tncap

As we left to catch our cab (which they conveniently call for), we were surprised to see the cooks feeding soft tortillas to a bunch (pack, herd, ???) of small animals that looked like lemurs. They were great fun to watch, and amazingly cute. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Those critters are especially fascinating after you've consumed many shots. :p

I loved Galveston and am so glad I flew in two days before my cruise a few months ago. I rented a car at Hobby (which was a nightmare but that's another story) and drove down to Galveston for two nights. The morning the cruise departed, I returned the car to Hobby and took the cruise transfer back down. I have another booked from there next year and intend to do the same.

Also considering my first Transatlantic if/when the price is right!

I am hoping that the Carnival Vista may include some solo cabins. Regardless, I plan to do that TA in late 2016.

I have flown SWA into New Orleans for $96 roundtrip my last two cruises from there. Much like Carnival, when Southwest lowers a fare you can "price match" it. I only book using points so I get the difference returned to my account, but otherwise you get the price difference as "OBC" to use on Southwest within a specified timeframe.

I check Southwest daily for price drops right along with Fare Viewer.

We saw a ship passenger on a scooter in Roatan lose control and slide underneath a truck in front of him. Nothing bruised but his ego, luckily.

For those that did the Cheers program out of NOLA, at what point did they stop charging the tax on your drinks? After you cleared the Mississippi?

If I recall it was ~5 hours after departure.

We are interested in bar hopping in Wilton Manors. Would it be best to take taxis from 17th St. area for 1 or 2 nights or stay up there?

Am I correct in that the Embassy Suites has an open bar in the evening?

I can't imagine they would check your ID.

On many of the other cruises we have found that we did see people there but didn't realize it. Basically you see a couple and your like "maybe they are here for FOD? Hmmmm, not sure" and you leave it alone to not embarrass a couple of straight guys or girls who just happened to wander in. Come to find out you see them around the boat and realize that they were there for the meeting but they were just as unsure about you as you were about them, so nothing came of it.

Oh I don't mind asking. :)

Thanks for the review. My partner and I will be on board in September.

The furthest out no solo supplement offer I have seen is for 12/7, 6 nights on the Freedom. A friend and I booked last week. Still four 1A cabins available as of this morning for $319.

Loved that Triumph had no Playlist Productions and I repeated it often in my "online comment card" review after the cruise.

I believe these cabins are mainly upsells. I have wondered what the going rate is for them on the upsell calls - surely less than the $5K supplement through a direct booking.

I would vote for Fascination because airfare to Jacksonville is cheap for me. I don't have any other Fantasy-class ships to compare it to, however.

Is early December considered "high season" as well?

Nachi can be made as lively as you want, and we made it rather lively. :)

I love both but will be doing the Bar Hop twice before I do Nachi twice.

Thanks a ton for the pics of cabin #9201! We are booked in that one next year.

It is a bit of a walk -- if I recall the majority through sand -- from where the catamaran docks.

I forgot to mention that these rates are for the first week of December, 2014.

I will be looking for a one night pre-cruise stay that week as well.

I think they did away with the free drinks on formal night/Captain's Party at some point between 2006 and 2010. I know they had it on my first cruise, but the theater was full of people seeking free drinks so it wasn't easy to get one to begin with.

Mike's assistant CD was a young man named Gumbie who couldn't have been more flaming than if he'd walked around with his head on fire. We absolutely adored him. :D

LOL yes he is rather a hoot.

Interesting to hear about Jen moving to Freedom. I am a fan of hers as well.

I have never seen a 6K by doing a mock booking (nor have I even seen it on fare viewer). I had to call and convince them that the Freedom actually had them, so the chances of someone getting the cabin in the interim seem slim to me. Well done!

I was on the first shuttle back to Hobby a couple of months ago and we got to the airport around 9:30am. For 40% savings on airfare I would book it, but I also wouldn't get mad if I missed that noon flight.