Michellelhs

3 hours ago, EMOSEA said:

Not OP, but.. I've always wanted to try something like this out but figured my dietary restrictions wouldn't allow it (vegetarian & wheat allergy). Do you think they'd accommodate something like that? 

I am allergic to all seafood and fish and sensitive to wheat and barley and they were happy to accommodate me. When we booked it I just told them my dietary needs. The chef should be able to adapt the menu for you.

It probably depends on the ship/staff but on the Dream a few years ago when we asked we were told we could get 2 appetizers each. I would just order what you want and if they have a problem with how many you order they will tell you. 

Are people talking to you yet??

I love your live Dream trip report! The last time I sailed Carnival was back in 2016 and I did a solo on the Dream so this brings back lots of great memories. I had lunch every day at either the pasta bar or else at Tandoor. Have a great time and I can't wait to see more!

I'm so glad everyone was ok and it was a minor thing. We are her in 2 weeks!

I love your review so far!! I have been eyeing those Canadian trips for a while now but another one always catches my attention... I think becase they are so short.... maybe a b2b... hmmm.

Anyway, I was thrilled to see you went to tea! I love tea on seadays! It's one of the highlights of my cruises but it seems so many people don't even know about it!

We are on the Splendor in December so I am loving the pictures of her!!

mmmm omg that chocolate and chocolate mousse cake is delicious!! i try to plan cruises on birthdays or anniversaries so we have an excuse to order one lol

We did 5 days in Barcelona before the cruise. The first full day we knew we would be tired after the fligts so we did a wine tour north of the city. We took day trips to the Dali home and museum, to Ft. Louie in france, to Baga, Spain and Andorra and we toured all over Barcelona itself. I loved everything in Barcelona. Walking the Ramblas, eating gelatos and drinking coffees, lat night dinners. To be honest I am not a huge fan of Gaudi architecture but I loved Parc Guell and La Sagrada all the same. We took the funicular up the hill then walked down. We went to a Flemenco show at Tablea Carmen. We walked the Gothic quarter and tasted foods from all over. There is really so much to do in Barcelona, I can't imagine trying to do it all in a day. Do yourself a favor and don't try to fit everything in. Just pick a few things and then just spend time wandering as that was truly the best part of our time in Barcelona.

In Marseilles we took the free bus to the old port, met a friend of ours for some pastries and coffee, took a boat tour of the Collonques then had a little lunch there on the harbor, picked up some soaps and spices and headed back to the ship.

In Livorno we had a private tour guide. He took us first thing to Pisa. We beat the crowd and got our obligatory pics and a coffee and pastry then were on our way to Florence. Again we beat the most of the crowds, walked around a little, took some amazing pics above the city, walked around a few amazing buildings and were on our way. Our driver took us to Vinci where we walked around a bit, had sandwiches cocacolas from a shop and learned quite a bt about Leonardo and about pottery. Next we drove through the Tuscan countryside and then had some wine tastings. Our driver returned us back to the port in plenty of time. This was with Giovanni with Sunflower Tours. Since it was just the 2 of us it was the most expensive tour but it was completly amazing and totally personalized.

In Rome we took a Rome in Limo tour with 10 other people from our ship. It was really great. We had the Rome highlights tour. I defwoud reccomend this tour if you have never been to Rome and it is worth the extra money to get guide at the Vatican.

The next day was Naples. We went on another Rome in Limos tour this time with 6 others. We drop to Postiano first. Let me tell you that the Amalfi Coast is probably the most spctacular place I have ever seen and all the pictures and videos you see do not even give it close to justice. It's so beautiful that it is almost surreal. One warning here is that if you have mobility issues know that cars are only allowed so far down then you have to walk down and then back up... the back up is a lot harder than it looks especially if you are already dragging from a hard day in Rome the day before and lots of partying on the ship lol. After Postiano we drove through some amazing sites and then worked our way to Sorento. We had lunch (with the obligatory shot of Limoncello) then walked around Sorento on our own for a few hours. In Sorento there is an amazing little magic alley where they give you all kinds of samples of Limoncello and Lemon Creme liquor, Pistachio Cream Liquor etc... it was amazing... but the more you drink usually the more you buy... I came home with a LOT of Limoncello, several scarves, some shoes and sme candied almonds all thanks to that alley :P The other thing to remember is that Pompeii is AFTER Sorento... and Pompeii is hot and dry and a LOT of walking.... I def reccomend not being drunk for it lol but we still enjoyed it a lot... of course we also got very lost on the way out

We had a sea day then Dubrovnik was the next port. We took a tour with Tours By Locals here. It was us and a family of 3 from our cruise. Our tour guide was named Sandra and she and the driver took us over the border to Bosnia. We visited a monestary and winery. Then we walked around a small city center and famers market. We tasted local cheeses and olives and brandy. We had lunch at a local restaurant that I'm not sure had ever seen Americans before then we drove back into Croatia for an afternoon tour of Dubrovik and another wine tasting.

