Pyrate13

Another vote for Freedom and Port Canaveral. We will be on her twice this fall. Love the Conquest class ships.

We recently took an offer to upgrade and were able to still keep our original obc.

Buying "art" from Park West is about the same as buying it at Walmart. You really believe it has value? Sorry, but if you overpaid, that's on you.

My wife thinks the ship looks great. I have no issue with it either. Some people just seem to get their kicks bad mouthing Carnival no matter what the company does. Don't like Carnival, then move on. Pretty simple.

For us it would be a tie between Port Canaveral and Tampa for convenience, easy parking and Tampa sail away is nice. After that, San Juan. 

Loved Bonaire, Aruba was nice, not been to LaRomana. Amber Cove- meh. I'd still opt for Horizon.

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd categorize that as a special, individual need -- not something I'd put on a general list for everyone.  

 

Similarly, we carry blood glucose meters and Quest bars (for island days) in case of blood sugar drops.  But I wouldn't say everyone should start doing this.

I never said it was essential for everyone, nor am I suggesting such. Just responding to your statement of not seeing the need for a powercord.

11 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

This article is overkill.  To answer your Qs: 

- I see no need for a power cord of any type, but we aren't the carry-your-phone around types.  

 

As a CPAP user I need my powercord (extension cord). It is essential for me. Yes, some say just ask for a cord on board but I have been in the situation where I was told the ship did not have anymore to give out so...Not taking that chance again.

Other than that, I do not find anything listed as 'essential', but some items are helpful and may be more important to others.

nysydney is correct, you can show up later, no issue there.

That is check-in time, NOT boarding time. Two different things. So, no you most likely not be boarding that early.

5 hours ago, Bollycats said:

I'll be going on the Sunshine in October. If I want to be on the ship around 1 or 1:30 to drop my bags in the cabin what time should I select for check-in? My last Carnival cruise I had FTTF and the one before that I don't remember what we did.

What mz-s said.

We have to agree with the OP, we consistently had trouble finding a shady area.

2 hours ago, Jelly_Toast said:

Our first few cruises we did FTTF.  The first time it wasn't available we got the earliest boarding time and stuck with that until our last two cruises. On the Freedom last November my husband picked the boarding time of 12:00 - 12:30 and we literally walked on.  Not one time in the process of leaving our car and going through the terminal and onto the ship (outside of checking in) did we wait in line.  On the Liberty in March I picked the boarding time and I like to be early so I chose 9:30 - 10:00.  I went back later and changed it to 10:30 - 11:00 because I was outnumbered by people that didn't want to arrive that early. 😁  Nevertheless, when we arrived nobody had boarded yet.  Had we arrived an hour earlier, we would have been waiting for that hour.  We had to wait in multiple lines during every part of the check in process and were seated for about 20 minutes before we were then able to get in line to board the ship.

 

With all that being said, I'm a convert to a bit later of a boarding time.  While it's so exciting to start vacation early, those first couple of hours when nobody is in their cabin and everyone is slogging around their carry on bags and the lines for food are forever long make me realize I'm okay arriving a bit later.

Once again, and not to pick on folks but, check-in time and boarding time are two different things. You may get an early check-in but still will be waiting to board. Just keep that in mind.

On 6/14/2022 at 12:25 PM, hapytobehr said:

Just bear in mind that it is your CHECK-in time not boarding.

 

Enjoy your cruise

People are on here all the time confusing check-in time with boarding time.

She looks rather odd but glad to see her back!

Murphy's law, if something can go wrong, it will. What happens if for some reason the first excursion has a delay? We've also been on excursions that were late coming back for one reason or another. Just sayin'.

Heck, even a ship as large as an aircraft carrier can move about in rough seas.

On our last cruise which was on the MG back in Feb, Guy's fries were awful. Certainly not the same as those we've had before. Different fries and different (as in hardly any) seasoning.

We moved back to FL for many of the reasons the above doesn't like so... NYC, NEVER, for those same reasons and more.

Sorry, but I don't see the problem. If someone can't take ten minutes of their day to fill out the online stuff, then perhaps they are way too busy to cruise in the first place.

• Do you think doing Cape Canaveral in a day is realistic?  

No, not realistic at all.

Having sailed from Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa and Port Canaveral, I'll take Port Canaveral every chance I get, Tampa second and FL third.

On our recent Mardi Gras cruise they DID NOT have Bailey's, only a generic Irish cream. The same with Crown Royal, none in the bars. Yet both were available in the Fun Shops so obviously no supply issue.Go figure.

On 3/31/2022 at 9:45 PM, TNcruising02 said:

 As long as things go smoothly

There's the rub. Yes, it can be done but, we've had situations where they didn't "go smoothly" for one reason or another so...just sayin'.

I found prices to be cheaper in port and agree, the onboard selection has gone down. Back to prices, if you take a photo on your phone of an item you see in port that is cheaper, and you know it is available on the ship, the ship store will match the price. At least that was my experience. I was able to buy Crown at half the price that way.