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! 😊

17 minutes ago, mom2dea said:

Yes but it still say processing like it hasn’t been sent yet 

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. 

2 hours ago, mom2dea said:

Did you get those three cards ? 
 

Still 9 hours later I have not gotten them 

 

Sarah 

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!  🙂

 

23 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

This is tough. I'll do my top 5 - Embark ports only. 

 

1. San Fran - passing right by Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate? I'll never forget it. My one and only time there makes it special. So far.

2. Miami - Just the quintessential cruise sailaway from day one. Especially if you get to do the spin. Great skyline, South Beach, tons of cool ships to look at.

3. NYC - obvious reasons. The skyline. Lady Liberty. The bridges. Only reason it's not higher is on me, i've been there a bunch. 

4. NOLA - just the unique nature of it all. Leaving from the heart of downtown. I usually walk from my hotel to the ship. The vibe. The music. Sailing down the river all night. 

5. Ft. Lauderdale - Underrated. Carnival doesn't do this much, but it's got a smaller Miami vibe to it. You pass the beach, beautiful waterfront homes, and the people on the condo balconies go nuts, flying cruise line flags, blowing air horns, etc.

 

Hon Mentions: Barcelona, Tampa, Seattle. 

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. 

15 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

That is why we book aft as well.  This upcoming Pride cruise we were upsold to the most "aft" cabin with an extended balcony overlooking the wake of the ship.  I hope our neighbors are considerate🤞

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....

4 hours ago, tantara69 said:

great my husband and i both use flavored creamer so we also will need plenty

 

 My wife buys the single serving ones to bring on board. The flavor she wants is not always easy to find in the supermarket, and bringing them on the plane can be problematic. So what she does is order a case of them off of Amazon and have them delivered to an Amazon locker near our port/hotel to pick up and take on the ship. 

Can't speak specifically to the Med, but usually Carnival tends to give priority to those that purchased excursions through them. 

Beach! 
We took a cab from the port to the Hard Rock (which is now closed). From there we walked across the street to the Hilton, through the open air lobby and out to the beach. One of the best beaches in the world. Warm water, perfect sand, just all around fabulous. 

Same thing happened to me once. Flight was changed to a way too early time. Ended up just staying an extra day and taking the train down the coast to San Diego. 

23 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

IMHO they shouldn't let anyone buy drinks until your muster is complete. That would solve that problem! 

Not a bad idea at all! Maybe tag it on the S&S card that you attended, and if you try to purchase a drink and haven't yet attended, they can turn you away until you do. 

I enjoyed splendor. Reminded me a lot of the Glory.

18 hours ago, audcc77 said:

 

I’m more of a Caribbean girl, so Alaska was not even on my dance card.  I’m looking forward to it now. 

That was my wife to a "T". She was NOT looking forward to Alaska when we went last year. Now she already has us booked again for next year, and is already talking about a third one.  LOL 

Looking forward to it as well. Just did this cruise last year and doing it again next year. Where did you stay in SF? Was the boarding process at the pier still slow?

I absolutely LOVE the vista suite! Especially on long or scenic cruises (Alaska - or the Panama canal).

One thing to consider - it's at the back of the boat, so if you are prone to sea sickness you may not end up so enamored with the room.  

Was on the miracle out of SF last August. Boarding was a fiasco. We had a 1 PM check-in. We arrived at 12:30 and the 11:30 line hadn't even started moving yet. Was around 2:30 before we even made it into the terminal. 
This was not carnival's fault - the porters were completely disorganized and undermanned. Carnival employees were out in the lines handing out water. 
Coming back was amusing, as I got to listen to the dock workers have a profanity laden yelling match with the crew about how to tie up the boat. 
Hopefully, they have things straight before you get there this year. Have fun! Once on, the cruise is GREAT!