We had 2 days in Venice. The first day we were tired so we stayed on the ship. The next day we took a tour over to Murano and Burano. We saw lace and glass being made and we walked around and had snacks. After the tour we had a pizza lunch on the water then returned to the ship.

Our last port was messina. We took a tax tour with another couple from the ship over to Taromina. We walked around ad it is truly lovely there. I can't imagine spending more than a few hours here though. After that our driver took us to a little restaurant in the hills in Castelmola then we walked around that city for a while before returning to the port. On the way back he stopped at a tiny bakery and my husband had what he said was the best canoli of his life.

When we got back to Barcelona we had a tour that picked us up and took us up to Montserrat for a tour then dropped us at the hotel.

After 17 days of vacation we were exchausted but I don't regret a single thing we did and I can't imagine you will regret anything you choose to do.

This trip I have not even began to decide on yet. We have a few new ports so I guess I have plenty of time to plan thankfully :)

It's not too busy. I have health concerns and mobility issues at times and we did a 12 day (11 port) trip on the Sunshine a few years ago and I am about to book the Vista. If you are concerned with the days you could always go for the 8 day cruise instead. Either way I bet you will not be disappointed.

We had an overnight in Venice when we were there and we did stay on ship one day, basically giving ourselves a second sea day, which helped as well.

Your port days can be as physical only as you want them. Yes Florence and Pisa are remarkable (and walking heavy) but a pleasant tour of Tuscany instead with some wine tastings and lunch in a little local place will be amazing and memorable and a lot less tiring.

We tried to balance busy days like Rome or Pompeii with relaxing days like Tuscany or the driving tour of Bosnia and Croatia we did on Dubrovnik day.

Whatever you decide for your anniversary you will have a blast!

We brought wine onto the Sunshine in almost every port in Italy and about 4 bottles of Limoncello the day we were in Sorrento. I would def say this is a YMMV thing though. I am *hoping* the same will apply to the Vista but I am not counting on it and will get the cruise the Vineyards package anyway. I will also say on European voyages the wine packages offer a best of Europe package instead of the same old one I normally get on Carnival cruises. It was nice to have the "local" wines :)

gene's was a great way to kick off the pre-trip!!

great start nancy!! can't wait for more!

I'm so glad it has regular burgers and not Guy's burgers.... love Guy but the new reg carnival burger is 10x better than Guy's burgers....

can't wait to relive our trip through your review!!

i feel the same about sailing without aaron. i loved my girl's trip but i just missed him being there!

Nancy I read all the Fantasy threads I can find because I love her and I am not sure how I always missed this one...

What a great trip report!

I'm so excited to sail NEXT WEEK with you and several of the CC ladies featured in your review!!

Correct, not a "cheesecake" but rather a cake with cheese frosting. ;)

sorry that is incorrect...

this is in fact cheesecake but with a twist. it is stacked like a torte.

this layer of actual chese cake, think layer of cake, thin layer of cheese cake, thin layer of cake, think layer of cheesecake, thintlayer of cake. all covered in cream cheese icing.

the cheesecake layers are absolutely actual cheesecake and not just icing. way too dense and not as sweet as the icing.

and i am not a huge fan of dessert but loved a few bites of this.

i am hoping to talk the hubby into taking another trip on the sunshine once she gets to florida and if we do we will have this again.

We had the blue velvet cheesecake this summer on the sunshine and it was AMAZING...

i was worried it would turn my lips and tongue blue so i made my husband eat several bites first... not that he ever minds "taste testing" lol

but the cheesecake didn't turn us blue and was so yummy. i will say the second time we got it it tasted a little older so still good, just prefered it fresher a few days before.

Thanks for the review! Fascination was my first ever Carnival ship and all these years later I am finally going back on her this year for a Halloween cruise. We did cheers on Fantasy last month and have decided to do cheers in 2 weeks on Fascination too. I don't think I even came close to the 15/day last time so I think we will be ok on the limit. It is so nice to see the cheers (or equivalent) in action on her!!

Thanks for posting your review, Michellehs. Glad you had such a good experience. It made me even more excited to go to the Bahamas this winter, and hopefully get linked up with someone from People to People.

 

I've got my thinking cap on for what goodies I can bring from my home state as a gift to my future host(ess).

