Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

matt082600

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    569

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by matt082600

    Our S2S Adventure - Freedom / Spirit (with pics) - 1/7/23

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    On 2/26/2023 at 7:16 PM, Jamman54 said:

    Epilogue  -  Our final thoughts, ramblings, & future plans.

     

    The following thoughts and ramblings are not in any particular order, nor are they in any order of importance. They are just what pops into my mind at this particular moment.

     

    First, right off the top, I want to say that we enjoyed both ships and both cruises immensely. The crewmembers on both of the ships were outstanding and hardworking. The CD’s (James and Todd) were not our favorites, but they were okay.

     

    This is the first time we’ve cruised in January in forever, and I don’t know if we’ll do it again. Boarding a ship wearing a jacket and long pants may be okay when cruising from New York or Baltimore in the winter, but not from Florida. We froze our butts off!

     

    Another thing we decided is that we will never spend less than 7 days on a ship again. If we sail on a ship that does the shorter cruises, we will have to do a B2B to bring the time on that ship up to at least 7 days or more. Only being on the Freedom for 5 days just didn’t cut it, especially since we had a bowling alley balcony.

     

    After so many cruises to many of the same ports, Patti and I have basically become cabana and all-inclusive type of people. It’s what we do, and we love to just relax. Of course, relaxing for Patti is walking around for miles taking pictures, but I make sure she gets to lounge and enjoy a few drinks. She just won’t let me take a picture of her doing that! Amber Cove and Grand Turk are some of our favorites when it comes to cabanas. We already have more booked there on future cruises. The all- inclusives we did in Bonaire and Aruba were outstanding and we would book them again, but we’re always willing to try new places just for variety if they are available.

     

    You’ve probably noticed that Patti and I don’t eat in the MDR much anymore. I don’t know if it’s the same old menus or the fact that it takes so long. Prior to Covid, we ate in the MDR all the time. For many years we used to eat at the late seating, and as we got older, we switched to the early seating, and then we changed to YTD. Most of what is on the menu in the MDR is available on the Lido. The food comes from the same place, except in the MDR they plate it for you and make it look pretty. On the Lido you can take as much of an item as you want, and eat as quickly as you want, and move on to the next activity. We did eat in the MDR once on the Freedom and the experience was very good, so we may opt to try a few more meals in the MDR on future cruises. We’ll see.

     

    On the Spirit we enjoyed our meal at the Steakhouse, and we ate twice for dinner at Bonsai Sushi. Speaking of the Spirit Class, it continues to be our favorite class of Carnival ships. We love the layout of these ships, and the fact that even when these ships sail at capacity, they never feel crowded. We have now done sixteen cruises on this class of ships, five each on the Legend, Pride, and Miracle, and now have finally sailed on the namesake vessel, the Spirit. We thought that would complete the class, but with the addition of the Luminosa we have another one to conquer. Don’t know when that will happen though.

     

    It’s time to talk a little bit about the entertainment. As you may or may not know, Patti is hearing impaired, so musical acts and production shows are really just noise to her. If the entertainment is more visual, say like a magician and such, she enjoys that. There are two production shows that she really enjoys, and they are Celestial Strings, and Soulbound. Unfortunately, they are not performed on either the Freedom or the Spirit. The Playlist Production shows on both the Freedom and the Spirit were 88 Keys, 80’s Pop to the Max, and Getaway Island. The only one that I saw was Getaway Island.

     

    After dinner, Patti is happy to have a drink, walk the ship, browse the shops, and then go back to the cabin to read. Myself, I like to sit at the Lobby Bar, Alchemy Bar, or Red Frog Pub, have a drink, and listen to the entertainers. I enjoyed them all. If there’s a good game on, I’ll head to the Sports Bar. I also like to head to Punchliners and watch the comedians. Over the two cruises I got to see six different comedians, and all were very good, even at the PG shows.

     

    My mind has gone blank, so if you have any questions at all we’ll be more than happy to answer them for you. If I think of anything else, I’ll be sure to post it.

     

    So, what’s in store for the future? In April we will be boarding the Celebration. We were booked to do a B2B, but because of commitments that were not present when we booked two years ago, we had to cancel one of the cruises. The cruise we did keep was the Western itinerary which worked out great for us since we did do the Eastern on the Freedom. Looking forward to it, and of course we will bring you all the action!

     

    On September 29th we will be boarding the Carnival Venezia from our homeport of New York City for a 15-day Journeys Cruise to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, & St. Thomas. This cruise includes two sea days down to Grand Turk, and three sea days from St. Thomas back to New York. Perfect for us!

     

    2024 is shaping up like this. We are booked on a B2B on the Vista from Port Canaveral in April to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We have the same Havana inside cabin booked on both legs.

     

    Then on September 8th we will be boarding the Carnival Pride in Baltimore for a 14-day Journeys Cruise to Greenland and Canada. That will be something different!

     

    Hopefully we’ll get to see some of our Cruise Critic family on board the above cruises. It’s always fun to meet new friends and see our old ones!

     

    Before I end this, I have to thank my wife, Patti. I couldn’t do these adventures, or these reviews, without her. She is my best friend, my rock, and a heck of a photographer!

     

    Speaking of photography, the photos you see on these reviews are only a small portion of all the photos Patti takes during our cruises. If you would like to see the whole package, there is a link in my signature for our Cruise and Vacation albums. Feel free to check them out if you are so inclined.

     

    So, until next time, may you have blue skies and calm seas!!!

    Thanks Jeff ( and Patti) for another amazing review!!  I just got off the Spirit yesterday.  Had a wonderful cruise on a wonderful ship!

    • Like 1

    St. Maarten Beaches

    in St. Martin/St. Maarten

    Posted

    My wife and I have a cruise stop in St. Maarten.  We want to go to Orient Beach and would like to try out some of the nude beach sections.  Can anyone advise as to where the best spots/bars/resorts are in that section?  Also, what is the best way to get there from the pier; taxi?  Thanks in advance for the help.

    ROOM SERVICE QUESTION FOR RECENT CRUISERS

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    On 7/29/2022 at 11:23 AM, wemjam said:

    You have to sign the receipt and you can add the tip to that.  We always just hand them cash so it goes direct to their pocket, but either way is fine.

    I always (or almost always, in the event I don't have cash with me) tip in cash.  I've asked the crew several times if they get the tips that are left for them on a receipt without the company taking a piece, and they all said the company does not take any.  That said, I still think its more gratifying getting the money in your pocket immediately rather than having to wait for the company to process it.  I still believe cash is King.

    • Like 3

    Boarding times question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    13 hours ago, MellowMel said:

    Some of our group had early board and some had an hour later. They told us we could all board at the later time but the ones later could not board earlier. That was at the Ft. Lauderdale port.

     

    Ok.  Thanks for the information.  I'm leaving out of Cape Liberty on Friday.  It will be interesting to see if they treat our group the same way. 

    Boarding times question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, landsear said:

    We have six rooms linked. We all selected the 10:30 boarding time, but now, 1/2 of each party has changed to 11:30? It is definitely an error on RCL's end. For example, my husband and I are both doing a connecting interior room with one adult and one child in each room. RCL changed the kids to 11:30 and my husband and I are still boarding at 10:30. Is RCL going to babysit my kids at the pier for an hour? LOL 

     

    My TA has assured me that RCL will accept everyone at 10:30, but I keep reading how important it is to show up at the correct time. The 10:30 boarding time is no longer available, so I cannot change everyone.

     

    Any insight? Thanks!

    I'm looking forward to comments from recent cruisers as I'm facing a similar situation.

×
×
  • Create New...