newcruiser1956

I have only done one cruise so far, no one bothered me. Cuba coming up in a month :) Solo on that one too :)

You will have fun :)

I was there in January on Carnival. Inside the port area you are very safe. There are vendors there but they were not aggressive at all. You could walk and look at the booths with no hassles. If you go outside of the port there was a strong police presence. I did go out to a few stores right outside the port with no one bothering me. I did see a police officer wave them back.

I took a ship sponsored tour. We did the float trip. No one bothered us, no one tried to sell us anything when the van came back in we all had to show ship cards to come back inside the port area.

I never felt unsafe.

Go and have a good time, or see if they will let you change names on the reservation. You never know until you ask.

How much did he charge for 10 hours?

How much did you tip him?

Where all did you go?

I am with him in June :)

Thanks!!

coffeegoddess has pictures of the solo lounge in her live report

Thank you!

Doug, any chance you have seen the solo lounge and rooms? How does that area look??

Thanks!!

Thank you so much for doing this!!

That is finalized.. he says will be meet you outside the terminal :) You can not pay him until you get there.

I have a tour with him the first week of June :)

I understand that they need to make money but the greed of the cruise lines in making sure they have the monopoly is sickening

 

 

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Greed? They are making sure the people on their ships are able to have a fun time. It is not a monopoly, the companies offering the events are able to say yes or no. They choose to say yes to large groups guaranteeing them an income. Why not Blame all the people on the cruise ships for wanting to take excursions.

There have been 12 people on this thread that have said that Uber or Lyft is the way to go. Besides yourself, there has been one person that says take the shuttle. Since you are a "new cruiser" according to your nickname, why not take the advice of the dozen people that say Uber or Lyft is the way to go. I am inferring that you're 61 and I know that Uber or Lyft is modern compared to a taxi, but it's the logical choice.

I was telling you what my experience was. I had intended actually on taking Uber and was on my way to ground transportation when I found the check-in desk at the airport and the shuttle, the shuttle was cheaper, I was not in a hurry, it was an ok experience for me. I have used Uber many times for other things, Just sharing my experience. Just because my experience does not agree with 12 others does not make mine wrong and theirs right. It just makes it my experience.

I fly into Miami in June. Is it better to take the carnival shuttle or an uber? I think the uber might be a little more expensive, but I was thinking the convenience might be worth it. Thoughts?

Check in at the airport, I took the shuttle, it leaves the airport every 20 minutes so I only waited a few minutes.. From the time I checked in until I was at the port was approx 30 minutes... Why be in a hurry, not like you are typically going to immediately run up on the shop. Leaving we were full in a few minutes and out of there, I was pleased.

FlaminJune - This is a truly wonderful itinerary - the original Spice Islands. We first went to Banda in 1990 as a land-based trip and it was there that we ran into an expedition ship called World Discoverer. The owner of the little hotel we were staying in arranged for us to go aboard and it changed our lives. We saw the ship's routes and realised there was a way to visit places like Pitcairn Island and Tristan da Cunha. It was many years later that we could afford to do trips like that and by that time the World Discoverer had struck a reef in the Solomons. Years later still I snorkelled around the wreck and touched the old ship, a rather moving experience.

 

Anyway, for many reasons the Banda Islands have a special place in our hearts. A truly extraordinary place to visit and it should be a World Heritage Site. We went back fairly recently and here are some photos I took. I hope you like it as much as I do.

 

 

Scans from my 35mm slides from the earlier trip are here, including shots of the World Discoverer which some readers of this Forum may remember -

 

Amazing pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Cat,

 

I'm sorry about your husband's passing. That is a huge loss and adjustment.

 

I'm a solo cruiser, and have done 2 river cruises, with a 3rd booked for this fall. I think you'll find it even easier to sail solo on a river cruise than an ocean cruise, due to the small size of the ship. It's easy to meet other people in the lounge, at mealtime, and on excursions. I was surprised at the number of solo passengers on my first river cruise. Several of them were widows or widowers who didn't want to give up traveling or cruising after the loss of their spouse.

