WendyVF

I'll second that. I stayed at the embassy suites lofts once in 2009. I loved it. It felt more like an apartment. I don't know if it's changed since then but the breakfast buffet was huge....everything you could imagine including cooked to order omlets.

It was huge and no long line for an omelet!

I think the ability to upgrade after final payment went away when they started the early saver program. In theory, you'd be getting the balcony at the current rate that maybe less than what it was when you booked. Depending on the savings, it may be worth it to cancel, take the penalty and rebook.

I have never seen it offered as booking perk. Carnival tends to do specials with free upgrades or onboard credit.

My travel agent has responded and offered to change my rate to the early saver. The only issue is that my deposit that I will put down for the early saver rate is not refundable unless it is a covered event under my trip insurance. So in other words, if I choose to use the early saver, I will lose my deposit if I have to cancel. Past Guest allows me to cancel at any time, for any reason, and get my deposit back if I cancel before my balance is due.

You should double check this. This is directly from the Carnival website:

A $50 change fee per guest will be assessed for ship and/or sail date changes made prior to final payment due date. Remaining funds are nonrefundable/nontransferable and will be held as a future cruise credit to be applied to your cruise fare on a sailing within 24 months from the date of cancellation. Unused portions are forfeited.

I would say it depends on how long you are scheduled to be in port, the time of year and what day of the week. Williamsburg is about an hour from the port as long as there is no traffic. Unfortunately the only ways out of Norfolk are over/under water. The slightest hiccup can cause all of the alternate routes to become congested very quickly or even come to a dead stop. I'd allow at least 2 hours each way if you can find a tour. This is one I'd definitely suggest booking through the cruise line.

I bring my body pillow and sleep great! Helps fill up my "light weight" suitcase so it doesn't get crushed.

Search it on google images, there are lots of pictures. Basically if the king were two twins (one twin against each wall) one of twins has a bed above it that folds down from the ceiling. So one side has bunk beds and the other side is just a twin. Not sure if the twins can be a king if the upper is being used though - I'm sure others here will know.

You can still put the beds together for a king but the person on the bunk side has to watch their head when they get up!

You really need to decide if you want this to be about the ship or the islands. You really can't compare the Allure to another ship and there's no reason to pay extra if you're not going to get to experience all the ship has to offer.

We were on RCCL in October and Carnival over NYE (we've done lots of both). While I like the ship layout on RCCL better, I like the comedy and food venues on Carnival. I felt service, food, pools, etc were about the same. I did love the drink package on RCCL, there was no limit and you could pretty much order what you want.

You may want to take a look at Princess. We did it for our 20th anniversary and found it to be cheaper than Carnival at the time. We found it to be very nice and elegant. It was a bit older of a crowd, which meant the ship got quiet a little earlier but we didn't have any problem getting a seat in the casino, a show or around the pool! We met some people our age and had a blast!

We recently stayed at the Embassy Suites in the warehouse district. we paid an extra $20 and stayed in the Lofts building. It was fantastic! Think all the perks of an Embassy with only a few rooms in the building. The breakfast buffet was not the typical mad house and it included mimosas and bloody marys. There was also soda and water available all day. It was nice to grab a bottle of water on our way out.

We were on the NYE sailing and the ship was packed! We never really got the chance to develop a rapport with any of them as they were always super busy. Some made better mojitos than other. I loved a cocktail in the piano bar. It was called something like I think I can sing or so you think you can sing. It had rockstar and raspberry liquor. Yummy!

We sailed over New Year's and there was much excitement about the college playoff games. We were told that Carnival had to pay for the rights to show certain channels on the big screen. They ended up showing the Alabama/Michigan State game and another one in the comedy club lounge. On the Dream, the sports bar is part of the casino and they had tv's around the tables. I got annoyed when the dealer was paying more attention to the game than his dealing!

Other than cheers and tips, our sail & sign is usually close to nothing. This time I forgot a hat so bought one for $10 and used $10 off my card in the slots. There were minimal charges for the tax on the drinks on the first day and the last night once we hit the Mississippi River.

We used to lug sodas and wine onboard. It is so nice not to have to worry about that. Now if we could only get Carnival to include bottled water in the Cheers package!

