rstunger

She'll be on the Miracle Jan-March. John Heald has the exact dates.

Yes...so excited. We will be on the Miracle in February and have had Chloe before. She's young, fun, and very friendly.

Kroger Grocery Store (many good selections) 2 blocks away from Holiday Inn Resort (if the HIR hotel is next door to San Luis Hotel). Wines we are talking about are not necessarily wholesaled, but sold direct thru the Winery Clubs and/or direct from location of Winery. These are hours away from Galveston in distance! Personal tastes would apply also.

Thank you, SSB. Good to know there's a nearby place to grab a couple bottles. I thought about packing a couple bottles in our checked baggage when we fly, but fear red wine stains on all the clothing. 😬

We are flying in from WA state for the 8/28 cruise on the Breeze. A few of you mention your local wines; are there a few you would recommend in the moderate price range? Also, we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Resort in Galveston...is there a place to buy wine within walking distance? :)

Oh man...I hope they don't change it for the worse. We only have 2 more cruises before we get platinum, the hard way (75 days). We were only three cruises away from moving up from gold to platinum a couple years ago, when they changed it to the 75 days rather than 10 cruises (I think it used to be 10). Although I was disappointed last time we got close and had them change it, I actually did understand. It was kind of silly that you could take ten 3-4 day cruises and become platinum. I just won't be happy if they do it again, now that we are only 2 cruises away from platinum...again, getting it the long/hard way.

Also, if FTTF is already sold out, they may or may not offer more depending on the # or Platinum/Diamond on the ship.

This is true. We've seen it sold out a few times, but checked back each day and got it. Like you said...it depends how many diamond/platinum book that cruise.

Price, crew, and cabin size/layout. The only negative about Carnival is that they don't provide the newer ships to the west coast.

I would love for the Valor to come to Long Beach!! We don't need two ships doing the same 3/4 day itineraries! It would be nice that the inspiration continues its 3-4 day itineraries and for the Imagination to do 4-5 day cruises to Cabo from either SD or LB! I have my fingers crossed Carnival sends a bigger Nicer ship here to Long Beach! Miracle in Tampa would be perfect they need a ship since the Pride will be leaving Tampa soon to Baltimore

I have said this same thing....PLEASE send the west coast a nicer, newer ship. We will be on the Miracle out of Long Beach in November and are excited, but we have already been on Miracle. It just seems like the west coast always has the the same older ships. We never get the new exciting ones that everyone raves about.

While we're dreaming... I'd LOVE for Carnival to sail out of San Francisco :)

Me too... I would love for Carnival to sail out of San Francisco I would also love for them to give the west coast some of the newer ships. Dreaming..I'm sure. I cruise out of Seattle, Long Beach, San Diego, and Vancouver BC and wish we could get some of the nicer ships.

It is also worth noting that if flying into LGB airport, the taxi fare is a flat $23 to the convention center area hotels. For two or more people, this is the cheapest (and most convenient) option. The taxi stand is located right across the street from the baggage claim area. Link to Long Beach Yellow Cab rates:

http://rideyellow.com/rates/

Great...thank you for that info. I will definitely check into a taxi for the 4 of us. I think we are leaning toward one of the Marriott hotels; just not sure which one yet. I will decide and book tomorrow.

I love using cruise critic to research and ask advise. Thanks again.

Steve, thank you for your quick and helpful response.

Within reason, cost isn't our main concern. I care more about safety, cleanliness, and convenience. Convenient....would be the perfect hotel that offers all of that, plus shuttle to both places. Wishful thinking, it seems. 😊

I will look at shuttle options to the hotels you've listed.

Here is my standard advice:

 

There is a very limited area of Long Beach in which you want to stay...and, therefore, a limited number of hotels.

 

The BEST places to stay are the Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance and Hyatt at the Pike …These put you right in the heart of the tourist area with very convenient walks to restaurants, shops and attractions and easy access to the free "Passport" shuttle...and those ARE th nicest hotels in town. Doesn't necessarily mean they are higher priced, though...and you can often get a real deal via Priceline...

Slightly further away, but still in decent walking distance, are the Hilton, the Marriott Courtyard and the Best Western Long Beach Convention Center...

