Beagleluv6107

Hello CC Family! Beagle is back and within the year!!! I cannot wait to bring you a play-by-play of our adventures on the Venezia. This is a quickie… Just a 4-day cruise up to St. John, NB. We booked this trip 1 year to the day of departure on 8/19/22. We had just returned home from a short 4-day trip to Bermuda. We were still basking in the afterglow or maybe still tipsy from the Funships. I’m not sure how I talked DH into it, but when I said “north” he was all in. Since this is just a quick trip, I’ll make my intro quick too. I’m Beagle, I’m a cruise-aholic. I was 35 when I went on my first cruise and have been on 10 total. I LOVE to cruise with all my peeps including my infamous MIL. One day … if I ever go solo, I’m doing a live trip report. Live reviews are insanely fun. I feel like I’m on the ship with these folks. So, on this trip I’ve got my wild and crazy MIL, my beautiful niece, our Best Man and Maid of Honor that stood up with us when we married on St. Thomas in 2008, 2 members of the Squad (the Squad is our 4 favorite cruising buddies) and of course DH. DH must be included cause he’s paying half and has to drive us to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. He is vital to the success of this mission. I searched relentlessly to find a fun excursion in St. John that would please this diverse group. I didn’t want my 82-year-old MIL to have too much walking so the only tour of interest was the Bay of Fundy but I thought I read it was a 2 hour bus ride. This is a very short cruise, and I just don’t have 4 hours to kill on a bus with no booze. It’s just not happening. I found some reputable tour companies with good pricing to tour us around St. John, but every van only had room for 7 and we had 9. I struck out. I felt like I failed as cruise director. I guess we are just going to wing it. Sometimes that is just as fun though, right??? I was able to check in a few days early since the hubby is Platinum. I got an 11am spot. There was no option to reserve a parking space at the terminal. I tried about 20 days out. I don’t know if I had tried about 30-40 days out if I would have gotten a spot. We had no problem parking when we went on the Magic in 2022 so I was hoping for the same outcome. That traffic is treacherous as you get into the city, so I hope we don’t get turned away and sent down the road. That could cost another hour of “Lido Time”. I waited up until midnight to get the MIL a good check in time close to ours and it worked out. Weeks leading up to departure day, I was reading everything on CC about the Venezia and boy, was it terrifying. I cringed at reading “I’m a carnival lover and did 20 cruises and despised this vacation”. Yikes 😮 Those words were haunting me. Some of the biggest complaints are the long lines for everything, the jam-packed Lido, the tiny pools, and it’s hot everywhere you go inside the ship. Before ever setting foot on the ship, I had a few alternatives that might help me bypass this drama… 1. I’ll avoid the buffet at all costs. (I normally do every cruise) 2. I won’t try to get in the pool (I only did once on the Freedom) 3. I’ll find another bar besides the Lido… either at Serenity or indoors. 4. I freeze to death so if it’s warm, I might survive in shorts and a tank. So, I thought I had all the complaints covered. I can’t wait to update you all on that. I always make a list of things I want to do and mostly… they never get accomplished. For example, I always want that free Milkshake that comes with Cheers. I’m finally ready to be honest with myself…. I’m never gonna get one. I’m too busy with the Bloody Mary’s in the morning, beers in the afternoon, and I’m too stuffed after dinner. That’s just not even going on my list this round. I’ll make a more realistic list. 1. I’m gonna try a Peach Patron Margarita (someone posted that and now I absolutely have to have one!!!) 2. I’m gonna try a dirty martini. 3. I’ve got to get to a comedy show. I think it’s been two cruises since comedy and 3 cruises since I’ve even seen a regular show! So, you can see this is not an overly ambitious list. If this is my only criteria for having a good time, I think we will knock it out of the park. Hahaha As far as food goes, I’m looking forward to getting a Crab Cake in the MDR. That’s my favorite. In the days leading up departure I got crab cakes at my 2 local favorite restaurants. I wanted to see how they compare to the MDR. Did I mention I am a balcony snob? My first and only time in an Interior was on the Magic and it wasn’t much fun. I felt a little claustrophobic and DH spent all his morning coffee time on the Lido because he couldn’t stand to be cooped up. I’ll do anything to be on a ship, so we booked an interior for this trip. We had a year to discuss it and decided that if an upgrade should become available for a decent price, we would jump on it. Well, I declare August 8, 2023, a holy day. It’s the day the Cruise Gods smiled upon the old Beagle!! I got a text with a number to call to speak to an upgrade specialist. Wow, do I feel Special. I called immediately. A human being answered the phone, and she had the voice of an Angel. She said she could put me in a Terrazza balcony Deck 7 for an additional $180.00. I’ve been studying the ship but glazed over all things Terrazza. I mean, why bother, we lower class interior folk could not get in there. So, she tells me… private bar, some hot tubs, yada yada, wait …. back up Lady… did you say PRIVATE BAR? I’M ALL IN! She said "would you like me to put that $180 on the CC on file?" Yes, please, and thank you so much! After the call I had to decide if I would tell DH on the way to NY or send a text with this amazing news while we were both at work. Hmmm I pondered. Then my phone went off with a text from Dear MIL. She got the same upgrade alert. I told her to go for it. She called and got a voice mail. I said call back again!! She got voice mail again. At this point I didn’t know if there were 3 cabins or 23 cabins that were opening up. About 1 hour later she got the call and got an even better balcony on the 9th deck. My other two friends also got an upgrade. About 4 days before embarkation, I read online about how horrible the process is in New York. Also, how the Venezia has a broken gangway, and the prior cruise couldn’t debark a few thousand people until after 12pm. I thought oh no, no, no please don’t let that happen to us. Our plan was to leave the house at 8am. We should arrive at the parking area of the port at 10:15-10:30. The best-case scenario is that they still have spaces available, and we walk in and they allow the MIL to come check in with us. She may be a Rock Star but she’s still 82 and cannot hear anything unless screamed at so we cannot leave her. I did promise the Hubby that she would not be allowed in the car unless she had in her hearing aids. She’ll fight ya like a 4-year-old not to wear them, but I have the upper hand since she wants on that ship!! Teehee I was very worried about parking. I guess nowadays you can make a reservation if you book well in advance. I didn’t. Then I found out there was another ship in town. That scared me! So enough blabbing, it’s time for me to get to the point and start this review!

