jazm2011

Sign up for tour in Red Frogg embarkation day as the tours were offered twice on sea days limited to 8 people per tour.

Perfect, thank you!

Woohoo that’s me!! (Thanks for reading MoeDeckedOut!!) The brewery tour posts starts at #46.

There will be a tour on the Horizon, and the brewmaster Collin from the Vista is currently on the Horizon setting up.

ChicoCA is correct that the brewery is getting revamped and put with Guys BBQ in one single space.

 

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Thank you for the info on the tour and confirmation that it will be offered on Horizon! I'll be onboard in 4 weeks (eeek!!!) and am very interested in doing this tour. When & where did you sign up on your Vista cruise? Thank you in advance!!

Fantastic information here, thank you all for sharing your experiences and referrals.

Sailing out of Barcelona in April and it's time to finish up my planning. I came to this thread first and I think it's enough info to prevent me from looking further! Now to look at prices and make a decision...

This really upsets me. I cannot cancel my March cruise, but this has me seriously considering cancelling my November cruise. At some point we have to stand up and say we are not doing business with companies that do this.

Most of the fortune 500 companies have been doing this for years, including the one I work for. So it's nothing new in the business world, especially when the stakeholders want to continue to see profitable returns.

Mary - your information and pictures are very helpful! Any chance you have pictures of your balcony?

I'm planning ahead for when Horizon itineraries are released. And as much as I'd love to book a Havana cabana, I fear my husband would hate the loss of privacy. I'm now wondering if one of the aft Havana balconies on 6/7 would ensure both of us are happy. :)

Great questions, and this is exactly the sort of info I'm currently researching for the same reasons as you.

With all the negative comments I've read on these boards over the years regarding Jamaica, I did not expect to like it as much as I did (finally made it there on our most recent cruise)! So take everything with a grain of salt and always keep an open mind.

We docked in MoBay, but selected an excursion that took us all the way to Ocho Rios. We had a blast climbing Dunn River Falls, riding the chair lift and riding the bobsled. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of MoBay. But considering all the excursions that sounded interesting to us were in Ocho Rios - I would have to say Ocho Rios :D

My inaugural Platinum cruise is booked for February, and regardless of whether this sounds thankless, I really didn't want that awful visor to be my first gift!

LOL. That awful visor was my inaugural Platinum gift. :eek: My husband and I decided it wasn't worth the space in our suitcase so we left them in the cabin.

The new gift is probably the most useful gift yet! (hubby has been platinum for a while, so we've gotten our share of so-so gifts)

We stayed at Comfort Inn Condado. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and reasonably priced.

The only thing I recall being an issue - was our room was on the 1st floor and with the tiled floors, we could hear non-stop noise all night long. If we ever stayed there again, I would ask for a room on any other floor.

It was a short cab ride to the port. And there was plenty do within walking distance in the evening.

We just got off the Dream on 10/2. We were on deck 9 forward, port balcony and our cabin temp was perfect (for hubby), freezing for me (which is completely typical for us).

We were just forward of the forward elevators. So for the most part, that was the elevator we traveled on. However, a couple of times we opted to walk down the deck 9 hallway to the aft elevators and ascend/descend from there. I have no idea what was going on in the aft of the ship. But it was so hot and humid in the hallway that I literally looked around in circles expecting to see a giant hole in the ship lol. It truly felt equal to being outdoors. I don't know if the cabins were suffering from the same heat or not. And I don't know what the cause of it was. And since it didn't really concern us, the other 98% of the time, we stuck with our forward elevators so we weren't aware if it was an ongoing issue, if it got repaired, or just what the situation was.

Another thing I can confirm is the sewage smell. We noticed it each and every time we entered the forward stair/elevator area. And if I remember correctly, it was not just on deck 9 but always in the forward stair/elevator area. Within a couple of experiences, I made it a habit to plug my nose for, basically, the entire cruise. So much so - that at passing an unusually smelly cabin area - my husband whispered (ok, he didn't really whisper), but made a comment to how bad the smell was. And that's when I realized my nose was plugged just out of habit and not even realizing I was doing it. :D

Once you arrive at port, you should be able to drop your luggage with the porters then head out to whatever nearby sightseeing you want to do. No need to drag the luggage with you.

