iriecruising

I recently find myself mobility challenged but plan to still have the best time possible on my cruise. Does anyone know if there are rickshaws available at the Pier in Amber Cove? TIA for any info!

I was on a cruise in March and then in May. In March on Sunrise out of Miami I got the good Guy's fries. Then in May on Paradise out of Tampa the fries were terrible. I went back a couple days later and they had the good fries. Guessing it is supply chain related and they just didnt have enough for the entire cruise!

What is a bowling alley balcony? Do you mind me asking which staterooms offer this? I had a very long narrow balcony towards the front of the ship on legend that I loved. Not sure if this is what you are speaking of but would love to know what other ships have them!! Thanks!!

Embarkation Day is when I have always done it. There have been tours while I was having them done and it has never disturbed me. I am in my treatment room. There is usually an in room shower for the salt scrub part. and I love to start my vacation by decompressing and then after I am all relaxed and ready for a drink and sail away. 🙂

I usually prefer 1 or 2pm but that is not an option. It is a 90minute treatment and I like to do it early on embarkation day so I am nice and relaxed for sail away. It is just my way of decompressing and marking the official start of vacation. I enjoy the ships, the onboard activities and spending lots of time in port so embarkation day is a great choice for me. I am traveling with my husband who can watch our carry on from his favorite spot at the red frog tiki bar!

I usually prefer 1 or 2pm but that is not an option. It is a 90minute treatment and I like to do it early on embarkation day so I am nice and relaxed for sail away. It is just my way of decompressing and marking the official start of vacation. I enjoy the ships, the onboard activities and spending lots of time in port so embarkation day is a great choice for me. I am traveling with my husband who can watch our carry on from his favorite spot at the red frog tiki bar!

I like to book a massage on embarkation day. The appointment available for the service I want is Noon. We cant check in for the cruise yet so what happens if my embarkation time is after my appointment? Wondering how big of a pain in the ass it would be to cancel it since you have to pay at time of booking. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!

As Mz-S posted I use gift cards. Anything left at the end I creatively cash out. Worst case scenario it would get credited back to another gift card. It is not cash in hand but I also plan to cruise more in the future or can give it to someone else. Discounted Cards are available through AARP Rewards site and I believe there are a few others! Buying the cards in advance lets me know my cruise and my spending are paid in advance of me leaving.

This is exactly me. I get the social plan and only tell certain people I have it. They know not to reach out unless it is an emergency. There is significant peace of mind to know that I can be reached if there is an emergency and it actually helps me relax and enjoy instead of worrying.

I have to agree here. Last cruise I did had both and the pot smokers were mellow and happy and the drunks were loud, obnoxious and messy!!!

Thank yo so much for this awesome review. I am cruising Mardi Gras for the 1st time in January and can't wait. Your photos have so much information that I was hoping to get in advance. Your wife is so talented and takes so many great pics for a review. I also love your writing style. I was sucked in for 3 hours last night and I am only half way through! I shared your post with a group of people who will be sailing in January so they could get a sneak peak as well! Thanks Again!!

That is exactly what they are. A cooler and safe. First Visit there we went over to where they were and you got 2 chairs, an Umbrella and the cooler/Safe for around $50.00 for the day. This area also had wait staff to bring food and drinks which was a huge plus as bar lines we very long!

here is a link to the Carnival Disability Page. https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs The telephone number is at the bottom of the page. I did not have to reserve a wheelchair for embarkation I just asked a Carnival port employee when I arrived at the Port and they pointed me towards the spot where wheelchair assistance was waiting. There is no wheelchair service for ports of call but on our trip a wheelchair was available for daily rental if we wanted one. There were special loading areas when a tender was necessary. I got that location from guest services the night before our tender port. Then for disembarking I again went to Guest Services the night before and they told us where to go when we were ready to get off the ship. Hope this info helps and you have an amazing cruise.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! It was very helpful.

I am posting for a friend who is working on legally changing their first name. The process will not be complete by the time they cruise. So their cruise is booked under their legal first name in order to match their original birth certificate and drivers license. However is it possible to have their sail and sign account show the name they have always gone by or just be printed with their first and middle initial and full last name. For reasons I prefer not to discuss their legal first name brings them some painful memories and they really do not want ship staff to address them by that name if at all possible. If anyone has any experience with this could you please let me know what you did, how it worked, etc so I can pass the information along? Thanks in advance!

