Doctorsbaby

DD (3) is scared to death of him but I don't think she has seen the life size towel animals yet. Freddy wasn't on our March cruise on the Imagination.

We stayed on the ship in Ensenada except to go grab lunch. It was so nice, plenty of chairs on Serenity and just overall quiet on the ship.

 

We've done the cruise to Cozumel and Progresso before. In Progresso, unless you want to see Mayan ruins (& sit on a bus for 2-4 hours of the day) there is really nothing else to do. We got off the ship, walked into the town a bit and decided to get right back in the ship. The town was not a nice place to visit IMO.

 

 

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We actually sailed both the Pride and the Splendor from Long Beach. While it might not have been an experiment, it was a pretty big commitment on Carnival's part to put the New Splendor in Long Beach strictly because she had to sail around South America to get there (and back). Until the widened canal is finished, I doubt you will see them put anything larger than a Spirit class ship on the west coast.

 

I happen to think that Carnival could expand their sailings from the west coast both northbound and southbound. We will see.

 

 

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I would love to see Carnival expand their west coast sailing! We live in Vegas so Long Beach is driving distance and would be able to cruise more often if we didn't have airfare for 3 to buy. Right now, I'm not interested in going back to Ensenada, last time we only got off the ship for lunch.

 

 

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We were on the Imagination in March, I'm not sure what changes (if any) have been made since then but here goes...

 

I loved the beef lasagna, it was a tad but salty but overall my favorite entree.

 

I sent back my "from the grill" steak because holy overcooked! I ordered medium rare and got medium well to well. I could have (barely) handled that, just so I didn't hold up anyone else's dinner but it was so bland I couldn't eat it.

 

The Nutella something (don't remember) on the dessert menu was not good. I was really disappointed in it because I adore Nutella. Creme Brûlée was only ok, nothing amazing but not bad either.

 

The only appetizer I tried was the spring rolls and I didn't care for them but DH loved them.

 

Not sure if they will be available for you, but on the "port of call" section in Ensenada they had steak tacos & chicken tortilla soup that were both pretty yummy.

 

 

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We had a balcony guarantee on the Pride and loved it. Midship, full view and it was significantly cheaper than picking our own room. It was my first cruise so I didn't care where we ended up anyway and the price difference allowed us to get a balcony instead of an OV.

 

 

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I'm so sad the Valor doesn't have a Guys but the overall itinerary was more important :(

 

 

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My preference would be to stay in the suite. We have taken DD (3yo) on 3 cruises and she can open the hall door no problem. Also, with the suite you get VIP boarding, which normally has much shorter lines. I like not trying to keep DD occupied in a long security line & then happy in another line.

 

*i realize that the lines are different at each port...

 

 

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[quote name='LilMissScareAll']In St Thomas, we just walked over to the tram for Paradise Point. I think you can buy the ticket through Carnival for $20 and just walk over and take as much times as you want. We spent about 2 hours walking around enjoying the view.

In Barbados, we went Catamaran w/ turtles. Its was a whole lot of fun. Catamaran took us to a spot to go snorkeling. They threw food in the water to attract the turtles so they were swimming all around us. After, they took us to a beach to swim. For whatever reason, they couldn't beach the catamaran. I think they brought it pretty close to shore, like maybe knee/waist deep water. I ended up sunbathing on the netting of the boat. Then they took us on the sailing part of the excursion and we sailed along the coast. I think it was well worth the $75pp. The rum (MT Gay Rum) was [I]flowing[/I] after the snorkeling part. They also had Banks beer, a Barbados brew. It was pretty good, we bought a 6pack to take home with us on the way back to the ship.
[url]http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/413068[/url][/QUOTE]


Thanks for the link, I will check it out!


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[quote name='mousey']My DH and DS did the America's Cup sailing excursion through Carnival. You have to work hard, but they loved it. You also have to love sailing to enjoy it.



We didn't do these things through Carnival but if Carnival has tours that take you snorkeling in Barbados and St. Lucia...do those. We loved snorkeling on those two islands. We saw so much beautiful underwater creatures and scenery! Also, if they offer excursions into the rain forest...that was an awesome thing to do also. In San Juan the DH and DS went on...I believe it may have been through Carnival...but not sure...kayak tour to the bioluminescent bay. They said it was one of the best excursions they've ever been on. I wasn't able to go with them there or on the sailing excursion because I had a back injury at the time. It is my hope to go back to these places and do them with the DH and DS sometime in the future.



