loudsilence99

We went in August 2018 and it was lovely.  It wasn't as blue and perfect as some other ports but it wasn't as bad as people described it to me.  It was raining the day we were there and it felt super warm

One more question, loudsilence99, was the bed on the cabin closer to the bathroom or the sliding door? Thanks

By the sliding door.

Was there any problem with excessive noise from passengers passing by 14750? Thanks

Not at all. The only night we had a noise issue was the last night and it seemed like the family next door decided to throw a party.

DH and I have made it home from our first ever cruise. Cruise Critic was so helpful in our planning process so I thought I would shareour experience and possibly help out any other first-timers. So here wego!

About Us:

Our cruising group consisted of myself and DH. I am 28 and teach 7th grade English. DH is 35 and works as a paraprofessional and is also an ordained minister and pastors three churches. Don't let that fool you--we love Jesus but we are not the stereotypical stuffy pastor and pastor's wife. We've been married for 3.5 years and live in Delaware with our two dogs. We also just bought our first house not long before embarking on our adventures.

The Initial Planning Process:

I have wanted to try cruising for a while but never had. DH and I had originally planned to do a honeymoon cruise but decided not to because we thought it would be ridiculously expensive. Then we were going to take a short Bahamas cruise for our second anniversary... and didn't due to a financial crap storm that occurred in the lead up. Then I announced spring/summer 2016 that we were going--come heck or high water--on a cruise for my Master's graduation. I spent quite a bit of time researching different cruise lines and had it narrowed down to NCL or Royal. I knew that summer 2018 would be our time to go and because we were still paying for my tuition and anticipating that I would need 3 months off work as a paraprofessional to complete student teaching in the lead up to the cruise so we wanted as much time as possible to pay for the cruise. In the end, NCL won out mostly because they had their Summer 2018 itineraries posted sooner.

We booked directly through NCL for the reason that they were running a $50 deposit sale that the online TAs I looked at weren't offering...and I, not realizing they run that sale all the time, felt that we needed to go ahead and book. Again, with things being a bit tight financially, we were trying to minimize costs so I booked a mid-ship inside and the UBP as our free perk. Our sailing was to be an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, sailing from Miami on August 5th. We were to visit St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau.

I started doing my homework on our ports to determine a)what we were going to do and b) how much money to scrape out of our tight budget. For the most part, I wanted to visit beautiful beaches, maybe do some snorkeling, and not waste too much port time in transportation if at all possible. We didn't book anything because I wanted to pay off the cruise first but I had a plan. In St. Thomas, we would visit Coral World and Coki Beach. In Tortola, we would take a Catamaran to Jost Van Dyke. In Nassau, I was determined to do Aquaventure in Atlantis. I know, Iknow... it's expensive, you don't get a ton of time there, etc etc. The heart wants what it wants, though. I don’t foresee us ever doing a land vacation there (SO expensive).

I also started doing my research about onboard offerings. I was slightly disappointed that“Legally Blonde: The Musical” was no longer playing on board. From what I can tell, I’m the only person disappointed but I loved the original movie and I enjoy the musical. I also quickly became obsessed with the thermal suite and determined we would be booking passes. We also decided that we wouldn’t do a ton of specialty dining and planned to do “Moderno” since we wanted to try a Brazilian steak house. The rest of the nights… we would save the money and dine at included venues.

We also decided at one point that we would plan to drive to port rather than fly. The drive was intimidating for me since it would take 16-18 hours without stops to get from our home in Delaware to Miami but DH was quite determined. If we wanted to fly, it would involve flying from our regional airport in a propellered puddle jumper to a larger regional hub. DH and I are both of “fluffy”bodily proportions. We are fine on a standard Air Bus A320/ Boeing 737 seat but the seats on the puddle jumpers are tiny and uncomfortable. Plus, driving would allow us to see some sights on the way down, maybe make a road trip out of it. This decision would prove to be critical during the evolution of this vacation.

