hermajestylanie
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Posts posted by hermajestylanie
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1 hour ago, amcankid said:
Great videos and pics. But you seem to have a bigger problem than anything some of these knuckleheads who respond to with.
One of your sons is a Cowboys fan?
And one is a Niners fan?
Oh boy!! Can’t wait to see family dinners during football season in a couple of years!! Lol
Haha. Yep. The arguing is real!
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It is not only the trivia. They did a poolside spelling game for anyone and it ended up being mostly kids. The parents were MOUTHING the words/letters to their kids and the older ones were whispering to the little siblings. The staff running it let the littlest kid just read the next letter off her page! My kids were VERY annoyed because they were not cheating and the group spelled out words like Massachusetts off one letter by one letter. So, they gave the prize to a 6-year-old who had not actually spelled anything correctly! If they want to do a contest for only small kids and do appropriate words, then by all means! But this was crap.
We also had one staff just change the rules she had stated whenever she wanted. Because of this, my kids were totally put off by most of the games. I don't really care and would do things just for fun, but kids, you know? It really does ruin the vibe when someone cheats and someone else should have been the winner.
It was sweet to see my 9 yo deliver payback to the cheating family by beating them so hard in a physical competition. They could not cheat then!!!
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9 minutes ago, FastShip24 said:
This place has more complainers then helpful. Take it with a grain of salt
Thanks. I needed that 🙂
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Unfortunately, we had to skip Icy Strait- a passenger had a medical emergency, so we had to proceed nearer to Seattle so that she could be helicoptered off. This was our only rough seas, and it was not bad, just a lot of lolling. After that, we made port in Juneau and since our whale watching was canceled from the port we missed, we did a last-minute one there in the AM. Express whale watching. I think. I believe they were all about the same. In the afternoon, we did the canoe to the Mendenhall Glacier. I had originally booked this through a 3rd party because they take you up VERY close to the glacier. This was then canceled, but popped up right after on Carnival! So I booked it there. The rowing was strenuous because there were only a couple of us actually rowing... but the views were amazing and you cannot beat how close we got! In between these activities, we popped on the Roberts Tram to go up the mountain and have lunch. We just walked to it- it was very near the port and bought tickets ourselves. It is very busy in the AM, so mid-day was great. No wait. It was worth it!
In Skagway, we went to do the summer dog sledding. While it was a bit of a ride there, the scenery was amazing. The actual sled riding was short, but that was expected. Holding the puppies was fun, but not something that was unique, really. But, the kids enjoyed it and we all rode the monster-type trucks up to the camp, which was interesting. In the afternoon, we did the helicopter glacier. I think it was the Glacier Discovery by Helicopter? This was SO COOL. Only 6 to a helicopter and they take you on a scenic flight. We went to Mead Glacier but also got to see some incredible things along the way and the Twin Glaciers right next to us as well. We spent quite a bit of time on the glacier itself, discovering DEEP cuts in the ice and even a waterfall/cascade. Our guide threw a big rock down one so we could hear how deep it was. Several streams were on top of the glacier and we got to drink from one. I would do this again 100%. It was well worth the cost.
There was not much to do in Prince Rupert. Initially, there was a bear sanctuary excursion that I would have done, but the Princess ship, there at the same time we were, ended up getting the limited licenses to do it. We buddied up with a family from the Princess ship on the jetboat excursion that confirmed it. We did the jet boat and I would never recommend that at all. The ride there was longer than stated and then we waited for over an hour once we got there to do anything. While the jetboat was fun, it was not something I have never done before. It was not worth the cost. While the food was good, it was also not what was advertised and the whole process was just unorganized and sloppy. This is the only excursion that I would never recommend from any cruise I have taken. The tour guide there was also a bit of a chore. Not interesting like all our other tour guides.
We did all Carnival ones this time, which I was surprised about. They actually ended up being less expensive than the 3rd party ones I would have booked, save for the very expensive and lackluster jet boat in Canada. Hopefully, they end up with more options there because there is not much to do in port. It is a small town.
