Noledad77

I've only been on 2 and they were older and smaller ships, so no standout bells & whistles, but also fewer passengers. For the group I'm traveling with and our purpose for the cruise (aside from the obvious vacation, my youngest is dancing on the ship), it just works out to be better. Wife and I are looking at a cruise for February and not telling the kids about it until later this year. That will likely be on a slightly bigger ship.

Did you go to a State Department office or another location? In my town, we can just go to our county courthouse and get everything done. You might still have time if you have other options available, rather than directly through the State Department location. If you get them back before June, it's a bonus. If not, sounds like you've got a contingency plan.

Can't go wrong there. I think 417 might be a toll road as well. I try to stay away from that area in general because inevitably, my wallet starts to hemorrhage money, it's a big mess 😂

There are a lot of ways to get from Orlando to Port Canaveral. Someone mentioned 528, which is a toll road, but I think it's the fastest and most direct way to get there. Worst case scenario, just get yourself to I-95 and adjust from there. Nuclear option would be I-4 to Daytona and down or south some on the Turnpike and over to 95 and then north towards Cocoa Beach, but I wouldn't suggest that otherwise. Hell, 192 south out of Kissimmee to Melbourne and back up would be a good option if you have the time and only if traffic is jammed up on the fastest route.

This was a fantastic review. I've never been on the Magic but this kinda makes me want to now. Cheers!

I see your Aerosmith "Livin' on the Edge" and raise you Molly Hatchet's "Flirtin' with Disaster".

You can take a trolley from Avis to the port? I think my ingress to the port just got solved... 😃

Sounds like CC is trying to tell you to book another cruise! 😁

This is such a great flying hack... If the airline asks you to "voluntarily" check your bag, that's like them offering you $50-75 because most of the time, that's what they'll charge. Obviously, status passengers could pack their entire house and fly it for free (exaggerating, of course), but anyone else who wants to check a bag will pay dearly. I've done it when traveling alone and recently with my older son on a trip to Minnesota. Gate-checking is also an option sometimes, especially out of my home airport, which normally sees regional jets and the occasional larger jet.

How often do the various cruise line CEO's go on cruises themselves? Are they cruising on their own cruise ships as well as others? Are they ever immediately recognized or have they managed to stay incognito for an entire trip?

"Freedom Funnel" sounds like something you do with a Busch Light at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. "We're doing freedom funnels! Pass the beer!"

Hear, hear! Cheers to starting with what we all have in common, rather than trying to find a happy medium with what divides us. Love hearing positive stories like this.

That's good news. Given the circumstances, I'd say that's the rule, rather than the exception.

I can understand if they're upset, it's natural. But I think they need to see the bigger picture that it's not Carnival's fault and 6 people lost their lives, leading to them having to be re-routed to Norfolk. It's all about perspective and being thankful to be here another day. They're alive and some families are mourning the loss of their loved ones. A little extra travel is a grain of sand on the beach, compared to the entirety of the situation.

I mean, it's a complimentary bus ride. Not like they're handing you a $20 bill and wishing you luck. I'd make the most of it. Sleep, text with friends, speak with other passengers who were just on the same cruise, compare stories and whatnot. It's an inconvenience, sure, but it's not the end of the world. And you'll have a story to tell for years to come.

Honestly, my plan was to pay homage to baseball with one cabin door (my boys and I are big fans), dance/dancing/gymnastics on the second one (for my younger daughter and her friend) and music notes and Dachshunds on the third, for my MIL (who has played music for a long time) and my older daughter, who was in marching band. Won't be anything political - like most others, we have our opinions but I've been working on trying to keep my kids from espousing their worldly views in a setting such as a cruise ship, sporting events or other such public places where there will be a large, diverse crowd. It can be daunting, but I think it's becoming a little more clear to them as they get older. I appreciate the feedback on the topic. Maybe I'll task my wife with finding stuff and make it easier on myself. Nah, I'll just end up doing it myself anyhow. Cheers, y'all!

Prayers out to all of those involved. Hoping they are able to find more survivors and the fine folks in Baltimore are able to recover from this tragedy! 🙏

Never said the door was mine. Never said I was putting up a huge display. I was clearly joking (even said so) about the fighting. Chances are, I won't be in the cabin all that much, so it would likely be impossible to determine who would have committed such an act. It wouldn't ruin my vacation, but I'd certainly seek out a few answers, and then move on. Hopefully nothing ever happens and it becomes a moot point.

Round em up, give em lots of sugar and then call their parents to come get them 😁

If I take the time and money to put up some small decorations for each of the cabin doors for my party, and I catch someone stealing or messing with them, there might be some hands getting thrown lol. Maybe I can decorate a door in the brig with them? Kidding, of course. It's pretty low-class to steal anything, but to steal, break or ruin someone else's stuff because you might not like it? That's below deck stuff (to use a cruising term). Hopefully that doesn't happen, but I'll be sure to post a story here if it does.

We're in the same boat (pun intended, I guess!). Driving to Tampa in separate cars, one being a rental. Dropping the rental off the day of the cruise and just picking up another the day we get back, to drive home. I wasn't going to pay a daily rental fee, as well as another $68 to park a car at the port that isn't even mine.

I hadn't thought about it being a fire hazard. Then again, it wouldn't be as popular if it wasn't accepted and even encouraged. Tons of cruising tips and info videos mention decorating your cabin door. And, God forbid the cabin has a fire in it, I seriously doubt it'll be from the decorations. I found some stuff on Amazon, I'll point the wife to Etsy. She'll probably just say "Why can't we just make our own?" and my response will be "Because the cruise is this summer, and if we wait for you to do it, it won't get done." and then I'll run and hide until July.

Been thinking about this for about a month - Are there any websites that specialize in cabin door or wall decorations? Is it just Amazon, since they literally have everything? I was thinking about baseball decorations, since my boys and I are all Braves fans, but I just looked and our cruise starts on the last day of games before the All-Star break, so it doesn't seem like it would be very "fitting". I'm actually kinda bummed that we won't get to watch more than 1 game during our cruise, but I digress... I'm thinking the answer is likely Amazon, but I wasn't sure if there was a niche website for decorations. Thanks, y'all!

Our Verizon plan allows talk and text to/from Canada and Mexico but I'll need to research whether or not that's from the tower nearest to my house to my Canadian friends (for example) or if I can call my parents from Cozumel, meaning I can be in another country (well, CA and MX) and call home. Pretty sure it's the same thing. Matter of fact, I'm going to do this today while I'm thinking about it. Sometimes the posts here make me plan for things I hadn't thought of, and for that, I'll be forever greatful!

Oh yeah, then check with the cruise line and see how early you can pick your disembarkation time and try to be off earlier than 830. You just never know with Florida traffic.