MujerIsla

And to piggyback off your question, who was the karaoke director at the same time as Steve Cassel on Ecstasy? He seriously made our cruise. He was soooo funny. I'd love to see him on another ship. He was young-ish at the time, so it'd be great if he was still around.

I say this as a current, but not native, Texan. I think people convinced themselves that Buccees is awesome so they wouldn't feel ridiculous subjecting themselves to the crazy traffic and throngs of people at each Buccees. That being said, we'll stop on a road trip if the parking lot doesn't look too full. You'll find all the snacks you'll ever need. Their breakfast tacos and bbq sandwiches are good. And the bathrooms will never not be clean. Stop if you want to, but don't feel like you have to. If you want to join in the mania, just tell people you stopped and it was awesome, and man those bathrooms sparkled, and mmm jerky and beaver nuggets (which I've never had, nor do I intend to).

Howdy again. Y'all were so helpful on my what to expect after 15 years question, so here are a few more. What are individual picture prices these days? How does that compare to picture packages? Sorry, this is probably on carnival's site somewhere, but I'm having trouble finding things today on their mobile site. And finally, how do excursion photographers work? Do you have to buy a package beforehand or just wait til you see pics you like and purchase from them? I've heard from some reviews they take great photos and are worth the extra price. Thanks again, y'all!

Luckily, bacon and 24 hr pizza are low on my list. I'm that cruiser that seeks out the salad bar. But, I really enjoy soft serve every day!

Good points I hadn't considered. Thanks!

Great perspective, thanks! Believe it or not, we live in Galveston and this is only our 2nd cruise. I don't know what's wrong with us.

Excellent assessment!

Ha! I thought it was fun because of the novelty of it. Who in the world even sits down to have a quiet tea and desserts?? My kids will think it's rad.

Glad to hear! I never can tell when bad reviews are just from uptight people who can't roll with the changes. This was a very level-headed realistic comment. Thank you!

Again, that whole "kids have school" thing. #retirementgoals 😄

Thanks for all the info! Yep, Thanksgiving is probably a terrible time to cruise, but 15 years after our honeymoon, we find ourselves with 2 kids who have to go to school other times. 🤷‍♀️😄 Early May was probably the absolute best time to cruise: few kids, perfect weather, calm seas. We were spoiled!

Disclaimer: I completely believe any experience is mostly what you make it. That being said, I've taken 1 and only one cruise: a May 2009 Carnival Ecstasy (God rest her soul) swine flu re-route from Mexico to Jamaica and Grand Cayman for my honeymoon. We loved everything about that cruise! But this was back in the days of free sushi happy hour, adequate staffing, free room service, and dress code enforcement in the MDR. Seasoned cruisers, knowing how Carnival cruising was back then vs. what it is now, do you think we'll have a vastly more negative experience? Are there still fun things like free tea time? Is there really a dearth of food options like I keep reading about in reviews (ie, not enough lines or restaurants open, empty coffee/ice cream/whatever dispensers) Are there gangs of unruly kids running around the ships terrorizing 40-something people like me? Is there anywhere to go on the ships to avoid the crowds? (For reference, we'll be sailing the Breeze over Thanksgiving --yikes!) Thanks for any tips and reassurance you can give me. I realize it's still vacation and will be great, but I want to meter my expectations if necessary.