Kevin Hort

My wife and I are considering VV for next year. However, I have read a few comments stating that smoking is a bit more uncontrolled on this line than others. Can anyone speak to this experience? My wife has asthma and smoke of any kind is problematic. 

Most of what I have read is very positive, but I am concerned about smoking. 

Thank you!

For Cozumel, it has to be Nachi. You will not regret it. 

Belize is a tough one. To my knowledge, there is nothing there from a resort perspective.

You are getting a lot of suggestions to just stay at Mahogany Bay while in Roatan. However, my wife and I like to get away from that area for a more relaxed experience. It is a bit of a cab ride, but there is a resort called Fantasy Island. It is a gorgeous place and you will have the beach to yourself. It is not all-inclusive, but the drinks are totally cheap. That would be my suggestion if you want a quiet, laid back experience.

I owned a vacation club at Occidental which is the Barcelo.

 

 

 

You are NOT guaranteed a chair. (heck even people staying there are not guaranteed a chair.)

 

the took the bar down that was on the beach-- but the pool has a swim up bar and the pool is not far from the beach

 

 

 

The places for you to eat is at the buffet. No other place is opened until 5pm and there is a dress code for those.

 

im not sure about the 4 year old but starting at 7 we are charged the full rate for that child. from 2-6 it was 50% off.

 

they say the kids drink their weight in the frozen slushy drinks

So there is no longer a bar on the beach? We were there for a day in 2014 and there was a bar on the beach. Will be disappointing if this is gone. What about bar service if you are sitting on the beach?

Question for the board. We are going to GT for the first time in two weeks. Is it possible to drag the free chairs closer to the water if you want to have that view? Or is this practice frowned upon? Thank you!

How far do you need to walk to get to this beach? We took a tour to Lighthouse Beach a few years ago but would prefer to walk this time. We also want to get away from the crowd! On Google Earth it looks to be a half mile to get around the point on the path. Does that seem right?

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One option is take a trip to Lighthouse Beach with Eleuthera Tours. I have used them twice and will do so for a third time in January. They collect you from the gates of Princess Cays and take you down to Lighthouse Beach for around 4 hours. They will cook your lunch while you snorkel. Check out their reviews. They are excellent. I always look forward to touring Lighthouse Beach with them. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I second this. We have also done this tour and had a great time. In fact, when my wife and I did this three years ago we were the only two on the tour. It was pretty awesome.

We just got off the Carnival Miracle to Mexico and it was not a great week. The food was just okay, the steward was missing most of the time , they only service the room once now so our room was dirty till late afternoon, and the dinning room seemed to have half the workers of last cruise. The toilets weren’t working very well throughout the ship and smelled. There was a pool party each night till after midnight and it was loud enough that it kept lots of people awake. The Legend to Alaska last year was a completely different experience.

 

 

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What, exactly, does this have to do with the OP's original question?

We are booked on this cruise and are not at all worried about college students on spring break. It is early for most schools to be on break at that time (although some definitely are) but because of the length and cost it is unlikely to be overrun with college students. Book it and enjoy yourself. Looks to be a great trip!

Two years ago we stayed at the Barcelo (was Occidental Grand) and really enjoyed it. The location was beautiful and the food was great. We are going back in March.

We are looking at a 10:50 am departure out of Fort Lauderdale after our 8 day Carnival Splendor cruise in October. We are also doing self assist off the ship. We arrive in port at 8am and was just wondering if anyone has booked a return a flight this early. I know everything would have to go like clock work for this to happen. Thanks for your help!

Yes it is, leaving out of FLL. We have caught 11am flights more than once getting off a cruise in FLL and have never had an issue. As long as you use self assist it should be all good.

No.

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Last December, we had YTD on Sunshine. We got around the 2" table issue by requesting a booth each night. We might have had to wait a few extra minutes but we will do this again! It worked perfectly and is the best solution I could find. Those tables that are almost on top of each other really get under my skin!

We do the same!

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Most mass market ships are like that. In the good old days larger tables were shared. As times changed, people became more antisocial and requests for tables for 2 increased. Tables for 6-8 or more became tables for 2 but still had to fit in the same floor space. Everyone on the ship still has to eat.

I am going to have to disagree with you. I don't think people have become antisocial. I think that when people are traveling together as couples it is not uncommon to want to have dinner with just your spouse or significant other.

