De-Luxe08

The days till our cruise got away from me (sailing 10/26).  I checked Quinton and Heidi and both are booked.  Lewis Foggo is available so I have tentatively booked him but so far my husband and myself are his only people, which I have no problem with.  I see he has been recommended in this past, so has anyone used him recently?  Some other names that have been suggested to me by Quinton were, Robert Minors and Rudolph Hollis.  Has anyone used either of these gentlemen.  On another board, someone suggested Ricky's MiniBus.  

Any info that can be provided is greatly appreciated.  

The eastern route islands are more scenic and hilly. The southern islands are more flat and all beach. Do you prefer the former?

We are taking our 12 yr old granddaughter and she has already swam with the dolphins in Grand Cayman. It's not that we don't like to go to the beach, I just enjoy sightseeing more. Would prefer not to spend the whole time on an island just being at the beach. I guess I would prefer her to see and learn about as much of an island as possible. Flat or hilly doesn't really make a difference as long as there is more to do than just swim.

I was also looking at the southern (9/2015) and eastern (10/2015) itinerary on the Breeze. We have sailed the Breeze going to Antiqua, Tortola, Nassau and St. Thomas but the itinerary I'm looking at goes to St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Grand Turk and Puerto Rico. The only port we have been to in this group is Puerto Rico. Has anyone been to St. Kitts and St. Maarten? I have heard great things about Curacao and we have not been to any of the ports in the southern itinerary. So based on these ports, is the southern still a better choice? I should say, we would prefer to sightsee. Don't mind doing water related stuff, just don't want to go to a beach and sit. Any input is appreciated.

Looks like no Waterworks. That's what I've been waiting to find out.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

I read somewhere that the Freedom's drydock was scheduled for next year, was I mistaken? Also, I'm wondering how many of the 2.0 Upgrades the Freedom will be getting; along with which ones?

 

Thanks in advance

Talked to Carnival yesterday. Dry dock is toward end of Apr. 2014 for about 2 wks and according to the person I spoke with, no specifics were showing other than maintenance. There is another thread that has all ships dry dock schedules with dates and details, if known listed.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

Guys and BBQ - no extra charge

Sushi - yes

Also the bbq is only open on sea days and weather permitting. When we sailed this Jan. it was closed due to wind one day and rain another. When open it gets really crowded.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

I was only giving additional info regarding your issue and about the worm/virus you were dealing with. I apologize if you took offense to my post as my intent was to inform and not to come across as a smart***.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

a warning to everyone on Facebook. The chinese have placed a worm in several home computers called Koopface that will when needed take control of your computer to link with other compromized computers to create a Super Computer. This worm got into our computer by cancelling the firewall. You really, really need to check to see if you have this worm. Go to msconfig then type in tree and you can see if it exists on your harddrive. It cost me $69.99m to get it removed and now I am going to be very careful about facebook or other social media outlets. I also have a new firewall both on the computers as well as the home network. This is serious stuff and not some crazy wacko email!!! Take care cruising buddies.

In doing a search for "koopface" nothing seemed to come up in snopes or wiki but this is what info did come up:

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/koobface.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koobface

Good Evening Cupids...

It was nice to see the Carnival Breeze leave the Port of Miami this afternoon.

I would like to get some input on this but I have ask to speak to Erin at CruCon and I end up getting customer service and then that agent is answering the problem. I understand they are very busy and they are helpful with there answers but I lately been finding that they have been a bit snippy. I have not have this problem with them in the past and the service has always been great!! I will further will say that when I send an email I don't get a response and they act as if. Lastly, when I asked for my booking number they said that Erin sent me my booking number a long time ago and they repeated it again and it turned out when I called Carnival they told me that was not the correct booking number and they were able to research for me. I am a loyality customer and I will say that these last issues really have me concerned for the future. Do you think I should try Erin one more time and try to get her directly?

 

David....

I've been talking to Erin over the past couples weeks. She was on vacation last week and will be back in the office on Mon 8/26.

Donna

There are rumors that the Freedom will receive more than the ordinary 2.0 upgrades. That is, there are rumors that the Freedom will receive a Waterworks and a Skycourse. I believe these rumors that she will receive this because a 49 or 50 day dry dock is very unordinary...

