latitude918

We are in the same boat (no pun intended!). Flying in on the 16th and boarding the Vista on the 17th. We are flying into FLL in the afternoon, but staying in Miami. My husband and I are half expecting it be cancelled/delayed. Praying for that area down there. A cancelled cruise is nothing compared to what these people will have to go through.:(

Wife and I are slated to fly into FLL on the 17th and board the Splendor the 18th. I'm 95% expecting flights and cruise to be cancelled due to damage from winds, and flooding from storm surge. We will see though. 5% of me is holding out hope that we'll be able to pull it of. If there is a reduced passengers that just means less chair hogs and more loungers for me :D

Florida might be obliterated off the map. :/

4 day cruises are affectionately known as "booze-cruises" because everyone tends to party a little harder since they only have 4 days on the ship. Have fun! A 4 day was my wife's first cruise with me and we had a blast!

I'm curious about how the storm will affect the eastern Floridian ports. I'm supposedly sailing out of Miami on the 17th (Per John Heald's update, the cruise before mine got shortened, and is supposedly leaving the 12th-17th). How soon could places like MIA and FLL be "back to normal" after a storm this severe? Would the ports and airports still be closed a week after the storm is supposed to hit?

I am supposed to sail the 18th from Ft. Lauderdale, so I know the anxiety you're going through. That is a complicated question. If the Coast Guard puts the ports under Condition: Zulu, then the ports may not reopen to marine traffic in or out until the Coast Guard decides conditions are clear enough to reopen the port. This can be many factors, including weather, and severity of damage to the port, or how happy they are with the repairs of the port post-storm.

As long as the damage isn't extensive enough to close the airport or the sea port, the cruise will go on as scheduled. Depending on how badly the ports of call you're visiting have been affected will determine your itinerary. By the 17th/18th the storm should be well past Florida.

TL;DR - depends on how badly damaged the airport and sea ports are.

Under normal circumstances, yeah that would be a nice trip but I didn't decide on a cruise just to go on vacation. I chose a cruise to get away to a beach. May sound pathetic but I wanted to be able to go some place nice and slightly warm and experience a beach. I have never been able to do that so I would say that going from that opportunity to New England/Canada is a major deviation. I was hoping for at least Bermuda as it would've been similar. I apologize that I am upset about it as I am not blaming Carnival and this hasn't put me off from trying to cruise again. I just expected something better. Now I have to decide if I want to just go ahead and go or cancel and attempt something in October.

My 2 cents: You already paid for the vacation, took the time off of work and what not. The wheels of vacation are already in motion. It is a different experience than what you were expecting, but different isn't bad. I would pack some warm clothes, and go on the cruise with open minds and expectations. You will not have a bad time!

I don't see how this is a comparable alternative to a tropical vacation.

Considering your tropical vacation destinations are either A) flooded B) destroyed, or C) under siege of 125+ mile winds and rain, I think that going to ports were none of these things are happening and enjoying yourself, is a wonderful alternative. If you don't think so, feel free to cancel your vacation and stay home. If it were me, I'd pack some extra clothes and enjoy my new itinerary. The foliage should be changing in that part of the country. Oysters, clams and lobsters should be abundant right now, and the beer at the breweries will be cold. Yum! :cool:

Ummm I'm not sure how I feel about this.

It is either that or sail straight into a storm. I think this is a great alternative to outright having your vacation cancelled.

Everyone going on this alternative sailing, pack some warmer clothes, make lemonade out of lemons, and have a fun time. Portland is an absolutely underrated city. Breweries and seafood galore!

I wonder how Jamaica & Cayman Islands are going to come out in all this. I assume Progreso, Cozumel, & the rest of the western ports will be getting crowded soon.

 

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Jamaica and the Caymans are not near the cone. They'll probably get some extra wind or rain, but won't be experiencing any TS weather characteristics.

For the aft pools being adult only except for "peak times" what are these "peak times"? Is it described anywhere, or just at the discretion of Carnival?

What I am getting at is: How do we know when they're adult only, and when are they family friendly?

For sure. And as other folks have mentioned, CCL is really marketed towards families. There are other more adult friendly options out there if thats an issue.

What are the more adult friendly options out there?

Also, OP, my wife and I don't care much for kids on cruises, so we schedule them for when kids are in school. (Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan). We have found that the number of kids on cruises is drastically reduced. Perhaps you could try that?

Don't let the sticks-in-the-mud get you down. I went on my first ever cruise on the Paradise, and I had a ton of fun. I always have a lot of fun on every cruise my wife and I go on. The cruise is what you make it. Always go in with an open mind and a smile on your face :)

Worrying is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.

The weather will be what the weather will be. You cannot control it. Carnival has a staff of professionals who's #1 priority is to keep you safe. They won't lead you headfast into a bad weather situation. If you have to miss a port, then you miss a port. You'll have fun any way you cut the cake.

Best not worrying about things you cannot control.

Congrats on your first cruise. My wife and I did that same itinerary in 2015 for our honeymoon. We have cruised on the conquest twice, and must say of all the ships we've been on, it is our favorite. Glad you had a great time.

Zydocruiser still the best place to find food menus for the MDR? I'm curious to look at the 5 and 6 day menus that they currently have.

I have the "drinks well with others" shirt, but in an Irish theme. Perhaps I'll sneak it into the packing list next time when the Mrs isn't looking :D

You guys like to party hard. I really, really, really hope to catch you on a cruise sometime. Sounds like you and your wife would get along swimmingly with me and mine :D

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Oh nice! Does this pool area have the same issues with chair hogs that the main deck has? I have heard rumors it is easier to find a seat on sea day.

Also, its the pool area that is restricted. The Havana Bar is not restricted at any point.

 

 

This is also only for the Vista and the Horizon when it launches. The ships with the Havana Bar do not have special rooms.

Is the Havana Bar in a separate area than the Havana pool?

Do guests in the Havana interior rooms also get daytime access to the Havana area? How is this regulated? I haven't been on a sailing with a ship that has a Havana area yet.

Hubby and I stayed in one of those on the Splendor as a matter of fact. The balcony is longer than the regular aft balconies. It is narrow and there are 2 chairs, a table and a lounger. It was okay but I prefer the extended aft balconies more. The room is set up strange as the TV is not directly in front of the bed but more on an angle and if memory serves there is no couch.

 

If you have your room number (which I assume you do) you can go to cruiselinerooms dot com and see that actual set up for your room.

 

Have a great cruise!!

Good tip! thank you!

Hi there CC folks,

My wife and I are doing a 5 day adventure on the Splendor in 108 days (woop!). We wanted a balcony and chose an L shaped balcony on the aft section of the ship. I was just curious if anyone had any advice or experience with these rooms and wanted to share anything we should know.

Thank you!

Tough love approach: my relatives are notorious for running on their own time and being last minute planners. If they missed the ship because of poor planning, it'd be their fault. Don't feel obligated to pay for their rooms. Just remind them that it is best practice to avoid any hiccups with flights.

What you could do is call up a bar in the area of where you are staying, and see if they'll work out a happy hour deal with you for your group. We did that with our wedding. Since we had a lot of out of town guests, we had a bar give us a deal for our group, and then we bought the first round of drinks for everyone. A little thank you for coming out early on our big day.

Check right around final payment date. It is likely someone will forget their final payment and their FTTF will become available.