Carnival 55+

[momoforthodoc]

The GOOD NEWS - we booked our trip to Vegas in Sept right before I left for the cruise - so I have something to look forward to! We will be out there over labor day - great rates at the Golden Nugget that week. We stay there every year - it is tradition.

 

 

sept. isn't a bad month to visit my fair city, kathy. still can be nice and toasty warm but that's what people love about living here. enjoy your time at the nugget, it's probably the nicest of the downtown hotels.

 

georgette, the temps are moderating a bit, we may even go down into the high 80's for a day or two as a storm system begins to move in from ca. we are heading into our monsoon season, something i never knew existed until i moved here. enjoy your trip out. where are you staying??

 

jeralyn ;)

[georgette923]

kathy32259 - Glad to hear the Bacardi tour was fun I think that's what we will do too.

 

jeralyn - we are staying at several different places, free is good. Rio, Paris & Bally's will be our home for 9 nights. We are planning to go to Cashman Field next Saturday (27th) night to the ballgame. We're planning on going to Red Rock on Wednesday, and South Coast on Thursday night. (friends from California are coming over those two nights).

 

Everyone have a nice rest of the weekend!

[momoforthodoc]

georgette, i agree, free is great. i actually live just a mile from red rock and they did a wonderful job on the hotel. when they opened i stood in my backyard and saw the fireworks! you should have a wonderful time there. i was actually there last sun. with friends for dinner to celebrate mother's day.

 

i'm home only a week and already trying to decide where my next cruise should be. would love everyone's opinion on what their favorite itinerary was.

 

have a great weekend!

 

jeralyn ;)

[kathy32259]

Hi all -

 

Well I can relate to Jeralyn - home a week and anxiously awaing my next cruise. Then my parents decided they would like to "try" a cruise - a short one - to see if they liked it. And my oldest DD and her BF has never been, so today - because of the great sale - I booked the Fantasy for June 29 (4 days to the Bahamas). I am excited to take them since they have never been. They are in their mid-70's (my parents that is - not my DD!!) and I think it is time!! I have never been on the Fantasy Class ships, so it will kinda be a first for me - no balcony :( but hey - it's a cruise:D .

 

Then only a couple months til Vegas. We go every September (another tradition) and it can be pretty warm then. One year we went in November and I couldn't believe it was cold - it didn't compute in my mind that Vegas gets cold (and rainy). Sure didn't spoil our fun though!

 

georgette - you should be leaving real soon!!?? Be sure and let us know how your trip out west goes.

 

Everyone have a great long weekend!!:)

[georgette923]

Hi Kathy & Jeralyn - I leave in the morning for Vegas!!! We're looking forward to Red Rock, we will probably be going there on Monday.

 

Have a nice weekend. I'll be back on line when we return, no computer for work or play for 10 DAYS!!!!!! :D

[momoforthodoc]

hope your trip to vegas is a great one, georgette! we're in a wind advisory at the moment so hoping your flight will not be delayed for any long periods of time. the winds are one of the few things that tie up the airport a bit. will be curious to hear what you think of red rock. i'll wave when i drive by!

 

kathy after vegas do you have another cruise planned? what about you georgette? i might have to wait a while since i really want to do another transatlantic/repo cruise and next spring my daughter graduates from med school smack in the middle of repo season! i'd rather do the spring trip as the fares are usually better then the fall. i have a friend who just came back from a princess med cruise and said the weather was perfect and the seas very calm. another friend i met on last year's star crossing said the crossing this spring was even better weather wise then last year. we did have a couple of bumpy days but if you're prepared all goes well.

 

anyway, have a great holiday weekend! enjoy all of your adventures!

 

jeralyn ;)

[early_iron]

Hi all,

 

Just stumbled across this thread anthought I would check it out. Is stumbling across things a senior thing...lol I just passed the 59 mark and my wife is 56. Does that make us over qualified?

 

We just booked n eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Glory for September 2nd. This will be our 8th cruise, 6 of which have been on Carnival. First two were on NCL and then we found Carnival and never looked back. Felt no need to try anything else as we have never had a bad anything but fun on Carnival.

