LIVE! Mardi Gras Redux 3/18 - 3/25 Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

19 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

That would be annoying.  You might mention that in your survey.  Vegan is becoming more common these days.  

Our son is vegan and it’s ridiculous how restaurants always steer vegans to salad.  🙄
Good vegan food is actually food, not salad.  

 

This! My vegan friend on the last day said she absolutely could NOT eat another salad on board! Thankfully Bonsai Teppanyaki was the one restaurant that seemed to GET being Vegan. Our teppanyaki chef asked her about contamination on her meal, and so kindly cooked hers first before all the meat and fish dishes,

 

She got a good meal at Teppanyaki—grilled vegetables and Tofu, white rice, a cucumber and avocado sushi roll, and fruit.  

 

But not training all of your wait staff to know the difference between vegetarian and vegan is very concerning; we’ll definitely be giving feedback in the survey on this.

[x lindsay x]

I think the long birth certificate line in Port Canaveral is specific to Port Canaveral. We noticed how long that line was last May when we debarked the Mardi Gras, I had never seen anything like it. We just sailed the Celebration out of Miami during President's week with over 1,000 kids onboard and the birth certificate line was short and moved super fast, we waited maybe 5 minutes in line.

 

We had to use the birth certificate line because it took 16 weeks to get my daughters passport renewed, even though the posted timeline was 8-10 weeks when we sent it in. So frustrating. 

[TravelBluebird]

2 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

I think the long birth certificate line in Port Canaveral is specific to Port Canaveral. We noticed how long that line was last May when we debarked the Mardi Gras, I had never seen anything like it. We just sailed the Celebration out of Miami during President's week with over 1,000 kids onboard and the birth certificate line was short and moved super fast, we waited maybe 5 minutes in line.

 

We had to use the birth certificate line because it took 16 weeks to get my daughters passport renewed, even though the posted timeline was 8-10 weeks when we sent it in. So frustrating. 

 

Thanks for that information; they only had 3 officers looking at the birth certificates in Port Canaveral, so that didn’t help. Good to hear Miamai is much faster.

 

And sad to hear that passports are still taking that long! The pandemic is long over; I don‘t understand why we can’t get them on a timely basis anymore.

[dsain]

My husband sent in for passport renewal in early January and still no sign of it being sent back.  We are two weeks out from cruise day so I fear he will be in that BC line while the kids and I zoom past him in the passport line and meet him at the car.  We will take advantage of platinum early debark in hopes of getting ahead of the line!

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, dsain said:

My husband sent in for passport renewal in early January and still no sign of it being sent back.  We are two weeks out from cruise day so I fear he will be in that BC line while the kids and I zoom past him in the passport line and meet him at the car.  We will take advantage of platinum early debark in hopes of getting ahead of the line!

Check on his status online and you can still opt for expediated service

[DenaInWyo]

13 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

I think the long birth certificate line in Port Canaveral is specific to Port Canaveral. We noticed how long that line was last May when we debarked the Mardi Gras, I had never seen anything like it. We just sailed the Celebration out of Miami during President's week with over 1,000 kids onboard and the birth certificate line was short and moved super fast, we waited maybe 5 minutes in line.

 

We had to use the birth certificate line because it took 16 weeks to get my daughters passport renewed, even though the posted timeline was 8-10 weeks when we sent it in. So frustrating. 

 

Not so sure it is.  I cruised out of NOLA in February and that line was also INSANE.  I was super glad I had a passport.  

[Host CMLA]

19 hours ago, dsain said:

My husband sent in for passport renewal in early January and still no sign of it being sent back.  We are two weeks out from cruise day so I fear he will be in that BC line while the kids and I zoom past him in the passport line and meet him at the car.  We will take advantage of platinum early debark in hopes of getting ahead of the line!

 

I sent my oldest sons' passport sent off for renewal on January 4.  I have this thing through USPS that sends me images of mail and packages that are being delivered to me and I have something coming from the passport office tomorrow.  I think that puts it at the 11 week mark which is the higher end of their 8 to 11 week timeline.  Meanwhile I expedited my other sons' passport because I needed it for a spring break trip and I got it back in less than 3 weeks.  