I'm happy to share my experience and I hope you have a great one as well! I really can't say enough good stuff about this program!

Sorry it took a few weeks to write this up... life has just been hectic...

So we did the people to people exchange program and it was amazing!

Ms. Unetha Sherman was our host. She was fantastic! We met her across the street at the ministry building and left right away for a great day. We had sent her a picture in email so she knew what we looked like beforehand and the meet up part was easy.

Unetha had prepared a little booklet for us welcoming is to the Bahamas and with pics and info about all the places we woudl visit and she even included places for us to tape in our pictures. This was such a fantastic memento she made for us! She also gave is a pin and button from the 40th anniversary independence celebration which was this year. We presented her with a book about Charleston SC which is where we are from.

As we drove around Unetha told us about her life, her family, the small island where she grew up and so much more. She was a fascinating person to speak with!

We visited Fort Montague first. My husband is a big history buf so this was so cool for him!

After this we drove around a little then went to the Queen's Staircase and walked up them then to Fort Fincastle. This was quite a hike to be honet but it was so beautiful! While the hubby explored Fort Fincastle more Unetha and I sat and chatted more about the island and her life and about mine and Aarons.

We drove over to Fort Charlotte next and took a tour. There were about a dozen Disney cruise people there so it was fun to compare notes with them :)

After this we drove around and she pointed out many buildings to us then we arrived at the National Gallery of the Bahamas. Let me tell you what a surprising gem this is!

Aaron paid for us all to get in then we walked around downstairs and up. There are some amazing pieces from Bahamian artists here. On the top floor there is also a room where you can watch a video of many of the artists talking about thier history and the Bahamas and their inspirations etc. This was really cool to see them talking about their works then seeing the works hanging on the walls.

The art gallery was hands down my favorite part of the day!

After getting all cultured up Unetha drove us over the the Fish Fry restaurants. I do not remember which we ate at but it was amazing. Ironically 2 of the couples we sat with at dinner were there as well... and they were seated right beside us lol!

So I was a little concerned about the food as I know that the islands are seafood based and I get sick when I eat seafood but I had fried chicken. It came with macaroni (which was baked and spicy), peas and rice, and fried plantains. Aaron had a conch "burger" with fries and Unetha had a whole fried fish with fries. We picked up the tab for lunch and everyone agreed it was delicious! After lunch we drove around the high end part of the island, where they are building the new resorts and along junkanoo beach and watched the people there having fun (that is where we went last time we were there).

Then we headed back to the ministry building and Unetha dropped us off for the ship. She tried to not accept it but Aaron left 20 dollars with her to pay for the gas of all the driving around and we thanked her for such an amazing day and for being a fantastic host.

I have to say that this was perhaps the best day I have ever spent in the Bahamas. We have been to several of the islands plenty of times and we have done the "touristy" thing, have done the islands on our own and even on tours. But Unetha really made the Bahamas come alive for us. We learned about the history but also about what people do every day. This was such an amazing experience and I hope everyone who reads this has an opportunity to try it out and has as great of a host as we did.

Thanks for the advice scuba girl and packedandready that sucks you never heard back :(

I hope you have a great time in Nassau anyway!

I have had 2 emails and one phone conversation with our host. She seems great and I think she truly got a grasp of the things my husband and I are interested in. She seemed genuinely pleased that we were interested in the real island beyond the tourist things and I know she will be a great host. One thing in our phone conversation did kind of bother me. She mentioned more than once how she is going to take a whole day off work to spend with us. She kept interjecting that into the conversation and I kind of got the impression that she wants us to compensate her for that. It could have been something I inferred and she did not mean at all... but I have no idea. We were planning on bringing her a small gift from our hometown (was thinking some spices and a recipe book of local favorites) and then paying for things on the visit (gas, food) and then giving her a small cash tip (like 20 or 30 bucks). Now I am not sure If I should just give her cash or what.... I want to believe that I misunderstood her.... so I guess we will see next week. I will post how our day in Nassau went once we are back.

I signed up long ago and never heard from them then last week I got an email asking me to confirm the trip and yesterday got our host's name. Very excited to find out what we will learn about and experience next month in Nassau!!

I emailed them twice and never got a reply.

Oh well.... guess it is a shore excursion for me.

I was literally just looking at this cruise for the end of next April to book. Just waiting on the go ahead from my hubs and I flipped over to cruise critic to check out the carnival threads and here is this fantastic review!! I can't wait!

I wanted to thank you again for your review. especially foor including barcelona in there. we edde up booking the wine and cava day trip off viator as well. i am thrilled for barcelona and our cruise on the sunshine in a few weeks!!