maluhia87

Pre-departure drinks poinsettia (cranberry and sparkling wine) 

Breakfast spinach feta quiche and ham breakfast sandwich 

Real glasses on the flight 

2 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

anyone had any luck just giving your Known Traveler Number to the airline at the checkin desk and getting a boarding pass with TSA Precheck on it?

Yes - I entered something wrong on a flight one time for P and his boarding pass was missing the TSA Precheck piece.  He was able to go to the ticketing counter and get it fixed. 

My alarm is set for 3:15 a.m. tomorrow.  Early flights might not be fun, but there is a better chance of no delays. 

Rain seems to be gone for the first half of the trip, and temperatures are predicted between 85-88°F every day. 

2 hours ago, SkipsMom said:

Same questions I was about to ask.  Was hoping you had a better experience.   I was considering the similar ships excursion but dreading the cable car back down.  The one recent review on the Carnival website isn't very good.  At least I have a little time to decide which stress level I want to have that day 😀

 

We did the ship version of Oia, Winery, and Thira.  We stopped at the winery first and had as much wine to drink as we wanted, along with snacks.  In Oia, the guide walked us into the square and then let people wander, we just had to meet back at the bus by a certain time.  In Thira, we were given cable car tickets and set free for the afternoon.  The line for the cable car became quite long, and I think we waited 1 1/2-2 hours to get back to the ship.  There was an NCL ship in port with us that day and it sailed late because of the line.  I think Carnival might have sailed late also, but not as late as NCL.  

Santorini is definitely a place I would never visit again as a cruise stop because of the issues from that day. 

Just now, MeganGC1983 said:

And those dates don’t work with our calendar. 🙄

I would say join us on the NYE 5-day out of Galveston, but I know those prices are crazy, and it is mainly sold out.  

8 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

What price?! Everything from Galveston is booked until 2024 and has been. You might be able to scrape the bottom of the barrel here and there with cancellations but for this many people… nope. 

$6K for the 5-day and $8K for the 8-day both in 5 person cabin.  

My team is not even in this (apparently, we sucked this year). We just enjoy watching playoffs/finals. 

43 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Wow, things are getting spicy this morning on Cruise Critic! 

It was an intense baseball game. 🤣

1 hour ago, CallistaSkye said:

I looked up when that video came out and I was 11. If it's November Rain. But my mom had me when she was 19, so I grew up watching a weird mix of kids shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and then MTV from the time I was like 4 on.  Most of my friends were not allowed to watch MTV, let alone headbangers ball and spring break like I was lol.

I remember watching Remote Control on MTV with my dad. It started when I was 6 and I credit that game with my love of trivia. 

Kottonmouth Kings holds the top stop for my worst concert experience. Luckily I didn't pay to attend that show. 

17 minutes ago, Funsince1983 said:

I just can't even process Thomson's thought process throwing the kid in there after his terrible showing last night. Soto was doing fine. Why rock the boat? 
 

Is this pitcher 8 for Arizona? They're gonna need to use some hobos off the street tomorrow at the rate this is going. 

Hobos off the street might be a better option now. Kimbrel made everything worse. 

Never a good play to walk in a run. 

Ready for these views next week, even if the forecast calls for rain the whole time we will be there (brief showers every day).

38 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

I hear ya.  I went to see my college team in person for the first time in years, and if anyone is more than 12-15 inches wide, we ain't all going to fit.  I much prefer watching at home on big screen, with lots of cheap beer, good snacks, the pause button when I have to pee, and fast-forwarding through commercials.  I always record and start watching at least an hour in.

I think my seats at the college stadium are some of the originals from 100 years ago.  My back cannot handle bench seats for 3+ hours. 

48 minutes ago, Jeafl said:

But in the movies it always shows a couple there with the whole fountain to themselves...😆

Only if they are there at sunrise 😉

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Got a question for you Europe cruisers...I usually tip out at the bar on my Sign and Sail card, but when I tip out on top of my prepaid gratuities to my wait staff and room stewarts 😉, I use US money at the end of the cruise.  Will dollars be okay or do I need to get more euros?  TIA!

Isn't the sailing after yours the TA back?  I think either way would work since they will be back to using USD soon.  

13 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

It’s too bad you are missing out on your chance of a big one. Even our Canadian news is talking about it. 1.3 B or something like that. 

$1.7, but it was won yesterday by someone in California.  

16 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

A question to my foreign-traveling tribe members:

 

Where did you get your foreign money? I only want 50 GBP & 50 euros- my bank here at home will order the foreign funds but only if I spend $300 US minimum on EACH!

 

Has anyone gotten a smaller amount anywhere other than the airport? If at the airport, what were the fees? Do they have a minimum you have to spend?

I pulled cash from an ATM at the grocery store.  This machine let me pick the bills I wanted, and it was around $28 once converted.  My bank has a 1% fee for requesting foreign currency.  

ETA - I did not end up needing it, but used it at a bar before we left, so I wasn't stuck bringing back cash. 

12 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

I’ve always been told to wait and go to ATM in country for exchanges. Much better rates of exchange. Always able to find one at first stop after airport. Unless of course you need some for transportation.

Just make sure it is a reputable ATM (connected to a bank), and your bank has been notified you will be withdrawing in a foreign country.  We tried to pull money out of an ATM at the metro in Budapest and it ate his card.  Luckily mine was still active and I was able to withdraw in Prague as planned.  

I just thought of something else that I'm not sure was mentioned.  In Italy, fountains are available throughout the cities of public water (refill your water bottles). It usually is cold and tastes fine, even in Pompeii. 

33 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Usually Craig and I get CHEERS! when we cruise.  I'm not looking to hit 15 but it works out in our favor cost-wise and worry-wise (THE BAR BILL!!😲) so all in all, a good thing for us.  From what I understand, we can bring aboard at ports in Europe bottles of wine and liquor so we are not doing our CHEERS! this cruise.  I'm looking forward to a glass of wine looking out over the ship's wake from our balcony.  Maybe two glasses😉

And good wine is much cheaper in Europe.  We did sail aways with wine on the balcony before dinner. 

Rest as much as possible during your sea days.  The remainder of that itinerary is brutal with sightseeing. 

Someone else mentioned pickpocketers, but I wanted to add that they are in the Rome airport also. Start paying attention as soon as you are off the plane. 

4 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Now that my mom & co has missed the ship, they wanted to try and catch up and board in San Francisco, but the cruise line is saying that's not possible. Does anyone have any insight as to why they can't board?

I think cruise lines stopped allowing boarding at other locations after COVID.  It was an easy time for them to implement that rule change.  

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Hey y'all, I'm betting some of you have sailed out of Rome - any idea what the ealiest/safest flight time on day of disembark should be? Cruise line says 6 hours after ship arrival, but wanting to double check...

We were off the ship shortly after 7 am (had a 7:30 shuttle scheduled). Got to the airport around 9 am and had to wait to check in our luggage until 10:15 am for a 12:15 pm flight.  

Paid for Cheers for our NYE cruise.  I wanted to wait on that purchase since we are traveling this month, but the prices for five days and under go up on Monday.