mississauga

For me it's more about the ship because you are not really in any one port long enough to say you have truly seen the area, but after reading the reviews of the Vista I just felt like wellllll we could take the Glory and potentially have a more enjoyable time visit some where different. I have not seen a bad Glory review recently but have seen a lot of Vista review up in the air. On the Vista I have a cove balcony which is my favorite type of balcony if I switch to the Glory I would have an extended balcony.

If your priority is the ship ( mine too ) then you should stay with the Vista. We loved the Vista. Have spent 26 days on her ...2 cruises each 13 days.

Although we like the Glory too, there is nothing special about her. 21 days ( 3 cruises ) on her and it was same as other Conquest class ships.

The Vista is a little different and even though you may have read some negative reviews, you should really go and form your own opinions. Everyone has different expectations.

Which is more important to you? The ship or the ports?For some, the ship is the destination. For others, it is all about the ports of call.

Several ships have alternate routes on consecutive weeks. Just off the top of my head, I know that the Glory does the Eastern Caribbean one week and then the Western Caribbean the next week. The Vista either does the Southern or Eastern route on it 8 days cruise and the next week does the Western on its 6 days cruise.

Other ships do too but maybe not always alternating like the Glory and Vista week in and week out.

Have fun! I am sure you and your son will make great memories

If you have the same cabin, just leave everything as is. If you have to move, make sure your steward knows which cabin you are moving to. Sometimes it is the steward from the 1st leg and sometimes it is your new cabin steward. It depends if either has others they have to move.

On the last night of the cruise, you will receive instructions in your cabin. It will have info on where and when to meet so all the b2bs can meet as a group and be taken off, go through customs and return to the ship. You will get a new S&S card for cruise 2. Included will be an in transit card. If you decide to disembark and not go off with the group, you show your in transit card upon returning to the port so that you do not have to wait in line to get your new card and reboard. Of course it will have to be after a certain time, after all previous guests have disembarked from cruise 1.

Hope this helps

Firemanbobswife, I hope this one experience does not discourage your sister from cruising.

We had the same experience in NYC when we debarked from the Vista TA. We found our 2 suitcases easily in zone 1. After an hour and a half, we found our 3rd suitcase in zone 18. The zone 1 tag was still on it. DH went up and down each zone until he found it.

So since then, we self debark and look after our own luggage. 5 cruises of self debarking and no problems.

Computer Nerd: the social media is $5 per day or a cruise rate ( usually averages out to less than $5 a day ) .

The hub chat for keeping in touch on the ship is $5 for the entire cruise. So if your wife has it, you would only be paying an extra $5 during the cruise to chat with her on the ship. $10 total for the two of you to chat to each on the ship. You can also chat with anyone else who has the hub chat. The social media and the hub chat are two different plans.

I recently signed up for a cruise but my wife and I have decided that there is a different one that we prefer. Can I just transfer everything from one cruise to another or do I have to cancel the first one and then sign up for the new one?

Did you book it as Early Saver? If so, there are penalties for changing or cancelling.

If not ES and it is before final payment, you can change or cancel at any time up to the final payment date

To check for your OBC, click on the link in your cruise details "View cruise documents". Scroll down to page after your boarding passes and cruise summary and see. your total OBC.

Hello, we have in the past cruised with RCI but considering trying Carnival.

 

Are the gratuities included in Australian pricing or are they additional? If additional, what is the current daily rate? Many thanks for your help

Yes, tips are included in the Australian price of a cruise. On cruises booked in North America tips are added to your account on the ship.

The Taste Bar was initially designed to provide samples/tastes from 5:30pm-8:00pm. Although the samples are posted as samples from certain specialty restaurants, most samples are not available in those restaurants or eating venues. Only the meatballs from Cucina or sushi from Bonsai. Most ships have it about 4 times so if there are less sea days than that, are available on certain port days. They post which days are available. On the longer cruises, they are sometimes available more than 4 times.

On some ships, the Taste Bar is a permanent venue so those ships use it for buffet breakfast and lunch or salad bars when not in use as the"taste bar". The Dream class ships, Vista and the Sunshine come to mind. Great quiet alternatives for Lido.

I love the open atrium that I am used to also. Seems a shame to only have it go a few decks up. I bet the dreamscape is pretty in person, but don't think it is an even trade.

I guess it's a matter of taste/likes. Although there are a few Atriums that are memorable, most I do not even remember.

The dreamscape is awesome. I stood there gazing at it for long periods of time. There is an anticipation of new scenes changing each day.

Mount Gay Extra Old (aka XO) is a favourite, it is a sweet rum. My husband prefers Old Brigand, my uncles like Old Gold. If you are going on a tour to The Mount Gay Visitors Centre (very close to the cruise port) you will find a wider selection of older rums and special blends.

