ed_k_tx

We have them scheduled for Jan. 24. 🤞

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I wonder if this could have a bearing on where the new ship will homeport?

http://maritime-executive.com/article/carnival-expands-presence-at-port-everglades

Suggest those that think it is not a safety issue Google "Star Princess cruise ship fire"

Not my video but I was there. This was May 9th this year in Progreso. The ship had thruster issues on the previous voyage and had to miss Cozumel. Carnival had arranged for tug assistance for this voyage in both Progreso and Cozumel. There was another tug on the starboard side forward pulling while this one came to the port side aft trying to push. There were 30+ knot winds pushing the ship against the pier. The Captain decided that it was unsafe to try to maneuver away from the pier and out through the channel and so we stayed the night in Progreso and missed out on Cozumel.

Extra sea day and $100/person onboard credit (which we promptly deposited in the casino) :D

Thanks for sharing.

This crossed my mind after our tour...

 

When we exited the tender onto the dock there was a person holding up a sign for our Carnival tour. All you would have to do is be on the lookout during the proper time if you tendered over on your own.

 

I don't know how many people were on our tour in general. When we were waiting to board the tender from the ship, there appeared to be a lot of people in front of us who got in line when our tour number was called (wife was in bathroom so we were near the end of the line). I think there were some from our group that boarded one excursion tender and it pulled out before we got on our tender.

 

When we made it to the dock, there were very few people ahead of us and our tour "sub-group" consisted of about 20 people. We had our own guides, boat, and bus for this sub-group. There is a little storage space under the seats on the boat and space in the bus so if you don't buy too much volume while shopping you will have room.

 

We did not have Faster to the Fun (FTTF) or any other tender boarding priority and we just stuck with the excursion plan from the start. I don't know how difficult getting a tender was for others. When we visited Belize on Carnival in 2008, we had an independent tour and got an excursion sticker from Carnival so we made it over pretty early. I don't know if this can still be done for independent tours. On the Dream for our recent visit, there was a different waiting area and tender boarding platform for non-excursion (maybe non-Carnival-excursion?) folks. I'm guessing Carnival attempts to keep their excursion guests together from the start to avoid confusion and to ensure folks can get a tender to meet the schedule. I don't think it would be tough to get over early; maybe others can comment or there is some better information in other threads regarding tendering of the masses.

Thank you very much for the info. I think anything we buy would fit in my backpack. We had FTTF for our last trip to Grand Cayman and we were off on the first tender. We had an independent tour that time.

Thanks again.

We were in Belize on the Carnival Dream on May 21. We used the Carnival excursion for Altun Ha and River Wallace. We really enjoyed this excursion.

 

This was one of the few times that we booked an excursion through Carnival due to the possible tightness of time. I would consider doing an independent tour if it would start earlier than our Carnival excursion (next paragraph...). I did not find a lower cost with an independent that did the same tour.

 

The ship's tender operation started at 8am. Our meeting time in the Encore Lounge (main lounge with stage at front of ship) was 9:30am with scheduled departure time of 9:45. The late start time made for a relaxing early morning and breakfast with few people eating late. We started towards the tender right at 9:30 but did not depart the ship until 10:15 or so.

 

The River Wallace boat ride was nice even with a few short rain showers. We saw interesting birds and nests, bats on the side of a tree, monkeys in the trees, crocodiles and manatees. We were somewhat rushed after the boat ride ended.

 

We had lunch after departing from the boats; $8 for a lunch plus $2 for a drink. Lunch offering was rice and beans with chicken and cooked plantain slice or hamburger (didn't notice if the burger came with fries or with chips).

 

The bus was comfortable and the road was nice until the last 10-15 minutes or so before arriving at the ruins. The ruins were great but we didn't spend much time there. Not a lot of time is needed just to see what is there and to climb but I think we were cut a little short on the talks. New bathrooms have just been completed and there was another building being worked on that I'm guessing may house a museum.

 

The last tender was scheduled to depart from Belize for the ship at 4:15. We arrived at about 4:30 and got in a very long line waiting for the ride to the ship. There was time to shop and buy drinks since the line was so long and the tenders were slow coming back for refill. We didn't shop and stayed in our place in line and there were quite a few people behind us. I did purchase a few beers (2 for $5) while my wife held our place in line. Several tenders arrived and loaded while we waited. We loaded on a very large double-decker boat which ended up being the last tender back to the Dream as everyone behind us made it onboard. I think we made it back to the ship at around 5:45 (sail away was scheduled for 5pm).

 

If I had been on an indepent tour I would have been very nervous on the bus ride as we wound threw the city with 4:15 fast approaching and finally arriving at the dock after that. I don't think it would have mattered though since there was such a huge amount of people waiting. I think most of these people had also taken Carnival excursions because many still had an excursion number stickered on their clothes. I also think an independent excursion would have started sooner and been back sooner.

Thank you for the info. We will be taking this tour in October. One question I have. Do you know if it is possible to take an earlier tender ashore and meet the tour group later. We would like to do some shopping and are afraid that there wouldn't be time at the end. Thanks.

