GAMOM4

Blue_Water .. how many ships will be in port the day that we are there?

Tuesday, May 20th from 12:00-8:00? My son and I are texting back and forth now trying to decide what a 20 year old would like to do with his mom on the islands..:rolleyes:

We did the Bernard's Tour....#2 in May 2012...we LOVED it......it was my husband & I .... he died of a sudden massive heart attack in September and we had 2 cruises already booked...our son is going on the one in May on the Sunshine and I am booking Bernard's for that one:)

We will be in Tortola for the first time on the Carnival Sunshine on May 21st and we will be there from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... my 20 year old son is going with me (this was a cruise that his daddy & I had booked last year .. and his daddy died with a massive heart attack in September..so he decided to go with me) I want him to be able to experience the most he can during this day (my thoughts are always this may be the only chance you ever get to come here) ..... I am not very athletic ... but looking at youtube videos of the Baths I think I could do that ... is this enough time to see the Baths? If it is should I book through the cruise.....I am not a person that feels really easy out of my comfort zone...and especially without my husband with me anymore.....I am just trying to make plans for each port. Thanks for any help!

Does the Champagne Cat Sail give you the option to do some shopping at Cruz Bay?

 

Does anyone know which company operates the Champagne Cat Sail?

We did the Champagne Catamaran Tour on the Dream in May 2012 ... we loved it....it was just me and my husband ... and neither one of us snorkel ... so when we got to the part where the snorkeling was ... we got on a little tiny boat they were pulling behind it and they took us on to the beach....but the beach we went to had a National Park sign and there were no facilities or like that....I didn't see or hear anyone mention during the time we were there going to any other part of the island...we weren't there for long ... but my husband definitely wasn't a beach person so that didn't bother him .... we just loved being on the Catamaran and the party starts on the way back ... I am trying to decide if this will be a good excursion for my 20 year old son and me in May of this year ... his daddy died with a massive heart attack in September and we already had this cruise booked...and my son wanted to go in his daddy's place.....I said I guess this will be the last thing that I ever do that Tony & I planned together

The Jubilee was our first cruise! This was the ship that got us hooked on cruising!!!!!:)

Loving your review....I am going on the Sunshine in May and 2 of our ports are St. Thomas & Tortola so I can't wait to read about your excursions there! We are still trying to decide what to do....I have been to St. Thomas one time and we did the Champagne Catamaran Tour then

Loving your review....I am going on the Sunshine in May and 2 of our ports are St. Thomas & Tortola so I can't wait to read about your excursions there! We are still trying to decide what to do....I have been to St. Thomas one time and we did the Champagne Catamaran Tour then

I loved your pictures! What kind of camera do you use? Mine broke while on the Fascination in November....that was my 4th time on that ship...I love it! The window seats in that class of ship are my favorite spot. We have never stopped at the Navy Pier .. out of all the 5 times we have stopped their it has always been at the one right close to Mallory Square. My husband died of a massive heart attack at work in September....we had our platinum cruise booked on the Fascination in November 2013 ... after alot of time trying to decide what the right thing to do was...I went on the cruise...I knew he would be furious if I gave up the chance to be platinum.

Your pictures brought a smile to my face tonight:)

Rather than edit my post - again, here are links to the Red Frog Rum Bar and Blue Iguana Tequila Bar menus.

They're the two bars across from each other on Lido.

The 'floaters' are $2 extra.

 

Red Frog Rum Bar Menu

 

Blue Iguana Tequila Bar Menu

So are they not serving Bud Light on the ship? I sure hope they haven't stopped that! We love the 2 ships that we have been on that had bud light draft!