[TravelBluebird]

17 minutes ago, Host CMLA said:

 

I sent my oldest sons' passport sent off for renewal on January 4.  I have this thing through USPS that sends me images of mail and packages that are being delivered to me and I have something coming from the passport office tomorrow.  I think that puts it at the 11 week mark which is the higher end of their 8 to 11 week timeline.  Meanwhile I expedited my other sons' passport because I needed it for a spring break trip and I got it back in less than 3 weeks.  

 

Good to know!  11 weeks is so long; I remember when I could go and renew the passport at my post office and the renewed (or new!) passport would come very quickly; often within the month.

 

I’m dreading passport renewal (I have to do mine soon) , because you can’t travel internationally once you’ve submitted your passport to the passport office for renewal.  If I already have a trip planned, I think I’ll have to expedite mine.

[TravelBluebird]

I had a nice summary of my overnight in Orlando and trip home that I just erases somehow after I typed it all out 😭; I’ll re-do it tonight (I’m too upset to do it now; don’t know what button I pushed).

 

I’ m home! Got home at about 10:am; woke up at 3am this morning to catch my 5:30am flight to Atlanta.

 

Sitting in my closet with my cat helping me unpack.  I’ll be back in a bit, so let me know if you have any questions about Mardi Gras or the port!

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

Good to know!  11 weeks is so long; I remember when I could go and renew the passport at my post office and the renewed (or new!) passport would come very quickly; often within the month.

 

I’m dreading passport renewal (I have to do mine soon) , because you can’t travel internationally once you’ve submitted your passport to the passport office for renewal.  If I already have a trip planned, I think I’ll have to expedite mine.

I wish I had expedited mine.  I applied for renewal online on January 19.  Today is 9 weeks and 3 days into (past) a 5-9 week timeline.  Getting on a cruise ship tomorrow with a birth certificate ☹️

[TrqoisWtrs]

2 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

I had a nice summary of my overnight in Orlando and trip home that I just erases somehow after I typed it all out 😭; I’ll re-do it tonight (I’m too upset to do it now; don’t know what button I pushed).

argh - hate when that happens!  a helpful tip - once you accidentally erase any text, don't touch anything else and hit CTRL Z.  It replaces all text that was deleted from the last key strokes.  Works across multiple applications, not just Word; like I can do it here on this post.😊

[TravelBluebird]

49 minutes ago, cruisin*tigger said:

argh - hate when that happens!  a helpful tip - once you accidentally erase any text, don't touch anything else and hit CTRL Z.  It replaces all text that was deleted from the last key strokes.  Works across multiple applications, not just Word; like I can do it here on this post.😊

ooh good tip! Thank you!

[elklemi]

On 3/17/2023 at 8:56 AM, TravelBluebird said:

At the airport for our connection to Atlanta! Pouring rain but everything looks on time. Things went about as smooth as they could, considering I never can sleep the night before a cruise trip starts!

 

We ended up with 1 24” suitcase each and 1 carry on. I don’t carry a large purse for travel to Florida anymore, just a small cross-body bag that fits in carry on, because once on the ship I never use it again till we fly home.  Son is pet sitting//staying at house for us so he drove us to the airport.

 

Flew through TSA thanks to TSA Pre, and then did some shopping at the little gift shop at our airport. They actually have nice things, prices not too bad, and we have an hour to kill! Husband got a nice collared shirt with pocket and UT logo; if the basketball team lost last night I’m sure he wouldn’t have purchased it 😂

 

I got a soft generic “Tennessee” t shirt; will be great for dancing at the deck parties and hanging around the ship.

