The4Cruisers

I have no problem with a student taking a week off as long as there is nothing major happening during that time (exam, group project, etc.) I've earned an MBA, so I've "been there" too. :cool:

However, I could not put myself in their shoes and make the call for them. I would probably offer a cruise as the gift and allow the student to choose between the week you have in mind or another agreeable week when they are in break. :)

Ahhh I did not know that "Joseph" was so popular! We had him on the Fascination last month (Sensation dining room). He was excellent though! Loved his announcements before the "show". He stopped by our table at least 2x during the 4-day cruise, and many times he referred to himself as "007". :p

We were on Fascination last month too and we had 007 in the Carnivale MDR. 007 is an older man and he is nothing like Joseph! Nice enough gent, but he does not exude the same excitement as Joseph does.

There's a pic of Joseph in post #7 on this other thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1298429&highlight=joseph

Great to see he's still around! Has he been on Fascination long? Sounds like he may have just arrived.

We like to go in October or November. This year we had to delay, so we're going in late January.

The priorities to us are reasonable weather, cheap prices, and school is in session (less kids!).

First, the port area is cute with a little bar outside Elvis is still in the house here, it's retro fun, like the whole town:)

Great pic! The stool that Elvis appears to be pointing to is where I sat when bought my son his first beer! He was 18 at the time, so he couldn't drink in the US or on the cruise ship. :cool:

We absolutely love Joseph! He was our MD on the first cruise we took in 2005. My whole family was bummed when we boarded our second cruise to find he was on vacation. Oh well.

We did get to see Joseph last October on the Inspiration. Although we were in George the Greeks' dining room, we made it a point to visit with Joseph and get a new picture in the Supercharged pose. :D

Carnival truly needs about 25 Joseph's on their ships! (There's always another dining room for the killjoys!) :cool:

Hi OP. That was a good post. Glad you enjoyed your HAL cruise. We haven't ventured away from CCL yet, but maybe over time we will. Thanks for your point of view.

I love the diverse views on this port. We were in Progreso about one year ago and we had the time of our lives! I didn't care much for the bus ride off the pier, but the $2 bus was absolutely the best! If some people didn't expect Ritz Carlton perfection when they visit othr cultures, you'd have a much better time in life. Back to the bus... dodging the overhead wires was a panic. :p We were laughing and clowning around the whole time. I was sorry to see the tour end.

After the bus ride, we walked down to Buddy's and had a simple meal and some drinks. I didn't care for the folks coming by the table selling DVD's, etc, but that's the culture. A polite "no thanks" worked just fine.

Once we finished at Buddy's we walked across the street onto the beach. We took off our shoes and waded into the water a little bit while we enjoyed another drink. Then it was a walk back to the bus that takes you back to the pier.

At the pier, we had a beer at the bar near the ship and chatted with the merchants for a while.

Was Progreso the greatest port ever visited by a cruise ship? Heck no! Was it the prettiest? Heck no! But, it was a different experience, a safe place to stop, and it was really cool to see this little town and how its people live a normal life.

We'll be back again with no reservations. I'd like to venture out next time to see some ruins or tour around Merida.