Mike & Tracy’s Excellent Adventure: B2B2B2B on Destiny, Imagination, Valor, Freedom

[Buffettfan 225]

I think the phone lines at Carnival just got busy and they are wondering why everyone is all of a sudden booking this cruise.

 

It will be called the Mike and Tracy fan club cruise :D

 

 

I think the phone lines at Carnival just got busy and they are wondering why everyone is all of a sudden booking this cruise.

 

It will be called the Mike and Tracy fan club cruise :D

Love the name of the cruise--first all the romanace,beautiful family-(all of them with great friends) and now a cruise I am missing J.K. ;) Guess we can look forward to another great review.

In cartoons they send a St.Bernard to rescue in the Mountains--just send me the mounty Mike. -

[basill1970f]

We're leaving a week from today on the Freedom. Can't wait to see the review for the rest of your trip!

 

Well Hi Tami, this is such an awesome review he is writing, I cant wait to see the Freedom portion as well. Gosh your cruise is coming so fast. I have 21 days till mine.

[MikeyA53]

Carnival Freedom

 

Sunday Sept 5th : Embarkation

 

We rewarded Oka for her excellent service. Then it was breakfast on the upper level of Rosie’s. No rush to get off the ship.

 

We left the ship at approximately 9:30 a.m. We gathered our luggage and Rick, Nathalie and Nick went through customs first followed by our group and Nanny and Grampy were immediately behind us. Once you clear customs, you have to exit and cannot re-enter the building. We were all going to share a shuttle (SAS Shuttle Services) and Rick asked me if he could call them now and I answered "Go ahead, Peter and Rosemary were right behind us, at the custom counter".

 

Well, they did not come out, 5 minutes (what is taking them so long), 10 minutes (getting worried) the shuttle has arrived, our luggage is loaded and still no Peter and Rosemary. 15 minutes has gone by and Rick goes to security, shows his Mountie badge (advantage sometimes) and we find out that there was a problem with Rosemary’s fingerprints. We didn’t know that British citizens are fingerprinted. At this time the shuttle is driving around the block because of parking regulations.

 

Finally after 30 minutes, they appeared. They could not obtain Rosemary’s fingerprints because she has problems with eczema. Poor Rosemary, she was bit upset for a while but then we all had a good laugh.

 

Thank goodness for SAS who drove around the block for 20 minutes. This is the second time we have used them, they are prompt, courteous and their fares are excellent. It was a 30 minute drive to the Fort Lauderdale Airport where we dropped of Rick and family. We said our goodbyes and it was another 5 minute drive to Port Everglade. Fare $13 per person when 4 or more, $15 otherwise.

 

Once at the port, we tipped the porter and proceeded through security. I still had that bottle of rum from the first cruise and one large bottle of wine in a collapsable cooler. This time I didn’t bother to tell security and just put it through the xray machine. On the other side I picked it up and no one said anything. Peter’s large bottle of wine also went through without a problem, yet Arielle’s water bottle was confiscated.

 

It was now 11:40, about 40 minutes later than I had planned on being in line for our sail & sign cards. Boarding had started and after they had gone through zone 1 to 10 they stopped giving zone placards and you just proceeded directly to the ship, after you had received your sail & sign card.

 

After the second photo I was told photographs are not allowed. :confused:

 

 

Getting busy

 

 

Mitchel whistling on his way to the ship

 

 

 

[maabell4]

Thank you maabell4, you have been following my review since the very beginning and I appreaciate all your beautiful comments.

it's my novela.

[spacewoman]

Mikey, Thank YOU, for sharing your very excellent adventure. I've been reading your review for a couple of weeks and its very cool how you take time to "thank the thankers" for their kind words and compliments - to which I just have to say "ditto." The folks who should be thanking you are the guys at the Carnival Guest relations department - there is no question that your review will generatre more revenue for them.

 

DW and I have been kicking around the notion of a renwal for our 20th anniversay in 2014. I think you closed the deal. Are you sure you're not stealth marketers for Carnival? You have so many of us green with envy it made me think of this movie - http://www.movieweb.com/movie/the-joneses/trailer

 

Thanks again, we're anxious to hear which of the four ships was your favorite.

 

Do it you won't regret it. We did it on board the Miracle in 2008

 

Kathy

[spacewoman]

What a fabulous review! Thank you for taking the time to share all this with us and especially sharing your proposal and vow renewal. We were tossing around the idea of renewing our vows on board the Miracel in February...you just made the decision easier.

 

You have a very beautiful family and your wife is so lucky to have such a loving and caring husband. Kuddos to you! Especially for supporting her decision on her new career and going away from you and the kids for such a long time.

 

Wish I would have found the review when you first started it. Read it all over the past few days. Didn't want to stop! Beautiful pictures too. I think you should print in all out, review and pictures. Make a fabulous scrap book with it and present it to your honey as a surpise gift....now, do you have time to do all that too? LOL ;)

 

Again, thank you for doing this for all us cruise lovers.

 

 

We renewed our vows on Miracle in 2008 for our 25th. You won't regret it.

