christinalvt

I just remembered another one....a couple was in the whirlpool on deck 10 aft port side on Independence last month, and they were engaging in activities that should be reserved for a private setting!!!

 

Anyway security came and the woman started getting mouthy and aggressive with them.....sure enough, they grabbed her and escorted her away fully naked....luckily there were not a lot of children about on the ship(during school before Christmas) but it was right there out in the open.

 

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And this is why I stopped using the hot tubs! [emoji37]

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Blue holes are amazing, I swam in them in Bermuda. May I suggest going it on your own? Hire a taxi to take you to the area, and usually in the islands, they will always be willing to come back for you at a pre-arranged time.

Have fun!

Christina

WOW! That is the saddest thing I have ever heard out of a teachers mouth!! You should be ashamed of yourself and I will thank GOD that my children will never have you and I will also pray for the little souls that have you as a teacher. Unbelievable!!

 

 

 

I must be the luckiest parent ever because we live in a school district that values family and all forms of "education". From our district handbook, "Family vacations arranged in advance with the school administration are excused absences". "Students shall make up all assignments missed during excused absences, with credit awarded."

 

 

 

Our oldest just turned 21 and is a Junior in college, our second child is 18 and is a Freshman in college and our youngest is in 8th grade. They have been on 4 cruises and we are getting ready to take our 8th grader on her 5th cruise. They have learned so much from these experiences. The highlight was the year that we visited an orphanage in Roatan. I had researched the orphanage before and learned of their needs. We got a private driver who took us to a local grocery store (believe me-that was educational) and bought the orphanage their food needs for a month. My sons bought a basketball for the kids and we spent the entire afternoon playing, talking, and loving on these children. BELIEVE me this was educational!!

 

 

 

If you ask any of my kids about the standout moments of their lives I will assure you the experience at that orphanage will rank very high to the top. Learning is not just done in a classroom-the world is a classroom and we should encourage all to grab ahold of it even if that means a few days of school are missed.

 

 

 

So thankful for our school district and our awesome teachers that understand what education really is!

Wow, this brought tears to my eyes, what a wonderful and caring family you are! You are right, all learning is NOT done in a classroom, and your story is a perfect example. I'm sure the kids at that orphanage have never forgotten your family and the happiness you brought them.

And may I say to all the "teachers" who are against taking kids out of school for vacation: after all the hard work the kids do, in and out of school (I am of course speaking of the extraordinary amount of homework kids get, even though teachers are being paid to teach them AT SCHOOL), they deserve vacations, just as adults do. Maybe some of you teachers need a good cruise to lighten up.

Christina

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

Oh wow, I didn't see that, thanks!!

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No, it says right in the instructions that you do not need to purchase a wi-if plan. You actually put your phone in airplane mode.

Oh, I read that you have to connect to the ship's wifi. Not true?

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

It says it works with the ship's wifi, I guess that means to play the app onboard, you need to buy a wifi package, huh? So except for the free $10 they give you, its not any better than just going to the casino and playing slots. The only advantage I can see is avoiding the smoky casino.

Christina

Has anyone gotten an email response for the 7 pm event, from the contest on John Heald's page? They say they are picking the winners BY Monday, but I was curious if anyone's heard anything.

Christina

I agree with you completely.. the shows that we did see were fantastic on Breakaway. And we also liked O'Sheehans. Like you, we found the atrium to be disappointing for such a large, and brand new, ship. There should never have been shows held in that area with such little seating. We also had a nice time, but I don't think I'll be actively seeking a mega ship anytime soon.

 

 

 

Oh.. and iConcierge.. what a great idea. Carnival needs an app like that, too!

They do now! So far it's only on the Breeze (being tested I guess), but hopefully soon on other ships.

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This is actually a tough question to answer. Keeping in mind that our very first cruise was on the Pride in 2009 (me, DH and our 2 kids, then 17 and 7) and we had such a wonderful time. We took a few other vacations after and really wanted to cruise again and when we started planning, Breakaway was still being built and we decided to wait for her. I think I had so many expectations for that sailing and I left it feeling let down in so many ways. That's not to say that we didn't have a nice time, we were on vacation and we enjoyed ourselves, but in the end, after looking at all of the circumstances, I think there were some standout factors for us.. let me preface by saying the Breakaway is a beautiful ship and we had a wonderful aft cabin and a fantastic room steward. The service overall was very good. That being said... Breakaway is massive. Almost too massive, I think.

 

 

 

1. We preferred a smaller ship (like Pride); smaller ship = fewer people.

 

 

 

2. The pool situation on Breakaway is horrible for children - the kids pool is VERY small and there are far too many children on board to reasonably and safely cram into it and they are VERY strict about not allowing children (even teens) in the adult pool.

 

 

 

3. NCL feels like anything but "freestyle" to us... sure, you are free to eat whenever, wherever but having to book shows in advance was really annoying and disappointing. The venues are small and fill up quickly. If you didn't know days in advance what you wanted to do on any particular evening, you were out of luck when you eventually tried to get into a show. Choosing Carnivals 'any time dining' feels more freestyle to me than NCL's whole 'freestyle' concept.

 

 

 

4. The main dining room on Breakaway was less than impressive and had the worst food on the ship (imo). We did REALLY like the smaller Taste and Savor, and the specialty restaurants were exception - but all cost more $$.

 

 

 

5. We never had any trouble finding seats at the pool or the buffet on Pride but finding lounge chairs on Breakaway always seemed to be an issue.

 

 

 

6. The kids didn't care for NCL's kids club activities and complained that there were sooooo many kids in each age group that it took a very long time to wait your turn for games, etc. They were bored very easily and wanted to come out of the clubs within an hour of being dropped off. That made it difficult to have ANY fun in the evenings because unless you had pre-booked a 'family friendly' show, there was really nothing for kids to do after dinner if they weren't with the kids club. This made for board adults and kids in the evenings/at night.

