Kristi Williamson

About 7 years ago, DH and I were swinging through Lido to grab a quick dinner and the lady in front of us used the flat handled spatula to scoop up a piece of fish, sniff it and then PUT IT BACK.

I let her know that was NOT OK and she genuinely didn't get why it was a big deal.

Her words: I mean, like, I didn't lick it or anything.

...sigh...

Air pricing is not derived from a linear calculation of distance and cost per mile. Instead, you need to think of the supply and demand of the specific city-pairs involved.

 

If you try to think "Atlanta is closer to Europe than Miami is, so it should be cheaper", you will be stuck in a whirlwind of confusion. Think of each market as a separate economic entitiy and be flexible in your analysis.

 

One thing to remember. IF you decide to buy two tickets, remember that they are treated as separate travel events. No through checking of luggage, and if your first flight is delayed, you will be a no-show on the second. The second carrier will have no responsibility to make up for the missed flight, and the first carrier will have no responsibility as they have completed their contractual duties by getting you to MIA.

I think we're going to fly into Miami a few days early to enjoy some beach time and then fly out from there. It is so much less expensive and Miami is fun so it was a win/win. Thanks so much for all the replies!! Flying is hard. :'):')

OK. All that makes sense and I do not want to be stuck anywhere for 3 days with my teenagers in an unplanned situation. No thanks.

I am learning as I'm reading and we realized if we hop a Southwest down to Miami, the flights to Barcelona are much cheaper than from Charlotte or Atlanta, which is weird, but whatever. Is that normal? (I mean like 50% less expensive:o!)

Best review EVER!! You made me literally laugh out loud and I may or may not have gotten something in my eye when you got your wallet back. So much awesomeness. I'm glad you guys had a wonderful cruise!

My DH and I are having olives tonight to celebrate our upcoming cruise in a few short days and to commemorate your trip. We also feel compelled to try clamato juice, so well done.

Hi all,

We are seasoned cruisers, but we rarely have to fly because we live within 8 hours of most major East coast terminals. We have never crossed the pond.

Next year (2018), our son graduates and wants to cruise Europe or do a repo cruise. As I'm reading the cruise Air boards, no one is mentioning sites like cheap air dot com. May I ask why? What is the catch?

There are 5 of us and I want to do this correctly but also at the best price. We have no interest in whether we're building points because we may not fly again for 10 years. We just want a good flight at a good price. Those are our only qualifications.

TIA!

These threads are always fun.

Do you guys really never move their stuff? Because we ALWAYS do if we're ready to catch some sun and there's 49 chairs with junk on them and no one in sight. You can completely tell who tossed a shoe or an orange (happened...I ate it. Not kidding) or a book down and wondered off after holding "their" chair. I'm not playing the game. If it's empty and obviously not being used, I move the stuff. If a steward is near I wave him/her over and let them know someone "forgot" their book or flip flop.

If there's a towel, a bag and a drink, etc...around the lounger, it's being used and we never mess with it but I don't have time for silly people who think they can jump up at 5am and wonder back to bed and show up at 10am and hang by the pool. Not having it and we don't lose a second of fun thinking about it afterward.

We have never had a single person show back up or if they did they didn't say anything.

Does anyone know if this includes repositioning and/or cruises across the pond?

We are looking at the Med. cruise on the Horizon for our son's graduation next April and we're leaving on the 4 day Sunshine out of Charleston next Thursday. It would rock to get 20% off that Med. cruise just for taking a quick weekender!

Kathy,

 

The catamaran sail & snorkel in Tortola...do you recall if that was a bumpy ride or not? We're going to be there in May & I'm trying to plan our day. Thanks for any help. :)

The Baths of Virgin Gorda. We love Tortola, but mostly because it's the easiest way to get the the Baths. This is spectacular. We've done it twice and would do it again in a skinny minute.

Another Sunshine lover here!! We actually think that some things about this ship beat out the Breeze, which is saying something because the Breeze is fabulous!

Serenity deck? Best in the fleet!

Waterpark? FABULOUS!!!!!

The little area aft where the Italian eatery and cuban areas are? LOVED THEM!!! And these were never, ever full or even felt packed right at peak hours.

Deck 5? Love it. All of it. Love it! Extra seating, small lunch buffet, easy to navigate, the Alchemy Bar right stinkin' there and all the gorgeous views, plus the sea day BBQ.

There were so many great things about the Sunshine that we're taking the 10 day out of Charleston on her in May. Can't wait!:D:p

Anyone who wouldn't cruise a ship based on a few reviews is probably missing a lot of great opportunities, but whatever...more room for me.

The Breeze! Love how much there was to do and all the places to eat. It never felt crowded and we enjoy the decor.

Second would be the Sunshine. We actually liked all her little quirks and the Havana Bar in the back was great! The Serenity area completely spoiled us!

It's so funny how everyone has a different opinion on this ship. This is your "honest" review and my "honest" review of her would be totally different.

We LOVED the Sunshine! I absolutely loved how you signed in on Deck 5 and ate on Deck 3. It kept the line to nothing for ATD. We never waited more than 2 minutes and we cruised her June of 2014, so relatively peak season.

We never noticed crowds or blocked hallways on Lido, but we never eat at peak times, either, so that may have had something to do with it. Best Serenity at sea and the Waterworks are great, too.

She's old, but we truly loved the ship.

In fact, we're booked on the 10 day our of Charleston in May of 2016 and can't wait.