We spent a few hours at Mullet last week and there were no restrooms. Only port-a-potty and it was DISGUSTING! However, the beach itself was beautiful and the bar/restaurant was great too! We will definitely be going back! We went to Maho after that but were only there a short time so not sure if Sunset bar had bathroom facilities. However, I will say that Maho is not a good beach for swimming especially for kids. We had 9 kids in our group and we only allowed them to go in up to their knees. The waves were big, the bottom was rocky and there was a big drop off. Mullet was much better for swimming. Oh I should also mention that we saw a few topless woman at Mullet too.

When we were in St. Maarten the bathroom at Orient Beach was absolutely HORRIBLE ... they gave you a key to get in ... but there wasn't even a lock on the door...it was at one of the restaurants...and it was at the back of the restaurant on the outside....now at Maho and Sunset Bar there was actually an attendant standing there at the bathroom doors when we got there....and they were clean .... this was in May 2012.

I too had it sitting under my VIFP account but would of never knew if I had no received the paper letter so people might want to check their account

Do you go to cruise deals at the top and then to past guest? That is where I see special offers...and mine only shows a 2 category upgrade ...but I am at the top of the upgrade I would want on my Sunshine cruise and on the Liberty I am booked oceanview and there are no cabins above the main deck...which I have booked so the 2 category upgrade won't help me with either cruise :(

My PVP told me this morning that the free cruises were offered to some people that spent alot in the casino. I told him that I have been reading about people that didn't spend any in the casino and getting one...so then he sent me an email back and said that was strange because all the ones he has dealt with played the casino............:confused:

I am excited for all of you that received a letter! A person told me tonight from here in our small town that she received a letter also:) Maybe next time I will get one :)

I booked with the $50 deposit also ..... they had told me about the entire deposit being due if there was a price drop so last Friday we went ahead and paid the entire deposit for both of us going.....now just hoping I can get in on some price drops;)

The music by the pool was often country. LOTS of country. I hate country. A better variety would have been more pleasing. Kind of ruined things for me

I sure hope when the Sunshine is sailing out of Port Canaveral in May when I cruise that they are playing lots of country.......country is the only kind of music I listen to .... and since my husband died so suddenly of a widow maker heart attack .... and cruising and country concerts were our passion....the music is about the only thing that seems to settle my nerves But I can sure understand how not pleasant it is to listen to music you don't like......if I had to listen to pop or oldies for long my nerves would be shot.....guess they would sell me a lot more drinks then:confused:

The question should be. Why even stop there?

Key West is by FAR our favorite port ..... I actually changed my cruise that was for the 1st week of December 2013 and went November 16th so I could go to Key West.....I choose the cruises and the dates that go there.....I guess to each their own..... and I guess some people would rather sail to places like Nassau.....but not us.........I'm disappointed that my May cruise doesn't have Key West as a port and my December one doesn't :( :( :( the first time since 2010 I haven't had a cruise scheduled to go there:confused:

We have only been on two cruises that had the steakhouse ...the first was the Dream in May 2012....my husband and I loved it.....other people may get to experience dining like this .... but where I come from we don't......we did the steakhouse again in May 2013 on the Freedom ... once again we loved it.....we have a cruise booked on the Sunshine in May 2014 and the plans were to love the steakhouse again.....but my husband went to work in September and had a massive widow maker heart attack and died.....so the two of us will never get to have that experience together again.....we thought it was money well spent....and it was nice to be able to "slow down" and just enjoy being together and have wonderful food served to us. But I know everyone doesn't agree......just like I had someone tell me the other day that they would never pay for a cabin above the Riviera Deck..that it was a complete waste of money....I on the other hand hope to NEVER be on that deck again

Thanks for the ideas. I like the idea of the safari in Grand Cayman. We always go to Stingray City but I would like to try out something different this time.

 

Did you book that through Carnival??

