jesskuhmarie

Our family did Guambalina with Tabayana about a year and half ago and really had a great time. At Guambalina, your tour guide takes you around the preserve, its very jungle like. Our children (12, 11, & 7) enjoyed learning a bit about the history of the island, as well as seeing parrots and monkeys and then interacting with them, they sat on everyone's shoulders or heads. There are also a lot of iguanas there. We then went to Tabayana for the rest of the day and had a great time snokeling, swimming, and just relaxing. We highly recommend it.

Not to threadjack, but I'm curious how much time was spent at Guambalina before heading over to the beach? I'm signed up for this currently as I really want to see the monkeys, but beyond that I am most interested in going to the beach, so I was hoping there would be a significant amount of time spent at the beach.

I'm thinking of booking Mr. Sanchos for our stop in Cozumel in May. We're definitely going to go with all-inclusive, but are considering the "Romantic Day" version.

I guess first of all, how do the massages work if we weren't to get the package? Does anyone know the costs and if its easy to get one after you arrive? Is tipping customary?

Also, does anyone have any pictures of the cabana that you get with the package?

Thanks!

Thank you guys for the feedback! I love hearing about other people's success! It seems whether or not my stomach will be able to handle going back to bread everyday for a week will be a toss up .. I will definitely have to test it out before the trip. Like one of you said I have major problems with self control with these things, I will not eat one piece of pizza probably 2 or 3. That's kind of what scares me about allowing myself to have bread once a week, is that I will just start back having it for every meal as soon as I have it again once. I'm kind of that way with soda, I've quit a few times before, but once I'm back to drinking it it goes straight back to everyday. But when I've quit and I'm in the zone (which I've quit both soda and bread right now - 3 weeks no soda and 2 1/2 weeks no bread except maybe a few croutons on a salad) When I'm on a roll I don't want to mess up my streak so I'm good at controlling myself, but if I have it once I find it hard to control.

It has definitely been easier than I though it would be, giving up bread seemed absolutely impossible to me before, as bread, noodles, rice, etc. are my weakness more than sweets. My number two to bread is probably cheese so at least I can snack on that when I'm craving something yummy.

If anyone has any websites with good low carb recipes please share! I haven't really stuck to any specific diet have just mainly been using pinterest to find info on low carb and LCHF diets and food and have generally stayed within that, although probably not completely low carb due to still eating fruit daily.

The weight loss has been decent but kind of strange with this kind of diet. I weigh myself every morning (bad I know) and some days I will gain weight for a day or two, then suddenly drop 3-4 pounds, even though my eating habits don't change much between those days. Not sure it that's normal for this or not, when restricting calories I would always drop 1/2 pound a day almost perfectly when I was being strict.

Anyways, I'm just rambling at this point, but thank you guys for sharing your stories and feedback!

Hey everyone!

I'm currently trying somewhat of a low carb diet (I just can't seem to give up all the fruit!), but I haven't ate any bread, starches, or added sugars in about 2 weeks. I really want to do a pure ketogenic LCHF diet, but it's hard when my job forces me to eat out daily (if not multiple times a day when I'm out of town!) I've lost 15 pounds since the beginning of February, and hoping to lose another 30 before my cruise in May! I have a total of around 60 more to lose.

I'm also not really exercising at the moment due to my work schedule (I'm a CPA smack in the middle of busy season). I'm trying to add more activity throughout my day and doing sets of 10 squats when I think of it haha! But I plan to definitely get back in the gym regular at the beginning of April when my crazy hours slow down.

First, I'd love to hear from anyone else who has done a low carb diet. In the past I've always just counted calories, have lost up to 40 lbs a few time before, but always gained it back as it seemed like I had to drastically cut calories to the point I was miserable to lose weight or even maintain.

Also, I hope someone has some experience with doing a low carb diet, and then going on a cruise and treating yourself to non diet things :) I have had absolutely no bread or starches for the past two weeks and want to continue this for at least a month, at which point I will probably start allowing myself to have them one day a week. But on the cruise, while I plan to be more sensible that I would have been in the past, I really want to enjoy myself and try all the yummy foods I love (the idea of pizza, blue cantina, and guy's burgers on a ship has me drooling - I've only cruised once before and it was a small Norwegian ship with basically just a buffet and dining room)

So my question is, am I going to feel miserable or have an upset stomach if I eat bread and other carbs daily that week?

Thanks everyone! I look forward to participating here over the next few months.

Will hopefully get it up today where you can click the links.

 

 

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Thanks, that is awesome! What a great idea to put this together!

Subscribing .. this is absolutely perfect for our cruise on the Glory in May. I would love to be able to click on the menus also!

Has anyone done this excursion through Carnival?

I'm wondering how long we will get to stay at Tabyana Beach vs. how long we will be at Gumbalimba. I would rather spend more time at the beach as I mostly just want to see the monkeys at Gumbalimba.

Does anyone know if it's possibly to do Danial Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Hangout and Tabyana Beach?

I have read that the bus ride is quite interesting with a guide giving interesting facts about the country. I am almost ready to purchase my tickets. I have read so many good reviews. I hate to waste a day on a bus!

