maurinsky2

I was wondering how many international non cruise holidays people have done and where to and how they found it compared to cruising?

 

I have done a number of cruises on a range of ships, but have done more time land based either working internationaly or on holiday. I hope to make some in roads to changing this soon!

I have been to Ireland, England, Scotland, Canada and France. I prefer this kind of traveling to cruising, actually, although the benefit to going on a cruise is that I come home relaxed, which is not the case when I travel to Europe.

We had that question too, and the host said there was controversy about that question. (Maybe as a result of your experience.) He also accepted the Cheshire Cat, which I did argue was completely wrong. I think he made the excuse that it was correct in some foreign translation.

I would think the controversy would be over the fact that neither the White Rabbit nor the Cheshire Cat is a person!

Trivia on the Splendor last week seemed to be very good natured. I was one point shy of winning 3 different trivias (80s, Musicals, Name That Tune) but finally won one for TV Show Theme Songs.

 

 

I read somewhere that most of the ship was sick on the ride home? I'm assuming it was due to rough seas??

The seas were definitely a little bit rough, but I don't think MOST of the ship was sick. I don't doubt that there were people feeling motion sickness, but there were many, many people who were out and about and appearing to be well and happy.

We only spent an hour or two in the Serenity area, it was free of children but not very quiet with the mini golf right above it.

We got off the Splendor this morning. It was an interesting experience cruising with 3 teenagers with various degrees of addiction to the internet and other electronic devices that they didn't have full access to!

1. Faster to the Fun

When we embarked on 4/10, we were incredibly grateful to have purchased this! We got to the port around 1pm because we were total packing slackers, and the lines were insane, but we moved right through very quickly.

When we tendered to Half Moon Cay, we loved FTTF because we got right on to a tender and were in a very early group onto the island

When we disembarked, we were frustrated because the announcements were at complete odds with the instructions we were given - we spoke to Malcolm Burn about it while we were standing in line and were told "FTTF has different policies, you should have followed the written instructions" - as first time users, it would have been nice to have the announcements, which stated that if you attempted to go to the 3rd floor, you would be turned away, indicated that this was not the case for gold, platinum or FTTF users. All in all, we're glad we bought it, but it was a little frustrating at the end.

2. The food

Was mostly good. We had one lousy breakfast on the Lido deck, the omelette I ordered was so sweet it tasted as if someone added sugar to it, and the coffee was abominable. Aside from that, we had 4 sea days and we enjoyed the sea day brunch every one of those days. We had anytime dining so we ate in the Black Pearl, and we all were satisfied with the meals. I didn't record what everyone ate, but the only one that was iffy for me was a jerked pork loin - my serving was huge and very dry, but my fiancé had the same thing and he loved it. My future stepson ordered the same thing at ever dinner - fried chicken with no side dishes, and warm chocolate melting cake. I feel that the WCMC lived up to the expectations I had for it. We did try a couple of other desserts - 3 of us had the Bitter & Blanc and loved it, and on the last night, I had a cappuccino pie which was delicious and I shared it with my daughter, who shared her Grand Marnier Souffle with me, which was also delicious. We ate at the steak house twice because my sweetheart loved it so much, and the food was fantastic both times but the second time it was so cold I had a hard time getting comfortable, even wearing a jacket.

My favorite entree in the Black Pearl was a bbq cornish game hen. My favorite starter was a "didja" of sushi - it was phenomenally delicious.

My older future stepson turned 18 on the boat, and they made a big deal without making too much of a big deal, which suited him fine. He got a special dessert and a song.

We never had lunch, except at Half Moon Cay, and we went to Señor Frog's in Nassau. So loud! Luckily, I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking so I was buzzed from my one drink and therefore loose enough to have a good time.

We went to tea time every sea day, and we loved it. We met new people, had great conversations, including with two young teenage girls who were seated with us yesterday, and the food was great. I was quite partial to the vanilla scones with cream.

3. The service

Most of my party was delighted with the service. It wasn't what I expected - we didn't have the same servers every night and we didn't meet our room steward until we were disembarking this morning! However, everyone was friendly and warm and many of the crew remembered our names after interacting with us - particularly Antoinette, who ran karaoke. Our rooms were spotless, and we had the following towel animals: a bat (maybe?), a frog, a scorpion (my personal favorite), a dog, a snail and an elephant.

