grimmy35

We were looking to try something different this time and stay on a lower deck. However, I've heard that the TVs on the 4th floor rooms are not flat screen and the picture on the old tube style tvs are really crummy. Has anyone stayed on the 4th floor recently who can tell me if the TVs have been updated yet? Also, any issues with noise with the Atrium being on that floor?

Thanks.

I came back here to see if anyone had used Executive VIP recently. I booked a transfer with them back in August of last year for January of this year. I talked to Michael, emailed him all the information. He sent me a confirmation in October. I emailed him a week prior to confirm again and got no response. I tried calling his phone and got no answer with full voice mail. All six of us arrived at our hotel the night before and that night and the next morning I tried calling him - no answer and full voice mail. No answer to my emails. The morning of, we had to book a VERY expensive last minute shuttle through the hotel to get to the port because Michael never showed up, never called, never emailed to tell me he wouldn't be there. Extremely upset about this and would never recommend them.

FYI on AAA Access Transport - we used them about six years ago to make this same trip - Orlando to Port Canaveral and they were absolutely dreadful. You might think that in six years they could have gotten their stuff together, but in fact they have a 1 star rating on Yelp with 13 reviews (my own review included) (most recent review just last month). I would advise staying away from them.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/aaa-access-transport-orlando?sort_by=date_desc

I was super paranoid on my first cruise because I sometimes get motion sickness in cars and I can't ride roller coasters. As a precaution I take the generic for Bonine which is Meclizine (cheap at Walgreens, about $5 for a package). I take a 1/2 pill in the morning and a whole at night. Never had an issue with drowsiness or interacting with alcohol. I've never had a moment of seasickness, and we've had swells topping 18 ft in the past.

You sound like me! I get motion sick in cars too and also cannot do roller coasters. I've not tried the generic and the meds I did try, I never took on a regular schedule (probably a glaring mistake, but I try to minimize medications). I will have to try that next time!

I get horrible sea sickness - even on the ships. I can't remember one cruise I've taken (we've taken 9) where I didn't get sick. I've tried darn near EVERYTHING. I got the patches from the doctor, Dramamine, Bonine, the wrist straps, nothing worked for me. The only thing that helps me is the ginger pills. Even then it's not a 'fix', but it will take the edge off and lets me function.

Personally, my husband and I were not fans of the Dominican Republic and Half Moon Cay is just Carnival's private island. I also wasn't too impressed with Aruba, but my husband liked it. I barely remember Curacao at all... But between the two, I would probably choose Aruba and Curacao over the others, but it's close enough to me that if the Charleston port is closer, then I would do that. Neither Aruba nor Curacao are must see's for me. I quite liked Half Moon Cay, even if it is nothing special. If you do go to the Dominican Republic - don't take the excursion to the shopping district - the people there are so pushy, we actually had people following us and yelling at us to purchase stuff from them. Other people went to the sightseeing district (parks and such if I remember correctly) and I heard great things about it.

We've been lucky to have price drops in nearly every Carnival cruise we have taken, but we have never booked with a travel agent, so I was able to take care of it all myself. The price drops back in 2010 were very frequent and quite a lot, but on our cruise this month, there was only one price drop.

I am weary of booking through a travel agent and have never done it. I just had a family member email me today about a cruise we are considering. She tried to book on Carnival's website and then went through her Travel Agent to compare and the travel agent price was nearly $400 more, so it makes me wonder if they are being truthful about prices and price drops and refunds. I'm not sure if that's what happened in your case though.

What a disaster! I'm not familiar with your pre-cruise problems, but this was frustrating just for me to read! I would have lost my temper.

When we sailed on Grandeur last year we noticed that there was about a six inch gap on one of the top outdoor decks (maybe around the jogging track) that they had covered with a long piece of rubber so no one would fall in - like the deck was actually coming apart. Is it still like this, or did they fix it?

Also, the shuffleboard equipment was in horrible need of replacing as they were all badly broken. Have they been replaced?

We have been on both and much prefer Grandeur of the seas, but both have pros and cons.

As far as the Pride goes, it is usually cheaper, they have comedy shows nearly every night (which we love more than regular shows), and better shows overall, and the food is better.

Grandeur has an adults only pool, big enough for laps, table tennis, shuffle boards, etc, which we enjoy. We also feel the Grandeur handles MUCH better in the water. Also, the food lines are usually much shorter.

Having said all that, we were on the Grandeur in 2013 and loved it. Went again in 2014 and noted on the top deck that the deck was actually coming apart (!!) and they had it covered with a long rubber piece to cover the gap. Probably a six inch gap or so. The ship was really showing wear and tear just a year later. We actually have a cruise booked for this year as well on the Grandeur, but have considered cancelling because we are afraid it's going to be even more in disrepair.