The weather held pretty well. Some misting and light rain sporadically. Nothing terrible. But, we had brought simple rain suits to wear that came in handy. It WAS cold. Beanies and gloves were a must for whale watching and the glacier, as well as our warm coats. We had one warm day at sea on the way back, which was grand!
We did some light souvenir shopping in the ports, save for Canada. The guides will point out the best/ cheapest shops.
Also, look for the tour in Tracy Arm Fjord. This is NOT a port but takes you to view the North Sawyer Glacier. The tour allows you to board a smaller ship and go pretty close to the glacier. You can hear it calve and see portions splash in the water, whereas you cannot really see as well from the cruise ship (but you CAN see the glacier from the cruise ship). You get really close to the icebergs and the harbor seals on the smaller boat, which is neat. AND, you get to go to the South side of the glacier and see waterfalls/ cascades up closer. The cruise ship does not do this part. WELL worth it. They post this under the home port at some point, which is strange, but it does sell out once people are aware of it. Very limited numbers of tickets. And they do kind of overpack the boat.
The older kids' clubs looked decent, in case your younger one is interested. It is basically a hang-out area and they seemed to be having fun.
Of note, we would have done the glacier helicopter trek, but the kids needed to be at least 12. So, we were out for that. But we kind of did end up trekking around a glacier on our tour! We also had ziplining on our list, but it did not work out within the time frame and was less important. There were a lot of good options and my goal was to do a bunch of glacier stuff that would not bore the kids, so I think I accomplished that and had a nice balance.
I had researched some other things to do and see in the ports, but my 11 yo was in a walking boot due to an injury and I didn't want to make things hard on him. So, we skipped some of that extra stuff I normally would have done. I offered to piggyback him some of the times, but he knows I have a bad neck and REFUSED to let me do it, even though he wanted to do more 🙂
And, one more thing. You WILL see wildlife outside the tours. We saw whales and dolphins from the ship itself. Bring binoculars. Some people saw otters somewhere. Driving to our tours, Alaska is just lousy with eagles! They are all over and the guides will point them out.
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The purple grapes were amazing. It gave it uniqueness and charm. The kids loved when they turned the grape lights off and on during the crew dance number.
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Wow. The hostility here is mind-boggling. We loved cruising with our kids and would not leave them behind. Why rob them of experiences that they will always remember? However, it pays to be prepared and when I only found scant info about cruising with kids to Alaska on Carnival, why not help others if I can?
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Pardon? This is meant for folks with kids plan for their cruise if they are going on a similar one. This is a cruise board, correct? For people to post their experiences and help each other??? This is kind of a "what I wish I knew," especially as there are fewer kids on Alaska cruises. I didn't find much helpful info here when I was researching. So, I am merely trying to be helpful here. We had a great time, so I am not sure where you concluded that we did not accomplish that? Your post is very strange in relation to what I wrote. Thanks anyways, but I am not looking for unsolicited advice. Again, cruise review.
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Went with 2 our two sons, ages 9 and 11. Both very active. Very.Bring a blanket to take outside when you are sightseeing on the deck. Waterproof is a bonus. There are really nice wicker pods to lounge in. But you really do need a blanket. The wind is no joke and kids complain!The pools were OPEN but cold. On one random day, the only sunny and warm day, they inexplicably turned the heat up in the pools to rival that of the hot tubs. They were STEAMING and uncomfortable in the already hot day. The next day was cold as we were closer to SF again and the pools and outdoors were freezing once more. It was strange.The slides were open the whole time. The kids said the slide water was warm? But it was also cold and windy on the top deck most of the time. However, you could not ask for better lines! They got to go on as much as they wanted. The yellow slide had a lower height limit, but the less you weighed, the slower you went. My little ones (not so little, being at least 65 lbs) were pushing themselves down the water slide! They didn't move otherwise! However, the green slide went FAST! They loved it (it was a count-and-drop platform type). There was a small splash pad they had no interest in, being for the younger set.The best activity we did was the table shuffleboard in the Red Frog. We spent hours on that. Foosball was in here too and that was also a fav. Ping Pong was next, but it was ruined by the intense smoking area right by it outside. Ick. We brought card games so that we could do that during any downtime.The arcade