Naturzlvr

I have become ill with a respiratory infection after a cruise only once since I began cruising. I am sure I was infected by a very rude person who was obviously sick and was coughing and hacking with their mouth wide open and uncovered. We use a lot of purell and hand sanitizer wipes as well as drink plenty of juice. We also take black elderberry capsules which we purchase at Earth Fare. I don't believe paranoid is a correct term to use - I would say concerned.

What a coincidence - we were in 12215. We did not notice any of the smell you mentioned in your review so the problem must have been solved when we cruised in June. The balcony was our biggest disappointment on that cruise.

We have cruised with Carnival seven times already and have three cruises scheduled for the remainder of the year. So far, our favorite cruise has been the Alaskan Cruise.

My husband and I booked a Spa Balcony on the Dream in June 2010. The room was fabulous as is the Spa. However, the balcony was anything but private. There is no roof over the balcony and the floor above is where people walk on the deck and can see directly into your balcony. When we were leaving Florida, people were hanging over us and the condensation on their drinks were dripping on us. Worse yet, someone flicked an ash from a cigarette and it landed on my new white capris. During the voyage, while we were trying to enjoy the balcony during the evening, there was a couple making out above us (hot and heavy, perfectly aware of our presence) and another time during the morning, another couple was hanging over watching the sunrise and talking loudly while we were trying to enjoy our coffee and sunrise too. I didn't begrudge them their pleasure, it just wasn't the private moment we had in mind, especially when our balcony was advertised as our own private balcony in the literature. We found cigarette butts and other debris in the mornings including a banana peel one morning. During the day, it was so hot with the sun beaming down, you couldn't walk barefoot on the deck or stay out for a very long period of time.

I have read other posts from cruisers on Spa Deck balconies that have had teenagers throwing hard candy at them and when they called for assistance were told the was not enough staff to help them with their problem.

We have cuised previously on the Conquest and the Liberty and really enjoyed our private balconies. There are a few Spa Balcony Cabins below the Spa deck which I would recommend and which we have booked on our next cruise in April.

Other than the balcony, our cruise was wonderful and we are looking forward to our next one.

Hope this helps,

Naturzlvr