Cruise, J.D.

In its final years, the Holiday sailed from Mobile, doing Cozumel and either Progreso or Costa Maya runs. We did both itineraries. The Fantasy was in New Orleans in 2009. The 5-day itinerary was likely the same as the Holiday. We did a Coz-Progreso there. The Fantasy moved to Charleston by the summer of 2011. The Glory was in Port Canaveral in 2009, and I think it had been there for a while, but I don't know when it changed ports. We did an Eastern Caribbean to Nassau-St. Thomas-St.Marteen on it in 2009.

You can buy a bucket of IPAs at a bar and take it back to your room.

Last year the Alabama - Cincinatti game was on the big screen. I don't know about the Georgia - Michigan game as I was partying at the lobby bar. 😅

I don't know about the bathroom except that the line was always very long. We did use the snack shack. We got a bucket of beer and some savory fried pies. They had typical beach bar and grill stuff with a few special items.

Yes, we took the public bus to Arashi. The beach was great. It was beautiful and there was snorkeling equipment available for rent. We saw a lot of fish while snorkeling.

On the Horizon we could clearly hear the TV and normal conversation. Thankfully our neighbors were reasonable and not loud, but I will never stay in an adjoining cabin again.

We did experience some of the heat issues (mostly in transitional areas as Hoosierpop pointed out), but it was nothing that would keep us from going on the ship again.

Do you know the party in the adjoining cabin? That too would be an issue. We had an adjoining cabin last cruise and I won't do that again.

It's hit or miss at the ports on the enforcement. Last cruise I bought a small bottle in Amber Cove and was told to drop it off at the "table". No one was at the table so I kept walking 😅

That's got to be a good feeling having an empty ship and knowing that you have another full cruise ahead of you.

The FAQs state it is enforced by denying boarding and no refund. Minor Guest Policy | Carnival Cruise Line

The corkage fee in the MDR is $15. I was charged it for the first time on our last cruise.

We had a good time at Arashi (late June 2022). We took the public bus from Oranjested. The bus terminal was located in a parking lot across the main street that runs along the cruise terminal. It was about $5pp for a roundtrip. We rented 3 chairs and an umbrella for $50, which included free bottled water. Snorkeling equipment was $15 per person or 2 for $20. There was great snorkeling here. I suggest wearing water shoes as there is quite a bit of rocks.

Yeah, it's on the Dream and Breeze too.

If you are in the FQ, you are in one of the must sees. There are a lot of good tours, but you can also do a self-guided walking tour there. Just to name a few places off of the top of my head: Jackson Square, Cafe du Monde and too many other bars and restaurants to mention, Frenchmen Street, take the St Charles Street car line and hop off in the garden district. That should be enough to get you started.

Miami has several free testing options through the county. We did rapid antigen tests at the 17th Street garage in Miami Beach. https://www.miamidade.gov/global/initiatives/coronavirus/testing-locations.page

Yes, but I haven't done it myself.

It was available on our last cruise that ended this past Sunday. We almost used it once, but decided to get off our butts for a bit. 😅 However, we did see several deliveries being made. There are lots of options besides pizza.

It may not be too bad if under the passenger areas of the Lido buffet. If it is under the galley area, I would be more concerned.

We took a quick tour of the spa facilities, but didn't use any of them except for the gym. The facilities looked fine, but maybe a little small. The area was always packed when we went to use the gym. My wife was offered a really cheap deal on the last day for a massage.

No, I don't think they were. I didn't see or hear anything about it.

Yeah, I just checked the protocols and that 24-hr rule only applies to PCR testing for unvaccinated cruisers.

We had a 10am arrival time (earliest time) and got there about 9:30 am and were allowed in to start the check in process.

Did not try Teppanyaki, but it looked very popular. Always full when open. We did eat at JiJis and Bonsai Sushi and both were very good. The main places where I noticed the uncomfortable heat were near some of the outdoor areas (happens on a lot of ships), JiJis, and a few times in the aft MDR. Sometimes we would notice it just randomly walking through the ship. The only time it became really distracting was at JiJis.

Top Gun, Minions, and Jurassic World are the ones I remember. Have a great time on your cruise!