Kristi Williamson

The Freedom for sure!!!

HMC is great, but St. Kitts trumps it. You can't really go wrong either way.

That's what we drink, as well. How would you take some on board? I'd love to take some, too!!!

This must have changed, because we are booked on a Radisson shuttle at 10:30. I agree that an earlier shuttle is a high selling point for me :D

Do you know if you can book the shuttle in advance at Country Inns & Suites? I know you can at Radisson, but at Hampton Inn, you have to sign up after you check in. We don't want to miss the early shuttles if we check in late.

 

 

 

For our upcoming stay, the Radisson was actually ~$30 cheaper than Country Inns & Suites. I guess it depends on when you travel and how many rooms they have to fill. We like a cheaper deal :) We will definitely stay at Country Inns in future, if they are cheaper. It sounds like they offer a good breakfast.

You can book the shuttle in advance at CI & S. And Radisson must have changed really recently. We were there just a year or so ago. Good to know!

We are in a family suite because we have six family members traveling with us. Radisson is never cheaper for us.

We prefer CI & S. The Radisson gives four vouchers for their breakfast, but we have six, and they aren't what we consider inexpensive for breakfast. CI & S is just a free (HUGE) hot breakfast, no matter how many are in your party. CI & S also has a shuttle that leaves at 10:30, while Raddison's earliest one leaves at 11.

We like the quiet atmosphere of CI & S, too. Radisson is fun, but we travel with our kids, so we like the laid back vibe of Suites. They have a hot tub that has never had a single person in it when we want to go and a tiny arcade room that our kids always have fun in.

The park/stay package is pretty much the same for both. Either way, it's LOTS cheaper than parking at the pier and the shuttles at both hotels have always been very efficient for us. They have both been right on time when picking us up at the pier, too.

I'm going to go with the Glory. (#2) Half Moon Cay is heaven and the other places are all very easy to navigate and extremely tourist friendly. Plus, the Glory, while not a new ship, has plenty of bells and whistles to impress and we enjoy the tiered deck around the pool.

I'd like to add that I hope this really whets your tastes for travel. When I went on my first cruise, it was my first glimpse of life outside the US and what the world has to offer. I know our media makes it seem like everywhere else is just a plethora of death and doom, but they're lying. The world is a beautiful, lovely place filled with people who are, essentially, exactly like you and me. Traveling has been the greatest blessing in my life, apart from my family.

Happy travels and I hope you have a GREAT trip, no matter which one you decide to take. :)

Glad you're back! Your reviews are so fun and entertaining. I love the multi-colored sandals as well as the silver brocade cocktail dress!! You're a doll! Looking forward to reading the rest. :)

We've sailed every major, mass market line and we've enjoyed them all for different reasons. We intend to continue to enjoy each of them on future trips.

RCCL does have the most beautiful ships and excellent service, but we believe their food to be sub-par at best and they are usually priced above both Carnival and NCL. (not always, but usually)

NCL has ATD down and we really enjoyed the Garden Villa. It is, without doubt, the most incredible room experience at sea. We were rock stars for those 10 days. NCL is very mellow and we enjoyed that.

Carnival has it's own little quirks that we enjoy and as an added bonus, their food is almost always a little better than the other lines, plus their steakhouse kicks both RCCL and NCL in the rear. Their bedding is heavenly.

With all that being said, we don't cruise for the ships. Ever. We base our selection on itinerary first and price second, so no matter how "innovative" a company seems or not, we may never sail the Oasis class for no other reason than because I don't want to go to St. Thomas or St. Marteen again. We'll always choose an itinerary that is interesting vs a ship. That's us. The beauty of having each line is that there is always...always...something out there to see and do. :)

Congrats!!! OBC rocks. :D:D

I think a cruise, or any vacation, is no different than real life, which is what you're really preparing him for by teaching him healthy eating habits. I would approach the cruise the same way that I'm trying to teach my four kiddos about taking care of their bodies and the way you seem to be trying to teach your son. It's not a "diet" or a "fad" or a way to get "skinny". It's about being healthy, whole humans who understand that you can't suck down crap and expect healthy lives or bodies. (our country is particularly poor at teaching this...I know.)