The Evolution, Part 1:

DH and I are both big Harry Potter nerds so we decided fairly early on that we wanted to make a stop in Orlando on either the way down or the way back. We settled on the way down… and then I decided that I also wanted to do Disney as this was supposed to be our last big trip before buying a house and (hopefully) having babies. Although I had been three times as an adult with my Mom before she passed, DH hadn’t been since 1999. It was a major expense to add but I am fortunate that I have an aunt and uncle who are Wyndham and RCI members and are very generous in allowing us to use their points to get a condo. We figured that we would plan to save money by doing breakfast and lunch in the condo most days. While we had a particular resort in mind,they were booked up and we wound up with a 2 bedroom condo at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club Resort at Orange Lake- North Village.

Life Happens:

And in the middle of this planning… life happened. In a really big way. For more background, I was pursuing my Master of Education degree with a focus in Special Education. My undergrad is not in education. Back in 2012, after moving home from college to be with my terminally ill mother, I discovered that there were not many jobs for someone with a degree in music. I had originally planned to go straight to graduate school to study music history and opera but put those plans on hold to be with my mom in her final years. At the recommendation of a friend, I began substitute teaching. After taking a long term position as a chorus teacher, I learned that while I loved music and I loved teaching, I did not love teaching music so an “alternate routes”certification wasn’t going to work since I didn’t want to teach music. To be sure, I took a job as a paraprofessional and fell more in love. While I intended to start my degree to become a certified teacher as soon as possible,life happened. I met my husband, married him, had a false start at a different university, survived the passing of an uncle and then my mother, moved into and out of a cockroach infested apartment,moved back in with my dad to minimize my graduate school loans, and eventually started my degree after a mix up at the university. Whew. Due to changing requirements, my graduation date kept shifting but one thing remained consistent: I would need to take a semester out of my job to fulfill the student teaching portion of my job. Ouch. It looked like this would be happening in Fall of 2017 and I would graduate in January 2018.

Then life punched me in the gut.

In April 2017, I learned that the specific job I had done for four years, the job I LOVED, was being eliminated. I had seniority so I was being transferred to an elementary school to an unknown position with people that didn’t know me or my skill set. I realized that I was going to have to delay student teaching to spring 2018 because I just didn’t feel comfortable (and wasn’t sure the district would allow) missing the first half of the school year and essentially coming in halfway through the year. I actually almost cancelled the cruise at this point because I was so concerned about the finances of going immediately after being unpaid for three months.

I spent summer 2017 rounding out my degree requirements. In August 2017, I received an unexpected email from my previous boss. He let me know that there was an opening for a special education teacher and that HR had told them that there was a chance that since I was so close to finishing my degree, I could fill it. Would I like to come in to talk about it? Um, yes! I went in for a meeting, the principal asked me if I wanted the job if they could make it happen. Again, um, yes! I was in limbo for almost two weeks and was about to lose hope when the Friday before teachers were to return I got the call from HR offering my the position. I asked about student teaching and was told that I could fulfill the requirements while working and getting paid. YES!!!!!!!! Another incredibly pleasant surprise occurred a few days later when I was informed that my salary would be almost doubling as I moved from a para position to a teaching position. Oh! And I would be eligible for another raise in January when I finished my degree.

In December, my husband made a major switch in church denominations and moved to a different church that came with a larger salary. It’s a little more complicated than that but I’ve written a novel about my graduate school at this point. In January, my raise came through, followed by a large tax refund in February (thank you to our accountant who makes the most out of educational credits and other tax incentives). Even with buying a house—a six month process and novel unto itself—we found ourselves in much better financial shape. So, how might this impact our cruise? Well let me tell you…

The Evolution, Part2:

The decision to do an inside cabin was a financial one when we booked the cruise. As I saw pictures and watched videos of the inside cabins on Getaway, I wasn’t super happy and decided to look into a balcony cabin. This was a while ago and I don’t remember specific prices to be honest but as I looked, it occurred to be that we should consider a spa balcony since we wanted thermal suite access anyway. With the upgrade, we would also get another booking perk. I figured if we got the SDP, it would save us another expense: the one or two meals we planned to do in the specialty venues. This way we would get a third. Score! I did a mock booking to see room availability and realized that if we did room 14750, we would score an extra large angled balcony. I called up NCL and made it happen. I learned on the phone that in addition to the UBP and the SDP, I would be getting $100 OBC.

In the fall, hurricanes slammed the Eastern Caribbean. The devastation in Tortola and St. Thomas was awful. Most remaining fall and winter cruises were rerouted to the West. I continued to read cruise reviews(*cough*mitsugirly*cough*) and almost regretted booking Eastern rather than Western. Then… in January (I think?) ourc ruise was rerouted to the Western route! From St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau to Costa Maya, Harvest Cay, Roatan,and Cozumel.

