momof4boys

We've been together now going on 33 years! Very blessed to have her as my wife! :):)

 

Garnett

Great pictures. I also suspect you are both very BLESSED!! Here's to many more happy years!

I can bet the conversation went like...

 

1. Bet you we can swim to that Island!

2. NO we Can't!

3. Sure We've got time.

4. What they gonna do...yell at us.

5 Com'on, we gotta try.

 

2. NO! We will get in big trouble.

4. No one will say anything.

1. It's only a couple hundred yards.

3. Half hour of swimming...tops.

5. I'm in, How bout you?

I can just see my boys in that shot and hear that conversation!! HAHA!

We went to DePalm Island in January. We had 40 people ages ranging from 4yrs old to 73 yrs old. We all had a fantastic time and wished we had more time there. We thought it was worth the money and there was so much to do that we did not get to do it all. The snorkeling was great and you see a lot of different fish beside the parrot fish. Just a heads up, they make everyone wear a life jacket. They are not uncomfortable and are the ones that inflate only if you need them to. We thought the food was good. The fish at the buffet was really good and so are the chicken tenders at the grill. When we got back to the ship we still had 2 hours to walk the downtown area. Great day and can't wait to go back!

Glad to hear this.Our group of 13 (youngest is 19) want to go because we all plan to do the helmet dive. Not really looking for the typical water park adventure. :)

Thanks. Love this!!

My son is 18 as well and still in HS. I contacted Carnival about him attending Club 02 but they said absolutely not. There is a video arcade on our Ship (Pride) so he will enjoy that and the slot machines. He likes to hang out with his parents, and loves the pool / hot tub so we are fortunate. I think he will have a great time...and this will be his first cruise.

If it were me...I'd still bring DS's high school identification. Half the time when you call and ask CCL a question you get one answer, then you call back and talk to someone else, and get a different answer. The same happened to us with our son.

I would definitely ask when I was actually on the ship at Club 02 about him attending. Most of those counselors understand that today, many seniors in HS are 18. When we actually talked to the peple at club 02, they laughed and said that of course he can attend!!

I have loved every single picture!

Swack---are you a professional photographer?? Your shots are Magnificent!

WOW! I am speechless...which seldom happens! :cool:

Hey Brenda....East KC (Lee's Summit) here! This weather is amazing! It is making me feel like my summer cruise is closer than it is! Happy sailing to all!

We are headed there this summer. My friends who went a couple of years ago and are going with us this summer told us that if we want assurance of being able to do it, then we had better book through carnival.

None of us have any problems doing things on our own, but DF said that when they went and did the excursion through CCL the last time, the people who just went and wanted to do it on their own, had to wait until all of the excursion people were finished. She said some of those people never got to do the flowrider because they had to get back to the ship.

Sometimes these places have exclusive contracts with CCL, assuring CCL that their people will get servided first. This may be the case here. So, we will be booking it through CCL.

So far I cannot pick because I have loved each one. We always go a few days before and stay a few days after the cruise.

Loved Galveston...it was our first. Lots to do there and people so nice. Our first time, it was very easy to board and disembark. Second trip was a little busier....Elation vs. Conquest---size of ship matters.

Loved New Orleans....leaving on the river and seeing the little homes set back in the delta area until you hit the ocean is so cool. Also, lots to do there.

Charleston...our latest. What a beautiful, historic city. Again, really friendly people with wonderful places to visit.

Fort Lauderdale....our next. Been to the beaches on land vacations before. I Know we will love it too!

I hope I get to try them all!

Yes it does. Once you finally get into the "building" go to the left where the VIP check in sign is. You most likely will be next in line. We were and our group got checked in extremely fast!! It was awesome...once we were allowed to get into the building. Before that....well .....Charleston needs to build a real port so people don't have to drop off their luggage at one spot, then drive to another spot to wait in the hot sun in line to get into a shuttle to go to the building.

Seriously, we loved Gilligan's! It was a fun atmosphere and the food was great too! (The margaritas weren't too bad either! :) ) I am happy for Andrew!

