evandbob

Another ancient Carnival ship awaiting the scrapyard. Too bad for the people who booked it and had their vacation turned upside down.

IMO, a CD who is silent throughout the cruise would be an enormous benefit.

Seaweed has a higher % of impacting island beach port stops than hurricanes. We live in SWFL, so Caribbean cruising is sometimes cooler than staying at home in the summer months, go figure!

I've had both hips replaced along with spinal fusion, L3 to L5. I have cadmium, titanium and cobalt parts, and always ask to go thru the scanner at the airport, which usually beeps and I get a quick pat down. The ship's Xray may or may not pick up the parts, sometimes it beeps, sometimes it doesn't. Again, a quick pat down if it does. If I were the OP, I would ask the surgeon's office to send me a wallet sized card that would describe the last surgery, parts used, etc.

Carnival is often criticized for inconsistent rules/guidelines application. Maybe if people would stop trying to circumvent the rules, Carnival might have an easier time enforcing them uniformly across the board.

Bret is now forecast to travel over St Lucia as basically a rain storm, over 1,300 miles south of the Bahamas, where the OP is cruising to......not an issue

It looks like the OP's storm will be no where near the Bahamas, and it will be no where near hurricane strength. It will be a rain storm way south of the OP's ship - wind shear will downgrade it from a minor depression. Nothing to worry about, enjoy your cruise.

I have booked a few guaranteed cabins, but after getting the most forward, tiniest inside cabin ever, I chose to book specific cabins - nothing to do with a PVP. The general rule is if saving money equals or betters any distress that an assigned cabin would give you, it's okay. If there is a cabin you would never pick in the mix, then don't check a chance.

Energy drinks.

Been on several cruises that diverted from its original course/ports for passenger medical emergencies.....had to alter course to get cruiser to the nearest, safest hospital. I've yet to be on a cruise that needed to be re-diverted for any reason.

No. But I'll guess it might be similar to having a few Diamonds with the Captain and officers on a 7 day cruise. We've met with the Captain singly, with another Diamond, and on up to 6 Diamonds in the piano bar, the disco, in the actual deck hall. Drinks and hors d ouevres served. I usually chatted with the Captain about our Italian grandmothers and their food/cooking. I found this more entertaining than a more formal setup.

A local SWFL emergency room doctor told me he gets at least 1 pickleball injury per shift - twisted or sprained ankles or wrists, shoulder separations, and all kinds of scrapes and bruises are typical. That's from locals playing on steady ground and without alcohol. Play on a moving ship after a few drinks and one may think that injuries would only increase. Be careful !!

Do you think that ships' bartenders watched Madmen?

On week long cruises, I've often seen trucks unloading goods to ships in Caribbean island ports. But I couldn't tell you if they are unloading/loading dry goods, foodstuffs, etc.

Just a reality check - Rudi's tables are pretty close together, and there is not much room for a child in motion. The meals are generally more relaxed and take longer than the MDR. If your child can eat the meal in relative quietude, then go for it. If the child has a wandering attention span, and is prone to moving about, then you may want to avoid Rudi's and the possible snarky stares you might get from other cruisers.

Perhaps today's 20 and 30 year old bartenders aren't aware of a drink that was popular back in the 1950's?

Let's hope that any mechanics working on the ship's maintenance won't be starting any fires like Jay did in his garage !!

It is certainly possible to order and receive a drink while sitting at a machine and then take it out of the casino to somewhere else, say dinner. Sometimes the order takes 5 or 10 minutes to arrive, so allow enough time that you won't feel rushed. Tipping as usual, helps.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/cruise-ship-nearly-destroyed-and-flooded-as-ship-navigates-nightmare-sailing-during-storm/ar-AA1bOSnS?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=5f581619e3eb40b696451ee01509b7b2&ei=12

It's good to see people pointing out that there are many things to do on an isle by getting away from the immediate port area and exploring. I am amused by folk who say they've been to a port 10 times and "seen everything" but have never left the port area. Of course that gets old! Go to a beach, hike a mountain, dunk under a waterfall, eat local food in a local restaurant, experience the island culture and vibe. Restricting oneself to the port area with its chain stores and restaurants is well, restricting, and far from seeing it all..

An ER Doctor told me he generally sees 1 pickleball accident victim per shift. Claims mostly senior people thinking they can play like they are 20 yrs old, and the body saying not so fast. Trips, falls, twisted ankles and separated shoulders are common injuries he sees.

If there is 1 and 1/2 ounces of booze in each drink, 15 drinks = 22 + ounces, or about 2/3 of a quart (32 oz), If someone can handle drinking almost a bottle of booze daily........... 15 beers is a whole different story.

Since the choice is inside to cove, it may be doable if that "white space" isn't a noisy piano bar or other venue. I'm not partial to coves, I prefer mid ship mid deck full balconies. When I walk past an open cove balcony door being cleaned, I'm not impressed with the view vs a higher open balcony. Most importantly, anyone prone to motion sickness should avoid coves because the cruising speed and movement is more pronounced on those balconies.

For really bouncy rides, the tendency is to make sure feet are planted firmly on the boat's deck while grippng a rail with both hands. This puts a heavy strain on one's spine, and actually makes the bouncing feel more jarring. I find when I let my legs dangle and keep my feet a few inches off the deck, the ride is easier on my 3x surgically repaired back. Sounds counterintuitive, but it works!

Pickleball is a major cause of senior folk getting injured, so hopefully medical help will be easily accessible to wherever the courts will be located on the ship.