Itchy&Scratchy

22 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

 A way to use up extra bananas & eggs? 

I don't think so, since both were served every morning.

good point. We are US citizens with passports, so our disembarkation with facial recognition is usually super fast.

5 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I just want to note that I’ve been on 40 post CoVid cruises so, 2 times out of 40 cruises is not too bad.

3 out of 7 for us.

5 hours ago, julsngraham said:

Hi there I am in the process of booking a cruise with Princess and when I asked to add the plus package they added my child

4 hours ago, julsngraham said:

I might be able to book it on the app once I book the cruise

who is "they" and how did they add a Plus package for 3 when you haven't even booked the cruise yet?

depends on the cruise line, but in June we sailed out of Port Everglades, but flew back from MIA at 1:30.  We leisurely walked off (5 of us) around 9:30 am, collected our luggage, got an uber and were at the MIA airport around 11. If you walk off before 8, I am sure you will be there a lot sooner.

13 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

the pizza not as good

traditional pizzas were pretty good on MSC, but whatever this was  - we didn't even risk it.

Banana fosters pizza

breakfast pizza

59 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

As a first timer, if you don't go in with any preconceived notions based on the stereotypes that run rampant by people who have never sailed the line, I think you will enjoy it

lol, we have a LOT of preconceived notions about sailing on Carnival.  So many videos and so many reviews on the Carnival board that provide endless "entertainment"....

59 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

The one thing I would be concerned with that I didn't really realize until I sailed other lines more, is the crowding and long lines. They are pretty common on Carnival

as long as it's not as bad as steerage class on MSC - we are good. 🙂

16 hours ago, crawford said:

Covid is occurring all the time. Fortunately, symptoms are generally mild.

not for all of us. Hubs got it on April cruise and June cruise this year alone. April covid was very tough, loads of awful cough and general misery. June variant just brought a lot of misery.

Hubs is healthy and under 50, vaxxed and boostered as well.

13 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 I would think $50 is more than sufficient for each the room steward, waiter and assistant waiter

that's what we usually do as well on top of regular grats, if service has been outstanding. We do not tip the hostess or the manager.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I would never trust a large multinational corporation that can't tell singular from plural.

I work for a huge multinational corporation, and a lot of our communiques and press releases are written by the Headquarters in a different country. Their English is great, but not native, and I can definitely see how English words are sometimes inserted into a foreign language sentence structure. I am not a native English speaker either, and I did that a lot at the beginning. Hopefully, not too much now.

So, yeah, I'd give people a break on English grammar. 

Over the years I've also seen the side effects of US education, so even the native speakers aren't immune to bad grammar. 

13 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I don't have the patience to book that far in advance

All of our long distance vacations have to be planned well in advance and we had to take advantage of the 3rd and 4th free promotion since we travel with the kiddo. I booked my parents as well, and I hope they can make it that far in the future.

This TG we are trying Carnival for the first time. The last two years have been years of firsts. We tried MSC (not thrilled, but not exactly a nightmare either), tried Celebrity (loved it), and will be trying Carnival (fingers crossed). 🙂

11 minutes ago, paddingtonbear said:

https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/
 

we are talking about drinks here it’s 18% for everyone. 
 

other gratuities are $17 pppd inside and balcony, 18% for mini suites etc and 19% for suites. See the link. 

you keep mixing up dollar and percent signs.

On 9/21/2024 at 4:08 PM, paddingtonbear said:

Gratuities are $18pp a day. 

when you say $18pp a day, you are definitely not talking about drinks and 18% for everyone.

On 7/18/2024 at 8:39 PM, Theo1429 said:

Thanks to all we booked a Sept 2025 cruise on the Celebration.

I wouldn't be worried about Aruba, but I'd worry that a hurricane in FL area may cause an interruption 

On 9/17/2024 at 7:00 PM, mimi'sgirl said:

Was the $15 each way for the taxi for 2 people?

also for 3 people.

18 hours ago, Ashland said:

That can be a hit or miss. Depending on your child's age you might consider a Bubble Bum inflatable car seat booster.

 

 

she clearly said it's for a one year old. 🙂

21 hours ago, Mbcruiser704 said:

We are in town one day beforehand and wanted to go somewhere - not Disney - with a one year old.

don't risk it. If you have bought a seat on the plane for your kid, bring a Cosco Scenera NEXT and use it on the plane and in the taxi. If your child is traveling as a lap child, bring the Cosco Scenera NEXT in the original bag and GATE check it. Do not check it with the rest of the luggage.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3018653-traving-with-a-baby-fll-hotel-to-port/#comment-67648418

also use the car seat if you are taking a taxi in a port of call. The laws of physics still apply. Bring a seat belt clip with you in case the vehicle doesn't have retractable seat belts or latch.

14 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

I’m actually going on a 4 night for the first time in April and flying.  As a teacher, with set vacation times, a 7 night is very risky for embarkation and a lot of 7 nighters aren’t sun-sun so I’d have to fly in the same day (sat-sat.) It’ll be interesting to see how this goes.

Celebrity also has 6 night cruises. 🙂

We too travel only during school breaks since we always cruise with our teen, but we do 7-8 night cruises. 4 nights is way too short. We fly in the evening the day before. Before the pandemic we flew in the morning of, but it is way too stressful now to continue that practice. 

18 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I am now booked on Beyond, November 25, 2024 Thanksgiving cruise!

I thought you meant 2025 and got excited, since we are going to be on Beyond for Thanksgiving 2025. Oh, well, next time then.

1 hour ago, Jeafl said:

Plus a juggler who couldn't hold onto what he was juggling to save his soul.  I was embarrassed for him.

we must have had the same juggler on our recent Princess cruise. Even my kid said it was embarrassing. 

1 hour ago, Jeafl said:

honestly, enough is enough with the passengers being your entertainment.

amen.

On 9/21/2024 at 4:08 PM, paddingtonbear said:

Gratuities are $18pp a day.

when did they increase? they were $16 pppd in June (inside and balcony).

23 hours ago, GloriaF said:

I truly expected gratuities to be $20/day, so $18/day is a nice surprise.

not on Enchanted in June.

17 minutes ago, Daddyj said:

i see comments on princess website error message "we're having technical difficulties" going back several years.  what is going on? I never see an explaination..

so, you decided to register and make your own thread about it? Please, there are several threads already opened...

it's been having trouble for the last couple of weeks, and there have been multiple threads about it.

8 hours ago, RiaT said:

Thank you for your help.

We are just a bit worried about the space of the cabin and the view from the balcony.

We are going to see if we can make head or tail on Cruise Mapper to see what deck 9 is like.

we were in E504 and E502 and both cabins were just fine.

Here is the obstruction on E504:

when the ship leaves the port, the life saving boat is lowered, so its roof is even with the floor of the cabin.

we loved deck 8, but we usually get an obstructed balcony since they are cheaper than regular balconies.

4 hours ago, mark46 said:

😞 It took me less than 10 keystrokes.  

 

.Find Florida October 2024 Cruises to Mexico (with Prices) - Cruise Critic

yeap, like I said - off season. We can't just go and sail any time in the middle of a school year and at the last minute. Our cruises have to be planned a bit more in advance, and we have to fly to the port. If we buy a super cheap cruise at the last minute, we will pay the difference for the airline tickets. If you look at MSC cruises for October 2025 instead, you will not see $50 pppn prices.