staceyglow

I am on the Pride right now. People seem to be adhering to the mask rules almost without exception, so I haven't had the opportunity to see what happens when they don't. 

I went to the piano bar last night and the performer did a general reminder about the mask policy several times. 

Thanks for the tips! 

I just got back from checking out the fitness center - we have been on at least a dozen Carnival cruises and I have never been in one! I was actually pretty impressed - plenty of machines, hot tub, sauna and a steam room.

I was also pleased to see that they had a scale. I know it might not show the identical weight as my home scale, but at least I can see my day to day changes. I am the kind of person who prefers to weigh every day, as opposed to weekly. I don't get sidetracked by normal daily ups and downs, but if I am up several days in a row, I want to know. 

I have had one beer today so far. DH just asked me if wanted another, and I asked for a diet Pepsi instead. Looks like they may have some special Halloween drinks today. Maybe later I can convince DH to buy one and let me have a sip! 😁

51 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

TSA isn't at the port, only airports. Is the name in your passport different from your license?

Maybe he was flirting with you... 😉

Getting on board was easy peasy! We had a noon boarding time, got to the port about 11:45,and we were on the boat before 12:00.

Lunch was from Chopsticks: Salt and Pepper Vegetables, spring roll, and egg drop soup. I ended up not eating the rice I took.

I know there is some fried things in my meal, but I have discovered that all calories being equal, I get less hungry if I eat a smaller amount of something with fat in it than a larger portion of a low fat food. 

Thanks! I plan on using a treadmill or exercise bike as well, especially on the many sea days this cruise has. I also am hoping that there is a scale there. 

Our trip actually started yesterday. I weighed myself in the morning and had some coffee. We flew in the early morning and changed planes at Midway in Chicago. DH and I ate lunch at Harry Caray's in Terminal A. We split a club sandwich and each had a beer. I should mention that I ate the Southwest snack mix on both legs of the flight, along with the tiny bag of Brownie Brittle on the first leg. 

We waited close to an hour to get our luggage at BWI (which reminded me why I never check bags for a trip of less than 8 days). By the time we got to our hotel, it was 9 o'clock, and we were too tired to go out for dinner, so we called it a night. 

This morning we got up and had a very pleasant ten-minute walk to Starbucks, where we each got a coffee and walked back. To be honest, we are both pretty hungry, but we decided to wait until we get on the ship before we get a meal, given that the food at Starbucks isn't all that great and (and we tend to be cheapskates). 

Hi, everyone! I am a long time lurker, but haven't posted too much until recently. DH and I are Platinum-level Carnival Cruisers who are about to embark the Pride for the 14-day repo from Baltimore to Tampa. This is my first trip report, and I thought I would do something a little different. 

I love cruising, but I don't usually like what the scale says when I get home. DH and I went on our first post-Covid cruise in August, and even though I didn't gorge myself, I managed to gain 7 pounds in 6 days. Given that we have several cruises lined up in the coming months, I knew that keeping that trend up would not be good for my pants size (or my health)! I decided to challenge myself: I want to enjoy this cruise without feeling deprived, but keeping the effect on my waistline to a minimum. 

My basic plan is to find ways of getting exercise that aren't too un-fun, making the healthier choices when deciding among food options, and trying to limit my dessert intake to a bite or two at dinner. 

Feel free to follow along and ask questions, even if they are just about the ship and not about food or exercise. And if you have any tips or suggestions, please share! 

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

 

The simple solution is simply apply for new passports now. Problem solved.

Except there are huge delays right now in passport processing. And you have to send your current one back when you request renewal. There are no guarantees that you will get it in time. 

1 minute ago, Elaine5715 said:

The basketball court is in constant use much to the dismay of diners at Cucina

Ha ha, yep!  Was the only negative for an otherwise very nice meal.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

This seems like the perfect time for me to try out the Panorama. To get it at 50-70% sounds like the sweet spot.

We were on Horizon about a month ago and it was only at about 40-50% capacity.  It was wonderful.  However, I can't imagine being on it when it is at 100%, and my guess it I wouldn't like it, because most of my favorite experiences on the ship would be terrible (IMO) with twice the number of people.

4 minutes ago, FijiFlip said:

I saw in another thread where someone recommended printing out the Health Assessment to take along with your covid test and vax card. I don't see any way to print it now that I have completed it in my planner. Any thoughts?

 

Flip

Your trip manager on Carnival.com will show whether or not you have completed the health assessment.  If you want to print it out and have it for your own personal comfort, fine, but I am of the theory that the fewer documents you have to deal with, the better.

