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Whaletail taking on the biggest Whaletails of all B2B on Mardi Gras 8/21-28/21 And 8/28- 9/4

WhaleTailFlCruiser

By WhaleTailFlCruiser,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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WhaleTailFlCruiser "Live from...." Rare

WhaleTailFlCruiser

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CC Help Jenn
This post was recognized by CC Help Jenn!

"Thanks for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic"

WhaleTailFlCruiser was awarded the badge '"Live from...."'

I wasn't sure if or when I would start this with the testing requirement slightly putting a damper on my normal excitement for this cruising because of the stress of not knowing. Well Boys and Girls, I got tested today and Drumroll please, NEGATIVE.......

 

Time to get amped up finally going on a cruise after 18+ Months and Now I can't wait to get aboard. My live probably will be a bit Rumbly and I will be doing picture overload. 

 

I suppose I should say a bit about myself, Most of my Cruising experiences have been Carnival and continue to be Carnival but I have sailed Royal Twice and have two NCL Cruises booked and a MSC Cruise booked in October (Because $500 for a balcony seven day cruise is just absurd to pass up.) I tend to sail solo, Or with my girlfriend whenever she can get off which has only been a few times. I live north of Tampa Florida I am a Paramedic and I am a very avid Lightning, Bucs. Rays and Gators Fan having season tickets to the Gators. I am 31 but I still love carnival although I may age and move onto other lines it hasn't happened yet. 

 

Two Days, Fourteen hours and ten minutes to go though and I am pumped. 

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KmomChicago "Live from...." Rare

KmomChicago

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4 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Congrats on the negative test.  Fortune Teller Bar looks awesome if you happen to imbibe.

 

Looking forward to following along!

 

Fortune Teller and Alchemy attract a lot of attention. Brass Magnolia is steps away from Fortune Teller, has live music and is underutilized by comparison, so far. 

 

Exciting!

Edited by KmomChicago
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sunkey1

sunkey1

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1 hour ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

So I have looked at the forecast for the stops on my first leg and it is rain some more rain and a lot of rain

That's the risk of booking during hurricane season. On the plus side, you have a great big, beautiful ship and TONS of food options to keep you busy! 😜

 

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WhaleTailFlCruiser "Live from...." Rare

WhaleTailFlCruiser

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I am wondering if I will have access to my cabin on the turnaround day on the 28th? Space X is launching a Rocket about 330am so If I wake up early enough was gonna go watch that and then deal with all the other stuff but I might require a nap later in the day lol. 

 

Also I have my Trusty Gators Tumblr ready to go for the trip, On my New Years eve Cruise on the Legend I lost one of them :/. 

 

tAZxMdAbYSevJMWwYixyedt3THR81wiTliaUfxUe

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WhaleTailFlCruiser "Live from...." Rare

WhaleTailFlCruiser

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Packed for the most part took my dog over to my girlfriends place, Printed out all of my documents. Under twenty-four hours to go. 

 

its-the-final-5bf03d.jpg

 

Forgot to mention that I will be in a lowly interior for this B2B. lol Too much to do on this ship for me to splurge for something more whilst being solo. 

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SNJCruisers

SNJCruisers

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37 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Packed for the most part took my dog over to my girlfriends place, Printed out all of my documents. Under twenty-four hours to go. 

 

its-the-final-5bf03d.jpg

 

Forgot to mention that I will be in a lowly interior for this B2B. lol Too much to do on this ship for me to splurge for something more whilst being solo. 

Why is the GF not joining you since all it would cost are the taxes since you're paying a solo rate?

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TNcruising02

TNcruising02

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On 8/19/2021 at 11:11 AM, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

So I have looked at the forecast for the stops on my first leg and it is rain some more rain and a lot of rain


I've done the same thing for cruises and then the weather turned out to be great.  I have found that the ships tend to sail into good weather.  The port weather will be whatever it will be though.  I hope the weather changes for the better for your trip.  Forecasts often change.