Re-planning the excursions commenced immediately. I was a little gun-shy about booking through independent vendors. I know, I know… less money, fewer people,blah blah blah. I risked it for one excursion which we’ll get to in a minute. I planned on our excursions mostly involving laying on sandy beaches since I figured we would be tired after a week at Disney and Universal. As I browsed cruise line excursions for Costa Maya, I came across “Salsa & Salsa.” The reviews sounded great: making guacamole and two salsas, a couple of margaritas, a brief salsa dancing class,and a beautiful beach to lay on afterward. I didn’t expect DH to go for the dancing part but he did! Done. In Harvest Cay, I was thinking we might splurge on a beach cabana… then the price went up to $699.00. Yeah,no. A couple of loungers and maybe a clamshell would be fine. In Roatan, I had every intention of booking outside of NCL. I was thinking about Little French Key but after some research (and some discomfort with the animal confiscation thing) decided on Maya Key. Problem: they only book through cruise lines. *Sigh* Book through NCL it is… ForCozumel, I was determined to do it on our own. Many reviews later, I settled on Nachi Cocom. I reserved our spot online and paid the deposit. Done and done.

I started booking meals and shows as soon as possible (90 days, I think?). For the first night, I booked us an early dinner at the Tropicana Room. I booked Moderno for Monday, Teppanyaki for Tuesday, and Le Bistro for Saturday. I booked the early showing of “Burn the Floor”for Wednesday and “Million Dollar Quartet” for Friday, both early showings.

Planning done, the waiting commenced. And while I was planning to post the whole cruise review in one, I have written over two thousand words so I’m going to break it up. Unless everyone is dying to hear, I was planning to gloss over the Disney/Universal part of the trip. Let me know if you want the gory details.

We were in 14750 (starboard) and did not experience any noise issues. The ping pong tables are on deck 15 port side. As a side note, highly recommend 14750 if available. It was close to the elevators and had an extra large angled balcony.

How do you know you didn't get upgrade? They usually notify you 2 days before the cruise. Is upgrade offers still open on your NCL website? It should be. Mini suites aren't worth the upgrade in my opinion. We booked one and it sure seemed same size as the balcony cabin to me.

Mini’s aren’t really worth it. I’d stick with what you have on a small chance that you win a bid. We bid $100 pp over minimum and got 2 cabins upgraded to Haven suites on last year’s New Years cruise on the Epic, so it’s possible! Try adding a little to your bid to set it apart from the minimum, if you can.

We are assuming we didn't get the upgrade for two reasons: a. The Haven Spa Suite is now showing as sold out and b. Upgrade Advantage is no longer showing on My NCL. We like the idea of a mini-suite for having the larger shower as DH and I are both "fluffy" people. It doesn't hurt that NCL has greatly reduced prices on our sailing and a spa mini-suite with all four "free" offers is currently selling for less than what we paid for our Spa Balcony. I shall call later today and see what they say.

DH and I sail on our first cruise on August 5th on the Getaway. We are in a spa balcony room with an angled balcony. We bid on the Haven Spa Suite but not looking like we got it (only bid the minimum). There are many Spa Minisuites still available, however. Would NCL allow us to pay to upgrade to one this close to sailing?

Forgive me if this is a stupid question!

Hello all! It's been forever since I've checked in but I wanted to remind you all that THIS DOCUMENT listing the service animal entrance requirements for various countries is a thing that exists. I will get around to finishing/updating it soon as I'm about to be on summer break from teaching. We have a new addition to our household: a 5-month old lab-coonhound mix by the name of Camo. While he will never be a service dog, we are hoping to train him as a therapy dog to bring a little puppy love to local hospitals and nursing homes.

Safe travels to all and please give all dogs, service or otherwise, an extra hug and kiss for me!

So we are a long way off to our cruise (We go this summer) but I would love to find a place to get massages. Any recommendations on Tortola?

