driftingaway2017

 

 

 

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

There is a huge, now locked thread saying all of the above yet this dog is allowed to sail Anthem.  We have seen this pinnacle man and his pinnacle dog on all of our Anthem sailings.  Cruise line allows them to sail.

I didn't see the closed thread. But, hopefully, if enough people complain, the cruise lines will listen since there is no law saying they have to accept ESAs. 

Emotional support animals (ESA)  are not allowed on cruise ships and other public places! Only true service dogs are allowed. ESAs are only allowed on airplanes and in housing. A true service dog will not be carried around in a wagon because they are working. If you see this, then complain to corporate. I am allergic to dogs, so the kind of thing your talking about is a big problem for me. I'm fine with service dogs though. 

Any link to said article?

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/travel/tips/the-12-worst-cruise-lines-in-the-world/ss-BBA3UUa

The thing is that Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL are all listed in that article as being among the 12 worst cruise lines in the world. The article is very biased and just meant to grab attention.

I booked the May 27th sailing and decided to check my booking after reading this thread. I booked an interior Fantastica guarantee and was just upgraded to a balcony. I totally did not expect that. I book guarantees a lot and have never gotten such a great upgrade. I am very happy with MSC:)

Fantastic review! It was very detailed and informative:)

Thanks so much for doing this comparison. You must have put a lot of effort into it:) I sailed on the Destiny several years ago, and now on the Sunshine this Sunday. It was great to see the comparison.

Great Review! My daughter & I sail on the Sunshine soon and can't wait:)

I think that it completely depends upon the maturity of your child. How well behaved are they normally? Would you let them go to the mall unsupervised? Some kids at that age are perfectly fine to have some freedom, while others need constant supervision.

My daughter is 12 years old, & I would be okay with letting her have a limited amount of freedom, but she is well behaved and very responsible. She participates in an after school teen program that that expects participants to be responsible (because they volunteer in community). She follows directions well it's always where she supposed to be, and has demonstrated that she knows what to do in an emergency. Therefore I would expect the same thing of her on the ship...just my 2 cents :-)

Thanks for posting this:)

I am a single parent, and while I have never cruised Disney, but have cruised quite a bit with my daughter. I agree with the others, cruises are great vacations for single parents.

My last vacation was an all inclusive in Mexico, and while it was wonderful, the children's program, at least for teens, wasn't great. They didn't have many activities, so my daughter didn't want to go. On most of our cruises, the kids programs have been great. In fact, my daughter would often ask to go spend time there! Many programs will also take the kids for dinner, as well.

In the past, I had been anxious believing that I might be the only single parent cruiser onboard! But, I have found that not the case. I have met several other single parents while on cruises. In fact, my last cruise there was a adult daughter and mother that had been cruising together since the daughter was young. Very neat. Anyway, I hope you have a great cruise!

Thanks for the great review & photos, Michael. My daughter & I are sailing on the Enchantment in Feb. Very excited, it seems like a great ship!

Thank you for the detailed review. It was balanced & had great information.

I liked the comparison to NCL. I have never sailed NCL but was considering a cruise on one of their newer ships for Dec. I am glad that I decided to go with the Divina & am looking forward to my cruise in December!

I too am very happy with the no smoking policy on Divina. I'm considering upgrading to a balcony on my Divina cruise in Dec cause of this policy. I love having a balcony but usually avoid them because of the chance of being next to a smoker. I have asthma & know I wouldn't use the balcony if someone were smoking nearby...

Thanks for the great review & the pictures. I am going on MSC Divina in Dec. It will be my first cruise with MSC. I am taking my 11 year old DD & was a little worried about the kids club. So I was glad to read you're review. Good information for families!

The roads between Memphis and NOLA are noting to write home about either. Parts of them are VERY rough in MS and LA :eek:

It was crazy how ruff the tracks were!

I definitely won't be driving to NOLA either!!!

Well, as promised here is a review of my Amtrak trip from Champaign Il to New Orleans, LA.

It was myself & daughter (11) on this trip. I choose Amtrak because it was cheaper than flying, ( about 50% less, I used a child discount for my daughter plus Carnival Discount). Plus, bags were free:)

Overall, the trip was okay,but I would not do more than 17 hours without a sleeper (we were in coach). I enjoyed meeting new people on the train plus I liked seeing the land that we passed through. Also, we did not have any signifiant delays, which I have experineced before on Amtrak.

