beachbum6264

Well, that was easy!

Please bring back the 'Original Poster' designation that was on the old board. It helps so much to be able to scan down the page and find the next post by the one who started the thread - very helpful when reading a review. 

Yes, please.

I've been on several ships more than once for the same itinerary. Legend for W. Caribbean, Elation for Cozumel and Progreso, and getting ready to do the Victory for the 2nd time, Key West and Coz.  We don't care if we've been there before, we just enjoy the ride.

 

He cracked open a conch shell, took out the moving conch, skinned it alive, scored it alive, squeezed lime and pepper sauce on it, and then cut it up and offered pieces for people to eat. No thank you.

You really should have tried the conch salad - one of the things I missed when we moved from Nassau to the states. Conch salad, conch fritters, cracked conch, conch chowder.... childhood memories!! Good stuff. I can get some here locally, but it's so much better fresh. Enjoying your review, even if we are taking the other itinerary - Key West and Cozumel.

OP is talking about the free drink coupon Gold can redeem on the last night, not the free drink for use in MDR for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

DH got one of those last month... he's gold, I'm platinum, it was a 5 day cruise.

I had one on my Sensation cruise 3 weeks ago.

We sailed on Victory last October for DH's birthday gift. We had a great time, so good that I booked the same cruise again this year for him/us, and this year friends are going with us. Only a few more weeks to go. I love reading reviews like this, I might have missed something the first time on board. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Call room service - they'll deliver it. But you might ask your doctor about using the ship water. Ours told us the filtration system on a ship was good enough for us to use the tap water instead of buying the distilled. We've been on several cruises (22? 23? I forget) and used tape water with no problems. One less thing to worry about/think about/deal with.

Try the Ports of Call boards here on CC - lots of info there. They are on the Boards home page, down toward the bottom. Have fun, that's my favorite itinerary.

They usually come around with a tray of drinks - wine, rum punch (AKA Funship Specials), beer... I usually ask for a glass of champagne, DH asks for something, sometimes a Screwdriver, sometimes a Bloody Mary. When they come we usually tip the waiter a couple of dollars, they always come back soon to check to see if we're ready for another. Last time they brought me 2 at a time after the first one.

Snacks on the last couple of cruises have been sushi, some kind of BBQ on a small roll, and something else I can't remember.

They have a couple of 'games' - how many candies in the jar, name the ship from pictures, things like that, and there's a video that shows all the ships, everyone claps for the ones they've been on. I've been to parties in the main show lounge and also in small club venues - last cruise there were less than 30 at the P/D party, smallest number I've seen.

On the 9/15 Sensation our cabin was ready when we boarded around noon (I'm Platinum), none of the others around ours had the envelopes out yet. There were very few D/P on board, only about 30 showed up for the D/P party, smallest turnout I've ever seen.

To save money and time looking for food are we allowed to bring a few snacks from ship (pizza slices, muffins, sandwiches etc..) during our excursions? Thanks.

There's usually a notice in the Fun Times that says something like "Local law prohibits food items to be carried off the ship" or something close to that. It's usually in a box labeled "Important" - and it seems that most people don't read it (or don't feel it includes them). There's also usually a rather large sign as you get off the ship. Sometimes there will be a dog outside the port exit - you don't want that dog to sit next to you. If it does they'll be searching your bags and taking the food out. You'll probably see the trash cans full of food.

If there's any question don't book. Once you've started on the excursion you're not going to get a refund if you KNOW you're over the weight limit or not fit enough to do whatever the excursion is. You take that chance, don't expect them to give you your money back, you knew going in.

We drive to the port and are not morning people, plus we want to stop in Naples for lunch on the way home, so we have breakfast in the MDR, so it's not as quick as the buffet. We're usually strolling off somewhere around 9:30 or so. It's only about 2.5 hours or so to home from Miami, FLL, or Tampa. Good placement!

I have gotten a hot stone massage a couple of times. I always tell them up front that I don't want to buy anything so I don't want a sales pitch at the end. If I get one I'll lower their tip for sure. So far I haven't had to tho. Massages have been good, not quite as good as the ones I get monthly but she has learned what I like and don't like. Yes, the ship's are much more expensive, but heck, I'm on a cruise.....

From the Carnival FAQs:

• Coolers: Small, personal-sized coolers no larger than 12” x 12” x 12” for the purpose of housing small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages and/or medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.
  

I have seen many confiscated coolers left behind at the security checkpoints over the past few years

I've booked Eastern and wound up going Western, booked Western and wound up with Eastern, had ports substituted because of damage - couldn't get to Costa Maya once and went somewhere else, same for Belize, had order of ports changed, and had a 7 day turned into a 9 day (Port of Tampa was closed). So there's a lot of possibilities.

If you both have ATD then it's easy, just go to the dining room together. If you both have the same set dining time you can either call Carnival with both booking numbers and have them linked, or wait until you board and see the Maitre D.

Photos are not showing up for me... anyone else?

Thanks, we'll be on the Sensation on Saturday. Looking forward to it - we like the smaller ships and don't need all the bells and whistles to have a great time. As long as they don't run out of rum and tequila we're good!

I have a beach bag I use here at home, but I don't take that on a cruise. I use our backpack as a carry-on for the ship and on the ship to take things to the pool, for a beach bag for port days when we go to the beach, and to carry things off the ship. One less thing I have to pack, my beach bag would take up a bit of room and I pack for a week in a small suitcase, so space is precious. The backpack gets a lot of use, and it's much easier to carry than a bag.

Here's the Family Board

Link

Have you checked the family board? Or the ports of call boards? Might get better response there.