dctravel

We flew to Houston for our recent Carnival cruise. Got in late, stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Hobby (clean, mediocre breakfast) and used their airport shuttle to get to the hotel and back to the airport in the morning. We then hired Galveston Limo (shared van) to take us from Hobby to the Port. It was easy and more affordable for our family of 4 than paying Carnival to use their shuttle.

Looking forward to following along!

What type of room? An interior will likely look a lot like an interior on Carnival Vista, Horizon or Panorama (same class of ship), same for balcony. My experience with interiors is beds in the back of the cabin (either a king or two singles), with two pullman beds form the ceiling. In a balcony it is normally one pullman over a sofa that becomes a bed, and then a king or two twins next to the "bunk" bed. We are looking at Firenze for Christmas this year!

Following along to learn more about Solstice in advance of our Alaska cruise this summer!

They ask, but it isn’t required. If you supply the information, then if there is a problem at least Carnival knows you were flying in.

I doubt they would care. When pushed together, most cruise cabins actually have queen or king size beds. It is generally the personal choice of the guests as to how those are configured.

We have successfully used Resort for a Day . com several times. They have a lot of choices in Cozumel. I have no personal experience with the Cozumel choices, but we did enjoy ourselves in San Juan, Aruba, and Jamaica on past cruises!

This was not your question, but if someone stumbles on this post, the same rules also apply for ships sailing out of Galveston, TX. https://www.carnival.com/drink-packages/cheers-package/cheers-SUM

I see this link, but it does not look like the one posted above: https://www.carnival.com/~/media/CCLAU/pdf/other/consent-form.ashx. That said, any letter that gives you temporary power for medical care, etc... is likely fine. On their FAQ, Carnival does note: Traveling with Minors When traveling with a minor where one parent or both parents or legal guardians are not cruising, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent(s) or legal guardians authorizing the minor to travel with you. If there is no second parent with legal claims to the minor (due to sole custody, deceased, etc.) other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, death certificate, birth certificate naming only one parent, would be useful to bring in place of a signed letter. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security.

Most likely either 3 or 4. Check out the deck plan PDFs for the ship you are interested in. Each cabin has dots, stars, etc, to indicate the type of bedding and number or people it can hold. That will give you a glimpse at the potential combinations and options.

Check out the mid-week cruises v. the weekend cruises (they alternate 3-4 in various ways on various ships). The midweek should be less raucous than a weekend cruise. That said, we have sailed with our children several times over the years, starting when the youngest was 4. They loved the vibe of the ship and there is always something going on. I drink only a little when I am vacationing with them (glass of wine with dinner, maybe a beer in the evening), partly to cut down on the cost and partly because I'm there to enjoy the family, not to get drunk (and then to have to share a room with them!). On Carnival, we have found all types. When you settle into the cruise, people tend to gravitate to space and others that feel in their comfort zone, or at least we do! dctravel

I got credit for a 1989 cruise on the original Mardi Gras. They needed something that proved you were on the ship. After searching through pictures at my parents house, I finally found a picture that showed the date from when we were boarding the ship. Founds lots of other pictures too (including of Carnival's resort in Nassau (the Crystal Palace), now long gone) that we went to for an excursion, but only the embarkation picture had the date.

It has been by the JAX Port Authority: https://www.jaxport.com/norwegian-cruise-line-to-sail-from-jaxport-beginning-in-2025/

Carnival also has a "relatively" new program called menu mates. Here is what they emailed me about when I inquired about a food allergy: ------EMAIL TEXT------- Our ships* are equipped with Menu Mate™ food ingredient program fleetwide to accommodate guests with food allergies. Easily operated on touch-screen tablets at food venues, the Menu Mate food ingredient program is powered by award-winning CertiStar software to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions. The new program is the first of its kind among major cruise lines. Our staff will ask guests about food allergies and enter any restrictions into the program. The software will then sort through all available options and display which items are allergen-free, which options can be modified to exclude the specified allergen and which selections should be avoided. If preferred, guests can also use the Menu Mate designated tablet themselves to enter in their own allergy/dietary information and then order from the options curated to meet their needs. Guests will also be able to find a Menu Mate tablet on display near the Lido buffet stations as well. * Menu Mate™ currently not available on Carnival Venezia™ Once on board, it is highly recommended that you contact our dining team for assistance. We look forward to providing you a FUN and memorable cruise vacation. See you on board!

You might consider finding a travel agent to assist you who can look through various cruise lines to check for existence and availability. I know, for example, that the RC Oasis class ships have them (but of course they don't sail to Alaska), so it is possible that other RC ships do too. A good travel agent will be able to tell you (and other options like connecting rooms) for sure.

