Travelling2Some

Thank you for a wonderful "sail along". We are on the Constellation in May. I will be thinking of you and torn between all the wonderful treats you generously shared and the warning about the darn 18 lbs. I wonder what will win . . . Nahhh, I already know.

You can book the train online months beforehand and eliminate the worry about it selling out. You can see the Flam train station from where the boat docks (about 2 blocks away). The little station building was jammed with loads of people trying to buy tickets on the day of (which is a lost cause) but they could have easily bought them on the website (norwaysbest.com) in advance. The experience is exactly the same no matter how you got your ticket except for the waffle and $131 is way too much to pay for a waffle. Plenty of waffles on the ship for free.

Yes, even though, in general, Carnival is fine but not "our vibe". We would still be interested in one of their transatlantic or northern European cruises.

Double post, apologies.

Wow, I know NCL seems determined to get rid of their Broadway style shows but this is the first time I have ever seen mention of Beetlejuice being removed from the Viva. Are you sure? Entertainment is very important to us too and NCL is becoming disappointing in that area. We, too, have tried a couple of other lines recently because of this and also because of the frequent itinerary disruptions. Royal seems headed in the right direction, making a serious effort to bring back their quality entertainment. We recently tried the Carnival Mardi Gras. Had a good time and were not sorry at all but not really a good fit for us. (Too much tech and hard to schedule things in advance.) Agree with the rest of your post. Like you, we choose a cruise for itinerary and entertainment. Food and service have always been fine on any line (have not tried MSC). We don't care about the age or size of the ship, and we don't have any use for racetracks, casinos, butlers, spas or even pools. We just want to see the destinations and come back to a relaxing dinner, a decent quality show and wake up in the ports as advertised (barring weather or true emergencies, as we are reasonable people.)

I just saw someone mention in a post on another NCL thread that Beetlejuice has been canceled on future Viva sailings? I very much hope they are mistaken as it is one of the reasons we booked that ship (in spite of the price!). Can anyone say if this is true or not? It is still shown on our June cruise but that doesn't mean much as they are still advertising that Donna Summer is on the Prima.

Some might say that they would not recognize me without a wine glass in my hand. A bit judgy and I might be temped to reply that I wouldn't recognize them without a fork in their hand and a mouth full of cake.

Have never had that happen, but Celebrity is not our usual cruise line so we will see.

One of the first things I do when we get onboard is stop by one of the bars and ask for two wine glasses for the room. Very common request I'm sure since people bring wine on board and would now like to have something to drink it out of. So it follows that the glass of wine you are now carrying to dinner looks exactly like a glass of wine you just bought at one of the bars. It certainly doesn't look unusual in the least.

We used to take an annual camping trip when our kids were growing up and have very fond memories of drawing our cots together to play cards by lantern light on rainy nights. Thanks for bringing that up!

I was told that the FDA insists that preservatives be added and it changes the taste.

You know, when I walked by this in the early morning I wasn't sure if this was some new kind of fancy chair hogging or somebody had a lot of time on their hands. Did not know it was a Carnival thing.

Sorry, double post.

Ah, I watched my mom fight that life-long battle with my dad and brothers and I decided not to participate. I figure people can see that he's a grown man and dressed himself so it's not my fault.

Very well said. And those ducks that appear on the menu are my favorite kind.

