RanchoDeluxe

Too much fun.

 

Keith

I haven't even sailed on Royal and I agree that too many people complain about Keith . It's just unreasonable. :D

Sailing in Nov on Star Western Caribbean.

Any Entertainment schedule info?

I find the NCL experience to be at a similar level to CCL. They are both bargain cruises. Have realistic expectations.

We usually eat at the included restaurants and I find overall CCL’s included dining and buffet is a little better. But we had no complaints with the food on NCL. I usually go for table service so I don’t have much buffet comparison to share.

NCL’s evening entertainment was superior. I’m not interested in half of what CCL offers lately. On the Star we didn’t miss a single show, we were so entertained by the first night. My husband skipped one evening that was a little more, ummm “artsy,” but Mom and I arrived early to get make sure we had good seats. And I much preferred the theater on the Star. Its central portion is like a movie theater with individual seats, as opposed to the bench style seating I am used to in CCL’s theaters.

The overall experience and level of service were very similar. You get what you pay for and you are not paying for Cunard or Oceania or even Princess. (Although Princess has some great pricing from time to time.)

You will have to board boats to leave the ship and go ashore. I wish I had some pictures to show you different tender styles. You walkover a gangway to pass from the ship to the tender. If its calm, no problem.

On the frou frou drink front I'm happy with me fun ship special @ embarkation

Enjoyed your post

I'm deaf with cochlear implants and can turn my ears off.

Now that's living life with a positive attitude. :):thumbup::)

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What does this mean?

I've only had one NCL cruise and several Carnival cruises.

Food & related

Found it to be failrly equivalent. My mom cruises higher end lines, but we got her to travel with us on one NCL cruise and one Carnival. She thought the Carnval food was better.

My husband and I LOVED having a 24 hour cafe on NCL where we had wait staff at 4 in the afternon and 3 in the morning. It was a great place to stop for a quick snack after an afternoon onshore. I think it was Blue Lagoon on the Star.

We did like Freestyle dining. Made us go to ATD on Carnival.

Entertainment

I prefer the shows on NCL

I prefer the comedy on Carnival.

Cabins

Carnival definately has larger cabins. The standard inside on CCL has never really felt small. But DH & I felt the size on NCL. However NCL Star had a nice large shower with a door.

Mom's balcony on NCL came with a coffee maker, like you find in hotel rooms. She liked that. I just order a thermos from room service if I want wake up coffee.

I get to cruise usually because I find bargins, close in to cruise date. For what I pay I get my moneys worth.

:confused:So.....My husband and I are PRIORITY since we are staying in a suite but he kids......TWO couples all over 21 are staying in inside cabins, thus NO PRIORITY boarding. So....my question is this: It's their FIRST time cruising and we don't want to be separated right? Should we forgo our PRIORITY boarding and all stay together or will it be no big deal and we can meet up later? Advice?

IMO take your Suite perks and get on that ship!

The ship layouts are online, and you did say these are grownups, so designate a meeting place. I think you'll be able to find them sooner or later.

Bring your own games, find a table you like and have fun!!. There are pocket sized versions of most popular kids game. My wife and I always bring our cribbage board.

Ditto the Cribbage. Plus we usually have another deck of cards, Yahtzee, backgammon, and maybe the pente board. We probably don't use half of them. Books are required, as the sunburn we inevitably end up with from snorkeling makes it hard to nap.

We just see what’s going on and maybe join in, maybe watch. It’s so nice to NOT have to do something.

If you are boarding in Fla or NO or Texas and it is not forcast for below 50 for your own sake wear shorts. It's awful darn hot on any concrete or paved surface and you might be standing on one for quite a while. You northern folks don't do heat well.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to write a review.

I have cabin 6450 on Liberty in July. I am looking forward to the bed facing the windows and the extra wide balcony. How did you like this odd shaped cabin without a couch?

Gatorland is the ULTIMATE gator farm visit. Forget all the other Gator Farm signs you have seen. Gatorland should be the one and only gator farm visit allowed. (Although if you are not coming as far south as Orlando the St Augustine Alligator Farm is not too bad.)

This place is original Florida kitsch that has survived to the present. A few years ago GL had a massive fire. The main entrance burned to the ground and the iconic giant gator mouth entrance had flames shooting out of it like a fire breathing dragon! Many of us were afraid that Gatorland would be lost forever. But like a phoenix it rose from the ashes and has become bigger and better. If it’s a hot day you will be hot, but it’s worth every drop of sweat. They will be happy to sell you overpriced food and beverages to keep your energy up. See the webpage at http://www.gatorland.com/index.shtml

Heck I was just looking at the web page and now I want to go do the Gator Night Shine.

p.s. Go Gators!

Another option for day tripping from Daytona is the Deland area. Deland is the home of Stetson University. (Winter Park mentioned above is the home of Rollins College.) A couple of outdoor options in this area are rentals from Hontoon Landing Resort & Marina, Sky Dive Deland, Hontoon Island State Park and Blue Springs State Park. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34178-Activities-DeLand_Florida.html

[/url]Hontoon Landing Resort & Marina My family has done several multi-day houseboat rentals from here in the past and we have always had good boats, good service and a great time. However I have not had personal experience with this company in over a decade. You would not be looking for a houseboat probably but the marina rents pontoon and other boats, and has river tours.

