thenexus2k

Years ago, on a Caribbean cruise, my wife and I were riding in a cab in St Maarten. The driver was saying how much he loved cruising, so I asked "With you living in a Caribbean island, where is your favorite place to cruise?" His answer "Alaska" At the time, I was surprised by the answer. No longer. I LOVE cruising to Alaska. Actually going back again in June 2024. The Spirit Class ships are my favorite class too. As an alternative, check cruising out of San Fran. It's the Miracle, so you are still in a Spirit Class ship. The price is usually comparable, and you get extra cruising days - so a little more bang for your buck. IMO SF is a more interesting port city than Seattle. The port times for Victoria with the SF itinerary may be a little more friendly as well.

We found a great beach by accident in Aruba. Took at 15 minute cab ride out to the hard rock cafe and walked from there, across the street to the Hilton. Just kind of walked through the lobby (it's open air) and out on to the beach. One of the best beaches I have ever been to. Sand was perfect. Water was clear, calm and warm.

Option #3. having been to most of those ports, the itinerary is far superior IMO, and while the ship is not brand new, it's a long way from being old either. La Romana is not a great port though.

As someone else mentioned, flying into SNA is a pretty good alternative and is a short ride to long beach.

on carnival's site, they put a big + over the label, so it's easy to miss.

Not sure if it's what you are looking for specifically, but there is a Java Blue on Deck 5, rear-ish of the ship. That's where my wife and oldest daughter got their caffeine fixes. Was right across from one of the meeting areas where they did trivia and such.

Another Newegg deal on E-gift cards for my fellow cruisers! https://www.newegg.com/carnival-cruise-300-00/p/32-529-004?Item=32-529-004&cm_sp=product-_-from-price-options Promo Code is SSDP579 Limit 3 Deal Expires at Midnight PST on 2/7/24 Just ordered 2 myself and got them inside of 10 minutes. Enjoy! 😊

It's possible that there was a run on the deal and they just ran out and are waiting for more codes to send out. It's also possible that if you used a bank card, your bank may have taken the funds, but not released them to the merchant yet. Either way, you can give them a call 800-390-1119. They start answering after 8am PST. I've usually had a good experience when I have had to call em in the past.

Log in to your newegg account. In the upper-right, click the "returns and orders" link. In the page that opens, you'll see a link for "digital orders" on the left. You should be able to view and print your card from there are well.

Good morning my fellow cruise Cats! Found this deal on Newegg. $500 Carnival Card for $450 with the promo code on the website: https://www.newegg.com/carnival-cruise-500-00/p/N82E16832529005?Item=N82E16832529005 Appears to be January 25, 2024 only. Ordered and had it in my email inside of 10 minutes. Enjoy! 🙂

This. San Fran is awesome. Coming back was pretty cool too. Early morning, fog everywhere. Listening to the various fog horns was very eery. Golden Gate just kind of comes out of the fog out of nowhere.

Take it as a blessing! You still get to board early (as long as you are in the same stateroom), but the spouse with the higher status loses the argument of who has to go stand in the customer service line 🙂

If the ships are close and the port doesn't matter, could always let flights be the tiebreaker. Map out flights to the 2 airports in orlando (MCO and SFB) and the 2 in Miami (MIA and FLL) and what the price/times/stops are like.

If an cruise ever begged for splurging on the room, an Alaskan cruise is it! I would recommend trying for a vista suite on Deck 4 on the Spirit class ships. The balcony is huge and gives you views on both the rear and the side. Had the vista suite on Miracle for an Alaskan cruise, was amazing for what we were able to see. In Icy Straight, we were able to just sit on the balcony with binoculars, and have all the paid tours spot the whales for us, LOL.

And that's what it all really boils down to: Luck of the draw with neighbors. Being someone that looks forward to sitting on the balcony with a book and a drink and the sound of the ocean as a back drop, I hit the trifecta on the last cruise: Neighbors constantly slamming the balcony door and moving chairs, playing music on a Bluetooth speaker, and leaving their balcony light on all night all week... Didn't let it ruin my mood, just mildly annoying....