Cruisin sun and fun

We did it the end of March last year, right before the whales migrate North.  It was really good, we followed a Mom and her Calf for a few minutes and saw multiple whales, the guide was great really informative.  It's something you should do once.

17 hours ago, minnieiowa said:

How far out did you book your airfare?

I had quoted airfare prior to my booking, so I knew the costs beforehand.  I booked this cruise with airfare 11/21/19, so close to 10 months prior.

I am doing the Europe cruise August 30th, fly into Barcelona and out of Venice.  The cheapest price i could get on my own $1560 pp., Fly2Fun was $750 pp.  It wasn't cheaper for last years cruise out of Miami but it certainly worked for us this cruise.

I'm following this, I too am looking to try something different. DW and I are in our early 50's and have sailed on Carnival five times and enjoyed every single one.  We are not big drinkers but really enjoy all that goes on from games to comedy and shows. I always thought we'd stay with Carnival until it didn't appeal to us anymore but we recently decided to try a new cruise line each year just for the experience.  Booking the Sky Princess Eastern Caribbean next March.

You can't smoke on your balcony. 

Now that the Vista is heading for dry dock for repairs and will be out of service for three weeks, what does the crew do during this time?

I couldn't tell you who our previous CD's were but I can tell you the name of our last one, "Schwartz".  He was great, would see him all around the ship, very funny and energetic but we do go to a lot of the shows and parties.  I think the role of the CD has changed in recent years, their more involved it seems.  With that being said, I would not pick a cruise for the CD, has absolutely no influence at all on my decision.

This past April we made our 12:25 flight out of FLL and we didn't do anything special debarking in Miami.

All I have to do is go on Carnivals site and do a mock booking and bingo, mine calls 🙂

I don't think I'd buy art, watches, etc. off the ship. I did buy my wife a fairly expensive ring, for us anyways, a few years back on one of the islands.  At dinner we showed our table mates and said we didn't know if we got a good deal or not. One replied "if your comfortable with what you spent that's all that matters".......

I would take the longer of the two. We were on the Horizon 8 day at the end of March and loved it.  Although it's subjective, we thought the food in the MDR was very good,  tried different meals every night and it never disappointed us.  Punchliner was great, it is small but we always got a seat and we would show up 5-10 minutes early. Nothing stood out as bad to us, but every cruise we go on we say it's the best :)

* Blue Iguana - Burrito Bowl was awesome, our first stop after boarding

* Guys Burgers - what can you say....

* Guys Pig - surprisingly we liked it a lot

* We thought the MDR for dinner was excellent, tried many different plates, sometimes two:)

* Of course the chocolate melting cake for me, the DW was a little disappointed in deserts to her liking

****** 24 hour ice cream ****** Pizza *******

Would have liked to try the Deli but the lines was long every time went to check.  Thought the buffet was meh, breakfast okay but that was it for us. 

Horizon - March '19

DW (51) and I (53) did this cruise the end of March and loved it.  Embarkation was a breeze, showed up at 12:00 and were on the ship by 12:15. Thought the food in the MDR was the best we've had, did ATD for the first time and worked out great for us, never waited for a table. A lot of kids (spring break) but well behaved for the most part and had no problems.  Lido was very crowded, all loungers were saved by 7:30 am, chair hogs😣  Found new places on the ship but if you like the action of the Lido deck good luck finding a spot. The line for pizza was the longest, all others were a 5-10 minute wait. Saw all the comedians and all but one show and never had a problem getting a seat, we would show up about 10 minutes early.  Didn't find the elevators to be an issue at all, besides debarkation morning, ended up dragging our luggage down the stairs.  Now that we travel without our kids I'm always wondering if we'll get the itch to try another line, not yet for us, we still really enjoy Carnival.

A few weeks ago they started  around 8:00 am.  Priority may have been a little sooner.

My DW and I were on this cruise and thought the food in the MDR was the best we had but I know that's subjective to each.  Schwartz was the best so far for us, one of our best cruises.

3 minutes ago, bingomamma19 said:

i sure am!!  Linda M

Jeff W

17 hours ago, bingomamma19 said:

We will also be on the Horizon this Saturday :):)

Can't wait. Heading to South Beach in the morning.  By chance are you on the facebook group for this cruise?

We flew in the day of for our first five cruises and never had a problem, knock on wood. 

In 2000 we had over a two hour delay out of Detroit, I never really worried but it never even crossed my mind at the time the ship would leave without us🤔  Our last cruise on the Dream a few years ago we didn't land in NO until 1:00 pm., on the plus side there were no lines at embarkation😀 

To be honest, never even thought of it as a risk until i joined CC and read all the comments. We leave on the Horizon Saturday and will be flying in the day before for the first time.

8 days - 19 hours according to the HUB

My daughter recommended Airbnb if looking for an affordable clean room.  Just checked it out and there are multiple rooms, in many different areas, under $60 a night.  Although, your literally just getting a room in someone’s house.  Not sure how the DW would react.....

Thanks Tapi. Not tight on cash and definitely not wanting something run down.  Just not familiar with East coast of Florida, have a lot of experience on the West.  Hoping someone has hidden gem 😊

I understand the season I’m working, that’s the reason I put the date, also that price is relative to each person.  

We are also staying an extra night post cruise and have been looking for hotels in South beach and plan on spending around $300 for that night.  As posted by “fishywood”, looking for something clean and safe.  If that is going to cost me $150, so be it, but if I can find something cheaper, even better.

Looking for a cheap hotel near Ft. Lauderdale airport for March 22nd.  Flight doesn’t arrive until after 10:00 pm, probably be close to midnight before we get our luggage and grab a cab.  Just looking for something clean to get 6 hours of sleep before we head to Miami to catch our cruise.

Here is a link to the deck plans, deck two and three are side by side and I think this will show what cabins are underneath the lifeboats. Hope this link works.

http://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/~/media/Images/Ships/VS/deckplans/carnival-vista-deck-plan-pdf.ashx

It says FTTF sold out already for May 2017 Vista......do more become available?