ssolomon56

Djptcp....I couldn't agree with you more. Carnival needs to either change the dress code or enforce it. Why have rules if they aren't enforced right? I've cruised on Carnival more than any other cruise line - mostly because it's more readily available in California and because of cost. Still....I really miss the 2 nights out of the cruise where everyone dresses up. Its fun, fancy and something out of the ordinary. It's a special night. It's still more that way on HAL and Celebrity etc. Still not as much as it used to be....but the last time we cruised HAL they wouldn't allow a man in the dining room on formal night without a jacket. They had loaners. On our last Carnival cruise the man at the table next to ours came to formal night with swim trunks and a ratty t-shirt and flip flops. Seriously....would he wear something like that to a formal event?

This wasn't Carnival...it was actually HAL on our Panama Canal trip about 5 years ago. My DH and I were having a snack on Lido one afternoon and an older classy looking gentleman (around 80) casually walked up to the outside shower (right next to the hot tub), took off his swim trunks and took a shower. He was naked and in full view of EVERYONE. My hubby and I just looked blankly at each other and continued eating our burger. When he finished, he simply toweled off, wrapped the towel around his waste, grabbed his trunks and joined his wife at a nearby table. Wow!

I just did some quick math (well, the calculator did), and with that strategy, it's going to take 8 years to pay for my next cruise. [emoji24]

 

 

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Why do you need $8320 to take a cruise?

My husband and I, and my daughter and her family will be on the Miracle April 15th as well! Their girls are 11-13 and the adults ages range from 41-67. This will be my 50th cruise over-all, and out of those, I have taken this route about 20 times. Since it's your first cruise, I agree that you probably should book your excursions through the ship. We did that for the first 1/2 dozen cruises. But, I very quickly realized that as long as you're careful....there's nothing to fear. You will save a fortune booking yourself. I've already booked our trips. In Mazatlan, we are going horseback riding on Marias Happy Horses. It's $35 per person, and we have ridden with this group for YEARS. They pick you up right at the port at 9:00 and return you to the ship by 1:00 - in plenty of time for the 5:00 departure. In Puerta Vallarta we are taking a Dune Buggy/Zip Line Tour. It's costing $212 for the two of us for a 4-hour excursion. It will complete at 5:00 and we don't leave Puerto Vallarta until 8:00. In Cabo we are taking the Pirate Treasure Hunt Snorkel cruise - for $63 each. It's from Noon-4pm and includes lunch. We booked the Puerta Vallarta and Cabo tours on-line. Just type in Cabo San Lucas Tours and it will come up. We've used them LOTS of times and they're great. If, for any reason the ship doesn't stop at that port (weather, emergency etc.) they will quickly refund your money.

My DH and I will be arriving at FLL 6pm on Sept 9 from SFO for the Sept 11 departure on Allure of the Seas. I'm trying to decide on a hotel and I'd LOVE some suggestions.

I'm looking for a place that's really nice (min 3-1/2 stars) and would love for it to have something really cool going on....view, character....abience...whatever. We will be renting a car, it doesn't need to be next to the port. We plan to return the car to the airport the morning of the cruise and take a taxi to the port. I'd like to keep it under $150 per night.

I'm seeing lots of things on Trivago....but thought some of you might have some suggestions for "hidden gems".

Thanks!

I have been offered free cruises several times. I've taken the offer twice (I only have so much vacation time availabale). I've also been offered DEEPLY discounted cruises ($49 for 4-days). These have all come to me because of my casino use. I pretty much only play the slots and I have a strict daily limit of $50 per day. Most of the time I've come away even or ahead by the end of the cruise.

My husband plays the tables (also with that $50 per day daily limit) but he's never been offered these free cruise perks.

The Circle C program is for young teens age 12-14 NOT young children. There seems to be some confusion. Camp Carnival is for the youngsters

http://www.carnival.com/onboard/circle-c

I was in charge of planning our family reunion cruise (it leaves this Sunday), and I set it up about a year in advance. I tried handling things directly through Carnival, but it would have involved too much work from me. Instead, I ended up going through a travel agent. Once I chose the cruise, and let the family know the name/number of our agent, I didn't have to deal with the money aspect or anything.

For the most part, for every 8 cabins booked, you get the equivalent of one cabin free. Instead, you can chose to divide that value among the cabins in the form of on-board credit.

Have a GREAT time!

Could you break it down into paragraphs?

SERIOUSLY! Trying to read that review made my head hurt!

I agree....leaving them as twins pushed against the walls give you WAY more space. BTW...I'm trying to understand where "inside cabin" comes into this topic. The standard inside cabins are the same size as the standard outside cabin.

We been on nearly 50 cruises in the past 16 years....we have tried them all...MANY times! We've cruised on Carnival more than any other...mainly because of the price and convenience. Also, since becoming Platinum, we get great perks.

We have pretty much eliminated ONE cruiseline though, and that's NCL. It got worse, and worse and WORSE! Finally, we said "ENOUGH". The food was horrible! I mean HORRIBLE! Also, they didn't offer enough of what we like...entertainment, games, karaoke..etc. There are too many other choices, why spend our money on that!

So...Carnival would lose me, if they followed suit with NCL. Bad food, bad shows....no karaoke...no games...etc.

I just booked the Hotel Current. Looks lovely!

Thanks! Hotel Maya looks wonderful....but it's booked for the night of the 5th.

