easy1969

OMG !! A 'REAL' cruise addict!?!?:eek: LOL !! YOU, Sir, remind me of my wife, after our first cruise out of Mobile in March of 2007 on the CCL Holiday( a raft sized ship, compared with the Mega ships sailing today) but after being on the Holiday 15 minutes, my wife was like you . HOOKED ! She had fought me for seven years AGAINST even discussing or thinking, much less actually taking a cruise. She had seen that moronic television show, 'Love Boat' and thought that was HOW all people dressed and acted on a cruise, like rich know it all snobs. After only 15 minutes, during the sailaway party, she happily exclaimed, ' WHEN can we do THIS again!!' I laughingly told her that she might wanna wait, we hadn't even left the dock yet. But she would NOT be denied, and we always did at least 2 cruises every year after, till 2015 when we cut back to just one a year. But she still takes the cheerleader lead when it's time to think about our March/anniversary cruise ! Quite a change, huh ? She's now a TRUE 'cruise addict'. Welcome to the club, sir. Oh, and by the way, there's only ONE definite cure !! OUR last breath, but till then, cruise ON

 

 

Mac,

Thank you for sharing about that first cruise. Every time I board a ship I still get excited. I love the sights, the food and drinks, the days at sea just sitting on the balcony looking at endless water, and my favorite the smell and taste of the salt air. I could go on and on lol.

I think alot of us are in the same situation as you. I had to be dragged kicking and scremming on my first cruise because I thought that it would be no fun stuck on the sea for 7 days. Wife had to offer to pay for the whole thing. Boy, was I wrong.

 

Since then, I have paid for every cruise after my virgin cruise (Yes, after 37 years of marriage, wife and I still have seperate bank accounts.)

 

But, now here is my point. Cruises are cruises. Some are 3 day, some are 7 day, some are longer. But Sea days are the real indicator of whether you are a true cruiser of the seas, or just a weekend party towel animal.

 

So post your cruises and then days at sea.

 

I'll start- 18 cruises, 131 days at sea.

10 cruises in 7 years and 60 days at sea with 2 more booked adding another 18 days at sea.

the 2nd future cruise is a 14 day to Hawaii and we will finally reach platinum on that one.

it is based on the time you play and on how much money/chips you introduce to the tables.

when they scan your sail and sign card they enter the amount of cash or chips you use to buy in so a little trick to maximize your playerclub offers is to color up and change tables often it makes no difference if you use cash or chips yo buy in at the next table. but someone on here may disagree about the chips so you can go to the window and get them cashed in and use cash if you want but imo ita not necessary.

I play a lot of blackjack on cruises and get great offers and so far I have went on two free cruises that were casino offers by a lot of blackjack I mean I use 2-3k start money to buy in apx total of 12 k and win or lose 1-2k total playing about 3 hrs each day

Cloudnine I am very happy to see a fellow Kentuckian with the same addiction as I have.

my wife and I went on the triumph back 2 back right after you guys we went on jan 12th 5 day and the following 4 day we had a blast.

I've wanted to cruise for years but always thought it was too expensive so it became a bucket list thing. Now that I'm getting older I decided to check it out and see how much it cost so we could save up for it. At first I was looking at river cruises and then I decided to check out Carnival's prices. Wow was I shocked. It wasn't anymore (actually probably less) expensive than a land vacation. I booked our first cruse on the Carnival Triumph for Dec 2016. It was a Christmas cruise as that's when one of my husbands vacations are and it was also our 20th wedding anniversary. I started researching all about cruises and I was hooked even before we had taken our first. I booked our cruise for the whole family on the Splendor for this coming Sunday before we had even taken the first cruise. Then I heard about B2B's so I talked my husband into booking the cruise right after our first one so we did a New Years cruise on the Triumph as well. While on the Triumph I decided to take my best friend of 44 years on a cruise as I knew she'd never get to do one and it was my excuse to do another cruise as well. I booked while on our first cruise for February of 2017 on the Carnival Pride. So in less than 7 months I already will have been on 4 cruises. I'd say I'm definitely an addict. I'm already looking for the 5th as I want to go to Cuba before they close it back up again. However, I'll probably have to wait for my pocketbook to recover before I can book that one. :o:loudcry:

I am sorry about your dad it is very tragic surviving a heart attack then passing from a auto accident.

since you shared the story about your dad I would like to share a bit more about myself.

In august 2009 2 weeks after my 40th birthday I had a major heart attack. I woke up at 0630 on a Sunday morning with steady pain in my left shoulder. I suspected that it was a heart attack and woke my wife who rushed me to the hospital. to make a long story short I was having a major heart attack 100% blockage of the LAD artery (Widow maker) I was very fortunate to survive whole event and it changed everything about the way I live my life.

