Need-a-vacation

Thanks socal404! I've been leaning toward the holiday inn for the location and the rooms look a bit nicer and bigger in the pictures. My main concern about the holiday inn was possibility of freeway noise or general traffic headaches getting around so close to the freeway.

Our cruise leaves on Thursday and we're planning to leave our hotel around 10:30ish.

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Do the TV's in the OV cabins on the Imagination have any jacks for connecting other inputs (like playing movie on the TV)? I suppose an HDMI port would be too much to hope for??? LOL

Magic Mountain and Universal are two different types of theme parks' date=' with MM more of a thrill ride place. So maybe that went into the OP's planning. Can't really offer info on the two hotels as whenever we've gone up there to go to MM, it's about 30 miles so it'll be a day trip for us. And sometimes you can be lucky and not hit heavy traffic. The 5 freeway is more of a mountain pass experience in that all you see are mountains, and more mountains, until you get to the San Fernando Valley.

 

No matter which route (going via the 405. via the 170 or staying on the I-5), you can hit traffic so just go with the flow. Personally I would connect with the 405 from the 5 and take that, just to avoid going through downtown LA. But that's my comfort level.[/quote']

 

We definitely chose magic mountain for the rides. Well, at least the guys did! I'll go and have fun, but it's not a place I would choose for myself. The route down 405 is what I was looking at and Google maps had the travel time at about an hour and change.

 

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You do realize that Magic Mountain is north of LA? Universal Studios is much closer to Long Beach. If you stay with the idea of hotel near Magic Mountain, plan your drive time to Long Beach to include consideration of traffic snafus.

 

 

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We realize it's a ways away and we'll be leaving our hotel by late morning (10ish) and realize it could take a couple hours depending on the traffic.

We will be visiting Magic Mountain the day before our Baja cruise from Long Beach. I've been checking into some hotels and I think our short list is the Holiday Inn Express right across the street and the Comfort Suites a couple miles down the road. Does anyone have any thoughts on why one may be a better choice than the other for 2 adults and 2 teens?

I think we used rapid shuttle from San Pedro to lax and it was very reasonable for a private van. Maybe check their website for pricing.

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If a fairy calls, do you have to give them am immediate answer, or do you have some time to look at the offer and decide if it's worth it?

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Maybe hang out for the morning and wander off after the initial rush and just look around in the Port that seems the least exciting. I've done the 3 Port days in a row and it can be exhausting. We ended up skipping dinner one of those nights and ordering grilled cheese and fries from room service. It was a seriously enjoyable meal!

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All things being equal (cost, schedule, stops), I'd choose Long Beach over LAX. We flew through there for our Princess cruise a few years ago and it was easy peasy. We were literally on the ship and eating at the buffet within 60-90 minutes of our flight landing. It's a very small airport

There are less flights if there's a glitch, but I think there's less opportunity for a glitch with less distance to the airport and much less potential for BS at the airport. Last time I flew out of LAX, we arrived and for some reason security had been shut down for a time and the line was all the way out on the sidewalk for a long, long ways. It cleared fairly quickly once they got started again, but it would have been seriously nerve wracking if I'd had an earlier flight.

However, don't forget to check Southwest. They may have a direct flight to Austin from LAX.

I've gone on two cruises with my mom without DH and 2 with DH. Hubby has mixed opinions on cruising and he's all about the ports. "What would we do in that port?" . But I do think he'd be game to go on more if we didn't have the logistical issues involved with kids (2-legged and 4-legged!)

He goes on all kinds of fishing and hunting trips without me and even went to Africa by himself. In some ways it would have been great to go to Africa with him, but the cost in money and headaches just wasn't worth it. So I don't feel bad going on trips with my mom without him and he really wouldn't want to go anyways.

I'm not sure what he would think of me going truly by myself. I've never really considered the possibility but it's an interesting idea. I'd like to go on more cruises, but I don't have a travel buddy.

Have you looked into western caribbean out of Galveston? May not be on Carnival, but it might be different and not as far to travel.

