I really wish that....

[italianfemmy]

I really wish that the late night adult fun activities that Carnival schedules such as Love & Marriage, Adult Game Night, Battle of the Sexes, etc would be scheduled the nights prior to a sea day instead of the nights prior to an 8am excursion. With a 7 day cruise and 4 port days back to back that leave at like 8am, having a fun adult event at 11:15pm the night prior is rough. If they did this on Night 1 before the Sea Day or on Night 5 before the last Sea Day, it would make so much more sense.

 

I remember last time not being able to fall asleep until like 2am and then having to be up at 6:30/7am to get ready to be off the boat to make it to the excursions on time.

[sanmarcosman]

I see what you mean. The only issue that I can see is that on the first night many don't stay up late because it has been a long day getting to the ship.

[italianfemmy]

I see what you mean. The only issue that I can see is that on the first night many don't stay up late because it has been a long day getting to the ship.

 

True. But I'd rather stay up late and sleep in than be completely sleep deprived. Plus they could always do it that 5th night. Or even move the times up a little earlier for the adult events. I don't know what the perfect solution is but I'd love to enjoy all the night time events without being super exhausted the next day. :D

[SNJCruisers]

I see what you mean. The only issue that I can see is that on the first night many don't stay up late because it has been a long day getting to the ship.

Just for that reason is why many experienced cruisers fly into the port of embarkation the day before. No extra day off from work is needed either since you can catch a night flight. The only extra expense is 1 night in a hotel and it's a small price to pay for starting your vacation early and not be dragging your butt and be dead tired on day one of your cruise.

[wemjam]

Just for that reason is why many experienced cruisers fly into the port of embarkation the day before. No extra day off from work is needed either since you can catch a night flight. The only extra expense is 1 night in a hotel and it's a small price to pay for starting your vacation early and not be dragging your butt and be dead tired on day one of your cruise.

 

AMEN! Coming from Michigan for every cruise, it really makes a difference! We used to for years get up at Oh My God 30 in the morning to make a super early flight to be in Florida by noon or so, then about 5 years ago, I was like "why are we doing this?" From then on it has been flying in the night before!

 

Now we don't get in until like 11:30-midnight usually (taking an evening flight after a work day), but at least once we hit the hotel we can get a solid 8 hours sleep before getting up to go to the ship.

 

Funny thing is though, we still take a nap right after lunch and unpacking, and before the safety drill, that first day like we used too lol! That habit stayed with us regardless ;p

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Just for that reason is why many experienced cruisers fly into the port of embarkation the day before. No extra day off from work is needed either since you can catch a night flight. The only extra expense is 1 night in a hotel and it's a small price to pay for starting your vacation early and not be dragging your butt and be dead tired on day one of your cruise.

We always fly in the day before but i still need to take an extra day off since i don't get done work til midnight.

 

Im still dragging as i usually get little sleep on travel day but I take one for the team. Lol

 

Bill

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[You Me & the Sea]

I see what you mean. The only issue that I can see is that on the first night many don't stay up late because it has been a long day getting to the ship.

 

With one exception (cruising out of San Juan) we've driven to our ports, but we still always drive down the day before so we're not exhausted on day one. Nothing like starting your cruise/vacation energized. But then we're both retired so we have that luxury...I understand many can't do so.

[Saint Greg]

Just for that reason is why many experienced cruisers fly into the port of embarkation the day before. No extra day off from work is needed either since you can catch a night flight. The only extra expense is 1 night in a hotel and it's a small price to pay for starting your vacation early and not be dragging your butt and be dead tired on day one of your cruise.

 

Yep. Always get within an hour of the port the day before...and get a good night of sleep.

[Joebucks]

I'll go a step further and say I wish the ports were later, at least 9-6. I agree, it can be exhausting. You may want to stay up late, but then you want to maximize the time of the ports.

[italianfemmy]

I'll go a step further and say I wish the ports were later, at least 9-6. I agree, it can be exhausting. You may want to stay up late, but then you want to maximize the time of the ports.

 

Exactly!

 

5/7 Grand Cayman - 7:30am - 3pm. Seriously... 7:30am while on vacation? LOL ...