No....I was reading reviews on the Grand Cayman board and also on trip advisor and after reading the 100% rating I just contacted them and booked directly .... I think we paid when we got there or maybe at the end of the it . I have lots of pictures posted on my facebook wall of it.....it includes lunch at a local restaurant (believe me you wouldn't just know it was there) It is in someones house but we ate outside at picnic tables overlooking the ocean....this was real authentic food....and we went to the botanical gardens (don't think I have ever been to a botanical garden before) and also we went to a state owned fort or something...I really thought it would be boring but it was the total opposite....when we got there you go in and sit in this theater like thing with all kinds of things like spraying water and sound effects...and they told you about the people that use to live there....it was just really cool....and what was SO good about the safari tour .. our guide "the big Kahuna" he walked around with us after the short show and told us about everything...people on other tours at the same place weren't being told anything .. in fact they were listening to him tell us.....

Yeah the itinerary for the repositioning cruise is pretty good. 4 ports and 5 days at sea.

 

In Aruba our roll call is going on the Banana Bus. We are going as a group and doing the Aruba: Sun and Fun bus tour.

 

In Cozumel my dad and I are going to Paradise Beach. I'm super excited to swim in that pool

 

In Ocho Rios we are going to stay onboard the ship

 

In Grand Cayman we are still undecided

In Grand Cayman you should consider the Grand Cayman Safari .. that was such a good excursion....actually the last excursion we did before Tony died .... it was raining that day we were in Grand Cayman and him and I were the only two on the Safari jeep we were it... and we had someone from America that was our driver (the big Kahuna) is what he called himself he went to Grand Cayman as a stand up comic .... the tour had 100% rating when I booked it ....and Tony had no interest in swimming with sting rays .... I was so glad we had something booked though especially since it rained the entire cruise.

In Jamaica we did we positively said we wouldn't do ....we got off the ship and walked several blocks up to where the Harley Davidson store and all is...and ended up getting in a taxi cab...the man was super nice......but we meant we weren't going to do that.....Jamaica is intimidating to me....everywhere you went people were jumping out in front of the van...and not just in town but even out in the Fern Gully .... just all kind of strange .... but beautiful

I will get some more done tonight. It's been a busy week with starting my new job. You will love the Carnival Sunshine. Enjoy your cruise

What kind of new job did you start this week?

In November I was Platinum (and since my husband passed away with a heart attack in September) I had a paid for cruise and took a friend..she was Red .. this was her 2nd cruise.....but they told me that she could go to the past guest party with me....no problem at all:)

Love your pictures! What kind of camera were you using and what photo website are putting them on to upload them to cruise critic? My camera lost a part on my cruise in November.....and I need a new one ..... (and this one was mostly new....but stuff happens I guess) I have NO luck getting pictures to post correcctly

My first time being platinum was in November....and since my husband died in September and the cruise was paid for when he died ... they allowed me to change the name to someone else....I was platinum that cruise she was on her 2nd cruise...we went through FTTF together and then we both went into the VIP lounge or whatever they call it...she got her sign and sail card in there along with me....and then we went and sat in a row...we were on the 2nd row and we boarded as soon as they allowed boarding to begin.

They may not do this on all ships...we were on the Fascination

In May we purchased FTTF for the first time (of course it really hasn't been offered that long I don't think) it was our 9th cruise......my husband said it was the best $49.95 we EVER spent on a cruise....and I agree...I know everyone doesn't see things as a good deal...I can't even begin to understand why people like to go into a casino and spend money....my parents LOVE it.......in November I was platinum and didn't have to pay the $49.95 ... my husband never made to our platinum cruise...he went to work on September 9th....perfectly healthy we thought and then he had a widow maker heart attack that afternoon....and tonight makes 4 months since he died.....everytime I think of cruising I think about him ... he loved it SO much as do I ..... but I will always remember hearing him tell others about the FTTF. To each his own I guess......but to us we felt like we had an entire extra day at sea....that is how quick we got on......but just like I feel about a casino.....if you feel it is a waste of money or not worth the money I sure wouldn't spend it on it then

I was one of the ones that was eligible though...my PVP was the one that told me about the program...he called me today and said he is checking in to it....