mirrajay

Wow that parksleepfly.com is a great site! I have never heard of that before. I will definetly keep it for future reference! You can stay over night for the price of parking at the airport.

Thanks for sharing it!

I just learned there is also the option of parking at Weehawken and taking the ferry over. I read another post on this board where people have done that. I dont know anything about it, but you could try a search of threads to see if you can find more info about this option.

I suppose you could park at any hotel with an open parking lot (meaning that you dont have to use a valet service or get a parking pass from anyone). I dont know if I would use say that they would "let you", but I dont know how they would know that you were not a guest of the hotel, unless they monitor the parking lot which is very possible. If I were you, I would find a parking lot or garage (that is attended) that will allow you to pay for a week that is in the NJ area if you really hate driving in NYC so much (and I cant say I blame you!). The hotel idea seems iffy and it sure would be a bummer to come back and find your car has been towed by the hotel staff.

Good Luck!

Just a side note to that - you do not need to wait until your check in time to hand over your luggage to the hotel. If you have reservations, they will hold it for your until its time to check in, free of charge. I do this all the time and have never had a problem.

Cruising Around - I saw that same infomercial just last night and it brought me to tears listening to those people share their stories and see how much I really related to them. I, too, was thinking of ordering it, but then I have the added fear of having my anxiety "cured" and then being too "happy go lucky" and then not being prepared enough for things when they do go wrong. I almost take a little comfort in my anxiety b/c for some reason the on-edge feeling makes me feel like I am doing more to ensure I am prepared for bad things. I am one of those people who gets really nervous when things are going well b/c thats a sure sign that something is going to go very wrong soon. I have a hard time calming down after bad events and stopping the worrying about something b/c of the uneasiness that I feel when there is nothing wrong. (wow, that sure makes me sound nuts).

Anyway, lbandbuggy, have a wonderful time on your cruise. I can't wait to hear how much fun you had when you come back!

Carey

Just so that you are aware, there will be side effects with the patch, it all just depends on how much they bother you. You will most likely have a dry mouth feeling and I have heard people say they have trouble focusing when they are using the patch. I would try the Dramamine (or Bonine) first and maybe even take some ginger capsules and then have the patch as a back up or last resort. You also are not supposed to drink at all while using the patch.

Have fun!

GucciGal - there was a whole thread dealing with IBS not too long ago - here is the link, I hope it works.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=29306&highlight=IBS

Im afraid you are going to have a problem unless the cruiseline may be able to hold it for you. Since 9-11 all "luggage lockers" in airports, trainstations, etc have all been torn down or closed. Have you checked with Carnival? I have not been to the pier there (YET) so I dont know what kind of facilities they have. You can also call the NYPST for some advice. Their number is 212-246-5450.

Sorry I couldnt be of any more help!

Carey

I, too, suffer from anxeity and have the same exact fears that you do. Unfortunately, I have not cruised before, so I cant tell you how it turned out, but just wanted to let you know you arent the only one

I am no longer worried about the confining part after I looked too a "virtual tour" of our ship on the Carnival site. The ship is huge and I dont ever see us running out of things to do or feeling trapped by any means. I am very much afraid that we will be too young for the particular cruise we chose and that I will spend the whole time in bed b/c of seasickness or that it just wont be what I imagined it to be. Then I also have the tacked on fears that something will go wrong at home and that I wont be able to get back soon enough if it happens to be an "at-sea" day. Ugh - I know how you feel - this condition is exhausting especially when planning something big like this!

Let me know when you get back how things went.

I hope you have a great time!!

Carnival Victory, here I come!