idlenote

On these longer cruises the days seem to just settle down into a rhythm that you make your own. Trivia - they've got it. Movies - they've got it. Reading -they've got it. The days stretch out and it's funny just how full they can get, I have never had a problem being bored or not being able to find something to do. I know Carnival will put a couple of experts on board who will give a daily talk on some subject and I think I have enjoyed all of them.

Punta Delgado is a wonderful island, make sure you take the trip up into the crater of the extinct volcano, some beautiful views and pictures.

The North Atlantic is not known for it's warmth in the late fall so the pool may be out, but there is always the hot tub.

And, after doing the transatlantic try doing a transpacific to Australia. There really is a place in the world (or there was a couple of years ago) where you run out of the internet. Days with no facebook, cell phone or other irritating intrusions. Life really can be peaceful.

Half Moon Cay. Seriously, how much of Carnival taking us for every penny do we have to put up with?

Roatan, but go to the west end of the island. Grand Turk is a good place to dive but it still isn't Roatan.

Lighthouse Parking, the lot is about four foot higher than the surrounding parking lots, doesn't make any difference most of the time but they have been known to have high water there once in a great while.

Lets me sleep soundly once on the boat.

Coral Breeze Tours, in addition to snorkeling on the outer reef you also do the stingrays and get to spend an hour on Cay Caulker which is one of the outer islands. DW normally just gets off at the island and spends a couple of hours wandering around while the snorkeling takes place.

sckal,

Be very careful, after the last time I snorkeled there I decided I needed to get a lot closer to what I was looking at and got scuba certified. That was when it really got expensive, My snorkel gear cost $200, I don't even want to think about what the scuba gear cost, but we will be back there again in January to scuba. Wish I could figure out how to get back there sooner than that.

Jim

For Aruba I looked in the log book and there is no stamp, I checked my diary and it said that I thought it was Red Sail but I wasn't sure. They were not bad but it was just overcrowded. Had an instabuddy and we got along fine on both dives, but there are just so many people from about four boats diving on the wreck that you have to be very careful to stay with your group. When I get round to filling out the feedback I will probably give them three stars.

St. Maarten the dive was booked privately, and once the itinerary was changed and I called the dive shop, I was out of luck when they said they had no room. I did try to book a trip from another local dive shop but they were so backed up that by the time I got to the counter there was not enough time to go back to the ship and get my gear.

Bonaire I took a taxi from the terminal. it was $10 to the Gooodive shop. Did two guided beach dives and IIRC it was about $130 (but I was on my own so it seemed very reasonable). The first dive was on the house reef across from the dive shop, then we took the shop truck to the second site down by the airport, and after we went back to the shop and got cleaned up they took me back to the terminal. This really was the best day diving on the whole cruise, and DW had a good time ashore while I was doing my thing, we talked about it afterwards and agreed we would probably be more than happy to go back there again.

I have gone with Mayan Divers three times, they are on the west end of the island, The water is beautiful, no current and the waves are not that bad. They can't pick you up from the terminal so you have to walk up and over the hill, takes about 10 - 15 minutes, and then a nice ride across the island.

Last time I snorkeled we followed a channel across the reef, then came back in, about 45 minutes. Second go was in a bowl in the reef with a sandy bottom, lots of fish, barracudas and a couple of rays, this time the DM was OK with everyone and just turned us loose and IIRC this was almost an hour.

There was only seven of us on the boat so no problems with overcrowding. After we got back we were OK to use the resort facilities (although we had to pay for the beer and food) but it was a really great day. When they took us back to the ship they dropped us off in the terminal.

Jim

Just back from a 21 day around the Caribbean cruise, we had some very good and a couple not so good:

Aruba: Ship tour to the Antilla, way over crowded and very difficult to stay with your group, probably would not do this again.

Bonaire: Used Gooodive to do 2 guided beach dives, absolutely first class and a very safe operation, probably the best I've ever dove with.

Grenada: Went with Scuba Tech and dove on the underwater statues, very eerie but really worthwhile.

St. Maarten: Supposed to dive with Ocean Explorers but due to weather we changed the itinerary, called to change the dive and was told they didn't have room and the dives were cancelled. Not happy.

Grand Turk: Went with Blue Water Divers and had a ball, wall dive and was excellent. Only supposed to go to 60' and went to 78' without realizing it, it was really so good.