 

For a good sipping rum (and a lovely tour) go to St. Nicholas Abby, the etched bottle alone is worth it.

By close to the cruise port, do you mean it is within walking distance?

Also how far is St Nucholas Abbey?

Think my husband would be interested in both of these centres.

great, thank you all, i booked my next B2B in it!

When are you going? We are booked Dec 31- Jan 27/2018. Love the Sunshine! Our favorite ship!

Cannot address your first question as I have not seen the cabin. However, there is no indication from the deck plan that it is any different than other aft balcony cabins.

There would be no noise from deck 4 as you have cabins on deck 5 below you. Are you aware that deck 5 aft are cabins?

We were on deck 5 in February and the only time I heard anything from deck 4 was during the waitstaff singing. That was only once since I was in my cabin but most times am not in there at that time. I don't think any cabins on deck 6 would have heard it.

Thanks for all the help!

 

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Hope you have enough info to make the right choice for you.

We are driving a rental to Miami and looking at a drop off place either at Miami airport and taking taxi or rental location with free shuttle. Is the wait for a shuttle long or are they pretty frequent. We like to get to ship early and really don't want to sit at rental place for extended length of time.

 

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I can only speak for the Alamo, National and Enterprise shuttle. They come early to the port ( last month we caught a shuttle at 7:15am ), pick up passengers and drop them off at the airport rental and then pick up passengers going to the port. There is no set time. The shuttles pick up and drop off all day. It's a matter of luck. Sometimes after we have dropped off the car, a shuttle is waiting right there. Sometimes we have to wait. Maybe 15-20 minutes.

So, when we disembark, we just call Alamo and they will send a shuttle for us and take us to the airport to rent the car?

 

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They have shuttles coming back and forth to the port to pick passengers up for the airport rental.

They do ask you for your rental confirmation so you do need to have a reservation made in advance.

There are car rentals at the airport. Not all have free shuttles.

Alamo, National and Enterprise do have a free shuttle to the port and from the port to MIA.

Some other rental car companies that are located a few minutes from the port do have free shuttles also but have not used them so can't name them.

We have always rented from Alamo and pleased with our experience. Dropping the car off at the airport and getting a free shuttle to the port has never been a problem and taking the shuttle at the port to pick up a car at MIA is also very easy

Destiny was our lst CCL ship way back in 1996. We cruised her 2 or 3 more times. Can't remember, but it's in my sig lol. We have done a lot more cruises since, mostly on CCL. We are Diamond now and loving it! We also live about 20 minutes from the port in Manhattan, so it was easy to go on cruises from here. THEN CCL pulled out of NY in the winter and spring (when we like to cruise to get away from NJ winters!) and THEN I found out CCL is leaving NY for GOOD in October. :eek::loudcry::').

No, no, no. Carnival is not leaving New York for good. Horizon TA is coming to NY next May 23 and staying for the summer and fall until she goes to her next homeport in Miami.

Not sure what will happen in 2019, but for 2018, the Horizon is sailing out of NY.

We were also in this cruise. We love the Sunshine and have already spent 50 days on her over the cruise of 5 cruises. Next year we will be on her for 28 days. B2B2B. Our version of being snowbirds. Since we love the Sunshine and the itineraries, why not? Our middle cruise is a journey cruise.

You are doing a great job with your review. Very informative, straightforward and honest.

Sorry you did not know about the free shuttle to the other pier with the shopping. The hotel director was outside informing passengers. I think they got caught off guard that we were porting where we did but did a quick organization of securing shuttles to take us back and forth. They did start a little late but by the time we debarked, they were up and running all day.

It was not planned so I believe that's why Emma did not announce it when we first ported there. We found out when we went to ask about transportation to the other pier and learned about the free shuttle Carnival had arranged.

Yes you can get spices and chocolate there if you dont want to buy inside the cruise ship terminal. There is also another small supermarket just before the NutMeg Restaurant on the Carenage :-)

Thank you IslandStar. Looking forward to visiting Grenada.

IslandStar, see on this google map, that there is a United Grocers 3. Is this the supermarket you have mentioned in another post to buy spices and chocolate?

We did a tour with Savor the Spice. We did their "country tour" that included all of those mentioned plus many and varied local food and spice tastings. It was the best tour we took on our cruise. They also took us to a private estate, where local organic produce and spices are grown. A multi course tasting was offered with all their spices etc incorporated.

 

 

We loved it and highly recommend.

How long was the tour and how much was it per person? Did you book in advance or at the pier?

Thanks for any info you can share,

Said there anything by the port?

How much was the taxi fare? Per taxi or per person?

Thanks in advance.