TwinPrincessMermaids

Hey, OP!

I like your signature!!! :D

While you are at it, I see you are a FL Res (so jealous! this year is HORRIBLE) anyway I didn't see any DCLs on your history, but I think there are FLR specials (and short notice Guarantee sales anyway) for DCL going on about the time you are going to be in Disney. You might think about adding a 3/4 day. Wow, they are WONDERFUL! We are sandwiching 2 parks days on both weekends of our 4 day Magic in May. Its a WONDERFUL way to get that Disney feeling with nice dining, incredible shows, and the best staterooms, oh and Castaway Cay! Woohoo! That's the only way to get there, on DCL. Oh, if I were a FLR!!!! Its my dream.

We ONLY insist on Late Dining. It is WAY better than Main Dining. You get to hang out at port, towel off, sit down to a show at 6:15, and if you aren't tidied up for dinner, there is time in between, and you are ready for a perfectly relaxed dinner at 8:15, that also happens to have less kids.

I hope you get Mihayl from Hungary! (Calls himself Mee-high), he is SPECTACULAR!

Anyway, I wouldn't give up my late dining for anything. Hope you love your Dream as much as we did!

he only problem DW and I had on the Triumph was the temperature. That is the coldest ship we have ever sailed on. We went the last of May when we sailed her, and the whole ship, every inside venue, was extremely cold.

That's true! I was so cold, I vowed I would never wear shorts on her again, and packed long tights to wear under my dresses on every cruise since! Only I have never had it be as cold as the Triumph was, and that was 2011. Maybe they should turn up the AC temp and conserve some of that power...:p

I hope you all put your compliments AND complaints in the email survey.

Sure. For all the good it did. I remember when the staff basically lived for good reviews on the WRITTEN surveys. They didn't offer that any more. Still, when I saw the email survey come thru, I most certainly tried to fit it all in there. Entertainment staff: one of the funniest I have ever had! Dining staff: rudest and most inefficient I have ever had. But since they went by monikers like Bruce Wayne and didn't tell us their names, what will ever come of putting it on a survey. We never had any acknowledgement of the survey either..I don't really believe anyone ever read it, to be honest. Did try, though.

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Hi Limoguy :)

 

Yes, plenty of ice indeed. Here is a photo of the Splendor docking in NY

last week..

 

 

 

 

:)

:eek: Yikes. Another reason I don't cruise in Winter...or out of NYC...

I'm a passport freak! I check it every few weeks, and then I pack it first thing into my boarding back pack and then leave it in front of my face for a week on the kitchen table, and then I check it 3 times before we drive away and also have someone else as an extra pair of eyes check. I'd rather leave with NO undies or luggage or ANYTHING than not have my passport/docs! That and Rxs are the ONLY things you can buy at port...

It all depends on contracts. Perhaps upgrading is not able to be done by the agent directly but can be done over the phone, in which case carnival would be "stealing" the sale. For a more common example, how many times have you gone into a cell phone store and had something done best buy said cannot be done. Often it can be done but because of contracts, means the store doesn't get paid by the provider since the store is not authorized to do it.

 

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Actually the opposite was true for us. ATnT store refused to match an online phone special... But best buy did! Gave it to us right outta the draw at the advertised price, and it wasn't even their special.

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I noticed that DCL assigns port arrival times based on a first come first serve basis online check in. I wonder if CCL would implement such a thing if it would be taken more seriously than a form letter. Of course, one could get their earlier than their PAT but to my knowledge, they still would not get to board early if there was a line. I went ahead and PIF yesterday so I can sign on and get the earliest PAT I can at 11pm on Monday night. I wonder if CCL would ever change their embarkation methods instead of a mass email.

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Just move to Florida.. The rates are Great!! :D

LOL Seriously dude, talk about rubbing it in! My honey needs a job offer, and we are there! He's a fiber IT geeky nerd certified specialist and problem solver. Anyone looking for a think outside the box, problem solving, IT network geek? Please contact! LOL

Dh and I are going to the Bahamas in May (not on cruise) and I just booked this for one day. It looks like fun and something different.

