antique sailor

AHOY SHIPMATES

a good question to discuss, I have been fortunate enough to do 5 complete WC by skimping a great deal at home and several shorter cruises all departing from east coast, which cost much less in travel expenses to & from home that taking segments of a WC. WCs can be planned a year in advance and a long

TO DO list of money saving things that make the WC affordable, book an inside cabin for 40K, using all the perks from TA and HAL.(have been upgraded to OV more than half the time). Or a FF guarantee the last few times

The only extra expense is a one day rental car from JAX to FFL each way

Taking the "Baltic Capitals", Voyage of the Vikings, Med cruise s, anarc tia/

Amazon etc. are nice and fill in what is missed on WC, but more expensive per day.

The WCs are an experience that cant be duplicated

DW and I are both ret from USN and on soc sec so we have figured that a WC actually only costs us about $8000. out of our savings.

The grandkids can do OK without it.

This info is worth pondering the decision. I do my homework as can anyone and a WC becomes doable. You know how to reach me.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I have cruised a lot on the older HAL ships and "THINK" I remember the Captains talked about the ratio of crew to passengers being so great with an initial crew/staff of approx 750 crew to approx 1000+ passengers.

Now the same ships have a crew of 560+or -, and about 25-30 more cabins

When I asked about the fewer crew compared to the original 750, I get the answer" that isn't possible because there isn't enough cabins to sleep that many crew.

Am I wrong or are they trying to cover up the reduction of service etc ?

AHOY SHIPMATES,

DW HAS BEEN USING THE MAGNETS FOR SEVERAL YEARS to hold calendars,

maps schedules etc. they're great for ease of keeping track of daily MDR dress code for supper and dining in specialty restaurants.

FASCINATION has NON metallic BULKHEADS..........generally the newer ships do not have metal, but it depends what shipyard they were built in.

SEA YA

On Princess towels by the pool are given away, no charge if not returned. They don't know who has them.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I am by no means an angel when it comes to collecting a souvenir occasionally but many of the changes and disappearances have been caused by US overdoing it. I always thought that towels with ships logo would be the biggest loss but actually it was the demitasse spoons on the tables in the dining room that topped the list.

SEA YA

it is my understanding that there is an upgraded menu in the MDR on formal nights, So here is my thinking.... We don't mind dressing up for dinner, so Maybe we should NOT go to the Pinnacle on formal night, save it for a smart casual night. To me it seems MDR formal menu may be like a 'free' Pinnacle dinner experience. ?

Am I silly in thinking this?

YES, YOU ARE SILLY but in a nice way

I have Carnival Master Card and I have received $1500.00 credit using 100,000 points. It has paid for my whole cruise twice. The secret to getting more for your points is to wait till you have the magic number (100,000). I know that is a lot of points, but I charge everything on that card and you would be surprised at how fast the points pile up. I charged a used car on it for $16,000 instead of paying cash and when the bill came in, I paid it off. I never keep a balance.

AHOY SHIPMATE,............Congrats, your doing great.

We cruise a lot and also have the VISA Holland America card.

I let them accrue to 135,0000 pts., then cash in for $2,000.

So far we have rec'd $6,000. and over $2500. for owning Carnival stock.

We have never paid a penny interest on any of our credit cards.

Your right. It works for us too.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

As they say in the NAVY, "ships are made to go to sea" I would never take a vacation on AMTRAK.

Added features of sea days.....CASINO IS OPEN ALL DAY and the scenery is GREAT around the pool and hot tubs.

Just Carnival purchases, not Princess. HAL is not owned by Carnival.

AHOY SHIPMATE,

You may want to double check your source. CARNIVAL CORP. does own HAL and about 6 other lines.

I'm not trying to be picky, just helpful.

Yeah that had it on the Pride!

AHOY SHIPMATE,

I AGREE THE SIDE BETS ARE GREAT. Then I added that they have a new TABLE of texas Holdem where you get 2 cards and play against the dealer both using the flop of 3 and 2 in the middle. It also has a side bet for very high hands with high payouts.

I loved that ship too. Maybe they will do a face lift for the

Elation.

 

Jax ships always sail full. I know that because of the bridge they are limited in the size of the ship that comes here but they seem to screw Jacksonville at every chance.

 

 

Hope Mayor Curry moves ahead with developing MayPort as Mayor Brown has done.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

BEEN IN JAX since 1960 and the redneck politicians have always controlled progress till the KICKBACKS reach a high enough level to satisfy

everyone involved but this time the intellectually deprived residents of MAYPORT must be satisfied also. They do deserve compensation within reason.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

They have it on the Fascination as well as all of the new things like "19" bonus bet on blackjack , and a very new table of TEXAS hold em playing against the dealer. It has bonus plays also. I didn't have a chance to study it but looks interesting. The JAX ship is used as a training ship for new casino things and gets the new stuff early. They finally got rid of the CARIB. STUD table.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I always dislike saying those words (home again). Just finished a 5 day cruise on the FASCINATION and it was great as usual. DW is a vegetarian the staff takes VERY good care of her needs in the MDR and the LIDO .

I'm willing to eat most anything , but certain juice is required with breakfast for med. reasons and at 0700 every AM the shift supervisor is at my table with the glass without me even asking because he remembers from previous cruises. I AM REALLY SORRY TO SEE THE SHIP CHANGE HOMEPORTS TO PUERTO RICO NEXT SPRING.

We have already booked the Elation B2B from NOLA to JAX 21 days.

That should give us enough time to train the new staff before arriving in JAX LOL. FYI the price for that cruise has dropped at least $100.