We are in the planning stages of a family cruise for Jan or Feb 2015 and would be interested in the Freedom because of the itinerary. I am not all that familiar with what the 2.0 upgrades are, so possibly someone can enlighten me on that. I'm assuming it would include Guy's, or am I incorrect on that. Since we would be taking our grandchildren, the WaterWorks and Skycourse would be of interest to them. I know these are just rumors, but would be curious to know if the WaterWorks would be similar to that of Breeze, Dream or Sunshine or just an updated larger slide. I guess just have to stayed glued to these boards and wait and see. Hopefully, something will be made official soon.

The ropes course is usually pretty open during lunch time, if you ever want to know hit us up we love it! The first time is a bit intense and then after that we would try to do it without holding the ropes ... so much fun! The slides on this cruise were fun as well, well, mainly the yellow slide.

 

Also, if there are Italian food lovers out there, the Italian restaurant is just below the basketball court so it's quite noisy in the restaurant. I'm not an Italian cuisine connoisseur but the food wasn't all that great when we went ... although we went during the lunch time when it was free so who knows, the dinner might be better.

Well just take care in the sun. Glad to hear they got it all but taking precautions is still a good thing.

I am taking you up on the offer to do the ropes course. Didn't try the waterworks. Not quite sure why though. I just kinda lounged on the deck right above the Lido on one of the sides. That is is a nice spot, seems to not get as much traffic. There didn't seem to be an over abundance of chairs on the Serenity so didn't get a chance to try that area.

As for the Italian restaurant, we did go one night and wasn't too impressed. The price is reasonable for the size of the portions you get. I had the chicken parm and it was huge and pretty good. It's the sauce that seemed bland. We had meatballs as an appetizer. You get 2 and they were pretty large but they too were bland. My aunt's husband was Italian and she taught us how to cook Italian dishes, so maybe I'm just fussy. Won't go again for dinner but might try it for lunch, since there is no cost.

You're right about the steakhouse being small but the food there was wonderful. The size of the desserts is enough to feed several people. Had the lobster and it was a larger and better than what you get on elegant night, but then again, what you get on elegant night is still pretty good. Looking forward to doing that again.

We did the Behind the Scenes tour and if you are into seeing the workings of the ship, this is pretty neat. We got to see where the food and beverages are stored. This is a deck in itself and they tell you how much food carry just for one sailing. The coolers are rooms in themselves. Also got to see the computer area, part of the employee area and the Bridge and meet the Captain. Saw more areas, but just can't remember at the moment. Definitely worth doing if this stuff interests anyone.

We did ATD for the first time and loved it, so we are doing that again. Not having to rush for dinner, especially when in a port was wonderful. Usually went between 7-7:30. If the waiters were entertaining, we got to see it because this is around the time they sing and dance.

Flick - just in case you don't finish those bottles, I believe they will keep them till your next night's dinner.

Cusp79 -- See you at a blackjack table. We sometimes played in the afternoon but mostly after dinner. The Breeze's dealers were great. I had a couple favorites and you really got to know them. They were very friendly. Did you try the blackjack tournament? Never got the chance to try the ropes course. It always seemed busy. That's on my list to try this time. There are so many places to go on this ship so it never felt crowded. That is except for the piano bar and the comedy club but they are kinda in the same area. When did you sale the Breeze. We were on it this past Jan.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

Good Morning All!

If anyone is paying for their cruise using a Mastercard, this might be of interest to you. I found a thread on CC referring to a Mastercard promo for a $50 OBC. Carnival/Mastercard did a similar one last fall and I applied for it and did receive a $50 OBC for our cruise this past January.

