eagletwo

We cruise on the Sunshine August 29th.  I made the booking request last week for the Steakhouse in the Carnival planner.  Took about 2 days to receive an email confirmation from the restaurant manager.  Printed out the email to take with us on the cruise.

We used Cozumel h2o, private intro to Scuba.  My wife is certified, but had not dived in 25 years.  I have only snorkeled on our cruises in the past.  I am 60 and DW is 55.  We searched for a long time to find an outfit that offered an outing for just the two of us.  The taxi ride was maybe 5-10 minutes from port to the marina, $5 per person.  We were met by our dive master, Nacho and the boat captain, filled out some release forms, loaded up in a 25 ft boat with canopy and were on our way right on time.  During the trip out, Nacho went over all the safety items and equipment.  You can bring your own mask, fins and snorkel, our use the equipment they provide.  After a 20 minute ride, we put our tanks on and were in about 4-5 feet of water to do a little training. Yep, open water, not a pool.  Stayed here about 20 minutes.  I am overweight and the dive shorty for me felt like I was in a vice and could not breath.  So I took off the dive shorty and wore my t-shirt.  You definitely want something to protect your bare skin from the BC jacket.  It will rub your skin raw in just a few minutes.  

Anyway, once Nacho was satisfied with our progress, we got back into the boat and went out about 10 minutes to deeper water.  The plan was to stay with Nacho, go down to 30-35 feet and drift for about 45 minutes.  WOW! Best excursion I have every been on in 6 cruises.  Water temp at the end of August was warm, even at 35 feet.  We came back to the boat and rested for about 25 minutes with water and fresh fruit that were provided.  Our next stop was another 15 minute ride.  Over the side and back down to 35 feet for another 45 minute dive.  Just awesome! FYI, we never got far from land and dived in an underwater protected park. Visibility was perfect!  

We thought the price was very reasonable for a private boat and a two tank dive.  Cozumel h2o does offer outings that will accommodate 12-14 people and the price is less per person.  Since our ship did not get into Cozumel until 10:00 am, our dock time to meet Nacho was a little before 1:00 PM.  We got back a little after 5:00 PM with plenty of time to get back to the ship.  Did not depart Cozumel until 10:00 PM. The owner was great to email with and answered all of my questions.  We will be back in March 2020 and will book with them again.  

Wife ordered a steak off the CG menu on our last cruise on the CB in January. She was very happy with her steak. Our service experience in the CG last August on the Caribbean Princess was disappointing, so we did not want to pay $58 for surely waiters again.

We went to the Elite lounge 4-5 times during our cruise on the CB last week.  The drink special was $6.50, but did not notice what was offered.  The snacks were chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, cheese straws and some vegetables some evenings and cocktail shrimp on two nights.  The location for this cruise was Skywalkers from 5-7 every night except the second formal night when it was closed.  The nights we went, I would say there were maybe 50-75 people in the lounge? This cruise did not have a lot of Elite or Platinum passengers.  During the Captains reception, Ruby members were invited which the Captains Circle Host (Olga) told us they don't usually invite.  There were over 1000 blue card holders on this cruise which she said was unusual. 

This week for the 14 day cruise, the Elite and Plantinum members will be double and the lounge location may be changed to Club Fusion.    

We just returned on the Caribbean Princess 10 day Panama Canal cruise. We called the dine line each morning and made a 7:30 pm reservation for 2 in the Coral dinning room. Never a wait. We were seated most nights  close to the Club Class area, tables were never full. Food in the MDR was good during our trip. 

We had an assigned time this morning of 8:15 am on the Caribbean Princess. Our group was called around 8:17. We were off the ship and at our car in the Park n Fly lot by 9:05 am. Not bad as we had to find our luggage and go through Customs, then wait 5 minutes for the shuttle. Pulled into our driveway in West Columbia, SC at 7:30 PM this evening.

We are on the Caribbean Princess. The easy way to explain OM is it is your room key and cruise card all in one. No need to worry, plenty of staff on board to help you understand how the Medallion works. 

On our cruise in August on the CB, on day 5 the customer service desk had trouble changing a $100 bill. Casino had no problem. 

Back in August on the Caribbean Princess, seems we had many episodes of the Love Boat. Loved them all. 

I have to agree with "insurance is not worth the money until you need it". We have always bought the insurance through Princess until the upcoming trip on the CB in January.  Looked at Allianz and the coverage was better, covers pre-existing conditions and pays in cash not cruise credit.  My biggest fear is being sick or hurt outside of the US. Another poster was correct, local hospitals may want payment upfront and we are not talking just a few hundred dollars.  If or when you get a release from the doctor to leave the hospital, he/she may require private air travel.  I am in the priate air charter business, operating 8 pasenger executive jets.  Just to pick up a patient in Nassau and fly them back to New York is about $25,000 if the patient can sit in a seat.  If they need a true air ambulance, add another $5-$10,000. 

On our first cruise to Alaska in 2005, I looked at the cost to charter a private plane from Juneau back to South Carolina if one of us was seriously hurt and could not fly home on the airlines.   The cost of a Lear 35 air ambulance was just over 40k. You can also buy World Wide Medical Jet serice through a few companies for about $385 a year. These companies do all the work and you don't have to come up with money upfront for the flights.  