I have had the scrub with massage three times. Each time they have given me a pair of disposable undies to put on. You lay on your back the entire time for the scrub and the only awkward moment is when they ask you to sit up to do your back. Because it that point you are exposed on the top. Make sure you have something to keep your hair up and off your neck and back. After the scrub you take a shower and lay back down for the massage. If you get unlucky like I did once and there is not a shower in your treatment room, you will be provided a robe to get to the shower and back. I have terrible dry bumpy skin and I have to say the treatment makes my skin softer than I have ever felt it. The first time I was given a hard sell after the treatment. They used the info I filled out when I arrived for the treatment to sell me on products that could solve my muscle aches, stress etc. The last 2 times I was not given a hard sell but I also left out all that info on my form those times. One thing I did notice that confused the hell out of me was the way they bill for it. I book pre-cruise and pay with a credit card when I book. When I was done I was given a receipt that included the massage, the gratuity and the option to add additional gratuities to sign. On my sail and sign account the original amount paid by credit card was credited to my sail and sign account and the new amount with gratuities was charged. It can be confusing when you see it. Hope you enjoy the treatment!

While I cant compare these exact ships I can tell you I was on the sister ships for both recently. I was on Sunrise in March and Paradise this month and If I had to choose one to repeat it would be Sunshine. The ship is bigger, I liked the layout more and the fact it had more open air decks. My Dad was 75 and was on Sunrise with me and it wasnt so big that he could not get around. P.S. if Grandma is mobility challenged talk to carnival before boarding and they will provide you with some really valuable info on services they provide and ways to make cruising easier. I wrote a review that included a lot of those here on Cruise Critic.

That sounds really high. I think we paid that for a Mini Van and driver for the entire day for 4 people. The rates are posted at the taxi stand maybe someone going there can take a photo for you. They appeared to be very regulated.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. I feel much better about Cozumel and will not go it alone in Roatan. I will check out Victor Bodden for sure. Thanks again. Really looking forward to my time away!!

I recently sailed Carnival Sunrise with my Dad who is diabetic with mobility issues. I called Carnival ahead of time. Here is the contact info. access@carnival.com, or call us at 1-800-438-6744, ext. 70025 According to Carnival the refrigerator in the room is not cold enough for insulin. My Dad uses a pen so we did not have to worry about that part. But they mentioned being able to provide a different fridge or storing the medicine for us if needed. There was a sharps container for used needles in the room when we arrived. As for mobility the people we talked to told us once we arrived at the port to look for any police officer or carnival employee and request a wheelchair for boarding. I dropped my luggage with the porters, dropped my dad with our carry ons. (I had a small rolling suitcase and he had a duffle he kept in his lap in the wheelchair. Then I went and parked the car while he sat on a bench. When I returned I asked an employee for a wheelchair and they directed me to a disabled boarding area where we were provided a wheelchair and an escort to push. We went through security and were taken by elevator upstairs to the check in area where our pictures were taken etc. we were wheeled to a sitting area where the escort left us with the wheelchair and said he would return when boarding began. (We had an early check in time) Once boarding started escorts for all the wheelchair people returned and we were taken on an elevator to the boarding area. We boarded the ship in the atrium where my Dad moved from the wheelchair to a barstool! (LOL) He managed the rest of the trip with just his walker. When we went in port with a tender we were told to go to guest services when we were ready to depart the ship and they would escort us down when an accessible tender arrived. Once one of these tenders arrived we were escorted by elevator to the loading area for the accessible tender. These tenders were wheelchair and walker accessible and did not require you to walk up or down any stairs. In a port with a dock we were offered wheelchair assistance off the ship but not to the end of the dock. If we wanted a wheelchair to get to the end of the dock we needed to rent one and keep it with us at the beach or where ever we went. My dad opted to go it alone and we managed. Not easy but we managed. During dinner the waiter was able to take the walker to a holding area and returned it when we were ready to leave. For disembarking we were told to meet in the dining room and a wheelchair was brought up and we were escorted to bagage claim where we went through customs, grabbed a porter who assisted with all our bags including what we were carrying and then escorted outside to the port pick up area. I left my dad with all the bags on a bench and went to get the car. waited my turn to pull up to the curb and then loaded my dad and all the bags. As for insulin in port. They sell small medicine "cooler bags" at pharmacies that usually come with a small ice pack. If you kept that packed in a bucket of ice from your room stewart or asked carnival to keep it in a freezer for you that would probably get you by while in post. Worst case scenario if it melts too quickly is you bring a ziplock and ask for a glass of Ice at a restaurant or bar while in port. Hope this info helps!!

