Knights on the Beach

Mine are dark red and they now say Priority. When I saved them in February, they were a different shade of red (brighter) and said Platinum in dark red.

There's a very good chance we were at Grills at the same time. Did you sit at the tiki bar or table?

LOVE Mardi Gras - can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Ironically, 4 times on MG and we got seats at Alchemy almost every time we tried - but didn't go there as much because we love the other bars even more on that ship. On Freedom, we never managed to sit at the bar, had to sit at the outer tables. So did UCF but we didn't play anyone good so ... 🤷‍♀️ 🤣

We're going on Disney Fantasy later this year - we're long time cruisers but this will be our first time on Disney. Does anyone have updated bar menus? Most of the ones I've seen online are from 2018 or 2019.

This looks like a great itinerary! The amazing Melissa from Mardi Gras told us (in December) that she will be on Pride next but I think she said she will be joining the ship in June. It would be the icing on the cake to be on Pride with her!

That's my morning drink right there! Are you thinking of Frog Grog at the RFTB? The menu doesn't say what's in it, just tropical juice or something like that.

When in July? We'll be there 4th of July week!

Huge fans of Lucy's! Unfortunately the Lucy's in Key West just closed (for the second time) a couple weeks ago. I'm going to cry when we get back there later this year and there's no Lucy's. At least I finally bought a shirt last year, so there's that. And I have a couple of those sharks too.

Isn't it time yet?? Let's go!

We were on the Glory out of Port Canaveral in 2004 and it was my favorite ship until Mardi Gras. But I'll tell you, I'm happy that ship is coming back to PC next year. I'm looking forward to your cruise!

It was open early for breakfast in December (and every other time we've been on Mardi Gras). I believe it closes for a short time before lunch starts so maybe the video was posted by someone who slept in and missed breakfast. 🤷‍♀️

Welp, I'm not crazy about San Juan anyway so I think this solidified my plan to stay on the ship next time we're there. 🤣

Though some go home earlier, we have many snowbirds here through the end of April. Below is from an article I just saw. But yes, some have already had their Spring Break. When is Spring Break 2023? For US colleges, Spring Break lasts one week and falls in March or April, with the peaking in the last two weeks of March. In 2023 the peak weeks will be Mar 4th and Mar 11th.

We've only had our PVP for maybe a year but she's already booked 6 cruises for us and 3 for our family members. She had posted her phone number on her page and said it was quicker to get in touch with her than emailing. My PVP said the same. She said she will always help us even if she didn't book it for us. That's not fair to her but I appreciate it. I will always try to give her the chance to book it if I'm not in danger of losing the room or great rate.

If you like to eat early, you definitely want YTD on Mardi Gras. Cucina and Chibang are also used as main dining rooms. With YTD, you may check in on the app when they open. Those with set dining times have to wait until 7:30 or 7:45 to request tables in those two dining rooms. Pig & Anchor is walk up so you don't have to check in on the app for that one. We've been on MG 4 times and found the wait times much shorter the earlier we checked in.

Totally by accident - I'm not that quick. LOL

I get your point but good PVPs do way more than just book (sell) a cruise for someone. In the past, I found the cruise I wanted, the stateroom I wanted and put it on hold - usually on the weekend or at night when my PVP wasn't working. Then on Monday morning or her next workday, I texted her with the booking number and she called me to take payment and finalize the booking. But it doesn't always end there. If a better room opens up, I can text her and she changes the room for me. When the Freedom caught on fire two or three days prior to our sail date, she quickly got us rebooked on Mardi Gras for the same date. Those are just two examples. PVPs do "maintenance" work on cruises, sometimes for people who didn't even book with them. They don't get credit for any of that. Last Fall PVPs were told they should advise their clients not to put cruises on hold but to have the PVP handle it from scratch. The PVPs did have a little leeway for a while but now Carnival has made it official and PVPs absolutely won't get credit for booking a cruise if the client puts it on hold first. My PVP is now working longer hours in order to get to each client wanting to book. I see on her page she is still helping people who didn't book their cruise through her (and not getting credit for any of those). Hopefully the next time, those people will book through her. When we booked our 2024 B2B cruise earlier this month, instead of putting it on hold I texted her with the info so she would get the credit. I will always do that when possible because I know she'll be there to help if we have any issues.

Well to be fair, the cafe isn't in the bait store, it's totally separate and you would have a great view of the Mardi Gras or Liberty, depending on the day. 🤣

Ha! Looks like they used the little disc they put on the free cakes in the dining room.

There is down past terminal 3 but they're only open for breakfast and lunch. It's been a couple years but we had breakfast there once or twice. https://www.watersedgebaitandtackle.net/waters-edge-cafe-menu Did you ever go to the Fishlips Pavilion at Jetty Park before they closed? They had an upstairs deck that looked like it would be perfect for watching the cruise ships leave but we never went there.

I'm a small town girl now (after living most of my life in Orlando) and LOVE living in Cape Canaveral. I think PC is great! We actually do have a ton of great options for dinner places if you have a car - but they aren't fancy schmancy places like you'll find in Miami. I get that some people like that and the glitz and glamor of a city. It's just not for me. One of our favorite things to do is have a meal at Grills right at the port and see the cruise ships, fishing boats, dolphins, pelicans, etc. I like that we can just text our fav Uber driver and he'll drop us off and pick us up from PC for the quick drive - no parking hassles for us. Miami is definitely a more scenic port to cruise from but we can see our home when we sail from PC, so there's that. 😂

I think this is probably it. The agent at the port may have asked out of habit and she was likely working multiple cruises that week and didn't keep up with which ports our ship was going to that week.

Getting distracted by Alchemy (or RFT or wherever) is half the fun! 😍 SAME!! I'm not a Miami fan AT all (except for the Dolphins LOL). It's a beautiful port to cruise out of but can't stand all the other Miaminess of it. Others disagree, but I love Port Canaveral and I said we'll never cruise out of Miami unless it's something we can't pass up. We'll be on Celebration in December because it was over $700 cheaper than the same week on Mardi Gras. 🤦‍♀️

There are actually a bunch of restaurants close to the Best Western besides the pier, including Cocoa Beach Fish Camp, Ale House, Graham's Beach Grill, Papa Vito's, Coaster's, Salsa's (last 2 are on the other side of A1A) and several more under a half mile from the BW. It's been years since we stayed there since we now live in the area so I don't know what condition it's in now, but it's an easy walk to the beach. Near the Four Points, we like Sandbar, La Catrina, Long Doggers, Island Time and Nolan's but there are a few fast food places in that area as well. All the ones I names except Sandbar are across A1A so make sure you use a crosswalk if you're on foot. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the beach, you probably want to stay in Cocoa Beach. If you have a car and just want a pool, I've been seeing good reviews of the newer hotels in Cape Canaveral - Hampton Inn, Home2 Suites, Homewood Suites but they're all farther from the beach and not many restaurants as close. Lots of restaurants are a quick drive though including all the ones listed above and several at the port - our favorites there are Grills and Rising Tide but there's also Gator's, Rusty's, Seafood Atlantic and Fishlips - all are on the water (except Rising Tide) and have a great view of the cruise ships docked in port. It's an active port with fishing and recreational boats coming and going and we often see dolphins there.