princessa

Hello,

I have booked a cruise out of miami on Feb 8/15 but the flights are so expensive that it is better for me to fly in to Fort Lauderdale. Any ideas on which hotel to stay at and how I can get to the Miami port from there. I will be flying in one day early. Seems like I can't seem to make this work. I have been looking for hotels, shuttles, etc... but they don't seem to go well together and it is all so expensive.

If anyone has any ideas I will really appreciate it. We are a family of four.

Thanks so much!!

Nathalie

I am enjoying your review very much. Can you tell me if they had a mexican buffet night? And if so, which night?

I will be on the Legend in 3 days.

Thanks,:)

I don't think the entertainment staff is hired under the same type of contract that the rest of the staff is hired under and it's probably likely that they are not considered to be employees of the cruise line, which limits what the cruise line can do in the event of a complaint (although one would hope that many such type complaints would result in non-contract renewal).

That does make sense. I never thought of it that way. Mike was the lead singer so I guess they didnt want to mess around with him and lose him, which would in turn would ruin the entertainment for the guests.

On the second night of our Pride cruise in December 2013 cruise there was a group of guests at Beauties nightclub. Including family members. Mike, the singer for the Taj Mahal and singing shows and Darnel the comedy club manager were at the Beauties nightclub after their shift just hanging out.

Mike the singer started up with this group of guests because he was very very intoxicated. He was swearing, insulting, and making racial remarks to say the least. Security had to escort him out of Beauties. I have a portion of it on video.

The response from the ship when I complained about the remarks was non existant. They didn't even care to see my video.

I let it go and never mentioned it again until I saw this post.

It is situations like these that ruin it for all the wonderful and friendly staff Carnival hires.

Wow, I will try again. :) Are you doing a dolphin encounter or swim?

Hello,

I have a late flight leaving on the day of debarkation in Tampa. I was wondering if there are any suggestions on what to do during the day. Also what can I do with my luggage?

Are there any excursions or tours that will take you to the airport with your luggage after?

Any advice is much appreciated.:)

I've been running across the issue of some independent tour operators only allowing Carnival ship passengers to book through the ship. It infuriates me that Carnival is attempting to monopolize the excursion industry this way. The tour operators that I have seen on the Internet will allow passengers of all other cruise lines to book independently. The PRINCIPLE of the whole thing aggravates me.

Totally agree. It actually says on Captain Marvin's website that they will not book with Carnival guests only. I guess now that Carnival has the excursion best price guarantee they have to make sure no one will give us a price whatsoever.

Or, get your cake and eat it too. Book thru Carnival and submit Best Price Guarantee claim. :D

 

110% back of the difference in price and also peace of mind. :)

 

That's what I did,YMMV. ;)

Wow I really would love to get a price match but they will probably come up with some excuse I am certain. I called Carnival and asked if I can cancel the excursion if I find a better price and she said yes. She never even mentioned the guarantee!

But I will definitely try it.

Thanks.

I tried to book a Dolphin swim with Dolphin's Cove and was told they are not able to book any Carnival guests.

Then I tried Captain Marvin and was told the same.

Do I have any choice at all or do I have to pay more and book with Carnival.

By the way it is the Grand cayman.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Sorry to sound stupid but how do you subscribe? I would like to as well.

Thanks,

They serve a Garden Burger at the Grille.....I have seen it on the menu

Do you mean the Grill by the pool where they serve the regular hamburgers? I have never seen it on the menu there on my cruises but I had read on this forum that people asked for them and they had them. No such luck for me.

I have been on several cruises and I have yet to find a veggie burger.

I have heard on these threads that other people have had them on many of the cruises I have been on but whenever I asked about it they looked at me like I was crazy. I was wondering if there is any info on how I can get my hands on one?

We will be on the Legend in July and are hoping to have a burger by the pool for the first time!

Any help is appreciated:)

Your pictures are absolutely beautiful. :) Congratulations!!:):)

Thanks for the review.

I thought I would share my experience too. On my last cruise, I brought along water, pop and juice for my family. I put it all in a carryon luggage that rolls. It was heavy and they did open it but they did not say a word. They just let me through.

Once we drank it all, we had an empty luggage that we put all our purchases in. It worked out great.

But I must admit that I did that because we drove to the port. On my next cruise we are flying so I will only buy a 6 pack of water last minute just for excursions or whatever.:)

Not many people know about this but on deck 3- there are outside cabins that have huge portholes. These cabins are very new because they were just added in the past two years. So the bathrooms, beds, etc. are just a couple years old. We have booked one on Millenium and I'm excited to see them. The windows are really large (double the size of the normal ones) These are EVEN numbered cabins 3112-3144. I really like this area because it is close to the atrium if you want to keep an eye on the kids and have a drink there. It is also just two flights up via the atrium steps to Bistro on Five, where we love to have breakfast. The "Italian" crepe is the best! It's banana, chocolate and pistachio. Deck three is also great for anyone with motion sickness issues. Very calm here.

 

I included a picture. If you look at deck 3, which has the large round portholes toward the back, you can see they are much bigger than the usual portholes further to the front. The photo of the Captain's Club has the windows I am referring to.

 

If you do a balcony and an inside- I suggest booking them on deck 9 midship with kids. Kids love to be near the pool, buffet and youth program- all on decks 10 and 11. Midship is much better for motion.

