mommom of 7

Okay, I'll be the gloomy one. My first solo was really my hardest. My first hard night was elegant night because that was a biggie for us. Wound up escaping to a high deck and walk around trying to control myself. Everything I looked at I kept thinking he'd like this or that. I've since been on 2 more, it got better. I now am okay with it though still miss the connection to someone familiar. I now don't even want to share my cabin. I'm not outgoing so that's a hindrance, but it's fine for me, I am what I am.. I met you and Larry once, spoke briefly while waiting for a show, the scooter was covered with beads.

 

Keep your head high and although cruising will be different now, don't let it stop you. It's still a joy to cruise.

Yes I remember that nite so well. You found us & spoke, the doors opened & I don't think we saw you again the whole cruise.

I know it will be hard but must go & like you said keep my head up & think good thoughts about us. We had a lot of them so finding good things won't be hard.

As most of you know I lost my Best Friend, Husband & Cruisein' buddy LARRY last Mth.

We had booked the Halloween cruise Mth's ago & he made me promise to go without him. I will be on the PARADISE the 29th of Oct.

I ask over on FB Paradise page & it looks like no one but me going that week. Nice big ship to myself.

Anyone from CC going?

Would love to hook up with some of you for dinner at least. That will be such a lonely time i'm sure.

How do you other loner's do it.

All hints will be helpful.

Thanks

Char :)

Good question Ruthless! I was told that he retired, but I've not been able to find anything about where he might have gone. I know he is from California, so that's probably where he went. I'll sure miss him when aboard "Paradise" as he was one of my favorites. (Bet Calvyn can't even play the fiddle!) ;)

 

"SKY"

Kinda " as per John H " he has retired in Calif. When Larry was sick & after he passed I sent messages to Steve through John. Must say Steve didn't respond even though I know John gave him the messages. :(

Char

We were on the Legend after its drydock for some 2.0 upgrades. Long, long wait for embarkation because there were not enough customs agents to process all the workers leaving. Green Thunder and Sushi place not finished and didn't open until last sea day. Noticed that the ship seemed dirtier than the previous time we had sailed on her. We will try to avoid a cruise after drydock in the future.

We were on that cruise with you & you took the words right out of my mouth.

What a mess & so noisy.

We were in the same cabin the week before & then came back to the same cabin. Will say we did get a new mattress but the room was so dusty.

Very late embarkation & late leaving.

A lot of the crew was so tired, no air sleeping on deck party time. Some of the new kids said I can't do this again.

Would you explain that to me? (the "paying port fees twice"). That was one of the things I was thinking about -- but don't understand how it's charged. Thanks!

We have done a LOT of B2B's on the Paradise, up to 19 day's. :eek: Love it, port fees are for the port you stop in. On a 7 day cruise you go to 4 ports & pay 4 fees. B2B you do the same. Each cruise is separate so the fees & tips are charged on you new S&S. When you fill out your paperwork just do it for both cruises. Get the same cabin & enjoy. We can only go out of Tampa so this is how we get a nice long cruise. :):) You will also find that even though the shows are the same you can pick & chose more.

Char & Larry

I have been looking at the repo cruise from Tampa to Baltimore.

We cruise on Carnival & both have GOGO Scooters. :confused:

But have never flown with them. How does the whole thing work? Do they take them at check in? Will they be waiting for us at the gate when we land?

I'm so nervous about this but we really want to do this cruise because it goes to the canal.

Anyone out there that can give us details. We fly SW.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Char :)

Or you can use the time between to do laundry. :) That's what we did on our B2B. Took about an hour since I let most everything hang dry on the laundry line in the shower.

Be careful if you do your laundry while the ship is turning around. They do shut the water pressure down to almost nothing. I didn't know & my cloths were covered with black looked like grease. :eek: Also don't take a shower during that time, I got caught in the shower full of soap & the water went off. It was funny & GS had a good laugh. :D

just did the pride journey out of Baltimore, was a 6 hour drive since we stopped to eat lunch.

 

Basically the problem I'm facing is I want to go back on the pride but very few itineraries interest me. Typing that out I realize how snobby it sounds. But this would be a way to do b2b, 21 days and yes, I actually like to drive.

