VISTA / FIRST LIVE / FIRST SOLO - Nov. 1-8, 2019

[bnbeyer]

1 hour ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Where is this beach club located in Cozumel? Walking distance or is a taxi needed?

We took a taxi for $18 for the four of us. It was about a 5 or 10 minute drive. Taxi back was cheaper, $11, but we tipped to $20 both ways.

 

[dianecruising]

how much do you need to spend in the casino to be able to get into a slot tournament?  I usually only spend about 400-500 dollars so I guess I'm not considered a big spender!!

[bnbeyer]

45 minutes ago, dianecruising said:

how much do you need to spend in the casino to be able to get into a slot tournament?  I usually only spend about 400-500 dollars so I guess I'm not considered a big spender!!

It’s hard to say. If you enter one of the preliminary rounds, you can get in without being a big money loser. 😎

[picomullet]

Which dining room is the your time dining? Back or forward?  Thanks for your review!  I'd like to know how to get casino offers too..

[devinc]

On 11/8/2019 at 5:17 PM, picomullet said:

Which dining room is the your time dining? Back or forward?  Thanks for your review!  I'd like to know how to get casino offers too..

 

The aft one.

[bnbeyer]

On 11/8/2019 at 5:17 PM, picomullet said:

Which dining room is the your time dining? Back or forward?  Thanks for your review!  I'd like to know how to get casino offers too..

 

Yes, the aft one. It is available on the 3rd and 4th floors.

 

[bnbeyer]

Pics for the previous post...

 

 

[bnbeyer]

I'm home now and needing some sleep, but I have lots more to share with you tomorrow about the last sea day and my debarkation.  Stay tuned!

 

[bnbeyer]

On 11/7/2019 at 9:05 PM, #55worktoplay said:

Has the casino been packed?  I have similar offers and wondered if these event cruises are good or not. 
 

It sounds like you are having a great time

 

I wanted to add to my other reply to your question.  The casino was crowded, but that made the crowds at the pools and other events smaller.  There were 625 people in the tournament, which was very large. It seemed like everyone on the ship was either in the tournament or with a person in the tournament. The other offers for Premier or Ultra casino cruises probably aren't as big as that.  

[bnbeyer]

They took down my post again even though I removed the bad words!  I'll try a third time to modify it to acceptable.  This post goes with the pictures a few posts ago.  (CC mod - I'm trying!)

 

-----------

 

When we got back to the cruise port in Cozumel, I was tired and wanted to pick up my magnets and small gifts for my 17 year old son and husband. My ship friends wanted to go to a pharmacy and liquor store. One of them speaks Spanish, so he asked where to go for best deals, and the taxi driver took them a few miles away the cruise port after dropping me off. I got some coral for my son to go with the other shells (what he asked for) and I got a shirt for my husband that I think he’ll like.   When I got back on the ship, I was exhausted. I enjoyed watching the pier runners from my balcony, especially the lady who pretended to miss the ship. We had others show up after her and then nobody after 5. (They were supposed to be on board by 4:30.) but just before they untied the ropes I did here a man yell, “Oh no way! You’re not leaving without us!”  Oh yes we did!  (I removed any colorful language he used.) The casino sent cookies to my room, which was handy since I was so busy snorkeling and never got around to eating. They also gave me a $200 spa credit, so I scheduled a manicure and hair cut for our last sea day.   By 6pm I was completely wiped out. Not enough sleep and a 3 hour snorkeling workout will do that to this old lady. I really wasn’t feeling good. But I love the main dining room food!  I went up to the YTD room and told them how I was tired and didn’t feel good, but that I really like the MDR food, and would they let me order some dinner to go? They were so kind. They sat me down at a table to wait for 5 minutes while they got my to-go order ready. I ordered comfort food and didn’t take pictures: Caesar salad, veal Parmesan with spaghetti, and strawberry ice cream.    When it was ready I was expecting to carry it to my room, but one of the waiters went above and beyond and carried it down to my room for me. That is just awesome! I know they don’t have to do that. That’s what room service and all the other to-go food places are for.    i really, really like Carnival better than Royal Caribbean.    After eating, I watched a free movie in my room and then went to bed. I got up at 7am for my spa appointment at 8.

