ch27088

Aruba continued:

 

 

 

Stop at a really small church:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next to last stop was at the Lighthouse. I didn’t get a picture of the lighthouse, but managed to catch it in a photo at Arashi Beach. There was a herd of goats that roamed the field next to the lighthouse. Again, the animals intrigued my kids (pun intended).

 

 

 

 

Our final stop was Arashi Beach. The kids snorkeled some here, but we were really not in the right location to see anything. The water was a nice refreshing end to a hot, dusty, and fun day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…

Did you bring your own snorkel gear, or did you rent?

As soon as we boarded the Carnival Liberty in March, we were bombarded by people from the spa department. They told us to go to the Spa immediately to enter to win a $500.00 gift certificate for the Spa. So we went and entered. We were told we had to come back at 5:00pm for the draw. (have to be present to win). So there we are, ship is leaving Miami, and my GF and I are jammed pack in the "gym" portion waiting for this "draw" to take place. Must of been 300 people jammed in that space. All of a sudden, we get a lecture on services they offer, and then they do a draw for $50.00. They go on and on and tied up close to an hour drawing $50.00 every 10 min. I WON!!! Go to book our Spa package and use the "$50.00" certificate, and was told it was only good on regular priced spas! LMAO everything was on sale, and if you wanted to use it the spa packages started at $205.00. What a scam! What a way to force you to see what the Spa offers.

 

Don't waste your time with this "draw" as its bogus.

 

BTW we never did see a $500.00 winner.........:cool:

I did a spa treatment on one of my cruises and I will never do it again. I was bombarded with a sales pitch the whole time. I was never able to relax and enjoy the treatment. Don't get me wrong I love going to a spa and having a relaxing time, but never again on a cruise!

OK, so on to dinner. Now we have only done anytime dining on the Pride and loved it. Our table for 2 was always great and we only once had a wait but there was a bar right there where we just grabbed a drink. First off we had trouble getting to the dining room because you have to go to deck 5 and then all the way to the front of the ship to go to deck 3 to get into the Golden MDR. There's an entrence in the middle as well but they were only seating from the front. Whatever, we figured it out after the first day so no biggie. Now onto the seating situation. I've heard talk before we left of people complaining about sitting close to or with others during AT dining and it always confused me. Well first off we had a little wait along with 4 or 5 other couples and they just had us line up along the wall in a small area at the entrence. Eh, it was the only time we had to wait and it was only for a minute but I'd dread having to stand there longer than 5 minutes with no where to really go. So as we're walking to our 'table for 2' my heart drops to my stomach. We were in a row of 4 tables for 2 and I was sitting closer to the people to my left and right than I was my beautiful fiance. It just felt awkward. It's not that I don't like talking to people but we always looked forward to our own private table and a more intimate dining experience. It's also much harder to make a joke (usually inappropriate) with two others right there. I have to say I was completely turned off from this experience and ready to never go back to the MDR. We however did see a few couples sitting at random 2 person tables and made a note to give it one more shot for formal night but to be sure to ask for a more secluded table. Sorry for my rant but I thought it was worth noting for those who have only had one or the other experience.

 

Now time for some food porn!!!!!

 

The menu was basically the same as our last cruise with pretty much the same foods served on the same nights (including ribs on formal night :rolleyes:)

 

We both started tonight with the chicken tenders marinated with cucumber and lettuce. Now this has always been one of my favorite apps because the chicken was lightly breaded with a bit of seasoning. Not tonight. These were chicken fingers. The only difference I noticed in the MDR the entire cruise and my only minor complaint about any of the food.

 

 

For my entree I had the tender braised beef briscuit in gravy with whipped mashed potatoes

 

 

Cass had the sweet and sour shrimp

 

 

For dessert we both had the WMC (amazignly the only time we had it on the cruise).

