blueshine

This may help.

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/carnival-freedom-april-6-2023/

Once the spa opens for tours, you can enjoy. 

The Magic has my favorite spa. There is a large thermo spa tub, three rooms of heated stone loungers, sauna, steam room, relaxation room with lovely views, complimentary waters and teas, roomy spa showers. We used the area often on our last cruise.

Carnival Magic Theme Parties:

• Motown Party -Atrium
• Mega Deck Party - Lido
• Silent Disco Party - Lido
• Country Music Party – Lido
• Rock & Glow Party -Lido
• White Hot Night Party -Atrium

We did this itinerary last September on the Magic. This was a quieter cruise. Not too many kids. We enjoyed the spa. It was very relaxing. I packed from shorts to long layers. Luckily, we never needed our wind breakers or rain coats. This was an easy cruise since we are only an hour or so from port.

I walked the track one morning around 6am in early June and two pilot whales were swimming along side of us for quite a while. It was the only cruise we have seen whales except in Alaska.

The thought of the hassle to try and retrieve any swiped items makes me wear a small money belt tucked into my swimsuit with our cash, plastic id's, and sign & sail cards in it. The only thing left on the beach is our sunscreen, towels, water bottles, etc. I would take anything of value with you, even if you need a small dry bag.

How many people were on your Pearl Harbor tour? What type of vehicle did they use? Were there multiple pickup locations? I want to avoid a huge tour bus which stops at multiple places before heading to Pearl Harbor.

 

Did the tour include the actual boat trip to the Arizona Memorial?

They give away free tickets every morning beginning at 7:00 am. Go to recreation dot gov pearl harbor to see the details. We arrived at 6:45 am and received tickets for the 7:30 am boat. Also, if you are there early, there is onsite free parking.

When we were on in November...

Bud line up

Michelob Ultra

Miller lite

Coors light

Foster's lager

Heineken

Amstel light

Corona & C light

Stella artois

Dos equis

Angry orchard

Sam adams boston lager

Sam adams rebel ipa

Blue moon

Sierra nevada pale

saltwater brewery sea cow stout

concrete beach pilsner

angel city ipa

mike's hard lemonade

coney island root beer

Hopefully they have added since craft beers are so popular now.

"Looking for shore excursions for hire as well as self guided recommendations. Best snorkeling spots anyone can access. Where do you HAVE to go back? What was the best value? What do you recommend? What experience was forgettable?"

Hi. Here are some of the things we have done on these. Let me know if you would like more info. Thanks

St. Thomas - Megan's Bay: Calm, relaxing, and offers picnic tables in the shade and bathrooms. Coki Beach: A more local vibe with good snorkeling and lots of fish. You can rent chairs, etc. You can go to both these places on your own in a taxi.

St. Maarten: We went to Maho Beach when the large planes were still landing there. The beach was small back then, but heard smaller since the storms. There is a bar with food and you can rent chairs. The water is wavy and a drop-off. No snorkeling. Be cautious of time. 20 minutes to get there, over an hour to get back with traffic. You can take a taxi.

Barbados: Calabaza Tours. Worth every penny. Treated like royalty. Good food and drinks, and snorkeling with turtles of course.

St. Kitts: We did Greyford Tours. Got to see much of the island, but a long hot tour that ended up a Carambola Beach Club. Good to bob in the water. There is plenty of shopping in port. Next time we would take a taxi to the beach instead.

St. Lucia: Got a day pass for the Rendevous Resort. It was a couple miles from the ship. Nice beach, pools, food and beverages. We are going back in November.

Go with an open mind and a care-free attitude and you will have an amazing time! Enjoy!!

On our Alaska cruise on the Miracle, also a Spirit class ship, they had similar activities. The pool was enclosed during chilly or inclement weather. There were nature presentations regarding Alaska and the various wildlife. Things were definitely quieter in the evenings and it stayed light out much later. A bit more laid back. It was all about the scenery which was spectacular. Enjoy!!

Our past cruises beginning the weekend following Thanksgiving have always had Christmas decorations and some holiday activities as well.

Our extended balcony on the Miracle had two chair, small table and was extended out by 2' from regular balcony cabins.

I would bring your reward card to check-in at the port and ask them to apply to your S & S account.

Every guest will be assigned a VIFP number to use for future cruising.

Enjoy your cruise.

Yes. It is your base rate that you need to match, along with category for a price drop.

I'm back after cruising last week on the Fascination. I enjoyed the cruise and had a wonderful time.

 

A bit about us: we are a family of five, with three active kids (currently 6, 4, and 2). We do one vacation out of the country a year and love adventures.

