ZoeyVictoria

For those very last minute bookings, I don’t think Carnival bothers to rearrange cabins to assign the cheapest category. I think they just reassign the latest cabin that becomes available through cancellation. The other 4J cabins around us on the Freedom were friends or family, with at least one of them celebrating a birthday. We more than likely got the cabin canceled by someone who should have been with that group. We will book that deal again without hesitation if I receive another offer.

We intended to get off the Celebrity Silhouette in late April and board Liberty of the Seas the same day. We use off-site parking, Park ‘n Go in this case. They said if the shuttle was going past the Liberty on the way back to the parking lot, they would just drop us off on the way. Otherwise, we would have ridden the mile or so back to the lot and then shuttled to the Liberty. We had to cancel the Liberty because we closed on our house during that time, so we never got to try it. But it did sound simple.

We took that offer once in February and again in March. In March, on the Freedom, we were assigned one of our favorite categories, a 4J (front-facing “interior” with a window). We were assigned a regular interior on the Pride in February, in a location we liked. We intended to forfeit the $50 each if assigned a 1A, but did not need to.

But I would know that I had experienced it! Sometimes that is as good as it is going to get.

I have always wanted to be driving over the bridge while a ship was passing underneath, but there is no way to get the timing right to do that. One time, years ago, the Captain hit the horn and held it for an extended period of time while the ship was passing underneath. Never happened again, and I suspect that is not allowed. Imagine what it was like for the motorists driving above.

We always have dinner in the Windjammer the first night so there is no conflict with the bridge. The fifteen minutes prior to reaching it is a lot of fun, so make sure to be up there early. I set my alarm for 4:15 a.m. on debarkation day once to see the bridge again as we entered. It was pitch black, absolutely silent, and only one other couple was watching with us. Every bit as special, but in a different way.

We experienced one of those days a few months ago on the Independence. It was a cool, windy, and rainy day, but we went to the island anyway around lunchtime. We ate there, but all of the loungers were already wet and then it started raining again. The worst part was the IT failure on the ship that required us to be checked in manually. We stood in a long line for over twenty minutes, waiting to get on the ship while watching Mariner guests on the other side walk right on. It was so windy and rainy that it soaked through my coverup and formerly dry bathing suit. Most days on Coco Cay are indeed perfect, but the nasty days are really bad.

It was very warm in there in January. The solarium is usually one of our favorite places, but not on the Wonder.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I actually have to cancel two side-to-side cruises totaling eight nights. I am going to wait another week or so, just in case, but the two closings and a move will occur in exactly the middle of eight nights of cruising. The cruise planner items were Black Friday prices that I probably will never see again. But worth it in the long run.

It looks like we are going to have to cancel a cruise. Hate to do it, but it is for a good reason - selling a home, buying a home, moving. Should I cancel Chops and Hideaway Beach before canceling the cruise, or let it happen as part of the cruise cancellation?

We shared one dinner in January with a couple who used to live down the street from us and had later moved to a different area. The new area sounded like a place that would be perfect for us, so we checked it out after the cruise. Now our condo here is on the market and we are getting ready to move to that area. Such a huge change in our lives from one random table assignment on a cruise!

It is Easter Sunday, during spring break.

When you consider the major cities along that route, it could easily become an extremely long bus ride.

I would probably be very unhappy with the cost of parking in Bayonne vs. other ports.

Even if Norfolk wasn’t under construction, they would have a very difficult time finding enough employees to make it feasible. Better to use an existing port than try to set up a temporary one.