Brianna - or anyone for that matter, have you ever rented one of the cameras on the ship? If so how much was it and did they work well? Are they water resistant?

We were on the Freedom last month and they were renting GoPros.

I'm not sure what the rate was but I do rremember they had a daily rate and a cruise long one too.

I hope your Dad is doing well.

I always enjoy reading your reviews. You have a great outlook on life and don't sweat the small stuff. I think that sometimes we take the "critic" part of Cruise Critic too seriously.

We were looking at the Breeze repositioning too but now are leaning towards the Magic instead. She is going from Galveston to Port Canaveral during the same time but hitting ports we haven't been to before.

I hope that we can sail together sometime and discuss or favorite Cub's memories. Hey, anyone can have a bad century.:D

I sat down at the bar up on the Sports Deck with a hot dog and beer....Life is Good

 

 

 

 

 

Only one place better for a hot dog and a beer......

Wrigley Field.

Well, a couple of problems here. First, dredging and the bridge have nothing in common. Dredging will allow larger ships that have deeper drafts into the river. However, dredging will not lower a ship to allow a taller ship to pass under a bridge. Since a cruise ship does not change it's "cargo" weight by much, the ship's draft and air draft don't change.

 

Secondly, you're under the misconception that dredging will shut the river down completely? Nothing further from the truth. Dredging operations go on every day in many ports around the world, with minimal impact on vessel traffic. At most, two way traffic is limited or eliminated (requiring pilots to arrange inbound and outbound sailing times), or the dredge will move during times of high traffic density.

Good points, even if they do come from the engine room.;)

Gold still gets to go to the VIFP party and get free drinks there. Red & Blue cannot.

For now anyway!;)

to kind of re-cap a bit here, it's clear that the majority do not agree with this change from carnival as evidenced by the poll results (about 90% against at the time of posting)...

 

some (probably among that 10% supporting, possibly platinum+ which are not affected, or those who don't understand 'oh i won't have to bring water if they give us 1 each every day') seem to scoff that anybody is concerned at all about the loss of one of the few benefits afforded to red/gold - cruisers as a whole.

 

to the platinums, i'd say, remember when they took benefits from you with the VIFP changes. to those that prefer water anyway - i'd say, use your coupon for a bottle of water! to those with cheers, same thing! to the people who somehow think this will replace their carrying on water - do you only carry on 2 bottles of water? lifting the restrictions to make the coupon more available anywhere or even in select places would just make it more accessible to all. and wouldn't you rather a cold bottle of water than a lukewarm one left in your cabin?

 

really though, i think what has most people posting that they don't approve, is that carnival seems to be out of touch with their clientele. john heald said 'We’re making these changes because members told us they felt the drink coupon was overly restrictive in terms of where and when it could be used.' - so lift the restrictions, don't rescind the offer, and offer a bottle of water (water - which is rightly available everywhere for free).

 

i think it is the subterfuge being utilized, again as we've seen similar in the past, that has people upset, as a matter of principle. not as a matter of the few dollars. i don't think it will make or break anybody's cruise (or carnival's bottom line one way or another)... in the past people have complained about pins, laundry, this that and the other thing. it's all valid, to the person voicing their opinion. i think we should respect each other's opinions...

 

and with that said... as much as ultimately it won't affect whether i choose to cruise with carnival or not - i still don't like it, for the principle of the matter.

Most heartily agree.

To quote John Heald "We’re making these changes because members told us they felt the drink coupon was overly

restrictive in terms of where and when it could be used."

Their answer is to make it even more restrictive as to who qualifies and not address the issue of when and where. Their logic escapes me.

 

Oh Christmas Tree....Oh Christmas Tree. Christmas Time while wearing shorts doesn't quite have the same effect :p

 

 

 

 

These little hotdog carts all over New Orleans

 

 

 

 

Mardi Gras beads hanging on the electrical lines. And this is one thing that I can't wait to see during Mardi Gras

 

 

 

 

GEAUX SAINTS

Really enjoy reading your review. The Lucky Dog cart sure bring back memories. Don't want to date myself but when I first shipped out of NOLA the Lucky Dogs were only 55 cents. 😱

Going to take a wild guess that you might be a Cubs fan.

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Many thanks for the review. We're boarding in 3 weeks. Can't wait.

Carnival's cruise contract not withstanding, the vessel's Master has both a moral and legal duty to render assistance to anyone found at sea in danger of being lost, so long as doing so poses no danger to his vessel or those onboard.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

It's just Dale and I this year. The first time since 1975.

Although we won't make the cruise we'll still be lurking around and one of these days we're going to meet up again.

Happy Sailings.

My god people, it is a few dollars relax. It won't break you. I really can't see NCL,RCL,CCL etc etc all pulling out of Texas because if this. The "sky is falling" mentality by some folks on here is laughable sometimes.

 

 

Sent using a small piece of fruit.

Well said Trucker.