Several things that I didn't like: tracks were very bumpy south of Memphis, food was very expensive & not very good.

For my next cruise, I plan to take the Divinia out of Mia. I will fly then. It is just too long of a trip on Amtrak. But, I would take Amtrak again if cruising out of NOLA. I would try to get a sleeper (needed more on the return trip, very excited on the way, lack of sleep wasn't even noticed), would bring plenty of snacks/water. I brought some but ran out. I think that the tip about on-site baggage at port is helpful too. I took my time leaving the ship but still got to the train station too early. I would have rather used the time to explore NOLA a little. Anyone bringing kids would also be wise to bring plenty to keep them busy. BTW, The train to NOLA does not have Wifi. So, I would bring things that do not require Wifi access...Any questions, feel free to ask.

http://economics-files.pomona.edu/jlikens/SeniorSeminars/Likens2012/reports/Carnival.pdf

Thanks for posting this link. After reading, it makes sense why Carnival has restricted number of new ships. Restricting capacity is expected to bring prices up for Carnival. Very interesting report.

I too would be interested in hearing about your train trip morena2003.

Thanks, I will definitely return back & give a review:)

I'm sailing Carnival too, & booked Playa Mia. I noticed that Carnival doesn't offer it as an excursion on my sailing either, so I booked directly on Playa's website. You can book a number of packages on the website, admission only, all inclusive, etc. I would check it out.

Just FYI, if her father is not listed on her Birth Certificate, then you would not need consent. If he is, then you would need a notarized letter.

Hi,

I say go for it! I am taking the train from Illinois to New Orleans for my Dream cruise in a couple of weeks. I have taken the train to & from Chicago before (about 6 hours each way) and it was surprisingly enjoyable. One thing that I will advise is to anticipate delays on the train.

This trip to NOLA is over 16 hours, the longest one that I have done by far. But, I am looking forward to it. I am tired of having to deal with flying! I like not having to worry about stuffing all of my hygiene products into 3 ounce ziplocs and being charged luggage fees.

If you do go with Amtrak, they offer a discount for Carnival cruisers. You just have to call customer service to book. I ended up saving a lot by booking with Amtrak versus flying.

I will try to remember to come back to this thread after my cruise & give a report on my experience with the train!

Btw, I enjoyed your Dream review, Wrigley!

Are you staying the night on the day you disembark or traveling back that day? Thanks for the tip about the discount. I knew I could get a AAA discount but didn't know about the other.

 

 

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No, I'm staying in NOLA 2 nights before the cruise & traveling back the same day we disembark. Due to the trains often running behind, I thought it best to arrive early.

I am taking the Amtrak to New Orleans also before my cruise in a couple of weeks. Just FYI, Amtrak offers a discount if you are sailing on Carnival. I don't know the exact discount code, You have to call customer service to book to get the rate. I believe that it is 30% off regular fares:)

First of all, I am sorry for all that you have went through. Secondly, I would talk to your doctor about what is going on, especially if these feelings have been going on for a while. Hallmark symptoms of depression include feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, not enjoying things that you used to enjoy, cognitive distortions (seeing the negative in everything),

sadness/irritability/anger along with many other symptoms. These do not go away on their own. Treatment can be highly effective and help you enjoy life again:) . Good luck!

I'm quite sure this is in the wrong forum but for the life of me, I'm not sure where it goes. I'm going on the Sunshine in two weeks so I figured I would stick it here.

 

I have a deep question for you all. I'm kinda struggling here. My husband has been diagnosed with two cancers in the past 7 years. The first was Hodgkins which he beat and is in year 6 of remission. The second is an in situ cancer (completely contained and not spread) where they simply surgically removed it. I found out about this last Friday.

 

I feel very broken in spirit. I used to have a very strong faith but that has diminished. For some, their faith grows when they beat cancer. For me, I got totally #@%#^ at whatever supreme being allowed it to happen in the first place. I work in a hospital and every time I see a bald child in the children's cancer wing, I question....WHY?