We were on the Carnival Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral in February. Definite party vibe, many large groups hootin' and hollerin' in matching T-shirts. People very nice and friendly (yet loud and a bit rough around the edges by CT standards). Some things we liked very much were Big Chicken, Guy's Burgers and Street Eats. We also liked that Chibang and Cuisina were complimentary at lunch and you could make one complimentary visit at dinner. After that it was $8 a visit if you wanted to eat dinner there again, which is unbelievably reasonable compared to NCL's a la carte pricing. We liked that but dishes in the specialties were hit or miss. In the same meal we had great pasta but "veal Marsala" that seemed to be covered in a sauce I'd swear was made from Campbell's soup and had not a drop of Marsala). The Asian food in Chibang was okay but lacked flavor and spice. As everyone says, the buffet was very inferior to NCL's and never had any Indian food. There was an Indian entree most nights in the MDR but it was always vegetarian and there seemed to be an abundance of okra involved. I really missed the Indian food on NCL. The panini place was very good and the pizza good the first time I tried it (but not the second). This surprised me because I am a NYC "pizza snob" and have never ventured near cruise ship pizza before. Entertainment was just okay. Carnival has always had a little habit of programing entertainment where the guests pretty much entertain each other rather than paying for professional entertainment. The "real" shows were fine but not great. The comedians were great - definitely a Carnival strong point and they did a lot of shows, even matinees. We strongly disliked the necessity to use the app for everything instead of being able to reserve months in advance like we do on NCL. This resulted in the inability to plan our evening out, which we found very annoying. This is probably the main reason we are unlikely to cruise with Carnival again. Beautiful ship (Mardi Gras) but not our vibe. Not at all sorry we went and had a very good time for sure.

Or one (not meaning you) can search for things to complain about? (Is that more fun than searching for ducks?) But seriously, sincere thanks for that thorough description of Haven embarkation. I've wondered what they could possibly be doing up there that is worth 4 to 5 times what I am paying. Very nice little (key word there) perks indeed (and yes, I know there are others). By the way, do they have duck hunting in the Haven? Before anybody goes on defense, I do recognize that circumstances reign supreme sometimes. There are times in your life when you work very hard, never get a break and luxury is much more appealing for that reason. We used to splurge during those years. Other times you are young and broke or retired and taking it easy every day anyway so luxury is much less valued. No criticism implied (unless you hate ducks;))

You can use those large sturdy paper clips in place of the "zipper thingies". It will even help to further cultivate the desired "impoverished traveler chic". :)))

I buy "ordinary" type luggage because I think high-end luggage attracts thieves and may attract pickpockets when you're wheeling it through crowded streets and train stations. I never wear or carry anything with a cruise line logo on it when going ashore for the same reason. Petty criminals target cruisers because they know we can't stick around.

It does seem to be something you would only want freshly made. That would be common sense. You wouldn't put real whipped cream in a jar and ship it overseas either for obvious reasons.

"Funny the things the FDA allows in our foods but clotted cream is a no no." I just wish the FDA would stop messing with imported wine. You can love a wine you drank in Europe, come home and buy it (identical label) and it will sub par. I asked several knowlegable sellers what was going on and they told me that it's the FDA import regulations. Why can they not understand that wine is alcoholic, does not carry bacteria and, therefore, it is not necessary to mandate adding preservatives to it? Cups of wine have been passed from person to person around church congregations for centuries for goodness sake. Much the same story with why beer is so much better in Europe.

Perhaps clotted cream is just not legal to import? My girlfriends and I frequently visit a tea room in NY and there is no shortage of clotted cream. It is more of a thing that is made fresh so I doubt anyone would want to import the stuff sold in jars anyway.

All very valid points here. Non-stops are significantly more expensive both to Europe and Asia. No argument about that. I have flown to Tokyo and Manila but it was back in the day when planes were half empty and flying was much more comfortable. I just could not face the long flight to Australia so we broke it up with a few days in California, which worked for us since one of our children lives there.

The Spanish train system (RENFE - some say that it stands for Really En-furiating And Not For Everybody) has always been a bit of an outlier. People are surprised to find out that travel between Spain and Portugal by rail is not as easy as one would expect. I will say that Italian trains tend to be a little late and they are fond of going on strike - usually on a Friday. But aside from these quirks, the cities of Europe are generally served by really good high speed rail though. And, while airports are on the outskirts of town, trains deliver you downtown to downtown with a choice of convenient times, no security lines, no baggage hassles, big comfortable seats and no need to sit around waiting for hours. We are big train fans but I would also say that they may not work well for people who travel with lots of luggage.