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hi, which hotel did you stay at in NYC? I'm cruising from there this September and I haven't found one yet. Thanks.

So...on to the bathroom!

 

It's tight...but functional...you are first presented with the space-tube shower:

 

 

Inside the shower, there is a clearly-marked "Shampoo" dispenser:

 

 

I know some people use it as a body wash, but to each his own.

 

For the ladies, there is a small "shave bar" in the corner...you can use this to prop your legs up for shaving. It takes some maneuvering, though, as when the space-tube doors are closed, there's not a lot of room inside.

 

 

 

There are two small hooks in the shower...for a scrubbie, perhaps? Or a washcloth?

 

 

And now to my biggest complaint about the shower...because, really, I was pretty happy with it, for the most part. The water was hot; the pressure was good; and it didn't leak too much water all over the floor.

 

However, I hated - HATED - this wire shelf:

 

 

Why, you ask? Because my soaps...shampoos...body washes...and razor...were just small enough to always fall through the "cracks" of the wire shelf. Do you know how HARD it is to try to scoop something up off the floor of a wet shower, when you're basically inside a test tube???!!

I put a washcloth in there first and then everything stays put.

Hi Judy,

 

Were you on the Mariner TA in November? I was on that cruise with a group of friends. I have never cruised solo, but am seriously considering booking a Suez Canal cruise in April. All dining times are wait listed and I will have to take "my time dining". Will I have a choice of dining alone OR with a group each night? You seem to be very comfortable cruising solo......any advice for me if I decide to book this cruise as a "solo lady"?

 

Thanks....Amber

Yes, I was on the Mariner TA last November. Because we had such a huge and active roll call, I never went into the dining room alone so I don't know what would have happened. I was with a couple of other people. We asked for large tables and never got anything smaller than a 6-top. From what I understand, the choice is yours, but your wait for a table will depend on what's available.

I love cruising solo. I much prefer having a cabin to myself. I've told friends that for my next two cruises I have booked a solo cabin and I'm letting them think that it's a cabin for one. I am independent at home so this is the way I travel.

IMO all food on any line that is mass produced is not going to be of the highest quality. For that you need to eat in the speciality restaurants/venues where food is prepared one meal at a time.

The page numbers change as people post on the thread. Can you point me to the NUMBER of the post? I would like to see the spreadsheet before sailing next week!

 

Thanks

It's post # 36

I always cruise solo and have never had a problem meeting friends on board. I used to always get traditional dining, but now I'm more likely to do anytime dining. I have no problem either sharing a table or eating alone, with my Nook for company. I either book ship excursions or join a group on my roll call. In some ports I'm perfectly happy to just walk around by myself.

On my most recent cruise, I got talked into sharing a cabin with a newbie cruiser. We were a group of 8 in 4 cabins. As it turned out, she was a wonderful cabin-mate. However, I didn't realize that she's not the independent type and I had a shadow around the ship almost all the time. She loved it and wants me to plan another cruise for us. Not going to happen. I hope she finds someone else to cruise with.

Hi Cruisers! I have taken a lot of cruises on small ships by myself and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am planning a Transatlantic in April/May by myself. I have a medical condition that causes extreme fatigue so I spend a lot of time in my cabin. The things that are important to me are the CABIN, ROOM SERVICE, SPA, GYM/EXERCISE PROGRAMS, MOVIES, LEAST CHILDREN. My choice of ships are Celebrity Eclipse, Norwegian Epic, or Independence of the Seas. Which ship would you reccomend that provides the best of the above items? Cheers Missea2

I did a solo TA on the Mariner last November. I had a huge balcony cabin and loved it. Room service was great. I don't think there was 10 children total on board. Can't tell you anything about the gym, but the spa services were terrific with a daily special in addition to the regular offerings.

Sorry Jim .. if you want good pizza at sea .. you will have to try Princess :eek:

I think Princess, Carnival and RCCL pizza is all about the same. It's best when it's fresh and hot. The longer it sits, the worse it is.

I've had several requests for the movies that we watched as a family before our cruise...these movies helped the Klingons get a better understanding of what they would be seeing and/or experiencing. We'd have "Italian Night" - or "Greek Night" - where we'd nibble on the cuisine that matched the movie we were watching. Who knew that my Klingons would end up LOVING Greek food?! I would NEVER have guessed that!

