The4Cruisers

On ‎7‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 1:43 PM, Lottacruises said:

 

 

Thanks!! Yes, this is what I was looking for. Do they do the same deck parties, hairy chest, etc???

 

Also, for those that can't look away, look at this amazing itinerary!

 

 

And I thought you were going to make a funny joke about the way Florida looks on this map! 

13 hours ago, Baddabing said:

From the posts I am reading especially off the last two months it's more than occasional. If it's as bad as prior passengers are complaining I'll have the local Jacksonville news look into it.

So just dismiss what the people who have sailed that ship before have to say.    
As far as running to the local news...yeah... OK then.  That pretty much said all I need to hear.

Throw all my daily med pills in a baggie with one extra dose and that's that.

Enjoy early boarding and getting into our room asap when onboard.  

Also like the priority debarkation and I put the pin on my backpack.  

Really enjoy the P/D party.  Free beer!!! 

The plat gift is a nice gesture from CCL.  We have appreciated all of the little trinkets we've received to date.  Even the Croc visors went to a good home.  😉

No use for any of the other perks, especially the laundry service (yuck!).  

Our first two cruises were on Celebration in 05 & 06.   Really enjoyed that ship.  The only thing I didn't care for was the lack of an atrium lobby. 

Cruised on Holiday in 2009 and she was just fine, especially for all of the heat that the snobs gave her.  We had a good time and would have sailed her again if they put her in a decent port (yes I have NO love for the port of Mobile).  

Now we enjoy our 4/5 day jaunts on the Fantasy class ships.  The larger ships are fun on our 7 day cruises, but I do enjoy the smaller ships more.   

Print them at work, in color, with spare copies! 

We leave NC at midnight (or so, depending on which FLA port we sail from) the night before and get to the port by 9 -10 AM.  This includes stopping for a good breakfast at sunrise.  

If anything happens, we have a good 4 - 5 hours to McGyver an alternate plan.  

Major perks are no traffic, family sleeps as I drive, and I also sleep like a baby onboard the ship that first night as I've usually been awake for awhile that day.  

Great review so far!  We were on the same cruise.  In fact, we were two doors from you in the Aft Ext'd Balcony 6454.   

On Princess Cay day, we were delayed leaving the port due to another medical emergency.  We've been told it was an 8 year old boy that had suffered an appendix issue.  Hopefully he and his family fared well.  

This was the first time we've witnessed a helo evacuation, for the other medical issue on the cruise.  I can't commend the skills of these Coast Guard folks enough.  Great job!  

The only trouble we had with the room was that we were located right above the comedy club.  While the sounds (voices and music) were clearly noticeable, it didn't prevent us from sleeping.  (We tend to sleep early and rise early these days.)  

Didn't notice any kind of smoke issue on the Promenade nor in the casino.  Different strokes, I guess.  

We had great weather (lower 80's each day) and just the little bit of rain on the sea day.  

All in all, it was a great cruise.  My only wish to improve it would be to have a P/D party on the 4 day cruises.  

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 1:55 AM, DallasGuy75219 said:

We self-entitled Diamonds and Platinums have s separate, super secret process to beat you to the tenders and "get ours", so you should be more concerned about non-priority guests who are trying to get tender stickers for everyone else in their party who won't be awake or ready in time to go ashore when their number is called

We usually wait it out and have a leisurely breakfast before heading over for a few ours.  Then we come back early and relax / shower before dinner.  

I never trust my checked bags to arrive on time and safely.  I plan for the worst case.

For that reason my CPAP is carried on, along with the wine, rx, etc. 

I vote NO.  I really don't care about the tablecloths.

Go to a deck plan site and there will be icons for what type of beds are in the rooms. 

3 hours ago, Tiger0613 said:

HLN will show the same four episodes of 48 Hours each day.  After seven days, I was really sick and tired of hearing about Falcon Lake, Atlanta Child Murders, Costa Rica, and whatever the fourth one was.

