jwalk03

If these cruise lines really want to capitalize on the popularity of the NFL they should partner with one of the off shore gaming companies and offer a sports book at sea! Think of the endless revenue stream that would be!

NFL is easily the most popular sport in the USA. On most of Carnival's cruises, Americans are primarily the dominant travelers. It makes complete sense to put the most watched sport, by the biggest group of people aboard on the biggest screen at night. I dont know how many of you have been to the "sports bars" during football seasons, buts its nearly impossible to get a seat in there.

This! On the money right here!

and lets not forget the popularity of fantasy football as well. So even people who may not be able to watch their favorite local team onboard are still interested in the games that are being shown and seeing scores and stats from other games to follow their fantasy teams.

The popularity of the NFL continues to grow and is far more popular than every other sport in the USA. Regular season NFL games out rate basically everything else in NFL all the time. And Playoff and Super Bowl ratings are astronomically higher than THAT even!

Why stop here... lets also include NBA games, the MLB Playoffs and World Series, Golf tournaments, etc... :)

None of these events equal the ratings for most REGULAR SEASON NFL games. The NFL is far and away more popular than the other sports. While I agree things like the NBA Finals, and World Series could be shown on the big screen. Regular season baseball, basketball, hockey, etc should not. and Golf? really? does anyone still watch that on tv??

Show the games on the BIG SCREEN! Football is the most popular sport in America. I have seen WAY MORE PEOPLE on deck watching football games then I ever see out there watching movies. There are plenty of other nights during a week long cruise to show movies.

I don't want to sit in my cabin during the cruise to watch football, I can do that at home on a much bigger screen tv. But being able to watch a game under the stars while cruising through the ocean? Thats awesome!

ESPN is not even available in cabin (nor will it be for cost reasons I'm sure!) So cabin watching is not even an option for Monday Night Football.

I'm very jealous of all of you that have commented that you are leaving soon on a Disney cruise!! I did bite the bullet a book a 2nd Disney cruise though! Very excited! But not going again until October 2015 on the Disney Wonder. Really looking forward to it, even though I have a LONG WAIT ahead!

I took my 18 month old earlier this year and we had so much fun! I don't really mind the policy change though, I wouldn't have taken her before she was a year though. Thats seems too you to really enjoy it.

If past years are any indication, it will be at least 6-7 months before May 2016 and beyond cruises are released. I would guess sometime between Feb-Apr of 2015 for most of them.

The ACTUAL fun times for your cruise is printed on board, and only the day before. So there is no way to get an advanced copy. That said you can find past funtimes for the same ship and ports on here often. It won't be exactly the same, but will give you an idea of what activities will be offered when you cruise.

Good review so far! Took this trip last year and LOVED every minute of it. I proposed to my g/f on the beach in Barbados. It was awesome!!

I'll throw it in here that this doesn't comply with DCL's request:

 

•Alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/my-cruise-plans/faqs/preparing-for-your-cruise/alcohol-onboard-policy/

True, but if you are drinking it out of a mug, and not carrying around the bottle of liquor you will b fine.

And you can carry on any alcohol that you wish! It must be in your carry on luggage however. I think this is the BEST drink package around.

THIS! Bring your own liquor, and mixers. Make drinks in cabin and carry around in a mug. BEST DEAl on any cruise line!

I also found that most bar drinks on Disney were cheaper than on Carnival ships.

Really enjoyed your review!

 

I was thinking about what you said about docking instead of tendering for Castaway Cay wasn't a deal-breaker. I was on a Princess cruise last Christmas and the weather was too bad (raining, wind and choppy seas) that we stopped outside Princess Cays (Princess private island/enclave in the Bahamas) for like 5min, then the captain decided that tendering was unsafe, and we continued slowly towards back towards Fort Lauderdale and got an unexpected sea day as the last day of the cruise. It was a disappointment, but the weather made a beach day kind of pointless anyway. I hear on CC that this happens a lot for the private islands. I suppose that by having a sheltered dock/pier in Castaway Cay, DCL can almost always dock as planned and I think Disney prefers to avoid regularly disappointing their guests ;)

Yeah I have not heard of any (though I am sure it has happened at some point.) times when Disney had to skip CC. The dock makes it SOOO much easier than tendering. The other lines should def consider making the required investment the way Disney has at their private island.

