natefish95

When I was in San Diego earlier this year, I loved doing the zoo, La Jolla cove, and the Midway. When I go back in April, I'm not quite sure what I'll do, but might do the Midway again.

I'll be on the Jewel in April with the same itinerary, so I will be following along! I long the ramblings of your old, grumpy dad btw! Your positive, insightful commentary and his being the polar opposite is hilarious.

Your reviews always put a smile on my face!! You should have put a trigger warning when you mentioned using Concur to book your hotel. I haaaaaate that system so much. I try to be a good employee and book things myself, but something always goes wrong and I have to call the travel agency because Concur is only showing flights with layovers in Somalia and Sudan when I'm trying to go to Buffalo. No ma'am. I'm considering doing the Vista next year, so can't wait to read the rest!

If you want to do a beach day in St Maarten, head over to the French side and go to Orient Beach. A lot of really nice beach bars and comfortable chairs. Most are topless and all the way on the end is the full clothing optional section.

Carnival's hottest bar is Alchemy! It has everything: John Heald lookalikes, a lady blowing a snot rocket into her elbow, and the ghost of George HW Bush. Try their signature drink called the annoying cruiser. It's that thing where stand in front of barstools rather than sitting and throw a tantrum there's no Bud Light at a cocktail bar.

Holy crap, it's George H.W. Bush!

I love how you got that lady mid sneeze. Or she's about to puke into her elbow.

On US-based cruises like 95% of passengers are American. Next to that, the next largest group are Canadians and they specifically ask if there are any Canadian veterans (there almost never are). No one is forced to attend. If a non-American veteran has something to say, they can contribute during the open forum when all are welcome to speak. Did you actually have something to contribute to the conversation?

Sounds like the driver should tip you for your superior riding skills

St. Maarten is my absolute favorite port. Orient Beach is my personal paradise on the French side.

I just binge read your entire review and it was great! I was hungover yesterday and now I feel hungover again just reading this haha. It's definitely not my vibe, but it's an interesting concept. I would loooooove to see the outrage if Carnival did drag shows or a drag brunch. The outrage would be the best people watching ever--even better than when people get all huffy a comedian curses in the adult show.

Oh thank god, a thread I can actually stand to read. People have been especially whiney on the boards lately. Looking forward to your adventures on Celebration!

Thanks for checking! Definitely a disappointment

I actually really like the itineraries. Have my eye on a Canada/New England cruise in September 2023, but also like one of the 12 day Journeys cruises in February 2024. Decisions, decisions. Really glad John Heald did videos from the ships. Definitely ups the excitement I think.

It would be foolish not to use something you paid for! Drink packages are a necessity! Really appreciate your thoughts on the excursion. I'm not prone to sea sickness either, so I'll keep this excursion as a contender possibly. We're only in Ensenada from 7:00am-1:00pm, so I probably won't even get off the ship there. I'll watch sailaway from the thermal spa haha

This was a GREAT review! You family anecdotes are hilarious. You'd be a great drinking buddy! I'll be on the lookout for your Alaska cruise review hopefully! One quick question, for the Luxury Day Sail in Cabo, how much shade was on the boat and how did you like the schedule overall? I'm considering it for my cruise in April, but I'm also pale as hell and burn easily.

Looking forward to reading more! When you're onboard, could you see if there is a free sauna or steam room off the gym? Or, could you check the thermal suite and see if there are single-sex saunas in the locker rooms or all co-ed?

Do y'all not get out ever? $48 for a full steakhouse dinner (appetizers, steak, dessert) is such a great value. I've been to steakhouses were a single steak is more than that. The quality in the steakhouse is actually good, especially when compared to the MDR. If you're a family of 4, you're only paying $24 more dollars total for a full steakhouse meal. Not that much really. Also, can y'all please find some actual good lobster and stop obsessing over the rubber that Carnival claims is lobster. All of these changes are pretty common sense when you stop and think about how much food and money is wasted every week.

"You did not survive a pandemic to fake an or****" I can feel the Zeniths clutching their pearls now.

Sorry I made you dread your cruise! I'm still thinking about how great my cruise was despite the issues. I would sail on the Spirit next week in a heartbeat! Glad you had a great time!

I travel solo as well and you can get as many bottles of what as you want throughout the day. One time I tried to get two bottles of water and the first bartender said I could only have one, but another bartender who knew me, let me have two. Tip the bartenders, be nice, and they'll help you out 🙂

Thank you so much! I'll bring my shoes just in case!

I used to live in Midtown Atlanta and have been down Bankhead MANY times! I've seen many a crackhead on a corner (and someone else on the corner if you're going doing Fulton Industrial lol)

Why could it possibly be COVID policies? Cruises have been stopping in San Juan just fine, including recent cruises that didn't even require vaccination. Also, some of these cruises are over a year away. Why would it be COVID policies? It's more likely dock issues or overcrowding issues with too many megaships in port.

As Greg said, there is no free wifi. The wifi you connect to will give you access to the app on the ship, but other features on your phone will not work. iMessage works on the social plan (I always get the value plan) which works for me (when the wifi decides to actually work).