Essiesmom

I never use a lanyard for my card. Everything I wear has pockets except some elegant night wear/dress. Then it goes in my bag. I do have a lanyard that I use on other occasions, mostly for my phone when I am running around the ship taking pictures. I also wear it when I have a long grocery list and don’t want to set my phone down in the grocery cart or dig it out of my pocket.

Heading out through Agua Clara locks. Note just about to reach the bridge is Zaandam.

If you go to the Carnival board here, there is a review just finishing where the member did A b2B on two different ships. The member is @Jamman54. He has posted the daily activity sheets for nearly every day. There are reviews and Live From threads on other boards doing the same thing. Do a little surfing among the boards…. EM

It comes down to whether you want to transit through the old or new locks. I’ve done both, and feel the old are much more interesting and historic. That said, I do feel the ports on the west coast of Central America are a little sparse. My favorite is Puerto Quetzal, not at all your typical Mexican or Caribbean port. EM

At the time of the fire, the ship was docked at Grand Turk and a good portion of the guests would have been off the ship. EM

Going back out

Edge transit of new locks on 2/20

The Pullman upper will be flush with the ceiling, you won’t even know it is there unless you look for it. Although this is a 4K, not a balcony, your cabin will look the same, and note the pullman in the ceiling...outline. EM

Sneaking a peek at Zaandam in the Pedro Miguel locks

Cocoli locks

One problem is that for the steward to service the bunk, he/she would have to stand on the bed. EM

Submitted and received 1/12/23. still status received on 2/25 so went in and updated to expedited processing, but not mailing. Magically midday 2/27 I am in process. We’ll see how long I am in process. EM

Half of this pair is only 7 years old. So what will interest her? Is she interested in history, ruins? Scenery? I think that you will not be leaving her in the kids club every day while you go sightseeing, so what interests her is important. I would get a copy of Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports, read it together, find out what attracts you both, then look for a cruise that visits as many of those places as possible. I recommend cruisetimetables.com for researching ports and itineraries. And just my point of, but I think Northern Europe has more to interest children than the Med. EM

I did online renewal received 1/12/23 and as of today, six weeks out, still says ‘received’. So today I went in and requested expedite. I do have a cruise next week, but just closed loop to Bahamas, so can use a birth certificate. A little uncomfortable since first time I have ever left the country without a passport. First cruise was in 1972. EM

Going back out…

I hope you don’t mind my inserting a couple of Pancanal webcam captures..

The OP is on the Lirica cruise on 3/11, not the standard bus route with guests boarding at every port. EM

I think this is a perk from the cruise line via the TA for booking a large group. Not sure who would make the time and venue decision but it has to be coordinated with whoever arranges those things on the ship. EM

I think you should check into the regulations for sailing from San Juan. I believe there was an exception to the PVSA rules for Puerto Rico, made so that Carnival could run what was almost a ferry service to Florida. But I don’t know if it is still relevant. Maybe @chengkp75could tell us. EM

If this is a round trip cruise from Barbados, it doesn’t matter, because the sunny side will change as you move among the islands. And you will be sailing mostly at night, and not close enough to the islands to see anything but dark mounds. Most islands/countries have laws that prohibit having shops and casinos open within a specific number of miles from land. EM

If you are sailing south, sun will be on port side in the AM, starboard I PM. So it just depends on WHEN you want to be in the sun. EM

The book has found a new home! EM

Whose policy is that? On Carnival, you can call and book in the morning and sail in the afternoon. Final manifest goes in 60 min before sailing. EM

I have a pristine copy of the 2012 edition of the Rachel Cartwright book, complete with map. Purchased on our Coral Princess cruise to Alaska in 2013. I doubt I will be returning to Alaska as I was also there in 2010. I am willing to send it to anyone who wishes it. You may reimburse postage if you so desire, it it is not required. Message me at holtcjane at gmail dot com. EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Every cruise line has a department for special needs, and a lot of them are dietary. I’m sure if you search the NCL website, particularly the area in small print at the bottom of the home page, you will find contact info for them. In addition, when inputting your check in info they ask about special needs. If you detail what you need, they may contact you. I know I just made my special needs request for a HC cabin on Carnival, and not only did they email me the special needs form, but followed up with a call. You might also ask on the board here for NCL. EM