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WhaleTailFlCruiser "Live from...." Rare

WhaleTailFlCruiser

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1 minute ago, SNJCruisers said:

Why is the GF not joining you since all it would cost are the taxes since you're paying a solo rate?

 

She is a Nurse and can't get off currently due to the Insane Covid Surge she tried but then her hospital said no because they are already short staffed. 

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TNcruising02

TNcruising02

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19 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

I am wondering if I will have access to my cabin on the turnaround day on the 28th? Space X is launching a Rocket about 330am so If I wake up early enough was gonna go watch that and then deal with all the other stuff but I might require a nap later in the day lol. 

 

Also I have my Trusty Gators Tumblr ready to go for the trip, On my New Years eve Cruise on the Legend I lost one of them :/. 

 

tAZxMdAbYSevJMWwYixyedt3THR81wiTliaUfxUe


We saw a launch on our first cruise out of Port Canaveral.  We weren't expecting it, so it was a nice surprise.  I would definitely wake up for a 3:30 am launch.

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SNJCruisers

SNJCruisers

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1 minute ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

 

She is a Nurse and can't get off currently due to the Insane Covid Surge she tried but then her hospital said no because they are already short staffed. 

That's a shame.  Thank her for her service.  You'll just have to live vicariously for two weeks like she was there with you.  Gonna be tough with all of the different lunch decisions on a daily basis.

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WhaleTailFlCruiser "Live from...." Rare

WhaleTailFlCruiser

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I really dislike not being able to be packed completely the night before a trip because I still have to have my deodorant out my cologne out and obviously my sleeping clothes ext. I really should just pack lighter and have Carnival do laundry for me but I have heard those horror stories. 

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Jayfo

Jayfo

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I’ll be watching along closely 👀

I especially want to hear about crowds and if there’s a lot of curmudgeons on board. After waiting all this time to finally cruise, I don’t know if I want to be stuck at sea listening to their entitled tantrums. Especially if they’re rotten to the poor crew members 🙁

Safe travels!!! 

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KmomChicago "Live from...." Rare

KmomChicago

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Hope you got a good night's rest, @WhaleTailFlCruiser. Drive safely to port.  

 

 

9 hours ago, Jayfo said:

I’ll be watching along closely 👀

I especially want to hear about crowds and if there’s a lot of curmudgeons on board. After waiting all this time to finally cruise, I don’t know if I want to be stuck at sea listening to their entitled tantrums. Especially if they’re rotten to the poor crew members 🙁

Safe travels!!! 

 

We were on the second sailing, August 7, which was the first to mandate masks from embarkation, and people were mostly cheerful and nice to the crew.  The vast majority of people who are cruising now are well aware of the full situation, just glad to finally get a cruise vacation again, patient with what are obviously some new protocols, and comprehend the risk of breakthrough infections which we'd all prefer to avoid for us, for the crew, and for the ship and industry at large.

 

You still get exactly the same as always, a few people who don't really choose to like anything or who always prefer to explain why new and improved, or bigger-is-better should actually be interpreted as gone to the dogs because of all the much better cruises they used to take back in the day. 

 

As for crowds, if you want to avoid them on Mardi Gras, I recommend sailing right now, in this upcoming fall season. Prices always have dropped to the bottom of the barrel starting after Labor Day and through the 2nd week of November because of low demand. Add that to hesitancy, and this might be one's only chance to experience this ship at something well under 2/3 capacity. May never happen again and I am very grateful we got to experience it.

 

Even at that, there are some areas and events that got busy *(i.e. a few, but certainly not all, of the many Punchliner shows). Love and Marriage show was pretty full last sea day afternoon but no one was turned away, and that was in the main forward theatre.  Of course the Lido pool gets busy but there are alternative pools if this happens. Still at max capacity I am sure they will all get crowded at times and people will grumble. 

Edited by KmomChicago
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