lazydayz

They sometimes have a table set up for this, but as soon as we board, we just go one of the restaurants and book all of our dinners for the cruise. We have always been able to get a reservation within 30 minutes of the time we want.

If you are flying, Miami is the better choice since the airport is much closer to the port than the trek from Orlando to Port Canaveral. An added bonus is the beautiful sail way from Miami. Celebration is the newer ship, and has the better itinerary. I am with the other posters and would pick the Celebration (though we loved the Mardi Gras). And it is less expensive.

Great cruise story! Once HAL finished a dry dock early and offered a three night cruise to nowhere. Offered us an interior for $25 pp, an oceanview for $50 or a balcony for $100. We took the balcony and enjoyed it. Since we live near the port, all in was about $400, less than one night at a good hotel with dinner.

Looks like a beautiful day

The only way I will do an interior is if that is the only cabin left on a cruise I really want to go on. Hubby is fine with an interior but I find it uninviting. When I walk in, I want to be excited to spend a week there. With the interior I dreaded going back to the cabin. So I would cruise less often to have a cabin I like, which needs to at least include a balcony.

i doubt they would turn the ship around if the grandmother had a notarized letter. Sounds to me like Carnival felt they had to do that. Interesting they let the dad board, though. Guess they really do need all the revenue they can get.

So jealous. We were on the Liberty two weeks ago and had a blast. Loved Bimini.

We cruised recently with our minor granddaughters, who are 13 and 15. They were not allowed to check in or leave the ship without the “responsible person” present. I like the idea of linking the reservation with another one, if you know others on the cruise. Otherwise, add a third person over 25 to the reservation. But this person would have to cruise.

That’s awful. Glad you were able to fix it yourself.

I would choose Freedom as well. We have been on it several times and find it has plenty to do without taking forever to get there.

When my PVP is out, his voicemail directs me to a different PVP. Did yours give you anyone else’s name? If not, maybe ask for a new PVP. You could always switch back when yours returns.

No, accepting an upgrade is much different than upgrading yourself. If Carnival makes you an offer, via email, phone call or when you log in, you are likely to keep your booking perks. But if you upgrade yourself, unless the deal you booked under is still available, you will lose your original perks but get the ones that are now being offered, if any.

Typically not be a problem, as the airport is only 15 minutes away.

Most of my offers have dropped a little. From balcony to OV, from Free Drinks Everywhere to in casino only, and amount of free play has dropped as well (from $1,000 to $500 or lower). I think that is just where they are in the cycle. I will wait for the next round of Elite offers to come around before booking anything else on Carnival. Without a substantial amount of FP and FDE, I will likely just book on Royal. Royal gives me either a JS or balcony, free drinks in the casino, plus free wifi but very little free play. Since I am Diamond Plus, I also get four free drinks a day, which can be used anywhere. My Royal offers have not declined the way the Carnival ones have.

That's a shame. Gave the polite patrons an easy exit.

I left before halftime. Great costumes and performers were fine. I just prefer a plot. Life’s too short to sit through something on vacation that I don’t enjoy.

I am platinum and still get good offers. But my points are always in the thousands, even on short cruises.

They let you keep your sail and sign card in the machine, and just write down the folio number. Some of them knew mine by heart before the week was over.

Instead of a whale tail, it looks like a patriotic beer can.

We live in Tampa and have the eight night cruise booked for the Pride over New Years. I was worried because we cruised Mardi Gras in February and May and love it and that new ship smell. LOL. However, we cruised on the Liberty in June with our three grands, and I loved that too. Yes the ship is older and the balcony rail could have been in much better shape, but I like the old school cruising vibe and the Liberty's main dining room was exceptional. On some ships, I give up on the MDR after a meal or two then retreat to specialty restaurants for the remaining dinners. If we have not pre-paid for hubby's birthday dinner at the steakhouse, we would have chosen to eat all of our dinners in the MDR. So I am sticking with my plan, Mardi Gras again in September then Pride in December. Hey, it's close by and there are five ports, so that helps.

It was Key West, Miami has a great port and treats the cruise lines very well.

I don’t think you will get it since the PVP said half belongs to your ex. Try to spend it all pre-cruise and see what happens. I would like to know how this works out.

We tried on the Liberty recently and got a service is unavailable reply. This was around midnight and the line was huge.

I agree. While we experienced some long lines, the cruise was a ton of fun and good value for the money. We talked to our cabin steward, who had 38 rooms to clean every day. He had an assistant for part of the morning only, so our grands took it upon themselves to reach out to him and say he could clean their cabin in the morning, after they initially chose evening service. And they even picked up their mess and put all of the used towels in a pile in the bathroom for him. Made me very proud of them that they would do this of their own accord.

Kudo's to you and your family. And I agree, you will be spoiled and enjoy it. Attitude is everything!