All that aside, we have not cruised on the Pride since 2011 because we felt it handled horribly in the water, the food lines were always atrociously long, and the listing and vibration are significantly worse than Grandeur.

This is so extremely frustrating. We cruised on the Pride in 2009 and 2011 and had these EXACT complaints. I sent Carnival an email when we returned from our first cruise and never got a response. I remember on the last night of the trip, the vibration stopped and it got so quiet - the glasses weren't shaking, the decorations stopped swaying, and everyone in the dining room broke out in applause - it was that bad. We took it again in 2011 because it's just so convenient. It was still bad. And the stupid listing. It's not a normal moving with the seas, it seriously does LIST and it is terrifying. Since it just came out of dry-dock last October, we were hoping maybe they had finally addressed the shaking, but clearly they didn't. When you call Carnival to book, they will give you an option, "Are you back from your cruise and want to speak to someone about it?" you can always call and tell them. My email did nothing, maybe a phone call would work? We have been on other cruises and yes, there is some vibration, but we have never been on anything as bad as the Pride. We were considering trying it again next year since it was just redone in dry dock, but now I'm seriously reconsidering. Seems they updated the interior, but they continue to ignore the elephant in the room.

This thread was so useful. We are looking at this exact same cruise - leaving out of Baltimore is just so convenient. I wasn't sure what we would do for three days at port, but after reading, it seems like there is a lot to do. We personally like history and sightseeing and lighthouses, so this seems like a great port for us. Thanks for posting your question! Did your son make a decision?

We are leaving from Baltimore and are considering different options. Either driving up to New York and just parking at the port for about $40 / day - which is pricey, but perhaps the easiest way to do it.

We have considered renting a car, but would need shuttle service from the car rental drop off in New York to the port - does anyone know of any locations that do this?

Or perhaps staying at a hotel in New York that would provide shuttle service and allow us to park our car at the hotel. Any options there?

We are booked for July and I am pretty upset. The cruise, airfare, hotel, excursions, etc for my family of 4 has been very expensive. It doesn't seem worth it for 2 Alaska ports. The whole idea was to see Alaska. A once in a lifetime trip for us. But now I'm stuck and I am not happy.

I totally agree with you. I also did not get an email, which upsets me as I shouldn't have found out about this change via cruisecritic! (But I'm glad I did.) Having said that, this is our 10th anniversary trip, flying in from the east coast and it was also viewed as an expensive, once in a lifetime trip. The fact that we are only doing 2 Alaska ports is very, very upsetting to me. :( My husband and I are going to have to discuss this to see if it's worth it to us for the rewards they are offering.

This is one of the biggest problems I have with Royal Caribbean. I wish they would give you onboard credits as Carnival does. But as someone else pointed out, it doesn't always work out that the price drops after booking. For our first cruise last year on RC, our balcony room went up over $2000 by the time we sailed. It never dropped, and went steadily up, and I was glad then that we had booked a year in advance.

Last question as we are still considering taking the Fantasy next year. I read a lot of reviews and generally, they seem to be positive. People seem to really like the Fantasy, which is great. My concerns are that it is a much older ship and smaller than the newer ones. I am prone to sea sickness and if the boat moves around too much, I get pretty miserable. We have taken two cruises on the Pride (also an older ship) and felt the boat couldn't handle the waters well as it rolled a lot. I know how a boat handles is all relative from one person to the next, but did anyone have any concerns or issues with the Fantasy handling rough sea days? Thanks!

We are considering taking a cruise on the Fantasy and since only the suites have balconies, we are leaning that way and looking specifically at the Grand Suites. Only issue is on the Carnival website, it tells you about each of the rooms, but for the suites, it doesn't list that they have a whirlpool tub in the bathroom. Since the ship is an older one, I didn't want to assume that they did have them. Does anyone know for sure? I've searched all over, but have been unable to find an answer.

Thank you guys so much! I will check out St. Therese as well, as it doesn't necessarily *have* to be on our anniversary date. And Yakutania Point sounds like a very plausible option as well.

I am super excited about visiting Alaska!

My husband and I are taking a cruise to Alaska this year for our 10th anniversary and we have considered doing a vow renewal while there. I checked into the vow renewal on the cruise ship, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. We are going to be in Skagway on our actual anniversary and instead of doing an excursion through the cruise line what I'm hoping we can do is get some ideas of some places we could visit that will be scenic and somewhat quiet where we could just do our own little "exchange of vows". Maybe someplace to go hiking? We'll probably get a taxi when we get off of the ship. Anyone have any suggestions of places you visited in Skagway that you really enjoyed?