I think other social media sites area taking people away from roll calls.

I am sorry to see that happen as I like to keep my cruising info here.

Yep, this. I'm sad about it too.

I must be the only one who's had a negative experience with laundry bag service. Our stuff came back just like it was sent out - wadded up in the bag. It was a joke. It completely turned me off from trying it again. But with everyone talking highly of it, maybe ours was the exception not the rule. ??

We did an island tour with Thenford Grey, we were very pleased.

Ditto us! Thenford Grey is quite the gentleman and provides a top-notch tour. We did "the Tour" and pd $48 pp.

We've done this itinerary a few times, and just recently on the Miracle. Although not necessarily my favorite ship, I liked the Miracle just fine and wouldn't hesitate to sail it again.

All of our Mex Riviera cruises have included PV, Cabo, Mazatlan. And after this recent cruise have decided that we have no desire to go back to Mazatlan ever. No particular reason other than it's just not interesting. Again, just our personal opinion.

Be prepared for hot and humid! We went once in July and the further south we got, the more humid it became. I assume August will be similar.

Have a great time!

We used Coco Beach shuttle and would happily use them again.

But yes, check the Florida departures forum for tons of info.

I agree with those that said it doesn't matter which side of the ship you are on - both sides have amazing views the entire cruise! I believe we were port on our Alaskan cruise.

We purposely booked the 1st sailing so we could see Glacier Bay. And although awesome, and the weather was actually quite cooperative for most of our cruise (we only had rain in Ketchikan) and all the locals commented how lucky we were - next time we will plan to go in the summer. For no other reason than to see what we missed when things thaw out a bit and the skies are sunnier.

Definitely pack in layers and definitely have something rainproof as well as super warm (if you are a whimp like me!). I didn't regret bringing my full length wool peacoat, hat, gloves, scarf. I wore it (and needed it!) on the balcony. And then when I froze myself to death, I stepped back inside for a few minutes to warm up. Before heading back out again. :-)

That sounds like it may be a missing child? Praying she is found safe and sound.

That was my first thought (but teen vs. child). In any case, praying everything turn out ok.

I can't stand the newer layout, I find myself looking at cruises on travel agency sites to help make my searches bearable. That can't help Carnival because now I'm seeing their competitors offers too.

I do the same. Carnival's website is WAY too painful to use.

Thank you for this information, it is timely!

A couple days ago I took a chance on booking our excursions in advance in order to take advantage of the discount. But all along have been worried/and wondering what would happen if I wanted to make a change. Thanks to all of you who have shared your experience, i'll know how to handle it if I decide to change. Truly appreciate it!

All good advice above. Adding to it:

Binoculars

Rain/wind breaker

(We were first of the season, which may be applicable since you are late in the season):

I took my full length wool peacoat, hat and scarf, that was absolutely perfect for standing on the balcony to catch the scenery without freezing to death. (Yes I am a wimp, I'm from Phoenix!) We didn't have to worry about layers. As it was cold, cold and cold. But luckily we only had one day of rain on our entire trip. So we brought exactly the right clothes.

If you want to be seating together for dinner, you need to link your booking numbers. Have your family members call and ask that their booking number be linked to yours (or vice versa). :-)

I imagine there will always be a chance you could get a rowdy crowd, especially depending upon what time of year you go. But we didn't encounter that either time and we had a pretty broad range of ages, 20's - 60's, on our tours.

Maybe grab seats in the front of the bus if possible. Seems the rowdy ones would probably not choose to be that close to the driver and tour guide. (But that's just my opinion). :)

I'm still seeing "Early Saver Last Call" for our 9/25/16 cruise

I've done the wine tour twice. And although I don't recall any kids being on our tour - it would not be inappropriate. At both wineries we visited, there is ample time to look/walk/run :) around the grounds, separate from the tasting itself.