 

Hi Chris - saw your review and thought I would stop by for a quick read. So far so good and I do appreciate all the info you are giving us. Regarding the Anytime Dining, I've heard nothing but bad reviews. Long waits, tables to close to others, waiters forgetting to come back with water or drinks. I would like to try it sometime, but with it still being pretty new, I think I'll wait another year or two. :(

From the sports bar we proceeded through the casino. It's hard to tell if this casino is that much bigger than the Pride's but it certainly never seemed full. There was almost always a spot at a table or a couple seats at the slots.

 

 

 

The illusive Vault machine. I don't know how many times we were about 1/16th of an inch away from winning the $500 and eye pad but it got pretty frustrating

 

 

Casino Bar

 

 

 

OK, that's all for now. Will hopefully be back on later tonight.

I sailed the Pride when it was out of California for the Mexican Riviera cruise, and the Casino was pretty small. Did they expand the casinos with the 2.0 upgrade?

Child, please!! Me? Up on the bar? Shaking what my momma gave me...? Hmmph. Actually, it does sound like fun...no, but my hubby would have KILLED me. Like seriously. I don't think he's a killer, but I don't push him, lol.

Between you and GAPearl, I'm at work trying hard not to laugh. Talk about the two perfect cruising partners...I'm quite a bit older than both of you girls, but I tell you what...I can hang!!!! I wanna party with you two.

So our plans for day two mostly consisted of a lot of rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation (or the three R's as CCer Calamity Jane would say). I woke up pretty early and although at first Hubby was acting like it was the first day of school and he wanted to sleep in, he suddenly remembered that we were ON VACATION and put it in first gear.

 

READY TO GET THE DAY STARTED!!

 

 

HUBBY: WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR BREAKFAST?

 

ME: I HAVE AN IDEA.

 

HUBBY: LEAD THE WAY.

 

BREAKFAST:

Okay...are you cruising next year???? If so, please cruise on the Carnival Sunshine (3/30) because it seems to me that you are just having so much fun. I would LOVE to be on the same ship with you and your hubby.

I’m sorry to have to say this and it goes against every principal in my body but our waiters were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One guy, whose shall remain nameless – NOT!! – ANTHONY FROM KINGSTON, JAMAICA!!!!! was really moody for the first few days. One minute he was smiling, the next he was frowning…I don’t know if he had gas or what. At any rate, his assistant, I Kopenga, (sp?) was AWESOME and very consistent. He mostly just took our orders and brought our dessert so we didn’t have a whole lot of experience with him but he was very friendly, had a pleasant disposition, and even remembered us when we dined at other restaurants on the ship. Anyway, back to Anthony. So we were this ______ close to asking the maitre d to reseat us but considering the fact that we may have had to become separated from our new BFF’s (and potentially forfeit free legal counsel for the rest of our natural lives) we decided to stick it out. Around the 3rd night, we decided to force Anthony to get over himself and after a few attempts at asking him about his family and where he was from, he magically became the best waiter of all-time of a sudden and we had stellar service from him the rest of the cruise. See, you really do get more flies with honey. I guess everybody is entitled to a bad day and maybe that was the case for him. But seriously, he really redeemed himself by night three and all was well after that. Let’s see, what’s next? Oh yes, the FOOD PORN. Sorry to get your hopes up but I really didn’t spend a lot of time taking pictures of food. I was too busy eating it. I will, however, attempt to describe to you what I thought was the best and the worst.

Here goes. On a scale of 1-10:

MDR: 8.5

Guy’s: 10

Cantina: 6

LIDO (Buffet): 7.5

Cucina del Capitano: 9

Pizza Place: 6.5

Bonsai Sushi: 0 (okay, I didn’t try any because I think its gross but this is my review so I can put whatever number I want so nanny nanny boo boo!!)

Red Frog Pub: 8

Fahrenheit 555: Missed it but heard it was very good.

Room Service: For what they had, I’ll give them a 6.5

Comedy Brunch: 9.5 Oh, wait, I do have a picture of the breakfast. Stand by…

 

Loved that you put Anthony's name on "blast". Good for you. I know that the staff/crew gets tired and takes a lot of crap from everyone, but they should at least attempt to be personable, right?