was expensive and the prizes were pretty lame. Or we might just be spoiled by Dave and Busters? It is possible.The kids HATED, with a burning passing, the kids club. They would not return after the first day. The activities were too short and structured. There was not enough to do. AND, they combined the 9 to 11-year-olds with the younger groups for some reason? Maybe not enough kids? My 11 yo old was NOT having it. That and the video game time was severely limited. That is what he wanted to do. For some reason, I was excited for them to try the kid club, but it fell so flat. From the website, it seemed like they got to choose their activities and would have video game play when they wanted, but that is not so. I thought Carnival would be better for the kids, but there was just a lack of things to do in the kid club, at least for that age group. The comparable Princess sailing had air hockey and foosball tables in their kid club. This would have changed things had Carnival had these for the kids.They ended up loving the comedy shows, but only if they sat RIGHT up front. The comedians would usually talk to them and they lived for that.You can get Shirley Temples with your soda package! Holy moly, did we ever get our money's worth. The downside is that they had a lot of soda and I will never get them a soda package again! Water is better for them.Don't trust a 9 yo old with the ability to make purchases on their S&S card because they will tell you they are going to the bathroom, only to come back with a sneakily purchased donut from the additional charge coffee shop. For shame. It wasn't even the one I wanted, either! But, FYI, these pastries look good. They look GREAT! But, they are not.The kids had a tough time with the staff overseeing the activities and competitions. There was a LOT of blatant cheating going on and my kids are very focused on fairness. Parents mouthing spelling words to their kids during poolside activities, kids lying about scores when it is the honor system and they clearly did not get those points, and staff not doing a great job of managing this process or ticking to rules they themselves had previously underlined. I admit it made me a bit upset a few times and it ruined the spirit of the process for the kids. They didn't want to do those things again. I feel like the staff just does not have a good handle on things anymore. But, the last time we went on Carnival was before the kids, about 13 years ago. So, I guess things have really changed.The MDR kids menu is the same every night, but you can mix and match between that and the main menu all you want! 9 yo got the Ceasar salad for an appetizer most nights, a cheeseburger from kids menu, and the melting cake for dessert. 11 yo got a fruit platter for an appetizer, whatever was the closest to steak or (not salmon! I don't like that!) some kind of white fish for main, and then alternated desserts. It worked well. We let them order chocolate milk one night and the wait staff brought it for them unasked every other night after that. Use caution! Lol.Oh, and the Dr. Seuss breakfast was not worth it. Food was not good, except for the yogurt parfait. They layer yogurt and that strawberry Danish gel that goes in fresh strawberry pie. That was good bjt the kids didn't like it, haha. Do not, under any circumstances, get the cereal crusted French toast. Don't do it. It's stale and terrible.The basketball court was always busy. But, there are also soccer goals as well! My 9 yo found some older kids playing one day and was finally able to get some practice in. This time it worked out that it was cold up there because they were sweating pretty hard!The golf balls are crap. We saw people bring their own real ones and I thought this was a grand idea. People also brought their own ping pong paddles which was also a good idea if you can swing it. Or if you are really into ping pong?Kids generally gathered at the pool in groups that got along well or did ping pong together taking turns. There were mostly no problems with behavior that I saw. My kids always let others join in and other kids also seemed fairly welcoming. No groups of poorly behaved kids like others have had issues with, but this was also 10 days and to Alaska. I saw more poorly behaved adults than poorly behaved kids.As for excursions, the kids had a blast on the helicopter to Mead Glacier and walking around on top of it. I did NOT know that there would be so many DEEP crevices and we had to keep a tight hand on the impulsive 9 yo with no fear. They also gave the kids walking sticks with pointy ends, which led to lots of poking the ice (which was fine as they miraculously didn't turn into swords for a battle to the death). This was the most memorable excursion for them. The other was the husky dog sled pull with the bonus of holding puppies. We did several other very cool things, but they cared less about those. The whale excursion was only mildly interesting to them and we did get to see them jump! They were more interested in the complementary hot chocolate.We bought rain suits for the family and were all glad for it.Don't buy the first random Husky plushie that you see. We found an amazing one at the helicopter excursion in Juneau and there were some runners-up that actually said Alaska at some shops.