Hooray Willdra is BACK!!! I see you girl. You and W looking Fantastic! When I say my prayers tonight I'm gonna thank God ya'll survived the seedy Walmart and the shady gas station to bring us another great review!!! 😎

Hey Kellyann, I am happy to hear you've got the Legend booked again. I know I would if I could! I loved that ship. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my crazy adventure.

Hey Tonit964, Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad someone finally gets me!!! 😎 Congrats for getting to all 4 Spirit Class. I can appreciate these mega ships but wow there is something so special about the smaller ships. Thanks for reading along!

Hi rwest898, Thank you so much for reading along!! I can't wait to get on the Venezia. I'm happy to hear you have a trip planned too! Have a great cruise 😎

Hello PittsburghGirliee! I really appreciate you following along on this one. It might not be my best "informative" review since I just partied my way through it all week... but Wow, it was fun. 😁 Thank you for reading!!!

Hey Ninjacat123, Thank you for following along my crazy trip report!! It was fun just writing about our adventure. I'm super-siked about the Venezia so I'll try hard to keep my wits about me and get lots of decent pics! 😆

Hey tcmagnum, Thank you so much for reading along. This "2" cruises a year is awesome. We spent so many years planning one cruise every 2 years that now I feel blessed. There is nothing like a cruise and for those that get it... GET IT. It is so great that you have your sister and besties to cruise with. Yesss Girls... Geti It!!! Enjoy the Glory in April. That's coming up fast. I loved the Glory!!! 🥰

Hey Jamman, Oh boy, I can't wait to review the Venezia in August before you 2 sail out in Sept!!! I am so excited about this ship. We originally booked the itinerary for the Magic and we were Thrilled when we were switched over. 🥳 Have a great time on the Celebration. I can't wait to see a review from you 2 ❤️

