Fern Crest

Keep checking, they will periodically release more FTTF 'excursions' as your sail date gets closer. What I've done is set a reminder on my calendar, a few times a week.

Have a great cruise!

Well, it would be great to have some kind of retribution for annoying robocalls.

Too bad they can't do the same thing with those jerks who spoof/change their number so it looks like a local call! :evilsmile:

Well, it sounds like you prefer Princess to Carnival. Fortunately, there is a cruise line to suit most anyone's preferences. :)

I would suggest that you pick the cruise line that gives you what you want, and have a great cruise!

....... I do understand where a little personal "thank you" goes a long way to help you get over all the nasty people you had to deal with that day.

That's it, right there! I would hate to have to clean up and see some of the stuff people do, like entire plates of food that were never touched, all kinds of foods mixed together just to make a mess, drinks poured over the entire tray, not to mention the entitled attitudes and such. After awhile, I think it would be nice to be reminded that there are considerate beings still around.

More on the level of a random act of kindness than anything else. :)

Has anyone ever left a dollar or two on/under their tray during the lunch hours? I typically do, seeing the staff work really hard to try and stay ahead of the carnage, and nearly always with a smile.

Just curious.

Thanks!

I did a forum search for 'day rooms Fort Lauderdale', and got a bunch of great hits! Glad to see some hotels realizing there's even more money to be made from us tourists! ;)

We're on the 8-26 sailing, we can't wait!

Glad you had a great time!

Is it possible to get a room for the day at one of the hotels on the beach and use it as a sort of staging area until we need to get to the airport around 3:00 pm?

Some will want to nap, some want to swim, some will sight-see, and I'm sure food will be involved a few times.

Think we can do this, or are we doomed to either lugging our bags around or schlumping in the airport all day?

We've always had early dining, and it's never felt rushed at all. Lets us enjoy the evening however we want, and there's time for a late pizza or lasagna run without feeling stuffed!

Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise!

The good ol' Dirty Banana ... banana rum, kahlua, bloop of soft serve vanilla, half a ripe banana, swirl and enjoy!

Soft, cushy toilet paper! Hate that stuff that shreds and pills and leaves debris behind on the behind!

:D

...Where there are large, uninterrupted expanses of water, without land masses to break it up, the seas add to each other and build, just look at the "Roaring 40's" (just HAD to look that up!) that completely circle the globe in the southern hemisphere. Compare this to the North Sea or Baltic, and you get a totally different probability of large wave height, wave period, and wave steepness... As others have said, the first day or so heading from/to the West Coast, you will be running across the California current, which runs north to south, so the seas tend towards this direction, placing them on the beam as you sail towards Hawaii and the South Pacific. This can cause rolling.

I nearly always learn something new from your posts. I'd happily buy you a drink if we ever ended up on the same ship. Thank you for sharing!

Yes, no loss to the cruising industry losing him as a customer. She divorced him a few years later.

Yikes. Sounds like this guy had WAY more issues than tissues. Your description reads like a textbook psych eval of an abusive partner.

I hope she's happier now.

You could bring something lightweight to put on a lounger or on the sand, like this: Beach Blanket

Then bring the towels from the ship. Typically, there's crew who stand at the gangway and take used towels to put in a big laundry cart as you board.

Enjoy your cruise!

Great writeup, thanks for posting it. Congratulations on the new family member!

We bought a lovely tennis bracelet at Diamonds International, but when two stones fell out (one onboard and one on the way home), we had a long, long struggle to return it. We even had the stones that had fallen out. Everyone says it's easy to do, but after that multi-month, multi-department-transferring, and multi-letter process, with an even longer hold on our credit card, we will stick with local jewelers.

Your mileage may vary.

Have a great cruise!

HMC has a lovely stretch of beach with lots of loungers that are in the shade nearly all day. It's a gorgeous beach, and if you don't *have* to be right in the thick of the action, wander down the beach a little and relax in the natural shade and the lovely ocean breeze!

Don't add to your luggage by bringing your own shade when it's already there for you to enjoy!

Enjoy your cruise!

... that the TP they use is crappy (pun intended)!

We always bring a roll of something softer. I imagine our steward just shakes his head at how weird some people are! :D

We have gotten FTTF for the past 2 cruises, and are getting it again for the upcoming one. Is it worth it? For us, absolutely.

There is a separate line at GS desk, not a separate phone #, but the OP mentioned that there was a difficult passenger in front of them, and there's no way to control that. May your journeys ever be free of complicated problems you need help with. ;)

Priority boarding is awesome, and it's on you if your schedule makes use of this or not. Luggage is 'supposed' to be in your rooms when you get there or shortly after, and that's been 50% for us. At least we got our luggage, and that's a good thing!

Priority tendering is still a mystery to me. There was no call for priority boarding at Half Moon Cay, so I don't know how this is supposed to work, short of muscling your way to the front of whatever lounge you're directed to and demanding you get on first. Personally, I wouldn't recommend that. :)

Disembarking was wonderful - we were ready and waiting for the shuttle to Orlando (from Canaveral) before the bus even got there. Arrived at the airport with tons of time to spare for flights out that day.

If you ask 50 people if FTTF is worth it, I think you'll get about 40 different answers. For us, it's a big YES! :D

E-oh, e-oh! (Sirens blaring)

 

Another chat board police officer telling people when and where they should be posting.

 

There's nothing for you to wrap YOUR head around, because it's MY vacation. See how easy that was?

Hahahahaaa! Well done! :)

There may not be any tax involved, but transportation of goods between countries almost always requires customs declarations. I routinely ship used lube oil samples to Japan for analysis, about 1 cup of dirty oil, no value, but have to fill out and include 6 copies of customs declarations when sending by FEDEX. If you ship luggage home from overseas, you must declare your used clothing as such.

Your post made me giggle. :D

When you board, the FIRST thing you do is go to the Customer Service desk and request that your balcony divider be folded back, removed, or whatever they do on the Conquest. They will only do this for a limited number of rooms, so make sure that you make this your first stop.

You can also talk to your travel agent or your Carnival rep and have them make a note on your file, but it's hit or miss whether this gets as far as the ship.

Have a great cruise!

You arrive whenever you want. You will have signs to follow for Diamond, Platinum and FTTF, and you'll just follow them to check in.

Depending on when your ship gets in, you could probably plan on early boarding around 11-ish, or relax, take your time and arrive around 1 or so, and just walk on without dealing with the chaos that is early boarding of a cruise ship.

Have a great cruise!

One of the best examples of Much Ado About Nothing in a good while. :)

Camp Carnival will still be there, just not in the regular area. That's all.

And *this* is what's frustrating you before a cruise? I'm sure there are bigger issues that could use your attention. :)

Forget the frustrations, go do something nice with your daughters, your friend, your cat, whatever. You're going on a cruise. That, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing!

Have a great cruise!

Welcome back to cruising, I hope you have a great time!

Here's a list of things to bring

Here's a list of things not to bring

You are allowed to bring a power strip, as long as it does not have a surge protector.

You are not allowed to bring bottles of water, but you are allowed a 12-pack (per person) of soda or juice in cans only.

You can have two carryons, but they must be able to fit through the same kind of xray screener that they have at the airport.

I don't believe there is a limit for checked bags, but I may be wrong there. I do know that people tend to overpack, myself included. Try to resist. ;)

I'm sure others will have more suggestions!

Have a great cruise!