Laurin612

Yes! DH and I checked obsessively several times a day and one finally opened up for us about 100 days out. Definitely keep trying!

 

 

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I disagree. My son has been going to the steakhouse since he was six. He is now 11, and looks forward to it on every trip. He is polite, and well mannered as I expect him to be. (Otherwise, we'd be out of their in a second.) My point is is that he really likes it. Especially that chocolate sampler.

 

My kids, too! They are now 11 and 15. Our first experience at the Steakhouse was on the Magic to celebrate our son's 10th birthday. We all loved it, and he also especially loved the chocolate sampler dessert! We did the same thing for his 11th birthday on the Freedom last spring.

I was shocked to read that in a pole one out of eight people would not admit to booking a cruise. I dont understand that.

 

I am 38 (not in the cruise over 55 target market), I booked my first cruise in June. I took my mother and husband (against his will). He loved it and we have booked another in October (against the will of our bank account) We have a 5 year cruise plan.......please tell me how to break this addiction.

 

2 weeks and counting for our second trip!!

 

From an addicted cruiser.

 

To all the first time cruisers out there, go on your first cruise, chill out, take it as it comes, learn lots and you will be prepared for your next one...one of many more!!

 

 

There is no cure! ;) Taking another cruise is a temporary fix--and then you need to book another.

 

It used to be that 55+ was the target cruise audience, but I don't believe that is the case anymore.

On Carnival you can use the gym and shower area for free. The showers are much more spacious than the showers in staterooms. Although, a porta potty is more spacious than the showers in the staterooms! :p

 

In order to use the thalassotherapy pool, steamrooms and saunas on the Dream you'd need a spa pass. If you've booked a Cloud 9 Spa room access to those facilities are included. DH and I did that on the Magic--it was heavenly!

 

You can also pay for a pass for your cruise, but I don't recall how much it was. I want to say it was $250 per couple for the week. Day passes are also available depending how many people paid for the weekly passes.

Thank you for the welcome!

We booked our flights through RCI so unfortunately the timing is not down to me - it's a little early for my liking!

I think we are going to learn a lot this cruise and will be experts for the next one ;)

 

If your flight was booked through RCI they will make sure you are one of the early groups debarking.

My son mixes pineapple juice from the bar ( which you can get with a soda card) with vanilla soft serve ice cream. He calls it his piña colada-- he's 11. LOL

My husband and I really enjoyed the Cloud 9 Spa on our spring break 2012 cruise on the Magic. Our favorite thing was the thalassotherapy tub. Unlike hot tubs, there is no overwhelming chemical smell (I'm not sure if any chemicals are used at all). It also wasn't crowded, and, as others have said, did not have kids trying to snorkel and cannonball in it! :eek:

 

We are going on the Sunshine in December and initially had a Cloud 9 Spa room booked. We ended up cancelling it and booking a room on Lido after we learned that the Sunshine would not have a thalassotherapy pool or a rainforest shower in the Cloud 9 spa facilities.

That's awesome, Donoiv11! You must be so proud of your accomplishments!

 

I will be getting "the sleeve" (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, to the uninitiated) in about 7 months. I just had a consultation with a bariatric surgeon recently and am in the beginning of a medically supervised diet required by my insurance company.

 

I did see some other threads on cruise critic about cruising after weight loss surgery, but I'm not sure if they were specific to the sleeve. I was surprised to see how many folks on this forum have had WLS.

 

Anyway, I am interested to see what responses you receive and hope you will share your experiences after your cruise (which will be around the time of my surgery).

Be aware that Cloud 9 Spa services are not the same on all ships, so you really need to confirm before you book if you have your heart set on that type of room. For instance, Carnival Sunshine will not have a thalassotherapy pool or rainforest shower.

Does anyone recall if the Seabreeze had a swimming pool in the bowels of the ship? I swam in a swimming pool on either that ship or the Regent Sun and it was my first and only indoor swimming pool experience on a cruise ship.

We were in a Cloud 9 Spa room on the Magic last March during Spring break. It was really great! My husband is not usually a spa type of guy, but even he enjoyed the Thalassotherapy pool, aroma steam bath, heated loungers and the rainforest shower in particular.

 

The upgraded Elemis shampoo, conditioner and body wash is kind of a silly "benefit" to the spa level rooms. The bottles are very small and the room steward only replaces them once. I was not impressed with the products at all.

 

Another difference in spa level rooms is that the decor is a bit different and the beach towels are beige instead of blue.

 

We didn't take advantage of the priority booking for spa services. That said, we would totally book a Cloud 9 spa room again in the future for the relaxation spa area and the fact that the rooms were not smoking.

Can I ask who you are renting from? None of the agencies I have checked will let me do a one way rental to Galveston (at least not online). Or are you doing a week rental and leaving the car at the hotel the whole time?

 

Sorry, I should have been more clear. We are leaving the car at the hotel and driving back to IAH at the end of the cruise.

My family and I are sailing out of Galveston in two weeks. We are also flying into IAH. We are renting a car, driving to Galveston and staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, which offers free parking for the week for cruisers. Since we are flying the day before our sailing, Carnival's transfers were not available to us.

[quote name='LesaL']Anyone know about this ship? It will be out of Galveston in September this year, which is a drivable port for me. I plan to go solo, which according to the the solo board should be no problem. Interested in hearing about any experiences and expecially wondering if there is seating that is comfortable (armless or roomy) in the public venues.

Thanks, everyone.

Lesa[/quote]

I'm going on the Magic for spring break at the end of March. I'll be sure to report back. :)

Hi all. I just found this thread, but have been a member of the CC forum for probably 5 years.

Thanks for the tip about being able to buy your own seatbelt extender--I HATE asking for them!

Someone asked a question about armless chairs in the dining room and whether you have to request them on a daily basis or if they will just put one there for you. In my experience, on ships where I've needed an armless chair all I had to do was ask our waiter once and at every dinner "my" chair was there waiting for me. :)

Regarding swimwear, I wear a size 4X and can totally vouch for the amazing swimsuits from Junonia that someone mentioned earlier in the thread. Don't let the fact that they are on the expensive side deter you--they are so much better than swimsuits from Woman Within, Catherine's or JMS (my clothing stand-bys). I think I paid about $119 for my last suit (it was a 2 piece.) I am very busty (48DDD) and usually have trouble finding swimsuits that are supportive enough. I also have trouble finding suits that aren't totally revealing. But Junonia's suits fit great and have like three layers of supportive, stretchy material in the bust area that keep "the girls" well supported.

My family and I are cruising on the Carnival Magic on 3/25. So excited! :D

My husband an I cruised on the Regent Sun in March, 1995. It was our second cruise and we have very fond memories of it. I don't remember the exact itinerary, but I know we stopped in St. Maarten and St. Lucia. Everything else is a blur! lol

As I understand it, there was a SHIP called the Dolphin (not sure what line it belonged to), and a LINE called Dolphin Cruise Line, which eventually merged with Premier.

 

My husband and I took a 4 day cruise on Dolphin's Seabreeze in 1996--it was one of those bargain basement specials where the price was just too good to pass up! :D

 

The ship was really small, especially since the cruise we took before that one was RCCL's Majesty of the Seas! (Which, at the time was brand spanking new and one of the biggest ships). We were impressed that our room on the Seabreeze was quite large and thought the food was pretty good. Not up to RCCL's standards, to be sure, but definitely worth the price we paid! ;) I also recall that the staff was great--really wonderful service. And the decor of the ship was hideous!