MommytoAsquared

15 hours ago, groundloop said:

 

I think more than a few of us have been the victims of that one.  Most recently a very drunk woman across the hall from me was beating on a door yelling "Open this f(&%ing door!!!!!.  

So sorry about that - Cheers package you know 😜

Need to add a space for "Loudly/Drunkenly wake up your entire hallway returning to your cabin at 3 am"

I have used this company before and they provided good service.  There were four of us so it was easier to take a private transfer rather than a train or bus.

https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/Cruise-taxi/Dover/from-heathrow-to-dover-port

Thank you for the link - I was trying to figure out the logistics of the shuttle from the cruise terminal, then the shuttle to the train, then the train to Brugges.  This is much simpler!

I haven't read the entire thread...IMO the biggest difference between Carnival, Royal, and NCL vs the "luxury" lines like Celebrity is there are considerably more children on the less expensive cruise lines.  To me, that's the biggest difference

Yes, layers are important in Iceland.  If I recall correctly, I wore a lot of those quick dry hiking pants.

In Norway, I underestimated how cold and rainy it would be.  When we got off the ship in Bergen, somebody commented about the rain and the guy responded, "It's Norway, If it isn't snowing, it's raining."  So true!

On 7/10/2023 at 5:50 PM, mkcurran said:

If you don't have to spend the money with Carnival I've had excellent tours from tours by locals. Often I can customize a tour for four for less money than the Carnival tour. 

If you don't feel comfortable going outside the cruise line, that's understandable as well.

I second this - especially since we usually have four people in our group.  A private tour is usually not much more than the group carnival tour.  But again, sometimes you need to play way ahead for the best tours and prices.

Does AARP send electronic gift cards or physical cards?

Thanks!

I'd love to see more morning exercise classes.

21 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

You spelled "seventy-five" wrong.

 

😉

 

(Seriously, I know enough folks in that age range that remain problematic jerks.  Some people never actually grow out of it.)

This almost made me spit my coffee!!!  Ha Ha!

I've never been on AIDA cruise lines, but the "baby corner" concept is interesting to me.  For me, it would be more of a turn off to cruising that line. because it would encourage more babies and small children on board  My one trip on DCL was frustrating with all the small (screaming) kids and the parents using their strollers as battering rams.

OP - I hope you find a baby friendly cruise line and have a wonderful vacation!

I always cruise with the same four people (Me, my mother, and my two daughters).

We only cruise to cooler weather destinations (Canada, Alaska, Norway)

Because we only cruise to cool weather destinations, I've never been in the pools or waterslides.

We love to go to the comedy show and then the MDR for desert only.

I don't get the obsession with Guy's Burgers.

On the Pride this summer, a comedian teased a girl in the front row (about 13 ish), not only did she jump up and smart off to the comedian, she turned and yelled at the rest of the audience.  If I recall correctly, she yelled "If you call me entitled, I'm going to act entitled."  Even her little brother was embarrassed and grabbed her arm to get her to sit down.

This was in the roaming pack from the teens club.  They came to the comedy show every. single. night. and tried to heckle the comedian from the front row.  My teens were with me and found them obnoxious.

I was on a Carnival Pride cruise to Norway a few months ago.  The biggest difference for me was the average age of the passengers seemed much older (think Holland America).  I was also a little bit sad that almost all passengers were American, like me.  Not that being American is bad - I was just hoping for a more multi cultural experience.

But as the previous poster said, if you are causing for the itinerary, you will enjoy yourself.  We were one the ship for the ports and had an amazing time.

On 7/16/2022 at 1:40 AM, cruisestitch said:

At least it’s not “clothing optional” 👀

Ha Ha - That's what I originally read too!  I thought it was going to be an interesting thread!

Last cruise we had to be out of our rooms by 630 and off the ship by 8.  I won't do that again.

On 6/24/2022 at 4:34 AM, jameslee said:

Plan to stay in I’m for a few days afterwards does Dover have other transportation options like to Victoria station or is it better to pay for the $99 per person bus

We took a private car (Mazda MPV) for for about $185 each way.  If you google, London airport pick ups, you will get a few services.  We ran quotes on a few and found one for around $185.  We had four people so it will be less if you can use a smaller car.

We did consider trains and buses, but there were four of us and it was going to take several hours to make all the transfers.  The private car made more sense.

I thought the WiFi was so so - I could load banking sites without a problem.  The speed was probably comparable to dial-up internet.

We could not send photos via I-message.

But as PP mentioned, you can't expect fiber speed via satellite in the middle of the ocean.

Wristband

The resorts I have visited with wristbands are way more convenient that carrying a card IMO.

On 6/19/2022 at 4:01 PM, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

Book your taxis early.  I heard a lot of people say they thought they could just get in the taxi lane, but all taxis were pre-booked.

No customs that I saw.

I booked a private taxi to and from the airport.

And beware - London is about to have a train and bus workers strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  With the strike being every other day, it means the trains will be out of position on non-strike days.  People also won't be able to get to work and taxis will be in short supply.

Just off the Pride on June 19 - A couple of thoughts...

Book your taxis early. I heard people saying all taxis were booked at debarkation.

Yes, the ship was cold-ish.  I couldn't figure out to adjust the temperature.

Yes, the ship short staffed, not terribly, but we could tell there were fewer workers.  It might have taken a little longer to get drinks.

I don't think we waited longer than 10-15 minutes for Anytime Dining.

The crowd seemed much older to me.  I went with my 15 and 20 y/o and there were not many young people on the ship at all.  In fact, it felt like a Holland America cruise.

Even though the cruise sailed out of England, I would guess it was 75-80% Americans.

And this surprised me - We had to be out of our cabins by 615 and off the ship by 8.  Maybe this is the new standard, but it surprised me.  This was probably the most disappointing part for us.  Getting two teens out of bed that early is challenging.

One other advantage is if you don't like something, just pour it out.  Or if your ice melts and waters down your drink, just get another.  If I were PAYING for the drink, I would drink it before getting another.

It's interesting that two posts have mentioned the Sunshine.  The only time I felt a lot of rocking and listing on a ship was the Sunshine.

I had this happen a last week when I booked a June 2022 cruise on the Pride.  You might consider waiting a few days...

A few days ago, it was only showing obstructed view balcony rooms.  I waited a few days and more "normal" balcony rooms opened up.

We've done three trips since the beginning of Covid

1 - Rented a cottage in Seaside FL and were beach bums for a week.

2 - Week of hiking in Aspen CO

3 - Long weekend in Cancun at an all-inclusive.  By this time, we had all been through COVID so this was more doable for us than it may be for others.

All were wonderful in their own way.  The first two were terrific vacations in which we did not have to interact with other people if we did not choose to.

On the horizon - Disney World in the fall.  Maybe Turks and Caicos.