 

Next report probably from Orlando//Port Canaveral; perhaps a quick check in from Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

Looks like TYS

[pe4all]

16 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I wish I had expedited mine.  I applied for renewal online on January 19.  Today is 9 weeks and 3 days into (past) a 5-9 week timeline.  Getting on a cruise ship tomorrow with a birth certificate ☹️

DD applied for pp renewal online in the beginning of December.  She needs it for an upcoming business trip.  It kept saying "pending" when she frequently checked it.  Just last week it said she will receive it in 2 weeks- so it should be coming within the week.  That is an almost 4 month wait - no bueno!

[Terab85]

On 3/23/2023 at 10:05 AM, TravelBluebird said:

We are at Jack’s Shack right now!  Very overcast day so no sun and I can’t see those beautiful blue water hues I do love here. It’s drizzled a bit but we are under umbrellas.

 

we got off the ship at 8:15 to get loungers and umbrellas right by the water.  Almost 10–lots of loungers still available (second row).   Might be the overcast weather, or all the families are at Margaritaville.  Two ships I port We are here with a HAL ship.  
 

We watched the dive and tour boats leave and now it’s peace and quiet.  About to have a Mojito—heck it’s 5 o’clock somewhere! 😂

 

For those who have come here for years—Janet and Jack sold the shack to employees and retired to Canada!  Topher passed and they took the other dogs with them.  So no dogs today. Shack was damaged in hurricane and it’s been rebuilt—quite nice, improved bar area.  But not the same—it’s like Jack’s 2.0.  Still a great spot and worth the walk down the beach, and running the gauntlet of locals wanting to sell you a beach chair or braid your hair.

 

Two umbrellas and loungers.  $23.  Out of mint so drinking a rum punch.  Russ having the jerk chicken for breakfast—$17.  Gone up! Still good

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the update about Jack's.  We'll be there in a few weeks. 

[Terab85]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:16 PM, BasicSailor said:

I've been to Jacks maybe six or seven time and found your comments to be exact. Even food poising for a friend that said he would never go back.🤮

That's such a bummer.  We were there last April and everything was fine but we only got one round of drinks.  I did order food which took a little while (maybe 20 minutes) but otherwise we just hung out on the beach and in the water.  Still nice to be away from the crowds.  We'll check it out next month and see if anything has improved. 

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, Terab85 said:

That's such a bummer.  We were there last April and everything was fine but we only got one round of drinks.  I did order food which took a little while (maybe 20 minutes) but otherwise we just hung out on the beach and in the water.  Still nice to be away from the crowds.  We'll check it out next month and see if anything has improved. 

 

I still recommend Jack’s for those reasons—the beach is awesome, you are away from the ships at the port, and the crowd really thins out that far down the beach. Also, the jerk chicken was quite good, just expensive and a long wait if you want some around noon.

[TravelBluebird]

 

So the info on our last night in Orlando (and our early morning flight) that I promised!  

 

We stayed at the Residence Inn Marriott, Orlando Airport. Very good location close to the airport with a 24/7 airport shuttle. We stayed in a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite that worked out to $144 per couple, all taxes and fees included. Way cheaper than many other options.

 

The hotel itself is a bit older—the air conditioner in the living room sounded like a plane taking off, there are very few plugs//usb ports by the bead, the couch was clearly old and creaked hard when you sat on it.  That said, the downstairs lounge area was nice, there is a big breakfast area (free breakfast), and a pool. The employees were helpful and great to deal with.

 

Several restaurants in walking distance! We walked to Marlow’s Pub which had a very good, expansive American menu—everything from seafood, to burgers to vegan. I had a burger (never got any Guy’s this trip!) and fries and they were delicious. My vegan friend was very happy too.

 

I would definitely consider this hotel for an overnight before a cruise out of Port Canaveral; cheaper compared to the hotels at the port, and very convenient to the airport when you are flying in. Just have to be prepared to Uber or taxi to the port the morning of the cruise.

 

We woke up on Sunday at 3am to catch our 5:30am flight. Hotel shuttle left promptly at 3:30am; just minutes from the airport.  We were surprised there was a long line to check in your luggage…evidently the counters didn’t open till 3:45 am, so everyone earlier was already in line.  No line at all for TSA Pre at security, and the regular line was quite short; probably not longer than a 5 minute wait.

