smc0320

We've stayed at McComb, MS and Hammond, LA the night before a cruise.

Thank you!

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I’d look at Hammond which is an hour or so north of of the port. Jackson, Ms is three hours out and I’m not sure there’s a good place to stop in between.

Thank you!

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We'll be driving down from Chicago the day before our cruise on I-55 to I-10. We cannot leave super early because of dropping pets off at the vet, but the drive is about 13-hrs after that....so not too bad.

Our plan is to stay somewhere overnight along the way and then finish the drive in the morning before parking at the port.

Any recommendations on where is ideal to stay without having more than 2-hrs to drive in the morning?

We are not interested in seeing anything in New Orleans, we just picked this port because of dates and being more convenient than driving to Miami.

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We've been to Paradise Beach 5-6 times, great time always. We don't benefit from all inclusives either and have found paradise beach to just be perfect for us.

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Check out birddog shorts....I’ve seen them on Facebook.

Ok, let me give you the spa run-down so you can skip the confusion of asking them how it works ;)

 

 

 

First, if you booked anything like a massage or manicures then you should go schedule those immediately after getting on. I went the second day to schedule and it was mostly booked up.

 

 

 

For the spa pass, when you get there go straight to the front counter and tell them you need a spa wristband. I think there was supposed to be a card in our rooms that we exchanged for the wristband but we never got one. If you don't have a card already then be sure to tell them you don't have a card and need one of those too. Also, you can't go in to the spa without a bathing suit. Not even just to look around.

 

 

 

So the official system is, you bring your card to the front desk, exchange it for a spa wristband (it's like one of those snap/slap bracelets) and then you can enter the spa. When you're done, you're supposed to turn in your wristband and get your card back, and repeat that process every time you want to go to the spa. The first time I went with my mom, we were chatting on our way out and totally forgot to turn in the wristband...so we kept it and wore it in the next day without having to talk to anyone. We decided just to keep the band for the rest of the week and that worked wonderfully. Never had to talk to a person in there again.

 

 

 

I can't tell you how many times we had to explain to people how to use the lockers, so here's what you need to know for those. Once you go through the back doors leading to the spa, there will be a changing room on your left and the spa entrance on your right. Drop your stuff in the changing room, if a locker is unlocked/it opens then it's free to use. To lock it, swipe your cruise card over the little reader knob on the front and that will lock it and only open again for you. Tada!

 

 

 

Now for the spa itself. On the wristband it walks you through the steps of what you're 'supposed to do' for the optimal experience. There are plaques outside every experience room with symbols that match the wristband. There's a bright wet steam room and dark wet steam room, sauna, cool and warm mist showers (cool sprays a menthol something on you, warm sprays a flowery something on you, just fyi), a snow room, a himalayan rock nap room, and a big indoor jacuzzi pool. Oh and geyser showers! lol I loved and hated those. There are 4 pods on the floor and when you hit the start button and step on the pod, it showers you from the floor with cold water. That will stay on for a few seconds then stop and you move to the next pod and you get a shower of warm water. We skipped the cold ones and only stood on the warms :-P They're big on switching from hot to cold, I guess for improving circulation? Anyway, our very favorite one was the dark steam room. I struggled at first getting used to breathing in steamy air, but it wasn't too bad after a minute. There are little shower wands on the wall that you use to cool off when you get too warm so you can stay in longer.

 

 

 

Oh! And there's an outdoor deck jacuzzi that's only for spa goers. There are doors leading outside once you're in the actual Thermal Spa area, that's how you get to the jacuzzi out there.

 

 

 

I think that's it, hope you guys have fun!

What was the cost of the spa pass for the week?

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Thanks for a great review. I only stumbled upon this ship today and cannot wait to book, but need to do more research. And I want pictures!

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Do any Princess ships have anything similar to the "Retreat" cabanas on Holland America?

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We love the freestyle cruising Norwegian offers. It's do what you want when you want. No set dining times no set show times. Great areas for the kids too

 

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Any favorite ships? Have you experienced "The Haven" or seen it?

