zoof26

Hello All-

 

I was finally able to take advantage of a free cruise offer from Carnival based on my casino play. The schedule never really works out for me. However I'm just wondering will my free cruise days count toward my VIFP days? I'm Gold and looking forward to Platinum status in the near future.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

How much did you spend to get a free cruise? Or is it play time? Just curious as to what it takes. Congrats on your trip!

That's the beauty of a cruise. You can try all sorts of different foods! Just because you don't like Indian food doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't. Go get yourself a burger or whatever makes you happy!

Thanks!

We Love the Reggae Beach Bar! Wider beach than Shipwreck, good food, drinks, lots of loungers. You can get a massage on the beach. Good snorkeling from the beach, too.

Hope that hangs around till Feb. that would have me sold haha. :D

Agreed! Punta de Vista is good! Good mojito's, too!

Just don't stay at the Hotel Milano. It's awful.

We will be in port early 2016, looking for something to do was thinking about the Segway Tour. Has anyone done this with a bad back and knees? Would you recommend this excursion?

I would say no. You have to have decent balance, and you shift weight frequently on the balls of your feet. I think you back may get sore if you have problems just from that. Plus vibration, etc. Since we don't know how bad your back is, or what part of your back is bad, I'd be leery about signing up for this. Good luck! Sorry to be a wet blanket

I have read several of the threads regarding hotels. I need a hotel for one night near Old San Juan. The Sheraton requires a two night stay. Several people have suggested Hotel Milano, it looks pretty basic but if it is clean and safe I am okay with it.

 

Suggestions?

 

Renee

DO NOT STAY AT THE HOTEL MILANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We stayed there, it was awful. Mold in the bathroom all over the place. in the shower, around the shower. The AC unit hadn't been cleaned in forever, caked in dirt. Carpets were dirty. bedspread was thin and grey (was supposed to be white). Another couple on our cruise stayed there - just as bad in their room. We gave them a not great review on trip advisor. They put up fake reviews to counter ours. We complained to trip advisor and they are looking into it. Pay a few bucks more and stay elsewhere. My one friend slept with her clothes on - it was that bad. Trust me, we aren't picky people, but this was awful

Thank you! Sounds like it's too far, given our short time in port, to hit the plantations....

Has anyone heard of a Coffee Bean plantation tour in San Juan? We have the cruddy port stay of 7am -2pm. We've done the forts, etc, as we've been to OSJ quite a few times. Looking for something new to do. Someone mentioned this to me, but I can't find any info online.

TIA!

First seating vs second seating? Which is best? Don't want to miss the shows! 7day glory

You can see the shows with either. Look at your port times. Do you have enough time to get ready with early dining or is late dining better for you? We prefer anytime dining so we aren't rushed and go on our own schedule.

Lime in the Coconut - Harry Nilsson

Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

Yes, once you've done the forts and/or segway, that's about it. Shops aren't all that great a deal if you have outlet malls at home. For us, it's a good day to have the ship to yourself!

It's the human body. Chill out people. You might see a breast. The kids will survive.

Thanks for the info! I've had good luck at other beaches in the Caribbean... just never thought to look in St T.

Are any of the beaches in St Thomas known for sea glass? TIA!

While I had not booked yet, we were planning on a Liberty cruise next October. We have sailed on the Fascination & Conquest. I was already doing research on the ports and had done lots of research on the Liberty and we were looking forward to it. Now, we will have to re-think everything.

 

We like driving to port as we are from Atlanta. We prefer to do a 7 or 8 day and want the 2.0 upgrades. Any suggestions for which ship to choose now? Frustrated! Even though we had not booked, we were getting excited about the Liberty as we enjoyed the Conquest a lot and were looking forward to having everything on the Conquest plus the Mongolian wok.

 

So our choices now are Conquest (again), Sunshine, Valor, Dream or Glory. Any suggestions? With Valor not having any 2.0 upgrades I just cannot get excited about changing to that ship. Not really sure we want to do the Dream as we cruised out of NOLA last year. We would like to try other ports.

Check out the Breeze out of Miami. Beautiful ship!

First World Problems, people....

It will be fine. Enjoy your vacations. The Valor is fine. The Liberty is fine. The food is the same on both ships except for a hamburger. I've been on new ships, I've been on older ships. Ask for some OBC if you feel you need extra attention. I'm sure that carnival will work to keep folks happy. The ports are the same. The islands will look the same no matter what ship you show up on. Be happy that you the ability to enjoy a cruise and spend time with your loved ones. Don't be your own worst enemy.

Zoof - if memory serves me as he was at my buddy's wedding as a guest, not performer, that is his real hair.

 

Appreciate the info on Seavis, I guess my anxiety of the unknown took over, but will definitely take that into consideration.

 

I was nervous about Seavis too, but my fears were unfounded.... And if that is that guys real hair, then wow! He puts more time into his than I do mine!

Great review. That was a fun week.

