seannyice81

This would be good to know! I'm booked in one! Have they done this before?

Here is the next part of the extended stay in Florida, Disney's Epcot!

http://seanstravelblog.com/2016/02/17/an-extended-stay-in-florida-epcot/

Enjoy!

Senor Frogs better than Sabor?! Thats a bold opinion or an off-day for Sabor.

Actually it sounds like an off-week you had for your cruise. I don't blame you for selecting a different ship for your next cruise.

YEAH for not having to pay the phone bill!!!!

 

Sounds like a nice relaxing way to spend debark too.

 

Cant wait for Epcot day. Love Disney... yet Key West is fun!

I've already started work on the Epcot post. Hopefully I won't be too busy tomorrow. :cool:

May I ask what you do to edit your photos? Your photos are fantastic and i was very surprised to read you do not use a tripod. The low light interior photos are amazing. Do you shoot in raw and enhance?

 

Also, sorry you missed Labadee... that was my favorite stop on any cruise ship ever. Probably due to a confluence of several factors but really enjoyed that day.

Thanks! I always take photos in raw format with the D90 as it's exceptional at picking up details depending on the aperture setting. This gets me a lot of the night details, though there still would be more with a tripod. For editing I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop (PS used mostly for aligning photos that are a little crooked). These programs aren't as necessary with the D90, but really help with iPhone photos since the phones filters have a way of degrading photos.

I had a great time at Labadee in 2013. It was a bummer we missed it, but I can see myself back there again at some point. :cool:

Here is debarkation and how we began our extended stay in Florida.

http://seanstravelblog.com/2016/02/14/an-extended-stay-in-florida-day-1/

Enjoy!

Loved seeing the tour around the ship.. but aww man that phone bill! That never is a good ending to a cruise!

 

Cant wait to see how you guys spend the rest of the vacation.

That bill sure was definitely unexpected, to say the least!

Last time we went on a cruise, was 2010. I remember that we bought some whisky and cognac in duty free shop and brought with us in the cabin. On other islands we couldn't do it.

Is it the same now? can we bring it on board, or they will store it till the end of our cruise?

One more question. I know that I will be able to use my Verizon phone in San Juan. What other Islands? What about WiFI on a ship?

Will appreciate any inputs!!!

You can bring one regular (750ml) bottle of wine, per person, onboard at the beginning of the cruise. If you bring ANY liquor through security at any of the ports after the start of the cruise, you must have it taken and stored. You get it back early the morning of debarkation.

Verizon will work in Puerto Rico, but the coverage depends on your plan. You will need to contact them.

Wifi coverage on ships, depends on the ship with most now featuring faster internet. By "faster", I'm still talking about sea-based web which will still be slower than back home.

$700 for the phone calls to Jet Blue?:eek::eek:

Yes, that definitely would send chills down my spine!!!

Damn, hope someone was able to help you reduce that cost.

Yikes!!!

 

Great review, as always!

 

Thanks!!!!

Thank you!

Spoiler alert, we did have some help. More on that soon. I know some may be thinking it, and they'd be right to give me flak for not asking staff about the phone rate.

So you guys really did miss Labadee ... that stinks [emoji24]

We did. A real bummer, but we made the best of it.

Here is the last entry for my actual cruise. Post cruise coverage starts this week. There are some cool things there, making the best of a situation.

http://seanstravelblog.com/2016/02/08/the-suite-life-of-a-navigator-sea-daze/

Enjoy!

Loved your Grand Cayman day and Jamaica. Those shells on the turtle are just too pretty for words. Loved seeing your mom with the birds and "Shakira" smiling ear to ear! Awesome.

 

So do you save all your bottle caps? Great idea... man I need to go back to a few islands and do that too LMAO!

 

 

And man your review is so awesome people cant wait to read more lol. Cant wait to read more but take your time, enjoy LIFE!! :)

Thanks!

Yup! I saved my caps! Caybrew was too much effort not to keep them!

Really enjoying the review and glad you are taking your time and doing it right instead of just slapping something together. Great pics the turtle shell is really cool.

Thanks!

You mentioned that you got a new snorkel mask.....can you please tell me what kind it is and where you purchased it?

My mask is the new Tribord Easybreath. Its a full face design that works very good! Mom bought this for me for Christmas, but they're for sale on Amazon and similar sites.

People have their reasons for skipping ports and staying on board I suppose.

I've visited Falmouth twice now and had a good time during both. The first time was a short trip to Chukka Beach, which I'm not sure is still there. A couple weeks ago, we took a longer trip to Dolphin Cove near Ocho Rios. Dolphin Cove is a pretty decent place, but you will get nickel and dime'd. If you like Margaritavilles, the one there in port isn't terrible, but not nearly as good as Grand Turk.

At least it's not a sea day..?

I can't comment on that location specifically, but I had a really good experience with Budget at FLL airport. They put me in a nicer Camry with really low miles after I asked for an inexpensive upgrade.

If you haven't been to port everglades prior, it's really not far from the airport and if you need to take a taxi, it shouldn't cost much by any means.

Most rental offices don't offer shuttles, but perhaps if you're really nice to that closer location, they'll give you a ride there.

Here are a couple of photos from Jamaica that were overlooked for various reasons. Two from the D90 and one from the iPhone 6 (although a little zoomed). Quite a difference!

A little song and dance, the shark tank, and looking into Freedom of the Seas's mooring station.

More to come this weekend.

Thinking of booking Navigator for this coming May. We have not be on the ship since the re-model. I'm looking forward to getting the time to read your blog.

I'm sure you will like it very much. A great ship!

