mousey

They wouldn't let your DH into the dining room in shorts on a cruise casual night? Shorts are allowed so I don't see what the problem was? Did he have a sleeveless shirt on or something ?

 

Bill

Good point...it must have been on dress up night and I'm having a "Senior Moment!" Please forgive!:o

I love Tea Time on Sea Days! There whipped creams with strawberries is awesome!:D

LOL

 

From my HP Slate 7 using Tapatalk.

Double LOL! :D

They are not jealous. Who made you Queen of the world to come on and call them that? They have invested in Carnival, and in return they have been slighted by Carnival. They have a perfect right to express disappoint me and irritation. No one has been ugly. We have hundreds posting about getting a free cruise, and some "not likening Carnival much" but it is a ;free cruise" That stings.

 

Like I thought I was VIPF. Well, apparently some are a lot more VIPF than me. and it stings. And NO....I don't think it was random. and a MILLION sent out? I think I did not get picked for a reason. And I feel used. I have written 13 glowing reviews for Carnival cruises, 4 mote for Princess, 3 for HAL and that does influence people to cruise. You can read them all here on Cruise Critic. And I feel stone stupid. I was not past guest enough. I was not VIP enough. Neither was my husband. We have one more cruise on Carnival. Paid for..can not cancel. I know they need someone to pay for all of these free cruises, but it is not going to be me. ever again. One more cruise review on Carnival for Cruise Critic.......and then...............land vacations. NCL. Celebrity. both of which I like.RCI. never tried it. I don't even feel the same way about cruising now. Just a bitter taste.

 

And for all we know, you could be a travel agent with 15 of these free cruises to give out and we would not know it.

 

I have not seen anyone protesting about not getting a cruise calling others bad names, or insulting anyone who got one ......And for people to come on and point out there is misery in the world so no one who got shafted can complain is LOL.

 

Maybe the people who didn't get a free cruise work with church missions. ( I have a cruiser pal who does) maybe they spend time in Haiti or Africa ( like my sister). To relate morality to whether you are able to afford a cruise...is contemptible.

 

And if people want to take their money to another cruise line...it is their money and they can do it. And they have the right to come on here and say they are going to do it. I cancelled a cruise over it. I just have a bitter taste in my mouth for Carnival right now.

this grand gesture of Carnival's might not turn out to be such a great deal in the end...when the folks who didn't get one leave or cruise less...and the folks who did........book RCI or NCL again. And it is over. Done. Quit talking about it. The sooner we move on, the better we will all feel.This is a sore and folks keep pulling the scab off of it. Enough. Enjoy your cruise. Talk about it when you are crusing. But don't lecture people who are irked that they.......like me........were not PG enough. Not VIP enough. Just not enough........

Wow, talk about taking something "personally."

Okay, here it goes...I think I may have gotten one of those "free cruise" letters...but I thought it was some kind of gimmick and threw it away! :(

Oopsie!:)

The DS was asked politely to remove his backward baseball cap at dinner one night! Yea! I didn't argue with him about not wearing it even though I had told him it was improper...he was so embarrassed:o:o:o...I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so!":D He was 16 at the time.

The DH was once not allowed into the MDR even though he was just going in to let me know his and the DS's excursion had run long and that they were going to be a few minutes late to meet me. He was still wearing his shorts. And no, it wasn't on a dress up night.

So the answer is, they do sometimes enforce the dress code, so dress according to the cruise ship's suggestions and you'll never go wrong.

You will see everything on dress up night from men in dress shorts and golf-type shirts to men in tuxedos...especially if people are celebrating some special event such as an onboard wedding, or anniversary party, for example. Women wear everything from sundresses to long, formal gowns. I always wear whatever the mood strikes me to wear as long as it's within the ship's dress code.:D

We only eat at the Golden Corral when we go to visit my parents in FL (they're in their late 80s) and I would say they they are just a bit better than Carnival because they offer more choices. We rarely, if ever...can't remember for sure, eat in the buffet for dinner. I think it wouldn't be a bad thing to do maybe once on a cruise. I like eating in the MDR and being waiting on, more so the DH.

I hope you have a great cruise!:eek:

Our DS is a Freshman at the University of Arizona and has a week for Spring Break starting March 14th this year. He's decided to come home instead of heading to Cabo with his frat brothers. Yea! Lucky break for mama, my baby's coming home for a whole week!!!!:D:D:D: He's not going to Cabo and getting drunk as a skunk!!!!

To the original OP, I wouldn't sweat a Spring Break cruise. Up until last year, we went on one just about every year from the time our DS was 9! We never had a bad time or encountered any excessive, crazy situations. Although, I've heard other people on this board have. We always had a great time. I'd be worried more about drunken adults on Pub Crawls!:eek:, before I'd worry about Spring Breakers.

Go forth and have an awesome cruise!:D

I'm presuming you know that you need to have purchased FTTF for each cabin in order for all of you to board together. I didn't know that until the other day when I started reading about it here on the boards.

