, and didn't get selected to serve.)[/quote]

My husband told the attorney's that the company he works for has government contracts that he's in charge of and that got him thrown out of the jury pool! Also helped that one of those government contracts dealt with the local government that was being sued. Just so happened to be the truth though. I've had other friends say that they were lawyers and that got them thrown out of the jury pool - again it was the truth. Don't know if I'd take a chance on truly making something up.:D

When you compare the roll call boards when you're trying to decide which cruise to take. Are there lots of posts? Do they sound like fun people? Have they already scheduled a slot pull and a cabin crawl?

 

 

AWWW Man - you just added something else for me to check on before I book our next cruise!! And I thought I had all the major bases covered!;)

We are thinking Alaska will be our 2013 destination and will probably book when we are on the Eclipse next June.

 

Maybe we'll see you on the Roll Call and onboard the Millie in late June/early July 2013.

when you look to CC for advice on where to go on vacation 3 years in advance of said vacation!

 

(BTW - thanks for all the advice I've gotten about our Alaskan cruise that we will be taking in 2013 (should be booking in May 2012 or as soon as the bookings open up) - I've still got questions and I'm sure CC will have the answers!)