carol louise

Another piece of advice: travel with as few pieces of luggage as you can manage. We sailed out of New York on Norwegian and HAL when my late husband needed wheelchair assistance (we had our own transporter chair, also an oxygen concentrator which I pushed because it was too fragile to check with our larger bags -- concentrators were bigger ten years ago than the little rechargeable ones nowadays). For embarkation and disembarkation, while cruise personnel pushed his chair for us, they were not allowed to carry any luggage (union rules, I think, to protect the NY-port-based porters). While porters can help, the less you have to carry/handle, the easier it will be navigating the terminal. Since then, I still use a backpack for my carry-on when I fly or cruise -- great to have hands free.

 

Modern ships are sooooo long, you will be glad to have a wheeled chair on board.

 

Have a great cruise.

Apparently it certainly does depend on many variables. I always carry a Swiss Army Knife in my handbag. TSA has never noticed it. Ship personnel never noticed it. But I finally decided to stop taking chances and have been flying and boarding ship with it in my checked bag for several years now. A couple years ago, on a Celebrity cruise repositioning from San Juan to Bayonne NJ, when we arrived for a port stop in Bermuda, local police boarded the ship and made a drug arrest before we could disembark. When I returned from an excursion the following day (it was an overnight port stop), the ship's personnel confiscated my knife when it showed up in the Xray machine in my handbag. Apparently after the drug bust, ship's personnel must have become super-vigilant, because they had not noticed it when I returned from excursions at previous ports during the same cruise. I was directed to pick it up in a special office in Bayonne after clearing customs. The man holding confiscated items there complimented me on my fine knife. But it was embarrassing at disembarkation to have a buzzer go off when I put my card through the machine for the last time and be told in front of others to remember to pick up my confiscated item!

We are all different. I'd go to an inside if I were travelling with someone to converse with once in the cabin. Did an inside solo once, and found it too lonesome with just 4 walls.

 

I agree -- I did a solo in an inside on the Liberty and did find it lonesome. With a travel companion, it would be different.

 

Another suggestion if you think you may sleep past breakfast in the dark cabin: put out on your doorknob the night before a room service order for coffee to be brought at the time you'd like to rise. A soft tap on the door bringing hot coffee is a nice wake-up call :).

 

Enjoy your B2B!

Carnival still has what they now call "elegant night" (two nights on a 7-night cruise). Not technically "formal" but some do dress formally, and most everyone dresses up.

I recommend Cambria Suites, Dania Beach:

http://www.cambriasuitesfortlauderdale.com/

We have stayed there pre-cruise twice. Comfortable rooms with a separate sitting/desk area, a nice patio with a pool & also a small gym. A little out of the way (which keeps rates somewhat lower than the competition), but they have a free shuttle to and from FLL and the port, about 15 minutes either way if memory serves me. Inexpensive breakfast and deli food in lobby area.

Have a great cruise.

[quote name='YB Nrml']Here's my thought. The room stewards work so hard and have to turn over so many cabins in a very short amount of time. It really does slow them down if they constantly have people coming down the halls with luggage while they're trying to do their job. If you have the perk, Platinum, FTTF, etc then yes, use it for you, if not, I feel you should stay out of the way.[/QUOTE]

I agree that the issue is foot traffic in the hallways while stewards are working to ready all the cabins as quickly as possible. The OP has the right to carry hand luggage to her cabin ahead of the crowd, so if it were possible to carry her hand luggage plus that of her companions all in one trip (and especially if they don't retrieve them until after the general rush is over), I think it would be OK. But multiple trips to the cabin before general access is granted, or all the OP's non-Platinum companions coming along, would be inconveniencing the stewards and exceeding the Platinum/FTTF privilege.

Just my opinion....

I have visited San Juan several times, both as a port stop and as embarkation port arriving the day before--and love it. I have visited both forts and never tire of walking around Old San Juan. Narrow, picturesque streets, colorful buildings, small shops and restaurants, and sudden sea vistas when you come to the end of some streets! It's exotic and yet U.S.--dollars are the currency, there's a CVS near the Carnival port in case you forgot anything, a U.S. post office for sending postcards, cell phones work, etc. Downloading a walking tour was helpful the first time.

 

Happy cruising!

We stayed one night before a cruise out of Miami earlier this year in a hotel fairly near to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. On embarkation day, we took a taxi/car service we had reserved the day before, and it cost about $80 plus tip. Maybe it costs less to grab a taxi right at the FLL airport. Keep in mind, it's about a 40-minute ride.