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Just returned on July 6 from Alaska via SF and we love in the Bay Area too. Kids used the pool every single day. They were open, both of them, and the slides were open daily as well! The weather was cold and windy. Inexplicably, the pool was heated to the temp of the spa on the only warm day of the cruise. The next day, both the weather and pool were cold again. The covered pool area functions like a greenhouse. It stays pretty warm. The outdoor pool is another story for some of the time.
Every pic is a different day. They used the pool every day except for port days. And there were others in there as well.
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It did not work well on our Alaska cruise from June 26- July 6. Very spotty and often texts would not come through at all. They were just missing.
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You can also mix and match. My 9 yo would order the Cesar salad, kid cheeseburger, and chocolate melting cake while the 11 yo old would get a fruit plate as an appetizer, whatever adult entree he wanted, and kid banana split! Our server would bring them chocolate milk every day after we ordered it once, so use caution, lol. Be aware there is apparently no kid menu on the days that there is a lunch seating in the MDR.
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hermajestylanie,
congratulations on your pregnancy!
I just finished reading your entire cruise review, and you and your husband seem like such a lovely, fun couple.
you have a real talent for writing...maybe you could do restaurant reviews. ( although you have a lot of foods you don't like, right ?)
your food pictures made me hungry and your stories made me laugh.
all the best to you,
another chocoholic:)
Thanks! It is always nice to meet another chocoholic! Maybe if there were chocolate only restaurants I could be a reviewer! Take care!
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I read your amazing review several days ago just before booking a March 2013 cruise on the Golden Princess to Hawaii for my wife's 50th birthday. It is going to be a surprise but I am planning to slowly reveal the surprise throughout her 50th year, starting March 2012. As part of the revelation process I was looking for 118 photos which would be relevant to the cruise, but wouldn't reveal too much. (I wanted some photos of different areas of the ship, some photos of some particular items on the ship's menu that I thought she would enjoy, photos from the various ports that don't reveal the port's identity, etc.)
Anyway, after spending a couple of hours searching on Google images (and becoming a bit frustrated) I suddenly remembered your review. Now after going back through it and downloading the photos (just the ones that look like they will work well for what I am planning), I have 139 photos to choose from. So now I will get to be more selective!
Yes, with 17 months to go, I must confess that I am OCD about this right now.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/redface.gif
So obviously I appreciate your OCD -- it saved me some time. I hope all is going well with your pregnancy!
OMG! Your wife is so lucky to have you! What a sweetie for giving her such an amazing surprise and fantastic journey to the surprise! I am so glad that my pictures helped you out. Such a long time to wait for the cruise though, but the time it gets here I am sure both of you will be bursting with excitement. Have you have a wonderful time and happy 50th to your wife.
Pregnancy going well. At three months now and I am getting more and more plump around the midsection! Husband is super excited!
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Melanie, Thank you for your review! It was about my two favorite things...cruising and Hawaii! June of 2010 we did NCL's Hawaiian cruise and July of 2012 we are cruising Alaska on the Golden Princess! I am sooo happy to hear about your additional weight gain...I had to read to the end to see if you posted that you were expecting...Congratulations! :D Enjoy!!!
Well, the cruise weight gain was not from the pregnancy! Just the delicious food! Can't seem to stay away from those yummy desserts. Though now being pregnant, all sweets sound super gross to me. Thankfully I am nearing the end of the first trimester, so hopefully that will abate soon.
Hope you have a great time on your cruise next year! Alaska and the Golden- should be a good time!
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I'm leaving for rthe same cruise on 11/9/2011. I'm so excited now, I can hardly wait. Did you by any chance meet anyone traveling solo? I travel alone and usually find others who also travel alone and couples who are fun and inclusive. Your food photos put 15 pounds on me already.....