Just across the bridge (on the same side of the channel as the Carnival Pier) are the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown and the Maya Doubletree...The Queen Mary is across the bridge as well...and right next to the Carnival Terminal...however, I am not a big fan of the Queen Mary--unless you are on there for nostalgia's sake...It's not exactly a first class hotel by today's standards--the rooms are small, condition questionable, etc.

 

Getting to any of these hotels from LAX, you'd either have to take a taxi or a shuttle...Try Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle...From hotel to pier, some of these hotels may have free shuttles, but policies change time to time, so I would check individually with the hotel...

 

http://www.longbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

 

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1003

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbrn-renaissance-long-beach-hotel/

 

http://thepikelongbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hilton-long-beach-and-executive-meeting-center-LGBLHHF/index.html

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbcy-courtyard-long-beach-downtown/

 

http://bestwesterncalifornia.com/index.html

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbri-residence-inn-long-beach-downtown/

 

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hotel-maya-a-doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-LGBMYDT/index.html

One word of warning: Do NOT go looking for bargains outside of this short list of hotels...Long Beach is a BIG city...there are lots of different areas, some better, some worse...some not so close to the port or the tourist areas...That bargain hotel MAY tell you it's near the Convention Center or near the port...but it may not be...it may be in an undesirable area or location. You want to have a pleasant stay--stick to this list.

 

This area of Long Beach means you will have a large choice of restaurants nearby, you will have nice shops and picturesque scenery and places to walk and enjoy...You will be close to sites like the Aquarium and the Queen Mary if you want to have a little sightseeing...Long Beach runs a free shuttle service called the "Passport" which will take you all over the Downtown area

 

 

You listed so many great hotels, but unfortunately, none seem to offer shuttle from Long Beach airport.

 

It seems nearly impossible to find a hotel that offers shuttle service from long beach airport and to Long Beach cruise port.

 

I did come across a couple that do offer shuttle to/from both places, but they are not on your suggested list.

 

Since you seem very knowledgable of the area, do you have an opinion on Hotel Current and Holiday Inn downtown (next to St. Mary's?). There is also a Best Western that has a shuttle to both locations.

 

Any advise or suggestions will be very much appreciated.

We cruised Star Princess last year with my daughter (who was one year old at the time). This year we are going to do Carnival Miracle (we have cruised Carnival before, but that was pre-child). I am hoping Carnival will be more fun for my daughter. I recall it being way more geared towards families/kids than Princess. In our experience with Princess, there were hardly any children and not really any kid-friendly activities outside of the kids program (which she wasn't old enough for at the time).

 

Some of the kid-friendly aspects of Carnival include Seuss at Sea, an arcade, and towel animals. The Seuss at Sea program is suppose to include a Seuss-a-palooza Parade, Seuss-a-palooza Story Time, and a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, all of which I think my daughter will love. Also she loves pressing buttons on the machines at arcades (I don't even have to put any money in)!

 

Either way, I would try to spring for a room with a balcony if you can. The extra space is invaluable with a little one, and provides a nice, safe outdoor play area.

 

As others have mentioned, kids must be potty trained for the Princess kids program (not a requirement for Carnival).

 

With Princess, you have to get a mini suite if you want a bathtub. Carnival you have a to get a suite to a bathtub. My husband didn't want to spring for a suite, so we will not have a bath tub and I am definitely not looking forward to that :(

I agree with you about balcony. We found the balcony to be a well worth added expense, especially with young children. On the rare occasion that one or both of our twins were over tired or having a melt down, it wasn't nearly as horrible being stuck in a cabin if we had a nice balcony to lounge on. Plus, That extra space and fresh air is definitely invaluable.

We were on the Miracle last fall with our 3 year old and had a great time! I too researched both Carnival and Princess at the time, and here are a couple of major differences than helped influence my decision:

 

1) Princess requires children to be at least 3 years old and fully potty trained to participate in the kids program (Princess Pelicans). Camp Carnival starts at age 2 and don't have to be toilet trained. (Our DD had just turned 3 but wasn't yet potty trained at the time of the cruise.)