 

Now...please...use this as a guide only. Also - check the MPAA ratings for the movie, as our youngest was (almost!) 13-years old....

 

Our Movie List

 

 

Cannes/Monte Carlo

We watched “To Catch A Thief” with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. This turned out to be a really good choice when our tour guide took us on the road where Grace Kelly was killed in the auto accident; the Klingons actually knew who she WAS!

 

 

Mickey and I watched Selena Gomez in "Monte Carlo" - a 2011 film that takes place in the area. I didn't make the Boy Klingons suffer through this. ;)

 

 

We didn’t watch it, but there’s always “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” (1977) that was filmed in Monte Carlo…it's supposed to be good for kids!

 

 

Florence

 

 

We watched the always-beautiful “Under the Tuscan Sun” (2003) – with the always-beautiful Diana Lane. This film also tied in a bit of the Amalfi Coast, as well, as some of it was filmed near Positano.

 

 

“Tea With Mussolini” – A 1999 film starring Cher, Lily Tomlin, and others...a surprisingly VERY good film, based on a true story, of the Tuscan area during WWII. Because Brainy Brad is into history, this was an awesome film that showed what happened in Florence (and the people) during WWII.

 

 

“Room With A View” – (1985) Although the second half of the movie is in England, the first part of the movie has views of Florence…but...check the ratings on this. I know there's a brief nude scene with guys swimming at a pond.

 

 

Rome

 

My kids LOVED “Roman Holiday” with Gregory Peck and Audry Hepburn.

 

We also watched that BBC short video on gladiators, that's entitled: "Pompeii: The Last Day/Colosseum: A Gladiator's Story (2005). AWESOME set!!! Very accurate and informative.

 

“Gladiator” (2000) is a good full length movie, although the Boy Klingons enjoyed it more than Mickey.

 

I tried to get the kids to watch “Ben-Hur” – but it was too long; they didn’t enjoy it as much. Another good movie would be “Cleopatra” with Elizabeth Taylor…as it shows a bit of Roman history.

 

For the Vatican, we watched “The Agony and the Ectasy” (1965) – fantastic movie about the Sistine Chapel. Kids loved it.

 

Athens

 

The kids’ favorite movie (we watched it SEVERAL times) was “My Life in Ruins.” (2009) They didn’t get into “Zorba the Greek” as much.

 

 

Ephesus/Kusadasi

 

I got nothin’. Really.

 

 

Santorini

 

 

The “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movies…although supposedly “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” was filmed in Santorini. We didn’t watch it, though.

 

 

Naples/Amalfi Coast/Pompeii

 

”The Bourne Supremacy” in 2004 was a good movie...

 

We also watched that Pompeii movie referenced above...it was pretty good.

 

 

I hope this list helps...! We'd also watch YouTube videos online, for things such as the cable car ride up the cliffs of Santorini (hoping that would help Too-Tall Taylor and his fear of heights...not sure if it made it better or worse, actually!) or the coastline drive of the Amalfi Coast...there are hundreds of videos out there online that can give you an idea of what to expect.

I'm surprised you didn't watch Angels & Demons for Rome. I took the tour that follows this book/movie when I was in Rome last year. We couldn't do them in order due to logistics and time constraints, but we did get to see them all.

The baby boomer generation is retiring and a lot of us are solos and ready to travel. We've lived alone and independently for a while and prefer to travel that way. I live in a 55+ community and there are a large proportion of new residents from my generation who are moving in single. In the past 5 years we've made a major impact in how things are done (or not done) and I suspect this will carry over to other areas of our live also.

I generally cruise solo, but am going with a roommate for an upcoming cruise on the Pride. She is, like me, a single woman, but who has never cruised and, while she can afford the solo price, wants to cruise "with" someone the first time. I upgraded to a balcony to give us some extra room. We'll see how it goes. I have to say, the cheaper price is nice.

I loved my Bernard's Tour in St. Maarten. I found the best little cafe on the French side by the vendors market for lunch. I had a croque monsieur and a sugared beignet that were yummy. (OK, it was a grilled ham & cheese sammich and a donut; but they tasted better in French). And the shopping was great too.

If I ever cruise the Caribbean again, the ports I must go to are St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia - three of the best tours ever.

Do you by any chance remember the name of the Gelato place? My wife and I will be in Barcelona in less than 2 weeks...and that Tartufo sounds like it woudl be right up our alley!