Hontoon Island State Park - I have to steal this review from Trip Advisor, “A lovely getaway on an island - you take a pontoon boat ride to get there - which adds to the adventure! We saw barred owls, lots of water birds, and enjoyed the peaceful serenity of the place.”

Sky Dive Deland – I expect that if you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane you are going to have to book that in advance. I understand that you can just go here and watch other people jumping out of airplanes while you have lunch. Sky Dive Deland appears to be a big deal in the world of skydiving. (I’m saving this for my 60th birthday.)

Blue Springs State Park is known for its manatee population in the winter. Manatees migrate into the Florida spring runs in the winter because they need the warmer water temperature to survive. You probably will not see manatees in the warmer months. In Florida this is most of the year. However, a Florida blue spring is a beautiful site and very refreshing to swim in. http://www.bluespringspark.com/swimming.htm

Between Daytona Beach and metro Orlando. Good for children if your children are good. Good for couples.

If you are a lover of stained glass you will have an orgasm when you go to the Morse Museum in Winter Park. Admission to the museum is only $5. $5 – That’s almost free!!!! Just to go into the A/C is worth five bucks in the summer if you have been walking Park Avenue. I would expect to spend an hour minimum. http://www.morsemuseum.org/

Winter Park is on the east side of the metro Orlando area. The Museum is located on Park Avenue. Park Avenue is basically a little shopping and dining area that likes to think it's better than everyone else. You can find some great dining experiences and some awful ones that think they are great. Here is a link to Park Avenue activities and information. http://experienceparkavenue.com/

The museum's primary and permanent displays focus on Louis Comfort Tiffany. Included is the installation of the Tiffany Chapel initially built for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (World's Fair.) You must sit in the Chapel and absorb it for a while. The Morse Museum’s collection of Laurelton Hall objects, architectural elements, and ornaments is the largest single collection of surviving materials from Tiffany’s turn-of-the-century home, named Laurelton Hall (du'oh.) Some of the Laurelton Hall displays are salvage after a fire gutted the house. Gallery Highlights include The Daffodil Terrace, dining room components include six leaded-glass Wisteria transoms (you've seen copies of these) and a domed leaded-glass chandelier 6.5 feet in diameter. The living room installation showcases four leaded-glass panels depicting the four seasons.

This personal excursion will require you to have a car. I do not recommend this for children.

In Curacao, we like to sightsee on foot, shop, grab a drink from one of the sidewalk cafes, etc. As long as everyone in your party is relatively fit, it is an easy walk from the ship to the downtown area where there are shops and restaurants. There is also the pontoon bridge which is a must-see. We were just in Curacao back in December and we did our sightseeing during the day and later on had dinner ashore. The buildings are all painted different colors, so there are great photo opportunities. After dark, these colorful buildings along the water are all lit up, providing yet another cool photo op. Two years ago when I was in Curacao we did go to a beach, but I can't remember the name. But it was easy to get to. If you walk across the pontoon bridge from the ship, you can grab a taxi to take you to this beach. It is not far from the downtown area. I will do a search online to find the name of the beach and report back.

Take a day away from the beach and do this. It is a very unique town. The streets are beautiful and so colorful. The cafe that overlooks the pontoon bridge is a great place to sit have a drink and watch the bridge swing open and closed. You can 'ride' the bridge if you like. I loved the look of the town so much I bought a watercolor.

In Aruba we took the public bus to the beaches at the very last stop (near California Lighthouse.) We hiked the road up to the lighthouse and enjoyed a great view of the Atlantic meeting the Caribbean. (Never did make it into the water at the beach.)

I like to order cold soup and have it held for dessert.

The Cabana 'excursion' at HMC comes with priority tender boarding going to the island. The smaller cabanas do not have private bathrooms. If access to the bathroom is an issue, make sure you book your cabana immediately upon boarding the ship. Make it a priority.

Unfortunently, as stated above, the cabana renters do not have priority boarding on the tenders returning to the ship from HMC.

We prefer cabana 10 or further. But we do not want to be very close to the majority of people. 10 is fairly close to the bathrooms, the BBQ and there is a pickup for the 'tram.' The closer cabanas may meet your needs better.

Sank

Sank

Cut in Half

Funny video. Tkx for sharing

Here ya go... http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2235059330030186251xrpdMm

Well, at least the towel thing is not the vagina seal.

YES!! In the same way clowns are.

As for "Dorothy," it is indeed a reference to the Wizard of Oz. No, Dorothy wasn't gay and neither was Judy Garland, but Judy had a huge gay following - in fact, she still does - and so in the code that gay men used to have to use when being gay was, in many places, a crime punishable by imprisonment, "Friend of Dorothy" (as in "Are you a friend of Dorothy?") became a way that we could identify each other without being overt about it. Today, it seems both obscure and kind of oddly quaint...but it can be a good reminder of how much the world has changed over time.

Thanks Gordon! About two days after my post I had a du'oh moment and went and Googled FOD. Got my info. But I appreciate the feedback.

Not to mention the PRIVACY. ;) ;) nudge-nudge