The thread is titled "New Promotions" and here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1873345&highlight=mastercard

Toward the bottom of the 1st page someone refers you to this website:

Carnival.com/mastercardgold

I filled out the form and received a confirmation page thanking me and referring to the $50 OBC. Like everyone else, I only received this confirmation page and no email that I received it. Didn't get an email the last time either, though. I did print out the page and also saved it as a pdf file just in case. I plan on taking it with me to show. It's worth a shot for a $50 OBC since I doesn't cost anything to apply. Later on in the thread I did see a deadline of 7/19/13 to apply.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Donna

We used them this past January to get to FLL and they were prompt and efficient. We called after we cleared customs and waited about 10 mins. They have vans that are clearly marked and with all the confusion in the area, didn't have a problem finding them. They stopped right where they told us to wait. Well worth the price. We paid cash. If you use a card there will be a small fee added. Will use them again if we fly in or out of FLL.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

I have a $500 dep due and I pd the full dep when we originslly booked cause we wanted to pick the room then. So do I still have a dep due?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

When we sailed the eastern ports on the Breeze, there was a 1 hr time difference for a day or so. Not sure about the southern ports. The ship was really good about making sure everyone remembered to stay on ships time. I stayed pretty nervous during this time. Was worried I'd get it wrong and miss getting back to the ship. I believe this occurred either in Antiqua or Tortola or both. Really can't remember which port.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

I've put this app on by cell phone so I can try and keep up with what has been happening with everyone. So I've only been lurking, just too hard to post anything from the phone. I've been watching airfare for a month now and only United has a nonstop from Cleveland to either Miami or FLL. The prices to either are outrageous. When we went on our cruise this past Jan, I was able to book one-way tickets and it came out cheaper. This time no such luck. At the moment, 2 round trip, nonstop tickets to Miami is around $1,500 and to FLL, which is usually cheaper, is around $2,000. Southwest is about a week away from the dates I need, so will be checking that. Other airlines are a possibility, but with flying in from the north in the winter, I just don't want to layover in either NY, DC or Chicago. I'm not opposed to laying over, just not up north. My luck I'll get out of Cleveland and get stuck at O'Hare.

I've browsed the excursions for these ports but haven't really put much thought into it. Other than my husband wants to dive. This is offered in two ports, just not sure which one he'll do. Depends on if he wants to do a wall dive or a wreck dive. This leaves my on my own at that port, so if any excursion is planned for that port, I just might tag along.

I still periodically check on hotels for the POM and they are still very high. I did find one for $75 more than for what I'm book at near the airport. I know it's quite a bit more, but I love staying in that area and being within walking distance of the Marketplace. Have it on hold, so I have until next year to decide.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July. We are planning on spending the weekend at the motorhome, but won't be able to go out there till Fri evening. Our city has fireworks tonight, that is if it doesn't rain. We have had rain off and on, every day for the past 7 days. What's nice is, we can sit on our deck and watch them. Not as good as when we first moved in cause the trees have grown, but can see them well enough.

Take care all, Donna

Trying to catch up on the posts and to what has been happening with everyone. Seems like things for me never slow down. I usually am unable to sit down till after 9 o'clock and then most of the time, I don't want to get on the computer.

It is 45 degs. here today and cloudy. Low tonight is mid 30's. Great weather. We were planning on going to the motorhome but not tonight just don't want to deal with the cold, so we are planning on going tomorrow at least the sun is supposed to shine with temps in the mid 60's.

As for price drops, we won't be seeing any cause we have an aft-wrap. The schedule for the Breeze for the rest of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 is finally out. We wanted to take the family in either Oct./Nov. 2014 but those prices are just way too high. So I'm not looking at Jan. 2015 which is more reasonable. My husband wants to take our granddaugther on the Breeze and I really love the ship, so I'm okay with that. I am looking at other options though with possibly trying either NCL or RCI. The new NCL Getaway looks interesting. If anyone has any input on

RCI or NCL, I'm open to ideas. Thanks.

Have a great day, Donna

I also would like to welcome SweetCheeks and Mike & Allison. This is going to be such a fun cruise, glad you decided to join in.

Never thought of looking to see what kind of gas a vehicle would take and now that is a must do before we buy a vehicle. We bought a Mazda CX7 a couple years ago. The first time I went to put gas in noticed "premium gas recommended." I was not too happy about this but there was nothing we could do already had it. So since it said "recommended" I thought switching back and forth would be okay. Well, it's not. The darn engine light would come on every time regular was used. Putting premium gas in that vehicle was bad enough but on top of that it got terrible mileage. I chalk this up as to a hard lesson learned. We no longer have it and we just traded it in last October and bought another Jeep.

