FlaMommy75

Thanks for the tips. I don't know the difference between IC and Deutsche Bahn though...should I not book through the site mentioned above? Also, since you are all so helpful can I also ask you what is the best way to get to center city Berlin around 9am in the morning from the airport? We are flying in a couple days before we take the train to Warnemunde. I am debating if we should try to take the train or we can just uber? There will be 4 of us (my children will be 18 and 20). Thanks so much!

Thanks for asking this. We are also planning on catching the train from central Berlin to Warnemunde on a Saturday, early June 2024, for our MSC Poesia cruise. I have been looking at it looks like there are quite a few direct trains. Do I need to book in advance? We don't speak German and getting from Berlin to the cruise port is what is stressing me out most about the trip. We plan on arriving a day early (Saturday) and I booked an airbnb for Saturday night and our cruise is Sunday. For our debarkation I booked the cruise sponsored excursion that tours Berlin and drops you at the airport. Sorry, to hijack your post, but I am hoping to get some help also if you don't mind. I have attached a screen shot of what train schedule I am looking at, does this look correct? Thanks so much!!

No, we ended up just walking around and doing a little shopping. 😞

Ugggg,,,that makes me so sad. When we were on the Mardi Gras last Christmas they did have a 18-20 meet up on the Fun Times the first night. I was hoping maybe that would be available again. Thanks for the prompt reply 🙂

Thanks so much for the prompt reply, That is super helpful! One last question..I noticed your son is 18. My daughter is 20 and always struggles to make friends since they are too old for the camp/club 02. Was there any meet ups or activities for 18-20 on the Fun times?

Thank you so much for your detailed review of Konoko Falls. We will be on the Horizon this Sunday and I also booked that excursion except only the half day- no lunch or beach. We live near the beach and neither of my kids have any interests in the beach 😞 I am soo sorry to hear about your fall. That sounds scary! We did Dunn's River a few years ago and I though a couple parts of that was rough so I was hoping Konoko was better. Quick question...I was just planning on wearing my old running sneakers that are very lightweight and I will just trash them after..are they super strict on water shoes only? Also, the water shoes I have for my husband and kids are super cheapy and I'm sure they have no traction at all. Would they be better off with old sneakers also? Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! We booked the ATV rainforest CCL excursion in Cozumel so I am hoping you did too 🙂

We get on the morning you get off so I am looking forward to reading your posts. 🙂

Thanks so much for posting the full menu! We are a vegan family and will be on the Horizon Thanksgiving week and just got everyone super excited texting them your menu pics 🙂

I will let you know if they offer it. I REALLY hope they do. When I filled out my comments on the Mardi Gras I kept stating over and over how thankful I was that they offered it. I have no idea why they wouldn't, no one staffed it, they just need to print it in the Fun Times a place and time for 18-20 can meet up...not asking for that much and it makes a huge difference to the kiddos in that "lost" age group.

What week are you on? We will be on Nov 19th (Thanksgiving week) and my daughter also just turned 20 and is the same boat (literally). My kids have grown up cruising and their favorite part has always been making friends in the camp but the past couple years she has been so disappointed because they have offered nothing for 18-20. When we were on the Horizon March 2022 they did not offer any activities at all but when we were on the Mardi Gras Christmas 2022 they had a meet up the first night at 8pm, when the other camps met up. It was a one time event but it was enough that they were able to all exchange numbers (snapchats, IGs, whatever) they she had friends to hang with all week. My fingers are crossed that Horizon now offers this..just be sure and check the Fun Times and it should be around 8-10pm the first night.

Hello! We are stopping in Grand Cayman in a few weeks (Thanksgiving week) and was thinking about doing the same thing. I was also interested in the brewery possibly. Any recent updates on if it's worth a taxi ride. Is the bus also a possibility? Thanks 🙂

My husband and I are both huge Old Fashion lovers, however, on the Mardi Gras we found our favorite drink to be the Smoked Boulevardier at the Pig & Anchor. Alchemy, Brass Magnolia, and the Steakhouse bar all make pretty good OF. We also really loved the Negroni at the small Italian bar outside Cucina.

