rhodester

After your cruise is over, DO NOT GET OFF THE SHIP. If you do, you will be sorry........

Just got off the Breeze last month. Without a doubt the best Carnival ship we have been on.

Tried a suite a couple years ago after having many balcony rooms. It was nice, but not worth a few hundred extra dollars.

Four of us left the house at 4:30 AM with the temperature at about 15 degrees. In the confusion of loading our luggage into the car, we left my wife's suitcase in the house. We didn't even realize it until we were at the baggage carousel in San Juan. Fortunately, our first stop was St. Thomas (huge shopping area right at the dock), so my wife got to buy a whole new summer wardrobe there.

We had 2400 on the Breeze, noisy all day and night. We are heavy sleepers so after the first night or two we were able to tune it out and slept fine. Good thing because we had it for B2B so 14 nights!

We just got off the Breeze and had 2400 also. It was very noisy. Poor planning on my part. You definitely do not want a room under the galley.

Join the glass elevator club.

Listen to your music with ear buds. You're happy. Your neighbors are happy. Play your music out loud. You're happy. Your neighbors may not be happy. Why is this even a debate?

If you have to be back to work on Monday, there is something to be said for the Sunday to Saturday cruises that give you a day off at home before heading back to the job.

Royal Palms is our destination every time we go to GC.

Depends on time of year. When demand is high (usually when kids are out of school), there are few cabins left at the last minute and thus no reason for Carnival to discount them. I saw a balcony room for 7 nights last minute last September for $399 pp.

Please, please, please turn down the volume on the Lido deck after lunch. It won't cost Carnival a penny. More volume does not equal more fun.

Departure.

Roller skating on the running track. Designate times for each. Imagine skating to some up tempo music surrounded by beautiful ocean views. Great way to burn off some of those cruise calories too.

The Oasis/Allure is a must do, particularly if you are a frequent cruiser and are looking for a fresh experience.

How this would affect cruising is the first thing I thought of when I heard the news. Potential new ports would really shake up the same old itineraries.

I flew out from FLL this morning, same scenario: platinum, self assist, first group off the ship. We got on the shuttle around 8:00 am and had to wait a half hour for it to fill up. Part of US 95 was shut down so we were diverted to another route that took us near the Miami airport, about a 45 min. trip to FLL. Another 15 minutes waiting for the shuttle to drop passengers off at other terminals. 15 minutes for curbside check-in. 15-20 minutes to get through security puts us at about 10:00 to get to the gate, for our 11:15 departure. Not a lot of wiggle room if anything was to go wrong. Taking a taxi instead of the Carnival transfer would certainly cut the time down to the airport.

B2B with Western and Eastern itineraries.

A few years ago I was on a cruise with RCL and our first port was St. Martin. We got to Orient beach and were soon asked to move down to the end of the beach because they were expecting a large group. Soon, the group began arriving, two at a time. All guys. All with our ship's towels. Turns out a gay travel agency had booked their customers on our cruise. I checked their website when we got home and they had nearly 500 cruisers on the ship.

I still feel like a kid on Christmas Eve when we are about to cruise. I have always said that the anticipation is half the fun.

I believe that there is a difference between those who pay to be on the ship and those who are being paid to be on the ship. There are occasionally venues on board where space is limited and those should always be reserved for the paying guests (comedy club, production shows, Lido deck loungers, buffet at peak times).

I had an 11:15 tour booked with Capt. Marvin last year. Due to the 10:00 arrival time for the ship, everyone wanted to get off the ship as soon as possible. We waited for over an hour in the theater before we were able to get on a tender boat. We finally made it to Capt. Marvin's at exactly 11:15, only to be told that the van ride to the excursion actually left the office at 10:45.

We sail that week every year, one of the reasons being the lack of kids. People don't take their kids out of school after they have just had a few days off and with the Christmas break upcoming. Another kid-free time to sail is the beginning of September, with the kids just having had three months of vacation. Prices for cabins and air travel are also very good at these times due to the lack of demand.

I won't go from the front to the back of the ship on the Lido deck because of the volume. I will drop down to deck 8 and walk by all of the cabins.

Xcaret is a great place but it is not where I would go for a nice beach.

Not really a resort area, just a beachside bar/pool/restaurant with waiter service on the beach. Having said that, it is our destination when we go to GC. We really appreciate the lack of loud, blaring music, and the beach and water are perfect.