OpalGem

My family and I are booked on the Dream departing from New Orleans on Sunday with ports of call in Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. Our kids will be out of school on fall break, so we rolled the dice with booking during hurricane season.

 

Of course, six days before our departure, a tropical disturbance is forming in the Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center is "predicting" a track right across our cruise path for late next week.

 

Does anyone have any experience with how the cruise line handles a hurricane threat? I can only imagine how much lost revenue a cruise would suffer from drink sales alone if they got anywhere near a major storm. I can envision a "worst case scenario" where Carnival might just write off Belize and Roatan and we hit Progreso, Cozumel and Key West instead.

 

Thoughts?

Don't worry about it. Carnival takes good care of their guest! My family and I were out during Hurricane Katrina. We were kept abreast of the storm by the Captain. At one point we were 80 miles from the eye of the storm. We were-routed to Ft. Lauderdale and transportation was handled by Carnival and we arrived home safe.

Focus on having a wonderful Carnival Cruise!

Great to know. I really hated lugging my suitcase of water onboard. Then always leaving some on board.

Just reading the review of Mike & Tracy. My GD and I will be taking our first solo cruise together. Leaving the rest of the Family at home.

Hope to have fun as you and your GD since you have taken more cruises together!

I always bring my own box of Stevia in the Raw (green packet) which no one seems to have on land and at sea :eek:

Yes, I bring a bag along of the raw Stevia also. I carry it daily normally anyway. DH likes the pink sweet & low. The ships will sometimes carry the colors but will have a different name brand. Rather just carry what I know I will use and enjoy!

On the one hand, I like to get a bargain, but on the other, I'd like to treat myself to something special. Do you think the extra money will be worth it for just a 5-nighter, or save the splurge for something else?

 

We are "Platinum" on Carnival and they introduced us to cruising. However, after three trips on Celebrity --- it is the way to go for me!!!

Service, ships and locations wins hands down for me on Celebrity.

It is a matter of priorities...same as people who seem to have fancy cars, or trucks to pull their boats, or any other "toy" that some people have. That is their priority, and they choose to spend (or borrow) their money that way.

 

In our case, I would tend to agree with your philosophy. We don't have children, we worked a heck of a lot during our working years (I averaged over 700 overtime hours a year), and we saved like crazy. We didn't have the "toys" mentioned above, nor did we take many expensive vacations then. We did make more money than you are currently. Now we are enjoying the benefits of our hard work and savings.

We don't have children at home and I am still working. DH retired last year! However, I don't have alot of new clothes, carry my lunch and save to the 401K. But I decided that 'cruising is my enjoyment.' So two to three times a year, I look for bargains and catch the great deals as they come. We look for adventure travelling togather with friends & family by taking the train; renting our van(s) or using other newer methods of travel besides airfare to get where we need to be to catch a ship. Life is short....have FUN!!!

For my son's wedding we did not use the ship's photographer. However, since it was formal night when the wedding was in the daytime, they were able to dress up again and have many photos made at the different locations. The guest also were able to take many pictures during the wedding/reception that they used many of those to put in their wedding album.

CJ

Chris,

I now have to get a trip in on Oasis of the Sea if I can breakaway from my new love Celebrity! Thanks for your pictures and the comparisons.

CJ

Chris,

Your review is awesome! I love Celebrity and hope you do also now.

If you could have your choice of cabin on the Summit (category and placement on ship), what would you choose??? Please include why....

 

Thanks to you all for your responses. We need all the help we can get. We'll be booking in the next day or so.

Celebrity Summit with the new upgrades is my favorite ship! I am looking to be on it again hopefully in December. Just trying to decide on the ports.

We had the Sky Suite mid-ship and enjoyed it tremendously. The location was great because we only had to walk up one flight to get our meals. However, the services were fantastic with the butler & crew! The closets and drawer spaces were very much appreciated. The room had more than enough storage space along with a large bathroom.

We ate in the Blu Restaurant each night except for once in the MDR. Food was the best.

Thank you! This is the reason I wrote the review. To let fellow cruisers know of all those little things. I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

 

Enjoy!

CUP,

Thanks for the wonderful review. It surely lighten up this winter dreary day in Tennessee. Loved the detail and all the little things that are invaluable to those of us whom love to cruise.

GREAT JOB!!!

CJ

Loving your review. The masks were fabulous. I also took many pictures of them while on the ship.

Mike,

Your review of the Miracle was fabulous. That is one of my favorite ships.

Can't wait to see some of your previous posts. Your pictures were truly

awesome.

Thanks for sharing.

CJ

Thanks for this information. Going back and forth between sites was a chore. This site and the team that shares all this information has been so helpful!

______________

CJ

David,

Simply FABULOUS review!!! Thanks so much for sharing. This is one of my dream trips. Your pictures made me want to go now. Appreciate all the pictures and the attention to details for those of us still trying to get it togather to go further than the little slice of the world that we have covered so far.

CJ;)