Okay I am discovering that writing this review is becoming addictive. I am supposed to be putting my daughter to sleep but now that I've figured out how to post the pictures (thanks Calamity Jane) I CAN'T STOP. So, if one of these posts has a whole bunch of letters or numbers in some wierd, unidentifiable order, its just my daughter's contribution to this review. At the moment she is sitting on my lap banging on the keys. Its just a matter of time before she clicks "enter" and posts some of her gibberish.

 

Here is a picture of Downtown Miami before we sailed.

 

Did you take the little human with you on your cruise????

You could have warned us that you were going to start with food porn. Caught me off guard and I haven't been the same sense!!! Looks great! :D

WOW, I want to try them all!!!! Can you bring them home with you please?

I'm wondering if they have these drinks on the other cruise lines as well. I'm going on the Carnival Sunshine in March 2014 and would love to try these.

Hi Chris...the review and photos are just stunning. Thank you so much for taking time away from your vacation to do the review. I love reading great reviews and yours and Gambees (along with several others) are just wonderful. I truly appreciate the time you put into it.

How did you like the food at Pier 66? I was reading the menu and the food actually looks pretty good.

Ready for more of your review Gambee!!

The Solarium is beautiful!

Gambee when I started reading reviews on Cruise Critic, yours was the first one I read about a month ago and I loved it. Thanks again for such wonderful details. Your reviews actually helps me in planning for my upcoming cruise in March of 2014.

Gambee - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your reviews. Everything is always so detailed and explained well so that we understand it all.

oh lord, what have i done?

 

so... i booked the conquest out of NOLA. feeling great until i searched hotels and now im so confused i kinda wish i had picked a different home port.

 

1. hotels are OUTRAGEOUS for the week we are going there

2. Im confused on the districts- which ones to stay at?

3. No idea how much parking is going to be in french quarter if we stay outside the district and decide to go explore.

 

i have searched the gulf home port section and can not find answers.

 

if anyone has suggestions: please, inform me.

 

thanks.

Not sure of the dates you are going to be in New Orleans, but we are scheduled to leave on March 30th of next year. We arrive in New Orleans a day earlier and got reservations at the La Quinta Hotel on Camp St. The average price is $166 per night (AARP rate). I believe we are close to the French Quarters district, but not sure. Since we get into New Orleans in the evening, I just wanted a clean, close place to the pier to rest our heads for the night. As far as researching, I just google the hotel address and find out what is close by. I think you should be fine, just research and even call the different hotels if you need to. To let you in on a little secret...I actually had three hotel reservations before I confirmed the one at the La Quinta, and this is the cheapest one. One hotel was almost $200 a night, but at the time that was the only thing available that came up. Continue to look and you will find something. Parking at the pier is $116 for the seven days. We are not driving as we originally planned, but will use taxis. We are coming in from Alabama via train, so no parking for us. Between the parking charges at the hotels and at the pier, it was worth us taking the train, and taxis instead. Good luck and ask questions. We are here to help.:)

I am trying to avoid the 20 hour round trip drive to/from Jacksonville. I can find good airfare from JAX to either BWI or DCA. But getting to JAX by air is too expensive for us. I will only fly a direct flight the day of sailing & the day before you have the hotel cost also.

 

So has anyone taken Amtrak? If so how was it?

This would be an 11.5 hour trip by train. I have no idea about being on a train for that long. I haven't been on Amtrak since the 1970's.

But we would be in a car for 10 hrs if we drove. The other bonus is we fly back. No long drive home! Cost would be $200pp round trip for 4 of us. Would you do it?

More and more people are taking the train to ports these days. DH and I will be taking the Amtrak from Birmingham to New Orleans next March for a cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. Now I know the duration is 7 hours, which is a lot, but understand that I am the only driver since DH is legally blind in one eye and cannot drive. One thing to remember is that we will NOT be checking our luggage. We each will have one carry-one and one large bag. Sometimes Amtrak will take your luggage off the train when stopping at small stations and then forget to place back on the train, thus resulting in lost luggage or delayed. We will take the luggage with us on board knowing that it is safe with us. I believe in being relaxed to and from my vacation so this will work out just fine for us. My problem is trying to find a hotel in the area. Would you believe the hotels are sold out a year in advance already! Good luck and let us know what you decide.