My hubby and I will be doing a B2B (4 days followed by 3) out of Long Beach next month to celebrate my 60th and our 15th Anniversary. We've decided to look into parking our car at a Park and Cruise rather than drive in from Northern California that morning. I've looked around these boards...but most of the postings on this subject are pretty old and out of date.

Any suggestions on where to stay? Thanks!

How soon before sailing are they typically offering upsells? (I've given up on ever receiving a substantial free upgrade after 10 cruises with Princess).

We have actually gotten our free upgrade a couple times upon arrival. Once it was from an inside to a balcony. Another time it was from a obstructed view to a mini suite. Nice little surprise! :D

I went to One Source and cannot pull up the list without logging in. It looks like you need to be an Agency to register. Frustrating. I am getting the standard "call back later" answer from Princess. I am interested in the Feb 7 out of San Francisco. Any idea if it is available?

I know for a FACT that the Feb 7th is available, because we've already booked three of our adult daughters to join us. Can't wait!

Thanks for the report. We are on the Star leaving SF on Feb 7.

So are we!

Glad to hear you had a good time. My (adult) daughter and I are taking advantage of a "free" cruise on this ship (same itinerary) on the 16th. Can't wait!:D

It took quite a few disembarkations to finally figure out the BEST way to do this. First, we never book a return flight before noon and often plan to stay an extra day or two in that city before heading home. Next, my DH and I are both late risers. We like to stay up late and get up late - especially on vacation. So we don't even get up until pretty close to 8:30 - and then quickly get dressed and head up to Lido for breakfast. We pay NO ATTENTION to the color of our luggage tags. We simply hang out there until last call, read a little or play cards...then leisurly make our way off the ship. We're among the last to leave and there is no line. By the time we get to the luggage, it's about 10:00 and our luggage is just about the only ones there. There is no hussle or bustle.

If we have an evening flight...we often arrange for a rental car for the day and do a little sight seeing, book a massage or see a movie. No stress!

We just booked our 14-day Panama Canal cruise on HAL leaving Nov 11th for $849pp - outside. :D

We've experienced the piano bar at it's best on HAL too. It's actually one of the best things about HAL. I don't believe that RCI has quite the same concept going on. The most I can recall on the ships I've experienced are piano players who are really just performing.

We always look for (and find) a "different" passenger(s). We end up referring to certain cruises as "you know, the one that had the cross-dresser on it" or the 85 year old woman with a 26 year old companion. It's always a race between husband and myself to find the first one(s) and at the end, choosing which was the strangest (lol). On the other hand, we remember them equally as well with the wonderful people we meet on cruises.

 

Tucker in Texas

LOL....we call them the "Cast of Characters". We start looking at the different folks while waiting in line to embark, and wonder "who will be the cast of characters for this cruise"?

I know my parents do "it", but the thought of them doing "it" gives me the shivers. After hearing some of these stories, I dont ever wanna cruise with them again. Thank god I cruise with my Grandparents most of the time...

My grandparents were the horniest people I've ever known!

When I was 17, my maternal grandmother died - and right away, my grandfather started going over to my paternal grandmother's house for "home cooked meals". She had been a widow for about 2 years. Within 6 months, they got married. So now, my parents (who had been divorced for 10 years) are step-brother and sister. (Still following this?)

Anyway....about a year after they got married, they decided to drive from Michigan to California...stopping at their various kids house to visit. I was in college at the time, and came home for the weekend...I arrived home about 1pm. When I arrived, my mother was sitting in the living room with a glazed and sick expression. She told me that Grandpa and Grandma (just think...this is her ex-mother in law) were "napping upstairs". She said that they "napped and giggled" for about 2-hours every single day.

Now...as a grandmother of 10, I am more inclined to feel a sense of pride in my horney grandparents. I don't think I could possibly keep up with that impressive schedule. :D

If we have an inside cabin on the Enchantment of the Seas for 4 do we automatically give up the chance to make the 2 twin beds into one king bed? Please do not suggest putting the kids in another room since we have already done that. We have 6 kids and 2 of them need to be with us since we are unable to book a 3rd room due to the fact that an adult has to be booked in each room. I have searched a looked at several pictures and it seems that in order to utilize the bunk beds, you need to leave the lower beds separate. I am not sure I like the idea of sleeping in separate beds and maybe we should upgrade to an oceanview with the sleeper sofa. After 20 yrs of marriage, I am not worried about the extra curricular activities taking place, where there is a will there is a way, but I would like to sleep ( yes really sleep, snoring and all) with my husband. Thanks in advance for all replys. Melissa

The topic of this thread seems to be "sex in the cabin with kids along" and you're asking about bed configuration. I think you may get your answer more easily if you posted a seperate thread. These folks all have sex on the brain.

My DH and I have 6 grown daughters (3 each from our former marriage). Only one girl is left at home...a 20 year old who has cruised with us several times over the years. MY DH and I have discussed this topic often. I don't think anyone on this board (including myself) feels that their children should be kept from knowing that their parents love each other and expresses it often. After a certain age, children should know about sex and know that their parents express their love for each other by making love to each other - and that its a loving and beautiful thing. But, sex is also a private thing between two people. You wouldn't allow your child to watch porn...why would you even consider subjecting your child to your private sexual activities? Even if you think they can't see anything (i.e the curtain or blankets).....who knows for sure what they can see or hear. Our 20 year old (teasingly) reminds us everytime we cruise with her "no sex when I'm in the stateroom....even if I can't see, I couldn't live with the visual" Yeah, I'm sure - we'll just wait till she's at the pool and put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.