 

2) Room/Bedding. On the Carnival Miracle, you can get an oceanview or balcony room where the 3rd bed is a sofa bed. On Princess, the oceanview and balcony rooms are smaller and don't have a sofa. The 3rd bed would be an upper bunk. I don't know about you, but there is no way I would put my 3 year old in an upper bunk to sleep at night.

 

NOTE: You can get a sofa bed on Princess if you spring for a mini suite, but they cost $$$.

I totally agree with you, about the room size and layout. My 8 year olds have cruised since they were 2, and have been on 9 cruises (8 carnival and 1 princess).

The rooms are layed out much better on carnival and are slightly larger. As for the kids club... I would say they are equal. My kids LOVE camp carnival...in fact we have to drag them out. Princess was our most recent cruise, and the kids said they definitely want to go again. So....as for kids club, it's a toss up. As for room/cabin, carnival is our choice...hands down.

I could go on and on about pros and cons of each, but will stick to OP concerns.

My kids are older now but here are some things we did:

 

I Spy in restaurant

I Spy books

Tic Tac Toe

Crayons/color book/maze books/notebook....my DS started drawing his own mazes in a notebook around the age of 3/4. I never saw anything like it and I could only ever find one way out.

Hang Man (Start with easy 3-4 letter ones for those learning to spell and read).

Your ideas are great; I've used most, and will implement the others. Our twins have cruised yearly (sometimes 2 per year) since age two, and have just turned 8. Our next cruise is in November, out of Long Beach.

My kids absolutely LOVE the kids club, but we have them dine with us at dinner....except one formal night (so we get an "adult only" fancy night.)

You will be served by two groups of people during your Las Caletas excursion: the crew on the excursion boat and the land based staff at Las Caletas itself. There will be a couple individuals at the Las Caletas dock holding tip buckets as you depart the excursion site and there will be a boat crew member with a tip bucket back in the port when you get back. Both groups hope that you are very happy (or drunk or both) and want to show your appreciation for the service they rendered during the day.

 

A tip isn't expected but it is hoped for. We, after a dozen or so trips to Las Caletas over 15 years, generally tip based on how much we actually interact with the staff. The staff knows that cruise ship passengers typically arrive with their beach towels, cruise cards and little else. We see very few people tip but those that do leave $5 or $10 USD (50-150 pesos). The USD is the highest I have ever seen it (1 USD = 16+ pesos) and just a few USD's is a lot of tip.

 

Enjoy!

Thank you for the helpful information. We're looking forward to our cruise in November, and can't wait to see Las Caletas.😊

Ignorant question, I'm sure....but, should we be prepared to tip at Las Caletas and I'd so, what is customary?

If the child is ok with staying at Camp, I see nothing wrong with the parent making the decision to leave them there. If you as a parent don't feel you are allowed to do things without your child, then great, take them with you. As long as the child is happy, cared for, and not out of control, parent the way you feel is best for your family.

 

We take some cruises without our children even :eek:. lol.

 

Have a great cruise! :D

Well said!

We have 8 yr old twins that have been on 9 of the 12 cruises we've been on. Their first cruise was at age 2, and they love camp carnival. When they were toddlers, we'd only leave them for a couple hours at a time. We always ask our kids if they want to go with mom and dad, or go to camp carnival...95% of the time they say CC. In fact, we eventually have to almost force them to come with us to spend family time. There are some ports and some excursions that I feel it's best/safest to keep them on the ship (camp carnival), when we get off.

Our first cruise was 04/2001 for our honeymoon. We were on the Grand Princess, and went to Eastern Caribbean. It definitely hooked us. We've been on 11 cruises since our first, and have another booked for 11/14/15. We would cruise more often, if our schedules permitted it. 😊

Thank you so much for your comments. We are looking forward to our cruise, and think our children will have a fun/safe time.

We will be cruising to Mexico in November 2015, and thinking about the Las Caletas beach hideaway excursion. Does anyone know if this is a safe port (Puerto Vallarta)and excursion to take our 8 year old children.

There have been ports that we've left them on the ship, if it's questionsble safety.