If any of you 55+ folks are military vetrans you might want to check out Carnivals Military rates. They are even better than the senior rate. We booked a balcony for a 7 day cruise for well under $600 pp.

 

This is a great thread. Keep it going.

 

Terry

[kathy32259]

Welcome to the thread Terry! I wish I was retired military - but alas I am not. You all deserve it though - I admire and respect our military and what they do for us to keep us safe and protected. So thank you! I am glad that Carnival Thanks you as well with great pricing!

 

What a great price for the Glory - my favorite ship (so far). You are certainly not over qualified for this thread. We like all the +++'s - btw - I just became a + a couple of weeks ago!

 

jeralyn - yes I have another cruise booked after Vegas. We will be sailing on the Triumph back to back beginning Dec 30! :D Oh yes - did you notice in my signature that we have an unexpected 4 night planned on the Fantasy on June 29? We couldn't pass up the great sale last week.

 

This is it though till next year - I am running out of vacation days in 2006!:eek:

[momoforthodoc]

glad you found this thread terry as the people on it have been very helpful and very friendly! i say the more the merrier!!!

 

kathy how silly of me not to realize that you had a few cruises booked. i read signatures and saw the ones you are going on, i must have been having a senior moment!! have you been on a holiday cruise before, if so how was it?? i would imagine that new year's eve on board most ships must be great fun.

 

btw the winds that blew in today brought really wonderful cool temps with them. i wonder if georgette is prepared since it's below 70, certainly not typical weather for us. we'll be back into triple digits by the end of the week :rolleyes:

 

once again, have a great weekend everyone!

jeralyn ;)

[UtahBill]

Hi all,

I just now put up a message about Carnival military rates for ALL veterans. It is a military rate extended to ALL veterans who served at least 2 years ( think that is the lower limit) honorably. Check it out. Their discounts are huge.

[mfeenker]

Hi all,

I just now put up a message about Carnival military rates for ALL veterans. It is a military rate extended to ALL veterans who served at least 2 years ( think that is the lower limit) honorably. Check it out. Their discounts are huge.

 

Thanks Bill,

I'll certianly check with my ITT office.

[momoforthodoc]

welcome home georgette! hope you enjoyed your trip and our nice toasty weather! you've certainly had a nice mix of cool and hot, hot, hot temps! can't wait to hear what you thought of red rock.

 

have a good weekend all!!

 

jeralyn ;)

[georgette923]

Hi Jeralyn,

Our flight in to Vegas on the 27th was smooth until we got over Lake Mead area, then it was a little bumpy. But it was only for about 15 or 20 minutes, not to bad.

 

We loved Red Rock, what a classy place! We drove out there twice.

 

The weather was perfect, we left yesterday when it was still in the 80's. I guess you got the 107 degrees they predicted for Monday. Love the low humidity, 8% is unbelievable. We also don't mind the heat.

 

Our next cruise is in September on the Elation. After that probably our December trip to Vegas.

[Guest TRACKER1]

I am 55+ and have cruised with my husband and children beginning with Carnival in the mid 1980's and late 1990's to the Mexican Riviera, with Princess in the early 1990's to Alaska, and with HAL to the Sea of Cortez and the Western Caribbean. Now my kids are grown and I, being retired, have more time to travel than my husband who is still working and hates to fly even when he can get away. So I've been reading this forum and the Solo one to see if maybe I might want to cruise alone. I'm struck by how many cruisers repeat the same itinerary. For those who do, could you discuss why you choose to repeat and also what you do ashore at ports that you have already seen to keep the trip fresh and interesting? I would be ever so grateful to hear your thoughts!:)

 

Ok you asked for it!

I guess I Qualify since Iv'e been on two carnival cruises but since have switched to RCI due to a better Iteniary and better service and Friendlier Crew! We only sail the Rhapsody out of Galveston,Texas!

#1-It's a 5 hour drive

#2-We don't like to Fly to go to other Port's!

#3-we never get tired of the same ports our 6th.cruise is coming up on the Rhapsody and we find different thing's each time we go!