We did meet a lot of people going solo! Also, there were many people who came as a couple or a group and chose to do some activities apart. Like on our hike there were a couple people that had partners that didnt want to do it, so they came by themselves and had a lot of fun. We chatted with quite a few people at lunch and dinner that were solo cruisers as well. Have you joined the role call? You might be able to organize a metting or activity with other who are going solo. But all in all, I found that those going solo had a great time and found the cruise really relaxing too. I can understand why many people do this- it seems you have much more freedom to plan out your day and activities and can tailor your vacation to what you really want to do. If I ever go on a cruise with husband and the kid, I think I might do some activites solo (while he stays back to babysit!).
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Melanie,
I just finished your review/blog last night. I have to ditto every comment about your writing skills. It was real; not watered down, not negative. I really appreciate the pics too. I hope we can have the same wonderful experience as you and your sweetie. We sail on Oct. 26. This is our 4th cruise, and celebrating our 25th year of marriage.
Congratulations on the baby. I know you must be excited.
Cindy from the Hot SoCal Desert :)
Wow! Congrats on your anniversary! What a great way to celebrate- have a great time!
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Thanks! This is my first real review on here. On my first cruise i didnt know about this site and on the second one, I meant to do a review, but I kept having trouble with the pictures, and then got really busy! So for this one, I wanted to make sure I got it done! It was fun to do, so any other cruises i go one, I think I will have to review. But, that might not be for a while!
I've really enjoyed your review and pix, thank-you for taking the time to share your vacation with us. Congrats on your impending parenthood! Have you done reviews like this of your other cruises? -
Thank you so much! I am a bit of a scared eater too- the pictures tend to make everything better! I am glad you have some use for them. Have a great time next month on your cruise!
You will have one lucky child because you can relate stories in such a way to keep people interested. You are an amazing young lady. Bless you both for taking the time to create a warm and wonderful review. Everything is not perfect and it is a special person to be able to adjust to life as it is. Good, bad or indifferent you go along and accept the things that are and try to help that which is not. We will be doing this same cruise next month and i too am one who makes do with what is handed to me. I love your pictures and especially the food ones as i am picky and won't order what i do not know. Thru you and your pictures i can see what these dishes are and i feel free to order some of these. Thank you very much for my seeing this cruise thru your eyes. congratulations mom and dad. -
Thank you for the excellent review. Although we are going on the Coral and to Panama Canal, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and looking at your photos, now I know what to expect and I can't wait!
Congratulations on your pregnancy, hope everything goes well.:)
Oh man, I am trying so hard not to read trip reviews of the Pamama cruise becasue I want to go so bad! And I know if I read them, I will be fixated on going. I have heard nothing but great things about the Pamama cruise- its on the bucket list. Have such a good time!
GREAT review and photos of all the YUMMO food. I have enjoyed your reviews/photos in the past before. Your reviews always make me feel as if I am there on the cruise with you. Thanks for all your info/experiences and photos you have shared with us!:DWelcome! I love taking food pictures (to torture myself with later!)
I've been reading your totally awesome review for the last couple of hours. :) We did our Hawaii cruise on the Diamond.Just loved all of the pictures! I usually snap 3,000+ pics on each cruise and I loved it when you said you snapped 3,000. :)
BTW...congrats on your pregnancy! Very pleased for you and your hub!:)
Aww, thanks! I love meeting other picture takers like me! I bet you take your camera everywhere with you on the cruise too! I have gotten halfway to breakfast and then had to turn back because I forgot my camera in the room. Husband sighs, but he goes with it.
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You know, I really like the age range on the Princess ships! There does seem to be a good portion of couples in their early 30s, whereas on Carnival there are a lot of early 20s groups (playing beer pong!). Which is fun too, but not as relaxing!
Alaska is beautiful- jealous that you guys get to go on those cruises all the time! My parents did one in the late 60s for their honeymoon and they still talk about how great it was!
Have fun on your Hawaii cruise! It was really awesome.
Congratulations on your pregnancy, and thank you for providing me, another cruise fanatic, with hours of reading entertainment! My husband and I are just a year older than you and love cruising, too! It's nice to see other people our age enjoying cruising, too. My husband and I will be going on the same cruise next March, and your review made me realize that we'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on ours, too. I hope you will have the opportunity to do an Alaska cruise some day! We live here, and it's spectacularly gorgeous! We regularly do the Alaska cruise despite being Alaskans, and we never tire of it. Hope you have a healthy pregnancy!! -
Lanie, Thanks for such a GREAT/AWESOME review....