Sue have fun auto shopping. The Durangos are nice. My husband is partial to Dodge or Jeep since out of the last 5 vehicles we have had 4 have been either one of those.

After reaching 70 degs on Sun. it is now 30 with light snow. I don't mind since it is still Mar., but do we have to be teased with such very nice weather.

Enjoy your day all, Donna

I now have reservations at 2 hotels. LOL I also just booked the SpringHill Suites Miami Airport East/Medical Center. It's much closer to the port and cheaper than the Fairfield. The Fairfield was $199.00 ($224.87 with tax) for 2 queen beds (I think a king bed is $189.00) and the SpringHill suites was $129.00 ($145.77 with tax) for a King and sofa sleeper. I prefer to get 2 Fulls or Queens but that was quite a bit more so I booked a king. If it had only been $10.00 more like the Fairfield I would have gotten 2 beds.

 

I also checked the Hampton Inn & Suites at Downtown Bricknell that Esther was talking about but it was over $300.00 per night. I don't want to spend that much.

Seems like we were posting around the same time. A thinking along the same lines with checking hotels.

Great minds think alike.

Just to be sure we have a hotel I just booked a room at the Fairfield Inn & suites Miami Airport South. In July of 2011 we were in Miami and stayed right next to the Fairfield. It was the Courtyard Miami Airport but that is booked solid for Feb. 14th too. I will continue to look for a good place to stay as I'm sure the rest of you will be doing also so please post your findings here. I booked a fully refundable rate so I can cancel at any time. I suggest everyone do the same.

I booked this one also. The rate I got was $209.00 (2 queens). I have a hard time with this since that is what I paid in Jan. for the Holiday Inn POM. But I at least have a room.

The downtown Courtyard by Marriott (1/2 mi. from port) is available for 2/14 at a rate of $309.00. Springhill Suites by Marriott is available at $169.00 (2 queens) it is near the airport and the medical center. Didn't book it because not sure of the area and the girl wasn't too sure about it either. So I plan on checking it out and if it an ok area, just might switch.

Hampton Inn (Miami Brickell) is available in the mid $300s. Hampton Inn airport area is around $220.

Still continuing to look.

Donna

I just talked to reservations at the Holiday Inn POM and here is the scoop. 2/14 falls during the Miami Boat Show and there is a minimum of a 2 night stay at $209 per night for this date. I was told the Miami Boat Show is a huge event and it runs Feb. 13 to 17. I'm guessing finding a hotel near the port is going to be difficult and if it is as popular as the girl at the Holiday Inn says, I'm wondering just where we might find a hotel in Miami.

So the search begins,

Have a good day.

Donna

Heidi ~ dang, the Holiday Inn at the port is the hotel we were planning to stay at too. It was so convenient when we sailed out of Miami a few years ago. I may give them a call to see if calling can scare up a room, but otherwise I guess I'd better start looking for hotels. Have you looked into any others?

 

 

I haven't looked into any flights for Miami yet either. Last time we sailed out of Miami, we took Southwest into FLL and hired a car to drive us to Miami, then he picked us up after the cruise and took us back to Ft. Lauderdale. Kind of a hassle though. I am hoping to fly right into MIA this time. The driver was real nice, but I had told him we wouldn't be off the ship until at least 9 am and he was calling me at 8 am to see where we were, he was already there waiting for us! HELLO??! We can't get off until they LET us off! He didn't seem to understand that we couldn't just walk off the ship any time we felt like it and go straight to the car. I think it was around 9:30 when we got off and got our luggage and through customs and everything. I don't think we'll do that again.

This is where we would like to stay also. When we stayed there this past Jan., they gave me a card to call when bookings open, which I was told would be sometime in March. They also said depending upon how many would like to stay, they might be able to do a group booking with some type of discounted rate. Now not sure if what they told me was correct about there books not being open for next Feb. until March. Probably should try and call to see what is up.