#4-We love Galveston and eating at Landry's Seafood Restaurant,excellent Seafood!

#5-We can change our Port's of call on different Dates & Month's!

And overall we love the Western Caribbean!! We know where to shop and what to shop for and we are done in two hour's max and then we can enjoy whatever! It just depend's on where,when,what and how principle and how you make it into what you want!

 

Maybe when me and my DW Retires we may be open to other things!Cruising,cruising,cruising! In that order! Well you asked my opinion probably not again "HUH"! HE! HE!

[richkinkade]

kathy32259 - Glad to hear the Bacardi tour was fun I think that's what we will do too.

 

Georgette, consider doing the Bacardi tour on your own instead of the ship tour. Here is the info.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=358561

 

The ferry was actually 50 cents (25 if you're over 65). In Catano, you take a van for $2 per person to the Bacardi factory. By the way, don't buy rum at the factory. It's cheaper on the ship or at a duty free shop.

[momoforthodoc]

welcome home georgette!

 

i'm glad you had such a great time in my little part of the world. what time did you leave, must have been early if it was still only 80. it's been brutal, 10-15 degrees higher then normal for this time of year. right now it's 106 at 4:30. yes, the low humidity is something that's easy to get use to, i love walking around and not feel like i'm in a steam room, of course out here it's like being in an oven!!

 

i was at red rock on sat. to see a movie and have dinner with a friend. it really is a beautiful hotel and i agree with you, very classy.

 

just starting to look into taking my daughter on her first cruise next may. this will be her gift for becoming a dr. she'd like to go on a med cruise but would like to go to greece, turkey and egypt. there are very few itineraries that cover that so i've been doing a lot of searching the internet. contacted my ta and gave her the ones i found to see what she comes up with. think it would be a fun cruise. our time frame is very short since she has to begin her residency on july 1. so far ncl is the only one that seems to have the "perfect" cruise but i've never sailed them so don't know how it will be.

 

once again georgette, glad you're home safe and sound and that you had a wonderful vacation.

 

jeralyn ;)

Hi Jeralyn,

Our flight in to Vegas on the 27th was smooth until we got over Lake Mead area, then it was a little bumpy. But it was only for about 15 or 20 minutes, not to bad.

 

We loved Red Rock, what a classy place! We drove out there twice.

 

The weather was perfect, we left yesterday when it was still in the 80's. I guess you got the 107 degrees they predicted for Monday. Love the low humidity, 8% is unbelievable. We also don't mind the heat.

 

Our next cruise is in September on the Elation. After that probably our December trip to Vegas.

[georgette923]

Thanks Jeralyn! We were at Red Rock on Saturday too!! Our flight left at 11:20 AM. It feels hotter here today than it did in Vegas. The temperature is 74 degrees and the humidity is 77%! Muggy..

 

Congrats on your daughters accompolishment, that's great. Did she specialize in a particular field? Staying in Vegas?

 

richkinkade - thanks for the information, we can hardly wait. Ready to relax by the pool!!

[momoforthodoc]

morning georgette

 

coincendence about being at red rock on sat. i'm so glad they built this hotel right around the corner from me as it offers a lot for us locals.

 

thanks for your good wishes for my daughter. she will graduate mother's day weekend next may and go into an ortho residency to become an ortho surgeon. honestly don't know where she came from as i was so bad in science. anyway, she's in fl at the u of miami and has no desire to stay there or come to lv.

 

i believe it when you say it feels hotter with the humidity. i'm flying back to nj in july and then down to miami in aug. and i'm not looking forward to either trip weather wise.

 

have a great day!!

 

jeralyn ;)

[momoforthodoc]

georgette, quick question. noticed that you have been on a couple of ncl cruises. how do they compare to the others that you've been on? what did you like/dislike about them?

thanks,

jeralyn ;)

[georgette923]

Hi Jeralyn,

NCL cruises were fun too. They don't have the same "party atmosphere" as Carnival. We kind of missed the entertainment at dinner that Carnival does. Since NCL has open dining, you don't have dinner with the same people every night. We've made some great friends by dining with them nightly on Carnival cruises. The food, in our opinion, is not as good as Carnival or Princess, but it's not horrible food. You can always find something that you would like.