Furthermore, most families consist of two working spouses and when they are able to get away on vacation they enjoy spending time with just each other. I know that is the case with my wife and I.

Also, if there is this tremendous need to feed everyone on the ship and the space is limited, why pretend to offer tables for two at all? Seems like they would be better served to stick with the old, larger table model and not try to fool everyone with the illusion of privacy.

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We are leaving out of Miami.

 

Seems like it may not be warm enough to lay out in a bathing suit.

 

Thanks.

What???

I have been on many cruises that have left out of FL and the only time we ever had weather that might qualify as "chilly" is when we left out of Port Canaveral. It was 70 degrees. While sailing on the Western itinerary out of Miami it will most likely be warm enough every day to lay out in swim wear. In fact, the opposite is more likely (very warm).

You may get a cooler evening breeze, but that is still not highly likely.

Put another way, the fluke would be cruising the Western Caribbean this time of year and having it be too cold to lay out in the sun.

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Paragraphs are your friend.

Thank you for the info. I know the room is standard balcony but it is the balcony space itself that I was wondering about. It looks like the opening is smaller because of the taper of the bow but I can't get a good feel for it. I will check that site. Thank you!

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My wife and I are considering a cruise on the Pride. We are interested in some information on cabins 7107/7108. I have searched the forum but have not found any good photos or descriptions of the balcony. It looks to be unusually shaped, but I would like to see some photos. Can anyone share photos with me or where I might find some images or better descriptions? Thank you!

I lost a camera and a pair of sandals. Both were turned into Guest Services, where I recovered them!

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We just came back from a cruise out of San Juan. It was $20 plus $1 for each piece of luggage. But, it was the quickest and easiest way to get there.

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Does anyone know if Carnival has any Ice Wine, or Late Harvest, or other Desert wines? I can't stand regular wine, but really like Ice Wine and Late Harvest.

You mean like "Sahara" or "Gobi"? ;-)

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Great review! Can't wait to read more!!

Yes, I agree! Great review.

Come on, OP, you need to play, too! :-)

My first Celebrity cruise will be next March on the Equinox.

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I hate to break it to all of you people who want to throw the term "Carnivalization" around....

 

 

 

But Carnival's entertainment far exceeds Celebrity's. And almost anyone out there who has traveled both lines will tell you this.

 

 

 

I choose to sail Celebrity and it is my favorite line, but its weakest point when I am comparing is the entertainment......

 

 

 

Carnival's comedy club, sing along piano bar, salsa/latin themed bars and production shows blow Celebrity's out of the water.

 

 

 

Before we start creating words to attack other cruise lines, maybe you should sail them, so that you know what the comparison actually means, and I know you did not coin the term, I read the other thread this morning.....

 

 

 

But given the fact that most people on these threads have been are chiming in with their dissatisfaction with the volume, and I have never experienced outrageously high volumes on Carnival, perhaps its the "Nouveau Celebritization" that you are up set with....don't pull down Carnival to make your point about Celebrity.

This is spot on. We have sailed Carnival many times, along with Princess and Royal. We are booked on our first Celebrity cruise for next March and are looking forward to it.

We just got back from a ten day cruise on the Emerald Princess and loved it for many reasons. That being said, entertainment wasn't one of them. The average daily entertainment on Carnival is much better. Carnival has its issues, but lousy entertainment isn't one of them.

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The late opening time is due to the noise issue for the cabins below.

 

The Promenade deck does go all the way around and there are approx 15 stairs on either side of the ship going up to the upper Promenade level with Emerald deck.

2.7 times around=1 mile.

Yes people use it for running.

 

There is a very short "jogging" track aft above skywalkers but you would probably find this unacceptable.

Wonderful! Thank you so much for the information!

We sailed on the Emerald Princess November 29th - December 9th. I am looking at the Princess Patter as I type.

 

Lotus Health & Fitness Gym: 6:00 am - 10:00 pm... Treadmills: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm. This schedule was for all 10 days of our cruise.

Well, this is interesting. I run every day and waiting for the treadmills to "open" at 8am will be somewhat of an issue, especially on certain port days. That being said, can someone tell me what the outside running accommodations on the Emerald are like? Is there an outdoor track? I know the promenade goes all the way around the ship, correct? Is it possible to use this for running? It appears there are some steps towards the bow, but I can't quite tell.

Thank you!