I am taking my first solo cruise in a couple of weeks with stops in Cozumel and Roatan. I usually love getting off the ship in Cozumel and just browsing the shops in San Miguel but Carnival uses the dock at Puerto Maya. Interested in your thoughts on whether it would be safe for a solo cruiser to grab a cab alone and head down to San Miguel. I feel confident shopping alone as it is a crowded populated area on the main drag but is a solo cab ride a stupid move? I am also interested in seeing the West End in Roatan and wonder if a cab ride and shopping and wandering around alone would be safe. I have never been to the West End (or even out of the port area in Roatan) so I am totally unfamiliar with the area. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.

I am just off the Sunrise and since I love reading reviews before I cruise I thought I would add one for others. I was traveling with my 76 year old Dad who is mobility challenged for lack of a better term. He does not use a wheelchair or scooter but probably should. His ego is a little too big for that though! LOL! We did bring a walker with us though. When doing check in online Carnival provided a number to call for their accessibility department. If you are traveling with anyone with special needs or accessibility issues and dont get the number when booking, look it up and call. They were so helpful with information. Things we never would have known on board if they had not told us when we called. So..... Embarkation Day - We had check in time of 10:00 - 10:30. Dropped my Dad and the baggage and parked the car. He needed to walk down to the end of the terminal where we asked for a wheelchair to board the ship. Carnival was already notified on the call I made he would need one for boarding. we were quickly provided a wheelchair and a carnival staff member to assist us in boarding. We used verifly for our documents and quickly made it through boarding security area. We were then taken right to an agent at the check in area of the terminal and pictures taken etc in no time. Then we were dropped off in an area where there was an elevator up to the ship. The ship was not boarding yet so our carnival escort left us and said he would be back. I got a little nervous when boarding began and he was not back but none of the people in wheelchairs had their escorts back yet and it was just a few minutes later that a team of employees came to assist the people in wheelchairs. We were escorted on to Deck 3 in the Atrium where all guests board and I sat my Dad at the bar and went to guest services to have a gift card applied to my account. It was quick and easy! We headed to Lido and on the Lido deck by 11:30! We were very late in pushing off from the dock. I think 2 hours late! Weather had cancelled and delayed flights all over the country and apparently some guests who had booked air travel through carnival were delayed and the ship waited for them. Also saw a sheriff car leave the port as we pushed off and heard they had boarded the ship to arrest someone before we pushed off. All hearsay but the story seemed legit. Dining - We had assigned late dining on the 2nd level of the Radiance Dining Room. We were at table 315 and our head waiter was Renie. We had various appetizers but enjoyed the soups and salads the most. The shrimp cocktail turned out to be small shrimp instead of the jumbo ahrimp. But it never said jumbo shrimp on the menu so I guess you cant be disappointed when you dont get jumbo shrimp. The meals were good with the exception of Chicken entrees which were terribly bland. Our food was hot and tasty, warm breads were plentiful and service was outstanding. We entered the dining room at 8:15 each evening and were done at 9:30 each evening. I think this is really good for a 3 course meal. For Lunch we did Guys Burgers which was as outstanding as I remember it to be, Guys Pig and Anchor which was also very good and the free lunch at the Italian place which was also good. With 3 early port days breakfast was cereal, fruit and danishes delivered to the room and one day we managed the breakfast wraps at Blue Iguana. Got there right before they closed and was a bit disappointed because everything was cold. Entertainment - Lido Deck Entertainment was good for a 5 day cruise. DJ playing dance music, Entertainment staff doing dance parties, etc. Typical Lido music. We only had one sea day and I do not think there were any pool games that day. No sexy legs, hairy chest, bartending challenge etc. They may only be for 7 day cruises. Not sure! Went to see 2 comedy shows. A PG show with Ronnie Ballard that was just O.K. and then an adult show with Ronnie Ballard (on his last day on board) and Happy Cole (on his first day on board) Ronnie opened and was a little better than the PG show but Happy Cole had the crowd roaring with laughter a few times. Really wanted to see his other shows but missed them for various reasons. The Alchemy Bar, Red Frog Rum Pub and Piano Bar are all in the same spot on the ship and all were good. Spent a little time in the Piano bar and thought the entertainer there was good. The Red Frog Rum Pub had a band and the one night I was there I thought they were good. The Male lead singer seemed to be reading the lyrics off an Ipad attached to his microphone stand and it felt a little too much like