 

The cabins are a little smaller than Carnivals but how much time do you spend in you cabin anyway. The service and servers are wonderful, ships clean and comfortable.

 

Hope this answers your question.

[momoforthodoc]

thanks for your help georgette! you're right about the time spent in the cabin, that's why i decided not to take a balcony. i doubt that we'll spend much time there so why spend the extra money. i'm hopeful that should i decide to take this cruise it will be a good one. my daughter is a real self proclaimed "food snob" so hopefully she'll approve of the choices onboard. guess the main thing is that it's going to the ports we want to see. i'll have to check in on the cc ncl threads to see what i can find out about the ship.

funny, i didn't think i was much of a "party atmosphere" person but when i was on my hal cruise i found it very dull. don't know if i mentioned it but you didn't even see the cruise director or her staff around the ship. on princess there are times they get out of hand and in your face:eek: on the zaandam they were nonexistent! i have a friend who has been on a few ncl sailings and likes them a lot but she has nothing to compare it with.

again, thanks for your opinion!

have a great day!!

jeralyn ;)

[hairychick]

My Husband And I (58 & 62) Will Be On The New Canival Freedom(may 1st,2007)...is There Anyone Out There That Will Be On This Cruise With Us...we Are Celebrating Our 40th...we Had Gone On Many Cruises But Never A Carnival Line..we Liked The Itinarary For This Ship...

[beaming90]

I am not over 55 yet, but my mom is and she is the one who cruises with me. I have learned a lot for her from this board. :rolleyes:

[normamp]

Hi Everyone,

I've been on this CC message board for over a year now, but just discovered this thread - could it be because I turn 55 in 2 more days!!!

So, I guess I'll officially belong here then.

 

Anyway, have always loved to travel anyway possible - even worked in the travel industry for over 16 yrs., and took my first cruise with my parents in 1970! Have been on too many cruises to even remember all the names, but loved them all. Carnival is my favorite line though - there is just something for everyone on one of their fun ships. In the last few years have been on the Carnival Spirit, Golden Princess, Grandeur of the Seas, and now have just booked Carnival Liberty - Exotic Western Caribbean for 11/25/06. Looking forward to getting back to Carnival and to seeing the Liberty - haven't sailed on a ship this huge yet.

There will be 4 of us on this one - my Mom, me, and 2 best friends, one male, from FL, and the other female, from AZ - all single. My Mom will have just celebrated her 90th birthday about a month before we cruise - so we'll just have to celebrate again, I guess. I'll be the "baby" of our group of over 55's, but that doesn't bother me - even as a kid I always had older friends.

 

I've already gone to the Liberty's roll call thread for 11/25/06, but it's been so sloooow - that's why I was checking around and found you!

 

Has anyone been on the Liberty yet, in the Med. maybe, or planning to go?

 

That's it for today - happy weekend everyone.

Norma

[kathy32259]

Hi all - Haven't posted here for awhile so thought I should catch up!!

 

jeralyn - counting down to the visit to your fun city! we arrive 9/2! looking at a couple of shows - I want to see Barry Manilow but no one else in my crowd wants to see him so I may have to go solo. Geez. Also looking at LOVE. Have you seen either show? Also - can you tell me how to get to Red Rock? We are renting a car so I want to be sure to get out there.:D

 

hairychick - Welcome to the thread! I will not be on the Freedom but I wish I could be. You may want to go to the Carnival board and read the review about the Liberty Med cruise. There is a great day by day review and it made me want to go!! There are a lot of good tips posted there as well - if I was going to cruise the Med on Carnival I would print this out for planning. I will try to post a link to it after I finish this post. How wonderful to be booked on a brand new ship!! You will love it - I am sure!

 

beaming90 - welcome! my daughters cruise with me sometimes too and we have a blast! tell your mom to look us up on the board. it is fun to browse through and see what others have to say about their cruises!