vswan

And on the crocheting. Many years ago I decided I was going to make a throw/cover for my loveseat. Bought a book, taught myself the stich I wanted and got going on it. In the end it was so big I had to fold in half to fit on the loveseat - width, not length. It's probably still around here in a box somewhere, but now have different furniture and colors.

A different kind of question. How do you get to be a cruise critic host. What does it entail? (No, I don't want to do it, just wondering what it is). And is CMLA your "name" online or a type of host.

Great review so far!

I took my first carnival cruise in March and am now getting casino offers. I am not a big gambler but did spend some time in the casino. Ended up coming home with more money than when I left - not a lot, but some. Now I've been receiving casino offers.

I have a question. I have two different kinds of offers. One offers OBC, the other fun play. I'm assuming the fun play needs to be used in the casino. Can the OBC be used anywhere? For gratuities, drinks, wifi, shore excursions?

If any of your family members have cruise casino offers for both members, you could have them book individual cabins and add you and your SO as  the second guest in each cabin and then switch out keys.

When I saw a new Sid review posted I was excited to start reading it. Always find them so entertaining and the photos are magnificent. Then, when he said he wasn't doing a live review I felt letdown. This review has been so great!

Someone needs to start the "list" of all those that are following/participated. LOL

19 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

This is absolutely perfect! But, what gourmet meal did he have? Those Ruben sandwiches he made a while back looked pretty delish! 

I was thinking sardines.

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Of course,  you will have to deduct the cash value of World Points from those savings.

I guess I look at this differently. I have the credit card. There is no yearly fee and I pay my bill monthly and carry no balance. I chose this card because of the points/dollar value and to me the points/dollar value is a perk. I understand I could take the $600 value as OBC, but the savings for a cabin jump for 2 people from inside to balcony is much greater.

Dining with toddlers can also be a treat. My daughter's family found it was easier to just do the buffet and fast food options rather than waiting for food in the dining room. They do have high chairs in the dining rooms, but having a 2 year old wait for a meal can be a problem.

Are you celiac or just watch your gluten? My sister was recently diagnosed as celiac and the extra things she needs to watch out for are enlightening. Just wondering as I follow along.

My daughter's youngest turned 2 about 3 weeks before her cruise. They decided to do the potty train in 7 days and I laughed. Sure a boy potty trained in 7 days.... Turned out he was potty trained before they left. Well worth it to let him enjoy the pools/water options on board.

I booked the Jade as a solo earlier this year. I can't answer any of your questions about specific cabin numbers, but I wanted a solo balcony and was offered to choose from a group of rooms that have the enclosed/hull balconies. The OV were a group of rooms overlooking the lifeboats. There may have been a few others very near the front of the ship. I'm not sure if other rooms are available if you ask, but it seemed they offered OV and balcony rooms which were less than prime and probably harder to sell.

I will say I liked my room and have booked similar on the Spirit.

11 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What?  I'm pretty sure than I'm one of only four or five who actually answered the question asked in the OP.  Did you?

LOL. My answer is that I would be willing to pay whatever it took to get to a balcony. If I thought it was too much, I just wouldn't cruise.

My sister is currently dealing with a broken leg - knee area cracked fracture, no surgery, but can't do weight bearing for about 12 weeks. She has crutches and some odd knee brace she bought online that allows her to walk with one crutch. But, getting around the house is easiest with a walker. She has put a basket on the front and can scoot around without the crutches/armpit issues.

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

At all ages, life is too short to not enjoy every minute that you can. I enjoy every minute of my cruise as long as I'm on the ship.😎

And to get back to the point of this thread. We are all different and have different likes when it comes to cruising, and what we are willing to pay to move up. There are some that have no desire to move up - no matter what the cost.

Started out sailing inside with an occasional OV, usually when given a comp upgrade (years ago). I was always happy to just be sailing and we were still in the age bracket of saving for retirement while putting as much money into savings as possible, but still taking at least one vacation per year.

Fast forward. We were offered a balcony upgrade on another line for $150 pp total for a 10 day partial Panama Canal cruise. We had a great time on that balcony and then covid hit. After that I decided that it was going to be a balcony. Period. Although we could have paid for a suite or haven, after years of being frugal, that just wasn't in our nature.

Now I'm sailing solo if one of my kids doesn't go along. I originally booked an OV because of the single supplement, but was not happy about it - the solo insides were sold out. Then they opened up the solo balconies and I jumped on it. Total cost was somewhere between the per person cost and the two person cost. But I wanted my private outdoor space.

Would I go back to an inside? Not likely. For me I'm at a point in my life that if I want the balcony I'm either going to pay for it or consider not going. I might accept an OV, but it would have to be a good itinerary on the right ship. There are some that will only sail in suites or haven, for me it's the balcony.