Thanks so much for posting a detailed review and I look forward to hearing about your next ports. We are sailing out of Berlin ( Warnemunde) June 2024 and have a similar itinerary so this is super helpful 🙂

Any updates? I am also looking at ATVs and debating if I should book the Carnival excursion. Thanks! 🙂

We are also from Florida and took our first MSC cruise in Europe on the Meraviglia back in 2019. As another poster mentioned, it is VERY different from our normal Caribbean cruise with every port being a debarkation/embarkation spot. We also went in early March when the majority of cruisers were nonAmericans (they said less than 5%) which was super interesting, especially for my teens in the kids camp. 😂 I am a DIY girl so we did not buy any MSC excursions. I remember Marseille, Genoa, and Valletta being very walkable. We absolutely loved Malta! The sail into the port is not to be missed. We also went to Barcelona, Palermo, and Rome(where we stayed pre/post cruise). All of our ports we walked off and either got a taxi to our destination or we hopped on a HOHO bus (hop on/hop off bus). We loved that option because they give you headphones and you could choose your language. In Marseille we had a taxi driver drive us up to Notre Dame and other local sights. *Also, in terms of safety, it was a non-issue. We always felt safe and even when we were lost (which was often) someone always spoke English and was kind enough to point in the right direction. Felt way safer than most the Caribbean ports we frequent. 🙂 Hope this helps 🙂

We are experienced cruisers also from America and we went on the Meraviglia for a European cruise a few years ago. Overall, it was a great experience but it was definitely very different. All announcements were made in 5 languages, English being last. The shows avoided any dialogue. The week we were on the ship they said it was less than 10% American onboard, which made for an interesting experience for my kids in the kids camp. When we booked it said on our reservation that we received unlimited mineral water in the dining room (bottled water). We often asked for an extra and would bring them back to the room. I think this is for reservations made in the USA and UK. Actually, I am looking right now at cruises next summer out of Athens as my son's high school graduation cruise. We all have fond memories of our European cruise, the good and the not so good parts, and are ready to do it again! 🙂

There is only one scenario where a room change/upgrade is possible and that is if the ship ends up very under capacity due to a storm and last minute cancellations/people not making it to the port in time. We actually had that happen a few years ago. I am usually very particular about the room I want and would never even want to ask for a room change but we booked a last minute cruise for my daughter's birthday in October.... peak hurricane season.🙄 Since it was last minute the 4 of us were in one inside room, which I normally never would do, but it was a last minute decision and that was all that was available. Well, about 3am the morning of our embarkation Hurricane Matthew pummeled the area including the port! The cruise before us was stuck out there an extra half day while the port was cleaned up. Since we only live a couple hours from the port we were able to make the trip over but Cocoa was a mess with power lines and trees down everywhere. Cocoa beach was under mandatory evacuation up until around 1pm that day so it was a ghost town. We originally planned on spending the night before the cruise in a hotel on Cocoa Beach but our reservation was cancelled because of the mandatory evacuation. Long story, short we ended up being able to board about 7pm that evening and the cruise was only about 25% full. I went down to guest services at dinner and they gladly switched us to 2 adjoining ocean view rooms.

If you love petting friendly kitties I highly recommend walking the trail along the water at Fort Morro!! It was our favorite excursion and it did not cost anything. We walked to the left when we got off the ship and just stayed to the left and followed a beautiful trail along the water that will eventually lead you to Fort Morro. I actually packed 4 bags of cat treats and my family thought I was crazy but we had the most fun day feeding all the cats. If you fall in love with one, message Save a Gato and they work with you to trap the cat, bring him to a vet, and then even found a flight angel to fly the cat home to use. We fell in love with one and now he is a member of our family..

I am anxiously waiting here too. We have been on the Pride and Legend three times each and am really hoping one of the Italian ships go over to Europe summer 2024. Enjoyed London and Norway last summer on the Pride but planning on Greece for summer 2024 and hoping CCL announces their plans soon or I am looking to book at Royal Caribbean, but would prefer CCL.

Thanks! No Frappuccino's for me, I'm there strictly for the mug. I collect them 🙂

It is very strange! We will be on the Mardi Gras 12/24/2022-12/31/2022 and we are still scheduled for San Juan.

I agree that this is a very subjective question but I will tell you from personal experience, we felt it was worth it. We worried about the same thing when we went to Alaska. Since the ports are often early mornings, we were concerned we wouldn't utilize Cheers much. We definitely did! We loved being able to have speciality coffee with Bailey's or other alcohols added while sitting out on the serenity deck watching the beautiful scenery. We also always had a pre-dinner drink from the Alchemy, a glass of wine at dinner, and at least 1-2 drinks most nights after dinner. Combine that with the multiple trips to the coffee shop and always grabbing bottled waters with our drinks, it added up. 🙂

My go to is to ask for a bourbon, whisky, or top shelf vodka (whatever my mood is) on the rocks with a Perrier. They will give you the whole bottle and then it also helps me with slowing down and hydrating 🙂 I also do this and ask for a Celsius or some kind of sugar free energy drink at least once a day.

I think it depends where you are getting your drinks. A lot of the Carnival mixed and frozen drinks are pre-made and way more sugar than alcohol. My husband and I tend to stick getting our drinks either from the Alchemy or ordering bourbon/whiskey from Pig and Anchor an/or the Steakhouse bar.

No need to call. You just fill out the price protection form and you will usually get a response within 10 minutes. https://www.carnival.com/core/requestforms/priceprotection.aspx