Karaoke. The female lead singer sounded better. The band was outstanding though! Very talented musicians! My dad loved Alchemy Bar. He thought that was the "Hip and Happening" place to be! The Atrium Stage had a guitar player named Bryce who was super talented. I loved listening to him when wandering the atrium shops, going to dinner or stopping by for a drink. There was plenty of Trivia and Bingo but I did not do either. The Casino was the least smoky Casino on a ship I have ever been on. Possibly because the Casino Bar is now a non smoking bar or possibly because so many people are vaping instead of smoking now. Not sure which. Anyone sensitive to smoke will certainly still smell it/experience issues but as far as cruise ship casinos go this was the least smoky one I have experienced. Speaking of smoking.... Smoking on Board There were 3 places you could smoke on board the ship. The Casino (only when seated and playing), Deck 10 Starboard side, aft of the Lido Pool and forward of the Aft Pool. Nice outdoor sofas, tables and umbrellas set up in the sunny area and same set up minus the umbrellas in the under cover area. Plenty of space for everyone. Also on Deck 3 Starboard side behind Guest Services. This area is under cover but on a windy or rough seas day you will get wet from sea spray. All Smoking areas were kept clean. deck 10 had waiter service but it took minimum 30 minutes to get your drink. They took orders from everyone and then went and got the drink and came back. The Lido bars are where they went and both are busy to start with. Seems like a service bar for wait staff would really help and they would sell a lot more drinks that way! Cabin - We were in 8261. Balcony Cabin mid ship right by the Glass Atrium Elevators. The location was outstanding. One thing to note is next to the elevators are small open area where you can look down on the Atrium Bar Area. We would hear the Atrium entertainment clearly outside of the room and could even hear it a bit inside the room. I actually really enjoyed that but I know not everyone would. So book with caution. There were rooms above us so noise from the Lido deck was not an issue for us. It was a typical balcony cabin. We had it set up as 2 twin beds and it did make the room feel a bit smaller. My bed was right up against the window which I actually enjoyed. I left the curtain open and woke up to different sights each morning! The room was clean and out cabin steward Richard was great. We had a small cooler to keep cabin drinks cold and asked for Ice the first day and each day there after her took our cooler dumped the water and refilled it with ice. Ports- This was a 5 day cruise with 3 ports and one sea day. I really prefer 2 sea days but this cruise was so cheap I was not going to be picky. First port of call was Grand Turk and its long pier. You need to go down to deck 1 and then walk down the stairs to deck zero to get off. Available to us was wheelchair assistance to take my dad off the ship but not to the end of the pier or wheelchair rental for the day which would have given us a wheelchair to use for the entire day. We did not use either and instead we managed on our own. We were off the ship by 8:30 or so went to Margarittaville and got some chairs by the pool with an umbrella. Neither my Dad or myself were tall enough to open the umbrella and asked a tall fellow cruiser for help and they were so nice and got it open quickly for us. These chairs were along the outside of the pool and were free. I had been there before and planned to rent the chairs that came with the umbrella and cooler/safe thing because it also provides you a server. I had done that before and very much enjoyed it but you need to walk over a bridge with steps to get to that area so we opted to stay near the zero entry pool entrance so my Dad could easily enter and exit the pool. Bar lines were long to get a drink and the area was not even very crowded. We walked the shopping area which took a very long time with my Dad, went in the pool and checked out the people on the flow rider before heading back to the ship. Princess Cay was a disaster and a really bad experience. before we left on the cruise I booked a clamshell and 2 water chairs via the carnival website. Knowing that we would have a spot we did not rush off the ship and used the the accessible assistance provided by the ship to board the tenders. The process was simple. Go to guest services and tell them you need an accessible tender. When the next accessible tender comes in you are escorted in an elevator to deck zero where you walk or wheel yourself over a ramp on to the ship and sit right now. Other guests boarding need to walk down a flight of stairs to the lower level. When we got to princess cays the bottom level was able to disembark at ground level and the upper level where we were had a wheelchair ramp for us to use. we got off the ship and with our back to the ocean we walked to the left which is the busier part of the island. I left my dad under the covered area by the bar and went to get our clam shell and aqua chairs. When I arrived at the place to do that I was told there were no clamshells left and I would have to walk over to the other side to get one there. That involved walking up stairs over a bridge and back down. This might have worked but the food buffet