straitlover1965

Hope it wasn't that crawfish fettucine! I hate getting sick on vacation. 🤒

Love reading your reviews, live or not, even if I never comment. 🙂

Sorta OT: whenever you mention the rug store, I can't  help but think of the SNL Chandelier sketch. Is your store anything like theirs? LOL

Glad to read this! I am on the same itinerary in April 2025 over Easter. I know ours will be a full ship also, so I hope we have the same luck as you. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the ports.

Did you spend any time in the spa? We have a spa balcony cabin, so I know we will be in there quite a bit, especially on the tile loungers and hydrotherapy pool!

2 hours ago, weezal said:

yes, ONBOARD SINGLE DAY PURCHASE

Whew! Way cheaper than $122+. Thanks! 🙂

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

I am guessing that you will not be in port on the day you want to check in.  If you are in port, you can probably find an internet cafe to do your computer work.

No, it's a sea day. Thanks though!

Check with Coca Beach Shuttle. If they won't pick you up at the Disney hotel, you can take the Disney Magical Express back to the airport and get on the shuttle there. https://cocoabeachshuttle.com/

Another option is Cortrans, but you would definitely have to go back to the airport. https://www.cortrans-shuttle.com/

If you are on a Disney cruise, you can book a shuttle form the hotel to the port through them unless something's changed.

1 hour ago, weezal said:

you can purchase internet service per day, though it doesn't appear social plan is available by the day
https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1152/

Is that column to the right of Onboard Purchase for Onboard Single Day? It's chopped off when I go to the link, and all i see is Onboard S. I'm guessing the Value is $25.00 for a single day?

Wasn't planning on worrying w/ WiFi for my April 2025 cruise. However, Southwest has greatly increased Early Bird cost, so now we will have to check in the day before our flight home to get a decent spot in line (cruise is over Easter so very busy!). Social internet for an 8-day cruise costs as much as the Early Bird. Can you purchase it just for one day if you wait until you're onboard? If not, i will have to bribe a co-worker to log on and check in for me LOL.

19 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Have you stayed at the Radisson recently? I use to love staying there pre-Covid, but when we did a land trip in 2021 and stayed there is had gone downhill really, really badly. That was why I ended up trying Home2Suites/Hampton Inn, I wanted a nicer, cleaner option. I was wondering if the Radisson had gotten better since. 

I've only stayed there once with a cruise charter group back in 2016. I know the charter groups keep booking there, but maybe because they get a really good deal???

The Country Inn & Suites is closer to the port and was only $16 more than the Radisson for my dates. Main reason I was considering the Radisson was for the pool since we may be there 2 nights. 🙂 The Home@Suites was showing around $60 more per night than the CI&S ($226 vs $166 if memory serves), need to see if I can find a better deal.

Have a safe trip!!!

14 minutes ago, Theosprey247 said:

The plain Jane sauna is free, but the fancy ones (microwave, rainforest, and high heat with a view as my son calls them) you need to buy a day pass or book a spa cabin to use.

You can also book a cruise length spa pass. Compare the cabin price between a regular cabin and a spa cabin, If the difference is cheaper than buying a cruise length pass, then book the spa cabin.

Cruise length spa pass comes in handy if only one person in the cabin wants to use the spa, too.

37 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

When it has been available for booking before, it has been on their website. It had a shuttle to and from the port included. 

I'll keep looking. I was debating between the County Inn &  Suites and the Radisson but have now added the Home2Suites to the mix. If we meet up with my niece, we will stay closer to Orlando, but if we don't, then we will stay on 95 and head on to the port. Thanks!

How do you check on the Park and cruise rate for the Home2Suites? I didn't see it on their website, do you have to call? I'm trying to decide where to stay in September (we are driving form NC, also). If you do that, do they offer a shuttle to/from the port (paid I would assume which is fine)?

3 hours ago, CAC104 said:

On our way to Florida we always stop for the night in Florence, SC off of exit 164 but have no idea of where Buc-ees is.  Do you remember what exit it is off of?