I did a search to learn which cameras you were using Sean. I had my answer. I don't know if it is the Nikon or not but the color saturation in your photos in Ocho Rios (and other places) is excellent! Very nice review! :D

Thank you!

DSLR cameras may be expensive, but they capture so much more detail!

Here is our time in Jamaica!

http://seanstravelblog.com/2016/02/05/the-suite-life-of-a-navigator-jamaica/

Enjoy!

Hi Sean,

Been on 2 Carnival cruises with you including the one last November. Just so happen I booked a cruise on the Navigator, which is my first RC cruise since 1997, and ran across this review by you on the same cruise ship. This review is greatly appreciated especially the parts about the ship since I go in April. Really thinking about upgrading to a suite now. Keep up the great work, I always enjoy your reviews. :D

How cool! Hows that for coincidence!

I really liked Navigator and have the feeling you will too! The upgrade to a suite can be pricey, but is well worth it! Note that the perks apply to Grand Suite and higher categories only.

Thanks!

Could you tell us if dinner in the main dining room was 530 and 800, or 600 and 830? Thanks!

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

5:30 and 8:00 :)

I'm loving your review. I've saved the link and just check at nights! It's amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to do such an in depth review of the Navigator.

I'm loving your review! I'll wait patiently for more.;)

Thank you!

More on the way, very shortly!

Enjoying your review Sean. Thanks. I noticed you said "you could have gone to the windjammer and just circled for seats".

As a suite guest you can get your food in the windjammer and go in to chops to eat or You can also order off a breakfast menu in chops.

This has been one of the best perks for suite guest that I like.

Did you notice if that perk is still available? You circling for seats made me ask as I do have an upcoming cruise on NOS in a GS.

Thanks

Thanks!

Yes, we actually did that a couple times, but not until later in the cruise. I honestly kept forgetting that we could. There is also the answer to your second question. Yes :cool:

I wasn't on Navigator, but Freedom has the same basic setup and it was 2 weeks ago. Giovanni's and Chops were open. I *THINK* Gio was D, D+, and JS and Chops was Pinnacle and full suites.

I can't speak on the other levels, but suites were definitely in Chops. I never thought to look in Giovanni's.

Love your reviews! And love how you treat your mom-shows a lot of character.

 

Starting to think the carnival forums are friendlier from some of the comments here. I understand their impatience but sheesh, give a guy a break. Life happens. And technology sucks. Just today, we had technological difficulties with the network at work and couldn't show our video. It happens.

 

Thank you for your review!

Thank you

Its all a balance of how I want to spend my time :). I try to have a life outside of work so Cruise Critic will always come later.

The Carnival forums can have their moments in different ways. It's not worth getting all bent out of shape online with people you can't see and may never meet.

I used several choice words like Gunky and they came up. going on Navigator Sunday 14 Feb. Thanks for the pics. BTW/We are in N Va and just shoveled out and pushed back all the snow. Rained an inch W of Leesburg today. Now we are farming mud.

I'm in Fairfax County, myself. :cool: Getting pretty tired of the clouds and rain, though I'll take these days that are in the 50s and 60s!

Enjoy your cruise on Navigator! Hmmm. Perhaps if I reimburse you, you could bring me back one of the blue mugs with the ship and specs on it? I forgot to pick one up. If not, no biggie! Have a good time!

Sorry for the delay.

Here is our time in Grand Cayman, making lemonade from lemons.

http://seanstravelblog.com/2016/02/03/the-suite-life-of-a-navigator-grand-cayman/

Enjoy!

You can just read his blog, which he's updating without all the comments from impatient readers. Very detailed information.

Thats right. I will always post the links here, but you can also subscribe to my blog and get notifications when I complete a post. :cool:

Sean, don't let the impatient get to you. I am enjoying your review and will be patient for more. Thanks

Thank you!

I can understand some want me to post more frequently as perhaps they are leaving soon on the ship. I will deliver what I can, when I can and majority should be complete by the end of the week with post-cruise coverage over the weekend.

Not to sound unappreciative, but as much as I am very interested in this review (taking the same cruise in 5 weeks) - I guess I don't have the patience to check in daily - only to see 20 posts asking for more, and reassurances from the OP that good things come to those who wait...

 

OP - thanks for your work so far - sounded like I would have liked the full review.

Thanks for your patience. Sorry for making you wait, as I like to contribute as much as I can, where I can. I came back to a busy workplace (which is a good thing).

I'm posting Grand Cayman tonight and hope you enjoy it.

Boy a lot of impatient people.

 

I too am anxiously awaiting the rest of your review but I am on here everyday and am sure it will be worth the wait.

 

This is the reason I don't do reviews. They take a lot of effort if you are going to do a good one. Once I am home from a cruise I am back to work and never find the time.

Thank you!

Finding the time isn't really easy and I've considered not sharing my experiences. However, I do have a fair amount others might be interested in, so why not. It just has to come, when I can make it. :)

Great review Sean. Take all the time you need. The reward is in the detail and quality of writing. Thanks!

Thank you! I'm making time in the evenings where I can! Grand Cayman will be posted very shortly!

This is why I only do mini reviews and I type it all out prior to posting.

 

I'm reminded of the Kaiser Chiefs song "Angry Mob"

I did mini-reviews prior to this as well, but I like taking and sharing photos as well. Woe is me, haha.

You've got an inpatient audience here. We are eagerly waiting for more. Please dont make us wait for too long!

My apologies to make you and others wait.

I do wish I could post more frequently. However, work is particularly busy this week. More cruise funds in my eyes.

Sean - thank you so much for taking your time and for sharing your experience with us. :)

Welcome!

Thank you for reading!