I've pretty much been cruising on that other cruise line, and seriously considering an upcoming cruise on Carnival. So I am poking around the Carnival boards and came upon this thread. Interestingly enough, I could have taken the hundreds of dress code threads from the RCI section and pasted them here since all of the arguments are all exactly the same.

 

Although I have yet to sail on a Carnival ship, I'll give you my two cents on this. The cruise line provides a dress code. Everyone knows about the dress code. If someone is going to eat in a venue that has a dress code, then that person should follow the dress code. It's that simple.

 

No, it's not the law, a Federal statute, or any other such nonsense. It is there to set a certain standard. If they do away with the dress code, then by all means, dress however you want.

 

Also, Just because a person does not usually dress this way at home does not give them the right to do things their way (even if it is 114 degrees in the shade). Just because you are go to exclusive $500/meal restaurants in NYC, Paris, and Hong Kong where you dress in a polo shirt and shorts also does not give you the right (each establishment has their own set of standards). Just because your waiter says you can wear whatever you want is not reason either - they don't care if you wear a monkey suit, as long as you eat there and they can earn their tips.

 

No, breaking the dress code will not cause harm (physical or mental) to anyone on board, will not cause the ship to sink, and will not cause the captain to call in the National Guard. You should follow the dress code because it is the right thing to do and it will show respect for your fellow passengers.

 

Getting "dressed" - even minimally following the dress code with a long pair of slacks and a dress shirt will not cause physical or mental health to those that wear it, nor will it cause an end to life as you know it, nor will it burn like acid when it touches your body, cause your skin to turn green, nor shut off all circulation to your feet and hands.

 

Soon enough Carnival will go the route of other cruiselines and have sit-down dining options for both "dressy" and "casual," and these long threads that have wasted untold hours of people's time (reading and writing) will be a thing of the past that we can all look back on and laugh.

 

When I go on this cruise, I, along with my family, will be dressed up for the one formal night dinner. Depending on what I do afterwards will depend on whether I will keep on the suit or not - but during dinner, in the dining room, I will be wearing it.

 

Now that I have seen this thread (I only looked through the first page, then the last two pages), my research into the dress code is for the most part complete. So if you would like to respond, please do, but I might not be back here to read it.

 

Hopefully this post put a smile, a smirk, or a grin on someone's face,

 

May all your days be cruising,

 

Travel R

Well said!!

Freeport and Ensenada. These are ports that we'd stay on the ship and enjoy the empty pool area while others are off the ship.

So sorry, but I treat formal nights like a funeral. I dress up, a suit, a sign of respect for the deceased. I know many people show up in shorts and a wife beater t-shirt, but not me.

 

On Carnival, many dress in shorts for formal night, but I believe you should show respect and dress. So a tux is my attire for the evening, and that means all evening.

 

Does it bother me when someone shows up for a funeral dressed as above, Yes! Does it affect my reverence at the funeral? YES. For others it may not, but when the shorts on the pall bearers hang to show a plumbers crack, I think think it is disrespectful.

 

On a cruise I know people dress as they like, and I know so many people think a dress code should not matter. But I guarantee you, when you take your children (under 14, boys especially) and a buxom woman sits next to you in a string bikini, they will all complain.

 

So it is all about where do you draw the line? You cannot realistically say there should be NO DRESS CODE, you just have to reach that happy medium where most will agree, which is actually impossible.

 

Read these boards and you will see many people concerned with having nude cruises. NOBODY wants a nude couple at AT ANY TIME on their cruise, so please agree, some standard is necessary.

I agree with you about people that show up in shorts or gym wear on formal night. I have seen this, and although it probably shouldn't bother me...it does! I find it to be disrespectful and classless. Maybe I'm old fashioned..or maybe I was just raised differently. To me, there is appropriate attire/behavior for every environment. This is just my opinion, and we all have one...I'm sure. 😊

We've been on 9 Carnival cruises, and going again in November. My husband always wears a suit (no tux) on elegant/formal night and I always wear a long evening dress/gown. On casual nights, I usually wear nice sun dresses or dressy pants with nice blouse; husband wears khakis and polo or nice button down shirt (no jacket.)

You will see a real mix of attire; it's really split....those that like to dress up a little and even those that look as if they just left the gym.