We were there last week. Get there early as by the time we got there they had sold out of umbrellas and only had chairs, not loungers, left. That being said, once we were there, we saw them bringing more out so not sure what that was all about. I would plan to get there as early as possible.

There weren't any vendors on the beach, but they were in the water. the young adults in our group were offered to buy marijuana but they didn't ask us!

The beach was nice and there were servers from the restaurant that were there offering food and drink. A bucket of 6 Red Strip was $30! I was in Jamaica a few years ago and everyone was selling them for $1 each. Our entire group felt they had really jacked up the prices in Montego Bay for the cruise passengers!

I ordered mine in the morning on Friday, December 11th. Got an e-mail Wednesday December 16th that I needed to call to confirm the order. Handled this the same day. I kept checking the online order status and it never showed any shipping information. I was pleasantly surprised to check on Monday the 21st and see that they had been delivered to my office! Got them packed in my backpack and ready to board on Sunday!

Best bet is to go to an online site where you can compare several cruise lines. Narrow it down to what port is best for you to get to and what fits your budget. Once you have done this, you can ask for more specific opinions and advice.

You can walk to Senor Frog's from the cruise terminal Margaritaville requires a cab ride. Margaritaville has a small pool. Both can be a lot of fun depending on the crowd.

Thank you! I looked all over the website and couldn't find it.

Do they actually ship you a card or can you print out? We sail on the 26th and I'm worried they would get here in time.

I've been to ones on several different islands and they don't charge to hang in the pool. The expectation is that you will buy a drink or two or something to eat. Sometimes if they're really busy, they won't let you sit at a table without ordering food.

Try searching Charleston & Parking - The terminal is way different that ones in Florida and such. They keep the gates closed until everyone from the last cruise has left the parking areas. You line up on the neighborhood streets while waiting for the gates to open. If there's too many people, they will keep you circling. Once inside the gates there are traffic cones that route you all around and there are stops to check documents, drop luggage, pay for parking, etc. You park in big warehouses and take shuttles to the terminal.

I'd recommend light and easy to maneuver carry ons as you have to take them on the bus with you and there's only 1 small elevator in the terminal. FTTF won't help you until they actually open the doors. There's a very small seating area in the terminal.

I've never really shopped for luggage there but it wouldn't be my first choice. If you just want everyday luggage, I'd say get it at home on sale somewhere so you have some recourse if something goes wrong (zippers break, seams, etc). I don't think any savings would be worth the hassle.

When you get back on in ports, your items have to fit through the scanner. I'm not sure if they'll inspect them separately.

They do not open the parking lot until the previous cruise has finished disembarking. There's lots of threads about it on this page that give very specific information. It's also a small terminal and you exit the same way you came in so I don't think they let you in until they are also finished.

We've done quite a few of both, but more cruises as we feel we get more value.

Keep in mind that with AI the saying "you get what you pay for" is much more relevant than on a cruise. You can catch a great deal on a cruise for a variety of reasons and still get basically the same quality and experience as everyone else. AI's vary drastically in levels of service, food quality, entertainment, etc. You also have to be careful which island you go to as many staff will not speak English. We frequent an AI in the Dominican Republic where it's extremely difficult to get anyone on the phone that speaks English once you are at the resort. While the total cost is comparable to total cruise cost (airfare,drink package, excursions) for us, the food is not even close to as good and the entertainment stinks. There is little to no nightlife. We go because the friends we go with won't cruise and it's nice to kick back and relax on the beach for a week.

We have been to Sandals resorts which are quite nice, but even then you need to upgrade the room choice to get a good experience (room location, service, etc). Our last visit was to the one in the Bahamas in 2006 and then it was $3,000 for 4 nights with airfare.

You have to pick a reward to go with a specific charge. I have found I get the most value for my points with Carnival when it is a larger single charge. When we book 2 cabins to take the kids, the deposits are charged separately first, then the final payment is posted as 2 payments due to the separate booking numbers so I use the credit towards the onboard purchasses which all go on one account and thus one charge.

The redemption web site will let you play around with the different reward levels to see the value.

There's only 1 train a day that comes directly into Norfolk and I believe it arrives in the evening. The others go to Newport News and you transfer to a bus to Norfolk.