cyntil8ing

I always get such a kick out of the number of mentions of fights when Carnival vs Celebrity comes up. The one and only brawl I have ever witnessed onboard was on Celebrity. It was in the upper level of the dining room on a Bermuda cruise. I thought for sure someone was going to get pitched over the railing. It took security forever to show up. That would not be the case on Carnival. That said, I've been on 15-ish of either line and honestly, they're not hugely different when comparing like-for-like (departure port, cruise length). Yes, Carnival has more active fun and an upbeat vibe with outgoing (and often loud) passengers, but there are tons of friendly folks on Celebrity too. The biggest difference is the number of children onboard. I like the energy kids bring, and honestly, their misbehavior bothers me less than badly behaved adults. I've seen more of that, yelling at crew especially, on Celebrity.

Yes, of course. They will always sell you an upgrade as long as cabins are available. I assume once the MoveUp process begins, the cabins are no longer available. We have a SS on our December cruise. Since it's DH's birthday, I've quietly had my TA check for a "surprise" RS upgrade. It came back as $7,500. Too much for me! I made a MoveUp offer of significantly less than that, but still higher than the minimum (which was $800pp). I keep watching prices and availability daily. I'll have my TA check again if the price drops.

Maybe? We did it this summer.That day, I was pretty stressed about time management, and the only thing we got to do was go to the top of the Eiffel Tower (which required pre-planning a month ahead for tickets). No coffee at a nice little cafe, or lunch at a nice restaurant. Instead, we bought a baguette from a convenience store. That said, it was quite an experience, and looking back now, a few months later, I am glad we went. But no, I would not do it again on a second visit to Le Havre. Review with more here, including our four days in London pre-cruise:

Is this a serious question? Plates and bowls are plastic. Silverware is rolled in cloth napkins. Oh, but Guys Burgers are served on a metal plate with a paper liner. They're delicious!

I am not a buffet fan on any line, but I think Carnival is way ahead of Celebrity in choices for free dining -- Guy's Burgers, Carnival Deli, Blue Iguana Cantina, Pig & Anchor BBQ, Shaq's Chicken, Captain's Pasta Bar, Mongolian Wok, etc. Their pizza is very good and it's always available (almost 24 hours)! You didn't mention which ship, but I assume an older one. We haven't cruised anything newer than Carnival Vista (2017), so we haven't had Shaq's Chicken yet, but the others are prepared to order and served hot. The only time we visit Lido is for a quick breakfast. We've been on over a dozen each on Celebrity and Carnival and are Elite/Platinum respectively. Our 12 day Europe cruise on Carnival Pride this summer was excellent. I joked that it felt very Celebrity-like as our fellow cruisers were generally older, there weren't tons of kids, and the ship's activity pretty much ended at midnight. We are coming back to Celebrity for our December cruise, but we'll continue to enjoy both.

The final night of a cruise, we accidentally packed my son's shoes and set out the luggage. Thankfully, we had these for him to wear off the ship. He was too embarrassed to go to breakfast. By the time we got to the airport, he decided he was fashionable and didn't want to change.

It's a hike, especially when it's hot, but really not that terribly far. We've walked it many times. Here's my six year old (at the time) there in 2013. This was before Margaritaville. Having watched my then four year old tumble to the floor in a taxi when my parents insisted we ride without car seats, I never put my kids in that position again.

Ship: Millennium Length of Cruise: 7 nights Cruise Sail Date: December 17, 2022 Date email offer received: October 4, 2022 Captain’s Club Tier: ELITE Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA Current Cabin: Sky Suite S1 Bid? Yes/No: Yes General Comments (offer details, etc.): This is our first time using MoveUp. We usually travel as a family in two cabins and we want to stay together. But this is our first time in seven years traveling without the kids plus it is the spouse's birthday. Shhh, the change would be a surprise! I put in "fair" bids on Penthouse (none show available) and Royal Suite (2 available), but passed on the Celebrity Suite. We have never stayed in an upper suite. Move Up Minimum bid amounts on offer: Penthouse $1,500 pp Royal Suite $800 pp Celebrity Suite $600 pp

At least from the photos, they seem to have improved a bit since we were served this monstrosity way back in 2015. We have not been back! 😀

We were on the Pride in 2017. We saw so many ugly Christmas sweaters, suits and jammies! There was a family who wore the Christmas Story bunny suit all day long. There was a couple who dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus and went around handing out lollipops. They were passengers. They'd pop up out of nowhere and ask families if they wanted a photo. It takes all kinds I guess! The day after Christmas, everyone pretty much went back to normal. The ship was beautifully decorated. There was a very large gingerbread village.

