looneytunes31419

Hi Everyone,

We cruise on MSC Meraviglia Tomorrow, We got our room assignments yesterday morning and my son got his boarding pass and Luggage Tags last night in his email. My husband and I still have not gotten our Boarding passes and luggage Tags as of yet. My husband is stressing out big time. When I called MSC a couple of days ago the young man told me that if they did not come in that when we get to the port that we could show our booking confirmation and that they would be able to print them at the terminal. However I find that hard to believe because out of my 30 cruises I have taken I have never heard of such. You have to show your boarding passes before you even park or before you even get in the terminal. Any advice on what to do. I will definitely be calling right at 9 am

I was on Sept 15 and it was American Feast. I will figure out how to post my menu pictures. Or send me your e-mail and I will e-mail them to you.

Hi good evening, Email would be great, My email address is looneytunes31419@gmail.com. Thank you so much. Looking forward to seeing them.

Hi there, we are like 29 days from sailing on the Carnival Victory, I have a question, In the Main Dinning room are they doing American Table? or is it the traditional with the table cloths and such, DH said it is on the list for it having American table but all the pictures that he has seen they are doing the table cloths. Does not matter either way we are still going but just wanted to know if we get to try the American table menu's. Thanks in advance for any answers we get. If anyone has sailed on her recently please let us know. Thanks :)

I'm glad some folks are following along. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was out there! I am going to try to load the dailies. I saved them for each day.

Really loving your pictures and review, DH and I will be on the Fascination On December 5th it will be my 4th time and DH 3 on her, But still love reading great reviews about her, Especially since she has been in for Dry dock since we were on her last. Looking forward to more.

 

The kids begged to swim but we didn't get there until nearly 6PM and we needed to eat dinner. I also didn't want to deal with wet bathing suits either. It was overcast and not warm enough really in my opinion so they made due with the sports court to play some basketball and blow off steam.

 

 

 

While hubby and the kids were playing basketball, I noticed they started drawing quite a crowd. A man sat down next to me and was really enjoying watching them play. After about 20 minutes he said he was sticking around until someone made a basket. :p I had to laugh because while we have a couple of goals outside our house and the kids play all the time, no one was hitting anything that evening. The spectators agreed that it was the saddest display of basketball skills they had ever seen! Glad we could bring some enjoyment into the lives of others. HA!

 

After basketball, we went to the nearby Denny's thinking it would be inexpensive and everyone could get whatever they wanted. The Denny's was not busy and we soon found out why. The service was SLOW. By SLOW I mean, I could have hopped back there and made the food myself slow. We didn't have anywhere to be and were just enjoying talking but there were probably 6 other tables that walked out before being either seated or served. If you stay in that area, you may want to skip the Denny's.

 

After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some rest. I checked and double checked our tickets, documents, camera, phone (I lost my iphone at the hotel the night before our last cruise), etc. Everyone enjoyed the free internet and slept well. Hubby took the kids to breakfast while I got ready. I didn't eat anything. I figured I would get plenty on the ship.

 

 

We took a few minutes to go over the expectations of the kids and the rules for conduct and behavior before we headed out to the ship. For the record we have a 17 y/o boy, 14 y/o girl, two 13 y/o boys, a 12 y/o girl and a 5 y/o boy.

 

The drive from the hotel to the port was about 25 minutes and went by quickly.

 

 

We crossed this cool bridge on the way and I was wondering if it was the same one we would be passing under on the way out of port. I'm not 100% sure but it sure looked the same! Maybe someone more familiar with Jacksonville can confirm. I have some more pics of us sailing under the bridge a little later on.

 

 

 

 

Is that a whale tail I see there???? Notice how overcast it was? The hurricane Joaquin passed through the Bahamas around this time. I was concerned we would have rough seas or bad weather for our trip. More to come!

Really enjoying your review and to answer your question If no one else answered it first I am sorry for the repeat but Yes that is the Bridge it goes under when going out to sea. it is really cool to see how really close it does get to the Bridge.

Was on the same cruise. You are beng very nice in your comments. These girls had no supervision.

I think they were all over Orlando that weekend. We went to Sea World on July 18 and Aquatica on the 19 and both parks were run by these girls and some boys were with them, I did not see one Adult with them. The way they were dressed put shame on them in Sea World they were wearing Short Shorts, and I mean showing more then needed to be seen. They really did not need to be wearing some of the things they were wearing for their age. Then we go to Aquatica and they had regular Bikinis' on but they pulled them up to where they looked like Thongs on, the more they pulled them up the more it would show. Not Proper for a young girl to be wearing at such a young age, Again no Adult was with them at all. I for one would not let my daughter wear something like that at that age. Just Saying.

There is no midnight buffet on any RC ship, hasn't been for years.

We Were on the Enchantment of the Seas at the end of April beginning of May and we has a midnight buffet/ Sail away dance party on when leaving Nassau. It was not as big as they use to be but they still had food on the pool deck.

Just seen a post on my Facebook from a friend I went to high school with and who currently works for Carnival that prayers are needed for Carnival Sensation. From her status it doesn't sound good. Many people have commented on her status but she has not responded yet. I can't find anything in the news. Anyone know what is happening?

