Eli_6

I have more often than not just encountered inconsiderate, rude and entitled people rather than actual "unruly" people. And, fwiw, it isn't specific to Carnival as I have encountered it in many places. I feel like a lot of people forgot how to behave in public during the Covid shut down.

Ugh. That sucks. I would email guest services and hopefully they will pay to have it shipped to you. This is another reason I am committed to doing carry on only. After the debacle that was lost luggage in Europe last year, I am doing carry on online even when I have a generous baggage allowance simply because I no longer trust luggage to be out of my sight. I have found that when you only take what you truly need, there is no need to check luggage. Albeit, I realize this isn't possible for people with restricted mobility.

Can you upgrade to a better room or a suite for the "new" price and basically only pay a minimal difference since the price has changed?

The one thing I will say about the motion sickness meds, is that if you use the scopolamine patch for more than a few days you can actually have pretty severe withdrawals from it...I found out the hard way.

I was on the Pride last summer and there were people his age, but not a lot. Specifically, we went on a lot of Sandra's tours and there was a family traveling with their college aged/grad school aged kids and their kids' friends who we frequently sat with because we also had our kids. I suspect that being in the fall and not the summer (when many college kids are off) there will be even fewer. However, it will still be an amazing experience and there will not be much time for socializing anyway with all of the site seeing.

Spirit class secrets? Like what's under David's leaf in the Steakhouse on the Pride?

But I have to fly into Europe to get there or to Israel and that is the point. I was specifically saying that I won't have enough Avios to fly 4 people back to Europe from Houston so that is why I mentioned Europe. Not because either Israel or or Egypt is in Europe. The flights from Barcelona to Egypt are cheap. The issue is the long haul transatlantic flight. Currently to fly 4 people business class from Houston to Egypt would cost me about $25,000 during the summer. Yes, I could pay that if I wanted to...but why would I when I can instead pay 180k avios and $900?

Both last year and in this upcoming year, we are taking cruises on Carnival in Europe. Both times, we have spent time in Europe before and after the cruise since we fly business (for our family of four) and the flights are lengthy and expensive. Both in 2022 and this upcoming year, we will be there for just under 3 weeks. I am currently planning our 2024 vacation. We have a 5k FCC on Carnival that has to be used (or I will lose it) so I booked a Barcelona-Barcelona cruise that goes to Pisa, Rome, Sicily, Malta, and several other places. I have really been wanting to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. I was supposed to go in 2020, but it was canceled due to Covid. I found where Royal (on the Voyager of the Seas) has a cruise going out of Athens ten days after we disembark from our first cruise. The only negative is that this would put us in Europe for pretty much 4 full weeks which is longer than we have ever been away from home. Has anyone taken this cruise to Egypt and Israel? Do you recommend it? Are the excursions substantive enough to feel like you actually got a taste of the country? I am a little nervous about just flying there and trying to do something on our own with kids in tow. My kids are currently 8 and 10. They would be 10 and 11 at the time of the vacation in 2024. I would prefer to take a major cruise line (like Carnival, Disney, or Royal) because my kids enjoy the slides, kid's club, etc.

Caesar salad. Anything that has something that could go bad (like Mayo) and has been sitting out too long on a buffet.

My Mom is 76 and my Dad is 82. I would take them to Alaska rather than Norway. Similar experiences and not as much travel. My uncle (who was in excellent health) dropped dead after a European cruise and international flight at age 70. Having done Europe cruises, I wouldn't bring either of my parents on them.

You are probably fine unless it is a controlled substance. It doesn't sound like any of yours are.

Oh, it didn't bother me. We have dogs so I am used to having my crotch sniffed.

As an aside, please cut this crap with the snark. I am an attorney and my husband is a physician. We aren't broke. My kids go to private school and we own two homes and an office building. And own the homes outright without a mortgage. No, I don't want to spend $7k EACH on business class international tickets when I can plunk down 150k avios and $900. That doesn't make us poor or broke or poor planners. So just cut that ISH out. If you don't have something helpful to say, keep scrolling. I didn't ask for your opinion on my financial decisions. I asked for whether it would be too much for young kids or too long on a boat. If you can help with that, please comment. If you want to rake me over the coals for my financial decisions then keep scrolling and don't comment. I don't need financial advice. I am fine in that department. I am asking for cruising advice, not your opinion on whether I should be extending a vacation or not based on my finances.

We went to Europe (with the kids) last summer. We went to The Open (hubs thing) and did a UK cruise. We are going to Europe again this summer. Everything planned. No Egypt. We are going to Europe in 2024. Not planned other than the 8 day cruise. We are NOT going in 2025. In none of these trips has MOM (me) gotten to do the ONE THINGS she REALLY wants to do and was supposed to do in 2020, but wasn't able to because of Covid. We are fine with the heat. We live closer to the equator than the pyramids.

