Jamericannn

I enjoy the Splendor's decor. It can be a bit much, but in real life, the space in between all of the tiles is green, and it is really balanced. Plus the dining rooms on Splendor are gorgeous.

 

But if we are going solely by interior decoration, I am in absolute love with the Carnival Liberty. The chandeliers and the floral design blends modern elegance and fun quite well. I would do anything to sail on her again. The Freedom is also very nice inside! :D

I would have checked it out if it had 7 day cruises.

Because of me? LOL!!! :) Please let me know what you think after you watch the video tour. We love her!

I checked out a couple videos on the liberty. It is a really nice ship. They have that unique design on the stairway rails and around other areas that I haven't seen on any of the other ships. It has a few designs and look that I really like. Deck 4 is really nice. This is the video that shows a good walkthrough

The Breeze us still my favorite though but I must say the Liberty looks nicer than I thought.

They just did the carpets on Glory at the end of last year so I don't think that will be part of it.

I was told by the carnival agent that carpeting is a part of the plan. Maybe they are changing some not for wear and tear but because they want to put a more updated carpet.

Uh, no. Ships do not "process and store for removal" in port. The ships have advanced waste water treatment plants that treat all the waste water generated on the ship to near drinking water quality, typically better than most municipal treatment plants, and then the treated effluent is discharged at sea. What is left over from the treatment process is mostly paper fibers, since the system processes water so quickly that the bacteria do not have time to digest paper (unlike your septic tank or the municipal treatment plant's ponds). This solid waste is then either incinerated or pumped overboard at sea. As this is sanitized paper fibers, it is considered treated waste, and is harmless to the environment.

 

As I've stated on many threads about "sewage" smell, the occasional smell outside may be from the holding tank vents (prior to treatment the waste water collects in tanks), or the incineration process. The smell inside the ship that appears and disappears in various areas is caused by the water in gray water (sinks, showers, and deck drains, not toilets) drain traps drying out. Just like your sink at home, every sink, shower, and deck drain has a U-trap (that inconvenient thing under the sink) that holds water to prevent odors from backing up. The low humidity of the AC air will dry out traps that don't see a lot of water, like the bathroom floor drain in your cabin (not the shower drain, look for a gutter at the door, or a drain tucked away under the toilet). Typically, a glass of water down these drains every day keeps the odors under control. Another problem with the traps is that vessel motion tends to "spill" the trap water down the pipe, causing the same problem as evaporation. When smelt around public areas, there is usually a "back of house" area with a deck drain that needs water.

Sounds like you know what you are talking about. Thank you.

We are 625 days out to our first ever cruise on the Breeze from Galveston. We leave Feb. 25th 2018. Actually we leave 3 days before that because we are driving from small town Ontario Canada to Texas:eek: Even though we are that far out from our cruise I am addicted. I have these boards open all day at work checking every now and then just to see if there is anything new that I didn't know before. And most days I learn something new to help plan this cruise. My wife is not into planning at all, so it kind of leaves me lonely in planning. Every once in awhile I can get her to look at something with me. Her point of view is that it is so far away there is no need to be planning yet. She could be right but I enjoy it, a lot!! The trip is already making me excited this far out, and I am sure it will just keep getting more and more exciting as it gets closer I am sure!!!

 

Here is some background on how this trip came to be...

 

I have wanted to cruise forever. I remember when Destiny came out in 1996. I was 16 and want to cruise so much. I got my first job that year and went to a travel agency to learn more. I came out with nothing more then one of those big old school brochures showing all Carnival had to offer. Nothing ever came of that. I had my first son in 2001, and my second son in 2002 and travel got put on the back burner. In 2008 my wife at the time and 2 sons took the kids to Disney world. We drove to Florida. I really enjoyed the driving part. It really was part of the vacation. The boys were 7 and 5 at the time and had a great time.

 

The boys mom decided she didn't want to live with us anymore in 2009 and moved out. In 2010 I found someone new who had a 4 year old daughter. We moved in together and in 2011 we took the 3 kids to Disney World. The second time for the boys, but the first for my step-daughter. We flew to Florida this time. I really do enjoy flying as well. We found a great deal and the five of us flew to Florida from Buffalo for $99 each way.

 

In 2013 we had a baby. So that put us up to 4 kids. With the youngest being 8 years younger then the next youngest kid. That has made it really hard to do any family trips, they are just at such different ages.

 

Some friends of ours gave their kids a cruise for Christmas this past year, and that is when the cruise topic came up for me again. It has came up many times over the years for me but it always just kind of went away. This time I kept on it an was researching all the time trying to find a way for us to do a cruise. My wife was not interested saying we couldn't afford it and she didn't want to cruise and everything she could think of. I was persistent and soon broke her down.:D The biggest thing for me is that we don't have a lot of time left with the kids. We have kids in grade 9, grade 8, and grade 5, plus a 2 year old. My oldest son will be off to college in 3 years, and the chances of getting everyone together for a vacation will be even harder.

