jetsfan

Thank you so much for your quick and kind reply. We need to get out of town and saw a great price for the January 16th sailing. We are easy going, know things can go wrong sometimes, but will have fun no matter what. Anything else we should know? Have been on 20 something cruises but not since Covid.. We are vaccinated, boosted and understand the risks. We can engage as much as we want or have space. I do have one more question. We stayed in the Haven before and had dinner in our cabin even though they had a restaurant. Can we have dinner delivered to our cabin on the Gem? Thanks again!

Hi I have a question. As there is no true restaurant in the Haven where can you eat if you do not want to go to buffet ? Is there a place to get a drink in the Haven sundeck area?  Thanks so much!

Having a passport now for every traveler is expensive, but I believe crucial for the crazy things that can and do happen on vacation. Real ID (which will be mandatory) and Global Entry (which is great) are another aspect of our changing world. 
 

Things will change again in 2021 when ETIAS is required by US citizens to travel to the Schengen area. 

Loved your review! Cruising the Jade on 9/22.  

In all my years of cruising I have never seen that. Yikes. Not cool at all.

We saw it in Chicago. It was great. I would see it again in a heartbeat. Quick witted, sharp and current in a weird way, but still telling the story of the wives.

 I am so sorry to hear about these cruises for all these people. The compensation might be fair,  but the planning, time off, long travel times, and the excitement of going away is so tough. All who cruise have heard of this happening, but with all the ships on the seas, you never believe it could be your vacation. 

We are sailing Sunrise too. Nothing in my email yet. We are Platinum and are a little over an hour away from the pier. I will check in the morning. 

Tomorrow!

Speaking of edible straws. You will all think I am crazy, but I bring individually wrapped Twizzlers (Costco or Amazon).  I bite off the two ends, put in drink. They are pretty tasty with a lot of the frozen fruity drinks.  I made some friends in the Epic Haven last year. I have to do my part. 😄

Excellent review and information. I have found a great person through ToursbyLocals for Santorini. Thank you! We went to the Hilltop towns last year when we were on the Epic, just beautiful! 

I agree with your discussion on cost. It comes down to planning, paying what you can ahead of time, and realizing it is a BIG trip and one that is going to be that forever memory.  I am reading Mediterranean reviews like a maniac. 

We like to vacation 4 to 5 times a year. The price of Carnival allows us to do that. We don't care for rope courses, racetracks or shows. We can take the train and see a Broadway play any day of the year. We are Platinum, and although the perks are minimal, they serve our purpose.  The laundry perk is the best.

We did try NCL and like it a lot. I think their shows are better. The comedy shows on Carnival are outstanding. We have cruised Princess but it was a little to quiet for our taste. We don't do pools, as they gross us out. Sitting by the pool is annoying so that area is a non issue. We will find a shaded spot on a top deck to read, people watch, and enjoy the beautiful view. 

I think the staff on Carnival are the best, but have not ever had anyone on any ship be less than helpful. We truly are easy to please. We don't look for things to be wrong. We don't care about chipped tiles, a worn rug, or a foggy window.

We do enjoy dressing up, but we can do that no matter what line we are on.  To each their own. Anytime dining on all lines is a great thing.

We have not cruised RCL yet, but have a 5 day extended family cruise to Bermuda in 2020. I am looking forward to that.

We are cruising on the 22nd of September loving your review.

6 Glorious days! Epic here we come!!

Hi, I see from prior posts that Bags to go will pick up from hotel/Airbnb and get them to the airport, and from airport to cruise port. Will they take your bags from airport and drop off at your hotel, so you can start touring once you depart from BCN? Are their drop off points at all terminals or just certain ones? I did look on their site. I just want to be clear before we go this route. What a great thing for travelers who have limited time on vacation.

We have been meaning to get a card that we use only for vacation. New card is in the works. Thanks!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to answer. I appreciate it. Sorry, let me explain, as my original post was very poor. We have cruised many times, so we know USD is on ships. The better question would have been, when going out to dinner is it best to pay in local currency or dollars? We have been to Europe and have used ATM's with great ease. My DH and I disagree about this one point. If I happen to pay the bill while shopping/dining I say local. If he pays, then he says USD. We are indeed headed to the Med and there will be shopping!:D I don't want it to be about who is right, okay maybe a little;p, but I do want us to do the best financial thing. I love this board and it has helped me so much over the years. When my kids were younger they would say to me, "mom did you learn about this on CC"? Kids watch everything.

Just a quick question. Thanks for the help. Which currency is better when paying for services? We were at dinner tonight and opinions were all over the place. We are cruising on the Epic September 30th, in the Haven for our 30th Anniversary. We have planned for this for a long time, just want to get it right.

We are flying Norwegian, EWR to Barcelona at the end September for our Epic cruise. All good experiences in the past!

Thank you!

We are staying at the Casa Camper in September. I thought it looked cool/funky too. Any tips or thoughts you could share? Thanks very much.

I can't wait for your review. The cross body bag is excellent!

My husband and I are on the September 30th sailing as well! I agree, planning early is a smart idea and so much fun.

We did a 3 day stop in Dubrovnik not with a cruise. Your pictures are bringing me back. Their was such heartache in that country, but now things are coming around. I know the tourist numbers are certainly high, but it is good for the country to be on their feet again. We loved our apartment, the food, and heading to Split and Zagreb was beautiful as well. I would go on a cruise there. One thing that sticks with me are the factories a long the river that were bombed. Your pictures are beautiful.

Hi would you suggest renting carts ahead of time or once we get there. Two couples, no kids. Leaving on our cruise February 12th. Thanks!