Drew B

For me, it's not even a matter of the money. I tried it and simply didn't care for the experience. The service was way too invasive, in my opinion. You never got a chance to just sit and relax and talk to your companions without having one or more servers hovering about...:(

Why would people go to Wal-Mart in Puerto Vallarta

 

 

I can answer this! I cruised to PV two weeks ago. When my luggage arrived in my cabin, the zipper on one of my suitcases had jammed and simply wouldn't open. I tried for a half hour and even got ship maintenance up to try to open it, all to no avail. Eventually, I had to borrow a box cutter and cut the whole suitcase open (rendering it garbage). In order to get my belongings off the ship upon debarkation, I needed a new bag. Suddenly, a good reason to visit Wal-Mart!

As soon as Carnival bans bug spray as they have with alcohol (whether to protect their revenue stream or for any other reason), then it will be wrong to bring your own. Until then, I don't think anybody is suggesting a problem...

I wish they offered HMC instead of Nassau on some of the 7-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries. I'd love to do HMC/St. Thomas/St. Maarten.

My 3-year-old daughter, enjoying her first cruise on the Lido deck of the Carnival Glory 2 weeks ago:

That reminds me so much of this one of my [then] 3-year-old niece on an Alaska cruise on Celebrity Mercury:

Was this from your Valor cruise? Which excursion is this with the sea lions?

It's at Coral World in St. Thomas. It's a wonderful albeit smallish marine park right next to Coki Beach. I don't know if I'm allowed to link to their website, but if you Google "Coral World St. Thomas", it comes right up.

I hate posting pictures of myself, but in this case, my "co-star" is too cute to resist:

Margaritaville, Grand Cayman

After taking a similar picture with my nieces, I kept talking to them about "Big Black Dick" for days. I probably should have been arrested... :p

Does anybody know any secrets about the 1A's on Splendor?

OMG, Kelly! That breaching humpback picture is one of the best I've ever seen! How in the world did you manage to catch that? Almost every attempted whale shot I have is a distant, blurry mess!

I had a fish dish on Celebrity Mercury that was just NASTY! It was some sort of a white fish rolled into a tube with a shrimp stuffed in the end. I don't recall the name, but I will avoid anything of the sort.

I also had one TERRIBLE lobster tail (mushy and mealy) on a cruise but I can't remember which one. I've never had a lobster tail on a cruise that I've considered particularly good, but this one was on a whole other level...

This is one of my favorites, our first cruise.

How's this for a resemblance?

I'll find a picture that shows it even better...

This is one of my favorites, our first cruise.

Your daughter (I assume) is a twin of my niece. I'm not sure if you can tell in this picture, but they look almost identical!

Why leave one off? Order all three, they don't care.

I thought that in the supper clubs, they DO care, and you only get one item per course (but can substitute a second appetizer instead of a salad).

Not to mention, Drew B, you had great weather in Alaska!

The first set of pics I posted a few days back were from September 2007, and the weather was very spotty. Both Juneau and Ketchikan had torrential rain, and Skagway had drizzle.

The three pics I posted yesterday are from May 2008, and the weather was incredible. Every port we visited, the locals said it was the first day that season that they saw the sun. We were very fortunate in that respect. The cruise had mechanical issues, though, and we had to miss a couple of ports. About half of the passengers were IRATE. I didn't understand why they couldn't be grateful for how lucky we were to get the ports we DID hit with such glorious weather...

Thanks a lot.... now I need to book another cruise to Alaska. These pictures are absolutely fantastic and beautiful, especialyl the park in Skagway with the mountains in the back.

Just, WOW

I don't know if you can see them or not, but there's a lady on the right side playing with her dogs (one is in the pond making the ripples).

I know it's supposed to only be one picture, but since I learned how to post pictures, I'm addicted!

A gorgeous park in Skagway:

The Chilkat River outside of Haines, Alaska:

A tree I fell in love with outside of Ketchikan:

Enjoy!

It's not a cruising-related favorite picture, but I thought this thread would be a good place to show off my brand-spanking-new avatar featuring my lovely dog, Zora...

And these three aren't necessarily the best pictures, but it was certainly a fantastic excursion that I will always remember...

A very industrious porcupine...

A hilarious pic of my sister bottle feeding an orphaned moose...

And my niece getting to pet the cutest creature I've ever seen - a flying squirrel...

This is my first time ever posting a picture. Let's hope it works...

In Alaska (Juneau) near the Mendenhall Glacier...

I have to add my appreciation to Gail for that picture and that story. I've been having a crappy day at work, but that story really gave me some perspective (and, for that matter, inspiration).

OH Drew I am so sorry...If you ever want another one I can help you find a nice puppy from a reputable breeder..

Thanks. I've got three bigger dogs now, so I'm not really looking for a fourth... I'll always have a soft spot for chins, though. :)

Yes! Thats my little Butterfly when she was a puppy...Shes 2 years old now and just finished her AKC Championship..We have 3 Japanese Chin and think they are great little dogs..

 

Kelly

I'm a big fan of the breed. I used to have one, but he got killed by a poisonous spider...:eek:

Kellywhitehills, is that a Japanese Chin in your avatar? How cute!

(great Alaska pic as well)