 

Kathy

Edited October 10, 2010 by spacewoman

[MikeyA53]

Mike & Tracy

Thank you for the wonderful review and letting us CC enjoy it. The only bad thing is that you only have 1 cruise left to go through and then what are we all supposed to do??? :D

 

Everytime I logon to the computer the first thing I do is come to CC to see if you have added anything. I think many of us are going to feel like our favorite TV show ended and we won't know what to do.

 

Again, thank you and congrats on the renewal.

 

Thank you, I don't know what I'm going to do either, it's been fun. I now know that writing a review is a great way to get over post-cruise depression. :D

[djmaine]

Mike did you ever answer the question about sea legs and being on a ship for so long. sorry I didn't go back and look.

[MikeyA53]

Are they following along on CC also Mike? They have become quite the stars.

 

Thank you again for this touching review.

 

 

No, they haven't been following it. Their computer is down but Peter is bringing one home from work tomorrow, so they can follow it together.

[MikeyA53]

Thank you SO very much for this wonderful review!! I check on it several times a day.

 

I'm not sure what we all do once it's over!

 

 

Thank you Princesskiki

[spacewoman]

Not trying to steal thread from Mike but this will give him a few second break of posting as we all anxiously await the Freedom review.

 

Anyone considering renewing their vows -- please do it you won't regret it, REALLY.

 

How Mike planned it out as a big surprise was simply fantastic!!!

 

Unless the price has changed it's $285. You pay before you cruise. It includes up to 8 people and comes with two souvenir champagne flutes and a cake. You also get a framed document of your vows which is signed by the Captain and your witnesses. The cake, by the way, is made how you like it. They drop a note in your cabin telling you when to meet the wedding coordinator. You then meet with her and the captain. They will then give you some time options and you're all set (one couple wanted to renew on their actual anniversary which they were able to do) You can have your ceremony videotaped, the cost is $199. I set up our camcorder in the corner of the chapel and recorded the ceremony as well but there is nothing like that professional camera taking pictures.

 

For our ceremony it was the 2 of us, my mom, his sister, our travel agent and her significant other. We did the ceremony, had cocktails at the atrium bar followed by dinner at Nick and Nora's (Miracle's supper club). We asked that they bring our cake to the restaurant for dessert. We asked our servers to also offer a piece of this cake to other guests who were dining there that evening.

 

Just as other posters have said some of us got engaged in unconventional ways - no down on the knee off in some romantic setting, etc. We got married on a shoestring budget, we lost our reception hall a week before we got married and had to have it in a FOE hall; the hotel we chose to honeymoon in at Lake George was, for lack of better words, a roach coach motel with an oil slick for a beach; they upgraded after my husband's pleading to a small cabin that was infested with bees. After 3 days we said we're out of here and went to my grandparent's cabin on Wanaksink Lake and my parents joined us that weekend. In the scheme of things it all worked out well as my Dad died 6 months later.

 

So--life is short, just do it!!!!

 

Kathy

Edited October 10, 2010 by spacewoman

[MikeyA53]

I am recommending this thread to my friend who is contemplating getting married on our cruise next year. Absolutely FABU pics, reviews. Perfect.

 

 

Thank you, Carnival wedding are usually held in a large lounge. Actually when we first boarded Valor, a wedding was in progress and they had the Eagles lounge and the Paris Hot lounge set up. Much bigger deal than a renewal of vows.

[MikeyA53]

This has been such a special review, and as much as I look forward to your review of the Dream, I dread it because it means the beginning of the end of this wonderful voyage! The way you entwined your wonderful love story with the visual enjoyment you all had while visiting the many ports of your journey made me (and most everyone else)enjoy your review so much!

 

Thank you for inviting us to become part of your beautiful journey!

Charlene

 

 

Thank you Charlene, for the very nice comment.

[MikeyA53]

Not trying to steal thread from Mike but this will give him a few second break of posting as we all anxiously await the Freedom review.

 

Anyone considering renewing their vows -- please do it you won't regret it, REALLY.

 

How Mike planned it out as a big surprise was simply fantastic!!!

 

Unless the price has changed it's $285. You pay before you cruise. It includes up to 8 people and comes with two souvenir champagne flutes and a cake. You also get a framed document of your vows which is signed by the Captain and your witnesses. The cake, by the way, is made how you like it. They drop a note in your cabin telling you when to meet the wedding coordinator. You then meet with her and the captain. They will then give you some time options and you're all set (one couple wanted to renew on their actual anniversary which they were able to do) You can have your ceremony videotaped, the cost is $199. I set up our camcorder in the corner of the chapel and recorded the ceremony as well but there is nothing like that professional camera taking pictures.

 

For our ceremony it was the 2 of us, my mom, his sister, our travel agent and her significant other. We did the ceremony, had cocktails at the atrium bar followed by dinner at Nick and Nora's (Miracle's supper club). We asked that they bring our cake to the restaurant for dessert. We asked our servers to also offer a piece of this cake to other guests who were dining there that evening.