Tried checking air fare, but flights aren't open past the first of Feb. I tried to get an idea by checking rates for the later part of Jan. and they are about the same as what I just paid for this Jan., still pretty high, in the range of about $1,000 - $1,100 for 2. We flew into Miami but out of FLL. We used SAS shuttle to get us from ship to FLL. They were wonderful and it was only $15 pp. If airfare is cheaper into/out of FLL, I would definitely use SAS again.

I went back and checked my notes from when we first started booking this cruise. A regular balcony was running around $2,600.00. Now the Early Saver rate is a little over $3,000 and the only deck you can book is Vista. Not sure if the other rates allow you to book another deck or not. Guess I should call and find out, so I can decide if my family will be going with us or if we will just take them on a different cruise. Looks like the Dream will still be sailing out of Port Canaveral in the later part of 2014, but will be going to some of the same ports as the Breeze. Curious to know what the Breeze's schedule is for the later part of 2014. I wanted to take them in Oct./Nov. but hubby seems to want to take them on this one. Guess it will all come down to numbers.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday.

Donna

We also went on Breeze early Feb. We also went to St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and nassau. We are still hoping to do this one with you guys. Watching the rates but the new ones are over $3000. We would love to do this one . I loved the ship. I just keep hoping the rates go down. We didn't pay this much for a Category 8c. It is a great ship. I keep checking all the time. Keeping my fingers crossed. We just want a balcony. Suites are just too much for now.

You are so right about the pricing on this particular cruise. It is the most expensive compared to the same sailings in Jan., Feb. and Mar. We decided to do this one because of the itinerary having been to none of those ports. We are booked in a aft-wrap and it is almost as much as the suite we had on the Breeze this past Jan. We are now contemplating taking our DD, SIL and granddaugther with us on this trip. In checking the pricing it will cost around $3,600 - $3,800 for a regular balcony, which is around $600 more than our aft-wrap. I am waiting for the rest of 2014 itineraries to get published, which they are saying will be the end of Mar. early Apr. At that time, I will decide if it is cheaper to do just another cruise or just book this one for them. I love the Breeze and it will be so much fun for my granddaughter on this ship.

Rick - we have taken care of our neighbors dogs, but that consisted of us going across the street and letting them out and feeding them. So much easier than having them move in with us. I feel for you on the dog relieving itself in your house. When we travel, I feel bad asking anyone to babysit for us, so we just board the both of them. It is pretty expensive, but I feel so much better than asking someone to take on that responsibility. I've watched my daughter's dog, but he is not much of a problem since he just sleeps all day and only wants to go out a couple times a day.

It has gotten cold again here and we are getting a light snow. Looks live we got around an inch over night. Not much compared to what others have gotten these past few days. Heidi, you seemed to have gotten quite a bit over the past few days. Just kinda kept hanging over IL.

My sister and I are going to dinner tonight and then off to the internet cafe to do a little gambling. I have a taste for Bob Evans fiery roast bbq chicken salad. Hopefully, tonight one of us is a little luckier than we have been the past few times we have gone. $20 usually can last us the whole evening but last time the machines weren't so kind.

Hope everyone enjoys their day,

Donna

Just wanted to say we Loved the Carnival Breeze.

 

Colors are so pretty. So easy to get along. We loved the Cucina Del Capitano restaurant for dinner & lunch. Best Chicken Parm I have ever had. We are looking for balconies too.

I couldn't agree with you more. The Breeze is a very lovely ship. The color scheme is very soothing. The chicken parm was the size of the oblong plate, and with side of spaghetti, it is enough to feed 2.

Last night I went to my granddaughter's drama club performance of The Music Man. It was a condensed version since it only lasted a little over an hour, but these 4-5th graders did an amazing job singing and dancing.

We have a winter storm advisory that has been posted for tomorrow morning till early afternoon. Not sure why they posted it since the end of the advisory says accumulation of an inch. Yesterday morning we got lake effect snow that wasn't even predicted, ended getting several inches. Go figure -- it's a fine job, you get paid whether you get it right or not.

Dave and Bettie -- enjoy your cruise and your time spent in New Orleans. I got to spend 1 day in N.O. before one of our cruises and we never left Pat O'Briens. Those hurricanes are a killer.

Hope everyone is having a good evening, Donna