IMO regulations require that the maximum righting arm must be reached at a heeling angle of 25* minimum, and preferably above 30*. They also specify that there must be at least a positive righting arm at 40*. This is for intact stability. Ships are required to not have any opening that would allow downflooding become immersed at less than a 30* heel, and I think the height of cruise ship's promenades is above this.

 

The ship you show is listing from flooding, and this is now damage stability, and the free-surface effect is what is bringing the ship over, and threatening to roll it over.

 

As for the promenade deck being in the water, it would be close, but I still don't think it would happen. Looking at the geometry, the ship is 132 feet wide, so the half breadth is 67 feet. I've found one statement that the promenade deck is 92.5 feet above the keel (can't confirm, just a quick search), and the nominal draft is 28.25 feet. Therefore, the promenade deck is 64.25 feet above the waterline. If the ship heels 45*, the water goes up the side of the ship a distance equal to half the breadth of the ship, so it would go up 67 feet. While this looks like the promenade would be under 2.75 feet of water (at the edge), I feel that the additional buoyancy that comes from submerging this side of the ship would lift it clear. I agree, it would be close, and there would be catastrophic damage to fittings and people, but I don't believe the ship would roll over, given the design stability it is required to have.

 

While ships like the Epic appear to be top heavy, this is not quite correct. While there is more volume above the water than below, the weight is concentrated below the waterline which creates the necessary righting arm when the ship rolls. The taller ships cause more wind heel from the surface area of the ship's side, but incredibly the center of gravity is near the waterline.

Dang, I knew I should have stayed awake during those stability classes.;)

KP73

Found these.

http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/faq/personal_importation.asp

http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/poe/tax_rates.asp

I don't think they have ever had agents at the cruise docks before, only at the land crossings.

happy birthday heidi!!!!!

Sue,

Hope you get your pivot problems solved before Festivus. :-)

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Hey, I know that exercise! They have me doing the same one! Well, okay, trying to do the same one. :D

 

Speaking of bad backs and such, my sciatica is back, again, so they finally did some testing. I have a herniated and partially fragmented disk at L5-S1 and they are recommending back surgery. Very strongly recommending it, as in, this could get really bad if we don't get the extra part cut off and stop the fragmenting. Is this anything anyone else has run in to? I know there are all sorts of back problems, I was just wondering if anyone has more information for me. :o

 

Its been cool reading about all the excursion ideas for February, but I'm still trying to get our last one set up for next month! We're going cave tubing in Belize and, no, I'm not asking my doctor if its okay. :p

 

Happy Almost Friday to all!

I feel for all you guys with back problems. Just visited the doctor today. I had symptoms similar to sciatica a while back. When I finally went to the doctor he sent me for an MRI and recommended a neurologist. He said I have a synovial cyst at L4-L5 and put me on Celebrex. After a couple of weeks of little help I went in for a epidermal steroid injection. This worked fine for about 10 days and the pain is back. Not as bad as before but getting progressively worse. So today he recommended another injection. If that doesn't work the next step is surgery to remove the cyst and anything else impacting the nerve. I really would like to avoid surgery but if the pain comes back like before I won't have any choice. I couldn't stand for more than a few minutes much less walk without pain. Hope everyone gets relief from their back problems

Dave - Glad Bettie's surgery was a success. Give her our best.

Heidi - Happy that Staci got the job she wanted.

Sue - Speaking of smoke, we're getting hazy conditions here in Houston that's being caused by dust from the Sahara!

I did get a $64 credit on our October Triumph due to a price drop. That's enough for 6 Long Island Iced Teas. :D

Ed

I went ahead and booked the Altos de Chavon and river boat excursion also. Like you said, it is one less thing to pay for in Feb. If we change our mind between now and 2 days before the cruise we can cancel and $ will be refunded.

 

A beach day in Grand Turk sounds fun. Lots of good reviews about Jack's. Frank will have a hard time walking that far, so we have also thought about renting a Cabana too. I'm not sure how many cabana's they have, but list 5 as being available this morning. Frank may also just stay on the ship and I may tag along with some of you to the beach or walk to jack's.

 

A sunset cruise in Curacao sounds very good too. Hopefully we can all coordinate and go on the same excursion.

 

Still looking at Aruba, but the yellow open bus type tour someone else mentioned a while back sounds fun to get an overview of Aruba.

 

We have never been to any of these places and can't wait.

Glad we are finally under 200 days. :D

 

I went to the Red Hawk's baseball game (OKC's minor league baseball team) last night with one of my best friends and my DS Chris and his best friend. We had a good time, but it was hot. Today I am having a lazy day.

Kathy,

I think the Red Hawks could give their big brother Astros a run for their money.

Other than Margaritaville and Jack's in Grand Turk we haven't planned anything yet. The river cruise looks good in La Romana and a sunset cruise in Curacao would be fun too. We're down to under 70 days 'til our anniversary cruise on the Triumph and we'll get more serious about planning excursions after that.

Ed

Looking forward to Jack's. Of course will have to get my obligatory t-shirt and glass from Margaritaville too.

The shot helped my leg pain. Not 100% but much better than it was.