alliecatn1

These varying responses are my concern! lol. We will stay on ship time but to set up the car rental online. I don't want to be charged for saying we want the car from x-z but we end up being there at a different time because local is different from ship. Yup, we're looking at Costal to do the rental :)

No idea but that's our plan with our 3 year old and 19 month old (followed by Maho to see the planes in the afternoon). Hopefully it will be great!

Oh, and I heard cabs to Orient are about $8 so I would think Galion would be about the same. We decided to rent a car. The prices are reasonable and we don't have to deal with installing/uninstalling and lugging car seats around.

We're headed on the Breeze in two weeks :eek: :D and I'm trying to book our rental car in St. Maarten but want to verify ships time vs. local time. We are in port from 8-5 but that's ship time. Any idea what that is in local time?

Orrrrr... What if we got a cab from FLL to MIA and rented a car from Amigo's. That would save us money on cabs/shuttles and we could stay wherever.

Forget about using a shuttle as they charge per person. It is cheaper to take a cab for the 4 of you. Looking at hotels with a free shuttle limits your selection of hotels.

Is that even the case heading to POM? I know we can do a shuttle for $13-15pp. No idea how much a cab would be all the way from FLL to POM. Those unknown numbers always scare me.

Checking in that early after a red-eye is very iffy -- you are better off reserving a budget room for two nights and letting the hotel know that you will be checking in about 5 AM.

 

Instead of a shuttle to the Marriott look at a cab - should be much cheaper and faster, even with the time spent installing and uninstalling a car seat.

 

www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area hotel info.

Installing TWO carseats. Fun, ehe? Lol! So get a cab to a FL hotel or just head straight to Miami? The never-ending question, right? Miami seems easier it's just so much more expensive. I feel like previously we just stayed in Hollywood but I don't recall why we made that choice. That was long before kids though.

Seems easy enough, right? :p

Flying into FLL at 4somthing am Dec 4th with our cruise leaving POM on the 5th. I think we've figured it will be cheapest to stay in FLL then use SAS or similar for a shuttle to POM the next day. So a few things that would be ideal... which of the hotels that offer a free shuttle have the earliest check-in? If they have a crib that would be the icing on the cake. I was looking at the FLL Marriot North, great rate with breakfast and a crib but no shuttle. I'd rather not pay for two shuttle trips since there are four of us and it adds up quickly.

Alternatively, we could take a shuttle straight to MIA but then we'd like a hotel with a free POM transfer and those seem to be more expensive than FLL by a pretty decent amount. Help! :D

Loved the Breeze! And the Triumph, the Valor, the Conquest, and the Fascination. Ok I'm a cruise whore.

 

The He point is that a cruise is what you make of it.

 

If someone loves Las Vegas I would probably research those ships with the best casinos, then look at the destinations.

 

A true skeptic could go either way. Either they will hate it or love it! Bottom line is that we are all responsible for our own happiness.

 

Hope no matter what you enjoy YOUR cruise.

That's actually exactly what DH and I were talking about last night. You can give me a crappy ship and I'll love every second. You can give somebody else the best ship ever and they'll still hate it. It's all in their perspective. Their happiness isn't my job. A rainy day at sea is still better than a beautiful day at work! ha!:cool:

DH has really wanted to do a big fancy ship and I've wanted to try Guys for a while so it's not just based on the others in our groups happiness. Looks like for our family it would be about $400 total more to do the Breeze but you guys all make it seem so awesome!

The breeze is what we've had our eye on for sure! So you think it's worth the extra $125 pp instead of doing the Glory or Splendor?

Alrighty, after YEARS of trying we've finally convinced my husband's family to possibly forgo their usual Las Vegas vacation and try a cruise. If you were to pick one ship to try to impress them, which would you choose? Is it worth it to pick a ship with Guys/Blue Iguana/seaside theater/2.0s or just go on price and destination (what we usually do)?

It will be us and our kids (1 and 2 so the kid activities don't matter much), BIL and SIL (early 20s), our parents (50s) and possibly our grandmas and we're planning on doing the Caribbean.

that is one heck of a multi-quote!

Haha, right?! I didn't want to forget anything ;-)

Thanks for all of your replies!

Eggs with runny yolks are not fully cooked eggs. Might want to avoid Eggs Benedict.

 

http://www.safeeggs.com/blog/food-safety-recalls/when-is-an-egg-fully-cooked/

Actually those are overcooked poached eggs on the Benedict.

OP you can request a scrambled Eggs Benedict where the cook substitutes scrambled for poached eggs. Just a thought to share.

I was actually planning on asking for the eggs to be a little overcooked to avoid the runny egg part :)

Carnival has a special needs department for dietary issues. You might get some good info from calling them. I think CArnival doesn't allow pregnant women after 24 weeks, but I could be wrong. If you will be past that point on y our next cruise you might want to refrain from telling them how far along you will be.