 

 

 

7. Breakaway's casino is soooooooooo smokey. You could argue that all cruise ship casinos are smokey but I found this overwhelming.

 

 

 

Perhaps my expectations were too high - we waited a long time for that trip. I followed that ship every step of the way and became obsessed with her every sailing until it was our turn. She was practically brand new and it was evident. But we came away from that trip feeling underwhelmed and slightly dissatisfied.

 

 

 

But again, we still had a really nice vacation, but our first experience on the Pride stands out as more memorable and more relaxing and fun vacation overall. My kids still talk about that trip. So we figured we would give it another go now that the 2.0 updates are complete.

Wow, I had the exact same issues on the Breakaway! I didn't like that I had to spend my entire first day almost on trying to get reservations and fit them in to everything else in the schedule. I could have done some reservations online at home, but I had a package that gave me 3 specialty restaurants free, so I couldn't book these at home, because they would have charged me. I also agree with you about the size of the ship correlating with service, pool and lounge chair access, etc. after being on both massive ships like Breakaway and Oasis, I prefer smaller ships. In the end, the best part of Breakaway were the shows and the 3-day Bermuda itinerary.

I'm going on the Pride this May, can't wait! After hearing so many great reviews about her, I'm excited. Enjoy your trip!

Christina

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No, that's not correct. For ES you need to match to the same specific category. I think you're not clicking far enough into Fareviewer, since it does list the prices for specific categories, like 4b or 8c or whatever.

 

 

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You're right, thank you. The first page just asks for main category (interior, etc) then when you pick a fare, it lists the sub-categories.

Christina:)

Pardon me if this is a dumb question, but I always thought that getting a price adjustment on ES fares just took into consideration your main category, i.e. Interior, Oceanview, etc.? On the Fareviewer form, it just asks for one of those categories, not whether you are in a 4J, 8C, or such.

In other words, if I have an Interior cabin (no matter what sub-category), and the Interior fare goes down, I can get an adjustment or OBC after final payment. I thought this was how it worked.

Can someone clarify?

Thanks,

Christina

I have 4115 on the Pride this May...has anyone had that cabin?

Christina

Hello,

a Lifeproof case is good, and you can use your phone with it on. Here is the link for them on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lifeproof+iphone+5s+case&sprefix=life%2Caps%2C422

CHristina

I see threads about favorite foods on a specific line, but what about listing your faves on each cruiseline, for example, mine are:

Carnival: the pizza (thin-crust!) and the hot chocolate machines. (The Warm Chocolate Melting cake goes without saying!)

RCCL: Oasis-class - the roast beef sandwich at the Central Park Café.

Any more?

Christina

What a timely topic!

 

I took my kids out for two weeks in December, as I always do. I notified the school in advance, and my kids got their assignments to take along. My daughter is now in 7th grade, and is in honor's classes and on the elite principal's honor roll.

 

She did all of her work, and is actually ahead now, as they didn't get as much done in class while we were away.

 

Yet, yesterday I got a letter in the mail from the 7th grade "team" warning me that attendance is important and to speak to my daughter about the importance of good attendance. Now, I explained in my notice to them in November that I understand that they all don't agree with my position, and I assured them that the work would be done. Did they really need to send a threatening letter :confused:

I got the same letter, but my daughter was out a lot this term because of pneumonia. It doesn't mean I'm not going to take her out later this year for a cruise. I think they get way too much non-schooltime work (i.e. homework, summer projects), they don't get to enjoy their childhood! My daughter has always made up her work, and has never gotten any grade less than an A, and has always been on the High Honor Roll. So let them be kids and have fun!

Christina

Some school districts do not allow it because they lose pupil funding for the absentees.

As a retired teacher, I'd say do it. Travel is educational.

What a great point of view, and wonderful coming from a teacher! I say its up to your child, if you feel they can make up the work and wont have trouble, then go for it! Why pay so much more for the same cruise during breaks?

Christina

Ooh, competition! I'll try both.

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

That is not a real event. Someone asked John Heald on his FB page and he confirmed that Carnival is not sponsoring anything. I think the actual media event is by invitation only to the press and travel agents, etc.

 

 

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Thanks! Too bad, it sounded fun. I called the number on the page but it went to voicemail.

Christina

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

Has anyone heard anything about this?

http://www.eventcrazy.com/New-York-NY/events/details/580400-Carnival-Cruise-Lines-Take-In-the-Vista-Weekend-and-Cruise-Giveaways

I called Carnival and they didn't know about it.

Christina

In doing research for our upcoming cruise, I found that the Local Village Bar has indeed become the Barefoot Cabana. New owners. If anyone has been there since the change, please let us know how it is, and if it compares to the old ownership. I wish I had been able to go last time, but excursions kept me from it.

Christina

Ya can't have too many Claners, Dave. :D

That's a good one!

I always wonder about signs like that, doesn't the person making the sign notice?

Christina

Any more??

I hope so. I for one decided against sailing on Quantum because of all the complaints, so hopefully someone is listening!

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

Thanks for posting this, I couldn't find any media coverage of the event, and I really wanted to see it! You'd think they wouldn't miss a chance to televise and thus promote the new ship!

Christina

[emoji572]️ You know you're a cruise addict if:

You know what DOtD and OBC mean.

You enter your bedroom at night and look for the towel animal.

You are reading Cruise Critic, and your cruise isn't for months, or you don't even have one booked (yet!) [emoji572]️

Oh wow, that's it! I always hit the snowflake button, I thought that turned it on. Too late now, but I'll know for next trip! This is why I love CC, so many informative people!! Thanks!!

Christina