dallasdan

We were on the Ecstasy in 2010 they showed the super bowl in the main theater. They also had lots of food set up buffet style. @Saint Greg was probably at the game.

When I did the credit card last year it had to be Carnival. We paid off a cruise for around $600 and received the statement credit a month or so later. Seemed pretty quick on the credit.

I would pick the Vista for the Havana area also.

Are you flying Spirit? I know St. Greg likes flying Spirit. I flew them once and had such a bad experience I am afraid to try them again. However, with the positive reviews from Greg I may have to try them again. Mostly try and fly out Love Field whenever possible.

I agree on the separate room for teenager's. We took our son and 2 of his friends once, they had a separate room. I went to their room one time and it was stinky. No way could I have shared a room with them.

We had this happen on the Panorama last May. First time I had ever seen it. the crew came out and cleaned the Havana area right away. I am nut sure how quickly they cleaned the balconies above Havana.

The Casino bar has been removed.

When my DW received the drinks on us everywhere offer, I only received the drinks on us while playing in the casino. The everywhere offer didn't extend to me. In Galveston, the casino host said once the casino opened she could get drinks anywhere on the ship on embarkation day. Also the DOU while playing worked the first night. Others have said DOU everywhere worked right away.

I am on the Miracle next month. I hope they have something similar to the seafood shack on the buffet.

We booked a Hawaii cruise over a year ago on my DW's casino offer. Free interior room with $200 free play for her only. Last week we both received a better casino offer and we were able to switch our room to the Interior with obstructed view on the 4th floor and we both received $500 free play and free drinks everywhere. We only had to pay $38 more because the port fees and gratuities were slightly higher. We did go on 2 cruises after our booking and we did spend way to much time in the casino on the last cruise in May. We leave in February. I just kept doing mock bookings to see if I could upgrade our room.

I don't think the Miracle has a seafood shack. It does have a Guy's Burger and Blue Iguana Cantina.

We live in east Texas and did our passports at the Athens courthouse. My sister in law who lives in Fort Worth came to stay with us to do hers in Athens because there no appointments available in Dallas/Fort Worth area for several months. And this was just last June. By the way we the only people waiting at 7:00 am to get our passports when they opened. Athens is about 70 miles southeast of Dallas.

How is your ankle doing today? Were you able to get an ace bandage in the gift shop?

In Texas they print your picture on the temporary DL. You can use that to board.

Caribbean weather will be great. Just remember the weather at the port maybe drastically different when you return to port. So the first and last sea day might be on the cool side. Not sure where you are leaving from.

If you have drinks on us, you only get the drinks while playing. I always tip $1 per drink even when ordering a water bottle. Once the servers get to know, they may get you a drink when you are not playing. Even if there was a casino bar you cannot use the free drinks at the bar.

Thank you Sid. Although I have no plans to cruise NCL I will be following along.

when you get to the port make sure and carry on your luggage just in case they don't let you board. I have heard. I am surprised your temporary paper license doesn't have your picture. Did you do it online? Texas prints your picture on the temporary license when you renew in person. You may want to go to the dmv office and ask them print you a new temporary license.

Didn't NCL announce a gratuity increase in the last month? So is Carnival just following their competitor?

No you cannot. Carnival assigns VIFP #'s per person. Single cruisers only get credit for 7 days even though they pay double.

In Galveston, they made my DW wait until the casino opened to give her the free drinks everywhere. I had free while playing and it also worked the first day. Others had said the free drinks everywhere worked as soon as they boarded on the first day.

Book the cruise on a courtesy hold. This way you can pick the exact room you want. They will hold the booking for 72 hours. Once booked, then call Carnival and ask them to apply the credits.

How do they handle the time changes. Does the ship change 1 hour each day before you get to Hawaii?

# 296 Can't wait until the party at Sid's

If you have time after your excursion there is a great taco stand on the street right behind walmart. I recommend the Al pastor.