on the side was not open so doing the walk back and forth over and over again would never work. I wandered around looking for any chair in the shade to put my Dad in and finally found 1 lounge. I didnt have a bag or a towel or anything but a college aged guy sitting next to the chair was awesome and threw his shirt on it and pulled over another lounge he knew was not being used and put his bag on that one to hold it for us while I got my dad. We sat and relaxed a short time. I had read online somewhere that the buffet closed at 2pm. I do not remember Carnival saying the hours for the buffet nor was there any sineage saying the restaurant hours around the Island. At 1:20 we began walking down to the restaurant it took my Dad close to 10 minutes cause he is slow. As we approached there were several people in front of us going to the same place and then slowly they were turning around to walk back. Finally i realized why. There was a staff member in the buffet line holding a sign behind her that said buffet is closed. I was aggrevated at this point but we took the opportunity walking back to look at the stuff vendors were selling. We went back to the chairs and sat for a little bit and then I headed to the bar for some waters. At that time the line to board the ship was already very long. We sat in the loungers until the line got shorter and was in the shade and got back on a tender and boarded the ship. I went to the excursion desk when it opened and was quickly refunded my money for the clamshells and aqua chairs. I did not have to argue with them at all . Just told them what happened and they apologized, refunded my money and asked if there was anything else they could do to make up for the incovienience. I was not quick enough to come up with something because I was just happy the refund process was so easy so I said no, thanked him and went on my way. Nassau was the one port I had never been too. My Dad was exhausted and could not do another day of walking so I went ashore by myself. There were 5 ships in port but we had the prime "parking spot" so getting off the ship was easy. I walked through an open air straw market to the left of the port where there were all the typical tourist things and pretty much all the vendors had the same stuff. Very few actual handmade things. Then I stopped at a bar called the Pirate ____ cant remember it was Pirate something. They had cold drinks and wifi. Perfect!!! checked in with family and facebook and resisted the urge to check the news or work stuff!! The Blue drink I had made that a little easier to do! I left the bar and walked the big Straw Market and really most of the vendors all had the same mass produced stuff. I bought a mug from someone and then came out of the market in a different place than I entered. It took me a while to figure that out as I walked around in and out of shops. When I did realize I was not on the main strip I just kept walking and then I saw senor frogs and knew the cruise ship would be visible if I went there. Cause senor frogs is ALWAYS visible from cruise ships! LOL! Worked like a charm. Called it a day and headed back on board. Any other cruise I take to Nassau I think I will stay on the ship. Disembarking the ship with Dad was an easy process. We were told to go to the Radiance dining room and at 9am we did just that. A wheelchair and escort came and took us off the ship to the baggage claim area. at baggage claim he was asked to switch from a ship wheelchair to a port wheelchair which he did. I used a porter to help with luggage and the porter and wheelchair person took Dad and luggage to the pick up area. I left him and got the car and then loaded up and left. Also on a side note our luggage needed to be outside our staterooms between 9pm and 11pm. Which I thought was totally reasonable. My last cruise we needed luggage out at like 7pm!! They were also really quick to pick up the luggage as people put it out so the halls were not all jammed up. All in all it was a great trip. My dad loved to cruise when he was younger and thought his cruising days were over. But he got one more in. It was not easy but he did it and enjoyed himself. I loved being able to spend time with him and really loved being back on a ship again myself. For those wondering about COVID protocols... all staff members are in N95 masks. We were each provided a surgical mask in our stateroom. On board the ship I only saw a few passengers wearing masks. You are required to wear a mask when getting on and off the ship in Ports. Once you are off the ship on the pier you can take it off. If the pier has a duty free shop at the end you need to mask up to walk through there. Once you clear security to get back on the ship you can once again remove your mask. Did not need one at any store in Grand Turk or the straw markets in Nassau. However if you enter a real store in Nassau you will be asked to put a mask on. Good to know. The printed fun times are available in the Java Blue Cafe. If you prefer a printed copy you can get one there. A printed Menu is only given to guests if you request it. You view it on your Hub App otherwise. I tried to screen shot as many of the menus and schedules as I could but did forget a lot. I will post them below. I guess that covers it all but if not feel free to ask questions. Happy Sailing Everyone!