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The Navigator and Serenade of the Sea's does the ABC Islands.

I will check them out. My fiends who only cruise RCCL have endured "okay" lines and wait times on Liberty OTS and Freedom OTS, but when they got to Oasis and Allure they said it was unbearable. Maybe the smaller, older ships will be better.

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O-H

 

 

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I-O

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Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean. You would find more for the kids on RC. Don't be put off by the mega ships, Oasis, Allure, Harmony, are huge and handle crowds very well because of their size. Voyageur and Freedom class of ships would also have lots for a family.

I did consider RCCL but I've heard horrible stories of lines for food, and I'm not making reservations for shows.

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Throw MSC in the mix as well.

I always forget that one. Have you sailed them?

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We've been on 7 Carnival cruises. All have been great, no really big complaints.....except lines. So tired of standing in line for everything.

So we're looking at Celebrity, Princess, HAL and maybe Norwegian.

We would like something a bit more upscale, newer ships, and good kids club for our 7 & 8 year old boys. This will be their 1st cruise with us.

We enjoy western Caribbean, but really want to get back to Aruba on the next one. And we like the after thanksgiving to Christmas time frame, but would consider January or February too.

Any feedback on what you've liked that is different/better than carnival?

I like the "retreat" idea with private cabanas on HAL. Anyone else have something similar?

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What ship are you considering?

On the Dream, we had 9472 & 9475. Both were 8D rooms when we had them, so we were gifted a lot of price drops. But, our balcony was completely covered....so much so, that in a major rainstorm while in Belize, we could be on our balcony and never got wet. The room was "cozy" and only accommodated 2 people. The balcony was more narrow than those below, but was comfortable.

On Spirit class, those rooms are actually suites, and the higher you go, the less coverage (more sun) you get.

Also, being high up, never had a problem with noise or soot. Some vibration from thrusters as previously mentioned. We love being right under Lido for easy & quick access to the pool and buffet.

Any idea why these don't show up on the excursion page for my Nov 28th 2015 cruise yet?

The only other thing to consider is how much overhang you want from the deck above. Deck 4 has the most usable space on the balcony and also the most overhang. As you go up to deck 8, the railing slants inward, so a little less usable space (still plenty of usable space) and there is almost no overhang on deck 8. We loved. Deck 8 since we could just run up to the lido buffet for anything at any time....and it was so close to the pool.

Ok...you guys are freaking me out about worrying about a 2- year old having an accident. My boys are 4 & 5 and the still have accidents half the time. We have stopped beverages before 6pm, we have them go to the bathroom several times before bed (always more productive than they think it will be...I don't have to go...but they pee a gallon every time) what are you doing that works? I was just going to plan on putting them in pull ups for our cruise in November, even though I don't think I should have to do that at their ages.

Here is one pic of the bedroom, you can start to see the windows at the end of the bed....I have two more pics to share.

We have had 8268 on the Legend and on the Miracle. The bed faces the windows that face out the aft. I think there is also one window on the side, but I'll have to find a pic to prove that. In all, there we 7 windows in the Vista Suite, but each floor might be configured differently....like the 5th floor suite is one big room instead of a separate bedroom.

We are booked on the Conquest for Nov 2015 and have 2 sea days to start off the cruise. Any ideas which sea day might be the cruise elegant night? We want to book the steakhouse, trying to pick the night.

Thanks!

I have filled it out at the port while in line on all of my cruises since 2008....thought it was routine.

Trying to decide on a August cruise and Conquest comes up as an option! Would love any input on her! Thinking about a spa stateroom but wonder if she has a thalasathermy pool? Any input appreciated!

Only the Dream Class and Splendor have the thalassotherapy pool. There is nothing special about the spa on other ships and the spa rooms only get you closer to the spa, with upgraded amenities....but nothing like on the breeze, magic, dream or splendor.

Thanks everyone! We've had only suites before, now we have two kids, but the suites always had mini-fridges.....and I would agree, they are cool at best! But thanks for letting me know they have them on Conquest.

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