A while ago, on another thread, I posted a list of stateroom categories on each ship. I decided to update it to include the Sunshine. Assuming that everything is correct, can a moderator make this post sticky, since it can be useful for people new to Carnival. I didn't go into detail as to the location of each category, since that would vary for each class of ships. If there is interest in that, maybe someone can post that for each ship class. Note that not every ship necessarily has the entire range of letters.

 

1A: Upper / Lower - All Ships

 

NO: Night Owl - Destiny (Will become 4E when it becomes the Sunshine)

PT: Porthole - All except Spirit Class

 

2 - 3: Not used

 

4A - 4I: Inside - All Ships

4J: Interior with Picture Window (Obstructed) - Destiny / Sunshine, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor, Dream Class

4K Interior with French Doors or Picture Window (Obstructed) - French Doors on the Spirit Class, Picture Window on the Sunshine

4L - 4R: Not used

4S: Spa Inside - Splendor, Dream Class, Sunshine

 

5: No longer used - Now designated PT

 

6A - 6E: Oceanview - All ships

6F - 6I: Not used

6J: Scenic Oceanview - Valor, Sunshine

6K: Scenic Grand Oceanview - Valor, Sunshine

6L - 6M: Deluxe Oceanview - Dream Class

6N: Deluxe Oceanview for 5 passengers - Dream Class

6O - 6R: Not used

6S: Spa Oceanview (Obstructed) - Splendor, Dream Class

 

7A: Obstructed Balcony - Spirit Class

7B: Not used

7C: Cove Balcony - Dream Class

 

8A - 8G: Balcony - Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Spirit Class, Destiny / Sunshine, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor, Dream Class

8H - 8I: Not used

8J - 8K: Extended Balcony - Spirit Class

8L: Not used

8M - 8N: Aft View Extended Balcony - Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Destiny / Sunshine, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor, Dream Class

8O: Not used

8P: Spa Balcony - Splendor, Dream Class

8Q - 8R: Not used

8S - 8T: Spa Balcony - Splendor, Dream Class, Sunshine

 

9A: Preimum Balcony (Obstructed) - Spirit Class

9B: Premium Balcony - Destiny / Sunshine, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor

9C: Premium Vista Balcony - Destiny / Sunshine, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor, Dream Class

 

OB: Obstructed View Suite - Fantasy Class

JS: Junior Suite - Spirit Class, Triumph Class, Conquest Class, Splendor, Dream Class

OS: Ocean Suite - All Ships

SS: Spa Suite - Splendor, Dream Class, Sunshine

VS: Vista Suite - Spirit Class

GS: Grand Suite - All Ships

ES: Extended Balcony Grand Suite - Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination

PH: Owner's Suite - Fantasy Class except Elation and Paradise (Can't be booked directly)

CS: Captain's Suite - Valor, Liberty, Sunshine

I would like this to be a sticky as well. It's great information and I was looking for this especially for the Carnival Sunshine. Thank you.

I just love the room you have. Not sure if the Carnival Sunshine will have it, but it something that I am going to look into.

Our last look off the balcony before we went to breakfast and disembarked. Overall, we had a great time, but we really weren't wow'ed by the ship like I thought we would be. The tropical themes were nice and what we really liked was the bright colors throughout the ship (except the piano bar). We loved it being bright instead of drab like some of the other ships we've been on. Don't get me wrong, we liked the Dream, and we liked the Miracle, but it was refreshing to see the bright deco all around the Breeze.

 

We went to all the Playlist Production Shows, and The Hasbro Game shows and they are definitely different from some of the things we were used to. We're kind of boring since we don't gamble or drink, but we like to watch Bingo being played at times before shows.

