ThePatientOne

Great review..

I see you made it to Jacks.. Great place.. Jack and Janet are wonderful.. Can't wait to see them again..

Would love to have you and "The Andrew" join us in November.. You know where to find us.. :D

WOW, Great review.. Thanks for swinging by our roll call to let us know it was up..

Swing by and let us know when part 2 (and 3 and 4 and....) are ready..

(I will try and remember to swing by for a look see..)

We can't wait for ours..

Oh yeah to the poster that mentioned a quiet roll call.. Keep posting to it to sort of "bump" it up to the top part of the roll call list.. Easier to see;):eek::D...

I missed this post on the first pass...

We're also looking at Comfort Inn Airport/Cruise Port South. It's within walking distance to K-Mart, restaurants and other shops and offers shuttle from airport and to port.

This is the hotel I was speaking of in my other post..

To the O.P.

First off, I have skimmed a good deal of the responses.. I will also agree 100% about a cabin for 4.. NO!!! If you are smokers and going on Carnival, you can still smoke on your balcony however not in the cabin..

Carnival is trying a new thing on a few of their ships and if it takes, it will go fleet wide.. What it is is a unlimited drink card.. For about $50.00 PP PD you can drink all you want.. All persons in the cabin must sign up for it so there is no sharing..(Like what does sometimes happen with the soda cards;) )

We have sailed out of both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami and we always stay at the Comfort Inn on Stirling in Ft. Lauderdale.. It is next to the Hampton Inn that someone else posted.. bar on site, a cookout at night and a good breakfast bar in the morning.. They offer shuttle service to Port Everglades.. Also there is a Chipolte across the street..:D The hotel shows some signs of wear however the rooms are clean and the staff is super friendly..

Good luck and have fun..

Remember for your first cruise, pack half the clothes and twice the money.. Trust me, this will make sense once you return...:D

Carnaval does a Veterans cruise every November. We have a friend that goes every year. I will attempt to get him on here..

And I am the friend..

OK, first off. Carnival DOES offer Military both active, Retired or Veteran a discount.. I might suggest that you contact Carnival and talk with a PVP. (Personal Vacation Planner) I can't suggest one by name here due to rules.. Also you can contact a good travel agent for information on Military Discounts..

Now for Veteran cruises.. I was on the Carnival Valor in 2009 for a Veterans cruise.. It was a blast.. We even had a gentleman by the name of Sammy Davis, a CMoH recipient with us. (Look him up, he deserved it and many more) The Veterans cruise was set up by others and not CCL.. We just had it on a CCL ship.. CCL was very helpful however it was a TA that did all the work.. Again due to rules, I can't offer up that TA's information.

Do some research both here and on GOOGLE and the next one should pop up.. (More than likely you will have better luck on GOOGLE)

I hope that this helps..

Thank you all for your service..

**A note to the moderator. If this post will get me sent to the naughty room, please delete it.. **

I am sorry to say that most of the stuff on these lists you will never use and/or might use once.. A scale packed in your luggage?? Come on..

We have been on 3 cruises so far and will be on our 4th later this year.. We took a great many of the items on these lists for our first cruise and never used any of them, did not need to.. Don't get me wrong, there are some good suggestions here as well.. Just think before you pack..

Now for my travel tip.. As you know, you can't bring beer on board as they will take it from you.. Here is a little trick to get 10 cans of beer on board and have THEM deliver it to your cabin.. Take one of those 12 pack soda boxes and very carefully open the end.. Remove the soda.. Put 10 of the beer of your choice back into the box and just put 2 cans of the soda where they can be seen through the handle holes.. Use a glue gun to reseal the box and you are set.. They look and see soda...

You can also put clear booze into water bottles as well.. Vodka, gin and some rums. The cruise lines are getting wiser to the "rum runners" and are starting to look for them..

And good luck finding a cruise that honors/gives the discount. DH and I are both retired Air Force, and have yet to find one.

First, thank you for your service... Both of you..

Now, as for the Military discount.. Yes it is there, I have a PVP with Carnival and he/they have my DD214 on file.. I get calls all the time to see if I want to cruise again WITH the Military discount..

Either get a good TA or a PVP with Carnival.. CC rules prevent me from listing his name here.. (I got sent to the naughty room for doing it once)

Heck first cruise was upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony and the second was a killer rate for a CAT 9A.. (I ended up upgrading to a cat 12 for that trip.. SWEET!!)

They are there..

Have a great day now and again, thanks

If this works, Cabin 7299 on the Valor.. Penthouse suite.

Oh man, I just love this thread.. It brings back many a memory of our first cruise.. All the stress about the unknown..

There is plenty of great advice here..

A few to add...

Remember you are on a cruise ship, some of the usual rules do not apply..

At dinner, DO NOT BE LATE!! It is considered rude to keep your table-mates waiting.. If you are going to be late or are not going to eat in the dinning room at night, just let your table-mates know..

You are handed a menu, like others have said already, if you want 2 of something, just ask.. If nothing on the menu floats your boat, ask for a steak.. It will be done.. They are there to make YOU happy..

The half the clothes, twice the $$ suggestion.. Yup I agree.. However we did do pretty good at the casino and payed off our sail and sign bill on Saturday so that was a big help.. (Can't guarantee you will do good at the casino though) We came off the ship over $500.00 up and only had a $53.00 S&S bill.. (For the charges after the pay off)

Smile at all the staff.. Even the guys and gals in the semi-dirty coveralls that work deep in the ship.. It does make their day..

Room service is great.. A couple of bucks each delivery works wonders..

On the ritual thing. An Irish Coffee every night on the balcony before bed.. A time to relax and reflect..

Make new friends.. We did and are cruising with them in October..

Keep an open mind while relaxing around the pool.. You will see things that you never thought you would see...:eek:

Above all, relax, don't stress, and do enjoy your vacation..

I used a TA once.. NEVER AGAIN!! She totally messed up the docs.. I was the one standing in front of her, my CC for payment etc. to get everything settled and she put my wifes name on all the ressies.. My DW does not travel much as where I do. Because of her not paying attention I lost out on all the travel perks that I usually get..

Now I have a PVP over at CCL that is a dream.. Very attentive and puts up with the ton of questions I have..

I am so jealous of all you people with good TA's......I'm still searching for one.

 

Hope I find one soon to help me book our Princess cruise!!!

 

Dianne

Wish I was allowed to give out names.

You can.. One of you just needs to "code" your e-mail addy..

IE.. Youraddress AT your isp DOT com