John posted that there was a dancer that has passed away on the ship, and for the next two cruises meaning the one they are on now and the 3 day coming up there is not going to be a playlist production show so the dancer and the entertainment staff can grieve and go to the funeral. So sad I am keeping the staff and the family members of this young girl in our prayers.

I am a platinum cruiser on Carnival. I am also a Diabetic and recent Bariatric Bypass patient. I cannot have more than 5 or so grams of sugar in a beverage as well as absolutely no caffeine, nor alcohol. Keeping that in mind, I take on board with me at embarkation: bottles of Trop 50, Diet Ocean Spray, & Welch's Light. I also bring on water bottles and Crystal Light drink mixes. NONE of these come in a can!! Carnival does not provide any beverage onboard other than water out of the tap station or skim milk on the buffet station that I can safely drink. To whom do I voice my concerns and questions about this new policy to?? Did Carnival take into consideration any of us that are in the same situation?? OR do they care?? Please any help or tips on what to do? I have an up coming cruise in September on the Magic already paid for.

Hi OP,

I am diabetic and I am high risk for heart failure and I am on a struck diet, I ordered the bottle water for $2.99 for twelve bottles, I can not have the Diet sodas because it has Asperatain in it which is rat poison and it affects my kidney function and my liver function, so my Dr. told me that I can not drink that He also told me I can drink a sprite if I really need the soda, it is low in sugar and no caffeine, I usually don't drink soda carbonation is not good for you anyway, I live off of water or unsweet tea. I have been on 20 cruises and I usually drink sprite if I have to have it but mostly just water and unsweet tea. I have just been diagnosed with the heart failure and I started the no salt diet and I can tell you when we go cruising I have no problem sticking to what I have to have. I don't eat the deserts I eat fruit. It is not that hard to let them know what you can and can not have they will accommodate you. Good luck and best wishes

Everyone is missing the point here, If we are willing to let them get away with taking things away, they will continue to do so. When I started Sailing on Carnival back in 2006 we had the Captain Reception with free drinks, lets see they took that away and we let them, Then they came up with having a Welcome back party with free drinks, They took that away, Then they came out with the free Drink coupon That was great and then they took that away, Now they are replacing that with a Bottle of water, That is calling it too cheep. The thing that eats at me is Everyone on here that loves the Water Idea is most likely the people that get the free Drinks still. It does not matter to you. I really think it is a slap in the face, an Insult really, The cruise lines make enough to be able to give their returning guest something besides water. They keep getting away with taking things away and we let them. It is not fair, I bet half of the people on here that like the free water are still getting the free drinks and don't care what the other people get. Oh well, What is done is done nothing we can do about it except stop letting them get away with this, It is strange I did not get that survey asking what we thought about the drink coupon and I don't believe that everyone was complaining about getting it, People were most likely telling them that they want to be able to use it at any bar anytime during the cruise. Not just for Brunch/lunch on Sea Days. Just my opinion, you can either like it or Not I really don't care, I have the right to voice my opinion. Point being if we keep letting them take things away they will continue to.. NUFF Said.

Good Evening friends, I am back, Oh what a day. Ok so back to where I left off... Day 5 was Nassau day that The explorer was in Nassau from 7am to 3pm and we Docked next furthest dock far away from the buildings. We got there at around 6:30 and DH and I had ordered room service Breakfast for this day, we had it scheduled to be delivered around 7:30 and we had a knock on the door around 7:15am. We paid the young man a couple of dollars and we sat down and had our hot breakfast, After we ate our breakfast we got dressed and got the back pack ready for the trip into Nassau and then we decided it was still a little early to be going into Nassau so we decided to go up to the Viking Crown and look out and get some pictures of Nassau up high, When we went up their we noticed that two other ship were in port with us, There was the Enchantment of the Seas and the NCL SKY, We had backed into the dock so if you are looking out toward the Channel The Enchantment was on the right of us and the Sky was on the left of us.

We went up and took pictures of Nassau and of the Enchantment and the Sky, Then I noticed that the Carnival ship was coming in so we went down to Deck 12 forward and watched the Carnival Fascination come into port. By the time in was coming in and turning around it was getting close to 9am so DH and I decided to go into Nassau. DH has been there many times and he knows his way around there. They are doing construction on the Building and for right now you have to walk along side the building threw some fencing and gates to get to where you need to go, They have little huts all around for the Vendors that were in the building. then you have to walk up the street to the main street. We took a side ally just to avoid the crowed and people stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of the wheel chair. I swear I am going to get a red neck horn one of these days for the wheel chair. LOL Anyway we made one stop in the ally to see if they had Daughter in laws special Cigarettes and of course they did not. So we moved on to Main Street.

Next stop was Diamonds International to pick up my pendent. Then we walked around and done a little more shopping and went to the Straw Market, I wanted to get a small purse that would go around my shoulder and I found one for 10 dollars which is not bad, You sometimes can talk them down but sometimes they are hard to talk down. I figured it was not a bad price. After getting that we walked around some more and went down by Senior Frogs and went to the edge and took some pictures of the ship in port. Then we made our slow way back to the ship.

