ABCGreys

Is she flying into Charleston and out of your hometown? Because then you could just book a multicity fare. It's an option on the carrier's websites along with one way and round trip.

For us, it's itinerary, then line/ship, then price.

We feel like we've done the western Caribbean enough, so seeing new ports is the biggest determining factor. After that we usually compare Carnival, Royal, and Norwegian, although depending on who is cruising, just me and the hubs or with the kids, we also look at Princess and Celebrity and look at the ship amenities. Then, I normally do a spreadsheet comparison for price and factor in airfare before making the final decision.

I love so many of these ideas! We're doing a cruise next year with all of my siblings and Mum and it will be a first time cruise for both of my sisters, their husbands and my nieces and nephews.

The nieces and nephews will range in age from 11 - 17 and I've been thinking about what I can do to make it special for them. Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm a two camera person. I carry both my DSLR, a Canon EOS Rebel and a Canon D20 waterproof Powershot for Caribbean cruises. I bring the DSLR for everything except active/water based excursions where I use the Powershot. I make good use out of both on a trip.

For my Alaska trip this May, I'll be carrying two DSLR's - my current Rebel and my old first generation Rebel to avoid having to change lenses quickly. For me, the key is having a convenient bag to carry everything in. I prefer a backpack style that holds everything in it's own compartment but isn't a burden to carry.\

Edited to add: as others have said, extra batteries and cards are a must.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I enjoy Carnival's older ships. We're taking this cruise with my entire family (party of 15) next July and I think the ship will give the first time cruisers a good intro to cruising without overwhelming them.

3) Go with the flow, there are times you simply can't control the enviroment. Case in point on a helicopter ride you won't have choice of where you sit, nor will you have any control of what your other riders are wearing. If they are wearing bright colors you are going to be SOL with reflections.

 

Happy shooting

This. You can't control what others are wearing. I was on a helicopter tour in Hawaii and the passengers were told in advance to wear dark shirts. That was fine but there was a gentleman on the flight who was wearing white plaid shorts which were reflecting in a lot of the shots! I did get some good ones, a couple of great ones, and a lot of bad ones!

They're prints...glorified posters. If you LOVE something...get it..but don't consider it an "investment"...because it's not....it's hardly "art"...its a decoration.

I agree with this. My husband loves to go to the auctions and I could care less. We do have a couple of prints, but it's stuff we really loved and wanted. And, we certainly weren't considering it an investment. Just something nice for the house.

I joined!

I was on the Victory in late September for the 4 night itinerary. I had a great time. Yes, the decor is definitely dated and the floor in our bathroom had seen better days but we found the staff to be friendly and helpful, the food was good in both the buffet and dining room, and we never encountered the lines that some people have mentioned. We had no issues getting a drink or a lounger by the pool.

The only thing I found odd about the ship was that the kids pool and the entrance to the slides were next to the Serenity deck. Other than that, no complaints from us!

I never got the appeal of the ship's lobsters so not a deal breaker for me. I'm looking forward to trying some of the new menu items.

I'm a runner (about 20-25 miles a week) and had horrible callouses on my heels, the balls of my feet, and the sides of my big toes. Very ugly feet! I got an Amope and love it!

I used it for a couple of days in a row and really reduced the cracks and callouses on my heels. Now, I just touch them up as needed. My feet haven't looked this good in years! Now if I could do something about the bruised nails...

I do it after final payment and print all the docs to a pdf. I don't normally print everything out until the week or so before departure.

I'd pick Amersterdam over Paris. I found the subway/metro system in AMS to be much more user friendly (and friendlier in general) than CDG/Paris. In AMS, depending on the length of your layover, you can take the train into town and do a bit of sightseeing. The airport itself is less stressful (for me) and has better options for food, IMO.

Google both airports to get an idea of size and amenities and check out the Trip Advisor boards for those cities to get an idea about what you may be able to do based on your length of stay.

Test

Love the Southwest/Mt Rainier pic! I work for an airline/cargo carrier and my desktop at work is a similar pic one one of our planes and mountains.

I actually just booked on NCL yesterday for next year. We've primarily sailed on CCL but my husband loved the vibe on our NCL cruise. After reviewing the itineraries, dates and total costs in conjuction with the additional (changed) fees, we decided on NCL for Alaska for next year.

The increase in the DSC is immaterial and I'm fairly certain I pay a service charge on CCL on my drinks. So, those two incremental costs aren't a big deal to me.

We've flown from MEM to MIA on departure day a couple of times and never had issues, but, we like to live dangerously. ;)

Loving reliving the cruise through your eyes. Your pics are great. I don't know what happened, but I've got the worst vacation photos I've ever taken!

I got the link to the Calabaza photos for the day. I'll email it you.

Ship and Year of Cruise: Summit (February, 2015)

Cabin #: 1107

Deck: 11

Class: A1 (Aqua)

Area: Aft

Bed Near: Bath

Quiet?: Yes, except for one slightly rough night when the shower doors kept banging

Balcony View: Great.

Balcony Size: Standard

Wind a Problem?: No

Soot a Problem?: No

Comments: Was nervous about being so close to the aft elevators and having the sitting area directly outside the room but it was never a problem. No noise from the deck 12 sports deck either. The shower doors leaked and we could never figure out a way to keep them from doing so. The balcony had standing water on it for most of the week which I think was the cause of the room smelling musty. When the it dried off by midweek, the smell was gone and then came back again after we got rain and a new puddle. The balcony door was really difficult to open.

Evidently I am in the minority but I think VB bags are right up there with Crocs!:D:D

 

Sherri:)

I agree with you. I'm not a fan of their patterns.

Thanks for the review! We're doing the same cave tubing excursion as you on our March cruise. 43 days!

Thanks for your review. I can't wait to read the day by day. We're on the Jewel in March with the same itinerary.

I ordered them for my stepson and daughter around the second week of December and they arrived on December 19.

I'm loving your review and the pics! Don't stop!!

Loving your review! You always have such detailed info. We'll be on the Jewel in March (different itinerary) and after seeing all your great pictures I can't wait!!