willow028

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I passed on all the advice, which mirrored my thoughts, but all four of them argued and said they'd be fine in one room - so I did book an OV which at least hopefully will *look* bigger! (Oh and bonus - only one bunk bed and they'll bring in a trundle - the 19 year old won't be imbibing so he can have that bed - that comment above made me LOL because it's SO true!)

Looking for anyone who may have done this before...

A small bit of history - got my husband hooked on cruising during our honeymoon Splendor cruise. We had an aft extended, and in our two cruises since we had a "L" on the Valor and an aft on the Fascination.

Not to turn this into a family drama thread, but some info is needed I think - he'd been estranged from his three sons (ages 27, 25 and 19) but has slowly rebuilt their relationship and they are planning a short guys cruise on the Imagination in the Spring. The two oldest boys are very close but the youngest has only met his brothers a few times. They've all seen our pictures and heard how much fun we've had, and all are very excited about this bonding trip.

This is somewhat a last minute plan, and money is an issue. They all say for a three night cruise they can share an inside cabin.

I'm just wondering if that's a good idea with the history and the fact that while he says it's fine, my husband is a bit of a balcony snob who shuddered when we walked by open inside cabins on the Fascination.

He wouldn't need a balcony, but wondering if it's worth the extra money to get two inside cabins just for a bit more space? Or is that just me over-thinking? Husband and two oldest boys are low maintenance (run a #2 razor over the head "hairstyles" while the youngest is a bit of a bathroom primper. They know about the gym showers and I've already mapped out a cabin that's in sprinting distance of a public restroom if need be.

Anyone have any experience from going on a "romantic" cruise for two with a balcony to a guys (or girls) only in an inside with four people?

Any suggestions?

Normally we fly in day of to go out of Long Beach but this next cruise my husband will be going without me and taking his sons. He'll be flying into San Diego to meet up with them, then driving up the day of (no choice due to school/work schedules).

On the way home, he'll be catching a direct shuttle to LAX and the boys (all grown - not talking about sending 6 year olds off on their own!) will shuttle back to the car and drive back to San Diego.

As we're paying for the cruise, I'd like to be able to (ideally) pay online in advance or at the least have him be able to pay when they park the car. Is there a lot near/at the pier in Long Beach where we can do this?

(I did try to search but most of what I found regarding parking was park and stay which won't work for us!)

Thanks!

willow and sid-thanks for the picture-i sent it to my co workers (the hallowen pic) i think a few thought Sid was real. LOL

That is too funny! I'm so sorry we didn't make it to putt putt - we actually did show up a bit early and no one was there, so we wandered to lido to get a drink and.... ooooooh shiny.... totally lost track of time. That's still on my "to do" list!

Mikey- glad we got to meet you and Barb - sorry we didn't meet up.

And now I already forgot the band name that was mentioned - was that the band in the casino area on elegant night? We really enjoyed them and had so much dancing there we never made it to the club!

Penguin - I had a smart a$$ comment about math skills and drill sergeants but seem to have forgotten that too - it's been a long week already!

Oh hello there Mister Snorkeler

 

HAHAHAHA - LOVE that you got a picture of Kyle on his first snorkel adventure!

And love the LSC pics and all the decorations - since I "forgot" to pack my camera charger (which translates of course into although I swear I tore the bags apart in the cabin looking for it I promptly found it once we were home and unpacking in some utterly random pocket) I was saving battery for Halloween - and nice of you to do the walking for us this time! :)

Can't wait to read what happens next!

Thanks. I cant wait til I get to the LSC part! I am waiting for my MiFi hotspot to charge and then I will continue.

 

I would be glad to be your tour guide but be aware that my friends were calling me Drill Sergeant before it was all over. I am looking at a May cruise possibly. May 6th is LSC and Nassau...you should come with!

Drill Sergeant was one of the nicer things we were calling her!

 



 

This was actually us who wimped out leaving the beach as Nancy marched her crew from the distillery... wait... where's the crew?!

 

And before that she wiped my husband out completely - he was going to steal this boat and float back to the ship to be able to stop walking!

 



 

Another obligatory picture of you taking a picture!

 



 

LOL can't wait to do it all over again in May Penguin - and the photos of you trying to haul Kyle around in a papoose are going to be amazing!

 

Oh here's my LSC contribution - still trying to figure out what exactly one would use this outlet for!

 



 

 

Okay... so what happens next?!

 

Would love it if you do. Hugs to you and Sid!

Crashing here I come!

For those of you who are reading this review-say Hi to willow and her Sid, a huge rubber cockroach that goes everywhere with her.

I did join my roll call and luckily met some of my buddies on the cruise (including Sid) but this cruise was to introduce a newbie to cruising, so I missed our meet and greet(but saw the Hairy chest contest).