We did the MR several years ago and it was fun, but I wouldn't spend that kind of money and fly across the country for it. The one thing we did that was particularly unique to that area is the tequila factory tour. Everything else could have been anywhere else pretty much.

I feel your pain about trying to work around school. I get frustrated since one is in college and they get done a full week or more earlier and start at least a week later each semester than the high school and those weeks would be much better opportunities to travel.

What is the Carnival Fare Viewer? Is it just doing a mock booking on the web site?

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We will be going to Magic Mountain the day before, so we will have a hotel near there and figure we'll leave there by 10 or so, depending on the checkout time. I floated the idea of going to Long Beach after our day at MM to take advantage of a park/cruise deal, but hubby vetoed that idea, which is fine.

Our experience in Long Beach as Platinum. We get Priority Boarding.

 

We've sailed out of Long Beach at least 18 times. Our experience has been that there is a long wait when the doors open to clear the Early Check in people. After 30 minutes or so there are not as many people getting into the building.

 

Last F-M cruise in February we arrived around noon. We were onboard 15 minutes before our non-platinum friends who we drove down with. A few cruises they have been onboard BEFORE us.

 

If you are leaving on a Thursday or Friday the crowds are usually in the heaviest in the afternoon as people try to get a half day of work in. Sunday and Monday cruises can be more crowded in the beginning.

So what time qualifies as "early check in" and when would the afternoon crowd get started on the Thursday departure?

If you were not Platinum, would you buy FTTF?

We are trying to decide if we should invest in FTTF for our Baja cruise in June. We aren't going to Catalina, so the tender isn't an issue -- I think it would be a no-brainer if we had a tender port.

Have people found it to be worthwhile for embarkation at Long Beach? I'm expecting we'll probably get there around noon. We have 2 cabins, so it would be an extra $100. I have no idea what to expect since I've never been on Carnival. Do you jump to the front of the line if they've already started boarding passengers?

I'm batting 50% for good embarkation experiences at this point. Twice, we've barely got in our cabin before time for muster drill despite arriving at the port by noon (like, we had to rush to even pee and couldn't even get a drink of water before going to muster), twice we walked on in just the time it took to shuffle the paperwork. But I just don't know what's more normal -- arrive at port and be in the cabin within an hour or spend hours waiting in the terminal?

I don't like for people who don't know me to call me by my first name. Am I the only one on this board who does not?

This makes me laugh because I have a last name that is usually mangled by everyone, so when a cs phone rep asks if it's okay to call me by my first name, I'm totally like "YES!!!" because it gets to be painful hearing people trying to not mangle your name. The cashiers at the grocery store always try to end the transaction with some version of "Thank you Mrs. ...." followed by a pause while they look at the name on the receipt and figure out the best way to tackle it. I appreciate the effort, but I really don't need to be addressed by name THAT bad for the routine grocery trip.

We did not like the table for two arrangement on princess. We were elbow to elbow with the other table for two next to us. So your not sitting with these people, but you're not really sitting alone either. I just found it awkward. As a couple, we actually enjoyed it the most when we were sharing a table with random other people for just that meal, but not a set dining thing.

I think I would prefer set dining when traveling with an extended group, but anytime dining for just a pair that will likely be together most of the time anyways or just our family. There is a sort of freedom in not being expected at dinner.

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I think it really depends on the individuals involved. I know some families who would love it and others that would hate it. We are most definitely in the latter group and would never consider trying to put all 4 of us together in an interior. We tend to be independent and private at home and a couple of us really need to be able to have down time and will go back to the room for breaks. If your group is used to traveling together and sharing tight quarters or tend to hang out together even at home, it will probably be OK. If you're a group that is go, go, go and will only be in the room to shower and sleep, it will be easier. And everyone has to go into it accepting it will likely be lousy sleep for all for at least a couple nights.

This arrangement would be a recipe for misery for me and my family. My SIL and her family would absolutely do it to save money and have a blast.

