drumbeatfive

We're thinking about booking a cruise over New Year's. Has anyone cruised over the holiday? What kind of special events, if any, could we expect?

Thanks in advance for your input

Happy cruising!

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AT&T assures me that we can use our cell phone while in Puerto Rico. Does anyone know if you have to be off the ship in order to hook up with AT&T and not cellular at sea?

Any advice would be appreciated

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Thanks, retnavy1996!

Are the areas on 15 or 16 near any of the bars or pools? I'm hoping for a short walk now and then when the mood strikes.

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Can anyone tell me where the smoking areas are on the Oasis?

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I think everyone has posted some really good ideas, but I would really like Carnival to invest in a good ventilation system. There's no reason why any room should be smoke filled. Even as a smoker, I find this horrible. We have the technology!! Some of the inside smoking areas (including the casino bar) were already bad and will be even worse when you add the smokers who used to smoke on their balconies. Investing a few bucks will make these areas more enjoyable for smokers and non-smokers.

We had the aft wrap on the Verandah deck on the Freedom last September. It was truly spectacular! I'm sorry that I don't have any pics to post, but I was able to find some on Youtube and that other website that shows cruise cabins. We spent much more time on our balcony than ever before because it was so spacious.

The cabin itself was oddly shaped...more like a triangle than a rectangle, but we really enjoyed it. There are two large windows so the cabin was always bright and sunny.

Enjoy!!

I dont blame you for saving money. It brings me to question the wisdom of this move. The old policy had some affect on people who were non-smokers that had balcony cabins. Now the new policy will affect eveyone booked on the cruise. What I mean is that based on Carnival's stats, they have approx 10% smokers on their ships. So, that means that there will be anywhere from 200 to 300 additional people smoking in the casino and lido deck areas as they can no longer smoke on their balcony. I know non-smokers asked for this, but it could back fire and have more smokers in public areas now.

I keep seeing this stat. Where does it come from? I've cruised with Carnival 4 times now and don't ever remembering being asked if we were smokers or not. Did I miss the survey??

We had three in an oceanview on the Sensation; Fantasy's sister ship. They used a trundle bed and configured the beds in a U shape which gave us more floor space. The trundle bed was a little smaller and part of it ran under the counter near the vanity so this might be a difficult fit for a tall person. We did email Carnival to request the set up and it was all ready when we arrived.

Happy Cruising!

If your cabin is mid-ship, look for the glass enclosed stairway on the Lido deck next to the stage. This will bring you down to the Promenade deck and the mid-ship elevators. We spent a few days going forward or aft to get to the elevators and then had to double back to get to our cabin. Finding this little shortcut made trips back and forth to the cabin a breeze!!

Happy Cruising!

We had an aft wrap on our Freedom cruise last September (2013). After a couple of price drops we ended up at $1575 for two. I thought it was an excellent deal for a six-night cruise.

We loved the balcony. As others have said, it was well worth the extra cost from a regular balcony. We had more than enough room for a couple of loungers (and two or three regular chairs) and I didn't have to worry about smoking around my neighbors. They were a good 10-12 feet away from me in either direction!

We'd book it again in a heartbeat!

Happy Cruising!

We had an aft wrap on the Freedom this past September. The cabin and the balcony were amazing! The cabin is probably about the same square footage as other balcony cabins, but it was sort of a triangle instead of a rectangle. It also had two large windows which made the room seem very bright.

The balcony itself was out of this world. We had more than enough room to throw a party out there. The only downside we had was the lack of a covering so it got very warm when we were in port. What was nice was that we had about 6 feet that wrapped around the side of the ship that did have an overhang so even in bad weather we could sit there.

I've never sailed Royal so I can't give my opinion there, but you will not be disappointed in this cabin or this balcony!

Happy Cruising!

Both Disney World and Sea World are quite a distance from the port and Orlando area traffic makes the trip even more unpredictable. I'm not sure how long you'll be in port, but you'll have to plan for at least an hour to and an hour back from either park. This might not leave a lot of time for the park itself.

Whatever you decide, I wish you a happy cruise!

I'll pass along a tip it took us a few days to figure out....If your cabin is mid-ship and you're on the Lido, take the glass stairwell by the stage. It will bring you down to the Promenade. Go to the right and around the first corner and you can catch an elevator. Before we discovered the glass stairwell, we were going all the way forward to the atrium elevators and then doubling back on our deck.

Hope it helps!

Happy Cruising!

Soooooo jealous!

We cruised on the Freedom in September and spent a few nights in the Piano Bar with Marty. We thought he was fantastic.

Enjoy your cruise!

We went to Seven Mile Beach while in Grand Cayman in September. There were cabs (vans) at the port who would take you to a few of the resorts/beaches. It was $4 per person to go to Royal Palms Resort. There was a $2 entry fee per person for the resort. There was a pool and a beach. The beach was beautiful. There was an additional charge for the lounge chairs on the beach, but I'm not sure what it was.

We did have lunch there and we knew it would be costly. I think the bill came to around $50 and included a couple of fish sandwiches and a couple of drinks. I guess you can keep the costs down by not eating there.

Happy Cruising!

Thanks for your blog! Great job!

We have cabin 8448 booked on the Freedom in September. Your pics of the balcony and cabin are terrific! We've never had an aft-wrap before and never stayed that far back on the ship. Any hints or advice would be appreciated.

Happy Belated Anniversary!

We use those stairs for a quick run to the Lido to grab food for our wrap in 8448. Never had noise issues and never had complaints about using them. We just make sure we don't let the door slam behind us.

Thanks, cloverseeker!

That's the aft wrap we'll be in on the Freedom!!! Any other tidbits of advice??

We're booked in an aft wrap balcony on the Freedom (Valor's sister ship) in September. I noticed these stairs on the deck plan and wondered if you can use them even though they're for the crew. It would be a short flight up to the Lido deck. Anyone use them before????