I'm of the opinion that a burger or two on a cruise is fine. The world won't end if you have an ice cream. I would SKIP the diet junk because the chemicals in them have been absolutely proven to be awful for you and, ultimately, make you hungrier through-out the day, causing you to eat way more calories than if you'd just had a small portion of the real deal. (Aspartame is AWFUL...diet drinks are basically death in a can)

Make every day about balance. Then, if he wants a burger for lunch one day, enjoy one with him! I never tell my kids it's a "treat", either. They aren't dogs and I don't want them to have the mentality that food is some kind of reward. It's not. It's fuel for the body that allows us to live full lives.

Cruises are great places for extra exercise that you don't have to hunt down. Make snorkeling an excursion one day! That is fun AND a great work out. Take the stairs, walk around deck every single day. Say no to the electronics on the ship so he doesn't want to sit in his room playing a game while sitting still for hours.

Good luck!!! He can do this! :)

We had it one night in the MDR, I think it was towards the end of the week. I am not a big dessert person, but this was FANTASTIC!!! I hope you get to enjoy it as well!!!

It sounds yummy. We camp and my kids think smores are the best thing since sliced bread! We'll be looking for this on our Sunshine cruise in June!! Thanks for sharing. :)

So we are recently off the Carnival Liberty and I am desperately searching for the recipe for the S'mores Parfait - it was the best dessert I had on the last night :( ... If anyone has the recipe or knows how to get it, I would be so thankful!!!

I've never seen that. Where'd you get it? My kids would LOVE it!!

My guess the vast majority of people who smuggle is because it is significantly cheaper. The point is mute because it will never happen anyway. They have raised BV prices two times in the last 18 months. They clearly want to steer customer to per drink buying vs bottle or brought on.

You're probably right. I've just seen a good many people on CC (which is a tiny percentage of overall cruisers) say they wouldn't smuggle if they could get what they wanted to drink from BV. We don't drink enough to bother with either. Two drinks a day isn't worth smuggling or buying from BV to us. :)

No you do not, you get the cruise and that is all....your starting fresh when you board and you will have to earn all those things again. The premier casino cruises you do get all those things from day 1. Have a great time!

This wasn't true in my case. On both cruises we received free from the casino last year, our Drink on Us cards were in the room waiting when we arrived. We also received a gift and some chocolate covered strawberries on the first night from the casino host.

I bet this would cut down on most smuggling, too. Lots of posters say the only reason they bother smuggling is Carnival doesn't carry what they like to drink and when they're on vacation they want to drink what they like.

This actually sounds like a good a way to meet in the middle. Pay a set price and bring the liquor you enjoy. Most drinkers...even those that smuggle...buy drinks at the bars, anyway, so it's a win-win.

wow.. still not getting the idea that it needs to be CARRY ON? You're still justifying it as though its ok to break the rules Carnival has regarding water/soda? oye..

And Carnival also allows it to be brought to my room as that's what happens every time. Chill out. This is not a big deal. ;)

To clarify:

 

If its an organized group tour of cabins *after* debarkation and before room prep, cool.

 

When I've arrived early and our room, or even the floor isn't ready, the double doors are sealed. To me that indicates room prep is underway and not ready for passengers. Just out of curiosity does the FTTF crowd get to the rooms even before they're ready? Perhaps that's what I'm missing. Once the double doors are open, i've always found our room locked, with whatever on board gifts we purchased awaiting us.

 

I hope thats the situation for all rooms, but if it's not, then I mistook the FTTF for just getting on board to lido, or where ever till the rooms are ready.

Yes, all VIP and FTTF holders can go straight to their rooms immediately upon boarding the ship to drop of carry-ons, etc...before lunch.

