lazydayz

Not at all. Since it was the "Deluxe", I think Carnival capped it at 12 or so people.

Cabo is one of my favorite all time ports. The water was clear and warm. We did the deluxe catamaran cruise from Carnival. The boat was wonderful, the crew was nice, the food was great. Highly recommend it.

No experience with Georgia, but Lee is one of the best. He is everywhere!

Agree with all of these comments, but can also recommend the Classic Cars excursion offered through Carnival. It was a great day!

Probably but that is Tampa's only access to the Gulf of Mexico. So it would have to be in another county. At one time, Tampa offered St. Pete a swap. Tampa would get the Rays and St. Pete could do a cruise terminal. That didn't go very far.

Here are the things I love about my Carnival cruises that sail from Tampa. Carnival has the fun ships, so there are a lot of activities if you want to participate. There will be live music around the ship, in addition to the piano bar. Comedy shows nearly every night (usually two different comedians). The pizza is really good. The new Emeril's selections each night in the MDR. Delicious. You get to sail under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Valet parking is offered at a reasonable price (cheaper if you book online in advance). In addition to the many hours of driving saved, it's a less stressful trip to the Port. Downtown Tampa is not nearly as chaotic as Miami.

You could take the group to Emeril's for an anniversary dinner. It is amazingly good and inexpensive. It is much less crowded than the MDR, and the atmosphere is fun.

Yes

We have cruised on the Mardi Gras five times and the Celebration twice. There are so many positives to the Excel class, I think you should book it and decide for yourself. We loved all of the dining and bar offerings, you literally could eat at a different place every day and still likely miss something. There are a ton of activities, and the ships are high energy. The Serenity area on both ships are beautiful and spacious. The staterooms are more modern. Some complain about the size of the bathrooms, but most rave about the generous size of the showers. Our recommendation is to go with the extended balcony category. The shows and talent are so much better than on the older ships. Because at times we are laid back cruisers and sometimes just want to chill, we are now alternating between the smaller ships sailing from our home port (Tampa) and the Excel class.

Thanks for a fun trip report. So glad it went well for you and your family. We board the Paradise tomorrow for a spring break cruise. What were we thinking? Since the grands elected not to go, it will just be hubby and me in our Grand Suite.

We were happy to be upsold today for a nice upgrade. Went from a Jr, Suite under a public deck to a midship grand suite with cabins above and below for $320. Five night spring break cruise leaving Saturday.

Good choice!

A family prank?

We went to the piano bar on one cruise and I nearly fell asleep. Our friends went every night and loved it. Go figure. To each her own, but I am pretty sure I am not a piano bar person. Comedy is much more to my liking.

I don't know that Carnival would be responsible for your privately arranged transportation to and from the port. If Carnival indeed caused your husband to miss the bus, then he may have a claim for his "bus" fare. But it seems you could have sailed and elected not to go. I know, you wanted to cruise with your husband and friends, but in Carnival's eyes, you could have still took the bus and cruised. But we would want to hear more of the story. Why did Carnival inform your husband days before the cruise that he wasn't allowed to board? And how was it ultimately resolved? Did Carnival refund both of your cruise fares or give you a Future Cruise Credit? It sucks to miss a vacation, but hopefully the situation is now resolved, minus bus fare.