canlin1

We love to eat in each port. We walk a little further than the front of the port for us tourists and find a spot where the locals are eating. We always have a bottle of the local beer to stay safe.😉

We supply our own hangers to the laundry and ask that our clothes be washed but NOT DRIED and hung back on the hangers supplied. I usually save up dry cleaner hangers which are so thin and take up no room in the suitcase. We make sure to tip our steward extra for this service as well as ask him to give an additional tip to the laundry. We have always done this with no problems. Our clothes are normally returned in the evening.

Any small or delicate items I hand wash and lay on top of the refrigerator to dry, it is nice and warm on top and does the job.

Yesterday I requested an Early Saver price drop for this and another cruise and  got denied within an hour or so. We booked  both with the RU1 which is still showing on my page. There is a Lowest Price Guarantee form to fill out, but when I click on it, reverts to the Early Saver. One cruise was just booked this spring and the other was rolled over, and over, and over from the pandemic. We will contact our PVP tomorrow.

Years ago, the buffets were very nice. They made great salads using the previous night's meats and seafoods. I always enjoyed these substantial salads. I have to admit on our last few cruises-post covid in 2019, it seemed that it was more lettuce and various chopped veggies and cheeses. Nothing hearty or unique as before. We will be cruising the end of October and will see what they offer now. At any rate, the main dining room and other stations are always good.

I save store hangers or dry cleaner wire hangers and hang most of my packed clothing on. The hangers don't take up that much and I can quickly get them all put into the closets once we reach the cabin. I leave some hangers for the next cruisers.

When we send in our laundry, we request they be returned washed only, on hangers we provide. I never dry certain clothes at home to prevent shrinkage. Of course a nice tip is in order for both the steward and laundry to do this extra for us.

I will wash my linens out and lay them on top of the fridge in the cabinet. The heat generated from the fridge will dry them in no time. 

One cruise, we met 4 sisters/sister in laws from Japan. Two of them could not speak any English and the other two barely spoke it. We were tablemates and hung out the whole trip together. We laughed and laughed over our inabilities to communicate fully but it did not matter.

We have had several 'front of the ship' cabins on Carnival, called 4J. We do balconies also but not always available when we book or too expensive or not needed. (Didn't pay for a balcony on an Alaskan cruise, too cold to sit out on.)I think all were on the Empress deck 7. They are interior rooms with a small additional charge for having a picture window. Located over the bridge, you can walk out in the hallway to an exterior door on each side of the front to a small deck. Often windy outside but private enough. We love these rooms, have found certain ones are shaped oddly and may or may not be bigger than the standard. Only caution is to keep your curtains closed when others are out there. We have not really ever felt more movement up there either.

We hope to cruise again in October. Our last cruise was two years ago and we have re booked twice.I can hardly stand it. I am actually watching reruns of The Love Boat and YOUTUBE ships in bad weather. I cannot think of a restriction that will hamper my fun. Yes, things will be different and we may be annoyed by some of the changes. But I tell myself it is my choice to go. I do think once they get the green light, the cruise lines need to make it clear what we can and cannot expect. Then, let people rebook to a later time if the restrictions are deal breakers.

Our first cruise was in 2004 for my sister's 50th birthday on the Paradise. We loved that it was a fully no smoking ship. She wanted to take a trip and I agreed to go anywhere. So she springs  a cruise on me. No way!!!!But, she reminded me that I had promised. I had these visions of sinking in the dark, cold water, teeming with sharks. Once we got on the ship, I was hooked!! We have been sailing together ever since. I think that first cabin was an inside on Riviera deck. My bed was apparently above something mechanical, but boy did we sleep well. Now it is 4-J's and balconies.  Our next cruise is this coming April 2021.

My sister and I took this excursion in April and found the POWER CATAMARAN was actually a 2 decker ferry! We learned years ago that Carnival excursions are too expensive for what you get and should have known better. It was lovely there, but very windy and the water too cold for most to enjoy.You have shade on the beach or chairs and tables further back into the tropical setting. I have to say that the island was well maintained. They offer a Caribbean buffet, which was ok. The bbq chicken and fresh tropical fruits were about the only thing Caribbean.