I think I'm torn on this one. We don't pre-order anything, so we have nothing in our rooms before we get there. Once we drop off our things, I close the door and make sure it's locked before leaving.

However, I genuinely can't fathom walking into a cabin that's not mine once I embark. I'm platinum, so I'll be on the ship early and I just don't think I could walk around a cabin that wasn't mine, though I'm not sure I'd care if someone wanted to take a quick peek at ours. (don't use the bathroom or lick the phone, though! :D:p)

Does Carnival make people who pack soda reimburse other's laundry costs if the sodas were to burst? I'm sure you've never had an issue, but I've seen the way luggage is tossed into the bin :eek:

Since that has never happened, I can't answer that. We pack ours tightly with towels and wrap them.

Why do people do this? Don't you think she may want to know before hand? No input here.

...sigh... Read the thread. She's telling her well in advance and wants to do it in a special way.

just so you know that is against the rules. I wouldn't want you to be surprised or angry if they took them next time.

 

all soda/water needs to be in carry-on only.

People tell me that every time I post it, but we've been doing it for almost 15 years, including after the "carry on" thing came to be. Never a word from anyone and we've been on five cruises since they came up with it. We pack it well, put a luggage tag on it and it always arrives at our door with the rest of our things.

One other thing: We never lock the duffel. They want to make sure you're not sneaking on liquor. We make sure that we leave it unlocked so they can shake anything they want. We leave the sodas in their original cardboard that has obviously not been tampered with. We've always thought that's why they don't care that we do it. It really is just soda and water.

We fill a duffel with 2 twelve packs of soda and 24 waters, then pack towels around it. We just tag it like luggage and it always arrives perfectly intact and along with our luggage.

We don't drink tons of soda (there are 5 of us), so I can't justify paying for the soda card when I can bring it for a fraction of the cost. Water, too...

Life is short!!! Lets enjoy the good times and fun!!!! I don't care if anyone thinks its not "mature" to surprise someone with a cruise... I know I would have been over the moon if someone had done that for my college graduation!!!!

Plus...who isn't a big kid on vacation?

I know we are!!

 

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Exactly what I was thinking!! I'm 43 and I would LOVE to be surprised with a cruise. What in the world does "maturity" have to do with being able to fully appreciate a sweet gesture and fabulous surprise or the thrill of being the one to give it?! Sounds like being an old grumpy to me! :D;)

Hope this turns out beautifully for you, OP. What FUN!!!!!

The number to the Player's Club is:

1-888-672-2582

The website I usually use is:

oceanplayersclub dot com (CC won't let a web address show...just type it like it's supposed to be in your task bar)

When I called for our win/loss statement yesterday, I mentioned that we were booked for a cruise leaving in less than 2 weeks (paid full fare again) and no mention or offer to even check for OBC or anything else. It seemed that the $551 loss wasn't enough to have her interested enough to check for or offer any OBC. :-(

 

Am I not aggressive enough in "point blank" asking, or (in your opinion) have I not reached the level of play that warrants awards? I played slots and did max bet on most every machine for hours, multiple days. Reached drinks-on-us by day 2 or 3, and hit some pretty big (comparatively speaking) jackpots on several machines and played it right back in ($400 payout on one machine) and no offers of anything.

 

One thing that might be messing me up - I booked multiple people under my original email address (senior citizens that aren't tech savvy, I managed their bookings for them, using my email address.) not sure if that might have skewed my account somehow, but I switched my email last year for my VIFP to my work email to see if that might help.

If you don't have an offer showing, then YES...ask them point blank when you call the Player's Club if you have anything available. That's what I always do. Offers and "what's available" to you are two different animals. ;)

Port Canaveral is the most efficient terminal, in my opinion. Unless you tender, I'd say it's not worth it. PC is our favorite terminal, by far, simply because they get the job done!

And I don't know what our point range is each cruise. We usually get the drinks on us cards by the 4th night or so. On the free cruises, they were already waiting in our rooms when we boarded as they are part of the free cabin deal.