FreudianSlipper

I used to laugh (silently and politely) at Asian tourists I would see wearing the blue medical masks on airplanes or in tourist areas. Not anymore. If I decide to book another cruise I will probably wear a mask on my flights, during embarking and debarking, as well as when I am just going place to place on the ship (my room to the serenity deck, for example). I don't see myself cruising until there is a vaccine but I won't hesitate to use a mask and certainly won't think twice if the people around me are wearing one. 

I arrive in the departure city a day or two ahead of time, both to allow for time to be a tourist and to make sure I am covered in the event of a travel snafu. My embarkation day usually involves getting to the port a bit ahead of schedule and checking in all my luggage other than a backpack with documents and a change of clothes. I'll board in jeans or shorts depending on the weather and have the alternate in my backpack in case it's colder or warmer than anticipated on the ship. On my first cruise we attended the sail away party but this last time I found a serenity deck chair and enjoyed sail away with some quiet.

On ‎1‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 5:21 AM, ajenali said:

In February  we are arriving late afternoon on a Saturday for a concert at the Smoothie King. Will spend Sunday touring French Quarter area. Cruise on Monday. 

 

1. i dont want to spend a ton on hotels, but need a safe area. what hotels/area of town are best? i am not opposed to staying at one hotel saturday night, then going to a different one on sunday night. 

2. will have my car, so something with free/inexpensive parking. 

3. free breakfast is great, but not a dealbreaker. 

4. parking at port, so no need for a park and stay hotel. 

5. i am not opposed to taking a streetcar from the hotel to french quarter area on sunday. 

 

give me some hotel options? 

I just stayed at The Drury Inn and Suites on Poydras. I really liked it and the location was perfect. It was pretty affordable.

I've booked both of my cruises with carnival online. For those of you who use TA's, what's the advantage? Are there more perks involved like on board credit? It's easy enough to do it myself so I'm wondering what the TA brings to the table?

I was on the Dream last week and the hot dogs were on the deli menu. :) Do yourself a favor though and try the buffalo chicken sandwich. So good!!

I was on the Dream last week and they had the games on in the casino, and also opened up the nightclub and let people watch both games there on Saturday. That was awesome because I knew I couldn't watch for very long with all that cigarette smoke. Dream doesn't have a sports bar either. I'm not sure if that was a CD decision to let people watch in the nightclub or something all the ships without sports bars do.

I've only sailed mid ship towards the front.  On the ship I was on I liked the proximity to the mid ship elevators and the atrium.   Look at the ship map and decide which activities or restaurants you want to be near. Being able to walk up or down a couple flights and be right where you want to be is nice.

1 hour ago, cruzer_77 said:

How bad are inside rooms? We went on our first cruise last year and had a balcony. We may be going again this year but want to save some money and are thinking of booking an inside room. Not sure if I would be able to handle not having sunlight in my room. 

I've been in an inside room and a balcony. My personal take was that I did not use the balcony enough to warrant the extra cost. It was nice in the morning when we were coming into a port ,but by mid afternoon the balcony was right in the sun and really too hot to enjoy.  I much preferred the clamshell chairs on serenity deck.

On ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 9:35 AM, hillbillycruisers said:

So...we haven't cruised in over 3 years. We took advantage of the FTTF our last couple cruises, and thought it was worth the cost. That was at the old $50 price, and now I see its $90. I was debating using FTTF again, and I've noticed several peeps mentioning that Carnival has improved the boarding process. My question is exactly how has this process improved? Also, if not platinum or FTTF, can you choose an early boarding time, or does Carnival just dictate when you must board? I really dont want to wait until after noon to board if possible. This cruise will count as 37 nights with carnival, so I guess platinum is still a ways in my future. We are sailing our of Galveston, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any responses. 

I didn't have FTTF for my most recent cruise and I don't think it mattered to me for the embarkation process. We had a 12-1230 appointment but were on board the ship just before noon. This was in New Orleans. Their system seemed very well thought out and moved quickly. Where I missed FTTF was in Cozumel where getting off the ship for that port was chaotic and time consuming. I also didn't miss it for dembarking as I was off the ship by 10am. Guest services was never too busy so I didn't need the priority line. I think I would have liked to get my luggage earlier (didn't get to the cabin until 5) but maybe not enough to pay $90. So for me. and for that particular port and itinerary I think I was fine without it.

We're booked to do the Mayan ball game excursion while in port with the Carnival Dream. That activity ends around 3:30 and we are in port until 6 (so we will probably shoot for being back on the ship by 5). Is there shopping or anything else to do in the area where we will be dropped off by the people doing the ball game excursion. I've never been to Cozumel so I'm not sure of the layout of the port or how walkable it is from the excursion to some other activities.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or tips!

