KG1924

And yes, that is even the case if the Eagles make the dance this year which is increasingly possible.

 

Especially the way they just killed our Bears last week!!!! Going to the Bears/Packers game tomorrow....and I'm saling during Super Bowl...fingers crossed for a much better showing then last week.

The biggest difference we noticed physically was the red frog pub is an actual bar on the magic w/ an outdoor area on the promenade. It's essentially just a pool bar on the dream. We LOVED it on the magic because of the live music and fun atmosphere.

 

I really loved the magic and sailing out of Galveston (fog delay and all....be aware of that in the winter months) and didn't generally like the dream (we like port canaveral too) the staff was not friendly on the dream, but that is subjective and could just be bad luck on out behalf but we found ourselves bored a lot, which has never happened to us on a cruise!!

We really enjoyed the one that we had on the Carnival Dream.We did get vibration when pulling in to ports on the last 2 days (wasn't bad....except that it was VERY early in the morning!!) and we also had soot the last 2 days as well, making the balcony pretty much useless. Ours was an aft wrap on deck 8 (I think...can never remember the cabin numbers!!) so it was more narrow (got wider the further down you were) but we fit 16 people comfortably out there for sail away, all along the railing.

 

Personally, I would book one again but I don't "have" to have one. IF we ever go on Carnival again (that's a big IF) we probably would because I feel that their balconies are pretty small, at least on the Dream class in comparison the RC ships I've been on. We really enjoyed the extra space out there. Considering out next cruise will most likely be the Allure, I'm pretty sure any aft cabin is out of our reach $$$$ :eek:

We had an aft wrap, but it was on the Carnival Dream. Overall, we absolutely loved it! We had our entire group of 16 out there for sailaway and had room to spare! That room was a little oddly configured, but we loved that you could sit up in bed and see the ocean since it faced the windows/door. We did have a few issues towards the end of the cruise tho. Whenever we would back into port (which we did twice) there was a TON of vibration. I don't mind feeling the ship move, but the vibration caused everything in the room to shake, including the pictures above us and they made a ton of noise (of course this was 5-6am....and I'm not a morning person :p) And then the soot came. Thankfully it was only the last couple days, but we went out there at night and didn't see the soot and I sat down on our chairs..needless to say my white skirt didn't look so white anymore! It made a mess, but again it was only the last couple days.

 

Obviously all of this is ship specific and we would absolutely book an aft again. On the Dream class it's not nearly as bad of the a walk as it would probably be on the Freedom, but as long as you're able bodied, you should be fine. Have fun, we can't wait to try one on RC!!!

Ok this is kind of a silly question, but is "spiked coffee" included? I don't drink much coffee on vacation, but when we had the drink package on Carnival it was nice to have a good irish coffee on a couple mornings! It was kind of a loop hole on there-we were able to get specialty coffee included w/ a little pick me up in there ;)

if coffee were included, i too would be game. it would make a LOT more sense for me.

 

Well, you are kind of right-specialty coffees are not included....but if you get a spiked coffee, it's included!! We did this 2 mornings when we knew we would be in port most of the day and would most likely not drink much on the ship. It was a way to get "good" coffee and start off the morning w/ a little buzz :p;)

We actually interrogated the bar manager before purchasing the program...then pulled out our cell phones and all video recorded him...upon pressing record...we asked once you hit your 15 drinks, CAN you purchase more.

 

His response... yes sir you can, but if you are drunk you will get cut off.

 

We reiterated the question once more, with different verbiage, got the exact same answer, and then purchased the package.

 

I have seen many differences through the "pilot program" on a ship to ship basis, just from trolling these boards you notice major inconsistencies...

 

Sorry things didn't work out as well for you with the package as it did for us.

 

One thing i can say....my extra tipping would have come to an abrupt halt if someone told me the system locked me out after 15 and there was nothing they could do. I'll take care of you, as long as you take care of me....

 

I've said this before, the 4 cruises i took before this past one, I drank heavily also, and was never cut off....i was not willing to sacrifice my good time just to purchase the cheers program...if 15 is the max allowed in a day and thats that on any of the ships i sail on, then i will be doing things the old fashioned way, and just pay drink for drink...god knows if they are squeezing every penny out of you they aren't going to stop...

 

Ha! I never thought about getting video proof of response before purchasing...sad that it would have to come to that, but good idea none the less! Unfortunatly, the entire first couple hours started on a sour note to begin with. We boarded a little before 11:30 and went right up to the lido deck to purchase the package-there was already a line, but we figured we'd just get it out of the way and start our vacation after. We waited in line for 15 minutes or so and when we got up to the table, we were told that only Bottomless Bubbles could be purchased, the Drink package wouldn't start being sold for about 20 minutes. Frustrating, yes-but it's vacation so we bought a drink (computer system wasn't up yet, hand written reciept) Waited 20 minutes and then got back in line just to find out our card wasn't going through. Went to wait in line at the pursers desk (about 30 minutes) and the check-in lady had never linked our CC to our SS! Then back in line again and FINALLY purchased the package. So the vacation was a little delayed, but we got over it!