I highly recommend joining the service dog thread on the Disabled Board. I also wanted to share a document that I compiled for the users of that particular board: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/100C66WqYHiUSo3A5s6UdqgitMPHBlhY5Bn1IrgmAsco/edit?usp=sharing

This does not go into specific details for the cruiselines but it does have the port entry requirements for most of the world and where to look for other information. Good luck!

So after my computer crashed twice, here is the beautiful Yardley:

Yardley refusing to look at me while I'm trying to take a picture:

Yardley waiting very patiently for her dinner:

Yardley trying to convince me to pet her instead of doing school work:

I have dozens so I hope you will forgive me for showing off my cute doggie. Also sorry they are all rotated! For some reason when I uploaded them they rotated!

Caitlin, thanks so much for contributing this to the Service Dog thread.

 

I think I speak for most of the folks when I encourage you to post a photo of your pooch. One lesson I've learned from a lifetime of dog ownership is that dogs don't have the human characteristic of feeling sorry for themselves.

 

 

If any of the participants in this thread can add anything to this listing please post the info to this thread.

Oh there will be lots of adorable doggie pictures when I get them downloaded from my phone. She is a very special girl and gets around almost as well as a dog with four legs. You should see her chase after squirrels in the backyard! We are fairly sure she has a history of abuse at some point in her life based on her initial fear of men (particularly those wearing hoods) and the fact that she will turn tail and run if you have a long cylindrical object in your hand (such as a rolled up magazine). In the past two years that we've had her, though, she has really come out of her shy shell!

Hello everyone! I feel like I know all of you because I have read literally the entire thread over the last several months as if it were a novel. I was directed over from the Celebrity thread about vets on board. It has been really interesting to read of all of your adventures on cruises and out in the world. I do not have a service dog though I will have to share with you a picture of my dog Yardley. She is a rescue and a puppy mill "accident" as she is a mixed breed and is missing a foot (we are unsure if it was congenital or an accident when she was young). She's a very beautiful, sweet, and loving dog. As for myself, I am a 27 year old teaching assistant, currently working on my Master's in Special education to work with middle school aged kids.

Anyway, my main reason for posting is this: As I have read through the thread, I have noticed a need for a central place to go to look up the travel requirements for different countries. APHIS has the requirements for *most* countries but not all. So, I created this: Service Dog Requirements by Country

This is a document that has general information about the entry requirements for each country. It is not complete but I have tried to start with the most popular cruising destinations first. This document does assume that you are coming from the US as most I have seen on this thread are. I have listed the vaccination, testing, and microchip requirements as well as whether an import permit is required (and a link to the application if possible), whether any fees are assessed, and whether a USDA endorsement is required. I have also included links to each country's "Pet Travel" page since they have more information on requirements, a government page where possible, and the APHIS page where possible.

Obviously, this is not a substitute for consulting with a USDA certified vet but I do hope that it can be a help as a quick reference for the requirements for different ports when trying to decide on a cruise itinerary. If you see anything that is incorrect or think of something else that would be helpful to add, please let me know!

~Caitlin

Hey all! I know I disappeared for a while (and this thread hasn't been active since November but I'm resurrecting it). To make a long story very short, my husband lost his job so the November cruise we planned to take didn't happen. (He has since been hired into a new position but it was quite stressful there for a while).

Our next already booked cruise is scheduled for... August 2018 to celebrate my grad school graduation (:( for cruise forever away and :D that I will FINALLY be done my Masters) but I'm hoping we will be able to sneak something in this Spring/Summer/Christmas 2017.

Sewing wise... I've made two dresses from my stash thus far and I made my own pattern for them so that was exciting. I have cut out the pieces for the swiss dot MONTHS ago... and have yet to sew it (whoops). In the mean time, I've also made two dozen elf costumes for a middle school play.

Is it sad that a year and a half out, I'm already making my cruise packing list?

The search function wasn't playing nice when I tried to look so I apologize if this question has been discussed at length previously.

Due to the nature of my job (I work in education), I am only able to cruise during the already popular school break times. I already expect to pay a premium price, have large crowds, and (much though I wish to escape them while on vacation) lots of children.

So my question is this: knowing that it's going to be pricey and packed, how do we make the most out of our cruise during peak times?

While I am thinking primarily in generic suggestions, our currently scheduled cruise is August 5th, 2018 on the Norwegian Getaway so if anyone has any specific suggestions on that ship, I'd love to hear them.

Pictures Please!

