Susan in Maine

I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, Royal, NCL and Disney. Before April I was a huge Royal fan. However, my last cruise in April on RCCL's Anthem of the Seas was pretty disappointing. I had sailed on the same ship a couple of years before and loved it, but this wasn't all that great. We were on the Magic last November (post re-start) and had a great trip. We are on her again this month. For the price point, Carnival is definitely worth it. But you will NEVER see me on a 3-day booze cruise! How much fun you have on a cruise is dependent on SO many different things, especially your expectations.

I gotta say, I don't understand the emphasis on going to Bean's (as we locals call it!). I LOVE Bean's - I go there several times a year. But it's just a store. A really cool store, but a store nevertheless. When I go to a new place, I like to see stuff that's interesting and unique to that place. It will take as long, if not longer, to get to Freeport from Portland and back as you'll spend in the store. Downtown Portland is a wonderful place with lots of independently owned stores (Freeport has your standard outlet stores like J. Crew, Old Navy, etc.) wonderful restaurants, etc. There's a small but interesting Museum of Art, The Victorian Mansion (pretty self explanatory) and and fun things like mail boats to then islands, whale watches, etc. This is, of course, my own opinion.

Thank you!

I wo night wonder if they will be showing NFL football on deck at night? Last November I saw three games and it was a great way to watch football!

I'll tell you how I convinced my parents to go on a cruise. I knew they would enjoy it (among other things they love production shows, and my visually impaired father LOVED food! - they also generally love being by the ocean. All I got was "we're not beach people" "we can't spend any time in the sun, etc. etc. So I asked them what they thought about a cruise to Alaska. Well now, THAT was a completely different story. We had a wonderful time, and they went on several more after that. My suggestion to you: Ask her if there is somewhere she'd really like to go? And then research like crazy and work with a TA who specializes in cruises. If she is uncomfortable with how expensive the gift is, you can suggest she pay for her own drinks, excursions, airfare, whatever. Also there are lots of threads about handling the seasickness issue. I can make myself motion sick by driving in heavy traffic. I swear by meclizine (Bonine) and have successfully sailed thru both a hurricane and a blizzard. Five years ago I convinced my BFF to go on a cruise with me - now we go on one every 3 years! Hope this was helpful!

We are on the Magic Sept 17 - 24 Does anyone know what the Dive-In movies or know where I could find out? Thanks!

What is a Funship Special? I feel kinda stupid asking.

2016 we did a cruise out of Cape Liberty in February and came back in a massive blizzard! We couldn't go on deck for the last 2 1/2 days of the cruise.

Bar Harbor and Portland are unlikely to have any color. Because of dry conditions we are already seeing spots of color up here. My Burning Bush is already starting to change.

My daughter is somewhat intellectually disabled - when on Carnival we use the Hub. $5 per device/day. We can then use our phones on board to communicate. Not sure what other lines use.

It can be quite warm or kinda cold depending on the weather - and no one can tell you which this far out. Bar Harbor will be pretty much closed up by then. Don't forget that you are going pretty far north on this cruise. If you are looking to spend a lot of time on your balcony, you may be disappointed. If you are going to see fall foliage, you will be VERY disappointed. The leaves will be long gone by then, and you'll be looking at a lot of bare trees. I live in Maine and am looking forward to a Canada cruise on Sept 17th. I would not book a Canada/New England cruise that late in October. The weather is WAY too unpredictable and could be quite cold and windy.

I can make myself motion sick while driving in bad traffic! I'm a meclizine girl all the way. I start taking it 24 hours before I leave at bedtime, and then every night after. I also take traditional Dramamine with me just in case. I've been thru a hurricane and a blizzard and not had any problems.

I found larger, heavier duty ones on Amazon.

Yes, it's worth a visit. The LL Bean campus in Freeport has more than one building. There are some interesting things in the flagship store, including a small trout pond wrapping around the main staircase, a big aquarium with a small bubble underneath that children can stand in and see the fish, and two stuffed moose who died when their antlers got stuck together. I have been to LL Bean stores in other places, and they don't compare at all to the one in Freeport. It's 96,000+ square feet over multiple levels. Until Covid hit, Bean's was open 24/7/365 and had no locks on its doors. Furthermore, Freeport has lots of outlet stores and several wonderful local restaurants. If it were me, I would rather wander around the Old Port in Portland, but if you're into shopping or really want to see the Bean's flagship store, Freeport is definitely worth it. I hope this is a little more helpful!

Yes.

Sure I'd be interested in talking to them, depending on the publication.

It is the one in Glace Bay.

Has anyone done this? Is it worth it? Thanks

We've sailed out of Cape Liberty twice, and never had a problem finding a space in the garage. You just pull up by the ship, leave your big luggage with the porters, drive next door to the garage and park. We live in Maine and drive as far as southern CT the night before and then it's an easy 2 hour drive to the pier. It's one of my favorite ports to sail from because it's so easy peasy to park there.

I get incredibly motion sick. (I can make myself car sick in stop and go traffic) I start taking meclizine the night before I get on the ship. It will not help you if you are already sea sick - dramamine is better for that. I then take it every night at bedtime. I also take dramamine with me as well, just in case. I've successfully sailed thru a hurricane and a major blizzard without any problems. It is MUCH less expensive to get the generic meclizine online than Bonine at your local store. Usually you can get 200 tablets for the cost of 8.

Most of the above are open for lunch AND dinner. Prepare your daughter - you'll be served a whole lobster, which if you're not used to it can be kinda strange if you've never experienced it. IMHO, sucking the meat out of the legs is my favorite. A lot of locals eat lobster in this order: legs, claws and knuckles, tail last. If you've never had a fresh lobster, you are in for a treat! Great options all!

We're from Maine and drive right to the pier and park there. Really easy peasy!

Oh PLEASE! What has limiting cruise ship stops has to do with discrimination? This post is purely pejorative. If it's because we want to protect our towns and our environment, we will do it! Nobody cares who is on the ship - we only care about the impact that cruise ship has. Bar Harbor is a tiny little town with fewer than 6000 year round residents. Adacia already gets about 4 Million (!) visitors a year, with about 2.6M in July - September alone. Dumping 3000 - 4000 people all at once in a small downtown is tough to absorb. Moreover, the tourist season is very short - basically from July 4th to Labor Day. Additionally, cruise ships are notorious polluters, and all MDI (Mount Desert Island) has is its natural beauty. While the cruise ships add to the economy, it's incremental rather than critical. I applaud Bar Harbor for taking some control over its destiny given that it has none over Acadia. As to Portland: Portland is very much a working waterfront, with several islands where people live year round. The Old Port is a delightful area right on the waterfront with delightful shops and amazing restaurants and brew pubs. But it's also very cramped with narrow streets, some of which are one way. The city needs to protect the waterfront, and too many cruise ships make that difficult. Cruise ships are a few a year - the working waterfront is a few a year. Maine is a spectacularly beautiful place, and we need tourism dollars - don't get me wrong. But the above rant is exactly why we need to be careful of our lifestyle and our environment. Unlike many of the cruise ports in the Caribbean and Alaska where the entire economy is based on cruise ship passengers, they are a tiny percentage of our tourism dollars. When people "from away" start trying to dictate to us how to conduct our business, it's a problem.