So what's your thoughts on Falcon Lake?  Do you think the wife is telling ALL that she knows?  I think there's something not being told. 

Blah, blah, blah...  Another toothless rule to appease the high maintenance complainers.  

CCL issued a big bark.  Now are they really going to "bite" the customer?  I doubt it.  Maybe only in an extreme case, that's about it.  

On ‎12‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 2:23 PM, BoDidly said:

Yea , but what if one son was on the other sons shoulders and they were both drunk ? 😎

And someone left a discarded banana peel near the rail too?  SMH...

I call Verizon before we leave home and get Pay As You Go international calling for the specific SHIP and itinerary that we will be traveling on.  

It doesn't cost anything to put in place, but you do pay for calls and texts sent and received AND for any data used.  We shut off the Cellular Data on our phones so we don't use data and incur those astronomical fees.  

We also don't make calls with the phones.

We strictly use the phones to text with our family at home.  I forget the rate, but it might be something like .05 per message to receive and $.15 to send.  Basically we use it for emergencies and to check in during the week.  

When the bill comes, it may be a couple of dollars higher than usual for the texting we did on the ship.   That's all. 

Not enough to get me on a mega ship.  No thanks

We don't try to BRIBE our steward.  However, we leave the auto gratuity in place and we tip over and above at the end of the cruise for a job well done. 

We found that once we went Cove, that's the only balcony we'd have on the ships that offer them.  No more regular balconies when cove's are available!

3 hours ago, Rudyard said:

 

Especially when they said ***** Cruise Line would allow it. That shows either ignorance, stupidity, or a misplaced trust in another cruise line. They all have to follow the law. 

Need to be nice, so I'm going with CLUELESS!!!   I couldn't believe when I saw the story spun so badly by whoever put it on John Heald's FB page.  

Hate that the OP lost their trip, but I understand CCL following the rules.  My family gets tired of me asking them if they have their proper ID while we pack and when we get into the car to drive to the port.  It's just a sucky lesson for OP to learn about travel in this new age.  

On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 9:43 PM, riclop said:

It's an old clunker.

It's this kind of nonsense that does a disservice to inquiring cruisers.  

Was on Paradise for the second time last month and she was just wonderful.  Would sail her again in a heartbeat if Tampa wasn't so damned far away!  I'll probably stick with Canaveral and Jaxport cruises.

5 hours ago, CLS/KAS said:

He will be limited in what he will be able to do.. shame to travel all the way there.. and not poss. be able to get off..

 

Where did you dream this up?  
There is NO limitation on traveling that itinerary with a BC & DL rather than a passport.   
SMH... 

I don't like it at all, but that's just me.  Others seem to really dig it.  Good deal for them!

I can never find comparable cruises for the same value from the ports we generally sail from.  I have no interest in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  

So, as long as CCL continues to provide us with the best value at their price point, then CCL we sail. 

Good luck and enjoy your new adventure, Martini Mom!   Let us know how it goes.   

Evidently all 14% of the people on a cruise who are smokers are at the casino bar on embarkation day. They have a tiny corner of the bar for smokers - people are standing 4-5 deep in the smoking area. The rest of the bar (at least 3/4 of the space) is for non-smokers. There are maybe 2-3 people total in the non-smoking area. Just saying....

 

Other than the casino, I don't understand how all of you are coming into contact with smoke. There's usually an area one deck up from the pool set aside for smokers - no reason for non-smokers to be in the area. Again, the area is almost always full with smokers waiting to find an empty seat.

Absolutely! As an ex-smoker, I'll be damned to infringe on smokers rights when they are curbed so badly already. There's almost NO reason to encounter smoke on a ship. Simply stay away from the smoking areas! I will concede that the casino is open game for all (smokers and non), but that is basically the only "iffy" area.

Now if we can get our kid-free areas, alcohol free areas, perfume free areas, Lido buffet slob free area, etc.!!! :D