[bnbeyer]

So my last day was a sea day.  I had my spa appointment at 8am for my manicure and at 9am for my haircut.  They did a fantastic job! I'm much happier with my nails than I was after the manicure on my cruise in June.  And the hair stylist was more thorough and careful in cutting away damaged hair than I've seen in many, many years.  Maybe I need to go on a cruise every time I need a haircut!  

 

After that I headed down to try a spiked shake.  I had the raspberry chocolate truffle shake with whipped cream.  It had a chocolate liquor in it.  It was very tasty!

 

I spent most of the afternoon wandering around the ship saying goodbye. I also played in the casino and proceeded to lose all of the money I had won.  I was an idiot!  I packed my suitcase in the afternoon, though I noticed that we didn't have to have our bags out in the hallway as early on this cruise as on the Fascination in June.  It said to put them out no later than 11pm.  I also wrote a thank-you note for my steward and put in a tip and some fun-size candy bars. I told him I left him something on my shelf in my room when I left on debarkation day.  

 

I met the guys for dinner at the MDR, and it was escargot appetizer night. We were all looking forward to that. I guess our waiters knew that too, because they brought us 2 servings each!  The others also ordered flat bread and mussels, while I ordered the onion soup.  The escargot was good - not chewy at all, though I wasn't a huge fan of the cheese on it.  But the onion soup was fantastic!  It rivaled the mushroom soup from my first night for my favorite.  I ordered the prime rib for dinner and strawberry ice cream.  The prime rib was also very, very good.  I'm very impressed with the MDR food on Carnival.  That was one of the things I really was disappointed in on my Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska in 2016 - the MDR food was never very good.

 

[bnbeyer]

After dinner we met up at the casino for a little while, and then I wanted to be sure to get to the Alchemy bar before I left.  I'm ashamed to admit that I still hadn't made my way over there yet!  I had one more drink left on my drink package, so I asked the bartender to make me something with raspberries but not too sweet.  It was very delicious and just a little tart!  

 

 

[bnbeyer]

In the morning it was time to leave.  I was instructed to be at the Reflections dining room at 8:45 for debarkation with my airport transfer.  It was a challenge getting over there though since they had a lot of the stairways closed, and I wanted to avoid the elevator madness.  I made it just in time though.  Debarkation was pretty orderly as far as I could tell, but when I found my bag and placed my carry on bag on top of it, it kept tipping over.  It turned out that the wheels on two sides were damaged!  It looked like it was thrown at some point and landed on one of the corners badly.  I reported it, and a Carnival lady filled out a form. I'm supposed to call Monday to discuss it - they will replace the bag.  In the meantime I was challenged to make sure it got home without holes causing my stuff to fall out!  I think I'll get a soft-side suitcase next time.

 

When I got to the airport, I was going to be flying American, but they didn't have any duct or packing tape.  The Delta guys did, though, and he taped up my bag pretty well.  It made it home without anything getting lost.  The flights were uneventful, and I was glad to get home to see my dogs and family.

 

I look back at my list of things I wanted to try, and I got to a lot of them, but not nearly as many as I hoped.  However, there really isn't anything I would change.  This was every bit as much fun for me as my cruise in June, and I will remember it as one of my favorite vacations.  I take it back - there are two things I would change. I wouldn't have gambled away my winnings!  And I would have gone to the Thriller dance class.  I wanted to do that, but it conflicted with my tournament time.  If I had noticed sooner, they might have been able to reschedule me, but by the time I saw the conflict, they couldn't. 

 

As for packing, I don't think I'll bother with the chair again. The beach blanket was fine.  I used almost all my clothes and other stuff I packed, so I don't think I would change much there either.  

 

My next cruise is a casino ultra cruise with my sister in April on the Breeze, and then I have a casino premier cruise with my husband in September for our 20 year anniversary. That one is on the Fantasy and goes to the Panama Canal.  I have another bounce back offer, but I can only take so much vacation time!  

 

I hope you enjoyed following along.  If you have any questions, let me know.  I probably don't know the answers, but I'll try!

