elkaholic

Looking forward to your review. We are doing this itinerary on the Magic in February 2020. Can't wait!

Hello all! We are sailing on the Magic 2/15/2020 and have booked a Spa Balcony (Deck 12) for the first time ever. I was hoping any of you that have had this experience could give us some insight, tips, advice, etc., on ways to best enjoy this deck and the spa amenities that are included. I understand that there is no overhang from a deck above....how was this? Is the balcony able to be seen from deck 13?

Thanks in advance

Do you feel better now?

Thanks for the responses guys.

310.....(sigh):(

Hello all. The Carnival Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee has been around for a while now, and I was hoping to get an idea of how it is working for people. Was thinking about trying to use it on our upcoming cruise for an excursion in Belize, but you have to book it on Carnival before submitting the form. The difference is about $30pp between the private vendor and Carnival, so when you book 4+ people that can add up quickly. Is this something that they are more lenient on matching excursions exactly, or are they pretty strict on it?

What exactly are you expecting? Unless the storm damages the port to a degree that the ship cannot dock, there will be a cruise. It may be shortened, but it will still go. Did you take out insurance? You do realize that you booked during hurricane season? I am just confused as to what you are expecting them to tell you.

We sailed out of Galveston after Hurricane Rita hit. The Conquest stayed out an extra few days until NOAA declared the bay open. Conquest came in and we were able to go on a shortened cruise. It was actually pretty fun. Only about half of the passengers were on board and it seemed fairly empty. I imagine they will do something similar this time.

Is there a really big price drop for cruises that depart in September and October that lures passengers to sail during hurricane season? Is the savings worth the risk of cancelled ports and changes in itinerary? And do people who take the risk, are they aware of the consequences that may be associated with a price reduction?

We frequently cruise during hurricane season. For us it comes down to fewer kids on board (school back in session) and lower prices. However, we know the risk. We just consider it part of the adventure. As you can see in my signature line, we have had our share of action, but no ports missed other than my first cruise out of Galveston days after Hurricane Rita hit.

I was looking at the Dream's food places and such and noticed there was no Guy's and was a bit disappointed - but not so disappointed that we didn't book for Oct 15, 2017 ;) . I started looking and saw a few mentions that the Dream was going into dry dock in January, but nothing official from Carnival. I decided to ask JH and he responded with the following:

"Yes indeed, she will have lots of upgrades and I will tell you more about it closer to the time but I think you'll be very happy. Cheers"

Looking forward to hearing what upgrades she will get.

Another vote for South Shore. Loved it! Great crew, facilities, lots of lines through the trees, over the trees, etc. If we decide to zip line again I am sure we'll go with them again.

We cruised last October with our 4 kids (15, 11, 10, 6 at the time) and they were all 4 booked in the cabin next door to us. They understood the rules we placed on them and followed them really well. I would book the second cabin for sure. Plus, they really loved the whole "we have a cabin without mom and dad" feeling.

Very sad... I wonder if alcohol played a part in the bad decision to be in a restricted area.

Just a guess, but I would think....undoubtedly.

We will arrive in FLL early morning Oct 9 and the cruise leaves Oct 11, so we have 2 full days to play in the Miami/FLL area. What are some fun activities, adventures, tours, etc. that we can look into? Also, what about more local places to eat rather than chains?

Thanks in advance!

We've experienced the ferry round trip twice. Both times the morning ride was calm. First ride back was fairly rough...spray coming in through the windows, some gentle stomachs compromised for others. Second time the ride back was rougher than the trip over, but not all that bad.

My advice: Contact Carnival today and try to get to the bottom of it. If indeed they have cancelled the sailing you may be able to get ahead of the crowd trying to re-book. Good luck!

Hmmm, that's interesting. I just looked at our booking and the base price is $30 lower. However, the taxes/fees went up.....exactly $30. So the total price remains the same. Why would the taxes/fees go up exactly the same amount that the base price dropped?

interesting.

For me... #1: Roatan, #2: Belize

More people looking for a payday

This is our favorite location so far.

Wet Lizard coconut shrimp is always a must have when we go.

Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to post my review of Island Marketing. The way I understand it, Island Marketing is kind of like a booking agency who uses local providers in each port to provide the services. We recently cruised to Belize (Oct 2013) and booked an excursion to Altun-Ha through IM. We were booked with X-Stream Tours in Belize, and since we had 10 people going we were told it would be a private van for our group, and that the earlier we got to shore the earlier we could leave. We were off the ship fairly early and when we got to the meeting area for X-Stream Tours we were the first ones there. What was supposed to be a 10 minute turn around from checking-in to departure turned into a 45-60 minute wait. We waited until every person booked on a tour arrived, then they sat us in a little bar area where people were peddling their junk souvenirs to everyone. All of the tour drivers were there, but everyone was just sitting around waiting. Finally, one customer got sick of the peddlers and asked if he bought $20 of junk would he leave. Magically, once he did this all of the tours were ready to leave.

Once we finally walked to our van we didn't have a private van for our group like we were told, we had another couple added with us. That usually wouldn't be a big deal, but I wanted what we were told we would receive. Plus, when you cram 12 people into the seats, plus backpacks, fanny packs, cameras, water, etc., space is at a premium and it was way too crowded. The drive sucked big time. We all know how the roads in Belize are, and I expected a rough and bumpy ride. I didn't expect to do so crammed into a crowded van with a non/half-functioning air conditioner. We arrived at Altun-Ha and really enjoyed it. The only problem was the couple who were with us just about sprinted through the site, not climbing anything, taking very few pictures, etc. They finished and were sitting by the van before we were even halfway done. This made our driver/guide hurry us along so we didn't get the full experience.

The drive back went as well as can be expected but we were really hungry and wondering when our provided lunch was going to happen. We didn't stop anywhere on the way back to the port and at this point I really didn't care. We would just stop by the Wet Lizard and enjoy some tasty coconut shrimp. By the time we returned to the bar we left from we were all hot, sweaty, stinky and hungry.

Which brings me to my next complaint. They finally provided us with our 'lunch' halfway into the afternoon. It was about 2:30/3:00 when we returned, so not much time to do anything before boarding the tenders. We were given some Belize meal that I am sure, when prepared correctly, is pretty tasty. However, what we received were banana leaves wrapped around chicken bones, with a bit of meat and skin thrown in for flavor. Not a single person in our 10 person group ate any of it. By this time we were so upset we just all got up and walked out. We still went to the wet lizard and enjoyed the coconut shrimp.

All in all, my advice...Altun-Ha is nice to visit. Our complaints thus far have fallen on deaf ears, and I will never book another excursion with Island Marketing again.

I wouldn't worry too much about making it back from Altun Ha on time. It is easily do-able with a private excursion. We had a horrible experience with the company we went through, but still made it back in plenty of time.

We found one in our research that offered a guarantee to get you back on time. If I find them back I will let you know. We also want to do Lamanai on our cruise in October, haven't fully committed yet though.

What is there to do in the port area for a few hours instead of going back to the ship?

Go have some coconut shrimp at the Wet Lizard. It is in the port area near the tender docks. You can sit outside on the balcony and people watch while enjoying a tasty treat.