TylerRose

TY so much for posting this link.

I am so excited!

We are considering staying a few days as part of their "pre cruise package".

Has anyone booked this?

Looking out my widow at the start of the blizzard here in SE Pennsylvania.

 

We are supposed to get at least a foot of snow. UGH!

 

To all my CC friends here on the east coast , stay safe and warm.

 

75 Days till the Koninsdam !

Hang in there. Stay warm... food, a fire in the fireplace, a bottle of wine, and a Mediterranean tour book.

Thinking of you & all our friends & family back East...

TY so much for taking the time to share this video post :)

TY so much for taking the time to post pics!

Ty so much for post!

Looking at probably doing HAL tours for Olympia/Winery and Capri. Not sure what else I want to do. The cable car in Dubrovnik also interests me.

 

As far as Rome, I will probably pre-book the Vatican for the afternoon and just relax in the evening. At that point the jet lag will do me in[emoji2]

If this is your first visit to Rome... and you visit only one place... the Vatican is a must!

I spent a few hours reviewing the port tours yesterday. I am considering the following:

-DUBROVNIK & CROATIA’S COUNTRYSIDE (I have opted out of walking the city walls because I am worried about the uneven narrow steps and overcrowding. But my husband may still go. He has no balance concerns and the photo opportunities are everywhere...)

-THE BEST OF CORFU

-(like you) THE ANCIENT OLYMPIA & MERCOURI’S VINEYARDS or BEST OF OLYMPIA

-ANCIENT HERCULANEUM or The CRUISE TO THE ISLE OF CAPRI (esp. after Denatravels post, I will explore the company she recommended)... **We have already hiked about Pompeii in the past... BUT I do think Pompeii is the "must" if you have never explored

I love cooking with fresh ingredients from the farmers market at HOME... and while I was not expecting them at sea... for a longer cruise- I am sure there are some who will appreciate the opportunity to cook with them...

(me, I won't be doing ANY cooking on my vacation)

Woo-hoo. Just made final payment.

Now time to start thinking about excursions and 1 night in Rome before the cruise.

We will arrive in Italy a few nights prior as well and have not booked any excursions yet.

In the past, I have always combined our own exploring, CC recommended tours & HAL excursions. I am leaning towards HAL excursions this time since I am less familiar with some of our ports.

What tours are you considering? I am stumped... so few reviews available on line for some of those HAL tours offered. (& some mixed "port reviews" on the Europe boards) :confused:

BTW... we spent 10 days in Italy a few years back. (I know your time in Rome is limited- but...) The hotels are eager to share their "contacts" & drivers to share their Rome with you. We had prebooked some touring and regretted it later after meeting a cabbie we really connected with. (He even took us out for the day to Naples & Sorrento... We let him choose lunch. It was great!). We had similar experiences with other hotels and drivers in the other cities we visited. :)

Interesting chatter... I can't wait to learn the answers first hand!

Ty so much for shared update and lilybob for translation of posted article. It is so exciting!

Ty so much for sharing!

We are already booked for the first night in Tamarind, we are waiting to see when they release Sel de Mar to make reservations for that..

We have early seating. Do you think there will be anything special for first eve... We have enjoyed dinner in the Pinnacle on past voyages to avoid embarkation dining room frenzy... But, i don't want to miss anything.

Have you given much thought regarding which eve to book which dining?

I want to do it all! Planning to make final payment and dinner reservations this week... Being our first (in spite of name change) premier voyage- I don't want to miss anything...

Each posting excites me further. Thank you all for the uodates!

Krazy Kruizers, posting this especially for you

(Don't tell my sis... oh wait, she will probably see it on her own and threaten me!)

Here is an image of my niece "mastering the pole"...

We added to to the silly stories list of a wonderful family celebration!

Last weekend we celebrated my Dad's 75th birthday aboard the Carnival Sensation. (They live near its home port of Orlando & we needed a weekend event for 12)

I have been pampered in HAL suites the past 10 years & this was our first time aboard a Carnival cruise ship.

I will leave the actual cruise review to others... I am writing about the suite life.

Embarkation was quick! It took about 25 minutes for our suite to be called for boarding after check in at a "special" guest services area reserved for weddings, suites, & other events at 10:45AM.