Just now, KmomChicago said:

 

They always did the perfect proper Spanish pronunciations of all of the ports. Ahh kha pool kho, Pwairto Vie arrrrrr ta, Cahboe Sahn Looo khas. And it seemed every episode featured at least one aged performer from Hollywood's golden era.  I loved The Love Boat so much! 

In case you don't know, there is a network called Decades that shows the Love Boat at 6 p.m. Eastern time Monday thru Friday.  It's over the air and on cable in most markets.

https://www.decades.com/wheretowatch

And you are right about the old Hollywood performers.  Today it was Milton Berle!

I get that; the point I was trying to make is that it takes quite a number of seats out of the piano bar, which makes it even tougher to find a place to sit in there.

We got off the Horizon a few weeks ago, and yes, the Piano Bar can be packed.  The performers there were very talented (and popular).  They don't let anyone sit in the seats immediately around the piano, which adds to the problem.

I have used this service in Miami, and it worked out fine.  They have locations nationwide:

https://luggagehero.com/

45 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

There ought to be a mixer for singles. No one line has a strong position on this and it would seem to be a target market that could up one of the lines marketing strategies. There is certainly room for Carnival to focus a brighter light on this segment of traveler. "The party line" and "the singles line" pair up nicely and is a natural fit. Plus cruise ships can be awfully romantic, full of interesting people, and the perfect place to "pick up" if one were so inclined. I'm actually surprised that there is isn't a more single-centric marketing strategy by a major cruise line. All upside and no downside as far as I can see. Interesting topic to be sure.  

If you are looking for singles action, you should consider Princess.  I have been watching old Love Boat episodes, and most of the passengers on the Pacific Princess seem to be singles traveling alone who have booked huge cabins.  They don't mind dressing up for Elegant Night either - they are always in tuxedos and evening gowns!  And quite a number of them are engaged by the end of the 3-day cruise.  And if you can't find romance with a passenger, chances are that you will be able to hook up with the Assistant Purser, the Cruise Director, the Ship's Doctor, the bartender, or even the Captain himself!  🤣

Sunrise is not in dry dock.  We sailed on her in October.

I wouldn't count on anything earlier than the official time.  There are so many variables that can affect when your room is ready.  On the last Carnival Cruise I was on, they didn't open the doors to our hallway until slightly after the 1:30 scheduled time.

I have never heard of this being the case on a Carnival cruise, and I talk to many crew members about ship life on each cruise I take (and I am a platinum member).

Give them cash.  Handing them personal toiletries sounds demeaning to me.

7 hours ago, Retiredmedic said:

One other thing to note. Besides the chocolate melting cake Carnival can not make a decent dessert. I’m not a big chocolate person but I do have a sweet tooth at night. Rest of their desserts are so bland and tasteless.

I am partial to the banana cream pie they serve at Sea Day Brunch.  We usually go early. so my DH gives me grief about eating pie at 9:30 in the morning, but hey...I'm on vacation!

6 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

That's like a hot fudge sundae without whipped cream or a cherry!

 

Tom

It's still a hot fudge sundae, though.  I'd eat it!  😁

My husband and I have taken two cruises post-Covid and used CVS rapid tests for both.  No problem.  Just make sure you print out the results out of MyChart and have them with you for embarkation.

BTW, the place where we had our tests taken had a big sign posted saying "These tests are NOT valid for travel to Hawaii".

Big chicken locations in Las Vegas and Glendale, CA

• https://www.bigchicken.com/

2 hours ago, Virga said:

 

I gotta say, if my quarantine was due to exposure to a positive crew member and they charged me for meal delivery, I'm pretty sure you guys would have heard about it on the news, heh.  Even if it was pretty evident that I'd been infected pre-cruise, I'd be pretty disappointed in Carnival for charging me for pizza. 

If I tested positive for Covid, being charged $5 for a room service pizza would be the least of my concerns.

2 hours ago, DGP1111 said:

 

The local CVS I've been recently using prior to multiple cruises has some manufactured signage in their lot that instructs basically that: Park here, go inside, test, return to car, wait until results received.

 

 

 

I also learned to not schedule that last slot before the noon-ish break, because the last test before lunch doesn't get input until they return from lunch (at least at my location). I appreciated the advice.

 

.

DH and I had our tests at the same time at about 10:00 at CVS.  We got phone calls one right after another about 45 minutes later saying our tests were negative.  DH had his result posted to MyChart at noon, but mine didn't hit until 1:30.  IMy guess was that his test result was uploaded and then the person went to lunch before uploading mine.  It was stressful!