 

 

 

Also sorry about your husband... And also a single cruiser :) Have river cruise with Avalon booked, (they have a single supplement) Also 2 NCL and a Viking :) Looking forward to it!

What forms of ID do you need to have when you re-board the ship after a Carnival excursion? My wife thinks you just need your sign and sail card and I think you need more than that. Who is right or does it depend on where the port is?

In Jamaica they only made us use the Sign and Sail card, but I would make sure you have ID just in case.

I am a new cruiser, have only been on one but have 4 more in the pipes.

I am a single, older woman and reality is, it is safer for me to be on a cruise ship. I do not have to worry about transportation to go to places (I can take an excursion), I don't have to figure out where to eat and how to get there, drive in strange places etc. I can get on a ship, it takes me to where I want to go, everything is on the ship. I feel for an older single female, I am safer.

I am so glad!! Dinner was the one thing I really had concerns with. I am an early eater, having to wait so late was not something I was looking forward to. Not every one likes to eat at 7 pm.

Sorry for the question for which the obvious answer was a watch. I guess I should have said that no one in our house has a traditional watch and I was looking for other solutions. I am trying to avoid having to go buy a watch just for this purpose and bring one more thing along. But, thank you to those who said that the phone could be set to stay on one time even when you connect it. I will try to figure out how to do that.

It is under your settings,

You can get a very cheap watch at walmart for less than $10.

Hi all!

 

We’re traveling on the Gem in a few weeks and after saving a little extra dough pre cruise we called to find out if we could pay for a room upgrade. We have the opportunity to upgrade from an inside cabin to an ocean view (not balcony) for a few hundred dollars. My partner and I are waffling back and forth, so I’d love to hear from you. Any one out there with strong opinions either way? Should we go for it, or save our money for Bingo or a shore excursion instead?

 

 

I had a ocean view on my last cruise and loved it. It was chilly so I knew a balcony was a waste of money. The ocean view was nice, could watch the waves, the weather etc. I would always try to book an ocean view if the price is very close to an inside. I travel solo.

I liked them, They have a very good veggie burger. It is not on the menu, you just have to ask for it and they will cook it up for you. I survived on them on the Sensation.

I am thrilled too! Vietnam in 2020

So....

theres no way in heck im paying $79.00 for FTTF. And i bought it every cruise i have gone on since its been a thing.

My question is this:

Since they are doing the check in times at the port is it even really worth it anymore?

I checked in at the airport, that group went in behind the FTTF group. I do not know how it will work on getting off the ship. I was on the 4th floor and we departed from the 3rd so I was out pretty fast.

Those long overnight flights to Europe are miserable. Everyone says sleep...how? Last year when I flew to Romania, I got a rash underneath where my bra was from sweating and not being able to take it off for almost 24 hours. It was awful.

 

Roz

I would have taken it off, the girl just want to be free :) No one would have paid any attention to you without on.

VIKING, I hope you are reading!! I hope some of your new ships will have rooms for singles and a singles price. There are many of us that are widows and widowers that love to travel and love your product but can not afford to pay the double price and be on your line all the time. How about make it so we can afford to travel all the time on your ships instead of having to go to NCL and several others that have single rates??

And for the record, I am on Viking with my daughter to Rome in Dec.

I am on Avalon River for a river cruise because it is $4,000 LESS than Viking for the same trip. I would have booked Viking if the price was not such a HUGE difference.

VIKING, I hope you are reading!! I hope some of your new ships will have rooms for singles and a singles price. There are many of us that are widows and widowers that love to travel and love your product but can not afford to pay the double price and be on your line all the time. How about make it so we can afford to travel all the time on your ships instead of having to go to NCL and several others that have single rates??

Go to your NCL and you can order it on there OR take one of those large cold water glasses with you and fill it up before you go to your room for the night and you will be set :)