SHayesShip

I just booked last week for an April, 2020 cruise on the Armonia. I am 64 years old and in good health. I will be taking as many precautions as possible and plan on having a good time on the Armonia. 

Couldvery well be. Didn't give me exact dates. 

4 hours ago, TheMettins said:

Afternoon all.  Looking for some insider information!  The rumor mill is flowing... is the Armonia going into drydock then repositioning to Port Tampa Bay??  Is she being sold to a Chinese Cruise Line??  Who has the scoop? 

I personally hope she comes to Tampa...

 

Armonia is also going into drydock in Dec. 2019. Received this info straight from an MSC official. Should be looking good for the Tampa transition.

Does the buffet have similar appetizers as the MDR? I find that I can make a meal of them sometimes without the entrees.

Simple answer is No. Just got off the Vista last week.

It is at the end of the cruise pier. Gets busy when ship is in port. Pool is/was free from past experience. Planning on going there on cruise next month.

I've been there so many times (I live in South Florida) - I've never noticed a cruise ship at the Naval base. Is that really a thing? Learn something new every day.

Cruise lines have been using the Naval Base on/off for at least 5 years now with the increase of ship visits. I have had 3 cruises with stops in Key West and 2 of them were at naval station. As stated prior you are required to take a complementary tram from the ship which takes you to near Mallory Square as you are not allowed loose on the naval grounds.

Not quite ship is a good ten years old

The ship just came out of dry dock with almost all of the 2.0 upgrades along with replacing soft goods.

I cruised on the Jubilee 7 times. Had a lot of fun.

Also be aware that the Sensation is a smaller ship than the Valor. The Valor is currently in dry dock having major upgrades made to it. So any future Valor cruises should be even better.

For what it is worth I never liked the sensation but did like the Valor and this is before the upgrades being done as we speak.

As of my last cruise they did not. I have ordered a refill more than once for breakfast and not been charged for the second glass either.

I cruised on the Jubilee 6 times from 1989 to 1996. Had a great time. The ship was transferred to P&O Australia where she was renamed the Pacific Sun where she is cruising now. She was changed to the P&O colours and smokestack design.

Who cut off the whale tail. the old Carnival Celebration is currently sailing two day cruises out of Port of Palm Beach as the Bahamas Celebration and she still had the whale tail, although painted a different color.

Magic for me for the following reasons:

1). Just came out of dry-dock and has 2.0 upgrades.

2). Like the ports.

3). The first Guy's Smoked BBQ at sea.

Of course, I only live barely over an hour from Port Canaveral so that is also a plus for me.

21 days until the Magic out of Port Canaveral.

I guess I have been lucky then. I have been there three times on CCL with the last time being Nov. 2015 and made it all three times.

I think it is just a matter of time before CCL cancels the Turkey stop as Princess, Celebrity and all NCL brands have all cancelled Turkey stops through the end of 2016.

They had a sign-up table leading from the Lido pool area into the atrium on the first and second day. That is where I signed up. Have no idea if they were a manager or not. There were two people manning the table. One man and one woman. I spoke to both of them and the woman signed me up.

Was that from a manager or from a staff member?

Actually, I was not given that option. I would have taken the 6 day charge plus the price of drinks first day if given as an option. The first day drinks did not equal the price of the daily rate. However, I was specifically told that if I wanted the drink package that I would be charged for full seven days and the first day's drinks would be credited to my account. Which they were.

It sounds like they were giving you an option.

 

If you would have said you just wanted to pay for 6 days they would have let you and the day 1 drinks would have stayed on your account.

My cruises completed encompass less than a third of my overall total cruises. However, since I have moved to Florida about 6 years ago I cruise out of Florida almost exclusively and don't have airfare. I also cruise mostly for the ship and less for the destination anymore.

With that said I have done only 2 btb that were both a total of 14 days each. 7 Days Eastern/7 Days Western but they were on two different cruise lines and the itineraries overlapped some but were different enough to make it interesting.

Then this must vary because on my 10/31/2015 Valor Cruise I purchased the second day and they said would credit my 1st day drinks into the package. I did not buy that many drinks the first day but my folio was charged the full rate for 7 days. If I knew how to scan and add it here I would.

No, this is wrong... you can buy on the second day for only 6 days at any port. You will pay individually for your drinks on the first day. You do not pay for seven day when you buy on day two...

Exactly. You are charged for 7 days.

I thought the other ports, excluding galveston, that if you buy on day 2 you are charged for 7 and they go back and put any drinks you bought on day 1 onto the package.

I agree that the coordinator use their card. I have been in 4 slot pulls and broke even once and got from $2 to $6 above what I put in on the others. There have been between 15 and 49 participants.

Any of the hotels in downtown Tampa are close to the port. A couple I can think of are: Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk, Embassy Suites Downtown, Courtyard Tampa Downtown.

Queen Mary - 1961 - Age 6 - Transatlantic.

On my last CCL cruise 10/31 my documents advised to be at the port no later than 90 minutes prior to sailing time. That was out of Port Canaveral. It must vary from ship to ship and/or port.

Yeah! Sailing out of Miami on Jan 2 and this is my plan. Is 3pm OK or do we have to be there 2 hours before sail away which is 4. We are spending our day on the beach rather than sit for hours waiting to embark.

This is diverting a little from the OP however it is about single occupancy cabins. The new Koningsdam has 10-12 outside single cabins designated "OO". They are all on main deck forward and range from 135 to 170 square feet. I know because I booked one for a 9 day caribbean cruise Dec. 2016.

I booked when they offered the Explorer 4 package and the pricing was approximately 150% when I priced out for a double. So there was some savings. I usually had balconies when my traveling mate was going so it will be interesting what it is like in an OV cabin by myself.