Thank you for the amazing review and awesome photos (what type/brand of camera)?

 

Also appreciate you sharing your "girls" with us - the little one is just precious and your fiancé lovely.

 

We are taking our grand-daughter on the DREAM departing on her 4th birthday in November- it will be a thrill for her IF she can see lots of princesses!

 

Again, thank you!

I have 2 cameras. A very old Cannon that has been dropped and beat so many times it is almost all white and it used to be black, but still works! It very small and easy to carry around, one of the best digital cameras I have ever used.

The second one is a Nikon waterproof camera I got last summer. I also like it alot. Its a little slower than the Canon, but works GREAT underwater! WAY better than my old underwater camera that was terrible!

There should be PLENTY of princesses for her, I'm sure. I would say I saw Cinderella, Belle, Tiana the most, but there were some others as well. (Snow White, Ariel, and Jasmine come to mind too.)

Really enjoyed your report, especially as we're doing the 3-night Dream cruise with our family next month and we've never taken an ocean-going cruise before, so are not sure what to expect.

I'm super jealous! You will have an awesome time. Its impossible to do everything on board the Dream in only 3 days, but you can certainly have fun trying!!

After reading your review....a Disney Cruise is definitely on my agenda now. Castaway Cay looks like so much fun :)

Thanks for reading. I have read SEVERAL of you Carnival reviews, glad I could return the favor!

I love Carnival, I really do, but I was blown away by Disney. I will certainly cruise both Disney and Carnival again!

Castaway Cay was AWESOME! You will not be dissappointed.

Since Valor departs so late, you can board and go back to San Juan. There is a cvs just down from the cruise terminal so you can easily stock up on soda and bring it n board.

No fountain soda, just cans.

You can EASILY make this flight! We had a 12:15 flight last year and were board out of our minds at the airport for like 3 hours waiting for it. We did self assist and caught a cab and we were at the airport before 9, with nothing to do! And most of the stuff in the airport was not even open yet cuz it was Sunday morning. Pre-cruise all I read was about the zoo at the San Juan airport, I did not experience this at all! Ag Inspection, checkin, security, all went very very quickly.

There is a free tram that runs around Old San Juan. It has a stop right accross the street from the cruise terminal. It will take you to both forts and several other stops as well.

Last August it was right in front of the Sheraton Old San Juan

This is correct. Old San Juea right in from of the Sheraton and Señor Frogs.

Although there is definite history of shorter sailings (less than 7 days) doing a Key West run, it can present a challenge in the event weather becomes an issue for completing the planned itinerary. Once you hit KW, then the ship is required to also stop at a distant foreign port before returning. If KW is at the end of the itinerary (before home port) then the whole Immigration/Customs thing is brought into play.

 

Swapping Costa Maya for Cozumel every few weeks would be a good start.

 

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As long as it is a closed loop cruise it does not have to visit a "distant" foreign port after Key West, just any foreign port. The "distant" port requirement only comes into play on a non-closed loop cruise.

I did hear Key West was nice.. What about Cancún? :P Could Cancún work as a Western Caribbean port?

Cancun does not have a port that can accept today's cruise ships, and I doubt there is any desire to build one. That's what Cozumel is for! You can visit Cancun from Cozumel if you have that desire, there is a ferry to the main land and you would just need transport from Playa Del Carmen to Cancun.

I brought my daughter to the airport and put her on a plane on Saturday (as an unaccompanied minor). I had to go through security with her (which was fine). Some how I lost my driver's license!

 

We are due to leave on the Valor on the 13th -- good thing I have a passport so I can quickly get a replacement license -- and can use it as my mode of ID while traveling.

 

Not my smoothest move -- but hey -- the passport allows me to travel, so it is all good!

Can't you just go to the DMV and have a new license issued in like 10 minutes?

Thanks for an AWESOME REVIEW! I have written a couple of reviews on here an know what a time consuming undertaking it really is, so thank you very much for all the time and effort! Can't wait for your next one.

Long Island Ice Tea is a good choice. So is the Martini Tasting Flight! Fiance and I split 2 of them last cruise so we could try every flavor and we were feeling them let me tell you!