We were in Lisbon last month as a port day. We arranged a private excursion with Spain Day Tours. The cost for four of us was €436 for about 8 hours. Great driver, Manuel, in a brand new Mercedes mini-man. https://www.spaindaytours.com/lisbon-tours/

When I tried to do this for Christmas 2019, I was told it was under age 12. My kids were 13 and 16 at the time; we booked two verandas instead.

I went to seven out of nine of those ports this summer. We did not visit Vigo or Gibraltar. The seven we visited were docked. I recommend http://whatsinport.com for transportation info. My review with details about the ports we visited is https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2873305-12-day-northern-europe-73122-pride-review/

We were on Pride last month and it was held at 3:00pm all three sea days. I assumed it was because we were sailing from England. Usually, just my daughter and I go, but my teen son went with us one afternoon. We were seated at a shared table full of eight very friendly, very chatty ladies who had no filter, and I think he was a little traumatized by some of the topics. He was a good sport, but the very second my napkin touched the table, he was up and out of there! I doubt he will ever return to tea time. 😀

I gave up on Carnival for a while when they did that. At the time, I needed two more cruises. Instead, it took me six. Finally reached it this summer. That said, I stepped on the ship last cruise with 74 points, but with Platinum status. That doesn't happen on the other major lines. You have to earn it first.

Congratulations on quitting! Our cruise earlier this month was the first time I have ever spent any time at the Casino Bar. The streets on the Pride rolled up at midnight, so we went there every night for a nightcap. I quit smoking in 2001, but it took my husband a little longer. He celebrated one year smoke-free while we were onboard. I don’t think we really have a routine, but I did enjoy a Funship Special for the first time.

The key word there is 'within'. Two days is within three days, so you may test 1, 2 or 3 days in advance. Also, those instructions -- one is for vaccinated and one is for not fully vaccinated. They do not conflict.

Kids can check themselves in and out at that age. It’s not a controlled environment where you know where she will be. That said, you know your child and if she could be left onboard unsupervised without you. But no one will stop you from leaving the ship without her.

Just know that Grand Cayman does not “spring forward, fall back”. From March to November, Grand Cayman is one hour behind Florida time. The rest of the year, the time is the same. But there can be an issue between ship time and port time depending on what time of the year you cruise and if the ship remains on daylight savings time or changes to local time. On our first time to Grand Cayman with a private tour, we rushed ashore, only to have to hang out for an hour. And on the opposite side, when we thought we had time to shop at the port, we had to get back on the tender.

Oh, I forgot to share the link to the full photo album. More pics than I posted here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/u4xk1AcYmDvJA2P7A

That is so great. You will love the restaurant!

Final Day - Debarkation, Windsor Castle and Home Debarkation from the Pride is ridiculously early. Our excursion tickets for our Heathrow Transfer with Windsor Castle visit were for 6:30am! Our flight home wasn't until 5:00pm, so we booked the tour. The day before, I tried for over an hour to check-in for our flight. This was our first time on British Airways. The flight over was fine and we were pleased with our economy plus seats, except that a family with two young crying kids was right in front of us. Having flown with two young crying kids in the not too distant past, I had a lot of sympathy, but on an overnight flight, it made sleeping very difficult. I gave up trying to check us in onboard and just figured we'd be in the last row by the bathrooms by the time I got seats at the airport. When we got to the airport, we had the same problems. We waited for an agent, and she checked us in without issue, handing us our boarding passes without comment. When I looked at them, I noticed we had been bumped up to business class. Cool! I guess the trouble was worth it. Since we were bumped up, we could hang out in the lounge, which made the three hour wait much better. Our flight took off nearly an hour late due to late arriving connecting passengers. We arrived back at Dulles only about 10 minutes late, around 8:45pm. Getting luggage, going through customs, getting the parking shuttle and driving home brought us home around midnight. We have Global Entry, which has changed a bit since the last time we used it. We walked up to a kiosk, pressed a button to have it take a photo, and were welcomed home. We didn't scan our passport or get a receipt. We then walked up to an officer, who greeted us by name and asked if we had anything to declare. We answered no and she waived us through. It was a pleasant experience! No one yelled at us! I probably spent hundreds of hours planning this cruise. I had spreadsheets and a binder organized by date and Google docs and Apple wallet tickets. It was so worth it. There were points before the cruise when I was tempted to just wing it, and in all honesty, it probably still would have worked out fine. Other than the transportation in Bruges, there's not a thing I would have changed. We don't have another family cruise booked, a first since 2009. Our daughter will be attending classes over the next two summers, and in the breaks between she would prefer to just be at home. We also usually cruise over Christmas, but we didn't find one we wanted to do. So hubby and I will be leaving the kids at home the week before Christmas, while we go on our first cruise alone since my parents watched our kids in 2015. But my daughter will graduate college and my son will graduate high school in 2025, so I hope there may be another luggage-palooza that summer. Thanks for following along, and for the encouragement to write this. Steps: 12k