5/8 Mahogany Bay - 10am - 6pm. (Okay not terrible)

5/9 Belize - 8am - 5pm - (This is the day after late night adult fun stuff on the ship so not thrilled here especially cause what I want to do ... I need to get off the ship right away)

5/10 Cozumel - 8am-5pm - (Again.. late night adult fun stuff on the ship the night before this and I want to go to Playa Del Carmen so I need to get off the ship at 8am in order to enjoy my time there

 

I would MUCH rather have fun stuff the night of the 5th(the night we board) and the night of the 10th (Sea day on the 11th). Or have later port arrival times and actually get to see sunset in the beautiful destinations. :)

[Organized Chaos]

With one exception (cruising out of San Juan) we've driven to our ports, but we still always drive down the day before so we're not exhausted on day one. Nothing like starting your cruise/vacation energized. But then we're both retired so we have that luxury...I understand many can't do so.

We drive to all of our vacations, cruise or not. Can't really afford to fly, but besides that, we don't mind long road trips. It's ~20 hours to southern FL for us. That's a long trip, even if you break it into two days, and since I do most of the driving, I'm not going to make that drive and immediately get on the ship. I'd end up sleeping the first day away. It doesn't take an experienced cruiser, as someone said, to get in the night before the cruise. That's not really something that comes with cruising experience. We do it with many of our vacations...get in the night before and start the vacation with a full day the next day, regardless of where we go.

 

As for the OP's post, so many cruises only have one or two sea days. I wouldn't want them cramming all of their big shows into one or two nights. I'd much rather see a variety throughout the cruise.

[SNJCruisers]

We drive to all of our vacations, cruise or not. Can't really afford to fly, but besides that, we don't mind long road trips. It's ~20 hours to southern FL for us.

How much does it cost in round trip gas and tolls, food for two for a day and a half, parking for a week plus 2 nights in a hotel versus airfare for two and 1 night in a hotel? Even if you stay in a park and fly hotel near the port, the numbers have got to be close or even cheaper to fly. Once you crunch the numbers, I believe you can afford to fly. Depending upon when you're cruising, Southwest from Midway to Fort Lauderdale has affordable flights and bags fly for free.

Please educate me on the numbers, because if you can't afford to fly on Southwest or other alternative airlines......:confused:. If my assumption is wrong, then I'll be educated, but I always thought that if you can afford to cruise, then you can certainly afford to fly.

[evandbob]

It doesn't matter if you get to the port a day ahead of sailing when the OP is talking about a mid cruise event. Say you drive/fly/arrive on Sat or Sun to a Sun sailing, and now it's late Wed nite comedy and they have an 9AM excursion planned for Thurs morning? Her question was aimed at this, not pre cruise action.

 

If Carnival goes to earlier adult shows that require pre-check in, that process can eliminate underage kids from entering a 9PM adult only show.

 

BTW, I flew in the morning of about 40 cruises with no issues whatsoever. It certainly didn't affect my mid week sleep pattern.

[Joebucks]

Exactly!

 

5/7 Grand Cayman - 7:30am - 3pm. Seriously... 7:30am while on vacation? LOL ...

5/8 Mahogany Bay - 10am - 6pm. (Okay not terrible)

5/9 Belize - 8am - 5pm - (This is the day after late night adult fun stuff on the ship so not thrilled here especially cause what I want to do ... I need to get off the ship right away)

5/10 Cozumel - 8am-5pm - (Again.. late night adult fun stuff on the ship the night before this and I want to go to Playa Del Carmen so I need to get off the ship at 8am in order to enjoy my time there

 

I would MUCH rather have fun stuff the night of the 5th(the night we board) and the night of the 10th (Sea day on the 11th). Or have later port arrival times and actually get to see sunset in the beautiful destinations. :)

 

My first cruise had the most interesting times

 

Key West: 7:30-1. I guess there is more to this story, but it still sucked. With such a short time at port, you pretty much have to get out super early. The line coming back was also the worst I've ever seen.

 

Cozumel: 11-10. This one was FANTASTIC! You could sleep in. Even hang out by the pool a little before you leave for the port. This was the only time at a port where I did not feel I had to adhere to a strict schedule.

[italianfemmy]

Her question was aimed at this, not pre cruise action.

 

If Carnival goes to earlier adult shows that require pre-check in, that process can eliminate underage kids from entering a 9PM adult only show.

 

 

Yes! Shows that require pre-check in or something would be amazing. Something that allows me to laugh my behind off at my fellow cruise mates winding up in the opposite genders clothing but also allows me to wake up and feel rested.

 

To the person who mentioned all of the shows being crammed into those couple of days.. I am not talking about every main event show. I am not talking about the broadway style production shows which run twice per night and give people a chance to go earlier or later.

 

I am talking about the adult oriented shows like Adult Game Night which doesn't start until 11:15pm the night before a 7/8am excursion time. This has been one of the most popular events I have ever seen on the cruises I have taken.