When we got back to the ship I decided that I would go ahead and pack up the room and get everything in order, DH decided he wanted to go back into Nassau and do some more exploring. After I packed up the room I went to deck 12 to catch some nice rays while I was out there the Enchantment was doing their life boat drills, If you ever get a chance to watch that it is really amazing how quick they lower them things and how fast they lift them up. So around 12 ish I went back inside and DH came back at like 2pm and we went up to eat at Johnny Rockets to eat lunch, It was delish, then Came the rain, it did not rain to long. By this time we had eaten our lunch and we were getting ready to set sail, I noticed that while we were eating that there was another ship coming towards Nassau, when we to the front of the ship I took my camera and zoomed in and realized it was the NCL Breakaway slowly making its way into Nassau, they were waiting for us to leave so they could have our spot. We were still forward on Deck 12 and we were on our way leaving Nassau and the NCL Breakaway was going around in circles.

Once we got out of the Channel we were close to the Breakaway and Captain Rick decided to catch me by surprise again and blow the horns 4 times and the Breakaway blew her horns back at us. After we passed the breakaway we decided to go down and get a shower and get ready for dinner, While I was taking a shower and getting ready DH took a short nap and after I was ready I got him up and he went in and took a shower and got ready.

After he got ready at 5:45 they had another parade called ROYALPALLOZA in the Promenade, Then right after that we had to go to dinner on Deck 4 at 6pm We had a really great dinner with our table mates and after dinner we said our good bye's and talked to our Wait staff who I must say was excellent all week long. They had the final show called Farewell Variety show and the show times were at 7:15pm and 9:00 pm We opted to go to the 9pm show again.

When it was over We went up to Deck 4 to get pictures made with Leigh and Erky from Turkey, When we got all that done I knew we were going to be up early and we needed to get the suite case out in the hall way and so I went back up to the room changed into my night clothes and put our dress clothes in the suite case and put our number 9 on the suite case and put it out in the hall. DH wanted to go up to the Viking crown and listen to the band that was up there, I knew we were going to be up early and I knew I had to make the 4 1/2 hour drive home so I opted to go to bed early, I went to sleep around 11pm, DH went up to Viking crown I have no idea what time he came in. The ship was a rocking this night so much so that the hangers in the closet where making noise.

All in all we loved this cruise and we had a great time loved the ship and the crew, The Crew was really excellent and very friendly. I will be back tomorrow to talk about Debarkation. By the Way GO GO JUISE is Coffee. :eek:

Really enjoying the review! But I gotta ask what's da GO!GO! Juice?

The COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

Good Morning friends, I will be back in a bit to do Day 5 Nassau day and as well as debarkation day. Sorry it is taking so long, I just woke up and need to have my GO! GO! Juice first before I get started. Be back in a bit.

I am so happy everyone is enjoying it. Like I said this is my first try at it, But I have seen hardly any reviews on the Explorer and if there was it was either always bad or people complaining about her and her age. We did not experience anything of the such. We had a excellent cruise and we enjoyed every min of it. I just thought I would put something good about the Explorer, I will be back tomorrow with Day 5, Nassau Day.:D

Good Morning, I am sorry I did not post anything yesterday, Things got a little crazy, Had to order Christmas cards and all and get them in the mail, Usually I would have already had them out but with the cruise and all they are a little late. Anyway enough with that, On to day 4 it was a sea day and This was a full day and night. It is like they crammed everything all in one day. Anyway here goes.

We woke it was 7:55 am on my watch but we were told we could move our clocks forward 1 hour on day 4 so It was really 6:55, We decided to eat Breakfast in the Main Dinning room this morning as well, Crazy me did not realize the time had not changed yet and we rushed down to breakfast and they were not open yet, Breakfast in the main dinning room is from 8am to 9:30 am, so we went up to the windjammer to get a snack to tie us over til the big breakfast, I like my breakfast hot and fresh, and I had already taken my morning shot for my diabetes, :eek: So we ate our snack and then went out on Deck 11 and boy was it windy, and the ship was rocking just a bit not too much. after walking on deck 11 it was getting close to 8am so we head back down to Deck 3 for breakfast in the main dinning room.

After eating our breakfast we headed back up to the room to get our invitation to the "Exclusive Top Tier Event" and that was at 10:45 in the Maharajas Lounge on Deck 5, so we got our invitation and headed down there and that is where we had more free drinks, after 2 drinks I was feeling really good. The Captain Sung a song I will post the link here:

He done a really great job and it was certainly a surprise, I don't think we have ever had a Captain sing to us before. I can honestly say this is the best Captain and crew we have ever had. Thank you Captain Rick and Crew for making our 5 days a really great cruise. Anyway back to the story, so after we were threw being entertained by Captain Rick we said our See you later and it was time for lunch, Now on Sea days the Main Dinning room is open for Lunch as well. it is open form 11:30 to 1:00pm. So we went back up to the room by this time I could hardly walk so I wanted to get the wheel Chair, So we did and we headed down for some lunch. This time I decided to eat the Make it yourself salad, it was really good.