According to this photo, I wanted you all to see my ginger pills I didn’t take. I never felt sea sick once! Ok, back to packing. Yeah me, I was done by 7:45 and back out on the balcony taking pictures. I still had plenty of time, so I found DH on the Lido having coffee. I told him I was getting my own burrito and I would meet him in the room. He hates to each much before a long drive, so he had a few pieces of watermelon. I did the opposite. I asked for the biggest burrito they make. Look at this masterpiece. The only thing I needed was a microwave to get the cheese just a little meltier. I scarfed down the entire burrito like I may never eat again. It was only 8:05am. I call that amazing timing for just opening my eyes at 7. When DH walked in the door, I proudly proclaimed that I had done everything with no help, and it was perfectly packed. He looked up at the wall and said, “Well how about the hats?” I use the magnetic hooks and had 4 hats hanging up high. Son of aaaaaa – yes, ok…. so not exactly perfect but that was the only thing I forgot. I laughed and laughed over that for a while. We were to meet our little group that drove together in the hallway at 9am. By 9:25 we were off the ship, but it was a bit of an accident. The 6 of us were able to get on 1 elevator and when the doors opened, we were looking at Grammy. Well, she saw her grands and said you get right here with me and next thing you know we were all off. A bit of cheating but we did not plan that and there was no way we were telling Grammy NO. Unfortunately, we lost a few minutes because DH missed the 95 North sign and we had to circle around. I was taking this farewell picture of the Legend at 9:35 so it didn’t cost us much time. We’ve started a tradition of getting off a cruise and going out. I end my trip report with a picture of wings from Hooters but not this trip. The end is really the end this time. DANG! Regrets - I had a few… · I missed saying hello to Ken · I missed all the comedy shows · I never got that milkshake · I never saw Deal or No Deal · I never saw any playlist shows · I never got that Funfetti Cheesecake on Embarkation Day Here’s a picture of what we brought home. Just a few magnets, my new shirt, and the 50th anniversary Mug. Final Thoughts I absolutely loved the Legend. I never encountered a line or waited for anything except at the Club bar. The service there was the worst on the ship each of the 4 nights we went. Service everywhere else was excellent. Presley went above and beyond. Our waitstaff in the MDR went above and beyond with the twins and so did our Magic Man. Carnival needs to fix the roof if they want to sail year-round from Baltimore. That was unacceptable. I heard a few people say that it ruined 2 days of their whole cruise. I don’t let much get in the way of a good time so I’ll move indoors but when your favorite thing is to sit up by the pool, I can see why they said that. I cannot wait to get back on a ship. I hope that my dear husband and I can keep up this trend of cruising twice a year. So far so good for 2023, we have a Venezia trip planned in a few months. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my trip report! Happy Cruising!!!

Day 8 – Time to Go! I’d like to say I woke up in good spirits, but you have to fall asleep in order to wake up. The alarm blared at 7am. We had lots of time since we weren’t even docked yet and no flight to catch. I took a few farewell pictures before I started packing. DH went up for coffee and he was planning to bring me back a burrito. I pack absolutely nothing the night before, so I needed to stop taking pics and get work done.

We all met up at the Pub for a final farewell to our Mash Up Band. Presley was there and we took a group picture with him but only 1 pic. It turned out blurry. Bummer. Each couple Tipped him well. I have never had service like that in my life!! Presley is the best there is! Later that night, Cam our CD paid a visit to the Pub. It was nice to see him. I really enjoyed Cam. I gave away 1 drink to a friend and once she left, I had to get one from someone else. Jeez. I hit 15 by 11pm. No club tonight. After the music stopped, we went straight for pizza. I really, really wanted that Lasagna, but the pans were empty, so we put in our order for a whole pie. As soon as our pizza came out, they brought out a tray of lasagna. ☹️Figures. Oh well. Being in our cabin and eating before midnight is a plus. Hopefully tonight I will sleep. Up Next – Debarkation

By the time I got back, the whole gang was at the Alchemy. Everybody loves those Cucumber Sunrises. Then it was time for dinner. Tonight, I had the Steak, Ale & Cheddar Soup, and a Cobb Salad. DH had the same soup, the Fried Shrimp, and the Broiled Strip Steak. It’s funny because he said he would no longer get Prime Rib and then gets steak the next night. Sure enough, he was mad at himself for not getting the Braised Short Ribs. A few at our table ordered that and raved over those ribs. Our magician came back. I felt incredibly special that we had him 3-4 nights already. This time DH was out to prove something. The guy gave him 3 coins and told him to hold them under the table… after an abracadabra, DH pulls his hand up and there are now 4 coins. He said he squeezed his hand so hard just to make sure he felt nothing and poof… 4 coins. I said, “Ok Mister, You gotta give me some lottery numbers or I gotta take you to the casino!!” Well with that, he asked 5 of us for one number each and then the last person for the “Powerball” number… Then he grabs his cell phone and shows us all a picture of him holding a lottery ticket with each number we just gave him. 😱😱 I think I blacked out. I think they had to pick me up off the floor. This dude is Magic I’m telling you!! We still talk about him every single time we see each other. Amazing! Sometime after I “came-to”, Ken started to sing New York, New York. I looked around and DH was long gone.

