WendyVF

We recently stayed at the Homewood Suites near the airport. There were 4 adults so we had the 2 bedroom/2 bath room which was amazing. Very nice staff, easy drive to the historic area, free parking, near outlet mall and lots of restaurants. Previously we have stayed at the Doubletree Suites in the historic area. Very nice and convenient but a bit pricey!

The food choices will be the regular buffet, the grill (burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, pizza, deli or the Mongolian Wok. All the bars will be open and in full swing. We sailed 2 weeks ago and arrived around 11:30. We are platinum and our luggage didn't get delivered until 2 or so and then only some of it. Normally they let you know at check in that you can go directly to your cabins if you are priority. They said nothing. We headed for our cabin to drop off our bags and just flashed our platinum cards. Be sure to know your benefits ahead of time!

I have them but keep getting errors when I try to attach them. I'll be happy to send them to you if you send me an email with Ecstasy Fun Times in the subject. wvanfos I still use aol!

Wendy

My husband and I just turned Platinum. We will be sailing on June 18-26,2016. Our 2 sons are coming but will be on a different cabin. Can we take them to Priority Boarding or not? Thanks

It depends on the embarkation port. We are platinum but the kids aren't so we book one adult in each room so everyone can board platinum. The ports with separate lounges keep the keys/sail passes separately. Depending on the age of the children, they may be willing to go get the others.

Just sailed from Charleston and only one cabin was platinum. They don't have a separate lounge, just a separate line. Everyone just followed behind me and when we got to the end I let them know 2 cabins, 1 credit card since one of the passengers in the other cabin was on my credit card. There's one big area in Charleston so all the keys are easily accessible.

I've been on both with teen aged children. I agree that they're fairly equal as far as activities and such (ours didn't want to ice skate or rock climb, they can do that at home without all the restrictions). I'd choose based on price and itinerary.

Try searching on the East coast departures board. I just sailed from there but parked our car. I believe you get dropped off outside of the port area, drop your luggage with porters and then catch a shuttle that takes you to the terminal. There are bridges that cross the marsh to get to the terminal. Only the shuttles from the parking/drop off area were allowed on those bridges.

We sailed last week. We were parking at the port and got there about 11:15. Parking took longer than usual since a few of the cars in front of us didn't understand to already have your luggage tags on the bags! By the time we got to the terminal it was quite congested but we were still on board by 12:15. If it's a nice day, I'd suggest getting dropped off by 10:45. You may have to wait to get in but I'd rather wait there than have to wait all through the process. We are platinum that enabled us to skip the long check in lines but there was only one really long and winding line for security.

Be aware that you have to remove any laptops/tablets/cell phones from your carry ons to go through the screener. We haven't had to do that in other ports. Also, the ladies working the table to check your liquids were rather slow (one couldn't figure out how to unzip the suitcase) so that held things up a bit. I plunked mine down, opened it and handed her the cans of soda I had (still in the original box). She made a big production out of opening the box and pulling out each soda and then resealing the box. She gave it back and I zipped the bag up. I could have had anything else in there and she wouldn't have had a clue!

They begin loading the luggage onto the ship and delivering it as people check in and board. Unless you check in at the last possible minute (like 9:00 pm) it should be there that night. If it's a short cruise, have you considered just doing carry ons?

We will still order 12 for the room. We were recently on RCCL and they included water bottles in their package. We like a bottle bedside during the night and several times we forgot (or had too much to drink to think about it) to grab a bottle on the way to bed. I also had a hard time finding an open bar in the morning to grab one on the way to work out or for shore excursions. The $3 will be worth the convenience!

I think the Ecstasy is only on its 3rd sailing from Charleston so it may take awhile for anyone to post them. We're sailing Sunday if there's something in particular you're wanting to know. I don't usually save them.

We ordered 2 cases for our last trip and barely finished the first. I hadn't counted on the 2 big bottles we got as platinum members and ended up leaving the 2nd case for the room steward. If it's the same price onboard, even if you have to pay gratuity which is less than 50 cents, it's better than buying extra and not using it.

You don't mention what time of year. I'd say definitely the Pride unless it's in the middle of winter. I can't imagine what the Sunshine has that would be of more entertainment to that age group. Also driving allows for a bit more flexibility.

We used the Jitney Bus one time when we were staying at Sandals. On the trip back to the resort from "downtown" we waited in the stifling heat until the entire bus was filled. We were a large group and there was another couple sitting in the front row. One of the locals on the bus tried to say the husband did something and hurt her baby's finger. She made a huge scene and refused to get off the bus. She was insisting he give her some money as compensation for hurting the baby (who never made a sound). This went on for about 10 minutes. She finally gave up and got off the bus. The situation made us all uncomfortable and was the last time we took the bus. We figured if we could afford to vacation there, we could afford a taxi!

