havanadaydreaming

Im a fairly well traveled cruiser, at least for the past 10 years, but i dont think ive seen this before. Booked a S Caribbean itinerary in Oct and there are no longer excursions listed for one port. Barbados. The other 4 ports show the normal things to do that ive been accustomed to reading about pre cruise. Any thoughts on this situation?

I think the Spirit class has the best guest to ship sq ft ratio in the fleet. I didnt miss the lack of bells and whistles. There is still plenty to do.

we have a 12 nt Venezia in October, we are flying into Newark. probably staying in NJ night before cruise. (my best friend relocated to NJ 30 years ago and i've never flown into either NYC airport. my wife has, several times. on trips with her sister.) i must admit it doesnt sound as easy breezy, or economical, to get to port from airports as it is in FL.

more venezia, like cowbell!

Depends on what you like to do but Bayfront is pretty close to port. Lots to do there, shop. eat. boat excursions. etc. i dont think i'd stay on the ship in Miami. I would at Freeport. Bimini isnt too far behind on the stay on ship rankings. But i like Nassau - even if others say they stay on the ship there too.

Man, the Horizon was a great memory for us. Might be our fave CCL ship. Bummer it had some fairly serious issues for you. I get the mdr server having worked as bartender decades ago. Some of the staff were cluuuuuuuuuueless and other gave very little effort. Most ran their asses off, however. I dont get the deli mishaps. I certainly just skip it when slammed as my heart breaks for the workers when guests order 2-3 sammiches each. Seen it multiple times. That said its usually pretty fast for the volume fleet wide.

we loved the Horizon. We had anytime dining, and only did the MDR 2x or so, but didnt have any issues. i agree with the fewer options in the buffet observation. i didnt think it was bad either but my wife has a more delicate tummy than i do and at times it was a challenge to find something that she really wanted to try. if only Guy's would stay open for dinner our problems would be forever solved. ha! one thing i remember is that the lunch desserts were many levels above the dinner desserts. day after day. wonder why?

What are the ports of call? Im more port centric than ship centric. Ive only sailed msc, ncl and ccl but ive loved every trip. For different reasons of course.

Ahhhhhh, the half full post pandemic cruises were absolutely delightful.

The only slots that tick me off are the loud "two more for the bonus"...."one more for the bonus" reels. They always seem to juuuuuust miss which i know is a rub.

Dang....replace valor and legend with liberty and freedom.

Looks like venezia will be my second ship sailed with a godfather. Ncl escape designated Pitbull. Did a google ships i think ive sailed. Prolly shoulda checked my cc sig beforehand.... Horizon - queen latifah Panorama - vanna white Legend - dame judy dench Elation - shari arison dorsman Paradise - paula zahn Spirit - elizabeth dole Conquest - ambassador linda boggs Valor - katie couric Magic - lindsey wilkerson Breeze - tracy wilson mourning

We have done a private van and the Go Port tour bus. Both were easy and had us at mco in plenty of time for 11ish flight. Highly recommend tsa pre check.

I havent noticed any different behavior onboard recently as opposed to a decade ago. Except some adults seem to want to walk 3-4 wide in common areas...expecting me to turn sideways to avoid them. Nah gunna do it (as dana carvey says).

I won $1002 on his slot in Vegas a couple weeks ago. Huuuuuge fan of that machine. BC seems like a nice enough fella and i admire his passion on smoke free casinos (although i puff when drinking).

Strongest memory - shock and awe walking around first ship, Breeze, on embarkation day. Seemed muuuuuuuch bigger than i anticipated. Fave - wife winning $600 on fat piggies slot. Good times. Excursion - pitons, st lucia. Maho beach, st maarten. Little french key, roatan. Margaritaville, grand turk. Random - watching rival fans watching nfl games while dressed in jerseys. Kinda fun hearing the roar of the crowd on big plays.

Id admire someone who would jump at 12 nt sailing with a stranger. But...i got put with 3 strangers in dorm 1st year of college. We were all on our best behavior at the start. Glass half full? Worst case you learn to adapt to free time spent outside the cabin and return when roomie is out for a little alone time. Who knows might be fun!

One of my "cruise rules" is if im getting sushi im getting it sailaway night or 1st day at sea. This led me to wonder how and where CCL restocks food in the Caribbean, especially on longer cruises. We have an upcoming 12 nt sailing, first 4 nt at sea. Then 5 straight port days before 3 nt at sea before debarkation. What islands do you think would have ability to restock supplies for large ships? Or does CCL just freeze most of the protein onboarded on embarkation day?

Havent seen updates.

Starting to see youtube videos of Carnival Venezia. A couple featured the a la carte italian restaurant. Most all raved about it but i dont think im down with $42pp upcharge at sea for pasta. Im hoping the MDR delivers some unique options to kinda relieve the familiarity of entrees for 12 nt cruise. (I usually like buffett for one third to one half of dinners - i wear suit daily at work. I really like dressing casual some nights at sea. But havent loved the CCL buffet past few sailing. Definitely adequate, however.) Im very interested in the Journeys additions to the itinerary.

My experience is drinks at casino + guest. If im sitting next to spouse they usually serve both, but i play more than a little bit. Especially sea nights.

Will probably be the only ship ive sailed where ill remember who the godperson is. I know ive read it on plaques before on sea days but for the life of me i dont recall a single one.

Spa, but for for haircut and a shave (if not bearded gents) Casino outing? Ive seen quite a few lively craps tables over the years. Steakhouse always a winner. My 1st cruise my wife got a sushi boat for me as pre dinner appetizer. I did like that.

Good tip on the cabin doors. I usually bring a few flat magnets from around the world so i can ID my cabin if i have some adult sodas.

i usually ask for a bucket of ice nightly from the cabin steward. my wife and i are polar opposites. she likes room temperature bottled water and i want it ice cold in a yeti (when there isnt a real fridge to get it coooooold)