We were back in the room by 10:30. What do you suppose this is? I thought it was a scorpion. We attempted a nap, but DH couldn’t sleep so he went to the Lido. I tried so very hard to sleep with no noise. I think I was just too excited. By the time I got up to meet everyone, they were eating. I grabbed a burger and took it back to my room to change clothes. It was getting chilly with that open roof. 😤 I had lunch with my scorpion I was thirsty so I hurried back to the Lido. This time I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, and it was undrinkable. It had way too much sour mix. The gang was off to play Bingo. I refuse to play because I’ve never seen a winner. I think it’s fake. Anybody out there ever win? DH and I went to cash in his $25 in free play at the Casino. He lost the whole 25 in 1 round of roulette. Wow, that was fast. We browsed the shops, and I found a shirt. I love the white, long- sleeve swim shirts. After that we just went to the Lobby bar. We were all getting together for a group pic after their bingo game. After picture time, most of the gang went to eat. I don’t know where they put it all. It was already 3pm and we had dinner at 5:30. This guy was setting up for something fun. We didn't want to get in the way so DH and I went to the Alchemy. He got a Tito’s with White Cranberry juice, and I got the “Mule” they had advertised on the menu. Best drink of the trip! Or maybe I thought that because I was tired of beer and tired of cranberry or OJ. We had such a beautiful view. I hated to leave but I wanted to get showered up for dinner. On my way back to the Alchemy, I stopped at the Lobby bar for a beer. I knew Alchemy wouldn’t have a beer. I took a pic of my steel drum man. I sure was gonna miss that sound.

Day 7 – Our Last Sea Day We were up before 7:30. I only know this because I took some pictures. DH went in search of his coffee, while I tried to shake the exhaustion. I knew a Tito’s and OJ would make me feel better, so I made it to the Lido by 8:30. DH and Jay got a Bloody Mary. I don’t know if they really wanted it or just forced it because it was our last day of fun! We gathered up about 10 of us and checked in for Sea Day Brunch. While on the way there we passed this lovely lady. What a doll. Look at her shirt and earrings. I had the Caesar Salad with Salmon and DH had a pile…. It looks like eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and ham. Apparently, all that snoring works up an appetite.

He sure is!!!!

Ken came out to sing “My Way” and I could see the smoke on the floor from the shoe tracks as DH ran away. 😤 This man just doesn’t get it! Heavy Sigh!! The crew got up and danced and so did the twins. I just loved every second. Soon... they will be teenagers and rather die than get up and dance around! Haha, I got pics of the crew and of Ken but never got a chance to get a pic with me and Ken. I wanted that to send to Jamman54 and Patti. It was because of their Pride reviews that I met up with Ken in 2017 😊 After dinner, we headed back to the Pub for the Mash Up Band. This might have been the night they started singing some slow songs and we almost left and then they did a little Guns & Roses for us. That perked up the room! Only 5 us made it to the end of their set. Then guess where we all went?? Of course, back to the CLUB!! However, The DJ did the worst job ever. The music was terrible! He did not play one single song worth dancing to. One of our guys tried to get a drink as soon as we walked but it wasn’t happening. The ONE and only bartender could not keep up with the crowd. Eventually, we all just left. We headed to the Casino bar so I could get my last drink and then up to the Pizza line. Our other friends got there first and had Lasagna. YUM, I wished I had seen that before we put in our pizza order. Oh well, maybe tomorrow night. That pizza was good though!!!! I climbed in bed after 1am and exhausted… Guess what happened as soon as I closed my eyes? Someone turned on the Snore Machine. Oh boy… I was in for a long, sleepless night. Up Next – Our Last Sea Day – Booooo😭

For dinner, I had the Cream of Mushroom Soup and the Baby Spinach Salad. Both were very good. DH had the Sicilian Meatball Soup, the Lobster Tail, and the Prime Rib. DH said next time he’ll skip the Prime Rib. They don’t season it... so for him, it has no flavor. Each night at dinner the guy that carries around the shots would holler out Woo-Woo. We just started calling him the Woo-Woo man every night. Well, we finally had someone ready to buy one. Of all non-drinkers to suggest such a thing, it was Grammy. 😱 Well, I can’t let Grammy drink alone and neither could my other 2 ladies at the table so the 4 of us did a shot from the Woo-Woo man. He did his job. I only wish I had a picture!

I think we had to be back on board at 12:30 and Alfredo has us back at 12:28. 😮 It was a bit of a nail biter. He even walked up to the gate with us to make sure we got back or board with no issues. I was in the room by 1:10 and this guy scared me to death. I never noticed him until I sat down in bed and looked up. Geez!! We didn’t do much the rest of the afternoon. I snuck a pic of my beloved Elvis chilling on the Lido having fun. Awe, what a sweetie. This is not mine, but someone got a frozen Mango Margarita. Yum! I left the gang to go back to the cabin around 2:30. I needed a hot-hot shower. I could not get warm from the bike ride. DH said imagine how he felt in only a t-shirt since I was not prepared and stole his sweatshirt. Well Dear, that’s marriage…. And certainly not the first or last time he will be left in the cold. Teehee About 5pm we were in our cabin about to head to the Serenity for a pre-dinner drink. I heard commotion out on the balcony. I looked… Yep, it was my squad out there getting rowdy... laughing... hollering to each other. Thank goodness it was only 5 in the afternoon. 🤗 We headed down to Serenity for a Cucumber Sunrise.