Does that mean your going with Xunantunich? I have read that also, and really the bus ride doesn't sound horrible because I'd love to see all different parts of the country, just doing it twice with it being that long, going up the river one way sounds even better to me.

No that doesn't work. It is,based on how much you play not how much money you put in. So if you put the same money in that you cash out without playing you will not get more points.

 

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Oh yea I didn't mean literally just put the money in and take it back out. I tend to play for a few hours winning and losing some and try to leave without having lost any money. So I wasn't saying I would just put it in and take it right back out but if I budget $400 I hope to play on that all week by breaking even most days. If I were to be losing, I would probably stop playing or put in much less on the last days, whereas if I am breaking even or winning, I will continue putting in the same amount or maybe more each day.

I've only been on a cruise once and it was Norwegian and we just did basically that but with cash, I never looked into how the cards work.

I've seen some threads talking about all of the different ruins in Belize but nothing specifically comparing these two. Would love to hear experiences from people who have been to either one.

I am currently leaning towards doing the Altun Ha & River Wallace mainly due to the river part. I think it would be more interesting to have one river ride and one bus ride to see two different parts of the country.

However, I'm conflicted based on the fact that Xunantunich has better reviews on Carnival, and the fact that the actual ruins seem to be a bit better. Taking a two hour bus ride there and back seems like so much time wasted on a bus though that I'm not sure if I'd rather go for the better ruins or go for the more scenic route.

Anyone have any more insight into the two? Is Altun Ha significantly less impressive than Xunatunich?

I would say if you spend 400 per day in casino you would get the bounce back. My wife received bounce back on last two cruises, that's about what she spends per day.

Wow that's quite a bit, for my budget at least. Although, does that mean putting a new $400 dollars on the card each day (I assume that means the $400 from the day before was lost)? Or could I put $400 on the first day, cash out (say I cash out even or make a little money), then put that same $400 on it the next day, would that work?

I don't know if I'm making sense but basically if I were to only spend $400 and not actually lose the money but break even and cash it out and start over with it each day?

Can someone tell me what this is and how it works? Is it for big spenders in the casino or how do I go about getting these free cruises :eek:

Following!

I'm going on this cruise in May!

I'm having the same issue where I am right at the weight limit and wondered what it was for since I know I'll be fine for it physically. The 250 weight limit is in the carnival description. I saw somewhere on the Company's website that it's due to the wetsuit sizes - they carry up to xxl, but said you can wear your tshirt and shorts under the life jacket or bring your own wetsuit. Might be worth calling to confirm. Rio Secreto is the Company it's through.

I also read a review somewhere that said some spaces you have to navigate through are tight like there's one area you have to squat and walk under.

I'm booked on the Carnival Glory Western Caribbean for May 7th, 2016. The FTTF currently shows sold out when I look at it under excursions. I've seen some threads though where people a month or two out from their cruise say that it "opened up" or more tickets became available.

Is there a chance it will reopen and I will be able to purchase? Wasn't sure what the timeline was for when these were typically available. Also, other than checking the website everyday, is there anyway to know if anymore become available?

Thanks for the info y'all! I'm now in a bit of a different situation. After talking to the PVP, I found out we were eligible for a discount due to my husband working at UPS.

We were looking at $1,567 with Price Protection for a deck 1 oceanview room. With the discount, we can get the same room for $1,367 which I'm probably going to go with (but doesn't include the price protection). We put down a deposit on it but with the special rate its fully refundable until I pay the balance if next month. I assume the chances of the price going below $1,367 or a promotion with something worth more than $200 would be unlikely. Anyone think there's any possibility of that?

Do they ever do the CHEERS program as a promotion? I absolutely loved that when we cruised Norwegian (we got it as a promotion) but don't think it's worth the cost to pay for outright.

I actually booked room 1301 for May 28. That was before I knew about this board and the ability to see room reviews. I'm not sure if I'm stuck with it or not since I booked through and on line TA. I'll have to look into it.

 

Or, I may just leave it. We wear ear plugs anyway.

I'm sure it's not a terrible room, I believe it was actually rooms close by that one that I found the reviews on saying it was just over the crew area and they could hear them being loud below. I'm super picky about noise when I sleep so I was trying to choose a room specifically based on that.

Hi all,

I am new to sailing carnival and was curious what their promotions are typically like. I am looking at booking a May 7th cruise on the Carnival Glory. I found a room that I want to book and put a 24 hour courtesy hold on it today.

I started reading about promotions though and was wondering if I'm getting a crappy deal with the current promotion for a $99 deposit. I could really care less what deposit I have to pay as the full amount is due in less than a month anyways. I know a week or so ago there was a deal with a $50 OBC. My only other cruise experience, last year with Norwegian, I got a the drink package as a promotion which was amazing.

I feel like booking now I'm basically getting no promotion. Is it worth the risk to wait it our for a better promotion and risk the price increasing? Or are the promotions usually worth no more than a $50 on board credit (which is still better than this stupid deposit thing, but not worth waiting it out for).

1390 is a very good location.