Also, join in on your ship's Roll Call, and you'll find all kinds of info there as to what your fellow cruisers are going to be doing.



Whatever excursions you decide on, I hope your family as an amazing cruise!:D[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the suggestions! The roll call is dead, only me and one other person so far but I'm hoping it will pickup as the date gets closer.

We love cruising and is our preferred family vacation right now. I'm looking forward to this cruise because I've never been to any if the ports & its been years since DH went to any. It's just such an awesome itinerary!


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Thanks everyone! I will put these on my list for more research! Looking at the full list from Carnival for each port can be a little overwhelming.


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To the best of my knowledge, the steakhouse does not have a child's menu. Maybe you could ask someone at Carnival's Guest Services (1-800-764-7422) if you could just ask for an extra plate in the steakhouse and share a portion of your meal with your daughter without having to pay for a full meal that she wouldn't eat.

I will give them a call and ask. I thought I would ask here as it came to mind from all the steakhouse questions I've seen today.

 

She normally doesn't order off a child's menu as she is used to eating what we do and chicken fingers, mac/cheese and stuff doesn't really interest her.

My favorite has been the Pride, in the Spirit class. However, it was the first cruise DH took me on so I could have a little bit of bias there. It was a little bigger than Fantasy class but no so big that it felt overwhelming.

I would like to make a reservation for the Steakhouse on our first night on the Valor but we will have our daughter (will be 4) with us as on prior cruises, Camp Carnival did not open until late evening on the first day. She will not order her own entree since she eats very little in the evening. Will we have to pay the full $35 for her?

I will apologize in advance as I am only interested in excursions offered through Carnival. I know many of you book excursions separately (& much cheaper) but that will not work for us on this cruise. Our daughter will stay in Camp Carnival and I have too much anxiety about something going wrong if we are not on a ship sponsored excursion and us missing the ship.

We are going to be on the Valor for the 8/31 sailing and I would like to know your favorite excursions for the ports. We love snorkeling, laying on the beach and just generally exploring. DH loves taking pictures

San Juan, Puerto Rico
St. Thomas, USVI
Barbados
St. Lucia, WI
St Kitts, WI
St. Maarten, NA

I'm so glad you asked this. I was about to post the (almost) the same question. We only need one more night to hit gold and are booked on a 7 day.

 

 

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Also, my experience with the night owls program on our Feb 2014 cruise is that you pay the $6.75/hour for the full time 10 pm - 3am regardless if the child is there for only an hour. :(

 

 

I've only had to pay for longer than she was there if we signed up for one of the Night Owl parties and it was made clear to me that I was going to have to pay for the full time. On the party nights, you can tell them you don't want your child to go to the party. Otherwise, we've only paid for her time actually there, rounded to the hour I believe.

 

 

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We took DD a week after she turned 2 & they were awesome with her. They had a different activity scheduled every 30 minutes, stuff from coloring to Legos to playdoh to dance parties. She had just potty trained and did not have a single accident while in camp, they were so great with her.

 

We just took her on her 3rd cruise (she's 3.5) and the first thing out of her mouth when we told her was "I get to go to kids camp!!!"

 

 

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We have the couch made up as a bed and requested extra pillows to put on the floor from our steward in case she rolled off. But my DD has slept in a regular bed since 18 months. We've done this for 3 cruises no problem.

 

 

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Yeah, it is way more expensive than other times but, if we go, that week works the best for us. It sound so fun from what everyone has posted though!


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Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it :)


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The first cruise DH took me on had a balcony and I've never had anything else. Unfortunately, on the older ships, that means a suite, preferably a GS as the Jr suite balconies are not for me on those ships.

The last 3 cruises, our now 3.5yo was with us and that means more time in the room for naps & early bedtime. I love to sit out on the quiet balcony while she sleeps & listen to the water :)


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Thank you! Christmas sounds fun but New Years sounds awesome!


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We are looking at the Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan on the Valor in December this year. I'm looking for opinions on whether it would be better to go over the week of Christmas or New Years?

We haven't taken a cruise near the holidays so I'm not sure if they do anything different - better meal, celebrations, etc. - or if it's just a normal day.

My barely 3yo loved going to tea time with mommy. She was so excited and it was adorable!

We always ask the steward to put it back to a couch during the day. If DD needs a nap, she can sleep on our bed as I would rather have the seating area.

 

 

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