I spend as much time as possible with my wife and 3 daughters. I have always been very close to my family but after that experience I now realize even more that every moment I spend with them is precious and important.

Prior to the event when I was not at home I was working I had never taken a real vacation so 7 months later we took our first cruise and we were addicted from that point on. I no longer put off vacations or anything else that I or my family wants to experience as I now know that each day is a gift.

But anyway.. cruising has become the vacation of choice for us and we plan to keep going as long as the health and money hold out.

Best wishes

Steven

My dad had a heart attack September 2006, almost died a few times during the ordeal. After he was back home he wanted to go see new places, so he, my younger brother and myself booked a cruise on Princess for November 2007. We were so excited as none of us had cruised before. Well September 2007, just 2 months before sailing my dad was driving down the highway and a semi-truck crosses the center and hit him head on, he died 16 days later in the hospital so needless to say the trip didn't happen.

 

After that I got married, had 2 boys of my own and we decided to go on a cruise May 2016 on the Magic. My mom and step-dad went with us and we had one of the best vacations ever. Since then we've booked an additional 6 cruises all on Carnival (2 every year) we are so hooked on cruising that we are contemplating booking another cruise between our Sept 2017 on the Sunshine and our June 2018 on the Horizon because of the 8 month wait in between.

 

We try to book rooms either as far front or as far aft and as high deck as we can on the ship so we can get the most rocking. Unfortunately after our May 2016 cruise we decided a normal balcony wasn't big enough for a family of 4 so only book suites which normally limit us to mid-ship. It normally takes us a few weeks to be able to sleep again once we are on dry land.

I am 47 years old and over the years I often thought or taking a cruise but never did till April 2010. It was a short 5 day out of Mobile on the Fantasy.

To put it mildly I was addicted from the moment I saw the ship from the hotel the morning of the cruise. My wife and I had a wonderful time on that first cruise and even now we still love the Fantasy.

since that first cruise in 2010 we have been on a total of 10 cruises and have 2 more booked.

I only wish that I had discovered cruising years ago.

I am truly addicted to cruising. If I don't have a future cruse booked it drives me crazy, I can't sleep, eat, or think straight. I will sit for hours in front of a computer looking at ships and ports until I hit the book now button and get my fix, then the slow countdown to the cruise date begins.

once the cruise is over the whole process starts again. I see no hope of a cure. all I can do is treat the symptoms with more days at sea.

I assume that many here suffer from the same addiction, if so how long can you go without having a future cruise booked???

As to cut backs. I took my first cruise in 2010 on carnival and have since taken a total of 10 with 2 more booked.

I first want to say that I have never had a bad cruise. they have all been great.

During my short time cruising I have seen some services removed but I have seen many improvements as well.

I think that the carnival provides a super value for what I pay.

The overall experience on a cruise imo has changed very little.

It's actually Bob's wife [emoji6]

Sorry bout that.:o

How is this an "upgrade" if you are paying extra for it? :confused:

Yeah Bob done set me straight on that one.. lol

Upsells happen just about every cruise. Upgrades (which are free) are rarer but do happen.

 

Congrats on the upsell. Sounds nice!

Upsell ............ you just busted my bubble lol . After all these cruises I thought I had got an upgrade but you are 100% correct I paid for it. Oh well maybe someday I will get a true free upgrade.

I have heard stories about the upgrade fairy but did not believe.

Then.........

My wife and I went on back to back cruises on the triumph back in January out of New Orleans

The first leg was 5 days and the 2nd was 4 days.

We booked the same ocean suite for both cruises.

On the 1st port day of the 1st cruise while in port at Cozumel I got a call from carnival about upgrading to a grand suite for the 2nd cruise.

The extra cost was $180 and of coarse we did it.

This is the only time we have ever been contacted by carnival about an upgrade.

How common is it to get a upgrade offer???

All you guys should have been there for the great Miami blizzard of 83 we had a helluva time getting to the port with no fancy text messages only to find that the ship was iced in due to the extreme cold temps. haha

All of my cruises have been on carnival. at first just because of the price then it became more of getting to platinum status. my next cruise gets me to platinum after that ....who knows?

Also I get great casino deals we have been on 2 "free cruises" with carnival just paid taxes and port fees.

We have been on 3 "free" cruises with carnival. one 5 day, one 7 day, an one 11 southern carrib. all of these were casino offers. I play blackjack a fair amount but not a huge amount have never won or lost over $1000 on a cruise. my wife plays slots but not much. so I have no idea how they decide who to offer these to of what condition pops your name up.