 

But I think the suggestion of having Enterprise pick us up is great, I forgot that they do that. I think I can make this work, thanks for all the ideas.

 

And yes, flying to Tampa would be easier. I'm one of the annoying conspiracy theory guy that talks about contrails and refuses to fly on commercial jets.

Larry & I are booked on that cruise to Baltimore & adding the week before sounds good. Might just look at it. I think you have a great plan.

However we might just put a B2B in the middle of the two mth's she is here.

We need a ship here in Tampa so bad.

Or have the Paradise do seven days now & then. :rolleyes:

The couple times I had to move I just kinds threw my stuff in a case. They will do your hanging cloths. I always looked for the new steward & let them know you are coming & they will help with the move also.

We will really appreciate all the hints. Do you get the same table in the dining room or is that changed. I have emailed the maitre d and requested a table for 2. He answered within 1 hour and said he would take care of it. Wow! What great service. This is the 4th time I've tried the email process. I've never gotten a response but always got the table for 2.

No since you are on a NEW cruise, but they really try to keep us B2B's happy. Seems like if you ask they will bend over backwards for you.

If you want your same waitstaff just ask for them not the table you had. They change sections a lot. Don't know why.

Also you will get to know so many of the staff & crew. That is also fun & makes you feel really important ;)

Char

Another couple things that we have found. Don't try to start your wash ( body or cloth's ) for the first hour after the ship clears. The water pressure goes way WAY down & have had it turned off twice. I can answer just about any question you have as we have done at least 25 B2B's.

They really screwed us up with the new booze rule but oh well look at all the money we saved. :o over the years :rolleyes:

Changing cabins is not to bad just the hassle of throwing it all in a case our steward's always helped us the couple times we got a nice upgrade on one week & not the other.

Enjoy it is so cool to walk back on ship with your escort & be greeted with a drink & picture.

Char

He just got off conquest this week and will take over for matt mitchum this saturday dec 5

And now the name WEE JIMMIE fits. He has lost a bunch of weight & looken' so good,

We are going to be on the Valor in Dec. B2B & then for the Super bow. :)

When I saw Wakeman Ohio I did a double take. No is from Wake City :eek:

Don't know how old you are but there was a bunch of Henderson's & Harrol's running around there for quite a while. :D

The town tavern was over run with them. :eek: Also a few Kelly's.

I'm from Elyria, Grafton area.

Can't wait for the rest of your review.

Char

Can you bring 4 bottles of wine on a B2B cruise?

Yes you can, have never had a problem except in Jacksonville. They were very nasty about it & took our wine gave back two. Yes I had our boarding pass for both cruises.

Char

Find the secret decks at the front of the ship. Usually on decks 6.7.8,9 These are the best places to watch both. Will be going on my 14th cruise in Dec. Always get up to watch the sunrise every day. I just go back to bed after. Sometimes miss sunset because of dinner time. There is nothing more beautiful then watching God's artwork over the ocean.

My Daddy's favorite word's were " only God can paint that picture "

I miss him & his word's so much. When I see something as beautiful as the sunrise or sunset I look up & saw Daddy you were right.

Char

 

 

 

 

I guarantee a GPS derived Sunrise/sunset is more accurate than the FunTimes mainly because the ship is moving. I doubt they can predict the location of the ship with 10 meter accuracy for next morning's sunrise when the FunTimes is printed around 3 p.m. the day before.

 

Please note I also said it would be a "bit more accurate". Heck going from the Promenade to Sky decks changes sunrise times by 10 seconds or so. Do you think the FunTimes takes that into account?

This is the best time of the day for me. Early coffee alone to welcome my new day at sea. Awsome.

I was so surprised at how close the Funtimes get with the time. I'm like you how the heck do they know where we will be & what time we will be there. But they sure get it within a minute.

This was our MILESTONE cruise # 50. B2B on the Paradise. That is a lot of packing.

Wouldn't tell this except Larry told the whole ship one person at a time.

I got out of the shower dried opened my drawer & NO panties NONE opened all the drawers still no Panties :eek:. At this point I knew I had forgot to pack them :o The rest of the week I had to wear Lar's ;)

When we got back into port I got off ship ran home got mine & of course Larry's were all dirty then so packed him some more also. :)

Still don't know how I did that. Got off at the port in Cozmel but they had nothing & it would have been to expensive to go downtown.