 

Not sure, but did you hear about the suicide attempt on our cruise? Guy got into a fight with his wife, had his kid in his arms and was going to jump off one of the higher decks with his kid. Bunch of people had to restrain him. Everyone ended up being ok. Not sure what happened with the guy.

 

Also, someone was arrested and brought off the ship, I think it was ATF? When we came back to Miami. In handcuffs. Older guy...

Well I will say grand Turk is a very small island with little development and not heavily populated. I know when I went there a few years ago, that a hurricane had just devastated the place a few months prior and they were in the process of rebuilding. I went to the conch farm on a carnival excursion and it was mildly interesting but nothing special. I also did a tour of the island and while it is largely undeveloped, it does have some things we would consider modern everyday luxuries. I didn't find the island to be incredibly dirty or anything but there are definitely a few sketchy areas, as with anywhere you go. I never felt unsafe there either. I believe the US used to have an army or navy base there but it was destroyed by hurricanes and we never rebuilt it. We went past the outer fence to the place on our van ride. The best part of that place by far is the margaritaville that is right at the port and on the beach. Best margaritaville I have ever been to.

I agree margaritaville is good :)

Is it true that u get a free bottle of wine on the first night in the steak house?

 

 

~Natasha

Yep. That is true.

Just booked three cabins for a party of scene family members for our first cruise to Alaska next summer. We sail June 9th on the Legend aft cabin and I am so pumped.

 

But I hope Uncle Walt will forgive us for not going to his parks next year.

Congrats! I looked on the carnival website. It doesn't look like they have all of the cabins opened up yet for booking. I want to go in august or September of 2015....

We were on the same cruise and are frequent carnival cruisers. I've done FTTF in the past and didn't see the need for it. We got to the port at 10am, were in group 1 and were on the ship around 11:30-11:45. Rooms were ready at 12:30. We boarded about five minutes after the FTTF folks. I think it may be good to get if you have an itinerary with tenders, but honestly, it's not really necessary. I'm not knocking it, it's nice to know that you'll be on board first, but you can save yourself the $50.

The steakhouse is worth the $35. Give it a try once. Fantastic food and service! Not a place for kids though, it's for grown ups....

We did the land and sea tour for Aruba. They take you in a modified land rover. It was great fun. Well worth the money.

La Cucina- go for lunch, it's free. If you really like it, you can go for dinner. Good food.

It was a great itinerary! Would do it again in a heartbeat.

In and Around The Ship

 

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, but the layout on the ship is great for us. We tried many of the things to do... especially catered to kids.

 

We did purchase the unlimited passes to the Thrill Theater, but to be honest with you, I don't think we would again. It's not that it wasn't enjoyable, it was, but it almost felt like we were forcing ourselves to go because we bought the passes. I didn't like scheduling my day around a show we hadn't seen, to avoid a repeat. My favorite was "Just the Rides" as was our sons. Plus, I'd much rather be outside, than inside.

 

There was a time or two that we went that a few seats were broken, and mine stopped half way through one show. Not sure if that's a regular occurence, but was a nuisance at the most.

 

The arcade was on the opposite side of the ship on deck 4, and was very easy to spend lots of money real quick without realizing it with the swipe of a card. It was set up pretty well, with typical games for kids and adults. Of course was enjoyed by the kids in our group.

 

The shopping area was larger and IMO better laid out than others we had been on. While we didn't partake in the sales, others in our group did and were happy with the prices and options. I just wish they had a better plan for the larger sales, as the crowds grow and is kind of a free for all feel... Oh well, not for me, so no big deal.

 

We did Karaoke one night, well we went to watch my wife sing. Pretty funny story, there was an elvis impersonator on board, and what's funny is that I found out when I returned, he is a good friend of mine's uncle... Elvis' son is also a Michael Jackson impersonator, and was a huge hit on the Lido Deck when the DJ played MJ. Back to karaoke, I don't know the usual selections bu I do know my wife has a few go to songs that have been on every ship, that weren't on the Carnival Breeze, so perhaps that could have been better?

 

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We were wondering what the deal was with the Elvis guy. He wore that wig 24/7... I thought, wow, how uncomfortable!

Thank you Beachbum, appreciate the info....

Grand Turk is a very dirty island covered in trash. We rented a golf cart and we drove around. We didn't feel very safe. We actually had two islanders yelling at us in their native tongue... It was very threatening. As two women alone, I wouldn't recommend it. We bumped into another couple from the ship. The lady said we were brave to drive around alone. She had her hubby with her, who was a big guy, which is why she said she felt sort of safe. I would do a carnival excursion for this stop. We did the Gibbs cay reef and rays tour in the past and liked it a lot.

We are doing this itinerary on the Freedom later this year so am very interested in the ports. I was also planning on the Seavis tour to Saona island, but the taxi situation has me worried.

Don't worry at all! We did the Seavis tour. Taxi situation was not an issue at all. Just get off the ship, walk to the end of the pier and turn left. the taxis are at the end of the small parking lot on the left. People will direct you. We had zero problems and it was a great tour!