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely look into it. I am new to Celebrity so trying to get as much info as possible before I book.

Here are two photos from last summer. We were on Deck 3 forward. Bedding was duvet, not bedspreads.

 

 

Cindy,

Thanks so much for the pictures. We are thinking of going in July. Was there a lot for the kids to do?

I have 10 and 13 year old girls. I have been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean but this would be our first time for Celebrity. Also wondering if the entertainment was family oriented or not.

Thanks,

Nathalie

Hello,

I was wondering if the interior rooms look like the nice new renovated and updated rooms ( nice duvets) like they show on the celebrity site or do they look like the ones I see on the cruise critic site? On the cruise critic site they look like older and have bedspreads (yuck). I am thinking of getting an interior for the kids and balcony for me and hubby. I just want to make sure that they are nice.

Thanks:)

Nathalie

We stay at Hyatt Place in Lithicum Heights Md. They have a shuttle to and from BWI and Train stations and cruise port. Hot/cold breakfast also available. Make sure he books early as that is Spring Break time and bookings go fast :-)

We are staying at the Wingate Wyndham in Linthicum Heights. Do you know anything about this hotel. Looks pretty nice. We got the park and cruise package.

We are staying at the Wingate Wyndham. Located in Linthicum Heights.

Park and cruise package. Has anyone stayed there?

Very doable if everyone agrees to pick up after themselves. Over the door thingie is great to sort all kinds of things.

 

When my kids were young I had them make outfits, shorts, shirt, underwear, rolled it up and it was packed like then and then put on a shelf or in a drawer. They only needed to grab a roll and had everything they needed.

I actually do the exact same thing. We make outfits beforehand. It's great. Otherwise my girls could never decide what to wear.:)

Thanks so much for all of the amazing advice.

I have made my list.

1. Over the door organizer is a must (on door outside of bathroom)

2. Spa showers (bring carry bag)

3. Bring less clothing and send out laundry:D

4. Keep beds as twins (dh not thrilled about that one:o)

5. Store laundry bag with dirty clothes in suitcase under bed.

from: http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Age_Restrictions_on_Board.aspx

 

Spa Carnival and fitness center:

Guests under 12 years of age are not permitted in these facilities.

Guests between the ages of 12 and 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

 

While I do agree that 4 in an inside is cramp it is also manageable.

I might suggest you forgo the King bed if you can, especially since it doesn't appear that you'll get enough privacy to require it, if you catch my drift?:confused:

 

With that said, Pride is a Spirit class ship that has those wonderful 4Ks.

It's classified as an interior but it has a sofa and more room. It's probably run you about 62.00 if you can find one that is available and that they'll let 4 occupy.

According to the deck plans there are rooms that house 4 but weren't available to a party of four or two, but that may be due to the fact the booking engine will only show ten at a time.

 

When there's a situation like that, I always contact my Carnival PVP and ask her to see if the rooms I'm interested in are available.

 

According to the deck plans, these 4Ks 'can' house 4 people: 4124, 4125,4194 & 4195 are in between boats and may provide an limited view.

4126, 4127 ,4150 ,4151 ,4154, and 4155.

 

Not that you asked but since you are taking the kiddos, the Dolphin Encounter in Freeport is recommended. Unlike other dolphin encounters, they encouraged us to bring our own cameras and take photos.

No need to book it through the ship, take the $5 van to Port Lucuya and find Unexso. The encounter is $85 and the swim is $179.00 That's almost half of what the ship charges. Plus it gives you use of they're fresh water pool and changing facilities.

I never thought about leaving the King as two twins. That may be the solution. Thanks for the excursion info.:)

Did you check if they have an Inside 4K rooms available? These are set up like the oceanview and balcony rooms with two beds, a sofa, and an upper bunk. You would be on a different deck than your traveling friends.

 

We had one of these on the Legend and it was great for our family of four.

Unfortunately 4K was not available when I booked. I really booked way too late for a holiday cruise.

Thanks for the great advice and the picture. I feel better. :)

Are kids allowed to shower in the spa? Or is that option only available to adults?

It would be great if my 2 girls and I could shower and dry our hair there. Seems like a huge time saver.

Hello,

Can anyone tell me about a 4 person cabin. 1 king 2 uppers. Any tips on how to manage 4 people in one small cabin???

There are 9 of us going on the pride during Christmas. We have three cabins booked on the verandah deck.

A cabin for 3, one for 2, and one inside for 4.

Unfortunately it was too late to get adjoining 2 person cabins for the 4 of us as we have always done in the past. 2 adults and 2 kids. So we are stuck getting a 4 person inside which I have never done before.

The last time on the pride I had an obstructed view balcony adjoining and it was awesome. but there are none available now.

The balcony rooms available now for that sailing are just too expensive and I would rather spend my money enjoying myself on board than spending it on the room. I usually end up with a 1,000 bill minimum (for the 4 of us) not including tips (they are prepaid)at the end of my cruise and we don't drink that much:confused:. I do buy things at the shops for us and play bingo(I have never won) and whatever else makes me happy during my vacation. I wouldn't want to give that up.

I must admit that I am a bit worried about the tight space. Any advice?

Thanks:)