We are doing the Disney Dream cruise in August and if we like it might take kids

If you are in a splurging mood, I REALLY recommend playing with the sea lions! Its different and SOOO funny and so much fun. And if you aren't booking thru DCL (since you are doing a land trip), the rates are even better for the animal encounters. Super fun! Don't forget to order the Conch Fritters.

Chanknaab park is our favorite for Cozumel.

Sting ray city SANDBAR at Grand Cayman!

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We did not have comedy every night this yr on the Dream. 2-3 nights max. Entertainment crew were great. Crude and vulgar is kinda how CCL humor is. And I'm glad you had good staff and Dream.... We sure didn't... Glad bingo was your thing cuz it is definitely everywhere...

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Conquest was a dream compared to our 'nightmare'. If you don't like crowds, Dream is not for you. First time I can remember waiting for coffee cups and coffee in the buffet, hotdogs and loonng lines for pizza and even lines at the self service ice cream. This was not peak season, it was February. I'm not over exaggerating (wish I was) but our service couldn't come close to keeping up with the ship. Big disappointment for us this yr. Altho it was a PC cruise so maybe NOLA will be different?

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Sandwich is OK for us because we are own our own and not dependent on Disney resorts or transfers. But I can see how that would effect others. That's why we aren't using the Disney transport back from the port. My honey has to get to those parks early and can't stand the thought of sitting there and waiting to fill up or stopping at resorts etc.

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For the record, this cruise sold out in less than 2 hours. I guess we can close the book on that popularity. Your idea of fun and the 2,000 cabins that bought it must a tad differrent.

Thanks for that link! Yowza!

Hmmm...If they put NSync or BSB on, I might have to seriously consider it! :D In seriousness though.

...Although my husband would want to strangle me. Thank goodness he likes Disney music too! LOL...

It sounds like a SPA ROOM or BALCONY.

No one is allowed to smoke in the designated SPA areas. I think this is the reason my honey booked one for us on the Dream. He can't stand it. We didn't have a balcony though.

In any of the rooms, including the balcony. We are going on the 5 day Triumph. I thought the no smoking policy was just some of the boats, which didn't include this boat?? How do I know for sure?? If its a no smoking boat I may just need to upgrade to a balcony ;) ( we aren't smokers, DH is very sensitive it it...)

All CCL went non-smoking in the cabins in 2012 (I think? Is that right? Or 2013?)

You can't smoke inside any of the cabins. Did it say no smoking on the balcony? That is interesting if it specified that. A no-smoking balcony thread is just begging for a knock down, drag out on these threads. Does it say so on the boarding pass (about the balcony?)

We are sensitive to it as well, so we personally are on the side that are glad if we did get a balcony, our next ship (not CCL) would not have it.

I like Carnival because I think you get lot for the price.I like the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that you can buy,

Cookies that you have to buy? Is this a pro or a con?

Hi OP!

We are planning a LAND & SEA cruise sandwich. Our cruise is Mon-Fri morn, and so we playing on the weekends (I'm sure they designed it that way. Who wants to go home on a Friday night!?)

For ourselves, we have a group of 11 in immediate group (and 18 in all on the cruise) so I got us a vacation home rental since we would have to get 5 rooms. (We got a 5 bed 5 bath!) We are going to do one Disney park day on Sat (anniversary reservations at Italy in EPCOT!) and then probably a SeaWorld on Sun. Than Mon morn, its time to cruise! Housekeeping is included, so we don't have to tidy up the place, off to port we go!

We cruise til Friday morning, get off the ship and we have our rental van still (I priced out two one way half trips and this is just cheaper, even with the stowing it at a park cruise parkinglot and we can keep our extra land stuff in it and take less on board), and off to the van and park we go! Probably another Disney day, and then Saturday looks like its going to be Busch Gardens. Btw, for this time, I booked the 11 of us 2 suites at royaleparcsuitesorlando.com since they offer park shuttles and a full breakfast, this is for the 2 nights after the cruise.

There are a lot of options for rooming and frankly Disney resorts just didn't offer enough for our big group, but it might be different if it was a smaller crew.