I agree that being organized and everyone taking the time to keep their clutter under control is critical. And if there are people in your group that need some people-free time, respect that and allow them to get it without any guilt trips or insisting they can't miss out on whatever it is.

Good luck.

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I haven't cruised much and never on Carnival. The first 2 was before the spread of "anytime dining" and we had the traditional assigned seating. In both cases, we definitely received much more attentive service in the dining room. The 2nd cruise was with a group of 8 so we had the whole table and the waiter, assistant, and maitre d all knew us and they definitely went the extra mile to be helpful, particularly for my grandfather in his scooter. The waiter and his assistant all knew who wanted water and who wanted tea by the 2nd night and who wanted after dinner coffee. We have pictures of the group with these people and they definitely enhanced the experience.

The last 2 cruises we have had their variation on anytime dining and it definitely changed the overall atmosphere of the meals. Because it was always different servers, there was no personal connection. In exchange, we got the convenience of eating when we wanted, a more casual dining experience, and not being assigned to a table group that may or may not be a good fit for us. So while I wasn't disappointed by the impersonal service, the dining experiences were definitely less memorable overall. But I would still choose anytime dining unless I was traveling with a group and we wanted to have a dinner appointment.

I also expect that in the traditional dining room setting, people are more likely to complain if they are receiving inadequate service since they got that service for the whole cruise from the same person, and lousy servers get rotated out. I think people are less likely to notice or be offended by less pampered service when it's a different server every time.

Another change between the 2nd and 3rd cruise was the transition from cash tips in envelopes to pooled tips on the account. Perhaps this does change the dynamic of how the staff interacts with customers?

I think there is a difference between genuinely deficient service and degrees of quality that still meet the minimum expectations but vary in the wow factor. Beds made is the basic expectation, towel animals is the step up. But I wouldn't consider it poor service if I never got a towel animal.

From what we were told by a customs agent after taking a train into Canada, then back to Michigan, it's easier to read a passport because they know exactly where to look for the info. On a birth certificate, each state is different and it takes longer for them to find the info they're looking for.

Also, most recently issued passport have a chip and a barcode so they can quickly be scanned and the information pops up on their screen and the agent can quickly verify that the passport is valid and the person sorta looks like the picture submitted with the passport application.

I don't know for sure what they do for passengers without a passport, but they could be attempting to look people up manually to verify they aren't on a watch list or subject to a warrant or whatever. Whatever they do, it's going to take longer than scanning a passport. When we returned from our land vacation to Mexico, it literally took less than a minute for the immigration agent at the airport to go through all 4 of our passports.

Can someone who has had kids in both programs share some of the practical differences and why their kids liked one or the other? How are the activities different? Is there a better source for details on these programs besides the Carnival website? Their information is pretty sparse.

We will be on the Imagination for a 3-day baja cruise less than 2 weeks before my son's 15th birthday. When I booked the cruise, the rep said they might allow him to go to Club O2 since it was so close, but that it would be at the discretion of the ship staff. I'd like to have a good idea if that's even the better choice for him before we go so we know if we should even try to get them to make an exception.

You may not need to do it for your cruise, but I would just go ahead and get it done over the summer. No point in pushing it to the last month and you're covered if something else comes up. Mine was expiring in August this year, but I just went ahead and got a new one in January so I would be free to travel anytime.

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Thanks for the info! I'm certainly not ironman material, but I do exercise 6 days a week. I looked at some of the pictures and it seemed to be average folks, even middle aged women like me. So it sounds like it would be reasonable for me to try. We will check into it more.

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After lots of agonizing, I've booked our 3-day Baja cruise in June. It will be the first time for the kids -- I hope they love it and we can do more of it in the future! We have OV rooms next door to each other on the Upper deck. I don't know why, but this made me super nervous!

Now just have to figure out all the other details!

Is there a difference between having a PVP and just calling into the 800#? If PVP is better, how do you get a recommendation for a good one or get assigned one?