 

The wife finally ok'ed doing this and we got to picking a date. We decided on 2018 because with 4 kids there isn't a lot of extra money and we really didn't want to through it on a credit card and have more debt. This way allows us to slowly over a long period of time make small payments. Our final payment date isn't until December 12th of 2017. Also with the exchange rate our dollar only buys about 77 cents US. So paying it over that long time frame kind of makes that not seem like such a big hit. Also when ever the $ goes up we can make a payment and save a little coin!!

 

Around the end of February we booked our cruise using a Carnival PVP. Now it is time to plan!! I have been planning the drive mostly. My wife thought we should do it over 3 days. I originally wanted to do 2 days. But after talking about it she was right (aren't they always...:p) With 4 kids, and especially the little one (4 when we go) we may have to stop more then we wanted to. So I am pretty sure we are going to go with 3 days driving, getting to Galveston the afternoon before our cruise.

 

So that pretty much gets us to today. I don't know if this thread is interesting to anyone. I din't even talk about cruising for most of it and just talked about myself. I hope people like it, and if people do I will keep it updated with my random planning thoughts.

 

Thanks everyone!!

Will you be renting a car to drive?

I love the excitement and I have the same feeling about cruising. That is a long time to wait in anticipation though. My blood vessels would burst.:). I hope you and the family will have a wonderful time.

What's so funny? You must be concerned as well because you started your own thread entitled: SEWER SMELL. LOL

Shortly after I read this I was reading the review for the Carnival Glory and noticed a lot of people talking about the sewer smell so I figure out this must be a trend. It's a little different topic though because this is something that affects the entire ship and not just confined to one particular room. That is why I had to start that post. :)

If you go to the thread "Question about Toilets" our resident expert provides a very thorough explanation.

Ok. I will check it out.

Thank you both.

Most of these workers come from low income family and barely get any pay. While I would not want to see anyone lose their job or the opportunity to support their family, I would have reported it if I spoke with the steward the first time and he did it again.

It's definitely worth it. There are many perks to it other than boarding. It also includes disembarkation, your room ready faster, faster to guest services, designated phone line etc..

I noticed on most of the recent reviews about the Glory a lot of people are complaining about the smell of sewage on different parts of the ship.

Do you guys notice this on other ships as well?

Did the scent got worse over the years?

Lol. Just when I thought I have seen the strangest questions.

I know many people in your case and they never get asked for those papers. My sister just cruise out of Miami with her 7 years old and all she presented was his passport. They both have different last names. No problemo

It is possible but you have to remember that the cruise could delay getting in. There could also be delays on the road.

I don't take those chances. I fly to Miami for my cruises. I will be in Miami the day before for my upcoming cruise and my flight back to NY will be at 7:05pm. I don't want to be stressed on the day after my vacation ends.

Just beware that when they do the $50 deposit they sometimes add in a $250 cancellation fee. I have this on two of my booked cruises.

There is usually a catch with every sale.

They usually not even tell the phone agents. They just offer it randomly through the marketing department.

I don't like the Splendor (interior color) but I like the SC itenerary so I would go with the one going to Aruba

I don't see that happening at all. This would bee to chaotic. I doubt many people will want to tour another ship when they could be doing an excursion.

Why not put someone in your room. You guys can always do the naughty when they are out of the room. They may have to change your room if the one you are in has a 2 person occupancy. The additional person will cost maybe around $350.

It is much easier to book the new person in your cabin to avoid having to move someone from the other cabin to yours. You guys can arrange who sleep in what room later.

I would definitely say Alchemy but because you want to be there while watching football I would do the SkyBox Sports bar. This way you can chat with other sports enthusiasts.

You got the answers you need in different posts. Let me summarize:

1. Register your special need case

2. Bring it in your carry-on

3. Do the shot at the Medical Center and you will have no issue disposing it there.

Enjoy your cruise.

Make sure you keep your email confirmation.

Favorite ship based solely on interior look: Liberty. We've also been on Festivle (no longer exists), Miracle, Glory, and Valor, but love the wrought iron and the colors of Liberty the best.

 

No, I did not know he designed that whale tail funnel...definitely genius. The "tails" are very distinguishable. A Carnival ship can be way out in the distance, but if you see a "tail", you know it's a Carnival ship. :D

I've never checked out the liberty. I am watching a video tour of it as I type right now all because of you.

Hi everyone,

My BF and I are taking cruise on the freedom in January. It will be going to Ocho Rios, GC and Cozumel. Was just wondering if anyone could answer some of these questions for me and any other tips would be greatly appreciated :)

 

1. How does dining work on freedom/ any Carnival cruise? more specifically is the main dining room for every night or just formal nights?

 

2. What is the best way to know the layout of the ship before boarding? I saw a video where they said to study for secret passageways/ hidden restrooms etc.

 

3.Are you allowed to take towels off the ship onto the ports?

 

Those are if for now ;)

1. MDR is available every night (as with all other ships)

2. You can see and download the deck plans here https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-freedom.aspx I would watch some videos for the secret layout.

3. You are allowed to take towels out but if you lose them there will be a high charge.