 

I have been sewing odd and end stuff. A long Dress bag for my formals, A jewelry bag, a sewing kit, and a first aid kit for our cruises. I cant remember how to down load the pics so I will try again tomorrow .

Have a great evening,

Gerry

Ask and ye shall receive... I pooped out last night right before I sewed on the final binding. It sounds like such an easy thing but this involves wrestling. Even with a walking foot, with so many layers of fabric and batting, this thing does NOT like to feed easily through the machine. I still need to find a piece of plastic/wood/something to stabilize the bottom of the bad but it holds its shape surprisingly well.

This was done with a Craftsy class which was cool and I enjoyed BUT there were times it felt like a plug for products from the instructor's website (byannie.com). Not wanting to put $80+ into a handmade bag (If I wanted to spend that much, I would have bought a Vera Bradley), I improvised some of the materials (two layers of interfacing + batting in lieu of "soft and stable," sport zippers in lieu of handbag zippers, etc).

Funny story. I could NOT get the chalk lines off the navy fabric so I decided to wash the bag. I failed to account for the fact that I prewashed everything... except the cotton webbing inside the straps. Pressing helped the strap covers be a little less lumpy but they aren't perfect. :( Next time, I will locate the ideal 1.5" wide poly strapping instead of being creative with the 1" readily available cotton. Oh! And half the chalk lines STILL didn't come out.

Sorry the pictures are sideways! They displayed correctly on my computer but rotated when I uploaded them which I do not know how to fix!

Inside out Mesh zip pocket:

Inside out three mesh pockets:

Right side out, front:

Right side out, back. The Horizontal strap is designed to slip over the handles of rolling luggage to keep the bag on top. I thought that was really smart!:

Completed bag with carrying strap:

So on Tuesday whilst doing some mending for a friend, My serger decided to kick it. One of the loopers will NOT stay threaded (grrr...). I think it is just dirty to be honest (the fuzz that came out of that thing when I went to rethread!) but I took it to the local sewing shop for a tune-up. I am fairly comfortable cleaning out my sewing machine but the serger has a lot more moving parts that I am afraid to mess up. Considering all my upcoming projects involves either knits or a looser weave fabric that will need the edges sealed, I am on hold until I get it back.

I did accomplish one (extremely) minor sewing project today. We have standard sized pillows but the shams that came with our duvet cover are king sized. For two years, I have been mildly annoyed that the shams were too large. Then today, it occurred to me that I could easily resize them with a single seam. It took five minutes.

The bag will be getting a workout this weekend (I was pushing to finish it in time). DH and I are spending the weekend with MIL at a Blueberry Festival. I am bring the swiss dot fabric and the tunic pattern along with us and will cut that out at her house. Pattern cutting is my LEAST favorite part of sewing so I might as well get it out of the way...

500 pieces is a bit of an exaggeration but the bag is almost done! I need to sew the back on, bind the raw edges, and find a bottom stabilizer and then it is done! Well... I also need to somehow get rid of all the chalk and disappearing ink marker I used on this.

The 500 or so pieces for my weekender bag are cut out and the straps are all done (yay!) That much down... 499 things to do

Hi loudsilence99,

 

Welcome to the sewing thread. I love polka dots too! Maybe this below. Or a pair of wide leg pants, with a red top?

 

https://butterick.mccall.com/b6359

ooh I like that one! and pants with a red top would also be adorable! I have a pair of red kitten heels lying around some where...

I have some surprisingly good patterns in my stash, including several that are in contention for the top of the coral knit.

I have:

McCall's M6513

Butterick 5030

Simplicity 2180

Simplicity 2369

There are others (Including a gorgeous McCall's sundress pattern M6504) but those are all for woven fabrics and I have knits.

Seventh Up (I bet you're wondering if this post will ever end):

Flannel. DH and I are Doctor Who fans. These will become pajama pants for DH.

Eighth Up (you couldn't possible have thought I was done yet):

Scuba knit. I did not realize one side has a leopard pattern before I purchased it. I'm debating between a sheath dress and a reversible pencil skirt.

Ninth Up (when will it end? Who knows!):

*Gollum voice* MY PRECIOUSSSS!!! *clears throat* Ahem. Yes. 1.5 yard-ish cut of a home dec fabric that I am in love with. I almost think it's subrella. Of course it's a hancocks exclusive and they only have a remnant so I can't buy a whole bolt to recover my future outdoor furniture...