SEA YA

No, that's not it at all :D:D. I'm just a simple person. Give me the tamarind and I'm a happy camper.

AHOY SHIPMATE,

IMO GIVE THE "chef" the day off and let a COOK fix supper and save the $$$$$$$$.

there's a hertz location right at the pier. That might be a more convenient option. There's also an avis very close to the pier, on canal st. Just a short cab ride from there to the pier. And just fyi-not sure what day you are planning on dropping the car off, but if it's a sunday, make sure you check that the car rental office is open. When i was booking my post-cruise car in new orleans, i was surprised how many weren't open on sundays.

ahoy shipmates,

thanks for the info......best yet. People are very nice and helpful when a legitimate request is made. Cc is a handy tool when visiting a new port.....1st time to nola.

Sea ya

The closest Enterprise location to the NOLA cruise port is :

1019 BARONNE STREET

NEW ORLEANS, LA 70113

Tel.: (504) 593-9068

You'll have to contact them to inquire if they have a shuttle.

AHOY SHIPMATE,

THANKS , recd that phone no. and will call them. I also have the

HERTZ getaway card if this doesn't work out

AHOY SHIPMATES,

We will be driving a rental ONEWAY from Jax fl and are looking for best place to turn in and is there a free shuttle to cruise piers. Will probably be in Enterprise or National

Any info in the right direction will be helpful. THANKS

My problem with 10 days on this ship is not having a balcony unless you book a suite.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

Everyones preferences are different....not right or wrong. DW and I are both retired NAVY. We have quite a history on ships. The ONLY balconies we like are the extended (bigger/deeper)ones. We are happy with OV when the balconies are too expensive or small. The Elation MINI suites aren't worth the extra $. We have had them on the Fascination in the past.

We don't spend much time in the cabins anyway.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

Finally finished our homework and have booked the ELATION from

New orleans on 2 April (11 days to Puerto Rico) B2B (10 days to JAX) OV

on EMPRESS Deck for a reasonable price. I called PVP at Carnival for her best price with the confusing promotions, etc and then my TA and got a better deal, same cabin with guaranteed lowest $$$.

I think it is easier to buy a house than to book a cruise.

Now to figure out how to start a roll call.

SEA YA

AHOY SHIPMATE,

YOU ARE HAVING QUITE A TIME OF THIS !

I have had a TIMEX EXPEDITION (in the NAVY) etc since about 1976.

I also have a ROLEX. The $ 30. TIMEX has A NIGHT LIGHT and a battery

which I replace every 5 years ($5.) Nobody will steal it because it looks cheap.

I recommend it because it keeps much BETTER time than the ROLEX which costs $500. to clean every 5 years.

Enjoy your cruise and have a good TIME.

SEA YA

can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive waterproof watch?

to answer your question; timex expedition

hope i haven't said too much

it appears all responding here understand that but it was good of you to point it out, just in case.

 

ahoy shipmate, thanks HELPFUL IS GOOD... TOO EAGER CAN BR CONFUSING AT TIMES.

can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive waterproof watch?

ahoy shipmatestimex....expedition

Well I guess the Valor is going into dry dock after all, I was booked on her for Oct 2016, but have been move to the Magic. I really wanted to sail the Valor and was hoping she would be dry docked before our sailing, but instead I just received my letter this morning stating we have been moved to the Magic. I guess I'm okay with this because we have not sailed the Magic before and was looking for a different ship.

 

This is the first time this has happen to us, so we shall see how they rebook us as far as location on the ship, I know we get the same Cat, but I like picking my own cabin.:D

SORRY IF THIS GETS POSTED TWICE, WHAT ARE DATES OF DRY DOCK?

DW and I are B2B on Valor for 7th and 14th of NOV.

Thanks.

AHOY SHIPMATE,

WITH THAT MUCH LUGGAGE AND PEOPLE YOU MAY WANT TO DRIVE STRAIGHT TO PIER AND DROP OFF 3 OR 4 PEOPLE AND ALL LUGGAGE EXCEPT A HAND CARRY ON AND THEN DRIVE TO CAR TURN IN AT AIRPORT. TAKE SHUTTLE TO PIER (SHOWING BUS DRIVER YOUR RECEIPT FROM CAR RENTAL)

tour friends will have checked in and you can meet them in LIDO or CABIN or TERMINAL depending on what time it is or crowd. FLL is a nice terminal

(expedient and friendly) We have done this literally dozens of times and never had a problem.

Those turning the car in MUST remember to keep his boarding pass and papers in his possession . He will need them at pier when boarding.

Good luck

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I'VE been to many meet n greets. Several yrs ago before the cutbacks began to be so noticeable the m n g s were truly to meet the people in person that you had been talking to on CC., BUT a certain group tried to use it as a forum to try to organize excursions and collect money for same. This was not nice and the staff became upset and with the operation. The more sensible cruisers did some "self policing" in the group but the damage was done. Then HAL set up a m n g on embarkation day in a cubby hole (computer room) that didnt have room for more than 15 people. Nobody attended because they were busy looking for their cabin,luggage, dir to life boat drill etc.

Finally the CCers got it back to the crows nest on 1st am at sea and it was well attended and SR officers started showing up. Unfortunately a few over zealous passengers tried to turn it into a "BITCHING" session.

Ive heard some of our group before the meeting talking about how we should use our mass to lean on staff for free drinks and a private party where we could lobby for CC perks. This made the event planner (who is the boss of the CD) very leary of doing too much for us. Now the policy change has arrived in writing..

I know many of the CAPTS and HD 's and have left early because I was embarassed