 

Love and Marriage, Lip Sync Battle, Battle of the sexes are all scheduled very late as well

 

Comedians at least have an earlier and later performance time although the later one usually has more adult content.

[serene56]

Just for that reason is why many experienced cruisers fly into the port of embarkation the day before. No extra day off from work is needed either since you can catch a night flight. The only extra expense is 1 night in a hotel and it's a small price to pay for starting your vacation early and not be dragging your butt and be dead tired on day one of your cruise.

 

 

Not good for everyone-- doesnt work for us at all. and MANY first time cruisers fly in the same day. (just look at the attendance to the welcome onboard shows

[SNJCruisers]

Not good for everyone-- doesnt work for us at all. and MANY first time cruisers fly in the same day. (just look at the attendance to the welcome onboard shows

Have no idea whether someone flew in day of or day before has any influence as to whether or not they attend the welcome aboard show. And I do realize that many first time cruisers fly in the day of simply because they don't know any better. The only people that should fly in the day of would be those coming in from across the pond leaving on a ship that embarks at 1100 pm. Or of course those that prefer getting up early in the morning to catch a 600-700 am flight to save money on not needing a hotel. But then they will not enjoy their first day of vacation and will more than likely crash after dinner.

[Organized Chaos]

How much does it cost in round trip gas and tolls, food for two for a day and a half, parking for a week plus 2 nights in a hotel versus airfare for two and 1 night in a hotel? Even if you stay in a park and fly hotel near the port, the numbers have got to be close or even cheaper to fly. Once you crunch the numbers, I believe you can afford to fly. Depending upon when you're cruising, Southwest from Midway to Fort Lauderdale has affordable flights and bags fly for free.

Please educate me on the numbers, because if you can't afford to fly on Southwest or other alternative airlines......:confused:. If my assumption is wrong, then I'll be educated, but I always thought that if you can afford to cruise, then you can certainly afford to fly.

I'll start with your last statement first since I've seen similar things said before and, quite frankly, it sounds pretty elitist. None of us know what others can or can't afford. There would be no end to thinking like this. "If you can afford to cruise, you can afford Cheers." "If you can afford to cruise, you can afford excursions." You shouldn't assume just because someone is able to go on a cruise that they're also able to afford other things that might go along with it. Not that it's anyone's business, but we're a family on a tight budget and frugal (call it cheap if you want). We save for a long time to take a cruise. If that means we save enough for the cruise and some things that go along with it, but not others, so be it. That's for us to determine, not you.

 

We can't factor our trips for two people because we're a family of three. And in the case of our upcoming cruise, we are four. Driving is always considerably cheaper for us. We can choose to drive straight through and eliminate the hotel cost on the road, but even if we do stop, we're rewards members to a particular hotel group and get drastically discounted rates. We always pack a cooler for our road trips...food, drinks, & snacks. Not just to get to a cruise, but for all of our vacations. Maybe it's a carry-over from my childhood when my family always stopped at a rest stop to eat food that we brought with us, maybe it's because it saves us a lot of money doing it this way, or maybe it's both, but it works well for us. So we eat on the road for a fraction of the cost. That's even if we do stop for something once or twice. We can avoid tolls by adding a half hour to the drive (not that big of a deal) or pay $20 in tolls, which isn't a problem either.

 

I just did a comparison with a Southwest flight. We can rent a car, pay for round-trip gas, stay in a hotel on the way there and on the way back, plus parking, and it would still cost $700 less than the flight. That amount of money may not be much to you or others, but it is to us. And that's even figured up by choosing the cheapest flights possible that have less than stellar timeframes. Two hour layovers on both legs of the trip, arriving at our hotel after midnight, and having to wait until 8pm for the return flight home. Anything better than that would cost us even more. Not to mention finding someone to give us rides to/from the airport (it's an hour away). Or we pay for airport parking. What's best for you isn't always what's best for others. That can't be said enough on CC.

 

And I do realize that many first time cruisers fly in the day of simply because they don't know any better.

What makes you think first-time cruisers don't know they can arrive the night before and stay at a hotel? Experienced cruisers are always trying to lay claim to so many ways things are done, believing these are things that only experienced cruisers know to do. In many ways, we can apply how we take any vacation to a cruise vacation, so it doesn't take cruise experience to do it. While experience may hold an advantage in regards to some things for cruising, arriving a day before isn't one of them. Edited April 10, 2018 by Organized Chaos

[crooooze]

Along the same theme, they always schedule so many fun activities on the LAST night.

 

In addition to the staying up late when you have to get up early, you have that whole figuring out when to pack and throw your luggage in the hall while wanting to catch the farewell party, comedy club, karaoke championship, etc... all back to back right after dinner.