From her post on page 4, it looks like Farggi Gelato? At Placa Catalunya.

 

I google street view this address: Passeig de Gràcia, 94, Barcelona, Espanya

 

And ta-da! there it was. I won't be going till April 2013, but I'm ready for Gelato!

If you can't find that particular place, I had the most wonderful gelato from a stand in the middle of Las Ramblas.

I did a 12 night med cruise on the Carnival Magic last year, flew RT DC/Barcelona and spent one night each pre- and post-cruise in Barcelona. We had 8 ports, including an overnight in Venice. I did a combination of ship tours and private tours, plus a couple of days on my own. As a solo it cost me around $5,000 for the entire trip.

Sherri, thanks so much for all the useful information included in your most entertaining report. I wish I'd know some of that before I went on my cruise last year. However, it will be very useful for my upcoming TA and pre-cruise days in Rome. I'm doing self-guided walking tours in Rome with fellow cruisers and it was good to find out that we needed to get tickets for the Coliseum in advance.

I don't know if you've been to Naples before, but if you haven't you didn't miss anything. The best things about it were the pizza and the great chocolate I found in a little grocery store. I'm glad I spent the morning at Pompeii and only had a few hours in Naples in the afternoon.

We're using RomeinLimo for a Tivoli/Gandolfo tour one day and for transfers from Rome to the port. I was happy to hear such good things about them.

You must have never tried truly authentic Gelato........

On my med cruise last year the best gelatos I had were (1) on Las Ramblas in Barcelona and (2) from a small restaurant in Arles. Both were yummy - super rich and creamy.

Probably the only thing I'd want washed would be my jeans - how are they with those? I really don't have to have to deal with having them pressed.

Does anyone know if any upgrades and/or changes are planned for the Pride in 2012? Thanks.

Thanks for all the information. Carnival Magic will be in Dubrovnik on October 22, along with 2 other ships. We are a group of 12 that plans to do the Wall walk and a self-guided tour. We'll have lunch and probably do some shopping. Do you have a best guess estimate of how much cash we should get from an ATM before we start our day? I already have a copy of the map you posted, but here's a link to the walking tour. Are we missing anything important? We are in port from 7 am to 7 pm but don't plan to start our day until 9:30, getting back to the ship around 6:00, giving us 8-1/2 hours.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/dubrovnik/3280010008.html

Hope this isn't a duplicate post ....

Have you all checked out the November 2, 2012, 16-day RCCL Mariner of the Seas TA from Rome to Galveston? I booked an inside room ($499 base price) for $748. Right now the base price is $509. This is a steal!

What improvements were done while in dry dock?

 

Sneaking alcohol is still hit and miss I think

The only thing I know of is the addition of the Adult Serenity Area, and the work on that wasn't finished by 11/28. They were still doing some minor adjustments during the week of 11/21-28. Someone said it was where the golf used to be. I don't know where the golf is now. My cabin (2445) still looked the same.

I ordered it once on my first Carnival cruise and 4 cruises later I've never been tempted to order it again. There are too many other better ways to have chocolate.

Of all my cruises (17 so far) the only time I've never sent food back has been on a Princess cruise. I've also been on Costa, NCL, Carnival and RCCL.

I have one of those wonderful 1A cabins with 2 windows - one next to the bed and one on the far side of the cabin. I leave the far window curtain open for light and keep the one next to the bed closed. And I've booked the one on the starboard side.

I have a cabin with windows on the Main deck, which is close to being eye level to the dock at times. I prefer not being on the port side so people outside cannot look into my cabin. I've had that happen and it's rather disconcerting when you wake up, look out and see someone looking in.

Has anyone stayed in U167 on Elation? It also a 1a. Great price at 199 for Nov.

I stayed in that cabin on a 3 day Baja cruise. It's a great cabin in a wonderful location - very quiet. It was my first inside cabin in a very long time and it made me re-think my need for an OV.

Enjoy!

Just wondering which of these rooms are better 1106 or 2335/2334?

 

It will just be myself and 14 year old son. Which one offers more space? Seems 1106 gives you more floor space?

 

Many thanks

 

Charleyann

The 2334/2335 cabins are the ones with the two big windows. And there might possibly be two beds on the floor since some show a double bed. These are my favorite 1A cabins. Way in the back and very quiet.