 

The Playlist Production Shows were good on the Divas Night and the Brits Show, but sucked on the Latin Night. It was because they had two teams on board and one group was leaving at the end of the cruise and the other was in rehearsals to take over after the first group left. The first groups contract was up. The first group sung their songs to perfection, and were very good, whereas the new group coming on sung off key, and overall made a mess out of their show. We were glad to see the solid group do the Brits Night for the last show. A lot fo people walked out during the Latin Night performance. I will say here and now that Carnival came up with the Playlist Productions to save them money. They no longer have to pay a 7 or 8 piece orchestra to accompany the singers and dancers. They also don't have to pay for new shows to be developed. They can create any scenery on the giant TV screens for background props so that saves them money too. It is exciting and if their singers can sing, I'm sure they'll make a go of it. They did have a few props, but nothing too outlandish. Mostly stairs and things like that with no painting on them. I'm sure you'll enjoy them and I'll be interested in hearing what everyone thinks about them compared to 'Ticket To Ride', and the other Production Shows. Overall, even though I've never cruised with RCI or NCL, I will say they probably have Carnival beat up pretty good in the entertainment portion of the cruises. NCL has Blue Man Group, and RCI has Chicago, and Hairspray. Carnival is scaling up with the new big screen LCD screens as backdrops and for scenery, but scaling down in quality of talent.

 

The food was OK, but nothing to brag about. The lobster was lukewarm, and the Filet Mignon was fantastic. I had the flatiron steak one night and as usual, it was tough. I don't remember much more except that Mahi-Mahi was only on the menu one night. I used to get that any night the main course wasn't something I wanted. They had Mahi-Mahi one night only as an option. Of course the shrimp cocktail is back, and I'm grateful for that. The scrambled eggs is something you should never try. They were horrible. I bet GI's in the Army or any of the armed forces get better scrambled eggs than what was served. I bet prisoners in prison get better eggs. The only way to change it is to boycott the crappy eggs., and complain about it any time you can. Escargot was listed on the menu for one night, but it turned out they didn't serve any. I don't know if they were out of it or not.

 

The Service was fantastic with friendly, energetic, and a very willing to accommodate Steward that we had. Ours gave me a brand new Breeze hardbound commemorative book. At dinner each night the server from the bar came to our table and offered me a Diet Coke since he knew I had the Bubbles package. The bar staff at the other bars gave me equal treatment with all of the other customers. I never felt they were ignoring me because I had a Bubbles package.

 

I must congratulate our Captain and his officers for making it a point to get to and dock at every port of call. We had fantastic weather although a little cloudy and some brief rain showers a few times. We felt safe all the time. Got a little windy the first Sea day... but other than that I can't complain for December. The snorkeling water was very warm, and other than Antigua, we enjoyed it. We enjoyed the ports of call but Ginny said she'd like to just take tours of the islands next time, instead of snorkeling. She likes to snorkel but loves to tour the islands too.

 

My advice is that with Carnival's new pricing structure(s), take the time to look into other cruise lines for their pricing. It may surprise you. My opinion on the Breeze is that it's a nice new ship, but doesn't have a wow factor. I mostly cruise for the itinerary and price anyways, so if the ship doesn't blow me away, that's ok. I think those who haven't cruised on The Breeze but are waiting to do so will be surprised by many things that it offers. I think the new 2.0 upgrades are great. I loved eating lunch at the Blue Iguana Cantina and eating their burritos. I also liked the taste of the Guy's burgers, and the fries. I wish they would give you more fries with your burger though. I think I got 5 fries one time. You should also eat at the Italian Restaurant at least once during lunch since it's free at lunch for pasta dishes. I didn't try the 5th deck BBQ, so I can't comment on that one.

 

The kids will love the water park and the ropes courses, and they have great new Camps to go to. There is something for everyone. We really enjoyed The Singing Maitre D, Ken Byrne, and Ron Pass in the piano bar. We also watched quite a bit of karaoke. We also played and lost in many of the trivia contests but they were fun too. We don't really spend too much time baking in the sun since Ginny has had surgery for the mildest form of skin cancer. She uses a very high SPF of sunscreen when we do go outside.