Did you lock your bags before putting them out??

 

Karen

I have never locked a bag when left out last night of cruise. we keep anything of value in a backpack or small carry bag.. if someone steals my bag all they are getting is mostly dirty laundry. lol

I have always paid the standard gratuities plus extra but based on my last 2 cruises I may opt to adjust my gratuities on my upcoming cruises.

I don't want to have a debate about tipping as we all have an opinion and I respect the view of others on this matter.

when we go on a cruise we spend a fair amount of $$ we always book a suite, eat at specialty restaurants, book excursions at each port, drink lots of alcohol, purchase jewelry onboard, and play blackjack til the wee hours.

we absolutely love cruising but over the past 2-3 years I have as many others have pointed out noticed that the quality of service in general has decreased at the same time as cruise fares and gratuities have increased.

As I stated above I see no need for debate on this subject everyone has the right to tip extra or decrease gratuities as they wish.

We are doing a b2b in 4 days and I will adjust my gratuities based on the overall service I receive. I truly do hope that I greatly increase the amount of gratuities as that will indicate that I had an exceptional cruise experience

The Fantasy was the first ship we ever sailed on and we loved it. Since that first cruise we have been fortunate enough to have sailed on each class of ship that carnival operates and the fantasy is still our favorite.

Bigger/Newer Dose not Equal Better!!!!

To me it is worth the price for 2 reasons ...

1----go straight to room upon boarding.

2----go straight to front of line at guest services.

I have been on many cruises and have enjoyed each and every one of them.

What I am about to share is the story of one of my close friends and his wife's first cruise.

As a regular cruiser I talk about cruising to anyone who is interested I talk about the great times we have had cruising and what a good value I believe it is.

So my friend decides that he wants to book a cruise for him and wife and I give him the name and number of my carnival vacation planner.

he proceeded and booked a 7 day out of Tampa.

He and his wife were so excited about this cruise and counted the days til cruise time.

so the time arrived. My friend and his wife left from Knoxville tn and drove to the port in tampa, parked and proceeded to board the ship , this is when the problem became apparent. My friends wife was good to go all documentation correct, but my friend had forgot his passport back in tn.

to make it even worse his wife had asked him when they were packing if he remembered his passport and he said he remembered it..... he really had not and planed to get it out of the safe but.... being so excited about the cruise and preparing to be out of town for 10 days he forgot to get the passport.

he did not think of it again till they were preparing to board the ship.

At the end of the day they were not allowed to board and lost all of the cruise fare.

My friend has told me some of the details of that long drive back to Tennessee with his very unhappy wife and it was as you may imagine it was a tense trip.

I felt terrible for them as it would suck to be at the port and watch your vacation leave without you.

well anyway the point of this post is to remind everyone that this type of thing happens often, and you don't want it to be you. SO TRIPLE CHECK TO BE SURE YOU AND EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY HAVE ALL TRAVAL DOCUMENTS.

As I stated above I felt bad about them missing the cruise and thanks to a very good casino offer my wife and I were able to treat them to a cruise a few months later( this cruise came with a few jokes about passports..)

we all had a great time.

how do you handle parking at terminal for a back 2 back cruise .

we are doing the triumph jan 7 and jan 12 . I have cruised many times from NO and know that you pay up front for the parking I assume that we will just inform that we will be staying and they will charge for 2nd cruise.

if anyone has done this I would appreciate any info you may have.

Thanks

Going on our first B2B out of NOLA jan 7th then second leg jan 12th.

30 days til cruising

We're going on our first cruise and doing a b2b on the Triumph. I have a few questions if you don't mind me asking.

How was the pool water this time of year?

What was the weather like in the Caribbean? Was it stuffy?

TIA.

We are doing our first b2b on the triumph 1-7-2017 and 1-12-2017. we will be driving to the port and I wonder if you pay for parking for both cruises up front or if you have to repark between cruises. we have sailed out of new orleans several times and you pay parking before cruise.

WE have booked back to back on the Triumph /New Orleans in January.

for both cruises we booked the same OS. I did not purchase fttf but it has the fttf logo on all luggage tags but not on the boarding passes. the luggage tags and the boarding passes also have priority.

Just wandering if anyone knows why the fftf is on luggage tags even though not purchased.

I've gambled a lot my last two cruises. Indeed on both I spent almost as much in the Casino as I did for the cruise and they don't have any Casino offers for me. They have not even offered me a free drink. I tried to call the player club people but they don't answer their phone or return calls. I've decided to let my displeasure be known by doing my gambling elsewhere in future. At least in Vegas they give me drinks and dinners if not free rooms.

Tip the casino manager.....It often makes all things casino related go well....