Trying to figure out when I can do some of these again.

Jim

The dinner on the 80's day was wonderful. Unfortunately, it only went to show us how much things had slipped over the intervening years. Second best filet mignon I think I've ever had.

The horse racing was something I hadn't seen since the 70's but was fun, DW got a big kick out of it (as well as winning some money). The men's knee competition was as raunchy as it's always been.

It made a nice break from the normal routine on a long cruise.

We came back through Galveston yesterday, the deal with paying the tax took about 1 minute to pay the tax and get the stamps. They didn't open the box and said to just put the stamps on the bottles when we got home.

We waited far longer for a porter than we did to pay the tax.

For our January cruise on the Freedom I selected the 1100-1130 window knowing very well that I will not be there at that time. I also suggested to the rest of the group that they do the same thing.

Now, once everyone does that and that time slot is full, what happens once the initial rush is over and very few people board for the next hour? Is this going to cause a big tailback in the afternoon as everyone who was forced into the later windows meets up with the people who booked the earlier windows and then decided to board later.

It may not matter, most Carnival cruisers are new cruisers and will just accept what they perceive as the rules but there is room for a big mess.

Of course, when the fog rolls in as it is wont to do this time of year then what will happen? Enquiring minds, etc......

We booked the Vista B2B from Athens to NY back in January. The plan at that time was to fly into London, then take the trains across through Paris, the Alps, down into Italy and then take the ferry across to Greece. We've traveled by train in Europe and never had a problem before.

Lately the news coming out of Europe has not been very positive, especially when it comes to rail travel. We may need to rethink the plan, I hate to fly because the trains are just as fast, but it may be necessary. At the same time, I don't think we will cancel, it's just too good a trip to pass up. The one port in Turkey may become iffy but we have plenty of time to sort that out.

We just got back from the Freedom on the 19th of September. We had a really enjoyable time, the ship was good, the crew was really upbeat and for the first time in a long time we went to see a couple of the stage shows in the main theater and they were phenomenal. Also, steel band on the Lido for sail away and a couple of other times during the week.

Our cabin was a balcony on Deck 9, no problems with the cabin being warm (home is set at 78), the steward kept ice on the little ice chest so the beer stayed cold, and they have a proper red frog pub on board and the staff in there are super. We're not big dining room people but the one night we went in there everything ran smoothly.

Only complaint would be smoke in the casino but that is pretty much every ship we have been on of late, DW does her thing early in the morning and Carnival still hasn't got a cent out of me in there so we just avoid it.

We didn't try to do everything, just too much to do but we were never bored. Had such a good time that we're going back in January.

Jim

We're booked with Blue Water Divers in Grand Turk in November. Swapped emails and then had a phone call and the impression was good. Hoping the trip is as good as I think it's going to be.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

The ship excursion is through Dive Friends, there web site states they just need the normal PADI paperwork, so it must be Carnival putting this in, although that's strange because the requirement is not in their information for diving at any other port. I asked Dive Friends about the discrepancy but they didn't answer.

Finally booked with Gooodives yesterday, two guided beach dives, a little pricey but it's based on just me and the guide. They did say if they got more people the price would go down. The recs looked good so I jumped on it.

I'll take a look at Buddy Dive and keep them in mind for the next time in Bonaire.

Jim

We will be in Bonaire in October on the Carnival Triumph. I was going to dive on the Carnival excursion, but down in the fine print it states that they will not take anyone on any prescription medicine of any kind which was a bit of a turn-off.

After an afternoons reading online I keep coming across references to guided shore dives but I can't pin it down to which dive shops handle this, seems like everyone just turns you loose and off you go and I know I'm not ready for this yet.

Has anyone done a guided shore dive and can you give names of the dive shops and recommendations.

Thanks for any help,

Jim

I've used Coral Breeze three times and always enjoyed it, the reef is wonderful, and then you have a stop at the rays and sharks on the way back to Cay Caulker for lunch, although I think they've dropped the lunch but you still get an hour on the island.

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Typically you leave at 10 and they have you back to the dock by three, the boat ride is about 45 minutes each way and you go through some of the outer islands and the mangroves. My only complaint would be that they have two boats, one is covered and the other is open, depending on the number of people on the trip you may get shade or you may not so take sunscreen.