I enjoy roll calls, once you meet and connect, you have instant friends with most of the same likes that you do, ie cruising., food, and good times:).

We missed you at the gathering but were very glad to hear all was well and you didn't make it because you were having fun elsewhere!

Sid sends hugs back - he loved meeting you!

However... he was not as fond of Chuck!

To answer one of the questions someone asked, we did go in on a Cabana with another couple and really enjoyed it - but there was plenty of shade without one.

Small group shot from Halloween!

Thanks for a GREAT review and Sid and I hope to see you on the high seas on the future!

Ann - loving your review but so very sorry to hear all you've had happen since you've been home.

I don't want to crash your review, but if you'd like, I have a couple of very cute pictures of you, Chuck and of course the Sidster I can include - if you'd rather not have pictures of you on here, of course I understand that too!

So very nice meeting you, Chuck & Sally!

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Well, hello everybody! It’s meeeee again! All4Fun&Fun4All with what I hope to be a helpful, entertaining and exciting adventure for you to read about.

WOO-HOO!!! It's going to be like being there all over again!!!

can't wait to relive our trip through your review!!

What she said!!! :D

CatNC - wasn't there a group on here for this topic? It seems to have poofed...

Nursinggal - sent you a FR then DUH realized same date and ship started with the same letter but wasn't the same one - you can ignore me if you want!

Just off the Valor and LOVED our L-shaped room. We were 6450 - right over the Eagles Nest Lounge - and didn't hear a sound all night. The room was perfect for the two of us (of course my side of the bed was next to the bathroom - but husband had no problem walking around the bed at all) and we kept our drapes open at night to be able to wake up facing some wonderful views in the mornings. We wouldn't use a couch other than a place to pile stuff up and the desk worked fine for that. The balcony having two chairs, a table and a lounger was great. We'll definitely book an L-shaped again if we get the chance!

We're going in less than a month - add me to the list of those who are going to now bury CSIMelissa in soap! :p

I'm in the "less is more" camp after bringing enough on my first cruise to outfit an entire village for a month!

Passport, credit card, $1 bills, toothbrush, clean underwear...and maybe a camera and your cabinmate/spouse/whatnot ~ that works for me!

Friend me on the social networking site that we arent allowed to mention. My name is Nancy and we like to party. :p

I'm feeling quite challenged (or maybe that's the few beers I've had speaking instead of me!) on how the heck to do that - or how to even send you a PM on here! :) ~Jennifer~

I can already tell that we probably shouldnt cruise together willow. Together we may cause some shennanigans. ;) Ok, lets do it anyway

GAME ON!!!! My roach really wants to party with penguin!!!! :)

Seriously - if you plan anything coming up, tag me or something - we really enjoy partying... um cruising! with fun people like us! :D

WHOA!!! Neat pic!

Thanks! :p So not admitting to anything here but after my cousin snapped that shot we um *did not* start everyone else near us doing the same thing from their balconies and create an entire seat rat riot that the entire ship talked about for the rest of the day... nope wasn't me!

Right now, I sit here writing in a pony tail. :p

 

If you are ever lucky enough to sail with ToriB and you ask nicely, she may braid your hair for you. I like to think I am special and she did it just because she loves me though. :D

LOL and I sit here typing with my hair tied in a knot on top of my head - that's my idea of high fashion! Thanks for the tip, and I hope now to cruise with both you and ToriB (and hope she really likes me at least!)

BTW - feeding the sea rats can be FUN!!! :eek:

Great review ~ hope to run into you and The Andrew on a ship someday!

And totally off topic (well maybe only semi!) ~ I loved your hair in Nassau - so cute yet practical - as I'm utterly incompetent when it comes to cute hair styles - how'd you do it?! :)

Love this review and can't wait for the rest of it! :) (It is also making me insanely jealous that our roll call is so quiet - would have loved to have been on your ship!)

We're still split 50/50 on which we prefer - I've always traveled extensively - my husband not so much. In the almost two years we've been married we did one cruise and one AI and what swayed us to make our next vacation a cruise was the Cheers package. :)

As an experienced cruiser, I warned him about what our bar tab might be after 7 days - the sticker shock still hit him! With the AI, no sticker shock (well other than me going slightly bonkers in the gift store on our last day). As it's just us, our AI was an adults only/18+ resort and it was quite lively in the afternoons and evenings (and into the wee hours) - so a different vibe perhaps than where others have stayed. We're 44/41 and found the guest mixture to be very much in our age range.

That was quite wordy to tell you I have no opinion! We'll see how that changes after this next cruise now that we can nicely predict our bar tab in advance and skip the last morning coronary!