smurfm69

We have done 13 cruises all with Carnival and are excited and maybe a bit nervous to try NCL.  So far we have 8 of us going on the Encore June 1, 2025.  Your positive review makes me quite optimistic about trying a different cruise line.  We are die hard beach bums but Alaska is a bucket list trip for me.

I haven't received this e mail yet.  We have an Alaskan cruise booked for early June, but Canada is not allowing any cruise ships to stop in their port.  I'm not sure why Carnival hasn't cancelled the cruise unless they are hoping for a miracle from the Canadian government.  We will reschedule for a Caribbean cruise in April 2023 and take the $600 onboard credit.  Hoping cruising will be back to normal or at least close to it by then.

I'm waiting for our June Alaskan cruise to be cancelled and then will kick the can to a Caribbean cruise in April 2023.

 We loved La Sucriere in Marigot.  Great coffee and pastries!

We are booked for June 2021 as well and are very excited as this is our first trip to Alaska.  Dressing in layers seems to be the main theme I have been seeing on here.  Hope it still happens.

We book our pre cruise hotel stay as soon as possible(after doing research on the best place for our needs).  Also we don't pre pay in case we need to cancel for any reason.

 Very nice review!  We did an 8 day cruise on the Horizon and loved all the features available on the Hub App.  Also Mike Pack was the best cruise director we have had in our 13 cruises!  We really enjoyed the 80's rock n glow deck party. 

 We haven't done a short cruise in quite a few years, but apparently on sailings of 5 days or less you don't get your alcohol the last night of the cruise.  You have to go to the nightclub the morning of debarkation to pick it up. 

In Cozumel we went to Mr. Sancho's and had a great time!  Lots of great food and lots and lots of drinks!!  We will definitely go back there again.

  Just got off the ship today from a fun filled 4 day cruise!  We did an 8 day cruise on the Horizon back in May and that ship spoiled us!  There are features on the Horizon that apparently aren't fleet wide yet.  We enjoyed being able to see all of the pictures we took with the ship's photographers on the hub app as well as being able to make our dinner reservations for anytime dining.   Also, some people aren't crazy about the new smart elevator system on the new ships but we loved it.  We knew exactly which elevator to go to and never had a long wait.  The cruise director doesn't really make or break a cruise for us; However, Kevin wasn't nearly as good as Mike Pack from the Horizon.  We still had a great time though.  The ship is older but was very clean, the staff were friendly and all the food was good.  Embarkation and debarkation was very fast and smooth.

Yeah the secret is out about the 4J cabins.  We have done quite a few cruises with those and love the value compared to a balcony cabin.

We love the Alchemy Bar!  All the drinks on the menu are very good but it's more fun to go off menu.  Tell them what you like and let them work their magic.

 We did this cruise in 2011 and didn't get to see Domenica.  We did enjoy St. Lucia and thought it was a beautiful island.

17 hours ago, LSUGranny said:

I have noticed that Lido Deck cabins are sought after by many.  It seems to me that it would be noisy.  Why do people want to be on that deck?  I'm trying to make decisions about a 50th anniversary cruise.  I will ask other questions in future posts.

 We love staying on the lido deck and being close to the buffet and the pool.  On our most recent cruise on the Horizon, we had a balcony cabin on the lido deck and never had an issue with noise.  Congrats on the Anniversary!  Oh and Geaux Tigers!

 We have never stayed in a 6M or any ocean view cabin on a cruise.  Given the choice, I would choose 4J especially since it is on the lido deck.  We have had 4J cabins on multiple cruises on different decks and love having the large open deck just steps away from the door.

We love hitting the Alchemy bar. On the Valor it will be located right across from the dance club and steps away from the piano bar.  

 There are bathrooms behind cabanas 9 & 10.  We chose #10 as it is far enough away from the crowds but still close enough to the buffet area.  This is one of our favorite ports as the beach is just perfect! 

 On our Horizon cruise back in May the gift was a Tervis Tumbler.

 I was thinking of getting a credit card from the store and just loading enough money on it to cover the deposit for our group. Looking at their website it seems the deposit is made through paypal only.  Is this a recent change they have made?  

Thanks a bunch!

 I notice Paradise Beach now has an all inclusive option which includes food and drinks.  I was wondering how much it costs as I couldn't find that info on their website.  

 Hopefully the only thing they are adding is the pier.  More cabanas and villas further down the beach wouldn't be bad either.  HMC is the most perfect beach we have been to and we hope to visit there again soon.

We are planning to do an Alaskan cruise in the beginning of June 2021.  Will be nice to leave the heat of Nola for cooler temps up north in June.  We are both beach people and had to really twist my wife's arm for this cruise, but it's a bucket list trip for me.  

 Yeah we knew about this ahead of time so we packed some white to wear for the party. It was a lot of fun!

 Good question.  We are doing the Valor in November.  I know there is an 80's themed deck party.

Who Dat!