If you don't want to wear a life jacket take an inflatable vest, I never snorkel without wearing one so it wasn't an issue, I believe it's a government requirement that you wear a flotation device since you're in a state park.

Normally when we go I snorkel and DW gets off at Cay Caulker and wanders around the island, then we link back up at lunchtime, she always has a great time. There are only a couple of vehicles on the island so it's walk or rent a golf cart.

We were on the 12 day cruise in March, I was not very impressed, especially with the MDR, I think we only ate in there twice. We already had the Galveston - San Juan B2B booked on the Triumph and we agreed that would be our last time on the ship.

However, DW's aunt received one of the $100 casino cruises in May, so DW went with her. She said the MDR had completely turned around, they ate there every night, the food was excellent and there was no waiting at the door to be seated. They never ate from the buffet the whole cruise.

She did mention that the guy running the dining room was one we had sailed with on the Imagination, and that was another ship where things were under control. He will be leaving the ship before the B2B so I just hope his replacement builds on his good work.

One of the things that really makes the ship look trashy is the dishes that other passengers leave outside their cabins, stacked up and uneaten food falling off the plates. All it needs is one person to catch the stuff with a foot and food is scattered all over. Don't understand why people have to do this.

Be careful on Deck 7, cabins around 150 through 170 can have noise problems from the galley. We learned this the hard way on the Imagination, 15 days from Port Canaveral to LA, every other night they woke us up with crashing and banging coming from above and we had to call guest services and complain.

Legend - 4 cruises - one out of Florida, one transatlantic east bound. one transatlantic west bound and one from California to Australia. The layout of this ship is just terrific and the crew is great. Just never changes.

We used the La Quinta out by the airport last year, drove to NOLA, then after spending the night in the hotel left the truck there, and used the shuttle from the hotel to the airport, then used the Carnival shuttle from the airport to the port and back to the airport when we got back, and the hotel shuttle back to pick up the truck.

Worked alright apart from the dent in the truck that wasn't there before we left. Some of the other LQ's in the area also offer the same set up.

At the Money Bar don't make the mistake that so many do and get twenty or thirty feet out and wonder why you can't see anything, that's because you have to get a ways out before you see anything. Check the map on the side of the dive hut, you normally angle out to the NW from the northerly entrance, one you come across the concrete fish reefs you can turn and go south and you will come down the line of the reef.

It's not the best reef in the world but it is interesting, and since you don't have to pay an admission it's certainly among the cheapest, all it will cost is the taxi fare and whatever you eat and drink at the place. I go there a lot because we can spend an hour there and then head into town and DW doesn't think I'm ignoring her.

Just make sure you know which way the current is running and adjust your route to suit. David at the dive hut speaks English and can help you out.

Haven't been to Costa Maya but have done both of the other ports. At Belize we normally take a boat from the pier to Cay Caulker, forty five minute ride to the island where they stop for a p break and turn in the lunch orders and let the none snorkelers off, then out to the outer reef and you normally do a half loop out over the edge of the reef and then back in again. Beautiful reef, gorgeous coral and lot's of fish.

Then back on the boat and over to the stingray and nurse shark stop, this is in about five feet of water and plenty to see. After that back to the island, lunch and then back to the port. Always a great day. I was always under the impression that this was the best snorkeling ever but I learned better.

Last time in Roatan we tried a new one, using Shore Excursion Group we booked a private excursion. Picked up down the hill from the port and went to the west end. There was seven of us on the boat plus the captain and the DM, took a boar from the beach and went about half a mile and then did two sessions, the first one we went out through trenches in the coral and then came back in.

Second stop we were put off in a circular space in the coral and allowed to go where we wanted as long as we didn't get out of sight. This was beautiful, lots of colorful coral and fish. Had about fifty minutes in the water at each stop.

Next time we get back to Roatan this will be the one I do again. DW didn't get in the water but they allowed her to stay in the resort and use the facilities, she was quite happy with her day.

One thing we found when we were in Sydney last year was that the portions that are served are huge. Normally we could split one plate between both of us and still have food left over. BTW they don't do doggie bags, apparently it's not permitted.

Still laughing over one place, we ordered shepherds pie, said they were out of mashed potatoes and could they substitute chips (french fries) instead. The topping on shepherds pie is, of course, mashed potatoes.

Spent two weeks in Australia and had an absolute ball.