luvtrips

My contributions:

Having my hubby all to myself for a whole vacation.

Turning off cell phones and no calls, texts, or internet.

Spending the night in a hotel precruise, and all the day before excitement.

The very first lunch onboard, taking a deep breath and really relaxing.

Enjoying the feeling of shorts and flipflops, and painted toenails!

Laying in bed at night with a glass of wine and flipping channels on the tv.

Knowing that, Lord willing, this will all happen again, next cruise.

FUN FREE ACTIVE ACTIVITY sounds like an advertisement. Or are you promoting something? Are you trying to land a job on Carnival as an activity/ class instructor?

We've sailed with Calvyn and John on the bloggers cruise last Feb. Oh my goodness, we loved every minute! Matt Mitchum was the regular cd on that trip, and he is now one of my favorites! Very involved and a fun guy!

We are on the Dream cruise in Jan. You can use birth certs. San Juan is a U.S. port.

Here's what you can do....open bottle of wine in your cabin. Pour youself a glass. Take to dining room with you, in your glass. Problem solved, no fee! Also, fyi, ask the room steward for a corkscrew, if you need it. Wine glasses should be in your room, but if not, just ask.

Ours is double digits tomorrow!

We used the GO shuttle. Very easy, just exit the terminal, turn left. The GO shuttle desk is right there. No need to reserve in advance. They will take your name and payment, and put you on their shuttle to MIA.

No gift cards left for Carnival. I see they have them for RCCL now. I sure hope they get more soon, I was waiting to book my cruise till they showed up., then they sold out fast and I missed them!

We were on the John Heald bloggers cruise last Feb on the breeze. We enjoyed it very much. John and Calvyn are friendly, engaging people.

so excited to read your review. I love the pics of Miami, I saved one for my screen saver pic.

We're doing the same. We plan on wandering around south beach, Miami.

There's also a lovely beach boardwalk in Ft. Lauderdale.

Then you probably just want the serenity area. Yes, it's free, has couple of hot tubs. If you want to pay for the spa amenities, there's an indoor spa called the thasotherapy pool, and sauna and steam rooms.

Yep, we did this our last cruise. I bought some miniatures of rum and vodka, the ones for a buck each. I wanted to see if I could add a little extra to my highly -expensive but- under- alcoholed ships drinks. Here's what I did and it worked fine...I have travel sized plastic bottles that go in my toiletries case, which I use for mouthwash and stuff. I just emptied the liquor into these plastic bottles, and put them with my toiletries. It's no great loss if they're confiscated, I wasn't out much money. But it went through no problem at all.

We cruise in Feb, so when we leave, we start planning our summer trip to see our kids and grandkids. Then we know we'll be ready for another cruise next winter!

You can put any amount you want on your account right at check in, but in $20 increments. There's no minimum, just suggested amounts. But if you run low, they will contact you onboard and ask you to visit the pursers desk to add more. Any amount left over will be sent to your home, via check in the mail.

We were on the Imagination last Feb, and headed to Lido. The burgers were good, and also the Mongolian wok

I would have been uncomfortable at the large empty table, also. I would have spoken to the maître d and requested a smaller table, or even a table for 2. My hubby and I have requested table for 2 on a couple of cruises, and loved it.

I always use Carnival's shampoo. I've never had a problem with it. Works fine and smells good. And it's one less thing to pack. Yes, it's on each and every ship, along with body wash.

We have done both. I personally liked self assist. I pack light, so we only had one large suitcase to wheel out. and a back pack each. Even though they called self assist first, we took our time, had breakfast, and went when we wanted to. We stood in the line leaving with the tail end of the guests, and was off the ship in 15 minutes or so. Easy and no problem at all.

We are booked in the Cloud 9 spa room end of Jan. The fitness classes are 1 pilates class per person, and 1 yoga class per person.

I've never thought of that before....but, how would you find out, anyway? I don't think they would disclose that kind of info. How about hotels? I think you'd have a greater chance of someone dying/being murdered in a hotel than on a cruise ship.

Some suggestions for you...

Have the kids get part time jobs so they'll have their own spending money.

I sell stuff on Ebay. I love yardsales, and I buy things for cheap and sell them. It adds quickly for cruising cash.

Check the sailing you are on frequently for price reductions. On board credits (OBC's) are helpful . If there's a price reduction, just submit the form and they'll give you credit on your account.

I booked the Ramada Inn/Miami springs/Airport hotel for my pre cruise night.

It's only $70 (depends on when you're going, rates fluctuate some) but it includes parking, free breakfast, and shuttle from hotel if you fly into MIA.

but I agree with other's suggestions of just driving in. It might be your best best to save on transportation costs.

Other than that, yes, flying is very expensive! Sometimes more than the cruise. Especially if you're flying to Miami. FLL might save you some on SW, and bags would be free. Then you can get a shuttle to the port.

Good luck, enjoy your cruise!

I've been reading every second of your review, we're going on the Breeze Jan, 31,2015. Best review I've ever read, and your pics are incredible!

My hubby and I took the Moby Dick stingray tour, and yes, the local independent tours are by far the best. We loved every minute, and you could tell by the crowd of the cruise ship tour not far from us that we got the best deal. Your pics of the stingrays brought back great memories.

You sure put a ton of work into your reviews, thank you for sharing.

So glad to have found your review. We're going on the Breeze end of Jan, and we're so excited to read all about it. Just love your photography!!! We'll have a different itinerary. Can't wait to read more!!

I don't tip my waiter in a restaurant before I order.