We sail on the CB for the 4th time January 2nd.  We love the ship and the new beds. We were spoiled on our last cruise in August with a full suite and CC dining. Paul was the head waiter in CC and was wonderful as was the staff.  Yeah, same food but outstanding service.  I like that the buffet area has been opened up a bit and the make-over of the eating areas is very nice.  The buffet food to us is not as good as it was in 2016, but we will never starve. MDR food has been good, Crown Grill food is good, service hit or miss. Sabatini's service is great and the update decor is nice but the food is not to our liking.  Caribbean Princes has been in service since 2004 and a few areas could use some TLC, but she keeps getting a few upgrades and the crew keeps painting all the time. It still amazes me how much repair is done at sea and for the most part done very quickly.  Most of the staff always have a smile.

Just looking forward to sailing again. We don't get in a hurry or let the little things bug us, life is too short.

Always ask upfront about the fare. Never pay more than $20 with tip for taxi from FLL to Port Everglades. Uber and Lyft should be less. 

12 hours ago, marciemi said:

Really appreciate this info.  On the same cruise and had no idea of any of this.  Just downloaded the app, filled out the info, and it says we should have them Dec 28.  Fingers crossed!

I received a text from Carnival Corp. notifying me when the Medallions were shipped by DHL.  The notification has a link you need to open and set up the delivery with "No Signature Required" so they will leave the box at your house.

We went to RP in August. Taxi bus was a 15-20 minute ride each way. On the return, I would allow for a 30 minute trip since the taxi bus waited for a full load. You can snorkel at the beach. Being on an Oasis class ship, beach may get crowded if there are other ships in the Port. 

Not sure if it made a difference but I downloaded the Ocean Ready app two weeks ago, filled in the information and ordered our Medallions. They arrived today by DHL. We sail on the CB January 2nd.

Our Medallions arrived today by DHL. 16 days and 2 hours before departure!

We downloaded the Ocean Ready app on my Android phone last week, entered photo's of our passport and verified personal info. The app even had our ship security photo already loaded from our cruise in August.  Ordered the Medallion and just received text notice on December 13th from parent company Carnival that the Medallions have been shipped by DHL and will arrive at our house on December 17th.  Upon arrival at the port, there is supposed to be an area for those passengers who already have the Medallion and app to proceed to the check in desk and pick up their cruise card.  At the time of ordering the Medallion, there was an offer to buy accessories for the Medallion but we want to see the items for sale on the ship. 

Now we just hope it all works out.

We have had the package with the Sip n Sail promotions.  Did not come with our upcoming cruise on the CB in January.  At $68.99 per day with gratuity, for the wife and I, the cost for the 10 day cruise would be $1,379.80.  Little too steep on this trip. 

Sailing CB January 2, 2019 for 4th time. Not sure about "inside tips"? We love the CB. New buffet food not great. We won't starve, not as good as it was in 2016. Sabatinis for breakfast was good, but for us, Club Class was better. MDR has some issues for Anytime dinning but not too bad. Good is good. If you don't like your entre, ask for something else. 

We enjoy the laid back atmosphere in this ship. Crew has always been awesome. Treat them with respect and they will bend over backwards to make your vacation memberable. 

We had Club Class on our Cruise in August. Best service on the ship. We went to CC instead of Sabatinis for breakfast after the second day. Paul and his staff were fantastic. Will miss it on our upcoming cruise in January.

We had the Owners Suite on the Caribbean Princess this past August. Arrived around 12 pm, checked in and we were escorted on board by a nice young man in a tuxedo by 12:40 pm. He did not know what to do with us as the cabins were not ready. He asked if we would like to have lunch in the MDR and we politely declined and sat in Vines to wait. At 1:00 pm, the announcement was made the cabins were ready. I think the escort was supposed to take us to our cabin? No big deal. I do miss being able to go to your cabin if you board early. 

We brought a magnetic file and hung it on the door. The room steward was very happy not having to come into the cabin to deliver ship mail. Since we drove to Ft. Lauderdale, had the room for the small plastic file holder.

Wife plays the slots a good bit during the cruise and we usually sale on a Casino rate. During our trip on CB August 25-September 1, no free drinks offered. We hardly saw any wait staff walking around. No worries, bar is only a few feet away and that is why she keeps me with her, I get the drinks. The last sea day, she won back everything she lost plus another $1,100.00. First time she has every won more than $100.00. It was a great sea day!

Not sure about your cruise, but we asked our room steward for a menu each evening. He was able to get them to our cabin by early morning each day. We were in a full suite on the CB.

Last night on the CB, we are in the Owners Suite. We went to the Elite lounge on the first formal night. Snacks and appetizers were good. Never went back, too busy enjoying our suite. I do think Skywalkers is one of the most under utilized spaces on the ship. Year's ago, we could go up there mid afternoon and have a drink, enjoy the view. S

Anyway, really enjoyed CB this week. Our Medallions even unlocked the door from 2-3 feet away. Medallion team is working hard everywhere to get the entire ship working.