But anyway that's what we are doing. I definitely wouldn't do more than 2 park days before and 2-3 park days after, because it will wear out your feet. I Think you are better off splitting up the park days for sure if you can! I saw the 5th day free, but we had 5 day hoppers in 2008 and we said NEVER AGAIN. Even though we took a break in between, we were worn out and exhausted and just didn't need the extra time, so I can't see myself getting those many Disney days this time. But SeaWorld has a combo deal with BuschGardens for $99 (one day at each) and since we plan to go to a dinner show in Tampa, we will probably go for that. That's $50 per park! So 2 day Disney Tix and then the 2 days SeaW/BuschG. And split them up so we have some Disney before and some after.

That's the plan for now, but who knows. The question is whether we make those 2 days at DIsney hoppers or not...*sigh*

So much to plan. But what could be better than a cruise sandwich! You aren't sad to leave the ship...because its time to run around the parks some more!

I'm 99 days to EPCOT and 101 days out to my Disney Magic! REALLY looking forward to it!

We always look to the MDR as the highlight of the day. Not everyone goes on the same tours or does the same things, and on sea days, sometimes we would miss each other completely. Dinner at the end of the day was a guaranteed meeting time and a nice dinner together every night. It is still a big part of our cruise experience. A deli sandwich cannot ever come close to family time with a cup of coffee and talking about the snorkeling of the day over dessert etc. If my Dream service for breakfast lunch and dinner wouldn't have been so abysmal, I wouldn't be quite so disappointed in my cruise experience. But it just was a big let down, compared to all my other cruises including CCL. We had incredible service on Triumph and Holiday and so-so slow on Conquest but Dream was dysfunctional and rude. I'm not going to cruise for pizza for dinner, it's not going to happen. I have since moved on to other cruise lines, and very interested in Tortola too! CCL really shot themselves in the foot eliminating all the servers and making the ones there like their lives are hades. I really feel for them, its not their fault. It's corporate. They just cannot keep up with everyone. No wonder he snapped at me for asking for a cup of hot tea!

I wonder if it will only be one performance per cruise.

 

This has to be Jennifer Hudson's worst nightmare. When Simon Cowell used to tell American Idol contestants during auditions that their performance was worthy of a cruise ship entertainer, well it has now become a reality for Jennifer Hudson! :eek:

Really funny, Tapi! (I remember that, too!) Although, no one can deny her talent, but it is a funny example of going full circle...

Actually, I like just about all of those, too. But I don't really see how its any different than like a 'Weezer' or themed cruise. They are specific sailings. Sounds fun though. And dangerous (I agree) as there are already posts about seat hogging and fights almost breaking out for theater seats. They would have to sell tickets for sure. It seems like a good idea. They would have had to offer one pretty penny to get these acts to sign up for CCL, I would think.

I still wish they would fix their service in the MDR. I have for the most part enjoyed the shows on CCL (not as much as DCL, but enough) and the service this year all over the ship just really gave me a bad taste for cruising. Only DCL's superior service brought me back. I just like to have nice dinners with my family and friends, and that is one of the things I look forward to most.

Very common.

 

Here is a small sample from the price tracking site I use. This is one of the inside categories from my upcoming Allure cruise. These are all the price changes for a single category (one of the insides in this case) for the last 6 months (removed the dates). I would expect another 3-5 price changes between now and the 3/30 sail date. The price on the bottom is the current price, and the lowest price shown occurred in October, and even then only for a day.

 

$ 1,029

$ 869

$ 919

$ 869

$ 789

$ 869

$ 819

$ 919

$ 1,019

$ 949

Lowest in October, right? Probably the government shutdown! I noticed our cruise (Not RCI) went to rock bottom prices during the early part of the shutdown (likely due to a lot of people cancelling bookings who's earnings were on hold maybe?) anyway we scored airfare that week for $242 incl tax pp roundtrip! It's all gone up since then, and our cruise which is almost to PIF date has gone up $400 since we booked. I suspect as soon as PIF is here, if there are unsold rooms, they will offer a guarantee sale though. Stinks if you bought just before then, though! Definitely a lot to be said for booking early (or else jumping on a deal last minute if you are flexible).

I wonder if they used the word "Betcha" because they know we are from Wisconsin or if they use it in all of their e-mails.

Unfortunately, I think that is the typical response. Some kind of 'cute' CCL PR thing. Funny pun about Wisconsin, "don't yoo know?" But seriously, its just CCL. And silly. I think they used 'gut buster' on a recent ad too. :rolleyes: