CeleBrat

I too cruised after JUST having been put on crutches for a stress fracture. I found that the staff was above-and-beyond helpful, as I didn't have time to contact the Special Needs team (as the crutches occurred the day before we sailed!) A few things that worked well: --When I got out of the car at the port, and started to crutch my way over to the terminal, a porter came running up to me with a wheelchair, and pushed me the entire way through the check-in process. We actually by-passed much of the line, including the arrival group photo (which we always take). --At MUSTER, a crew member came up to me and noted by name/cabin number on a clipboard. He told me that "in the event of an emergency", they would send someone to my cabin to provide assistance to me. WOW! --At MUSTER, I was allowed to take the elevators up/down. --At the Lido buffet, someone ALWAYS offered to carry my tray. --At several ports, there were industrious young men with wheelchairs, who would offer to push you alllllllllll the way down the pier, either to/from the ship, in the hopes that they would receive a tip. --I had to cancel our Segway excursion, but was able to go to the excursions in the other ports than involved vans/boats. All tour operators were very helpful. --I did use a wheelchair medway through the cruise for 2 evenings, as we were on the Vista and I was just exhausted from crutching the long distances of her decks. Hope that helps!--CeleBrat

We did this as well, when we booked a surprise cruise for my Dad's 80th. While my Mom was able to go into his email and delete the reservation email that he got, she could not keep up with all of the other emails (want to upgrade, book a shore excursion, here's your spa discount) so he figured it out. Also--when booking we did request that he not receive emails, however the Carnival agent that we were working with was "hardcore" and wouldn't make any changes to his account without his permission. So, we couldn't delete his email. Oh well...ALthough he knows about the cruise, he does not, however, know that the rest of his adult children will be meeting him on the ship!! CeleBrat

Umbrella strollers--are a MUST HAVE for cruise ships. Not just for their portability. But, so you can also fold them up and store them in the shower, as stroller can't be left in the hallways. Also, if booking shore excursions, do so via private tour operators, as they are often willing to accommodate your toddlers whereas sometimes the ship's tours won't. Lastly, check the Camp Carnival schedules for "Family Time", which is when the young ones (too young for Camp) are allowed in with parents to play with the toys. CeleBrat

Cuba is not-at-all like some of the other ports you may have experienced, where children are running around trying to sell things and/or begging. All the kids we saw in Cuba were in school groups, or being watched over by their parents. I would think it would seem very odd to approach one of those groups and hand out candy. As someone said earlier, imagine someone approaching your child's class while he/she is on a field trip. Would the teacher allow the kids to take the candy...? NO! Your best option to "give back" would be to book a tour that involves a visit to an orphanage or something similar, where donations are accepted. CeleBrat

We sailed the MAGIC in MArch, with a completely full ship, and the COmedy Club did not have any crowd control requirements in order to see a show. You simply just went in. And, they didn't even make us leave the venue between shows, which happens on other ships. CeleBrat

As someone who works in hospitality/tourism and often is involved in handling guest "situations" (both good/bad/intentional), I would suggest that IF you attempt to have this ban lifted, you do so after a year has passed, and you can explain that your son has been responsible since then. If the incident happened just recently, they certainly aren't going to change their minds that quickly. I would also suggest that you just simply cut ties with Carnival as far as your son is concerned. You do know that EVEN IF he were allowed to get back onboard one of their ships, he will always have a note in his file re: the incident. So, if anything else happens, they may take harsher action. And, if he were to ever complain about anything (poor service, maintenance issue in cabin), they will see the past note in his file and be less likely to go above and beyond to assist him. CeleBrat

On our last cruise (MAGIC/March) the big-red card-reading machine thingy stopped working during the show. The contestant would insert his/her card, but the machine wouldn't reveal the value. So, the workaround was that the Host took each card from the contestant and "pretended" to insert it in the back of the machine, and then they would pull a different type of card from the back of the machine that had a $$ value on it. I'm glad they had a contingency, but it was soooooo lame, as it seemed as if the Host could totally dictate who won as he was doing the $ card selecting. Especially since the person who won was the lady whom the Host was totally doting on during the whole show (older lady, traveling with a large family, and had her 9 month infant grandson on stage because the Host thought he was so cute). CeleBrat

Turkey and honey mustard for the WIN! CeleBrat

OMG!!! I ((HEART)) you!! You're the best reviewer here, hands down. So funny...always keeping me laughing. Can't wait to read about the rest of your adventure on the Horizon. Carry on with your hilarious self! CeleBrat

Disgusting, from a "being nice to the world" perspective: A drunken (and mean) passenger taking his empty beer bucket, and flinging it over the side of the ship. And then shrugging when people tried to "call" him on it. He reasoned, "It's just one bucket...who cares." A horrible person, and ultimate litterbug. Plastic in the ocean is a HUGE problem, and he made me so sad. CeleBrat

Disregard...the 99th time is the charm. Apparently I need to right click and "Copy image ADDRESS" in order for this to work. Success!

Here's an idea of exactly how dark and wet it was that night: Lots of cobblestones and standing water, with no lights leading up to the fort. And, the 2nd pic is the area where our taxi parked. Total darkness, with the fort off in the distance.

How do I fix this????????? CeleBrat

AAARGH! I have literally spent the last 30 minutes searching through these Shutterfly posts and trying to get a picture to post...but can't. Every time I right click, copy, then paste into this forum, I either get a blank space or the actual web address of the picture. What am I doing wrong?????? Inserting a picture here: https://pix.sfly.com/nSHOx1

Yes! We did this when we visited Havana. Our driver indicated that he would wait for us. NOTE--the taxis drop you off outside the fort, and there is not a lot of lighting. It was also drizzling on the night we went, so it was very treacherous walking to/from/in the fort. CeleBrat