Hope you all have an awesome cruise!:D

We cruised a couple of times with our DS and his friend and the first time we just kept their key and went and got each of them a key. The extra keys are just to get into the room and cannot be used for charging stuff unless you specifically tell them you want to be able to do that. It worked great. The second time the DS brought a friend along we let them have cards where they could charge stuff to the cabin but set a budget for them. It worked out great!:D

trying to send bigger pictures

What an awesome Mom you are! I hope you were able to get your son his replacement doggy!:D And wow! What wonderful people on this board. So many offers of help. But I'm not surprised...there are lots of awesome people on CC. Sometimes you only hear about the not-so-nice ones but this thread shows how nice most CCers really are.:D

Has anyone done the Ruins ? And is it worth the price?

I'm not sure which ruins you are asking about. I've been to several different ruins in and near Cozumel and I've loved them all. I've never been disappointed. However, I don't know what the amount of the excursion you're speaking of is so that might make a difference. Some ship excursions are worth it and some are not.;) So I would need more info about the one you are interested in.;)

Dang, I can't think of the name of the excursion we did because it was back in April of 2012 but it was awesome. It was, an excursion where we went on a Zodiac-type boat that went really fast and it took us to a place where we coulld snorkel for a while. Next we got back on the boat and it took us to a little village where we walked a bit and then went horseback riding. After that we went back on the boat and went to a place where there was a secluded beach and we had a great Mexican buffet-type lunch (the food was wonderful, which is saying something because I'm a very picky eater...I'm not even close to being a gourmet eater and like everything plain vanilla) with all the free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks you could want.

There was a photographer available that took pictures if you wanted him to. He didn't hassle you or anything. He would just walk up and show you his "look book." The DS and his girlfriend (they were 16 at the time) swam in the ocean...it was a little rough but they are really good swimmers. The photographer liked them so much (they are both very photogenic) that he asked if he could use their pictures in his "look book" to show other people what nice shots he could take. He gave them a big discount on all the pictures they wanted and he took lots of them. The kids love those pictures so much!

Anyway, it was a great time, and though we were tired when the excursion was over...it is one we will never forget.

Okay, I know I'm going to jinx myself and probably get the dreaded "NORO" on my next cruise...but...I have cruised and traveled all over the world since I was a child and I have never, ever, ever, gotten sick on a cruise, not ever. Having said that...if it makes you feel better, do what you feel you need to. I do wash my hands a lot and use hand sanitizers before every meal. As a matter of fact, the first thing I do after I sit down for a meal and put my napkin on my lap is sanitize my hands. But really, if you think about it...I then have to use my utensils, drink out of glasses, and eat off of plates...so does it really help...I don't know but I haven't every gotten sick. The DH and DS call me "Howard Hughes." LOL! But...guess what...both the DH and DS HAVE gotten sick on cruises!:eek: So there!

To get a good spot on a sea day get up there early. On the Magic on the first sea day I was up there at 6:30 and had my choice, the next day I was up there at 6 AM and several people had beaten up there.

 

On the Freedom I went up early on day to find a couple sound asleep in one of the round loungers with pillows and a comforter from their bed. They had spent the night (I got a deck attendant to wake them up and he made them take the bed clothes back to the cabin).

OMG! How funny (and slightly pathetic) is that?!!:eek::D:D:D

I love the Nikki Beach Resort excursion (which I may have booked myself off the internet...I can't remember). My DS's girlfriend and I took a boat over to Nikki Beach and the excursion included not only the boat ride over to and back from the hotel/restaurant but also included free use of their pool and beds you could lay on and suntan on. It's also right on the ocean so there's a great beach. It also included two free drinks and appetizers. The girlfriend and I just kicked back under an umbrella while these gorgeous pool boys waited on us hand and foot...it was awesome and we spent most of the day there. Swam in the pool and beach. There were all kinds of vendors who you could buy things from but you didn't have to be hassled by them because they only came over if you asked them to. We got some really beautiful beach wraps for a bargain. Loved, loved, loved this excursion and the girlfriend and I can't wait to go back this summer and do it all again!:D

If you're more interested in doing something physical...the guys loved the zip line tour but said it was really strenuous (and they're in great shape).:eek:

I should mention that we've been to Cabo many, many times because the SIL has a timeshare there so we've done all kinds of excursions there. At this point in time...when we cruise there...all I want to do is kick back and relax and let the guys do all the work! :)

On my first cruise, I underestimated how cool it can be on board at night, both inside and outside, so bring a light jacket, or wrap for the ladies.

This is one I've learned the hard way! But here's a tip...if you do forget to bring something to keep you warm in the evening breeze or in the dining rooms...you can always check out the $10 for everything stores that are on most Carnival and NCL ships (I dont' know if other ships have them). You can get a shawl in any color of the rainbow. I've got about 4 of them. LOL!:D

Hubby and I were just talking about this. When we started cruising Carnival they sold dressy clothes in their shops.