 

It did work well for us still, and while they wouldn't let us purchase more, it was nice of them to let us "share" since we were on the same SS. We will do it again IF we sail Carnival again....we're leaning towards other lines from now on for a lot of reasons.

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There was a group of 8 of us on glory in early jan. Almost all of us hit the 15 drink limit almost daily...the bartenders told us we needed to talk to a manager to purchase more drinks.......We never saw a bar manager, and the bartenders continued to serve us, just charging per drink after the 15...We were standing straight, able to put English sentences together and well composed. Seemed as though the bartenders would just talk to someone for us.

 

Also as far as sharing goes, my GF who was sailing with me, would never hit 15 in a day....i had brought some extra cash on board, realizing that the bartenders would be more apt to work with us, if some dead presidents were involved in the situation. My suspicions were correct...one night she went to bed early, i tapped out my card, and then commenced to work with hers for the remainder of the evening/early morning.

 

I personally feel that the last thing carnival wants to do is cut someone off, however the also must be responsible, and if you can't hold yourself up, talk straight, and have visible signs of being highly intoxicated...well they must.

 

Another thing i noticed is that those dead presidents also make your drinks come quicker and stronger, we had waiters on board that wouldn't let us out of their sight...they knew our drinks and how we liked them...we started calling the Long Islands we were getting from one of them Mind erasers...

 

Loved the cheers package, there didn't seem to be a drink we couldn't get, and everything went off smoothly throughout the week with the package. TOTALLY worth the money for someone that likes to drink throughout the day as heavily as we do.

 

Just hoping this package gets added to the sunshine before Jan of next year...since that is our next booked sailing...it really cut down on the cost of our S&S

 

Well, I am VERY jealous of you!!! My husband reached the max a few of the days on the Dream 2 weeks ago and they absolutely would not let him purchase a drink-claimed that the computer physically blocked them from ringing anything through until 6am the next morning. And we were tipping the entire time, both in cash and on the SS (depending if we had cash on us or not) We inquired at 3 different bars, all said the same thing. We were on good terms w/ the bartenders we were inquiring to (knew our names and folio numbers w/ out showing the card) so I don't think that they were being selective....at least I hope not!!! Plus, I had only reached mine by myself once, so they were absolutly fine with me using my card to purchase my husbands drink-they actually told us to one night. That was my concern before doing it, and we couldn't get a straight answer prior to purchasing it. We were traveling with family and we wanted to have the option to purchase (pay for) drinks for others, especially my parents, but we were cut off from even paying for drinks. Like your group, we were all standing, talking, non-beligerant, etc. Maybe it's different from ship to ship???

We've done both-we prefer cruising in general, but all-inclusives are less expensive for us (for the most part-and it's only two of us!) My favorite part about AI's is that there is no surprise bill at the end of the week. Now that cruise lines are doing drink packages, we will most likely stick with cruising from now on. However, we have only been to all inclusives in Mexico and all have been in the Riveria Maya area-we really would like to try an island somewhere down the road, but that tends to be more expensive. I personally like the energy and options of cruising over AI's. We are not lay in the sun types, but we don't need non stop action either. A cruise lets us do what we want when we want, where as the AI's are a little boring unless you are near a good city (like Playa del Carmen-I love it there)

Your feelings about Freedom of the Seas? We too live close to P.C and have been on the Dream twice..going for three in a few weeks. We wonder about the FOTS an honest opinion..one not trying to trash Carnival..would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I'm not the one that originally posted that, but we've sailed the Magic (sister of the Dream) and the Freedom of the Seas. We loved both, but we do give slight edge to the Freedom. Pros/cons for us:

 

Freedom of the Seas:

-Royal Promonade-we kind of miss this while on Carnival ships, good meeting area

-Pool Deck-bigger pools, Solarium is my favorite so far (adult pool)

-Balconies seemed larger (we always book plain old balconies)

 

Magic:

-Outside promonade-loved to have a good spot to hang out at night outside, Red Frog Pub was a blast (but alas it will be on the pool deck on the Dream...I think we'll survive!) This was a great replacement for us missing the Royal promonade.

-Burrito bar-seriously, it's that good! Well worth the wait in line!!

-Balcony was fine for 2...seemed smaller then the Freedom tho.

 

The prices for our cruise were pretty much exactly the same and we had comparible cabins on both. Really, the only "con" we had with the Magic was crowds in comparison to the Freedom. We felt like we were in line A LOT more on the Magic. Did not make/break our experience (obviously since we're booked on the Dream!)

 

However, we're easy to please! Food is food to us...never have gone hungry and I'm very picky. We didn't seem too many shows on the Magic and did see a couple on the Freedom (which were good) but I can't really compare there. We also had pretty bad weather on our Magic cruise so we never really used the pools. So even though they were noticeably smaller, it didn't affect us. We'll see on the Dream. We didn't really like the Adult area (Serenity) on the Magic, but we're not lay in the sun kind of people. The Freedom's adult area had a full pool with bar stools in the deep end that the servers would come an bring you drinks...heaven to us :D

 

Both are great and we enjoyed the Magic MUCH more then our Miracle cruise a few years back-we like larger ships with more "stuff" to do.