 

I am a light sleeper and would not be happy if I got a room that has potential for noise, so it's not worth $100 for me. Others have taken the guarantee and been happy, but then it has worked the opposite as well.

 

If you book Early Saver you can get price drops up until 2 days before sailing. You must keep on top of the rates and contact Carnival if you book direct or your TA if you use one as Carnival will not discuss your booking with you at all in the latter case.

Thanks for the response! I see you've been on Glory multiple times, I'd love any extra tips specific to Carnival or the ship!

As far as excursions go I'm currently looking at doing the Amazing Secret River in Cozumel and the Tabyana Beach Day & Gumbalimba in Mahogany Bay. Not sure about Belize or Grand Caymen, I definitely won't be booking excursions on every stop so I need to look into if there are beaches or things to do within a walk or short taxi on the other stops. If you have experience with either of those or any suggestions on excursions I'd love to hear those as well!

Hi everyone,

I am currently looking at scheduling a cruise on the Carnival Glory for May 7th of this year. I have cruised once before, last May, on the Norwegian Sky. I'm thinking of booking today but want to get some feedback before I select a room.

I'm looking at room 1390 currently, an oceanview midship room on Deck 1. I was first looking at room 1301 and read a few negative reviews about it being just over the crew galley and loud all hours of the day and night. Does anyone know if 1390 would be in a more quiet area?

I'm also still teetering on picking my actual room vs. saving $100 and letting them pick for me. I would prefer to be mid ship, mostly since its smoother and less noisy from what I've read. Is choosing this option similar to a guarantee room where I could potentially get better than an oceanview?

I'm also wondering how carnivals upgrades and what not work. The rate I'm looking at currently says it includes price protection, what does that mean?

I know on Norwegian I was able to call when the prices decrease a week or two before our cruise, and I paid the difference between the inside room and balcony (only about ~$150) and was able to upgrade. I could have upgraded to an oceanview for free since it was at that point down to the price I had paid. Is that how Carnival works as well?

Thanks everyone!

Curious how this typically works for old promos vs. new promos? I upgraded recently on NCL Sky .. had booked an inside room and the promo was only a $25 onboard credit. Upgraded to a balcony and got the UBP promo with it and ended up keeping both promos. Is that typical? I assumed if you got the new promo they would get rid of the original one which in my case would have been fine, but I wasn't sure if it was typical to keep both.

I wish I had known how all this worked before my first cruise. I ended up paying an extra $100 because I was indecisive about upgrading from an inside to a balcony for $260. Had I known it included the UPB originally I would have jumped on it. Ended up paying $360 later that day but it was still totally worth it.

I've been wondering if anyone from our cruise was going to post a review and somehow missed this until now! I absolutely loved our cruise and am thinking about doing the weekend one later this year that goes to GSC and Nassau. We loved GSC and loved our excursion at blue lagoon island from Nassau. The beach was gorgeous and had every activity we could have wanted. We did the dolphin encounter though and only had about 45 minutes to enjoy the island because we were the last group to go for the dolphins. We want to go back just to do the blue lagoon beach day next time! The UBP was definitely nice. I really hope they do that promo again before the end of the year.

Curious what other cruises have you been on that went to Nassau and how did they compare to this one? The only complaint I had was my husband and I weren't a big fan of the food (we ate at crossings once and the buffet the rest of the time). It probably mostly has to do with the fact that we aren't super experimental when it comes to food and it seemed they had more foods from other countries than typical american food. We don't really go for the food though so it wouldn't stop me from going again.

Has anyone actually been stopped from taking a plate of food to their room?

I was on the NCL Sky May 4-8 and took food back to our room multiple times without anyone saying anything to me. I'm not sure when they implemented the policy supposedly though as I didn't read anything on here about it until we returned this weekend.

Anyone else get depressed when they get home from a cruise/vacation. I haven't taken a real vacation (or an entire week off of work) in over two years, and forgot how depressing it is when it is over and time to go back to work. Today is my first day back to work after a cruise on the NCL Sky last week (first cruise for my husband and I!) and boy does it suck. Does anyone else experience this and if so, how do you make yourself feel better/when does it subside?

The only thing that seems to help me right now is planning another cruise haha. I really enjoyed our cruise and the ports. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the food on the boat and actually found it to be pretty disappointing but not enough that I'm not already considering another cruise on the same boat later this year. After seeing all the commercials for the Escape I would LOVE to go on a cruise on it, however, I know we wouldn't be able to afford it until next year and thinking of having to wait that long just depresses me more.

So now I'm thinking of booking another NCL Sky cruise this October/November (doing the weekend one that stops in Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay as we loved these ports and weren't crazy about Freeport) Have I become addicted to cruising? I can't believe I'm willing to go on the same boat to the same places again just so that I can afford to go back this year instead of waiting until next year to get on a better boat to go somewhere new.

I have just returned from my first cruise this weekend and took multiple sea sickness medications with me just in case. I didn't end up feeling sick at all and am glad I didn't take them before testing it out. A lot of them cause drowsiness and I didn't want to deal with side effects if I didn't even need the medicine. If you get motion sickness in cars or planes, it might be worth taking ahead of time. But for me, it made more sense to see if I got sea sick first.