dctravel

Thanks for doing this. Not sure Oceana is on our cards in the near future (since we still have kids at home and don't get much opportunity to vacation without them, unless they are at camp during the summer), but I'm already fascinated!

@Saintgreg reported this same thing on the Jubilee within the past 2 weeks. Must be a new policy? I liked the old way better for the reason @Frank12 said!

Following along for our December trip. Thanks to everyone so far for the comments and ideas!

We are on the Firenze 12/20 cruise with our kids. Not worried about it, as a 6 nighter tends not to be the party boat a 3/4/5 night are. We have cruised many times over holidays with the family and have always been able to find quite places to relax, it just sometimes take a little more searching on the first day of the cruise to find. Not sure how warm it will be on these cruises either way, which may push more people inside? Hard to say, as weather can be variable, but either way, we are looking forward to relaxing as a family with the activities Carnival provides as our entertainment!

We were aft on deck 10, above the hot tubs and a bar, and thought it was a great location. One two decks up from the aft pool and Guys Pig & Anchor bar and brewery (yes, a brewery at sea!) and 6 below Lido.

We cruised on the Celebrity Solstice in July and had a 10:30 arrival time. When our taxi dropped us off underneath Canada Place, there was a porter waiting to take our bags. We left the checked bags with him and then proceeded with our backpacks and carry on (just one) through the terminal. What others have said is true about it being a long, circuitous walk. At one point, you go up an escalator to check in, and then come back down to go through security and US Customs. Either way, there were three ships in port our day and we found that the signage was abundant and that there were a ton of people around to direct traffic.

Interesting. Philadelphia used to be a stop for some smaller Celebrity ships I believe, but that was years ago. The city is great, but the port has some challenges, including a bridge to go up the Delaware River (The Delaware Memorial Bridge, which the Internet reports being 180 feet above the river, but I could not independently verify that) and its position between Baltimore (already a year round port) and New York/New Jersey. I was under the impression that NCL chose Philadelphia because Carnival and RCCL are in Baltimore and everyone is in NY/NJ (either year round or seasonal). If there is competition, I wonder if that would work. I guess we shall see!

Great review so far! Thanks for doing this.

I'll chime in an agree. On the Solstice in July, I had the martini bar tenders making me Woodford Old Fashions and they were excellent. My wife loves the Martine Bar, and I was too lazy to walk up to the World Class bar (i know, a whole flight of stairs!) :).

That's awesome! Meeting people you interact with on here has got to be really cool!

The fresh Alaska salmon in Alaska was excellent, but obviously that is cruise specific. I loved the Creme Brule too (obviously not an entrée) and thought the Cesar salad was terrible 😞

No! Lanternfly. Kill it. They are invasive and the state environmental offices have told people to get rid of them.

Welcome to Maryland!

Thank you! Great advice. First time sailing from Long Beach, so learning the ropes on the west coast!

This has been a great thread. Trying to figure out shuttle pick up time for our December Firenze cruise out of Long Beach. If I'm reading the above posts correctly, boarding for the Panorama/Firenze/Radiance has generally been about 11, so I should try and time my arrival time (which I can't choose til December, of course) for about 10:30? There are advantages to booking the shuttle this far out (discounts), but I may forgo those to get a little more clarity as we get closer. dctravel

Thank you for this informed discussion. We are considering a X cruise next summer with Alesund on the itinerary!

We have not done a resort for a day in Cozumel, but have used resort for a day.com for other locations in the Caribbean in great success. dctravel

Oh, I agree. that does clearly look like it was during the game. The suspended game is the only explanation I can give. The resumption was during the day. I know this bc when I attended the Nats-Yankees game that day, I couldn't understand how the White Sox game was already over AND they had another coming up, unless it was a double header or resumed gamed. The White Sox have draw nearly 1.2 million this year, which is 27 out of 30, so it's not like they are the A's or the Marlins in that regard: https://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance.

It was a resumption of a suspended game from the night before. Maybe they didn't allow that days ticket holders to come early for the suspended game? Or maybe nobody wanted to show up early?

Thank you so much for sharing! Sounds like the trip of a lifetime for your family. What will you do next as a group!?!

Those poor towel animals! Seeing them on Lido is always one of the highlights of a cruise on Carnival. Something about seeing them all sitting out there makes me smile. It also reminds me of a cruise with them then 4 year old son. We were up early (as we were every day) and stumbled upon the "zoo". He was so happy that it was infectious!

Interested to learn more about your trip. Bermuda is on our potential list for next summer on the Pride.

We didn't NEED the grocery store either, but I love to explore grocery stores when traveling. Part of the fun for us! We ended up buying some snacks (Kashi bars only sold in Canada and licorice). Nothing extravagant!

We did a food tour of Cozumel with Cozumel Chef. It was really great. 5 or 6 stops at all local restaurants with the option to upgrade to beer at many stops. We thoroughly enjoyed it and it was something different to do.

I personally think that is a good choice, and what we did earlier in August. There are many hotels pretty close to Canada Place, I personally would recommend one of those over going to stay at an airport hotel. Once you get off the ship, either Taxi, Uber, or walk to your hotel, have them hold your bags if your room isn't ready (which it probably won't be that early in the morning), and then explore the city! Many people like the Hop-on, Hop-off bus. We did a walking food tour of Gastown, but there are also lots of other stuff to do depending on the weather. One other advantage of staying an extra night in Vancouver is that you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the ship before you disembark. Most cruise lines have breakfast in the main dining room that last morning, and it can be a relaxing way to end your trip!