While we were eating lunch Captain Rick came on and gave us our weather update and our course of direction to the Bahamas and what time we would be meeting with the Pilot boat and what time we are expected to be at the dock in Nassau. So I wanted to go up to the Peek a boo bridge and see the action on the Bridge while the ship is moving and when we got up there the wind was blowing at least 50 mile per hour, it was so windy I had to hold on to rails to be able to walk right, Now while we were looking down on the bridge we did not feel the wind but when you step on the first step to the deck that is when you feel the wind. DH took video of it I will post it when he gets it all edit and gives me the link, BTW If you can not click on the link above please let me know I am new to this review thing and I can get DH to help me post it on here.

Now like I said this day is full of stuff to do, After going to the Peek a Boo bridge we decided to go and see the ice show again I wanted to get pictures of it because my batteries died and was charging when we went the first time so we decided to go again and stand in the stand by line, the ice show was at 2pm and 4pm and it was for muster stations.... 2pm was for C14, B15, C16, D17, D18, and D19 and the 4pm show was for muster stations D20, D21, D22, D23, D24, D25, and D26 in Studio B Deck 3. So anyway we stood in the Standby line for the 2pm show and I knew it was going to be an hour long so I did not want to do the 4pm show and be rushed for dinner again. So while we were in line I looked at the pictures that had been taken on the little kayos Machine. Now we already had the two we wanted I just wanted to look at them to assure myself that we had picked the best and of course we did for some reason the other pictures that they took I was swollen up really bad in my face I don't know if it was because of the sun or what it was but I did not like them. So at like 1:55 they let the standby line into the show and We found seat on the side and the show started right at 2pm. I took pictures and it was just as good as seeing it for the first time.

3pm the show was over and I wanted to go up to the room to get in the hot tub in the Gym and so we went back up to the room and changed in to our swim suite and headed up to the Gym to get in the big hot tub we stayed there for about an hour and then headed back to the room and took a shower and put my make up on and dry my hair, while I did this DH went around and took pictures of all the things around the ship, then he came back and took a shower and got ready for dinner. Dinner is at 6pm and we went down and walked around and got a couple of seats at the Aquarium bar, and listened to the man play on his guitar, the dinning room opened up and we went and ate dinner, Now this is where things get a little crazy with the times and show, The first seating for the Production show called Invitation to Dance and it was at 7:15 we knew we would not be able to make that show because we would still be in the Dinning room. They had another production at 9pm so that would be the one we go to. After we ate dinner We went back up to the room to change into some more comfy clothes and to get the Camera off the charger and get it ready for the show. So about 8:30 we head to the Palace Theater and get really good seats, After the show at like 10pm they had the 70's dance party in the Promenade.

So after the production show we had to get an elevator and it was always so hard to get an elevator after the show because it seems that everyone on the ship wants to take the elevator, DH said you get the next elevator and I will meet you up there at the elevator so the next elevator came and I pushed myself in and everyone got mad but hay I was only one person and I knew I could fit. Get over it people you are able to walk stairs I can't and the thing is they were always full. Enough with the rant, I could go on for days about that. :o So I made it up to deck 5 and DH is waiting for me like he said and we made our way down to the bridge where we knew the party would be happening and we stood by the stairs, When the show got started he video it and I danced some, It got really hot and My leg really started bothering me and when they all came down the stairs We decided to go back up to the room, I wanted to order room service for our breakfast the next morning so we needed to get it filled out and on the door.

We made our way back up to our cozy little room and we watched the party from our window and I filled out our hot breakfast form for room service and put the time we wanted it delivered and put it out on the door and then it was time to take a pain pill and drift off to sleep. We had a day in Nassau and I knew it was going to be crazy because they are doing construction in Nassau near the docks, I will explain all that tomorrow, I need to get off of here and get some things done around the house. So tomorrow will be Day 5 Nassau Day and My thoughts on the Cruise. Thank you all for reading. Have a great and bless day.

I will be back on in a bit got to go out and take care of some business, I will come back with day 4 sea day and the wind. :D

I am sorry for the Delay, Day 3 was our Cozumel day and we were in port from 8am to 5pm. The ship will tell you to turn your clocks back on hour so they will be on Cozumel time and then you will loose that hour later in the week. We were actually in Cozumel at like 7:00am. It was a beautiful day, We ate breakfast in the main Dinning room this morning as well.

We wanted to wait for the ship to clear and all the people to clear getting off the ship before we did because of the wheel chair. I did not want to hold anyone up.

After Breakfast we went back to the room to get our things for the day the sun screen and the back pack that goes on the back of my wheel chair so if and when we buy anything we can stick it in there. Also to get our Drivers Lic. and some money. Once we had all that together and we were set to go in to down town Cozumel.

I need to back up a sec. because when we were coming into Cozumel the NCI Pearl was pulling into the dock down town and the other ships that were in port with us that day where Disney Wonder which also docked down town and at the carnival dock was Carnival Paradise and the Carnival Elation.