We regularly fly American home from MIA after cruises. The last several times have been after holiday cruises and the airport has been crazy and took an hour to get through security. We found Saturday to be busier than Sunday. I still wouldn't worry about missing your flight, I just wouldn't hang around the ship too long.

We prefer to do self assist and be in the first group off. You avoid the lines at customs and the taxi line. I'd rather be sitting comfortably at the gate in the airport than standing in line worrying if we'll make it on time!

If you're coming down 95, I'd suggest stopping in Fayetteville or Lumberton. It makes for an easy drive the next morning as you're past most of the traffic areas.

We're on the 28th too! I started a roll call awhile back but there hasn't been much activity.

I'm traveling my my daughter, her sorority sister and a friend of mine. We did the same week last year (my daughter's college spring break) and had a blast. Last year College of Charleston had the same break so there were lots of kids from that school, but many others from Ohio and other places. We're all super excited about our girls only Spring Break!

Last year we got to the port about 11 and they hadn't started letting people into the parking lot yet. We got lucky while we were circling and ended up at the entrance when they opened it and were about the 5th car in. By the time we wound our way through the parking lot, dropping off luggage, paying for parking (we ended up here for about 10 minutes since they people in front of me couldn't figure out where their credit card was and then there was a problem with the machine). I've got a picture of us on the shuttle to the terminal that was taken at 12:15. There were no lines, we went straight thru security, check-in and were onboard by 12:30!

We're going again in 2 weeks and will do the same. If the weather is decent, I'd think you'd be fine getting dropped off at 11. If not, you may want to wait just a bit so you don't get stuck outside.

If you play Black Jack, the Fun Pairs are also gone. They have been replaced by Lucky Ladies.

I miss the match plays. They were great, especially with the cheers package!

On one cruise, the line was really long to buy cheers. The bar tender told us that any drinks that we purchased prior to buying cheers would be credit back. We had a couple drinks, waited for the line to go down and then purchased. Since we were still in port, we were only charged tax on the first drinks when I checked I our bill!

If for some reason you don't want to purchase ahead, just ask a bartender. This may still be in place!

Are there drink stations set up anywhere for water, iced tea, lemonade? I'm assuming the soda cards don't work there either.

Hi, I thought I bought a couple of bottles of wine in a separate small "wine store" while on the Valor. Does anyone know if most ships have this? I don't mean the fun shops, it was a separate one. Thanks!

It was probably the store where you can order cakes, flowers and get candy and stuff. I've found some of their packages to get a good buy.

We went March 1st last year on a 5 day out of Charleston. It was my daughter's college spring break as well as the College of Charleston's spring break and several others. It was full of college kids. Lido was packed every day. I have to say it was one of the most fun cruises I have been on. The "kids" were all very respectful and were just having fun. I couldn't walk up to a bar or sit at a casino table without a college kid wanting to chat. Then every time I would see one of them around the ship they'd make a point of saying hello.

I talked with a lady in her 80's on the last day on the lido deck when a group of boys had put together a dance show. She totally agreed with how well behaved they had been all week. My daughter told me that after 1 or so at night it would get a little rowdy but security was keeping a close eye on everyone.

We had so much fun we're going again this year with my daughter and a group of her sorority sisters!

We have been cruising for some time and take several cruises a year. We always do a set dining time, not ATD, and we have noticed the service consistently getting worse. It's not for lack of the team trying, the cruise lines are just stretching the staff too thin. On our my recent trip over New Year's, most nights we were leaving the dining room with only 15 minutes until the next seating. It's hard to enjoy the singing and dancing when you are still waiting on your entrees. Unfortunately, it's not just Carnival. We were on Royal in October and it was just as bad there. I try to keep in mind that for the most part we are cruising for the same prices we paid 10 years ago so you have to expect them to be making the money up elsewhere.

I was very honest on the survey Carnival sent and let them know that the lack of staff was negatively impacting the overall cruise experience.

You can go to the Carnival site and pull up the deck plans for the Fantasy. When you click (or hover) on a cabin it will tell you the specifics for how 3 can be accommodated. The oceanview in this class do not have sofas. It looks like all the inside use a trundle bed (cot) that slides under the other bed during the day. The pullmans (bunks) on this class don't come out of the ceiling, they are attached to the wall and are folded up during the day. You cannot walk under them like the regular pullmans. You will have to go to a suite/balcony to get a 3rd bed.

I took go-go squeezes (applesauce bags) in my checked bags and it wasn't a problem. This is a time when I wouldn't suggest taking it in a carry on. The people doing the screening don't work for Carnival and you might catch one that's on a power trip. If you put it in your checked bag and it gets removed, you could always go to guest services to explain what they are and see if you could get them back.

The no bottle rule comes from people getting creative and substituting alcohol in the bottles and re-sealing them. It'd take a very crafty person to make that work with a juice bag/box!