 

Our cabins: we traveled in a suite that was connected to an oceanview (u69 and u67). Loved the set up. Wish this existed outside of the fantasy class.

 

For the dry dock report: From what I could tell, the only major changes were the addition of the candy shop (pretty and delicious), the sushi place down the hall (looks like a fun pop-up, but didn't seem to be busy) and the additions around the pool (eg Guys burgers and the Blue Catina). The tacos and burritos are so yummy for breakfast and lunch! The ship is still very old and tacky, but that didn't ruin a thing (well except the awful heavy balcony door that nearly took off a thumb). Love the water works slides at the back of the ship.

 

NCL vs Carnival: I love NCL and it checks so many boxes better than Carnival (food, ship store, suite perks, etc). But the Carnivals kids program is amazing. Feeding dinner to our kids for free? Yes, please. In fact, we loved it so much we already booked our next cruise in 2019 with Carnival.

 

Port Reviews:

- San Juan: Sadly still not doing well. The rainforest excursions still can't operate and options are limited. Carnival cancelled its city tour also due to a city event. On our last day, we did a local tour of the old town booked upon disembarking. $30 per person, but littlest one was free.

- St. Thomas: Lots of open air taxis waiting at the port. They charge between $7 - $10 per person, each way. We went to the aquarium (lots of renos, but the kids enjoyed it) and then walked 1 min to Coki Beach. Got a beach chair and umbrella for $10. Great day, gorgeous beach.

- Barbados: Booked directly a catamaran that took us swimming in the ocean with turtles, to a shipreck, and to a beach. Lunch provided. Such a fantastic experience. They did a great job of keeping the kids happy. Also fun that we sailed past the cruise ship. Friends we cruised with went with their kids to the beach and on the submarine excursion. They said the ride to the sub was choppy, but sub itself was fun.

- St. Lucia: Did the cruise extreme rainforest excursion with the eldest two kids. The kids loved the ziplining. Because of their size, we brought their climbing harnesses from home. They worked great and were a bit fit than the kids harness available, however they weren't necessary. The guides were fantastic and our group had such a good time.

- St. Kitts: Beach day. Lots of taxis at the port. We paid $7 per person, with the littlest being free. At the beach we paid $20 for two chairs and an umbrella.

- St. Maarten: Just the adults went and did the flying dutchman. Lots of taxis at the port. It was $7 per person. An incredible and terrifying ride. Got a great video.

 

Cruise hack tips:

- Bring a non-surge protected power bar as there are still only one or two outlets in the cabin; and

- Bring Ziploc bags to bring room service sandwiches off ship.

 

 

Hope this review helps. Never done a review before.

 

Already counting down until the next cruise. Only 350ish days away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norwegian Jade - June 2017 - Norway (with a 5.5 yo, a 3.5 yo, and a 1 yo)

Norwegian Jewel - May 2014 - Alaska (with a 2.5 yo and an almost 1 yo)

Norwegian Jade - September 2009 - Mediterranean (pre-kids)

Carnival - April 2007 - Caribbean (pre-kids)

Hi. What beach did you go to on St. Kitts? What was it like? Thanks

Hi

Those are 4J rooms. You can google lots of pics. We really like them. The windows are great during the day but you have to keep the curtains closed at night so the lights don't interfere with the bridge. Also the deck outside the window is never busy.

Just received a letter from Carnival for our upcoming cruise on the Fascination on November 4th that we will not be having any sea days. Super port intensive. Plus a nice price drop using early saver.

San Juan, PR - St. Thomas, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen, Barbados - San Juan, PR

We love the 4J cabins and always look for them first. Nice big window overlooks deck on front of ship. Very quiet area, not many people go out on that deck. The only catch is at night you need to leave the curtains closed so the lights don't bother the bridge. They are a great deal.

A couple Long Island iced Tea's hit the spot.

These are our favorite rooms. They go across the very front of the ship. They have a large picture window that looks forward over a quiet deck. Very few people are ever out there. You do need to keep the curtains closed at night so it doesn't interfere with the navigation bridge.

Hi. There were swipe style last year.

Hi

I have attached a link to the Seaday brunch menu.

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/dining/menus/seaday-brunch-menu.pdf

Hi

If you look through Imagination recent reviews, perhaps someone has posted the Fun Times which has the activities which will be similar in December. Though in December you should also have Christmas Caroling with "snow" in the atrium at some point.

Perhaps if you log out of your Carnival account and search St. Thomas excursions without a cruise date you can come across the excursion you are doing and can copy and paste into a word document for your records.