The door the the Connoisseur Club is kinda recessed and unless you know where it is, it is easy to walk right by it and not even notice it. In fact, just opposite on the port side is a similar door going to a crew area. And like the others said, I don't think the smoke escapes the room, except maybe on the clothing of the folks exiting. ;)

 

You are so right! I was on the Freedom and used that stairwell near there on a daily bases....and never saw it :p I'm not an avid cigar smoker, but do enjoy the smell and a few puffs. Oh well, next time :)

Fanny is the naughty word. They don't say fanny pack. They say bum bag. Although I don't know if it's spelled bumm or another way.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (now used more often because of the bad ad placement on the full CC website)

 

OHHHH!!! Ok, I get it. (blonde moment;)) I again apologize....didn't mean to offend anybody w/ offensive language! No matter what you call them, I'm not a fan. :p

LOL it must mean the same thing it does in Australia. My Aussie friend and I had a good time playing in secret with each other's slang words when we were there a few months ago. Be careful what you say! Whisper.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (now used more often because of the bad ad placement on the full CC website)

 

Ok, I'm feeling a little ignorant!!! Obviously "cheesy" means something completely different in other parts of the world!!! If it means a naughty word, I did not mean that in any way, shape or form!!! :D

You know what I get in my cabin???? Nothing but a clean room and a week of vacation to look forward to!!!! I have a lllllooooonnnnnggggg way to go until I get burdened with such horrible gifts!!! So I don't really get why you're complaining about something like that. Or why you would prefer a cheesy fanny pack!!! :p

I can't comment on the roast beef sandwiches, but I'll second skipping the windjammer! There are so many other places to eat. We actually only went into the windjammer once the whole week-food was fine, but there are better places!

 

We liked the shuffleboards location on the Oasis. It's behind the screen of the Aqua Theater w/ big Adirondack chairs-great view of the wake

 

Please have a bagel hot dog at the Wipe Out Cafe for me!!! They're so bad for you but oh so good!!! If you want to add a little more fat to it, there are slices of american cheese in there as well. I put it in the hot dog bagel-it's simply fatty heaven!!

 

Have a blast and don't worry about not being able to get everything done in a week....it's impossible :)

Has anyone done the SCUBA class on board? I'd like to get an idea of price and availability. Also, in pictures, it looks like there are bar stools in the forward end of the solarium pool; do they actually use that as a bar?

 

Can't help you too much with the SCUBA, but we did meet a great couple that was doing it. I believe they spent somewhere around $250-$300 for it and the actual dive was in Cozumel (western itinerary) I will say, it took up a lot of their vacation time (in their opinion) While they were happy they did it, they said they would've done it before the trip just so they didn't feel like they had to do so much on vacation. This may have been because we had 4 ports and they had something planned for every port. Again, this is not first hand opinions here, just what one couple we met had said.

 

As far as the Solarium pool, yes there are stools and a "bar" in the pool. But it's not a bar that you can buy drinks at. Servers did come around quite frequently and will serve you in the water. We spent quite a bit of time there and we would just buy a bucket of beer and pour them in to frosted mugs that the bar tender at the solarium bar will provide for you (no glass in the pool for obvious reasons) Just a word of caution-the pool is VERY deep, especially on one side of the bar. I believe it was 7+ feet in the deepest part and then goes down to about 5 feet. Now I'm 5'1", so this is may be a bigger issue for me than others, but I will say that those bar stools were a hot commodity because you couldn't really just stand in the pool at that end. It's a great, quiet pool but gets a little louder in the late afternoon after everyone has been sitting at the "bar" getting drunk!! :p

[quote name='snelsonbrown']Hello KG - there are several - the most favorite of the locals are as follows:

Jonathan's Pub - 140 North Brevard Avenue - cocoa beach 321-783-9368
Beef O'Brady ------located in the same plaza as Publix in Cocoa Beach
Pig & Whistle -------Cocoa Beach

All 3 are great
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]

Thanks Shirley!!! Exactly what I was looking for!!! :) I will have a happy husband thanks to you!

I have kind of a silly question for the Port Canaveral experts out there! We will be getting off the Freedom on Sunday, September 11th. Our flight isn't until 7pm, so we have quite a bit of time. We were wondering if there are any bars/restaurants in the area that might be able to show the Bears/Falcons game. It's the first game of the season and it would be a great way to wind down from our fun filled vacation. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

8 days!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D

And now begins the LLLLOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGGGGEEEESSSSTTTTTT week ever!!!!!

7 more days till my B2B on the Oasis.

 

Gary

 

Yayyyy! We'll be joining you in 15 days on your second leg....can't wait!!!:)