Like others have said, really anywhere near Pike Place Market. We stayed at the Charter Hotel Seattle (a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel). We weren't there for a cruise, but it walk able to a lot of stuff and would be easy to get a taxi or Uber/Lyft to the port from any hotel in that area that meets your needs. dctravel

An do it soon, as they can sell out way in advance.

Does the cruise line offer any tours for the day you depart? Some cruise lines will. For example, we are sailing Celebrity, and they offer four tours with airport transfer for the the day we disembark. From looking at the details, it looks like they either hold your bags for you, or they take them to the airport for you (not 100% sure). Also, Saint Greg did a live review of the NCL Jewel last year, and he stored his luggage when he arrived back in Vancouver, did the Hop-On-Hop Off bus, and then headed to the airport. Details at

We will be staying two nights at the Hilton Vancouver pre-cruise this summer. Then 1 night at the Delta Hotel by Marriott on our return. Both get good reviews and are not far from the port.

I’m in! We sail on Jubilee March 23. Our first cruise back since the shutdown!

There is a lot of debate in our family about beds together or apart under the Pullmans. Ultimately, we decided that apart works better for us, as it gives us more floor space in the middle of the room (in an interior for example). Also, at least on Carnival, the Pullman's have railings, so it would be difficult for a child to fall out (but not difficult for their stuffed animal friends to hit dad in the head in the middle of the night 🙂 ).

The gluten free menus are "realtively" new, so that is a step in the right direction. As you book, you should also contact the Guest Access Support office (access@carnival.com). My son is allergic to dairy, we contact them with questions about his allergies, and they sent us back a reply that included the ship's chef's staff. Also, they noted that have a new Menu Mate application that allows you to navigate the menu more easily. It's available on all ships except Carnival Venezia. Here is what they said: ------- Our ships* are equipped with Menu Mate™ food ingredient program fleetwide to accommodate guests with food allergies. Easily operated on touch-screen tablets at food venues, the Menu Mate food ingredient program is powered by award-winning CertiStar software to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions. The new program is the first of its kind among major cruise lines. Our staff will ask guests about food allergies and enter any restrictions into the program. The software will then sort through all available options and display which items are allergen-free, which options can be modified to exclude the specified allergen and which selections should be avoided. If preferred, guests can also use the Menu Mate designated tablet themselves to enter in their own allergy/dietary information and then order from the options curated to meet their needs. Guests will also be able to find a Menu Mate tablet on display near the Lido buffet stations as well. * Menu Mate™ currently not available on Carnival Venezia™ Once on board, it is highly recommended that you contact our dining team for assistance.

Yes, room service is offered all day. Here is a link that explains it, plus links to the menus: https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/24-hour-room-service. Many things on the breakfast menu are free, but there up-0charges for some items. All items on the non-breakfast menu include an up-charge.

I found this to be helpful... the basic drink package covers drinks up to $10 and the premium package up to $17: https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/12_15_23_OB_SP_Drinks-Flyer_V4.pdf So, with your example, a vodka tonic, if you are okay with Absolut, Whealtly, New Amsterdam, or Smirnoff, then the basic package is fine. If not, you might consider upgrading. If you have the basic drink package and the drink costs more than $10, you pay the difference plus gratuity.

Honestly, you have a few choices here. Your preferences will drive which you choose, based on avoiding a red eye (and I'm right there with you!). Assuming you are flying back to Pittsburgh (based on your profile location): 1. Look at all of the SOCAL airports (Long Beach, LAX, Orange County) to see if there are noon or later flights that still get back to the East Coast very late that or slightly after midnight. Knowing you will need to change planes (probably) will make a difference if this is even possible. Also, consider that some of these airports are less convenient than others and that traffic in the LA area can be terrible. Southwest, if that is an option, now lets you choose to search for an entire area. In Los Angeles, it includes 5 airports, although Ontario is unlikely to be convenient for you, as it is out East of Los Angeles and would be a LOOOONG ride. Same potential issue for Burbank to the North. 2. Stay an extra day, see Southern California, and fly back in the early/mid-morning the next day. This is the strategy I'm using for a return from Vancouver after an Alaska cruise this summer. In this case, factor in the rental car/uber/hotel you will need to see something that day and get yourself to the airport the next day. 3. Suck up the red-eye. This is unpopular in my household, for sure, but sometimes in the best option for price, etc... I try VERY hard to avoid this too, as my kids don't sleep well on flights, and quite frankly, I don't either! dctravel