SewMuch

Nothing more versatile than a little black dress. Dress it up, dress it down, wear it "as is" - you can easily have a week's worth of looks from the one dress.

Personally I'm not a fan of the little black dress. You're just one in a sea of other little black dresses. Any solid color, even red, can be changed by accessories and you won't look like everyone else.

The obvious one is "The _____ Family Conquers the Conquest"

As far as tops go, you can where a casual top in the evening and it won't get sweated up. Then you can wear it with shorts the next day. That way it can serve double duty. Takes a little planning and forethought.

Your take on YTD is interesting. There is another CC review from someone currently on Sunshine who says the set-up is so horrible she'll never go on Sunshine again. From looking at the deck plans it seems perfectly logical to check in on deck 5 and wait there, to avoid a logjam in the deck 3 hallway.

Base price will be buffet only. MDR access will be an add-on premium.

My suggestion: Go on YouTube and type in NCL Gem. Watch tours of the ship, made by happy, excited people having a great time. That will get you excited about your cruise again! Any time scary thoughts try to sneak into your head, replay those videos.

I trust the room stewards but my fellow cruisers, not so much. On deck be wise with your kindles, phones, cameras and such. Petty thieves go on vacation too!

To Gal Fitness19, Happy Valentine's Day to the two of you!

My self-restraint at the buffet

Thanks for the info! Where is smoking allowed inside on Sunshine besides the casino? I know on the Splendor it was in the Jazz Club...

According to info I've seen the casino is the only inside smoking area on Sunshine. And for cigar smokers there is no inside area at all.

I usually bring 6 or 7 swimwear with me. They take up hardly any room you can stuff them in a shoe and decide on the cruise what you feel like wearing ☺

If you can stuff 7 swimsuits in a shoe, you either wear very tiny suits or wear very large shoes!

Yes, time was where you could just hop on a plane and "catch up" with the ship in the next port. Of course, you must have a passport to do this, in most cases, and the first port might be a foreign port.

 

But, the Immigration procedures that a ship undergoes for a closed loop cruise is different than the procedures that the ship must go through for a "foreign itinerary" cruise.

 

Basically, there's more paperwork/time involved in the foreign itinerary cruise. Now most cruise lines will not allow passengers to catch up with the ship if they miss the embarkation port. Because, if even only one passenger changes the cruise from a closed loop to a foreign itinerary cruise, the whole ship must be processed as a foreign itinerary cruise.

 

Also the PVSA may come into play. If the first port is still a US port, the passenger cannot board there and debark at the original embarkation/debarkation port (a different US port) because a foreign-flagged ship cannot transport passengers from one US port to a different US port without a stop in a DISTANT foreign port. Often, on a closed loop cruise, there are no distant foreign ports.

But what if you have purchased air fare through Carnival's Fly2Fun program? According to their website if you miss embarkation due to flight delays "We will make the necessary flight, hotel and ground transportation to get you to the next port of call on time at no expense to you."

Where ladies keep their room card, in no particular order:

Pocket

Husband's pocket

Lanyard

Bra

Purse

Other type of bag

Your handbag sounds just fine

Thank you

If I use up my 12 pack and want to buy another on board, where do I get it from?

I noticed a lot of people mentioned insulated mugs. Instead of packing one we buy one in the ship's gift shop early in the cruise. That way it doubles as a souvenir.

You can bring your own but the waiter must put it in the water and you'll be charged a $25 Dunking Fee.

They're hiding all the tea in the same closet as the night-time chocolates.

 

"Awww hey, could you pass me an apple. Look at all that bacon. Your d!ck is out"

This made me laugh so hard I couldn't even read it out loud to my husband - had to make him read it himself!

forceten - Have Customer Service punch a hole in your card, then attach it to your lanyard clip. Unclips easily to hand over for drinks.

White queen - Some older ships have room safes that lock by sliding a magnetic strip card, like a credit card or even a library card. Newer safes lock by punching in a 4 number code of your choice.

I suggest trying out different flavors at home, before you cruise. I know someone said they liked the skinny girl margarita flavor but I got a bottle for my birthday and I thought it was so bad I actually poured it down the drain. ( I know, alcohol abuse!)

So plan a fun evening of taste testing!

Thanks for the heads-up! We called our PVP (Carnival) and our cabin price went down $30 pp. That's not much but we were also able to get the $50 OBC under the current sale. So, total saving $110. That's enough to cover our pre-cruise hotel cost.

I maintain you can't make a crowded, noisy banquet hall feel "special" simply by changing your outfit.

Actually, I can.

Breakfast in the MDR I'm wearing shorts. Evening I'm wearing a dress, husband is looking good. Same room but feels entirely different to me. I guess I'm easily pleased.

I must say I'm confused. I went to the Carnival website and there was no penthouse listed for the Fascination. Just Junior Suite, Grand Suite, and Grand Suite extended balcony.

Unpacking my bags and putting things in drawers, instead of living out of the suitcase. Means I'm going to be here awhile!

But it's a dinner in a banquet hall, not a fine dining restaurant -- regardless of the quality of the food or the cruise line. You're not at a plush enclave surrounded by lovely music and intimate dining companions, you're in a large, open room surrounded by many hundreds of strangers, surrounded by the clatter of piles of cutlery and the echos of hundreds of conversations, some of which are just 3 feet away. There's nothing "fine" or "special" about any MDR that I've seen. ;)

The size of the venue has nothing to do with it. Many formal receptions or galas are held in large banquet halls. Even the quality of the food has nothing to do with it. If an evening has been designated formal, then its formal.