Oh how I wish I were retired and could do this! Maybe in a few years. Here is an option for next year. Carnival Freedom is going to Europe for a dry dock, presumably to fix the funnel that burned earlier this year, then returning to Port Canaveral two weeks later. I know this is the Celebrity board, but don't dismiss Carnival out of hand. Two week transatlantic cruises will not attract the party crowd, I assure you. We just came back from a Northern Europe on Carnival Pride, and it was wonderful.

Day 12 - Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), Netherlands Travel: The port is about 45 minutes from Amsterdam. We pre-booked a taxi to pick us up and to return us to the port that afternoon. Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Amsterdam.htm (See Felison Cruise Terminal) After Paris, I was a little nervous about this day. I had planned and pre-booked a very full day. Schedules were tight and I knew we wouldn't have time to find a restaurant for lunch. I got a quote from a taxi service - https://city-airport-taxis.com. The quote was to take us from the ship to the Anne Frank House at 8:30, then pick us up at the Van Gogh Museum and return us to the ship at 3:30. The original price quoted was €150. After a few days, I got an email that there were no providers at that price, but I could reserve at €180. I went ahead and reserved. I gave a credit card, but noted that I preferred to pay the driver in cash. Tickets to the Anne Frank House are available on the first Tuesday of the month for the following month. We would be in Amsterdam on August 11th, so I put July 5th on the calendar. Tickets go on sale at midnight local time, so I checked at 6:00pm EDT on the 4th and they were available. There is an introductory program available at a small additional cost, €7. Those tickets sell out really quickly. By the time, I got there, the earliest available was 11:30, so I booked the tickets. Since the ship docked at 8:00, I looked for something to do earlier. I found an hour long canal cruise that left from the Anne Frank House. I booked it for 10:00am. See https://flagshipamsterdam.com. This was an awesome way to start the day. It was early, so it was still cool. We had beautiful weather the entire cruise, but the temperatures were hot for Europe, in the 80s. Having cruised the Caribbean in the summer, this was nothing. There was no humidity, so it was always pleasant in the shade. Another surprise was how late the sunsets were. It was often after 9pm when the sun set, and was still a little light at 10pm. Finally, we wanted to see the Van Gogh Museum. I read that the Anne Frank House takes 90 minutes to 2 hours, so I booked Van Gogh Museum tickets for 2:00pm. That gave us two hours with Anne Frank then 30 minutes to figure out the tram system to get there. See https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/tickets-and-ticket-prices The day, and the plans, went perfectly. The taxi driver called me as we were coming off the ship. When we got outside the port building, I called him and waved my arms around. He saw me and promptly arrived in a new Mercedes mini-van with front and rear facing leather seats. I felt very fancy. He was very nice and said he would likely be the one to pick us up later than afternoon. He dropped us off directly at the Anne Frank House at 9:15. We were able to catch an earlier canal cruise, at 9:45. I highly recommend this cruise! After the cruise, we waited about 30 minutes for our Anne Frank introductory program. Again, I am so very glad we did this. We then toured the house, and finally saw a diary and other artifacts. It was an emotional experience. It was very crowded, but silent. Afterwards, we used the City Mapper app to direct us to where to get the tram. You can buy tickets onboard the tram. The Van Gogh Museum was wonderful. It was again, crowded, but we still got to see everything in about 90 minutes, just in time to meet our taxi driver, who arrived promptly and dropped us back off at the ship in plenty of time. All-in-all, the day couldn't have gone any better. Only once, at the end of the Anne Frank House, was I concerned about schedule. We grabbed a quick snack in the Van Gogh Museum coffee shop beforehand and a hot dog from a cart outside afterward. Back at the ship, we had informed Lester the day before that it was our daughter's birthday, and he delivered a personalized chocolate melting cake and gathered singers. She got a kick out of it, even wore the napkin crown with a smile. It reminded me of her first cruise, on the Pride, at age 5. IMG_1534.mov Steps: 10k

There was a Bruges On Your Own that popped up a few weeks before the cruise. I want to say it was $79, maybe $69, but I am not sure. It was nearly as much for one as we paid for all four of us. it seemed to me Carnival tries to sell the more expensive excursions, then adds the On Your Own later on. I know this was the case with Amsterdam.