As an aside, we went on an Alaskan cruise last summer through a Carnival casino deal. Had a suite and an inside room for not a lot. (Albeit, this was purchased during the shut down so probably more now.) In Icy Strait Point, we just road the gondola and it was fun. It was an experience in and of itself. We also did the excursion off the boat where you went up the fjord and that was definitely worth it!!! We did a helicopter tour to the glacier in Juneau and a privately chartered fishing trip in one of the other place. Both of those were $$$ and IMO could be skipped.

There is an Alaskan Airlines card. I don't have one so don't know much about it, but it might help you to get that credit card and save miles. We run all of our business expenses through our BA card. So far, we have paid for 8 transatlantic business flights (about 5k to 7k each) to Europe with it and I am currently saving my Avios to pay for 4 more for 2024.

That's actually a good idea re the children and I flying premium economy and let him fly business.

Drama? The pain of the situation? I am not sure what you mean.

Speaking of the drug dogs, when we boarded last week, the dog came up and stuck his nose right in my crotch and kept sniffing it repeatedly. I swear, I had NO DRUGS in my crotch. The police officer told me "Just keep moving" and the dog continued to follow me and stick his nose in my butt. Eventually the dog moved on, but I was a little concerned there for a minute....

We are scheduled on a Barcelona to Barcelona cruise on Carnival Legend (going to Rome, Pisa, Malta, Sicily, Pompeii, etc.--basically to Italy locations) May 30 to June 7 2024. I had a 5k future cruise credit with Carnival that was set to expire in August 2024 so I used it on this cruise. I also have a companion fly free airfare ticket on British Airways that I have to use by June 2024 and another one that expires in November 2024. I have enough Avios to get us 4 business class tix with the companion fares (my husband is older than me and says he doesn't want to fly coach on a long haul flight because his back and knees hurts...my kids are 8 and 10 - and will be 9 and 11 by this trip - so probably too young to stick them on their own in coach) but it will deplete me of Avios. (We also are going this year and went last year to Europe from Avios I had saved up during Covid.) Long story short - I probably won't be going back to Europe in 2025 because I have depleted my avios and I don't want to pay 6k-7k per person for international business class airfare. Yet, I have really been wanting to see the pyramids. I was supposed to go with a group from the museum in the city where I live (Houston) in 2020, but it was canceled due to Covid. (I studied history and law at University and even studied Narmer and Neithhotep.) Now that my kids are a bit older, I would like to take them me. I found a Royal Caribbean cruise going to Egypt (2 nights so enough to see the pyramids--and also stopping in Jerusalem where I have also always wanted to go!) on June 17th to June 24th 2024. This sounds perfect because it will enable me to do all of my "bucket" list items in one trip and also use up my FCC and companion fares...only bad part is that there is ten day break between cruise 1 and 2. What would you do for that ten days? One option is to take the Royal Carribean ship (same ship I will be on June 17-24) that goes from Barcelona to Athens (and goes to several places in Greece and Turkey) that runs June 10th-17th. This would be neat, but I feel like 3 weeks on a cruise ship with only 3 days off would be a lot. (Although, I suppose it will be a bit more broken up since we would be changing ships.) The other option would be to get off and stay at an Air BNB for that period of time...or do land travel. T We did just shy of 3 weeks in Europe last summer and I was VERY ready to get home at the end of it so I worry a little bit about doing 4 weeks. But the 4 weeks is the only way to do the second cruise. My kids are actually really great at traveling...better than me or my husband. Will it be too long?

Honestly, that's the number 1 thing I am excited about. No more hanging out in the laundry room. And we have to adjoining rooms with a platinum in each room so that = 6 bags of laundry done!

I think it is on the Pride TA and I think it is only with respect to embark/debark and tender. If they do it on my cruise...well, I am leaving from Barcelona so don't really care if I get on the ship first or not. There is way more to do and see in Barcelona than on the Carnival Pride so I have no reason to rush to get on the ship. As for the ports, I don't think there are any are any tender ports on my sailing so not worried about that. Only thing I would be upset about having taken away would be my free laundry...

Sure, I will do that. Although, if they aren't replacing all of the beds but just rotating them out as someone suggested above, I suppose it could be luck of the draw as to whether I get an old bed or a new bed.

Oh, we had a suite last year and used the laundry benefit...and I also did laundry in the laundry room on top of that! Thank goodness that the older ships still have laundromats.

My next cruise to Europe!