havanadaydreaming

i am not a fan of the miami airport either.  but.....it almost makes up for it by selling real cuban coffee 

I had opposite experience of Checkers in italianrestaurant, we thought it was fantastic. 

MDR strong.  Lunch buffet dessert game strong. Dinner buffet passable. 

Id book Magic again in an instant. 

we have had varying degrees of success getting DOU at the casino.   

recently on the Venezia it was challenging to find a machine empty.  that was a "difficult" cruise to get DOU.  

Almost every other ship has been easy to get DOU.  They usually know our names by end of sailaway night.  (we aren't THAT big of gamblers but i'll lose some funds if i'm fed free drinks!)  

Say what?

Who has a rather unique or even odd suggestion for Carnival that might work? 

For example, i was fortunate enough to see 56 jimmy buffett concert. Before most (if not all) the last song played over the PA before band took the stage was " Hot Hot Hot" by Buster Poindexter.  Id love to see that concept for sailaway day. Maybe with "Come Sail Away" by Styx. I know its a dance party but id love one rocker for da oldies! 

Im sure that a big hit at the piano bar as i recall that ditty being player at dueling piano bars back in the early 90s. 

Once upon a time im sure sushi and teppanyaki at sea was an obscure concept. Or trivia games. Or paying $20/day for internet! 

i find the $5 to be one of the biggest bargains on Carnival.  

we dont use it much but it is delightful to send updates to fellow family members when travelling as a group.  (we dont have international package on cel) 

I agree with dc the emeril stuff was strong. 

But the thing i remember most was the meat lasagna.  

i must admit i like Frontier but dislike Allegiant.  To the point i wont fly them UNLESS its an absolute necessity.  

that said, they have upgraded their planes since my "ban" and that would probably eliminate my concerns.  their old machines were substandard at best.  

Check out rates to Lauderdale.  You can get shuttles at airport to Port Miami for about $25pp on a big shared bus (like a Greyhound bus).  

We are flying into FLL in July for a cruise out of Miami.  we have done this many times.  We vastly prefer direct flights morning of cruise or to arrive the day before and just chill at a hotel in south florida.   

its been a lil while for us but i remember the MDR server asking if we any any special requirements or food allergies before ordering. 

As it turns out two of our three adult kids have tree nut allergies. 

vodka tonic?  gin and tonic?  

i know folks who love Captain and Diet.  

i second the Alchemy recommendation.   very good drinks.  

i, too, have enjoyed every cruise we have taken.  big ship, little ship, new ship, old ship.  they're all more than acceptable in my book.  

now i do hope to get a better price point on a ship that doesnt offer all the amenities others do. 

i get the MG and Celebration getting top dollar not so much on the 20+ year old ships.  

a very nice read that will likely be beneficial to many cruisers.  

some of the viewpoints i absolute support.  others may not be such a big deal to me but i certainly know they are to others.  

all in all, well done! 

good move.  being near lido is nice especially for pool and dive in movies IF that's your jam.  

my first couple handful of crusies were balconies and i vastly prefer that option UNLESS i can get an OV for much less.  or an inside for almost free (i really like a window, at least) 

sounds like you are gonna have a blast.  Fins up! 

There is no Cucina on the Conquest? 

We have sailed this ship and i didnt notice.  (Sailing a B2B this summer and was thinking of pasta'ing it up)

I thought italian pay restaurants were on all carnival ships.  

The only other surprise i remember is the Elation didnt have the gps map channel on the tv.  Dont ask me why but i like that feature. Love seeing the change in lattitudes 

Thanks for the tips, i had no idea there was so much to know.  Ha! 

(We are not in same cabin. One floor apart booked by TA. Interiors but 2nd leg has that front of ship window "interior". We love that room) 

This is kind of a basic question but does anyone with B2B experience have any tips for check out/check in day? 

We are doing that this summer out of Miami. We have sailed from there many times but have always left the port on checkout day and headed either to an airport or a hotel for extended stay. 

i reckon we will have to debark then chill in terminal until we can board?  

Last year we dined at teppanyaki and i thought it was the best of its kind at sea.  

we were actually a half hour late for our Venezia cruise over halloween.  they definitely checked our papers to confirm we were eligible to board ship at that time.   and we are platinum, but so was most everyone else.

sounds like a bit hit or miss, perhaps? 

good info Misty.  

we have done the specialty dining on NCL when the week comes with 3 comped specialty restaurants.   soooooo good. 

we have done cucino del capitan for free lunches many times. liked it.   we were approached by casino employee last cruise that she wanted to comp us a dinner there.  it was fantastic! 

leaning towards the steakhouse this summer.  and a more expensive excursion than we would usually book.  (we arent cheap but rarely shill out top dollar for excursions.  a pool or a catamaran and im pretty, pretty, pretty good!) 

well.....we wound up booking two B2B cruises (7 nt total) with 1k OBC each.  

never done a short cruise, really, or a B2B.  

ive heard pro and con with the onboard temperatures, perhaps some of it is random occurence? 

i, for one, love it to be chilly when in hot and humid climates.  my wife likes it warmer than me.  

we havent had any issues on CCL historically.  

I dunno, ive been on the biggest and smallest ships on Carnival and NCL.  I had a blast on them all.  

In fact the smaller ships often seemed less crowded and hectic.  Sure there were fewer a la carte restaurants and bells/whistles but the passengers per sq ft ratio seemed better.

Id embark the MG with an open mind.  

We booked MSC Divinia based on one senior citizens recommendation on shuttle bus from FLL to Port Miami. Looooved it, mostly.  But what ive read from others over the years would have discouraged me. 

Just goofing around to ask and read what different ways folks would spend $1k of onboard credit in 3-4 days. 

Lets make it a short Bahamas trip. No kids. 

(We saw a couple cruises like that on website later this year. Was fascinating) 

Just off Magic.

Capitano definitely worth $24 (although casino paid ours)