I just read it AGAIN for a second time....:D
Were going on this same cruise Nov 9th and cant wait....
Reading your review made me feel like I was on the ship...:)
Whats your next cruise your planning on?
Thanks again
Husband is hoping that we can catch a short cruise either to Mexico out of southern CA or that I will be really impulsive and do one out of the carribean again (I just hate having to fly out there though). I might do it if we can just get one on the fly for cheap. Otherwise that money is for the baby!
Have fun on your cruise! It was so great- I am sure you will love it!
Great review, thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm hungry now!!! Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope you get one last vacation in before the baby!!!Thanks! I can't look at my food pictures without being super hungry too! Yeah, we would like to get away somewhere. Might just end up going to Carmel/Monterey though instead. Boo. Land vacations are not as fun.
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I am glad you had such a good time in alaska! I have wondered about the smaller ships and if people feel there is enough to do on them.
The Splendor is a bit crazy, but we really liked it. The decor is bright and random and the ship design is a bit confusing. But, I loved the comedy club and the entertainment. The hot tubs were great and well positioned. But, if you like to hang out on the outside chairs, there are not many available and there were kids running around screaming all the time! Such is Carnival! The main outside area has a retractable sunroof so they can close it when it rains, but this translates to a bit of an awkward main area set up. I do like the dining rooms on Carnival better- how they are set up, though Princess food rocks! The Splendor had some nice separate food areas in buffet area when you can get different things. I think there was much more of a selection on the Splendor. It is a nice big ship all in all. We would totally go again. In fact, we are thinking about doing either another 7 day on the Splendor or a 4 day to Mexico in a couple months for a babymoon (I am newly pregnant for the first time), but I may not want to go with the chance of catching some illness being much higher on a cruise!
All in all, it is a good ship. But 2013 is so far away!
Wanted to let you know we just got back and it was wonderful.Cold and a little rainy but beautiful scenery. We saw lots of whales on a sea day just west of Vancover Is.
Yes, the hot tubs were hot. We even sat in the rain/Hot tub in Skagway.
We really liked the Sea Princess even though it is smaller than many cruise ships.
We liked that.......more intimate. We love classical music and they had a wonderful string quartet.
I noticed that you sailed on the Splendor. I am considering a 2013 cruise to Hawaii on the Splendor. How was it and would you sail her again? We probably won't be able to sail before then.
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It is quite lenghty! But I tried to make it helpful to people planning their own Hawaii trip.
Yes, the whale watching was called Lahaina Cruise Co., Eco Ocean excursions at slip 3. I dont know about a website for them, as we just booked with them when we got to land. But, they were the company that princess uses for the Molokini snorkel tour, but they also offer other trips as well. There are a bunch of booths lined up right as you get off the ship, all offering about the same thing for about the same price! It was a good time though, ad the boat was comfortable. I dont think you could go wrong booking with them. Also, if oyu check out the hawaii boards, there are a lot of ideas there for other shore excursions. I read reviews and checked out those boards when I was planning and they were a great resource. Happy planning and I hope you ahve a great trip!
:p Just took my entire morning and read your review! Thanks so much for all the info and photos! We are leaving on January 18/12 and can't wait! I will probably go back and read through the posts again and start making notes on things to do, not to do, to eat, not to eat, so on and so on!!Glad to hear the pools are fresh water! Not a big fan of salt water unless it surrounds an island!!
Do you recall the name of the whale watching tour you took? I don't remember reading it, but it seemed quite reasonably priced and the fact that the boat had washrooms :o ....sounds like a good tour to book!!
Thanks again!
Miracle from SF to Alaska June 26 to July 6, kid focused post
in Carnival Cruise Lines
Posted
I cannot recall fully, but I would start looking 2 months out and check back weekly or so. It did NOT sell out before we boarded, so that is good news. And it means you don't have to check daily! Start looking in more earnest about a month out. It was a great addition and I would do it again!