Ok back to my story, We made our way down to the first floor mid ship to get off of our home for the week and we had some nice young man help DH get the wheel chair off the ship because it was so steep to get it over. Anyway once we were off the ship they took our pictures and we were on our way to find a taxi to take us to the forum shop down town Cozumel we walked threw the little shopping area at the dock and then found our way to the taxi, The taxi ride is $8.00 for the first 1-4 people to down town Cozumel each way, We tipped them a little more for handling the wheel chair. I thought it was fair.

We were there in no time at all, The driver dropped us off right in front of Diamonds International Which was great because I needed to go in and get my free charm bracelet and my free charm, and there is where the fun began, once I got my two free items we left and all the way down the street were asked to come into every jewelry store and get the free charm or ear rings. and then we were asked to come in and get some free shots of Tequila. Ok let me say this. 1. I am not much of a drinker for many reasons I will not get into here other then my ex was a drunk and I usually can not stand the smell of it. 2. I am on pain pills. LOL :p

Anyway we got our free shots and moved on Mike DH has been down town Cozumel before and Like I said before he always maps out things before we leave home. We went up this side street and they have all kinds of shops there almost like straw markets you can usually bargain with them a bit. For Example I was able to get a one person hammock that they usually sell for 80 to 100 bucks here in the states for $20.00, she wanted 40 for it and then I told her I only had 20 and she went down to 30 and I told her again I only had 20 and then she went down to 25 and again I told her I only had 20 and she said ok show me the 20. I did not lie I really only had 20 on me. So I gave her the 20 and I got my Hammock.

We went to this place called Wet Wendy's and Mike wanted to get me a Margarita, I am going to tell you this it was huge. Now remember I am not much or should I say was not much of a drinker because of the pain pills :rolleyes: Well DH got me a Strawberry/Banana Margarita and I was watching them make it, Now remember I had shots on the way to this place. She put 5 shots of Tequila in this thing, we order some Fajitas as well and chips and dip and we ate and sipped on our Margaritas and after we ate our food I still was not done with my drink so I had them put it in a plastic cup so I could take it with me, Oh my once I got in the sun and heat it hit me like a bat.

I rolled and DH Pushed me around some more. We went down to the Little mall area to look around and then we went down to MEGA which is their Walmart. It was really cool and if anyone wants to know the conversion for American money is you take their price and divide it by 13.5 give or take a penny or so and there you will have the price in American dollars. Give or take a few cents. This is a rough conversion, I am sure someone out there will argue with me on this. I am just telling you what we experienced.

Ok so we leave Mega and we walked out and were asked if we needed a cab and we told the guy yes we sure do back to international pier for Royal Caribbean By this time it was like 2:30 pm their time, We got back to the ship and Check our bags, Oh DH bought two bottles of Tequila while we were there for the boys. We turned them in once back on the ship and proceeded to go to our room and dropped off our purchases and then headed to get a snack up at the windjammer.

He wanted to go back out and do a little exploring with out me because some places are not Wheel Chair accessible, so after Our Snack he went to explore some more and I went up to deck 12 forward to get some sun and while I was up there the Paradise was leaving for the day so I watched it leave and sat on the Chair and got some rays, Started getting to hot, so I made my way back down to our room, and took a cool shower and layed on the bed where I fell asleep until DH came in and brought me a gift, it was a ceramic tile of a little royal ship painted on it and it has Cozumel written on the bottom of it. It is very cute, I put it In the China cabinet when I got home.

He came back and it was getting close to time for Sail away and I was already dressed for dinner and I went up while DH took a shower and got dressed I went up to take some pictures of the sun set. It was really nice, After taking some pictures I went back down to the Room and we were off to look at the pictures from formal night and bought what we wanted and headed to dinner by 6pm Not too much was happening on this night. The production show this night was at 7:30 it was the only show for the night and it was The Dangerous Comedy of Wilde & James, They were really good and funny.

Also this nigh was the Midnight buffet it was At 11pm to 12:30 it is called Dancing under the Stars. The buffet was ok nothing to write home about just some finger foods like little sandwiches, cheeses and some fruit. Not a whole lots. After the Dance party and No I did not get up and dance can't do that any more because of the Knee situation, After the party we went up to our room and went to sleep. The next day is Sea day and the ship rocked some not bad but it sure was windy. Be back later to talk about that. So up next is Day 4 Sea Day and the wind.

I will be back tomorrow to write day 3, I have been busy doing house cleaning and putting up Christmas lights. Sorry for the delay. I will do day 3 tomorrow I promise..

we just got off of the Explorer on Thursday here is my Review I am in the process of writing.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2134968

If I recall correctly, you can stroll around the bow, but not the stern on Explorer.

We just got off the explorer and you can walk all the way around the explorer go to Deck 4 and you can walk from Stern to bow. we walked all the way around it.