An older ship, our suite was a "remodel". It was on a lower deck- mid ship, & had a large pillar in the middle of the cabin beside our bed. (I banged in to it more times than I care to admit!)

A very comfortable cabin size for 4 adults- with a good sized veranda... (2 loungers & 2 chairs)

The sofa converted to a queen sized bed later on that embarkation day... and remained that way the rest of the cruise?

She was a tired ship... but cared for & met mostly all our needs.

It was a wonderful 75th celebration & my Dad was thrilled.

We created many special memories over this 4 day multigenerational celebration.

AND....

It was a good reminder of what makes the privilege of staying in a HAL suite extra special...

I missed the Neptune lounge immensely! I wondered if other Carnival ships had a "quiet place" for suite guests to grab a nosh, or relax in the calm. (I was with 12 relatives--- I wanted to hide sometimes!)

HALs concierge Service was excellent on all 9 of the ships we have sailed. This ship did not have one available for its suite guests.

I had hoped to hold a birthday cocktail party before dinner in our cabin... but it was not an option.

My room was cleaned daily & beds were turned down in evening... but I never met my room steward to thank them.

The sofa was never folded back in place allowing seating for large family visits as HAL always does.

There is no shortage of food options on Carnival....

But, the calm of the suite breakfast area is a perk I never fully appreciated or took advantage of... we usually eat light in neptune & as soon as I wake I wander that way for coffee.

HALs laundry & dry cleaning have always allowed us to pack less... and look sharp!

My son actually flew in from college with a suitcase of his dirty laundry! Seriously- I couldn't believe it. He assumed Carnival had complimentary laundry & dry cleaning for suites as HAL does. We will all be laughing about that one for years...

The Carnival Sensation met most of the needs I have for a good cruise.

However, the suite price was nearly the same as a suite booked on HAL.

The perks were not.

It was a good reminder that HAL is more than cloth tablecloths and fresh flowers!

Love them all!

TY so much for sharing this link! I loved looking at pics!

TylerRose, thank you for posting that vid. Yours was much clearer than mine. And dang if you did not get both my wife and myself in your vid. Thank You.:D

I am so glad you made it in to the video!!! :D

Can the OP or anyone else who has experienced this on board tell how they do it? Do you see crew members or machines of some kind in the ceiling throwing/dropping the stuff down? Of what material is the snow made? It looks surprisingly realistic on the video. (Oh, but I would not care to have to vacuum all that up later... :eek:)

Honestly, I was so absorbed in the whole experience I never looked beyond the snow for delivery...

It was a soap (I think)... so no mess left behind on ground or clothing...

It was very beautiful! :)

Do you have any FunTimes you could share? If not, do you remember when/how often the caroling and snow happened? Did they do the special Christmas show I have read about? Anything else especially fun for the holidays? Was the Grinch out and about?

This was only a 3 night cruise... I am sure a longer cruise allows far more festivities & a larger ship even more decorations. But I thought they did a great job spreading the holiday cheer. They were still putting up a menorah as we disembarked...

On the sea day, they hosted the only holiday show at 4:15PM. Alas, I did not attend... too much rocking & rolling at the time for me :(

The Funtimes describes as:

"A magical show that's sure to make your heart grow three sizes, with singers, dancers, a special performance by the kids & a surprise guest flown in from the North Pole"

Let it Snow (I barely made it to) was held only once & is described in Funtimes as:

"Celebrate the magic of the season with our very own Christmas Carol-infused winter wonderland. Sing-a-long to holiday classics & let it snow. Be on time, the snow melts fast!"... It immediately followed the 8:15 "Studio VIP" show in the Fwd Atrium Lobby at 9PM. In fact, the cast made a mad dash from the Fantasia lounge to get there on time!

I did bring home all my "Funtimes"... but do not currently have a scanner.

As for the Grinch... I did see him sneak by earlier that day... and surely I can blame the rough seas on him!:D

It snowed aboard the Carnival Sensation last weekend! Here is a video for you! I think they did a beautiful job!

this was my first cruise with Carnival... I thought they did a great job creating a fun weekend escape!

I can't offer any specifics on Sunshine, but we just got off Sensation and she was quite festive... including a very special sing-a-long! I am posting video!