 

Just as other posters have said some of us got engaged in unconventional ways - no down on the knee off in some romantic setting, etc. We got married on a shoestring budget, we lost our reception hall a week before we got married and had to have it in a FOE hall; the hotel we chose to honeymoon in at Lake George was, for lack of better words, a roach coach motel with an oil slick for a beach; they upgraded after my husband's pleading to a small cabin that was infested with bees. After 3 days we said we're out of here and went to my grandparent's cabin on Wanaksink Lake and my parents joined us that weekend. In the scheme of things it all worked out well as my Dad died 6 months later.

 

So--life is short, just do it!!!!

 

Kathy

 

Thank you for posting.Excellent info. I will make a couple of corrections. The price for the smaller package is $385. The larger package includes an open bar. You do not have to book before the cruise. It can be done on the cruise.

Edited October 10, 2010 by MikeyA53

[LovesCruising]

After 3 days we said we're out of here and went to my grandparent's cabin on Wanaksink Lake and my parents joined us that weekend. In the scheme of things it all worked out well as my Dad died 6 months later.

 

So--life is short, just do it!!!!

 

Kathy

 

Kathy, had to pipe in, sounds like you were ment to spend some time with your Dad. Miss mine terribly. Glad you got that.

[MikeyA53]

Thanks for all of the great pictures and the review. We are taking Valor next summer! Looking forward to your review on Freedom.

 

Thanks for all the work you have put into your review.

 

Addicted

 

 

Thank you, appreciate it.

[MikeyA53]

First I have to say that this has been a great ride and second I have to thank you for finally being the one who posts some real detail about their vow renewal. We are planning our 40th Anniversary vow renewal on the Spirit to Alaska next July and finding info and pictures is like pulling teeth. You really helped me a lot. We are taking the family and just can't wait. Paul always said he would never marry me a third time (we had two weddings . . . the original and then again when I turned Catholic), he said twice to the same woman was enough - very funny! But then breast cancer happened and he is so glad that I am still alive I could probably talk him into just about anything . . . thus the plan! Also just wanted to say, we also celebrate the day we met and fell in love, every year on our son's birthday . . . our oldest was born on the exact same day but 5 years later! Can't wait for more of your cruise tour!

 

 

Thank you and good luck on your nenewal. It's well worth it.

[Buffettfan 225]

How do you prove it is a renewal? I know passports and all, but that you are married?? Just wondering logistics.

The pricing posted is also confusing $285,$385..what if not interested in alcohol?

Edited October 11, 2010 by Buffettfan 225

[MikeyA53]

Ditto to that--she is beautiful as well as your handsomeness, and great family. I envy her arms though!

 

 

Thank you and Tracy loves that you noticed her arms, working out has it's benefits.

[Buffettfan 225]

Thank you and Tracy loves that you noticed her arms, working out has it's benefits.

Yes, not many women love their arms! Especially in photos,hers are buff!. Now if you can figure out where got that dress, or even what street or side of a street you were on in Key West.

 

Can you plan a renewal say for your own parents 50th anniversary as a surprise to both of them?? They often cruise with us, and thinking ahead here one year like you did.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Buffettfan 225

[MikeyA53]

Thanks Mike for the brilliant review of the Valor and all the Pics. We will be on it in 2 weeks time and are really looking forward to it!!!

 

Our friends are getting married on board so I will show them your Wedding Renewal Pics to give them an idea of what they have to look forward to for their own.

 

Thank you Jellytots

[MikeyA53]

I just came back on here last week and discovered your thread. Mike, you have done an excellent job writing about your cruise. And your pictures are not bad either. My husband and I will be cruising in 3 months and you have gotten us so excited and can't wait.

 

My husband is a retired Corrections Officer. As he used to say "you catch them, he keeps them!" Sometimes its not an easy job for either of you but at the same time it can be very rewarding.

 

My Grandparents were from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, moving to Boston in the early 1900's. I still have family there and also in Quebec but sad to say I have not been back in 30 years. I used to go there every year as a kid. Someday I plan on taking a road trip back.

 

Congratulations on your wedding vows. You have a special family. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Thank you cruisingstar, in my opinion his job is/was a lot tougher than mine.

[MikeyA53]

Looking forward to the Freedom review.....we cruised that ship in 07! Will bring back many memories!! Thanks for all the smiles I have since reading your reviews! :)

 

 

Thank you for following my review. Mike

[MikeyA53]

How do you prove it is a renewal? I know passports and all, but that you are married?? Just wondering logistics.

The pricing posted is also confusing $285,$385..what if not interested in alcohol?

 

 

 

If you have the same surname, no problem, otherwise bring your wedding certificate.

Check out: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/weddings/pdf/vowrenewal08-09.pdf?icid=CC_Weddings_52

[Buffettfan 225]

If you have the same surname, no problem, otherwise bring your wedding certificate.

 

Check out: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/weddings/pdf/vowrenewal08-09.pdf?icid=CC_Weddings_52

Perfect info and thanks for the link- will just make sure to plan a cruise where we have an at day at sea, and hopefully not the formal night.