Tenth (and Last!) Up!

Green Swiss Dot. This will become THIS flowy top.

...Maybe I should go through the literal pile of patterns I already own before making any final decisions on it all...

Hello everyone! I'm so excited that I found this thread! I am a sewing addict and DH and I will be taking our first cruise this November so it's the perfect excuse for me to sew lots of pretty things.

Oh! And let me just tell you how jealous I am of some of your machines. I have ambitions to own a Babylock someday but that is a long way off. I have a Singer Confidence sewing machine which I love. I have a Brother serger. I forget the model number but it is a pretty basic 3 or 4 thread overlocker. The serger is what I am most eager to upgrade (though the idea of a knee lift sewing machine has its appeal...)

Anyway, I bought a TON of fabric at Hancock since they are closing. I'm so upset about the closure. Their prices were so much better than JoAnn's and they are significantly closer (tiny fabric shop 2 minutes away, Hancock 30 minutes away, JoAnn's an hour away). Hopefully you all can help me figure out what I'm going to make with some of it

First Up:

These two quilting cottons will become the quilted bag from THIS craftsy class. I've started quilting the fabric but I still need to track down the necessary hardware. Not pictures is the lining fabric which is white with gray anchors.

Second Up:

Navy Blue Lace. This one is up for serious debate. I need to look at the receipt and figure out how much yardage I bought. I'm thinking my formal might come out of this one though it isn't the most "forma" kind of lace.

Third Up:

Beautimous and very soft jersey knit. I think cotton? What ever it becomes needs to also be wearable for work (I'm a teacher). Suggestions?

Fourth Up:

Coral knit fabric. Definitely poly or some other synthetic fabric. I bought a TON because I have ambitions to piece a maxi length circle skirt. I was originally going to do a very basic bodice but I'm considering "upgrading" the top so that it could be jazzed up as a formal. Thoughts?

Fifth Up:

POLKA DOTS!!!!!!!! ...sorry. I got a little excited there. I love polka dots. This is another knit but it has a texture to it. Whatever it becomes, it will have to be versatile because I LOVE POLKA DOTS!!!!

Sixth Up (Geeze did I buy a lot of fabric...):

Black pinstripe suiting. These will be pants. I'm doing a sloper class through burdastyle academy so I will be making myself a custom fit pair of dress pants (YES! Pants that will accommodate my huge butt without gapping).

And drat the six picture limit! I'll post the rest in a minute.

So I attempted to google this and couldn't find anything (well... not on the first page of results anyway :D )

DH and I are planning to take our first cruise this November for our anniversary: a 4-nighter Bahamas sailing. The cruise line and ship are still TBD. Why? We're trying to think ahead. Carnival is currently our top contender for a variety of reasons but we're still considering.

We are planning a grand vacation for June/July 2018 in celebration of my anticipated graduation from grad school. I have dreams of a Southern/Eastern Caribbean itinerary. We would like to be able to book this sailing on board to save money/reap the rewards of onboard bookings. And, you know, to have two years to pay for this vacation.

And so I circle back to the original questions: how far in advance does Carnival post itineraries? Will Carnival have posted their summer 2018 plans in time for our November 2016 sailing?

I would like to point out that if your goal is to spend $2k or under for your honeymoon, booking cruise fare/air fare that hits that total is not a good idea. You're going to have a lot of additional expenses on the trip.

I book all of my cruises through an online booking company. I always get a lower price and numerous benefits. The only charge I know of with the online sites I have used is they charge a cancellation fee.:)

I wish you could tell me which one :( One of ones I looked at had the same advertised price as Carnival but inexplicably had $200+ in extra fees?

You can book excursions directly with the cruise line site ( but why would you?)

even if you book with an online cruise operator or a TA.

This is our first cruise and the only excursion we are planning is Aquaventure. The price difference between Carnival and directly through Atlantis is small enough that I would just as soon pay for the convenience of having the cruise line ferry us back and forth to the ship.

TA seems like the way to go. I'll see if any of the local TAs regularly work with Carnival. I'm not opposed to booking through an online agency but several of the sites assess more in fees than we would receive in savings/perks.