 

Between this and the whole toast thing, it’s tough to enjoy cruising. LOL

[pacruise804]

snip

 

What's best for you isn't always what's best for others. That can't be said enough on CC.

snip

 

I agree.

 

I try to respond to posts in a way that will help others, but it will be biased towards my experiences. I have been making an effort to read for clarity before I submit a reply in hopes that I am being helpful and not pushy.

 

It's less stressful for me if I assume that others have a like intent with their posts, but with the way things are often worded it is hard to read many posts as anything but rude.

 

Organized Chaos - we also enjoy packing a cooler on long trips and eating en route. It saves money, time, and often tastes better ;)

Edited April 11, 2018 by pacruise804
additional info

[jsglow]

That's a long haul Organized. Have you been able to do some cruises closer to home?

[ricew001]

My first cruise had the most interesting times

 

Key West: 7:30-1. I guess there is more to this story, but it still sucked. With such a short time at port, you pretty much have to get out super early. The line coming back was also the worst I've ever seen.

 

Cozumel: 11-10. This one was FANTASTIC! You could sleep in. Even hang out by the pool a little before you leave for the port. This was the only time at a port where I did not feel I had to adhere to a strict schedule.

 

This was our cruise in August. I read that when Key West became a cruise port the city made cruise ships leave prior to the daily sunset festival so as not to spoil it. I thought it would have been wonderful to experience that as a cruise. I personally saw it after we drove from Raleigh, NC to Key West way back in the 80s.

 

I loved the Cozumel time. My husband is a musician who never comes to bed before 2 am. My job has me getting up anywhere from 3:30 am to 5 am and I hate that. I just resolve myself to the fact that I am going to be exhausted after my cruise because I want to experience it all! Before every flight home my hubby takes a pic of me zonked out at the airport waiting for our flight! ;p

[tpiper55]

...We save for a long time to take a cruise. If that means we save enough for the cruise and some things that go along with it, but not others, so be it. That's for us to determine, not you...

 

 

..What's best for you isn't always what's best for others. That can't be said enough on CC.

...

Organized Chaos, BRILLIANT response in its entirety but I especially loved the parts a quoted above.

[Organized Chaos]

That's a long haul Organized. Have you been able to do some cruises closer to home?

We live in the Midwest (IL), so no. Most of the ports are 15-20 hours for us, a couple under 15. Our June cruise is only our second one and we picked it based on the itinerary we wanted and dates good for us. I'm sure we'll look into cruises out of other ports in the future, but it's always going to be a good drive no matter what. I don't mind it, I enjoy long road trips, and we like to see the sights along the way. I lived on the east coast for a while many moons ago during my time in the service, so I'd go back to IL once or twice a year. I could drive 12-14 hours, straight through by myself, without blinking an eye. Of course, that was when I was in my 20's. With bad knees, a bad back, and stiff joints all over the place, it ain't as easy for me anymore. ;p

[Organized Chaos]

I agree.

 

I try to respond to posts in a way that will help others, but it will be biased towards my experiences. I have been making an effort to read for clarity before I submit a reply in hopes that I am being helpful and not pushy.

 

It's less stressful for me if I assume that others have a like intent with their posts, but with the way things are often worded it is hard to read many posts as anything but rude.

 

Organized Chaos - we also enjoy packing a cooler on long trips and eating en route. It saves money, time, and often tastes better ;)

We all have different ways of doing things and everyone has an opinion, it's just a matter of how we decide to give advice or voice our opinions that matters most. Some of us can sound rude at times without intending to be, others are just flat-out rude because that's the type of people they are. I spent a year and a half in the old Carnival Funville forums before our first cruise in 2016. To be honest, that forum started making me question our decision to try cruising. I thought, if most cruisers are like this, I don't want to be stuck on a ship for days with them. Rudeness, the arrogance & snobbishness of those who had been cruising a long time, the general dislike for new cruisers, etc (CC has its fair share as well). I thought, what have we gotten ourselves into? :o Thankfully, it wasn't like that on board (we encountered a few) and we had a great time. I think those types of cruisers either like using the anonymity of the internet to act that way or they're simply drown out on board by all of the good ones. Probably a little of both.

 

And I agree with you about the cooler food. Well, it might not always taste better. There's plenty of times when some fast food would hit the spot so much more than my bologna & cheese sandwich, but I survive. LOL But yeah, if I feel like we need to make up some time, we'll pull over somewhere and make some sandwiches, then just eat 'em on the road.