Char :D

If the balance is "refundable", you can simply go to the "Guest Services" desk and ask for whatever amount you want, up to, and including the entire balance. If it's "Non Refundable", the easiest way is noted above by "Hightown". Put the balance on a slot machine, pull off a time or two, transfer the balance to your card, and head to the cashier to cash out. NO PROBLEM. ;)

 

"SKY"

The up side to doing what Sky told you is when you roll those couple of rolls you could win. That would be ME on the Paradise. Second roll hit $200. cashed out. WAHOO.

Char :D

That's interesting. We can't have pork, so the ribs are out for us. I am a fan of prime rib, though, and I have had good experience with the carved prime rib on Lido deck in the past.

I always make my own sauce by mixing sour cream & horseradish in a bowl & Lar & I can both take some. Like the stuffed mushrooms also.

We have been taking dinner in the buffet for a year or so, but thought we would give the new menu a try.

On days we have had a big lunch will just have a scoop of tuna & some cheese with the ritz crackers I bring from home.

Char

It's not about being afraid to try something new. In fact, I would try a couple of the dishes if available during regular MDR dinners without hesitation. My issue has to do with packing, because we are also staying in 2 cities over several days before the cruise. I hate to pack a special set of clothes for us just to wear for a few hours to dinner, unless that dinner is going to be really good.

 

Have you tried the new menu?

We were on the Paradise B2B when the new menu rolled out. Not in pressed. As always the ribs were very good, didn't like the soup. I sure wouldn't pack anything special for the DR. The piped in music was blaring & couldn't talk to your neighbor ,it was not the old DR. I just put on slacks & a nice little tee & was better dressed than a lot of them.

Next week we will go back to the buffet the prim rib is so much better up there.

Char

We just did a B2B 5 day the 14th & 19th.

I have already spoke to higher management about the lack of control in the Lido Buffet.

When I complained to the young man in charge about the Bikini & bare feet he told me oh we can't do anything all we can do is suggest the cover up.

As a Diamond cruiser with 21 of our cruises being on the PARADISE I knew better.

Spoke to GSM & also the FM in person also followed up with a couple of calls after we got home.

Had one person tell me he said that because he didn't know me. Well now he does.

Don't give up on that great ship, most of the crew are really good & caring people.

We are going back four more times this year.

Char

Good plan. We may book the Pride 2017 while on our 2016 B2B. Not only would we receive the $200 OBC for booking onboard, we'd also receive $250 OBC as a stockholder since it's a 14-day cruise. Great start for that cruise.

We will also get the $250.00

Also if we have hit 75 cruises big % what with both of us.:D

Just to clarify you receive $50 OBC for 3-5 day cruises, $75 for 6 day cruises, $100 for 7-11 days, and $200 for 12+ days.

We are leaving on the Paradise in the mornin'. I have a B2B for Nov. to book. I'm also going to cancel the Pride 14 day in Feb 17 & re book as that $200. will sure look good. If we can make it to 75 by then may upgrade to a balcony. Wow that would almost pay the airfare to get home. :D

Char

Carnival chooses the airline, # of connections, price, etc. I used their program once as a new cruiser, found out I could have gotten on the same plane for less on my own. Carnival will hold the ship for you plane if there is a delay; you won't be the only passenger on the plane flying to the cruise.

 

I have never heard of Carnival booking a flight so you arrive the day before. Carnival books your flight the morning of the cruise. Just to play safe, if you use their program, book their shuttle from the airport to the pier as well.

My Step-son let Carnival do all there travel from LAX Calif. to ort Canaveral. They flew them in the day before, took them to a hotel in Orlando, picked them up the next day & took them to the ship. He said it was very easy but a little pricy :eek:.

When on a B2B don't use the washer until after the water pressure is back to normal. Black stains on some cloths.:eek:

I send out Larrys PJ & Tighty whities. None of my stuff, they just throw all of it in with everyone else's uck :eek:

I wash the afternoon on turn around day. $ 6.00 for both.

We are Diamond so it is unlimited, I send a bag every other day.

Char