Have a great cruise

In the last one, my partner and I stayed in SF 10228 - aft penthouse with large balcony. We had both butler and concierge service with the cabin. There is no concierge lounge per se, similar to what Zuiderdam has, but our butler could not do enough for us, and our cabin steward was seemingly psychic. Since I gather you would be traveling solo, I think this cabin would be perfect for you. Plenty of room, but not too much room, if that makes any sense.

 

I was just going to recommend this class of cabin. On the last cruise (actually a b2b when the Dawn was sailing out of New York) I took with my late husband before he was too sick to cruise was in the corresponding cabin on the port side: 10728 (category SF). And I was going to say exactly the same thing: it's roomy, but cozy, too.

 

As a new widow, some of the best advice I received was to try new things I did not do or would not have done with my husband, so I agree that when you are ready to cruise, a new line may be just the thing.

 

I wish you the best.

Carol Louise

I would go with a small Band-Aid. Leave the finger and nail to heal completely. Especially if you have any tenderness, fragile scar tissue, etc., my instinct would be to avoid glue and chemicals. And then a nice neutral or light pink polish on the other nails for a uniform look. Good luck, and have a wonderful cruise.

I, too, have done it both ways. Dressy shoes and an evening purse will complement the look.

We sailed on her in 2013 -- enjoyed it very much. Whimsical decor! And especially loved the "mezzanine"-like deck above the main pool. It's in the shade because there's a sunning deck above it, and there are tables and chairs, so you can bring a snack or drink there to enjoy in comfort. Perfect place to watch people and the pool games and the big screen without getting sunburnt. There are hot tubs on that level, too.

I wear slips. In addition to the reasons others have mentioned, I think they prolong the life of skirts/dresses and lessen the skirt's wrinkling if you need to sit for long periods of time (all day at the office, for example). JC Penneys on-line has a good selection of half and full slips.

We too, on the Liberty last month, did not have FTTF or any priority status, and were not among the first of the general boarding masses either. My companion and I just went to the excursion desk soon after boarding (as we had read on these boards to do), the person there took our names and cabin information, and the tickets appeared in our cabin the next day.

While not totally deserted, the aft pool (adults only) area is peaceful, especially on port days. I spent an entire morning there on a port day when my travel companion went ashore. I swam mini-laps and did aerobic exercise in the pool I mostly had to myself and then just sat in a lounger gazing at the sky, listening to music and people-watching. I was in the shade most of the time. There's a bar there, free pizza/salad/ice cream, tables in the shade, bathrooms just inside -- it's a lovely area. Have a great cruise!

...

Very pleasant surprise, are all CCL showers that spacious or was this a Splendor thing?

 

I have been on four Carnival cruises, staying three times in a balcony cabin, once in an inside, and all the showers (and the rest of the bathroom) are just as on the Splendor. I believe I have read that the entire bathroom is pre-fabricated and they are "inserted" into the cabins at the shipyard. Some of the immediate plumbing is built in under the floor area; that's why you step up to enter the bathroom.

 

I too, love the removable shower head, and bought one for home after enjoying them on cruises.

 

Happy cruising.

On the Freedom. The second two are looking down through the clear part of the funnel into the steak house. My own shadow is cast on the floor in the third photo!

I agree with HappyKS, having had a similar experience on an NCL ship. We booked a cabin in a location like 7404 on Carnival Conquest (the OP's ship) and every time we opened our door, the cabin was on view to the whole length of the crosswise corridor, which includes people getting on and off the elevator or maybe even just standing there waiting. Though noise was never an issue, we had to be careful when we opened our cabin door knowing that there was very frequently someone right outside.

I suggest you bring a dental repair kit; I NEVER travel without one. You can buy them at most drug stores. After having had an on-lay come off during my first cruise, I fixed it temporarily and when I got back, my dentist admired my work saying I had missed my calling :D. You can temporarily re-attach a crown or plug a lost filling, too. I have never read or seen any evidence of there being a dentist on board ships; I imagine they expect the crew to take care of routine dental work during leaves and probably have a list of dentists in every port for emergencies.

Ladycaveat, I hope the doctor can provide reassurance and relief from the discomfort. Good luck.

I have not experienced this myself, but have read of others' experiences enough to believe there's something on board that at least some people react to. Maybe it's a combination of factors. It has been suggested, in other threads on the subject, that the desalination process by which the ship obtains its water doesn't take absolutely all the salt out of the seawater. Though you can't avoid the water that is used in cooking, sticking to bottled water for drinking may help.

Maybe the overhang from the bridge right above you will ease the effect of the wind while at sea? We were in an AD (aft) and while I just LOVE the view of the wake, I did miss the feeling of wind in my face that I've experienced when leaning over the rail on a side balcony cabin. And I think standing on your balcony as the ship eases into port in the morning will be wonderful.