 

My husband and I are relatively young. Mid 40s. We have a 15yr old, 11 yr old, and a 3 yr old. I had my life all planned out to be sitting by him on the patio drinking coffee at sunrise well into our 70s. Now, I'm overcome with just how little control I have over that.

 

Hubby is looking at this cruise as a celebration. His cancer was 'good' - in situ. I refuse to attach the word 'good' to any cancer. I have fantasies of squeezing the life out of cancer cells and laughing at them taking their last, gasping breath. Yeah, I'm walking around pretty pissed right now.

 

I guess my question is - what is the use of enjoying this vacation? I know, some of you are like, this chick is crazy! But I'm being serious. If I'm going to make amazing memories of walking the Baths with my girls and hubby or watching our toddler build sand castles, won't it hurt that much more if something happens? The sweeter life it, the more it hurts when it all goes south. It is almost like I want to close myself into a dark room and not care about anyone or anything to avoid hurt. Selfish? Yes. But, my spirit is so broken right now.

 

I just don't see how people can fully enjoy life when there is always that threat of the other shoe dropping. I'm so blessed with my family. I love them so much that it is painful. Anything happening to them would destroy me.

 

Hubby looks at his Hodgkins as a gift. What was terrifying and horrendous to me was something that gave him great joy to parcel out just how precious life is. It left him grateful and happy. It left me angry and afraid.

 

I must say, if you met me on the street, you would have no idea I feel this way. I hold down a full time job, am a fabulous mother (if I do say so myself)....by all appearances, I'm not some seething, dark, afraid person. But it is there. Always. I was lucky enough to marry my soul-mate. I'm quite confident there is no one in this world who was better matched for me (and I for him). That knowledge is wonderful but also scary.

 

I guess I'm rambling at this point. I had been looking so forward to this cruise with my girls, my DH and my parents. It has been a bad winter and I couldn't wait to get in the sun and heat. Now, I don't even want to go. I have a sort of 'what is the use'.

 

The truth is, whatever cancer he had was either cut out completely or he will have another resection on Friday. I'm in health care and have access to all sorts of journals. Most journals don't even classify this as a true cancer. Pre-cancer is the term that is used. We see the oncologist on Friday and the best thing he can say to me is that I can view this as the skin cancers people get taken off. Those don't scare me. I've had a couple myself.

 

Please, if you could take a second and, I don't know, give some suggestions on how I can get back to that excitement I had before the path report came back. All of us are terminal. None of us live forever. I know there are people out there that are in MUCH worse places than I am. I'm in awe of their strength and courage. I want to be able to cherish the good times without this 'what if' hanging over my head.

 

Thanks - ya'll may think I'm a loon for posting on a cruise board but I've been on this board forever and so many share my feelings on so many things - we treat cruises as not just the week we are gone but the prep before, the planning.....it is so much more than those 7 days. For us, cruising is our reward for the years spent living on Ramen, studying until 3am. It is the week or two where we glue ourselves to each other's hips and get to know one another again. It is the week we talk about for months afterwards.

Hi everyone and thank you for still reading this review! I got an email today from the people at Photobucket telling me that my bandwidth was exceeded again - it's hard to believe that there's still that many people looking at the photos in this review!

 

As to how I am doing and why I didn't finish my Breeze review - I've had a very rough year and a half since the cruise we took on the Breeze. My health saw several declines and it put me so far behind on work that I am still playing catch up to this day. I simply haven't had time to write anything else or post any more photos. I am a perfectionist and want to edit any photos I post.

 

Truthfully, I didn't take notes hardly at all on the Breeze cruise because my intent was to write it all out in a week when I returned home. Now, I've forgotten nearly every detail but I do still hope that one day, I'll at least be able to share the photos - I know that is what everyone most looked forward to seeing from me anyway. :-)

 

Thanks for still supporting this thread!! I just paid to upgrade to unlimited bandwidth again so people can continue to enjoy it.

Sorry to hear about you're health. The review was great. The photos wonderful & I enjoyed the comments too. I saw in you're review that you're self employed. I know first hand how hard it is to be sick when you own a business. There is no such thing as sick leave! Anyway, take care of yourself & thanks again the great review.