 

But thanks to the long luggage line, we had just enough time to buy some water and then boarding was already started. Easy flight to Atlanta, but there it was raining and we had to wait for a gate, so arrived like 20 minutes late. We really had to scoot from the B to the C terminal to get to our flight on time; they were boarding as we hit the gate.

 

I’m home now; everyone on our trip caught a Cruise Cold, mine is very minor and almost over; hubby’s is a bit more.  I’m done unpacking and back to work.  I’m also working on a ton of video content for my YouTube channel (Cruising With Dee) from this trip! 

 

Stay tuned for my next LIVE! here on Cruise Critic which will be from the Carnival Venezia Transatlantic from Barcelona to New York, cruise starts May 29th; LIVE! will start a few days earlier as we’ll be in Barcelona for 3 days.

 

Thanks for following my trip! I’ll continue to answer any questions or comments.  

 

 

Front desk, Residence Inn Orland Airport

Lounge area of hotel

Free coffee in lobby of hotel

Edited March 28, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[Terab85]

1 hour ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I still recommend Jack’s for those reasons—the beach is awesome, you are away from the ships at the port, and the crowd really thins out that far down the beach. Also, the jerk chicken was quite good, just expensive and a long wait if you want some around noon.

I agree.  We like the location more than anything.  I'll make sure to pay attention to the time so if we do order food, I'll do it earlier. 

[Terab85]

Awesome review!!!  Makes me so excited for our cruise in 18 more days.  Looking forward to your Transatlantic cruise.  Thinking of doing something like that in 2025. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

6 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

I’m home now; everyone on our trip caught a Cruise Cold, mine is very minor and almost over; hubby’s is a bit more.  I’m done unpacking and back to work.  I’m also working on a ton of video content for my YouTube channel (Cruising With Dee) from this trip! 

 

Stay tuned for my next LIVE! here on Cruise Critic which will be from the Carnival Venezia Transatlantic from Barcelona to New York, cruise starts May 29th; LIVE! will start a few days earlier as we’ll be in Barcelona for 3 days.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip, I love Mardi Gras.  It looks like I'll be joining you on Venezia's maiden voyage, after three weeks in southern Italy, French Riviera and Barcelona.  I'm excited because I've never been to Nice, Monaco or Monte Carlo before.  Got a great casino offer on the May 29 15-day Venezia cruise and it works well with the Italy/French riviera trip I already had planned so I'm even more excited than before!

[rwest898]

Thank you so much for your review.  I  really enjoyed it.  We were was a few steps behind you when you had your accident so very happy you are back cruising and well.  Looking forward to your next review. 

[ninjacat123]

13 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Thanks for sharing your trip, I love Mardi Gras.  It looks like I'll be joining you on Venezia's maiden voyage, after three weeks in southern Italy, French Riviera and Barcelona.  I'm excited because I've never been to Nice, Monaco or Monte Carlo before.  Got a great casino offer on the May 29 15-day Venezia cruise and it works well with the Italy/French riviera trip I already had planned so I'm even more excited than before!

Are you planning to write a review?  If so, please post a link here😄

[IntrepidFromDC]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Are you planning to write a review?  If so, please post a link here😄

Hi!  Just like last September, when I did the mix cruise (Greece, Sicily, Pompeii) and train around Italy (Cinque Terre, Bologna, Rome, Venice) I'll do a live with lots of pics and food talk.  I'll probably just start a fresh thread and also follow along TravelBlueBird's live.

[TravelBluebird]

19 hours ago, Terab85 said:

Awesome review!!!  Makes me so excited for our cruise in 18 more days.  Looking forward to your Transatlantic cruise.  Thinking of doing something like that in 2025. 

 

I’ll let you know what its like to do a Transatlantic! Its my first. I’m excited for all the sea days; my husband is a little worried that he’ll get bored. Also, I don’t suffer seasickness, but he occasionally does; I’m thinking that the North Atlantic sea won’t be as smooth as the Caribbean, but we shall see!