I didn't know they had a person I could call for this type of question! I'll do that Friday, thanks! I'll 21 weeks at disembarkation so I'm in the clear and all needed paperwork has been sent in.

Google CDC they have all kinds of information on Food safety on cruise ships including raw eggs in foods.

Will look into this. Thanks! Just googling variations of carnival, raw eggs, pregnant and Caesar got me nowhere. lol.

Im a chef and can tell you the 'hollandaise sauce' they use is a premade commercial product, not made in house so I doubt it even contains eggs

That would be great if it's the case! I've noticed that's status quo for most restaurants lately. I wasn't sure if that was more cost prohibitive on a cruise ship when they make so much of it daily.

From the USPH's Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual:

 

7.3.3.2.3 Pasteurized Eggs (18 C)

Pasteurized eggs or egg products must be substituted for raw shell eggs in the preparation of foods such as Caesar salad, hollandaise or béarnaise sauce mayonnaise, eggnog, ice cream, and egg-fortified BEVERAGES or dessert items that are not cooked.

 

So as far as your sauces are concerned, you are fine. But that over easy egg in the benedict may still be of concern to you (I'm okay with them, others are not).

 

All cruise ships that call at US ports must follow the USPH VSP.

That's so interesting! I sent a message to John Heald to ask if he knew the answer to my question or who I should ask. His wife was told the Caesar had raw egg in it (when she asked when she was pregnant). He said he would send my info to the chef on the ship so when I board I would have an answer. Your reply gives me hope though. :rolleyes:

I cruised last year at 23 weeks along. Not on Carnival, but I don't think it matters. Despite the fact that people told me I was stupid go on a cruise while pregnant, we had a lot of fun and relaxed!

 

Personally, I think the safe thing to do is avoid any of those foods that you know might contain raw egg. Even if they are required to use pasteurized product in them. I'd say better safe than sorry.

 

Hope you have fun!

We're about to take our 9 month old on his first cruise and it will be an entirely different experience!!!

Thanks for the encouragement :) I'm also bringing my 15 month along for his first cruise this time. Talk about a new cruise experience! When I started cruising (single and with family) I never thought I'd one day drag along a husband, baby and be pregnant. I guess when you're hooked on cruising even morning sickness and a toddler can't even keep you away. I'm SOOO looking forward to the wonderful rocking as I drift off to sleep every night. ahhhh...zzzzzz

If I get any new info I'll be sure to update here as well. Thanks again for all of your replies!

Hi! Leaving for our next cruise in 6 days (woo!). I've cruised a lot, but never pregnant so there are new considerations for me especially when it comes to eating. A big concern is raw eggs and how often they're used in certain dishes on the ship. Caesar salad dressing, hollandaise sauce and béarnaise sauce are three of my favorites that can be made with raw eggs, a pasteurized egg product or a powdered mix. Anybody know what these items are made of on the ship? I'm pretty sure in the specialty dining room (Nick and Nora's in this case) the caesar is made with real eggs, but not sure about the MDR. Most land based restaurants use a pasteurized egg product for these now, but no clue how Carnival does it. Somebody make my day and tell me I can eat eggs benedict to my pregnant heart's content!

I'd highly suggest a toddler specific carrier. It will make it so much easier and they are surprisingly comfortable for long periods of time. A toddler Tula is my personal favorite but there are other great options for older kiddos too.

DH and I are planning on doing Las Caletas in PV in two weeks. I've really been hankering for a prenatal massage and wondering if that's available at the Hilltop Spa. I couldn't find any info on the Vallarta Adventures website, google or CC. Does anybody have any experience with this and know if it's even an option? Thanks!

DH and I both use CPAP machines and are sailing on carnival Fantasy in November. What should we bring to plug those in on both sides of the bed without setting the ship on fire?

The only outlet is by the vanity so you may need an extension cord to plug your CPAPs in. I've taken a power strip on all nine of my previous cruises. I've never had an issue with confiscation but had never considered it to be a safety hazard either. This thread is insightful!

I missed a week of school every winter throughout high school and my first two years of college. In fact, 5/6 times it was during finals week. I was a great student in good standing with my teachers and they never had any issues with my trips. I remember very distinctly having a few questions about the Panama Canal come up on a final right after a cruise to PC. I answered those questions very confidently and likely wouldn't have known the answers without being there the week prior. I learned more about the world from travels than a generic textbook ever could have taught me!

You really can't go wrong with either but I'd suggest the chef's table. It's worth it at least once!

Woah, sorry guys! My bad!

*I love being rocked to sleep,

*when everybody sways together as we walk on rocky days (great memories with that one!),

*Charades (easy ship on a stick and medals!)

I love

I love

I love

In the case of the above picture, how'd the glass get broken?

Lol, I didn't even notice that! That was just a pic I got online to illistrate how they would get stuck! Nice observation!

They have the movie of Memoirs of a Geisha coming out soon, don't they?

Yup, I've heard (even from a 19 year old guy!) that the movie was pretty good, a little slow, but still awesome.