 

South of the Border is one of the biggest tourist traps around, but we love watching all the Billboards.

Exit 170

Have you already left? I believe Hamrick's over near Cross Creek Mall carries Redneck BBQ rubs and sauces. It is a local place over in Benson. They have a restaurant but also do BBQ competitions.

What Italian restaurant was that? I've only done Sammio's in Fayetteville (Olive Garden doesn't count LOL). My sister lives near Fayetteville, so I am there from time to time and am always on the lookout for places to eat.

I said that I was going to verify before booking. When you click on the Havana interior, it does show two offers, one where you choose your cabin and one where it says Carnival will choose your cabin, so it is confusing. We won't be able to do it in 2025 (already have a cruise booked for April 2025), so we will see what comes up in offers once the 2026 cruises are posted.

If you have a specific cruise in mind, you can start the booking, and after you enter your VIFP number, it will show all the offers available for that booking. If it doesn't come up, just back out, no charge.

4 hours ago, dallasdan said:

To me there is not a bad interior Havana Cabin.  But be careful, I don't think they do guaranteed cabins in Havana.  If you choose a guaranteed cabin it will be an interior room somewhere else on the ship.  It will not be Havana.

It is listed as Havana Interior guarantee and costs more than a regular interior guarantee, so they better not do that! I will probably try and book through the PVP for this to make sure we get what we're after (usually book on my own, but I do have a PVP because he calls every time I log in and search cruises!).

1 minute ago, Jamman54 said:

In our opinion,  no.😎

You latest review is what has me wanting to try it out. 🙂 The higher price is a little too rich for my blood, but that cheaper price is not bad! Will have to talk to sis and hope the rooms are still available in the offer. Thanks!

Was looking at a cruise on the Vista at the Havana Interior cabins. The offer my sister has, we could do a guarantee cabin for $900 less than if we picked our own cabin. All the Havana cabins are in the back part of the ship, correct? Would there be a bad location that we might get if we went with a guarantee? $900 is a lot of money. 🙂

I will be on the Magic in April, so looking forward to your review! How did you get from FLL to the hotel in Miami? The only time I've cruised from POM, we flew into FLL because we had never been there and stayed 2 nights in Ft Lauderdale for sightseeing and such. Returned the retal car to FLL and used SAS to POM and back to FLL after the cruise. We will be flying SW in April (points to use!) so trying to decide if we should fly into FLL or MIA. It will be Good Friday on our flight day, so I'm thinking maybe FLL for a cheaper hotel and using a shuttle to POM again? Cruise leaves on Saturday but it's Easter weekend, so I'm afraid traffic will be too crazy for Uber.

Splendor has the hydrotherapy pool. I say go for it!!! I love that pool, and that is a cheap price!

https://www.carnival.com/onboard/cloud-9-hydrotherapy-pool

10 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I can see Jamman’s pics. Maybe try a different browser?

I've been using Firefox. I just tried on Chrome. I can't see the pic within the post, but if I click on the link (IMG-----.jpg), I can see it that way. Better than nothing! I will try it on my home computer this evening to see how it works there.

EDIT: I went to another page of the review in Chrome, and now I can see the pic w/ having to click on the link. Weird!!! Anyway, thanks for the suggestion!

Curious - I can see pics that others are positing here, but all of Jamman's are coming up as a jpg link, and I

click on the link and it's blank. is it just me???

On 4/28/2024 at 1:59 PM, asianguy30 said:

Are you renting from MCO and return at Port Canaveral?  Which car rental company?

When I did this, I used Avis and booked through Costco Travel. I believe they have shuttles to/from the port, but we didn't use them. We were staying at the Radisson down the street and had a hotel shuttle to the port, so I turned in the car the evening before the cruise and just walked back to the hotel.

3 hours ago, Jenjer said:

OP check out Devotion Nutrition or Clean Simple eats both have single serve protein packs.  That are easy to mix on ship. I love my fairlife but those are both good too.  

 

A lady I follow in FB uses the Clean Simple Eats and loves it.