 

We know because on our very first trip, before the days of porters taking your luggage in Miami, you just set your luggage in a square painted on the pavement that had the appropriate letter that correlated with your last name. Our last name is towards the end of the alphabet. Apparently either our box got overcrowded or the A box for the next ship over got over crowded and hubby's dress clothes ended up going on another ship.

 

We were able to go the the shops on the ship and purchase a white dinner jacket, tuxedo shirt, black slacks, and a boxed bow tie and cummerbund set. He had his socks and shoes and casual clothes. We were able to improvise until our 1st port day when they managed to transfer his luggage to our ship.

 

They had some beautiful elegant clothes in the shops back then.

I totally remember those days!:D

Here is an attachment for my cruise/vacation checklist:

[ATTACH]300291[/ATTACH]

Hopefully this works..have never tried posting attachment before!

This is hilarious!:D:D:D:D:D

When I clicked on to see your packing list...MINE (word document) came up! I tried clicking on yours twice and both times my packing list came up...I think that's a riot!:D

My 16 y/o son was told for 2 weeks to get his things ready for the cruise. I kept hearing "it only takes me a second, don't worry!" The morning of the trip he put his suitcase together, "see, just a sec!"

 

Getting dressed for the first elegant night, he pulled on his slacks and they were easily 2" too short! He'd grown much taller since the last trip!

 

Make sure things still fit!

OMG! How many times over the years have I heard that from my DS who is now 18. It's why I always made sure to check his suitcase before we left to make sure everything he needed was there. I'm still doing this and he's in college now! LOL! "It only takes a second mom!" Right, night before leaving...Son, you didn't pack your toothbrush, your phone charger, your swim shoes, your, etc., etc.,...Well you get the picture! LOL! But gotta say...I love that kid!:D

If you pack half the stuff people suggest on CC, you'll need a truck to drive you to the pier.

 

The key items you must never forget are:

- credit cards / cash

- appropriate id (passport/drivers license/etc)

- prescription medication (although you may be able to replace this too)

 

Double/triple/quadruple check you have those before you leave your driveway and you'll be fine. Anything else can be bought later, albeit a bit expensive.

 

One year, we forgot the keys for the mini locks on our luggage. However, even that was mitigated by using a ball point pen. If you're curious, Google it. :-)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Great advice but you forgot one important thing...TRAVEL DOC :DUMENTS! (Tickets, pre-paid excursion confirmations, receipts for anything pre-paid, etc.).

Forgot DH's cuff links for formal night once. Another time forgot his "dress" socks. It seems like it's always something for him, lol. He yells at me for forgetting and then I tell him he should pack his own things! ;)

Ha! Ha! That's pretty typical!:D

I'm not trying to be rude; not at all. But you said your luggage with in a pile with others that didn't have luggage tags on them. How is it Carnival's fault that your luggage tag fell off and they didn't know what room to deliver it to?

As for the lost wallet...that is a total bummer and I totally agree that you should have been escorted back onto the ship to check your cabin for your wallet. I hope it gets returned to you soon and I feel badly for all you had to go through.

I too am leery of "lost and founds" (having had a bad experience with them before). Once they didn't want to give me back my change purse because I couldn't remember exactly to the penny how much money was in it. I described the change purse exactly but they gave me a hard time...until the DH stepped in and demanded they give it back to me as they pretty much knew it was mine (otherwise how would I have known what, size, color, and designer it was). So, I understand where you are coming from. But I also agree with some of the posters here that you should let the front desk know you found it because they will certainly know who was in that cabin before you and have access to the info needed to notify them. Those people may not be on CC.

You are a good Samaritan:)!

I've also never heard of this before. Is this something offered in the kid's or teen clubs only? I want some ice cream with my Pedi...but not for $50 Washingtons!:eek: LOL!

But you know, I'm going to put this on my "Cruise List of New Things to Do." The next time I cruise with my SIL, I'm going to suggest we have an Ice Cream Pedi Party in our cabin...it will be free! How much fun that would be!!! I love Cruise Critic...you learn something new every time you get on here!

Go ahead, hammer away people. Guess I'm the fool for thinking the food I get on board is not contaminated and have no common sense related to food safety. How I managed to live 50 years is beyond me :rolleyes:

I don't think people are calling you or insinuating that you are a fool. I think they're just trying to explain the reasoning for not doing it. It's not that your food aboard ship is contaminated per se. But most ports you visit don't want to take a change that their ecosystem will be hurt in the case there might be a fruit fly or whatever in any produce you bring off the ship. It's a matter of respect for other country's rules. We are visitors there after all and should respect their wishes.

There are plenty of treats that come prepackaged that one can either bring from home or purchase on the ship. I always bring my own prepackaged, nuts, chips, gum, candy, crackers, etc. from home. They take up no room at all in a suitcase, tote bag, backpack, or carry on.

I know people have done it forever and I've been known to do it in the past also...but not anymore. I just "got it" one day when my DS got upset that I was going to take a sandwich for him off the ship. He was 9 at the time and said that it really wasn't a nice thing to do, he wouldn't eat it, and why would I break the rule. So, proving that you're never too old to "get it"...I won't be doing it anymore.:D