Traveled on the Escape shortly after covid restart. Love that ship. It's hard for me to be fair since we were at reduced capacity so there were no lines for anything and everybody was just so glad to be sailing again it was great. Of course we came home with covid.

Yes, O'Sheehans is free. Watch for price drops on the cruise. Since we were on with limited capacity were able to upgrade to a club balcony with an extended balcony on deck 8 for a couple extra dollars close to sailing - just called, didn't bid. Loved it. Probably not as common now with higher occupancy. The great thing about deck 8 was it was right down the hall from the District Brew House. An easy stop from elevator to room for a beer for the balcony. And the nightly entertainment was fun.

Yes, drink package is a real plus. Keep in mind that some of that price is baked in to the original cost, but I found that was still less expensive than a lot of the other cruises I was checking out,

I've cruised on many cruise lines including NCL, Royal, HAL, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, MSC and Costa. This past year I took a RCL on Oasis and an NCL on the Jade. Very different ships and experiences, but enjoyed them both. Things I like better about NCL, they have the dining figured out - had mytime on RCL and it was not good, standing in line at a time that made missing both the early show and not finishing early enough for the late. The drink package is much cheaper on NCL. Entertainment depends on the ship. Both have live music around the ship and some acts are better than others - on both lines. If you're cruising as a single, NCL has a really good program. I would say of the main cruise lines I find NCL and RCL the most similar.

I have traveled more with NCL and HAL than the other lines and always feel like I am "home" when I get on the ship. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the differences that other lines offer.

I am not a big gambler but enjoy going to the casino. I always set my budget ahead of time and do not spend more than I'm willing to lose - which means not much. This past year I went on both RCL and CCL. Shortly after returning I started getting offers from both. Keep in mind that I earned between 500 and 750 points total on each cruise - not a big spender. Offers were not always for free (some are free), but 30 - 40% off, some onboard credit and free drinks in the casino. Most of my offers are for 3 - 4 day which do not make a lot of sense for someone who has to purchase airfare and to combine several would mean going to the same ports over and over. In fact on the CCL cruise I hit a nice win of more than $500 and came home with more money than I put in. There seems to be no real rhyme nor reason as to why I am getting these offers. Makes sense if someone earns a lot of points they are more likely to get better offers, but 500 points and free or reduced cruises. Doesn't make sense to me.

When cruises were just starting after covid I got several offers from HAL and took advantage of them. Maybe that explains the CCL since they are owned by the same company, but not the RCL.

Take a cheap rain poncho for each of you. They take almost no room in the suitcase and are pretty good coverage from head to knees. Good way to keep any purse/backpacks covered also. Don't bother to take them home.

Two pairs of shoes in case one gets wet - shoes take a while to dry. Comfortable, warm lounging clothes for evenings on deck and on your balcony. Sort through the ports of call section of CC to read about what others have done in the different ports. If there is something you really want to be sure and do, book before you leave. Don't forget to pack a pair of shorts/warm weather clothes. I've had 80 degree heat at some ports in the middle of summer. You never know what you're going to get.

I sailed NCL out of Tampa. Carnival too.

Took my first solo cruise on NCL in a solo balcony cabin in January. Loved it, and when my PCC called to check how it went I booked again for next year on a similar ship, same embarkation port, different itinerary - in a similar cabin.

Just went on my first Carnival cruise for spring break with my daughter and grandson (platinum on NCL). I enjoyed it very much, but going solo I would choose NCL. Drink package is affordable, solo program is well organized and it just seems to fit me.

Not all NCL ships have the studio solo cabins or lounge - especially the smaller ships. This is when the solo inside, OV and balcony cabins can help bring the price down a little - note I said little, not only paying the one person rate somewhere in between one and two passenger rate.

I wouldn't count on a free upgrade, at the $149pp someone else in an inside will bounce on it opening their room for you. Only you can decide if it's worth it to you, and it may depend on your itinerary. For me, yes it would be worth it.

Couple more things I forgot to mention. Someone asked about the terminal, I'm assuming you mean the cruise terminal, not the airport terminal, but hope this covers what you want to know.

We flew in from MSP on Sun Country airlines which is a smaller airline based in Minneapolis on the Friday evening flight. The cruise was Sunday to Sunday. We rented a car at the rental center at the airport. They have several terminal buildings and we had to take a tram/train to baggage, but all was marked well and had no issues. Then had to take tram/train to car rental center. We had reservations at the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete for Friday and Saturday nights. Not the newest hotel, but sufficient and the outdoor areas were fantastic. Two separate pool areas, beach front, two restaurants, hammocks and plenty of chairs to sit in looking out at the beach.