4. The entertainment

Janae Longo is fan-freaking-tastic. The dancers were great although the choreography wasn't - particularly in Fiesta Latina, which I thought was borderline offensive with it's Latin stereotyping and fake accents. Todd Evans is just not good enough to keep up with everyone else. He was working so hard, and you could tell.

5. Trivia

With all those sea days, there were lots of opportunities for trivia, and I was one point shy of winning the 80s trivia, musicals trivia, but I finally managed to score a Ship on a Stick for TV shows theme songs - hooray for watching way too much TV!

6. The Ports and excursions

In Grand Turk, we had a nice morning at the beach and then went on the ultimate snorkeling adventure, which was great. Our crew was Mitchie, Jason and the captain whose name escapes me. We got to touch nurse sharks and explore a coral reef as well as the wall, which left me feeling a little bit like Nemo's dad.

In Half Moon Cay, we enjoyed a beach day. The water was surprisingly cold, but it was refreshing in the hot, hot, hot sun. We all ended up getting burned despite copious re-applications of sunscreen. I enjoyed my bbq lunch, too.

In Nassau, we went to Balmoral for a dolphin encounter, which was expensive but we decided once in a lifetime for us - it was very cool! The staff was slightly disorganized, but we got to meet Pigeon the dolphin, who was very talkative, and we each got an individual experience with her, giving back and belly rubs and getting a kiss. My stepsons weren't interested in the dolphins so they had a beach day and they loved it. We got an extra bonus because we got to ride the catamaran back to Nassau. We had lunch at Señor Frog's, which the kids loved and made for great people watching, and went shopping at a few places, including the straw market.

7. The weather

It was rough on the way home! 12 foot waves! Too windy to be outside!

8. How we entertained ourselves

My sweetheart and I spent a lot of time on the balcony reading and talking. We had a few excellent specialty coffees at the coffee shop. We did trivia. My daughter and I did karaoke and we even got to feel like celebrities for a moment when someone on an elevator with us asked us if we had sung the night before and then proceeded to gush. The boys ended up spending a lot of time and money in the arcade. We never used the pools or hot tubs, we walked through the gym but only one of us (not me) used it. We wandered around the shops, looked at pictures but didn't buy any, and the people watching was fantastic.

If you have any questions, let me know. I will post pictures at some point.

I was on this cruise, and I'm sorry you were feeling poorly - when I saw the header I thought maybe you were seasick!

I was healthy the whole time and I'm still feeling pretty good, but I didn't use the spa and I didn't spend much time in the big public areas - we made good use of our balcony.

How many are there in a typical cabin? Where are they located?

Thanks - I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be ATMs on the ship! It may not even be an issue but I did want to have a backup plan.

So, my timing was a little off and my next paycheck comes after the cruise starts. I have plenty of money for the cruise form my vacation savings, but just in case, are there ATMs in the ports?

My second question is about sending postcards - everyone who goes on vacation in our office sends postcards (which typically arrive 2-3 weeks after we've come back to the office. Are there post offices within a reasonable distance of the pier?

Are you going to book the excursion through Carnival or book it yourself? If you book it through Carnival, then yes you can use your S&S. If you are getting off the ship and booking your own, no you can't use S&S.

We booked it through Carnival - I looked at some other vendors, but my sweetheart is risk averse and he didn't want to end up pier running if something happened to delay us.

Okay, our excursion doesn't include a meal, so we'll bring some cash along. I will pick up a water wallet within the next day or two.

We'll be boarding the Splendor. And now I'm wondering why I didn't write down some of the advice I got from seasons cruisers regarding what to bring!

We have FTTF, but my future stepsons don't, I hope that won't make a huge impact.

We are doing a dolphin excursion at Nassau, at Balmoral. I know I read the food is expensive, but is it something you can use your Sign & Sail for? or should I bring a card/cash? Does anyone use one of those plastic containers to hold their stuff when they're doing an excursion? Like a container you could wear around your neck?

8 days, 4 at sea, 1 snorkeling excursion and 1 dolphin experience....how many bathing suits? 3?

Since winter is basically 5 months long here, I have a fairly limited summer wardrobe, so it's coming with me. I can't do maxi dresses because I'm too short, but I have 4 cute summer dresses and a couple of pairs of shorts plus a bunch of casual tops, so I think I'm all set.

We are going the second night, we aren't wine drinkers, I like a good beer, whiskey, or a fancy cocktail, preferably a girly one with an umbrella, but all wine kind of tastes like grape juice gone bad to me. I have a pretty fancy palate when it comes to cheese, but I have not yet developed a palate for wine. It doesn't stop me from trying some when it's offered, but it's not my thing.

I'm assuming boozy drinks are extra in the steakhouse? If you can't finish (I can never finish) will they wrap it up for you to take back to your room?

Looking forward to your review!

 

We are sailing 4/10/14 when you get back :)

 

Karyn

Hi disneyfan - I will be on the Splendor with you!

I am super excited to go someplace hot.

I have one more Monday after today!

Ask me next week.

I talked to a lawyer yesterday and she said as long as I could show I made a reasonable attempt to seek approval from my ex-husband (and I did send him an e-mail about 6 months ago, so I'll send a follow-up today), it should be sufficient, but that since my daughter is 16, she didn't think anyone would even ask for it. Still, better to have it, than not.

My sister is in this situation. Her ex is not signing anything and she just filed a motion to travel with the courts. Problem is, we sail in about 7 weeks and she has no clue if it will be granted or not, so she has not booked yet. She just wants an inside guarantee, so I doubt it will be a problem to book...depending how far down to the wire it comes. The kids are 17 & 14 with a different last name from her. She and the 17 yo has just gotten their passports but the 14 yo doesn't. Saddest part is that this cruise was FOR their graduations (12th and 8th grades) and the ex still won't budge or and refuses to even acknowledge her request for the signed (and notarized) paperwork. She just found out this week that because his child support is in the arrears HE was denied his passport application for himself. So my sister hopes IF they go to court she can also point out that he is disgruntled b/c he can not obtain a passport from himself to travel and is taking it out on the kids. Such a shame!!

 

To the OP-I would 100% make sure you have all the documentation everyone mentioned here. It is alot easier to get the parents to sign a bunch of paperwork now rather then YOU having a headache later for being so kind as to allow the child to join you on the vacation!

That stinks! My ex wouldn't say no, I'm sure, but since he only checks his email sporadically and he is a massive procrastinator, I probably wouldn't hear from him until I get back from the cruise. It took over a year to get his notarized letter so she could apply for her passport renewal, and it wasn't because he was deliberately being a jerk, it was because he kept putting it off (and also because he's seriously mentally ill and doesn't function like a normal person).

Having just spent an hour+ of what was supposed to be a 2 hour and 22 minute drive trying to get from Manhattan to NJ via the GWB, I'm not sure the words "easier driving" should be associated in any way with Manhattan!

With joint custody, it kind of irks me that the other parent has to give their persmission to travel outside the country - I think when you have the kids, it should be your rules. If you don't trust the other parent, then you should seek sole custody, I think. I probably should have done that, but I didn't quite understand how seriously mentally ill my ex-husband actually is.

Thanks for this - his younger son is 13, but the other kids are 16 or older, and everyone has a passport, so I will cease worrying about it!

I got what you meant, but I guess I don't have an issue with reading comprehension. Lol.

 

I wish I were on the ship. I love sailing in rough seas. Too fun!

 

 

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I like rough seas, too, but my daughter gets motion sickness!

I hadn't really given much thought to this, but I think I need to! My fiance has joint custody of his kids and I have joint custody of my daughter. He will be able to get a letter from his ex giving her okay with the guys coming with us; but my ex-husband is no longer reachable as he's gone almost completely off the grid (I currently communicate with him by sending him an e-mail, which he typically takes a month or more to actually read and respond to). I guess I haven't thought much about custody stuff because she's 16 and we haven't run into any issues before...I'll need to figure this out so we can get on the boat on 4/10!

We are going to Balmoral for a dolphin excursion - my fiance's kids are doing the Balmoral beach day because they aren't interested in getting to meet a dolphin; I wonder if we should cancel rhe beach day and direct them towards Junkanoo instead?

We purchased FTTF before my stepsons were booked in a room, and it hasn't been available since, but we'll work it out. Maybe we'll go check out the Intrepid before getting on the ship, I really only got it for the tender.