I'm glad you viewed your experience as still fun, just not the ship for you. I love when people can see past the small imperfections and still find the fun!!! :)

You pay port charges because you docked at that port and Carnival brought you there. Whether you get on or off has nothing to do with whether they paid the port charges for stopping there. That's your decision and Carnival has zero to do with it nor should they "refund" you because you decided to stay on the ship that is docked in port.

I'm actually thinking you're being funny? Right?

Call back. The Jones Act doesn't say that. You got a crummy agent.

Carnival also has the excursion price match now, too. If you find the same excursion for less money, they'll match it.

And while I agree with most of this, I adamantly disagree with the bringing soda/water on board. I drink a lot of water and no matter what ship I've been on, the ships water causes me to swell. There's trace amounts of saltwater in it and for whatever reason, it doesn't do well with my water consumption. I put 24 in a suitcase for a seven day cruise and a 12 pack of soda for my DH. I can't imagine buying a drink card and paying what they charge when I can grab a 12 pack for 3.99 at the supermarket. Waste of money, IMO.

We also bring on the wine. My DH brings one and I bring one and have never paid the corkage fee. I do have a rum runner and usually bring on some rum, but end up pouring about 1/4 of it down the drain at the end of the cruise. I buy a few Kiss On The Lips and a few buckets of beer through the week.

Sunshine is a fabulous ship! We sailed her last June and while the pool is the size of a thimble and sea days did become crowded, the Sunshine is one of our favorite ships. We're booked on the 10 day from Charleston next May on her and can't wait.

We're booked on the 10 day from Charleston and it looks to be selling very well!

I think the closed loop cruises are selling much better than the one-way trips. I hope they restructure because we'd love to take longer cruises with Carnival but I hate one-way cruises.

Fascination has a DJ on deck. No live music on deck.

This is correct. He was good, though and wasn't as loud as many we've experienced. Also, you can't hear anything in the Serenity area if you don't want the DJ. I really miss the calypso bands and wish they'd bring them back...

Port Days serves breakfast in the MDR that stops at 9:30am.

Sea days will have Sea Day Brunch which runs until 1:30 and you can order breakfast items from there the entire time it's open. We love this option and utilize it every sea day. It's great!

You're not really missing a lot. The Fantasy Class ships aren't as crowded the actual burger at Guy's isn't any different as far as I can tell, than the ones served on the Lido Deck on Fascination, you're just missing some toppings and condiments. I do wish Fantasy Class had a steakhouse, but I survive with the flat iron in the MDR.

 

With only one Pool on the ship Dive-in Movies would be unbearable. I try to make it a policy not to spend my time on a ship watching TV or movies (this may change with Vista's IMAX). I also don't bother enabling the mobile network on my phone. With the new internet packages I might be interested in web access more than in the past.

 

But Honestly I can stare at the horizon, down at the water breaking, or the wake for hours and I feel a lot more rested than I do watching a film.

I'm a little weird on burgers because I actually like the OLD Carnival burgers better than Guy's burgers. And I was thrilled to have the old french fries back on the Fascination. I HATE the fat, mushy fries that Guy's serves.

Thanks for the review. we leave in 13 days.

 

Did the dining rooms have the new menus?

 

kathy

My DH and my cousin's DH both ordered the alligator fritters, so I'm going to say yes. However, I need to admit that I'm a basic soup, chicken, potato, WCMC kind of girl, so I didn't pay a lot of attention. :o;)

The food was actually really good on this cruise. We all mentioned that it was better than we'd had in a while. Everything was HOT if it was supposed to be and COLD if it was supposed to be! Imagine that? :D

I've seen kids in the waterworks area simply sit their bag against the railing or to the side out of the walk way. I don't think anyone cares if there's bags lined up against the back of the stairs, either. I've seen tons of them there and assumed they were kids bags.

If they're not going to be using the chair, I wouldn't place their belongings in one. If they're going to use it, then grab a lounger.

The Breeze, hands down. That itinerary rocks and we absolutely loved the Breeze. It's our favorite Carnival ship!!

We stopped doing assigned dining as soon as My Time/Anytime Dining was rolled out. Have never looked back ever since. Partly because of the fact that we don't go to the MDR every night, and partly because we like the flexibility of eating when we want and with who we want (or don't want!).

This.

I actually read the original post and thought this thread was a sarcastic/funny one. Obviously not. :eek::rolleyes:

First, the lounger isn't yours if your butt isn't in it or is absent for longer than 40 minutes. If you get up to go eat, then you aren't "giving up your lounger".

You can pick any lounger you want and start enjoying it at 7am, but if you get up and wander off to do other things on the ship, like Sea Day Brunch, the lounger is now empty and someone else has every right to use it and enjoy it!

And to the lady you thought "her" lounger should be waiting after muster drill...You have GOT to be kidding me? Could you be more rude and inconsiderate?

When you leave a lounger for another activity, including muster, it's now open to ALL passengers who paid just like you did. What is wrong with people?! :mad:

Ok, for some reason I'm finding this tread hilarious!! :D Does anyone have a link to the pic of the chair being saved with an orange (or have the pic itself)? I think that's one of my favourite chair hogging attempts, lol.

I don't have a pic, but if it helps the laughter continue I'll add that we didn't turn the orange in when we gave the lone flip flop on the second chair to the attendant. We decided to eat it instead. Not even kidding. It was a good mid-morning snack. :D:eek: