lisajm
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Posts posted by lisajm
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All things considered, I would book the Magic. A girl's 16th birthday is a pretty important milestone.
I had my February, 2017 cruise narrowed down to 4 choices that included the Magic and the Vista. While the Vista looks amazing, I ended up booking the Magic. We are <2 hours away from POC, I was able to book a Vista Wrap Balcony, and was able to book it under the 99 per room deposit.
What ever you decide have a great cruise!
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Yeah! Have a great cruise..
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We've sailed it in June.
Downside is heat, humidity and usually daily thunderstorms.
A cruise to consider that time of year is Bermuda or Alaska.
Keith
I live in Clearwater/Tampa area, Tampa is the lightening capital of the world, heat and humidity, we've got that too.
But I am the one that never complains about heat am outside all summer long and I love it! Give me 40 degrees and I feel like I am in the South Pole!
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I have season pass for Universal. I love that place! If your kids are Harry Potter fans, I would consider purchasing wands, robes, etc PRIOR to going to the park. Very expensive.
I just spent the weekend there and would not recommend water shoes for the parks, stick with sneakers! If you take a backpack you can put some cheap flip flops in it. The rides have free lockers that you can stow the backpack in. That way you can have DRY feet while walking to the next attraction.
If you go to Universal during summer break it will be extremely crowded with long waits for the lines. If you stay at Hard Rock, Portafino, or Royal Pacific you will be given Fast Passes that allows you to skip through the lines quickly ( think FTTF for the park). However these can't be used at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or the Gringots attractions, which are very popular. Another advantage at staying on property is 1 hour early admission to Islands of Adventure. (You can also purchase Fast Pass 2 the gate)
If staying at the park is not an option, good idea to utilize the single rider line. We do this a lot. If its a first visit for your family I wouldn't recommend this at WWHP because going through the castle is a lot of fun.
Try to take first aid supplies for your cruise, band aids, Tylenol, etc. Also Sunscreen is a must! Very expensive on the ship and in ports.
Most important thing to pack is an open mind and a sense of adventure.
Enjoy your cruise!
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We love FTTF and yes your room is ready right when you get on board! I have never seen anyone "guarding " the doors so although they are closed no one is there to stop you from opening them.
One time on Fascination there was a person at the door directing passengers to the Lido deck. I think perhaps because on that cruise we were on the Riviera Deck and no public areas only cabins.
We simply showed our boarding documents and were allowed to enter.
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There is an area on the Promenade deck (next to the Red Frog Pub) where they serve continental breakfasts and at lunch they have salads and sandwiches, never saw a line there.
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I haven't had your exact experience but did a balcony guarantee last year, so similar. I did not receive my cabin number until a few days prior to my cruise. We ended up with a great location, but it was a gamble.
If you choose this option you should be prepared for whatever balcony they decided to give you.
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Same ship and itinerary next Halloween!
When are you going? Be sure to do a review afterward!
Will do but not going until Feb 2017. You will have to do one first lol!
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I am so excited! The 99 dollar deposit called my name. Just booked a vista wrap on the Magic and will be on the ship for my birthday. Eastern Caribbean Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk.
Win, win for me long to pay it off, new port (Amber Cove), new ship for me, and did I mention Vista Wrap????:D
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I have enjoyed the roll call function @ Cruise Critic. Great way to build up the excitement of a cruise. Our July cruise on Valor has no activity, zip. I am the only one who has posted on it!
I read CC's policy regarding Roll Calls and have to disagree with them. Other websites are more interactive and "live". I feel there is room for both.
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I enjoy the adult only areas.(when they are enforced) I love kids, but don't enjoy the running and splashing etc while I am relaxing by the pool.
OP you may wish to consider a Havana cabin on the Vista. No children under the age of 12 and a private pool area for those who booked these rooms.
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If you are an AARP member they have discounted cards from time to time. I purchased one recently. The one I purchased for 85.00 had a value of 100.00. There is also a 500.00 one (not sure of the cost).
They don't always have them just keep checking.
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One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary.
I am a fan of the shoe organizer! I use it for toiletries,etc
Towel clips for holding towels down on chairs: I purchased two sets of these one for me and one for my husband. I did bring them but never used them. I found it really wasn't very windy at all on deck or on our balcony. An alternative to the deck chairs is using these to clip your wet swimsuits to the clothes line in the shower/bath. If you don't have one of those in your cabin, you could use these to clip your clothes to the chairs on your balcony to dry quicker. Even tho we didn't use them this time I think I will still throw them in my bag next cruise just in case.
I also use the clips. Have cruised with some very windy days.
Highlighters & Magnets: I actually was going to bring these and I forgot to pack them. No worries, we would not have needed them at all. There was so much counterspace, and a table in our suite that there was more than enough room to hold all our papers, cruise catalogs, cups and room service plates plus that hanging anything on the walls would have been useless. I'm not sure about the smaller cabins tho so this might help some in those rooms. The highlighters for marking your agenda in the cruise compass? I always carry a pen in my purse and that worked just fine.
I have never used these
Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all.
I do carry a small outlet.
Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped).
Have not done this yet, but my DH loves his fan and will be purchasing a small travel fan for our next cruise.
Alarm clock: I think this one is totally unnecessary. JMO. We simply set an alarm on our phone. If you turn your phones off during cruising, there is a wake up call option on your in cabin phone.
My favorite alarm clock is room service! Just put out my order the night before.
Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: Maybe our cabin was different but we had a push button to turn the light on and it stayed on until we pushed it on again to turn it off.
Never needed these.
Water shoes for excursions: This I thought was a great idea! DH and I both brought some and they worked great for the beach that was a little rocky by the shore. The one mistake we made was wearing these on excursion day. Next time they will be packed in my bag and put on as needed. We had sore feet by the end of the day and we had good shoes. I have Sperrys and he has Adidas. Was actually surprised our feet hurt so much.
I just got mine for our upcoming cave tubing in Belize!
Waterproof money case like this: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/waterproof-storage-case.htm?variant=BLANK&imageID=19637&gclid=CP6f4JGutsoCFdgHgQodGJYDmg
I bring ziplock bags.
We brought two of these one for each of us for our shore excursion. I never used mine because I had a bag but DH used his and he loved it. Kept his seapass card, id, cc's and cash in them and never worried about losing it. They work. Water did not get in at all.
Now to the things I read about and DID NOT bring. And wished that I HAD:
Refillable water bottles: Ugh. It would have been so nice to have these. We mostly drank the free tea, water and flavored waters and it was a PITA to carry these cups around because the ice would melt immediately. I don't like lukewarm drinks so I was constantly trekking back to the refill stations to get new drinks.
Huge fan of refillable water bottles
BACKPACK: O how I envied all the people that were smart enough to bring one of these. I went for fashion over function. Baad idea. After cramming our two towels we carried off ship on top of an already packed Michael Kors shoulder bag, I thought my shoulder and arm were going to break off. Never ever again. Its my Hurley backpack from now on. Sturdy, reliable and wont give me pains after an hour.
Love my backpack.
Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure.
Always travel with the basics.
Small crossbody purse: We did not use lanyards to carry our seapass cards. DH put his in his wallet and I carried mine in a very small Coach wristlet. I realized veery fast that trying to carry the wristlet, my phone ( so I could take pictures), a drink and a plate of food was not easy. You can take your food and drinks anywhere on the ship so trekking from one side to another on certain occasions was not easy. Next time I will be bringing a crossbody purse. Just big enough to hold seapass card, id, phone, lip gloss, etc.
A lady is always prepared!
Snorkel gear: This one of course is optional. I wish we would have brought it for our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel because even tho we would have had to lug it around all day. It would have been nice to be able to use on our beach day. Next time for sure!
Have not done this yet, am looking into it.
Hope this helps some of you. These of course are just what worked for me. I am still looking over the boards because I cant get enough information! Its an addiction lol.
Congratulations on your first cruise
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Welcome to cruising! For my first cruise was worried about motion as well so we booked an inside midship. My DH (at the time) was a little seasick one night during some serious storms, but was actually fine once in the room.
Since that cruise I have been mid-ship, forward, and aft with no difficulties. The Breeze is a very big ship.
If you are prone to motion sickness you can try sea bands, meclazine, or a scopolamine patch.
One suggestion as well when booking your first cruise is to book through a Personal Vacation Planner (PVP) with Carnival or a TA that deals specifically with cruises. I booked with a TA the first time, but now use my PVP.
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We are heading out on our first ever cruise this coming summer (August 2016). Our cruise will be five days, including one day at sea and three days at port. We keep going back and forth about the Cheers Program. While we know it will be worthwhile on the day that we spend at sea, we are worried about getting our monies worth on the days that we are at port. We are both in our 20s and would enjoy a Bloody Mary at breakfast, a glass of wine with dinner and another drink or two while doing something after dinner. We are not huge drinkers but after all this is vacation and we are looking to have a good time. While I think we would enjoy the peace of mind not having to tally up how much we are spending in drinks everyday, I also do not want to be in the position where I feel as though I need to drink my moneys worth.
Has anyone else been in a similar position and what did you end up doing? Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thank you!
OP I have purchased the Cheers program twice. Once on a 5 day and once on a 6 day. It really depends on how much you drink. Bottomless bubbles and non-alcoholic drinks are unlimited with Cheers as well.
The actual break even point for Cheers is 5-6 drinks (depending on what you order), and there is a limit of 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24 hour period.
To a lot of people it sounds like too much alcohol intake. This is how we used the Cheers program on a typical sea day.
In the morning at breakfast we would have 1-2 Mimosas.
2 DOD's poolside
Cocktail before dinner
Glass of wine with dinner
1-2 drinks @ the Casino
On port days, you can order unopened beers to store in your cabin for later or to use on your balcony etc.
We usually had Mimosas or Bloody Mary's @ breakfast, the pre-dinner cocktail, and drinks at club or casino as well.
At times you will not be able to get to port due to weather conditions,docking conditions, etc. (Out of 6 cruises this has happened to me twice)
Some people see Cheers as a way of budgeting for drinks ( no surprises @ end of cruise on your S&S card), others feel that it forces you to "try and get you money's worth" by drinking more than you normally would.
I would really only do it again for a 4 or 5 day cruise.
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Anytime dining gives you more flexibility. I would switch to ATD, then if you still want Early talk to Maitre D once on board. Good luck.
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With a guarantee booking its luck of the draw.
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Did the booking manager give you an option to edit? If so you can do your dining preferences there. If you booked with a TA they can put in your request, same with PVP.
If none of those work you can talk with the Maitre D, and put in your dining request once on board.
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You can load your sign and sail throughout your cruise, paying an initial amount of 200. If there are any overages you can "cash out" through the casino the night before your debarkation through a slot machine. Or if you have cash Carnival will send you a check.
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I also had a very bad experience with shoreescursioner in Belize. Last year we booked 2 excursions with them 1 in Belize and 1 in Roatan.
The tour for Belize was suppose to be the ruins and a tour of the Belikin brewery. We arrived on time and were taken to the little pier where the rest of our money was collected and were directed to have a seat and wait for our tour operator. We waited and waited. Ended up waiting 2 hours past the time our tour was supposed to start. Everybody else had left for their tours except for one other couple and us.
We became antsy and started asking for a refund. The reply was the lady with the cash box had already left for their main office.
Finally the lady came and rounded up the four of us for our tour and escorted us to a boat. I told her that a boat ride was not listed for our tour. She said because we had to wait so long it was a bonus, and we would have the rest of the tour as advertised.
Well, 4 hours down and back the River Wallace, and we were not happy. At the end of the tour she gave us some water, but we were all parched. DD and I did not come prepared for a boat ride ( no sunscreen, etc).
At the halfway point the tour operator got a "call", and she informed us that the Belikin tour was no longer offered and that is why the substituted the River Wallace tour. We were very upset, because the company, the lady who took our money, and the tour operator were all aware of this, but took our money anyway. We felt like we had been kidnapped (ok, only slightly)
When we got to our ground transportation. All of us had to used the restroom, but were told there were no restroom facilities anywhere near and that we would have to wait an hour until we arrived at the ruins.
I insisted and the lady did stop at a gas station.
When we arrived at the ruins we were told that we had fifteen minutes to tour and then we would have to depart in order to make it back to the pier on time.
The tour's offices were not near the pier, and we did not have time to express our anger there.
The next day we docked at Roatan. DD and I went to meet with the tour operator and explained our situation and that we wanted to cancel. The lady that we were talking to called her mother (the owner of the tour service). She was mortified at what had happened the day before. She explained that shore excursioner uses local venders. She emailed the company for us and explained what had happened the day before.
She also gave us her personal guarantee that her company would deliver as promised. We had a driver for the day for a personal tour. It was a fabulous experience. The owner called the driver several times that day to check on us. At the end of the day we spoke to her and gave her assurances that we did indeed enjoy our tour, and that the driver took extra care.
Long story short I did not follow up with them, because the day we arrived in Miami, my mother passed away. As soon as I was back home I had to pack again and go to Indiana to make funeral arrangements.
We are going back to Belize this year, I really wanted to just stay on the ship, but DD and her BFF want to try cavetubing and they have made arrangements with another company. I will NOT be using shoreexcurionser again.
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We were on the Splendor 1-3 sailing. It was AWESOME! I should and maybe might write my first review since I've enjoyed reading so many of them here. They have certainly helped build excitement and I've learned so much from so many of you! Plus it would probably be fun to relive my cruise through a review. But in the meantime, if there are any questions, just ask away!
On another note, the cruise bug has bitten me bad! I just booked another and I'm so excited! We're going to be on the Sensation on June 11. Yeah!!! Something else to look forward to. I'm so hooked! What can I say, cruising makes me a happy girl!
So glad you enjoyed your cruise! Welcome to the club. As long as I have a cruise booked, I am ok.
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:cool:. Just recieved my first price adjustment ever. In my cruises I have checked prices to no avail. In every case the price either stayed the same or increased.
Well today I got a whopping 10.00 pp adjustment for my July cruise. I know its not much I do love saving money.
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I did call for upsell once from OV to Balcony guarantee but it wasn't a true bargain, just decided I wanted a balcony.
Bottom line call and let them know you are interested, you may get lucky and the upsail fairy will answer the call. :rolleyes:
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I booked mine for 279.00.
Shoes
in First Time Cruisers
Posted
You are obviously and experienced cruiser and know how to treat a lady!;)