havanadaydreaming

we've cruised quite a bit and only felt the ocean on a handful of sailings. usually those were smaller class ships from my memory. i agree with midship. we've never been below deck 5 or 6. usually 8-12.

What's the best way to get from hotel near LAX to Long Beach late Saturday mornings? Rideshare? I'm leaning Lyft but we've never sailed out of Long Beach. I have no idea how long to budget for that trip. An hour? We dont embark until noon or 1230 and i am in no hurry to get there. we land around midnight so i'm looking for a slow wakeup the morning of embarkation... thanks!

looks like Mrs Daydreaming is all in for the steakhouse.

we have stayed all over SE FL before and after cruises. I like Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miami Beach and downtown Miami. each brings something a little different to the table but i love the entertainment and food options each of those places.

I dont drink soda but my wife would love coke zero on carnival. And sprite for her dirty shirleys.

Well, we like 8 day over 7 day. And 7 over 6. Etc. Price per day can impact our decision however. Unless the higher priced option has a better itinerary, ship or departure port. Miami > Canaveral unless flight cost prohibitive. We arrive a day early MIA/FLL..dont feel need to do so Canaveral.

Some folks dont have manners or practice common courtesy. But most do. 3am noise is certainly problematic, especially repeatedly. Sooner or later this will likely escalate to a physical confrontation for the noisemakers.

Thanks for the feedback. Im very much leaning towards booking reservation. We arent big "anniversary" folk but sounds like fun.

Ive waited and ive ignored sign. (Wife is Plat, im a lowly Gold. Ha) We usally embark 1230ish, no rush really. But....i do like unpacking before getting the tradtional 1st lunch Guy burger.

Im no help i avoid inside cabins at all costs. My wife loves a dark, quiet room to sleep in but i dig light and noise. Back home she wins.

Whats everyones take on Carnivals steakhouse? Im leaning toward going late June on our anniversary. Weve sailed carnival many times but never paid for a specialty restaurant. We like the steakhouse on ncl but thats usually included in our fare.

i, too, tend to get Guy burger for lunch then grab a table in the buffet. i like dining in air conditioning especially with a view of the ocean. we tend to find ourselves at the buffet for dinner if we're on a roll in the casino (dranks!) and time gets away from us. in that instance i usually dont want to go back to the room and change into long pants and collared shirt for MDR.

first cruise i took we signed up for drink package 2nd day, were still charged for sailaway day. my wife really doesnt drink enough for the package on a daily basis but i can usually make up for her, especially on sea days. that said, i usually drink less on land if we have the package. i do like the peace of mind of not having to calculate cost of buying each drink individually.

What's your favorite carnival buffet entree? or side dish? its kinda weird but the one dish that stands out, to me, is something i don't eat back home. We dont go to Indian restaurants but there's an Indian cuisine item on Carnival that i always sample...can't remember its name. i scoop in on top of white rice and i'm a happy dude. other than that i'm a big fan of breakfast bacon.

we took the family on a 4 nighter on the Elation and we had a lovely time. yeah, i would have preferred the Horizon or Breeze, etc, but the old ship was quaint. it did the job. food was good, drinks were good, staff was great. i missed the Dive In movie screen but otherwise i was pretty satisfied with the ship. everyone had fun.

they had sports on in the long casino bar. when we sailed on Paradise last winter we had a nfl sunday where folks congregated to watch their team play.

Breeze was my first cruise ship, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Does anyone have any can't miss things to do when taking cruise out of Long Beach? i love hearing people's thoughts on their favorite things they've done in ports of call. I've never been to the Mexican Riviera and i'm looking forward to seeing Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta for the first time. We have an early departure out of Cabo, 230pm, so i dont think we have too much room to squeeze something else in. My wife has been to these ports several times and she booked the cruise almost specifically to show me Cabo. She's almost certain to book a catamaran to see the rock formation near port. Im a fan of Sammy Hagar and i HAVE to see the Cabo Wabo if only to have one ice cold beer. many thanks!

my wife is platinum, i am not. im gold. can get the bottles of water at the bar as described above. and the ship's pin at centralized location, no longer arrives in the cabin. the best is the free bag of laundry she gets. kinda nice to refresh the clothes mid cruise on 7+ day sailings. i dont know if we use any of the other perks. i know our sail and sign card is always at the room by time we get there, well before 1pm. we dont care too much about priority boarding since we usually arrive day before and chill at a local hotel...usually meander to port after the latest checkout time we are afforded. we went to the party last time and it was a welcome diversion from the usual things we were doing onboard the first several days (chillin on lido, hitting the casino, doing trivia, etc)

Cucina de capitan for complimentary lunch Many folks wont know about it yet and 9 yr olds love spaghetti, no?