After that we headed to our next spot and we got to ride down the road where there were tons of pricy houses. I don’t know if any are owned by celebs, but it was cool riding by. Alfredo showed us a menu for the Banana Bay Restaurant so we could place a lunch order ahead of time. Only tea, soda, or water comes with lunch, but they have a bar. DH having some tea. Of course, yours truly went inside for a quick drinky drink. 😆 DH enjoyed his tea but after this pic he went inside and got us each a Corona Light. This restaurant had the most beautiful views!!!!! I had the fish tacos. DH had the jerk chicken wrap (no pic). Each order was so much food we could not finish it but we got a box so Alfredo could take it home. Here's our amazing hosts!!! ❤️

Our Conch experts name was Tony Macaroni, and he had a very dry sense of humor and takes his Conch very seriously. He knew everything about them and kept our interest. We were very appreciative that he took the time to teach us.

We met around 7:15. We had a total of 10 of us going to join CocoNutz Cruisers. We were off the ship by 7:25 but our main man Alfredo didn’t come to pick us up until 7:48. It was a very cool and cloudy morning. I wore yoga pants and a hoodie but unfortunately it was not enough. I brought a backpack with supplies and had the Hubby’s sweatshirt in there. Let’s hope he doesn’t want it because I put it on before our ride ever showed up! Alfredo’s Aunt was filling in for his partner on this day and I am sorry I forgot her name so we’ll just call her Auntie. She would ride in the van behind us with any back up gear we needed. We drove for around 20 mins to where the bikes were waiting. We got a quick tutorial and then we rode around the block to get a feel for the bikes. I am sad to report Nae “piled up” as the boys said. She landed with the bike on top of her so that was the end of her excursion. She road in the van with Auntie the rest of the trip. Here's my Ride for the day! And one of me about hop on. I’m still wearing DH’s sweatshirt. He wanted it but he didn’t have the heart to ask me. Here's the view from our first stop. Alfredo gave us all a Pink Sands. It hit the spot. I haven’t ridden a bike in 25 years, so I worked up a thirst. We took a bunch of pictures and then Alfredo talked the guy next door into giving us a Conch demonstration. While we were waiting an elderly lady came by to paint the scenery. She asked what we were up to and decided she’d stay for the show.

Day 6 – Freeport Ugh…. I think the alarm went off at 6am. I’m sure I had less than 2 hours of sleep! DH went to the buffet with the rest of the gang for a quick breakfast. Lucky for me, I still had half a wrap. And… I knew I would need this. I ordered a drink, no ice the night before and poured it into my empty water bottle. Then before dawn, I got ice and poured that into my cup. Something told me this excursion would require “liquid courage”!! Here are a few Freeport pics.

I met DH at Alchemy and got my chocolate martini and he got a cucumber sunrise. I found this little guy in the hallway. My friend and I were both getting tired of cranberry or orange juice and she brought that Mio that you put a few drops in water. We ordered a shot and a bottle of water and ice and made our own drinks. At the time I may have called her a genius. I'll have to remember to pack my own next time. At some point during the day, I preplanned and grabbed a chicken wrap from the deli and had it wrapped up in my fridge. We went to the Pub to watch the Mash Up Band. They did not disappoint. Tonight no craziness and no club... we went to bed early. We had a big day planned for tomorrow and had to be up and moving early. I enjoyed half of my wrap (of course). DH fell asleep and then the snoring kicked in. Sometime after 2am he quieted down and then my insomnia kicked in. Up Next – Riding Electric Bikes!

Tonight, I had French Onion Soup and Shrimp Creole. DH had the Steamed Mussels, the Wild Rice, Gruyere and Chicken Soup and the Lasagna. Our amazing magician came back to our table. This time he had the twins stand facing each other with their eyes closed. He tickled one on the face with her hair and asked the other twin if he felt anything and he said yes, you touched my nose. Amazing! Then they each picked a card, and he sang Happy Birthday to them and on the very last note he gave them each the cards they picked. WOW! The crew also came and gave the twins some dessert and sang to them. That was so sweet. Our Maitre d' Ken’s song tonight was In Other Words. DH ran out the door to the Alchemy. 😕