 

I hope you all enjoyed my pictures the 2nd time around. I didn't mind posting them, and added quite a few, and made quite a few new comments. I didn't know how to make my review pictures bigger until recently, so I thought being larger pictures would definitely enhance your enjoyment. I know I'd rather see the pictures in the larger format. Thanks for looking at it again and for the newcomers who haven't seen my old review, this is, by far the best one. I say that because that's what I am being told. Good luck on all your future cruises and I can't wait to see your reviews too!

Your review was great and I enjoyed the photos. We are cruising on the Carnival Sunshine next March, which was the Destiny before. Maybe that would be something you and your wife would be interested in. I'm really excited but have to calm down because it's still a year out! Thanks again for your review and I look forward to reading your next one.

A girlfriend of mine was in high school with her class on a cruise (yes it was supervised, hmmm), and her and her friend was actually standing on the end of the pier watching their ship sail away. I don't know what the chaperon did, or told the ships officers, but the cruise ship turned around and got them. They had the worse chewing out from what I understand, but I would have also blamed the chaperon for allowing the ship to take off. I have fear of missing the ship, so that's why we mainly do the beach scene of shop. We are not really excursion people anyway.

We got up the next morning and went to church and then had breakfast at Versailles. Luckily we didn't get caught in any Miami Marathon traffic. We dropped our rental car off at Miami Airport and then took the Alamo shuttle to the Port. Yay!

 

 

Debarkation craziness!

 

 

Bryon had purchases FTTF and it was awesome. We checked in and were called a little after 11, maybe 11:15. Definitely worth the money.

 

 

 

Before the cruise Bryon and I watched

video around 0:45 the person in the video enters the cruise ship. (If I am not supposed to link YouTube videos I apologize) Bryon wanted to have his own "not on vacation...not on vacation...on vacation!" moment.

 

Love, love, love the video (not on vacation, on vacation), it was great!

We got a good rate at the Ritz Carlton in Coral Gables. It was still a little more than most of the other hotels but we thought that since it was our honeymoon, we may as well live it up. Here is a pic of our room. Quite a contrast from the night before!

 

 

We then decided to get a late lunch in Little Havana and then we took a spin down South Beach. And we got to see a Carnival ship leaving!

 

 

Just curious if this looks familiar to anyone...

 

 

We had dinner at a El Carajo International Tapas and Wine. It's crazy because it is a fancy restaurant in the back of a gas station. You wouldn't even know it was there. We were definitely the least dressed people there. The food was delicious. Unfortunately I did not get any photos.

 

And lastly, the geek in me got excited at seeing the Southern End of Interstate 95.

 

 

Up next: Boarding!

Enjoying your review. Congrats on your wedding, and it looks like you really had a wonderful time by your pictures. Great job, keep 'em coming.

What does subscribed mean? I see people posting this? Let me know what and how you are subscribing to, how to do it? I've really enjoyed reading Gapearl's reviews, looking at her pictures etc. We are going to be on the Valor June 30th, this will be our third cruise with this itinerary. First time on carnival valor, 2 previous cruises were on the Victory. You tell the best story, post the neatest pictures. You truly have a gift for this, maybe you should be a travel writer? We are staying at the Marriott Stellaris on Condado beach. We are arriving on Thursday so we can spend a couple days in San Juan before the cruise. I've taken notes from your review, can't wait to try some of these restaurants/bars/gasolina etc! haha You sure know how to have a good time! Your thorough reviews and posts must take you forever. I have no idea how to post a picture on here. I'm lucky to hit the reply buttons! Keep it up, most enjoyable.

Thank you for asking the question regarding "subscribe". I have no clue either and saw others mentioning it. GApearls reviews are awesome. I've laughed so much that I've almost gotten myself in trouble reading them at the job. :)