Good Morning everyone, I am back to talk about Day 2 sea day, We did the Itnarey of leave Port Canaveral then we have a day at Sea, Then we are in Cozumel, Then day at Sea and then Nassau. First let me say this you can not miss the Morning show with Leigh and Erky from Turkey, It is the funniest thing to watch they will have you laughing til your sides hurt. Leigh is the Cruise Director and Erky from Turkey is your Activities Manager. Ok now on to the sea day which is our sea day.

I love sea days time to relax and get some sun. We had great weather on this trip, there where lots going on, We woke up at around 7am, We wanted to eat in the Main Dinning room, they serve breakfast in the dinning room on Deck 3, The dining room is 3 floors and it is in the Aft of the ship now if you are in the Dinning room on Deck 3 you can not go down the forward elevators and just walk back because the Skating Rink is in the middle of it all what you have to do is go up to deck four go threw the casino and the dinning room is there that is if you use the forward elevators. Now if you use the Aft elevators you will be fine. Anyway back to what I was saying. Breakfast is on Deck 3 dinning room and is served from 8am to 9:30 am or you can eat in the windjammer from 7:00am to 11:00am we opted to do dinning room because 1. the coffee is much better in there and 2. you get a better selection of food to eat. They also have serve yourself Cereal station in the main dinning room. So we got up and got dressed and straighten up the room a bit and then headed down to Deck 3. Now remember I can not do flights of Stairs and trying to get an elevator is a royal Pain in my butt on this ship, there are not enough elevators for the amount of people that are on this ship. Ok enough about the elevators but they do get crowded. so down to Deck 3 for some good coffee and a great Breakfast. When we are done eating our food we excuse ourselves from our table mates and head back up to the room, I wanted to do the port talking show in the Palace Theater and that was at 9:30 on Deck 3 now remember you can not just walk from the aft to the forward part of the ship because of the Skating rink. Went back to the room and checked our on board account and it was not working right. So I told the DH we could take care of that after I went to the talk. I got put in the Wheel Chair and then he rolled me to Deck 3 forward to the Palace Theater and I went down to the front to sit there and listen to the 45 min talk. We also had Our Welcome back party at 10:45 so after sitting there and listening to the port talk, (now I must say I usually don't go to these thing because we have been to these ports before and the DH maps out our tour before we leave and 2 I usually don't get off the ship because I feel a bit of a bother when I have to depend on people to push me around) any way I went and listen to it and found out about a lot of free stuff they give you in Cozumel besides the Tequila, Like you can go into Diamonds International and tell them you are from Explorer of the Seas and they will give you a free charm bracelet and a Charm and just walking down town Cozumel and all the Jewelry shop at the forum shops will be standing outside their shop and tell you to come in and get your free gift. I got charms and ear rings and good luck stones. Ok now we are talking some of the ear rings that we got I can put in the Darling Daughter in Laws Stocking for Christmas. HA.

So after the port Talk we had to leave the Theater because that is where they had the welcome back party for the returning gust Gold and above. Free Drinks anyone. They opened up the door at like 10:30 and they have a couple of the Singers come out and sing some songs and then Leigh comes out and introduces Captain Rick and the Loyalty and Cruise Sales Manager. She talks after Captain Rick. That Captain Rick is a funny guy and he has a good sense of humor. After it is over with we head back up to the room to put the stuff that I got from the Port Talk and put the wheel chair away at this point I felt good enough to do some walking, My leg was still swollen but It was not hurting to bad at this point.

Lunch is served in the Main Dinning room on Deck 3 Aft and in the Windjammer as well We opted to eat in the Main Dinning room for lunch it was to be served at 11:30 to 1pm. They have a fix your self salad bar set up where you go in and tell them what you want in your salad and they fix it up for you or you can order from the menu, DH had the burger and I opted for the Chicken Creaser Salad. We had a good lunch after lunch this is where thing get tricky because not only is it formal night on Night 2 but there a lot s of things going on. at 1:00 pm you have the Men's International Belly flop Competition, at 2pm you have the first seating of the Spirit of Seasons Ice Skating Show for Muster stations A1, A2, A3, A4, B5, and B6 or you can go to the stand by line. I must say this show is a not miss. It was a really great show we had the 4pm show. I don't know why we went to that show because Our dinner is at 6pm and the show is an hour long and our show was at 4 and we did not get out of there until like 5 and I still needed to take a shower and get ready for formal night. If I had known that it was that long I would have taken my shower and got dressed before hand but I did not know so talk about being in a rush to get ready for dinner after the show and not to mention getting an elevator back up to our room. So after lunch we went down to Promenade and done a little shopping. I wanted to get a lanyard for my sign and sail card and while I was in there I seen they had the 3D puzzle ship that I had been looking for. I had a coupon on my sign and sail card that I needed to use. I put the 3D puzzle of Carnival and wanted the Royal one to go with it. So I bought it and then it was time to go and put my stuff away and head down to get in line for our 4 pm show.

