Knights on the Beach

Terminal 3 is going to be a bit crowded on the days Mardi Gras & Glory are there. 🤣

Yep .....

Docking at terminal 5 instead of 10 (since Seashore will be at 10 tomorrow).

Just saw Jade entering Port Canaveral a few minutes ago.

Right? Usually by the same handful of posters. Too bad there isn't a way to "mute" the ones who love to bicker back and forth.

Some info in addition to Jimbo's replies. 1. We were on Vista for two weeks in April and the premium internet worked very well. 3. 6:00 am is when the clock resets for drinks. 6. There are late night snacks in the buffet - I think they started at 11:30 each night. Not sure how late it was open. Maybe 1:00? They have things like chicken tenders, fries, pizza (not the same served in the pizzeria), soup, hot dogs, sandwiches, chips & pico, cookies, etc. so not really much low cholesterol.

Both are good suggestions! Cocoa Beach Pier is a little closer but I would recommend the tiki bar at the Hilton and/or downtown Cocoa Beach over the Pier. Being dropped off at Coconuts would give you more variety as there are several restaurants/bars and shops in that vicinity. On the south side of the port in the Cove, there are a bunch of restaurants but only a couple shops. It's a shame the port doesn't run a shuttle between the north side terminals and the Cove. They could charge a nominal fare and it would bring some business to those places as well as provide a service for the cruise passengers. Seems like a missed opportunity.

If you're going to be in town for 2 nights, it really makes sense to rent a car. You can Uber/Lyft/taxi from your hotel to area restaurants but if you're flying in, you'll also need transportation from the airport. Disney is at terminal 8 and Princess will dock at terminal 6 but there's not a direct sidewalk so it's a bit out of the way to walk it. Not sure how likely it would be to get Uber/Lyft to pick you up for that short distance but taxis are always sitting there waiting when we get off the ships. It shouldn't be that hard to get one to drive you over to 6.

Our first Carnival cruise was on Celebration out of Tampa in 1997. Prior to that, we did a few other cruises in the mid to late 80s on other lines. So far we've done 19 on Carnival, 26 total. We have 5 cruises booked, 4 of them are on Carnival.

Wildra, thanks so much - this was a lot of fun! We can't wait to board Venezia. 🙂

We love Lido balcony cabins. We have 5 cruises booked - all on Lido, 4 in a balcony. We have one inside booked because the price difference was about $900. 😐

We live in Florida and our doctors' offices are in Florida. Between my husband and me, we've had at leave 4 telehealth appointments in the past year and have never been asked for our physical location at the time?

This is true, lunch menus are not the same as the dinner menus. Lunch is served at both Cucina and ChiBang on sea days only and both are great options.

I see Funtimes is still acting like you can't get specialty coffee until 8:00. 🤨

We were allowed to do this (open the plastic bag and scatter my MIL's ashes) on Carnival Valor in 2010.

You can also reserve and pay online in advance for other specialty restaurants (Teppanyaki, Rudi's, JiJi, etc.). Walk up places like Emeril's are not booked in advance.

That seems more like what we've experienced on other ships so far. Thanks Jeff!

Hold up .... Java Blue, Gondola Bar & Atrium bar don't open until 8:00 am for coffee?? That has to be a NY thing, right?

Freedom coming into Port Canaveral (late) this morning.

Love that sling bag! I feel like this can be fixed? I mean, I can't sew but I'd ask my husband to fix it. 😂

We've done 4 cruises on Mardi Gras (3 times in a balcony cabin and 1 week in an inside) and 2 weeks on Vista (inside on Lido). During our second week on Vista, we came to the conclusion it just wasn't our favorite. While we had a great time, there were days that we were just tired of all the people. It seemed to be more crowded than Mardi Gras, probably because MG is such a big ship and has so many more options for both bars and outside areas. There were things we loved about Vista - JiJi and the lasagna at Cucina, the atrium bar to name a few. If we ever cruise on Vista again, we'll be looking at the Havana area. We have 2 upcoming cruises on Mardi Gras and 2 on Venezia (I know, I know).

Many years ago we used a TA who was great but he retired sometime during our 10 year break from cruising. When we started cruising again, I just booked a few online. I then decided to try using a PVP, but the one listed on my emails never replied back so I found my own. She is fantastic and super responsive. I love that we can do everything through texts. Ironically, a new PVP's name now shows up on my emails from Carnival but I only use the one I found on my own.

Great pictures - looks like it was a wonderful first day on the ship! I hope all the circus monkeys stay in NY when Venezia moves to Port Canaveral. 🤡

Another question - if Celebrity cancels the cruise that was paid for with gift cards, would they offer FCC in lieu of a refund?

In September of last year, I booked Equinox for January 2025 and was able to use a $500 AARP gift card for the deposit. I guess I was lucky they let me use it. I put a hold on the cruise online and then bought the gift card without reading the terms - I wrongly assumed it was just like Carnival and I could apply the cards online. When I realized it wasn't going to work like that, I called Celebrity to apply the GC. I was advised I had to pay $100 of the deposit with a credit card and then the rep applied $400 from the GC as the remaining $500 deposit and then he reduced our total cruise price by $100. I remember thinking that was a crazy way to do it and honestly it felt really shady. 😂But it clearly says on my gift card that certificates may not be redeemed online and it also says certificates may not be used towards the deposit. So yeah, I was lucky. Looking online now, it does show an option to apply a GC. However it also asks for an expiration date and CVV which GCs don't have. Has anyone successfully applied gift cards online to pay off the cruise or do you have to call or email every time?