My son (the one who did not get go with us on the cruise because he could not get off.......!) and is engaged to be married in September, was laid off from his job on the Friday we disembarked!!!!! They called him in at noon. First I was devistated, then I was mad. He could have gone with us...!!!! :mad:

Best of luck to Andrew and you! I have enjoyed our "talks."

It is crazy that the Hawthorn Suites is making you stay two nights. We were just there on June 4. Maybe the rule applied then, but since we had booked three rooms, they were ok with the one night stay.

I said it is crazy becasue the morning of the 5, when we were waiting for the shuttle to take us to the port , we tried to book a night for when we returned (We decided to stay even longer) and they were booked. They were very nice and found us a place to stay just up the road. So they are not hurting for business so don't know why the 2 night stay requirement.

There were pretty nice places to eat fairly close (Gilligan's and California Dreaming-Yummy!)

Have fun on your upcoming cruise!

Just a Packing suggestion...the evening shows in the Universe Lounge were chilly. That is the only time I wore a jacket, and I wore it every night. If you don't plan to go to the shows you might get a way without a jacket (or hoodie), but if you think you will attend the shows, a jacket will be aprreciated. I noticed a lot of people bring the CCL towels and wrapping up in them at night.

I had so much fun reading your review. We were on the same sailing...sorry we didn't meet.

Our group of 11 had a wonderful time. We ranged in age from 17 to 52. (Two sets of parents in their late 40s to early 50s and 7 younger people-- early 20s to 24 years olds)

In Key west we took the trolley and got out at the Butterfly Conservatory---AMAZING! Then we went to the Southernmost monument for pictures. We ate at some wonderful restaurant at a Warf, then parasailed in the afternoon. Boy was it hot!!

In Freeport, one of my sons turned 21 that day, so all of us did an all inclusive at the Wyndham. Lovely day for all of us. (Not sure that a couple of our group can remember much about it....but we told them they had fun!!)

In Nassau we did the Atlantas AquaAdventure and had a Blast. It felt like spending a few short hours at Disney World but we still had a blast.

Our group did go to the evening shows every night and we enjoyed those. We had some fun trying to find a place all 11 of us could crowd in together. :D

The R rated Hypnotist was pretty hilarious. When he convinced the guy in the audience to go around to people and tell them how hard working the staff was and to not be a cheap **** and tip them well---we thought we'd wet our pants.

Thanks for all help before our cruise. We really loved the area and hope to sail from there again!

Just back from the Fantasy and the Bahamas. The ship looks wonderful. It was by far the smoothest sailing we have ever had. Had a WONDERFUL time!

We ate at the early seating at 6 pm in the Celebration Dining Room, table 267, for our party of 11. Our head waiter, Dylan, from India, was marvelous!!! He told us that the Fantasy was going to be sold in 6 months. I asked him why when they just completed all the fabulous changes. He said they did the upgrades so the ship could be sold for more money.

Although I have no reason to question Dylan, I do wonder about several things.

1. Southwest just announced plans to fly to Charleston in response to requests from clients who want to cruise. (Saw the Mayor on TV the morning after we got back.) He stated they will have numerous flights by the end of November.

2. The mayor discussed plans to build a real port. (That is certainly needed. The embarkation and debarkation part of this trip was unusual and uncomfortable, to say the least--but no fault of Carnivals--!)

3. Not related...but when will Carnival have dates for the summer of 2012 posted?

Anyone back recently? How is embarkation? I have been very spoiled by Galveston and New Orleans so I am hoping things go smoothly here!

We are staying at the Hawthorn Suites, too. They supposedly have a shuttle. How early does it go out?

There are 11 of us all wanting to go early. We have always been on board, with our luggage dropped off in our rooms, and eating on the LIDO deck by 11:30. Any chance of that happening?

Hey CJW...you need to book the Conquest 7-02-06! You wold fit in great with our group!!! Love the lights. We decorated our door last July and lots of people commented on it. (My kids thought I was a little wacky...you think they'd be used to it by now!!)

Thanks again.

Great pictures! Did you bring the lights? If you did, how did you hang them? :)