We went down about 3:15 they started letting people in at like 3:30 and the show was at 4pm for Muster Stations B7, C8, C9, C10, B11, C12, and B15. The show was an hour long but well worth watching it. After the show we rushed up to our room so I could take a quick shower and get dressed and put on my makeup and do my hair. Talk about being rushed. Made it down to dinner just in time for them to open the doors at 6pm. Had a great dinner we ended up doing pictures after dinner because Did not have enough time to do them before because of the ice show. One of the couple and us talked about after dinner going up to Deck 5 and each of us take pictures of them and then us in front of the Christmas Tree. After eating our dinner we all excused our selves and went down to do just that, The captain Reception was going on during this time. I think the Captain Reception is from like 7:30 to 8:30 Deck 5, you can get your picture taken with Captain Rick. So the Promenade was slammed pack and they had people our there handing out Champaign I grabbed a glass I don't know why that is some nasty tasting stuff. Not much of a Champaign person. So we finally made our way to the Christmas tree and we took each others pictures and said our goodbye's to our table mates and went and stood in line for the professional pictures in front of the Tree. After taking all the pictures by professionals I wanted to do my tradition and do the Pets at Sea it is a tradition for me to do this because we always have DH tradition is to get his ship models and Mine is the Pets at Sea, We picked out a cute little puppy and she came with an outfit and a Santa Suite as well. After that we decided to go back to the room and change into some comfy clothes and get ready for the productions show called Fast Forward. It was also a great show. another not miss. After the Show I was tired and in pain from walking so We decided to go back to the room and get ready for some relaxing sleep. I will be back to post Day 3 Cozumel day in a bit, I need to eat some Breakfast. Dang it where is my wait staff. LOL I want my breakfast now. :eek:

Once we got on board we went straight up to the wind Jammer to get lunch, and once we got up to the 11th floor there was a guy out there saying WASHY, WASHY. So we washed our hands with the hand sanitizer and went in and found a seat and put our stuff down and DH stayed with the stuff while I got me some lunch and then when I got back he went and got him a plate. We sat down to eat and while we were eating they made an announcement saying " Welcome to the Explorer of the Seas, If you are finished eating and are not eating anything else could you kindly leave the area so other passengers can eat" So we did not stay in there long and we packed up everything again and off we went to explore the ship.

All I can say is this is a big ship, It is beautiful and there are a lot of people. We had early seating on deck 4 so we went to look to see where out table was and we found out that they sat us at an 8 top instead of a 4 top, no big deal the more the merrier. The rooms do not open until 1:30 so we went to the Gym area and there is a big hot tub in there for your use. It was nice we decided that some time during the cruise we were going to use it. so we left there and went to the promenade and walk around down there to see what was down there just killing time until we could get into our room.

Once we explored the area we went up to the 8th floor where our room was we got a inside stateroom 8th floor Promenade window stateroom, we waited out there in the corridor for about 10 min. Once the rooms were ready they opened the big door and we were able to go to our room and put our stuff away. Once we got to our room we went in and I loved it. I went straight to the window and looked out. Great view. I unpacked the carry on and the back pack. once that was done took pictures of the room and then we went exploring again. Keep in mind that muster is at 4pm right before muster we went back up to the room to people watch and we got to meet our room attendant and he was really nice his name was Senney Fernandes, can not remember where he was from, But he made sure we had everything we needed. After meeting him it was time to head to Deck 4 for muster, they allowed us to take the elevator but this is the one thing that got to me the whole trip but I did not let it get to me. The helper said for us to take the wheel chair to the elevator so we did and we pushed the button to go down and when we did and it got to us they were all full it took us 5 tries to get an elevator. they were always full. No one seemed to care that I was in a wheel chair and that it was muster time. I was afraid that we were going to be late. when we finally got one we went down to the 4th floor and out the door and a nice person told us we could stay to the side and that DH could go down to our boat and let them know that we were present and he could come back down to me. While he was down there the horns blew their 7 short and 1 long blast to indicate that the safety drill was in progress. He came back and they went over their life jacket drill and when Captain Rick came on he said Welcome to... What ship are we on. HA HA and then he said oh yes the Explorer of the Seas and he said where are we going and then he said Oh yes Cozumel. They let us go ahead of every one else and we went to the Heliport to watch sail away, It was really nice we stayed up there all the way out the channel.

Once out to the channel into the open sea we went back to the room to get ready for Dinner. We had early seating They also had the Welcome aboard show one show at 7:45pm that was the only show for the night. We got to our table and there were two other couples there with us the third couple did not show up until they next night. Anyway we introduced our selves and we had really good conversations Our waiter was Alnoso Ma, Luisa She and her assistant were really good. We had excellent dinner I can not remember what we ate but it was all so good. We got out of dinner just in time to make it to The Palace Theater we ended up on the Balcony but that was ok. Once the show was over I wanted to go back to the room and change my clothes and they had a Bon Voyage Parade at 10:15 and I wanted to watch it from our room window. while we were in there the next door neighbor sounded like he was dying. before the Parade we went out to go catch the singing up in the Viking Crown and there was a couple knocking on the door next to us where the bad sounding noise was coming from and they could not get him to open the door and we spoke up and said he was in there and they asked how we knew that and we told them that he was making a very bad noise like he was vomiting and moaning and they said he got really bad drunk and got in trouble with the security. We did not pry. We wished them luck and to enjoy their cruise. we left and went up to the Viking Crown and the band up there was on break we did not get to see them because we wanted to get back down to our room to see the parade out of our window. While we were waiting for it to start they next door neighbor started making the noise again and this time it sounded worse then ever so I call customer service and asked them to send security to check on him, I did not want it on my conscience if he turned up dead and did not do something. Long story short they guy survived and he stayed drunk all week long. So the parade started and after it was over with I was really tired and turned in early. I will be back tomorrow to let you all know about the sea day and the rest of the days. Everyone have a great night.