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by bnbeyer

[Saint Greg]

4 hours ago, bnbeyer said:

 

Hopefully you packed duct tape.

[bnbeyer]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

Hopefully you packed duct tape.

 

Nope!  I relied on the kindness of strangers. ☺

[jcgld62]

I have that identical luggage and the same thing happened to mine but it was when I retrieved it from baggage claim after the flight home. It was the first trip I had used the luggage so I sent a picture to the manufacturer and they sent me a new one.

[DryCreek]

What brand was that?  It looks like it took quite the pounding!

We just bought a new Delsey set to replace a hodgepodge of various older pieces.  I hope that they are durable enough to withstand the rigors of baggage handling.  We've never owned any of the newer style "hardside" luggage. 

[EBONI325]

On 11/1/2019 at 10:00 AM, bnbeyer said:

I'm all ready to go. Time to do some work before I head out, but I wanted to show you my nails. I do my own nails once per week to keep them from breaking and splitting. I like how this color and glitter topcoat turned out. 😎  The ring is pink sapphires which my husband gave me for my birthday. It was a "my wife almost died so I better give her something special" gift. ❤️

 

 

Love the nails, what is the name of the glitter top coat?

[EBONI325]

EXCELLENT REVIEW!!! THANKS FOR TAKING ME ALONG, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A SOLO BUT HAVEN'T HAD THE NERVE AS YET.

[bnbeyer]

19 hours ago, EBONI325 said:

Love the nails, what is the name of the glitter top coat?

It's Sally Hansen.  I've liked all of their products.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KE4ELUM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

[E@syPe@zy]

Was it an Uber that you took to the port for embarkation?  Also did you stay the night before close to the airport or close to the port?  I was wondering what the cost of an uber would be from the airport to the port.

Thanks so much for your review!  It looks like you had a blast!  I do love how you can strike up conversations with people on a cruise and it seems so easy to make new friends.

I know exactly what you mean about having a tragedy in your life and realizing a how new appreciation for everything that you do have, mostly life itself!  Good for you for turning a bad experience into a positive one!!

[mommio]

A great read and I'm glad you had such fun!

[bnbeyer]

19 hours ago, E@syPe@zy said:

Was it an Uber that you took to the port for embarkation?  Also did you stay the night before close to the airport or close to the port?  I was wondering what the cost of an uber would be from the airport to the port.

Thanks so much for your review!  It looks like you had a blast!  I do love how you can strike up conversations with people on a cruise and it seems so easy to make new friends.

I know exactly what you mean about having a tragedy in your life and realizing a how new appreciation for everything that you do have, mostly life itself!  Good for you for turning a bad experience into a positive one!!

 

I took an Uber from the airport to a town about halfway to the cruise port where I stayed in a bad Days Inn. That was $30.  Then I took an Uber to the cruise port the next morning, which he charged me more than he should have because I paid cash.  If I were doing it again, I would just stay at a hotel at the cruise port, even those those hotels were more expensive.

 

Thanks for your kind words!

 

[bnbeyer]

On 11/11/2019 at 7:24 PM, DryCreek said:

What brand was that?  It looks like it took quite the pounding!

We just bought a new Delsey set to replace a hodgepodge of various older pieces.  I hope that they are durable enough to withstand the rigors of baggage handling.  We've never owned any of the newer style "hardside" luggage. 

 

I looked it up on Target since I had to send in information to Carnival to get reimbursed.  It was this one.

https://www.target.com/p/skyline-28-hardside-spinner-check-in-suitcase-purple/-/A-52840961

 

I'm buying a carry-on size soft side to replace it.  More money, but I'll make good use of it.

[cruizergal70]

5 minutes ago, bnbeyer said:

 

I took an Uber from the airport to a town about halfway to the cruise port where I stayed in a bad Days Inn. That was $30.  Then I took an Uber to the cruise port the next morning, which he charged me more than he should have because I paid cash.  If I were doing it again, I would just stay at a hotel at the cruise port, even those those hotels were more expensive.

 

Thanks for your kind words!

 

How do you pay Uber with cash since the app already has payment info? If you wanted to pay with cash, why didn't you get a regular taxi?