Is the Calico Jack's area of 7 Mile Beach also good for shopping? I'm hoping to do a combo day of shopping and sitting in a beach chair with my toes in the sand.

We'll be doing the Rose Hall Plantation tour when in Montego Bay on the Carnival Dream. The tour ends at noon and I'm wondering, for those of you who have been to MB, what we can do afterwards that might be fun. We need to be back to the ship by about 4pm for a 5pm departure.

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

They change monthly. Not sure if January has been announced or not yet. Usually posted on John Heald’s FB page.

It sounds like a good idea for me to start following his page! 

2 hours ago, kctraveling said:

For John Healds Facebook:

Bohemian Rhapsody
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again
Ocean's 8
Mission Impossible Fallout
Venom
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Rampage
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Night School
Crazy Rich Asians
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Smallfoot
The House With a Clock in its Walls
The Equalizer 2 - Midnight Movie

Wow! I thought there would be three or four options. How many movies per 7 day cruise?

A long time ago I read about a "secret" area on the Dream that is quiet and a good spot to get some sun in a lounger away from the hustle of the ship. I want to say it's on one of the upper decks? Does anyone know where it is or is my mind playing tricks on me.

Any idea what the poolside movie will be on the Dream in January? Do they change it every cruise or will it be the same movies they've shown this month?

Any idea which hotel is the 4* boutique hotel in the French Quarter-Mississippi River area? It's $86 for January 4-6. It is 85% recommended.

Also the 4* Downtown-Superdome hotel that is 90% recommended and sitting at $82 for those dates.

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

First one is Hyatt House. Second one is doubletree 

 Thanks! I was also looking at some 3* options in the Central Downtown area. One is 3.5 stars/$65/95% recommended; the second is 3*/$59/75% recommended; the third is 3*/$65/85% recommended. All for January 3rd.

For January 3rd -4th, one adult:

Do you know which hotel is the 3.5 Downtown Superdome area with a 90% recommendation on Hotwire? It's at $58 dollars right now for January 3rd.

Also the 3.5 star French Quarter-Mississippi River with 90% recommendation? It's sitting at $73

I use a lanyard. In fact I just got one off Amazon that has little cruise ships on it.  I use lanyards on the boat so I don't lose my sign and sail card. Off the ship I keep it in my backpack or purse to make it a LITTLE less obvious that I'm a tourist on vacation. :)

I have to say I didn't realize this was a controversy with so many pro and anti-lanyard sentiments. LOL It's been fun reading this thread.

I just booked a cruise to HMC, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk 4 days ago that leaves 11/11/17 from Miami. After booking, I saw FTTF was sold out. :( I've never cruised Carnival without FTTF before. What do you think my chances are of FTTF opening in the next 102 days? I've been checking multiple times every day.

...

I’m OK with the food overall but I get more jazzed about my breakfast omelette and my lunch (Mongolian Wok, Guys, BBQ), than I do with any of the dinners

 

Am I alone ?

 

 

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Not alone. I definitely enjoyed breakfast and lunch more on my cruise. If the line wasn't too long I would try to have the Chinese food option at lunch pretty much daily. If that was too long a line I'd get a yummy sandwich. Dinner was hit and miss and I often ended up getting a pizza later in the evening and splitting it with my cruise pal.

I sailed on The Miracle in January 2017 and decided to have breakfast in the MDR one morning only to discover the frozen waffles and pancakes of the buffet were the same ones I was being served in the MDR. I had gone there hoping to get a freshly made waffle. Nope, same heated up Eggo waffles as far as I could tell.

That said, the food wasn't bad and I always found something I liked, either at the buffet, the sandwich shop or pizza place.

I’m cruising solo soon & for the first time I’m staying in an inside cabin with a twin sized bed. Well, semi-inside as it has two porthole windows so I’ll have a little natural light. It’s at the bow of the ship, so I’m preparing for lots of anchor noises.

Any tips for making an inside cabin as comfortable as possible? I spend most of my time sitting in the sun on deck, so I don’t think it will be toooo bad. It’s just a place to sleep, right?

Sigh.

With the porthole windows it won't feel as much like an inside cabin. You'll feel more like you have an oceanview room.

I remember being concerned about keeping myself busy on sea days but it wasn't really an issue. I did spend my share of time on the serenity deck reading and relaxing, but I also enjoyed trivia, bingo, corn hole, watching football in the sports bar, finding quiet places to read, and playing board games. You can play the games they provide on the ship (I think they were kept near the library on my ship) or you can bring some from home. I could see where someone who needs to be physically engaged or who gets bored easily might struggle with a sea day but I was personally surprised by how much I enjoyed the on board activities.