Hi Everyone This is my first time writing a review, so please bare with me as I write this up. I would post pictures but I am not that computer savey, Anyway here goes. Let me introduce Us, My name is Michelle and my DH is Mike, We live in Savannah Ga. and it takes us about 4 1/2 hours to get down to Port Canaveral, If the traffic is good. I have been on 20 cruises not all on Royal and DH has been on 19 again not all on Royal, We booked this cruise about 1 1/2 years ago. We went on her November 29, 2014 threw 12/4/14, We decided to travel down to the port the Day before we board to be sure that we get to the ship just in case there are any traffic problems. Yes I know leaving on Black Friday are we nuts. Nope, there were hardly any traffic on I-95, We left our house at around 12:45 or so and I drove down, instead of driving straight down I-95 when we got to Jacksonville to avoid the Down town area traffic I decided to go I-95 to 295 then back to I-95 south. Like I said it took us 4 1/2 hours.

We booked a hotel at the International Palms Resort and Conference Center at Cocoa Beach, really nice they have a bar on the beach with half price drinks and wings. After checking in we decided to go to the bar on the beach and get the 1/2 price Beers and Wings. Really good Wings, After our one beer and our wings we decided to walk down on the beach, it was dark and I turned on my flash light on my phone and we walked down. Of course we could not see anything but it was really calming. After we done that it was time to go back to the room and get ready for sleep if it was going to happen, but surprisingly it was easy to fall asleep because I was up at like 5 am I wanted to see the Explorer go into Nassau on the web cam, That whole week before our cruise we were fallowing where she was. I know call me obsessed. LOL anyway I was able to fall asleep fairly easily.

I woke up the next morning at like 6 am checked my phone and it said she was already docked. ummm no when I checked the web can there were no ships in port. so I got up took a shower and got dressed and then DH after he took a shower and got dressed he went for a walk, ok let me back up a min I must let everyone know that I am partially handicap, I had a full knee replacement Oct 2 years ago and I can not walk long distances, I can walk short distance, I can not do flights of stairs, Any way back to the story, Sorry I had to throw that in there so that everyone would know why I did not go on this little journey with DH. He went for a long walk while I got in the shower and got dressed and put my make up on and all that girly stuff. Then he came back and got me because he wanted me to see the sun rise on the beach. It was a beautiful site to see. After seeing the sun we went back to the room and packed up everything and made sure we had all paper work and boarding doc's and packed up the Beatle bug that Budget was so nice to rent us. It was hard loading a wheel chair and a large suite case and a duffle bag and a back pack into the back of this thing but we did it. So we loaded the car back up and we headed down the road to get breakfast and drink some coffee We had a reservation to park at Park Port Canaveral (which is run by the Raddissan) at 9:45 am, the price to park there is $7.95 per day,

So after eating breakfast at McDonalds we got back in the car and rode down by the port and went to see the new Terminal that is being built and we heard that it is not going to be ready until like Jan 15th now because they are still having trouble with the bed rock for the new dock, the building is done. so then we went over by fish lips to see the Explorer and on the 29th there was Carnival Sunshine and the Disney Fantasy in port with the Explorer. Got back in the car to head to see if we could park and there were only cars coming out that were being picked up from the port, so we decided to go and see if we could see any Manatee's so we rode back there and of course we could not see any, this is the second time we have been there and have not been able to see any, oh well, so we got back in the car and went to where we were going to park for the week and they were letting us park, we parked the car and got our suite case and bags and the wheel Chair out of the car and went and stood in line.

They started taking us to the port at around 10:30 and of course there were three ships in today so that means there were three lines. we were on the second bus to the explorer and the fourth bus total. We got to the port and of course there was a hold up and when we finally got to unload the bus and give our suite case to the porter we were in line to enter the building but they were not letting anyone in the building until 11:30 but once the line started moving it took us about 15 min to get threw the security and into the actual building we got an elevator up to the second floor and then once up there they seen I was in a wheel chair and took and we told them that we were Platinum we went straight to the priority boarding line for Platinum. Once we got our Sea Pass card and we were allowed to board right away. Too be continued.....

It is not true, John Herald posted on his facebook page the other day that it is not true, It is staying in Charleston,

I am going on the fascination next week. I always do reviews when I come back. So, I will look for any kinds of specials and let you know. I will be looking for the spa specials.lol

Thank you so much Travel_gal123 any help would be great. I was on there in January and do not remember any specials like that but my DN said there was. I was asking for her. I will look forward to reading your review.