I had booked a 12:30 - 1:00 boarding window knowing we would be in no hurry to leave the beach and not interested in fighting the crowds. When we returned the car we walked over to the public transit area and called a lyft - $20. Our driver managed to get lost and we had close to an extra hour getting on the bridge back to St. Pete's with no place to turn around, traffic jams at the port, etc. We figured it wasn't a big deal, since we had a $20 price. Nope. The charge came up as $38 on our phone after she had already left. Tried to figure out how to dispute the charges but it wouldn't let us do it online. We were ready for a drink!

Ended up getting to the port closer to 1:30, so of course everything went quickly since there were very few people there. There were two ships leaving that day and the traffic near the ships was crazy and being directed by cops. Still think it's easier than Miami.

Just got back from my first Carnival cruise ever and thought I'd give a small review here.

Before I forget, I think someone asked about who the Maitre D is. Currently Diago Estibeiro is, but he will be ending his contract in the next couple of months and they haven't told him who will be replacing him.

We had a great time, of course.

The ship

I was prepared for the decor after reading posts here on CC. I found the atrium area spectacular and the over the top decor was fine with me. Our cabin was 8204 and just a couple away from the atrium area. The music coming up was fantastic. We had a wonderful trio of strings that played there often, music you wouldn't expect and the echoing was stunning. The music overall was fine, but the trio was spectacular.

We are not big bar people, but they had a great assortment and many had live music on some type most nights. I did like the Red Frog Tiki Bar and made my way through the "Pig" beers to find my favorite. I liked the red the best but was only available on tap and was looking to buy a bucket of beers for the cabin (which I did, but would have liked the red).

Was traveling with a 14 year old so couldn't spend a lot of time in the serenity area, but would have liked to. It was spring break after all and it was nice to have an adult only area.

The pool areas areas and seating around them were sparse. Two pools in the center of the ship and one hot tub filled with kids almost all the time. But you make it work!

Went to a couple of shows which were okay. I like live music and the male lead was very good. There were times that you could see the dancers working through the moves to be sure they were going the right direction - and I found it noticeable which I found distracting. Game shows are not my thing and I only caught the end of one.

Food

We went to the MDR every night. Food was actually better than I expected, but some nights the menus were not very appealing. Several nights we ordered the everyday menu items and one night I upgraded to the filet which was good. Was given the choice of medium rare or medium well for beef dishes. The medium rare was good, the medium well was like shoe leather.

Had my Guys Burger. It was fine, but didn't feel the need for more than one. My grandson had many! I didn't try the Blue Iguana, but my daughter loves it.

The lido was okay, nothing special. Breaking up into sections seems to disperse traffic, but most of the sections offered the same offerings. They did have a pizza station, deli, and Chopsticks section. Had three omelette offering which became tiring after a week - but I won't eat the watery scrambled eggs and am not a pancake, French toast or waffle eater. One major downfall I've noticed on all cruise lines lately is the breakfast sweet roll offerings. Just pathetic.

Excursions/ports

Did two excursions through the ship.

In Belize we did a Mayan cooking/spiritual healing tour which was supposed to have a pool also. The pool pump was out so all the people on the tour were hot and in their swimwear ready to get in the pool and no pool. The shaman was interesting and my daughter and I compared and we both had a very different experience.

In Roatan went to Maya Key (think that's the name of it) with the pool, beach, lunch, fake ruins and monkeys, etc. It was fine, but nothing special. Would probably have enjoyed the free beach by the port just as much.

Pre-booked Paradise Beach in Cozumel online. Was good. Beach is rocky, pool is great.

Traveling with a 14 year old

It was spring break. He went to the kids club on night 1 and met a group of kids he hung out with all week. They played video games, basketball, went to shows together and just had a great time!

His packing was questionable. His mother laid out some clothing choices for him and he put some of it in his suitcase. LOL We ended up buying a few pairs of athletic-type shorts, and 2 shirts before we even got on the ship. He had one swimsuit along and we discovered only had 2 pair of underwear once we got on the ship - so ended up buying more at considerable expense in Roatan. We did take advantage of the laundrette onboard.

Would I do Carnival again? Yes. The crowds seemed well behaved, I didn't smell any pot, got sniffed by a dog, and there was a lot of security. Would I go on spring break again? Only if I was going with someone who could only go on that week.

Took my 14 year old grandson on another cruise line last summer. Told him that he had to agree to go to the kids program the first night to meet other kids otherwise he was going to be hanging out with grandma for the week. Although he had cruised before he had never gone to the program.

Fast forward. Just got back from a spring break trip on Carnival with my daughter and same grandson. He asked to be signed up for the kids program and could hardly wait to go the first night. I don't think any of the kids his age actually spent much time at the program but they met others to hang out with throughout the cruise and we would see him occasionally on sea days and of course dinner. He had a great time. I will say the kids were all pretty well behaved and there was a lot of security out and about.