BoatrideLover

Congrats, Gogetter!! That's exciting. And it looks as though Ernesto will be taking it easy on us; that's nice for a change, huh!? Dawn

Yep, I agree with everyone else. On our last 3 cruises, we had a balcony cabin, and we will never sail again without one!! Congrats on the upgrade! Dawn

Not very original, but I'll take a Pina Colada, please! Dawn

Oh my God, that picture of that lobster is just too good looking!!! I'm checking in late; had to watch Big Brother, but I'm here now. Looks like everyone is having fun! Dawn

Great song by Blake Shelton! Love him! I'd like to hear something by Bob Marley!!

I love it when people post their cruise pictures!! Thanks so much for posting them. I really enjoyed them; especially the picture of "Henry"!! Dawn

I just LOVED this story. My mother is the queen of negativity. I love her dearly, but believe me, if she can find something negative to say about something, she'll do it. I have never come to her with good news that she didn't say something negative about it. She even had a negative response when I told her I was pregnant, back in 1987.. My husband and I got married in March, and in June, we told everybody we were expecting in December. Everyone was thrilled...except for my mom, whose response was "You'd better make sure it's at least 9 months after your wedding or I won't be able to face my friends." So...I got a big kick out of this story, believe me. Thanks for posting! Dawn

Hey Joey. I must say I was rather impressed with the infirmary on the Pride. I was there at 8am, and in and out in about 20 minutes or so. A nurse saw me first, took my vitals, etc., then the doctor came in and examined. Both people were very, very nice. I got 7 days worth of antibiotics, and the total bill was $50.00, which I just put on my Sail and Sign card.

On our cruise on the Carnival Pride, Saturday to Saturday, on Wednesday, while in St. Maarten, I started feeling lousy. Ended up in the Infirmary Thursday morning, had Bronchitis and was given an antibiotic. Felt pretty lousy on Thursday and Friday. Of course, Saturday, the day we disembark, I was starting to feel better since the antibiotics had kicked in. Dawn

One of THE best tips we were ever told with regard to cruising is to pack an over-the-door shoe holder. Since space in a cabin is limited, these shoe holders hold a whole lot of things without taking up any space in the cabin!! Dawn

Hope you had a wonderful cruise!! I'll be anxious to read your review since we love Carnival, too (haven't been on nearly as many as you though), and we talk about trying RC, but you know the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"...so we are always hesitant!! Anyway, look forward to your review and pictures!! Dawn

We always get a kick out of the way they use stuff in the cabin to "accessorize" the animals; like btate said, the sunglasses, and we've had towel animals that had our shoes on their feet. One time we had a monkey hanging from our ceiling that had our son's baseball cap on! Just too cute! Dawn

I LOVE Carnival's towel animals!! I always rush back to our cabin after dinner to see what type of towel animal is going to greet us!! Dawn

You must be so excited!!! You've been on lots of cruises, but this one will be a completely new adventure. Hope it is a great one!! Be sure and post pictures upon your return!! Have a great, great time! Dawn

All I can say is I find the response by Princess to be absolutely ridiculous!! Everybody needs to just agree on a place to meet, have a drink in hand and have a good time!! Dawn

Prices...and they already have changed us. We LOVE the water, the ocean, etc., We live 20 miles from Daytona and love to go to the beach one weekend every month, just for a one-night getaway. We also take a 3-night vacation in May to the beach, and a 4-night vacation in October to St. Pete Beach. We decided to look into a cruise for May, 2007, to celebrate our son's graduation from high school. We could only cruise for 4 nights, because my mom lives with us, and we wouldn't want to leave her for longer than 4 nights at a time. When we cruise, it is imperative that we have a cabin with a balcony; we spend loads of time on it!! In doing researching, I found that a 4-night cruise on Carnival, with a private balcony, for May, 2007, would have cost us $2,400.00!! Adding to that the fact that we would charge between $300.00 and $500.00 on drinks, souvenirs, gift shop, etc., I felt a 4-night vacation for close to $3,000.00 was absolutely absurd. We cruise for the "cruise experience" itself; we very rarely get off at any of the ports because that's not why we cruise. So we scrapped the cruise idea. Instead, we have booked a great gulf-front hotel in Fort Myers, with a gulf-front room and private balcony for next May, 2007 for only $800.00 for the 4-night stay. Even going out to eat every day for dinner won't bring us anywhere near the cost of the cruise!! So...we gave up the cruise and are very excited about our trip to the Fort Myers/Sanibel area next May!! Dawn

We have had balconies on the Carnival Sensation and Fantasy (sister ships) and the Carnival Pride. None of them had sliding glass doors, rather just a single door out to the balcony and they would not stay open by themselves. We packed bungee cords to tie them to the railing. And yes, indeed, when the door is open, the A.C. went off!!

Mebert - I can't thank you enough for your kind and encouraging words. I have to take care of my mom; it was my promise to my dad. He had 2 strokes on June 18, 2004, and right before he went into a coma for 11 weeks, he took my hand, and struggled (speech had been impaired) to ask me to promise to take care of my mom; he knew my sister would be of no help. I told him I'd always be there for her. My dad never asked anything of me and was THE best dad, so I have to do this. But to hear encouraging words is a blessing, and it's something to help keep me going and I know that my dad is proud of me. Thanks so much for taking the time to post; it is appreciated. I'm not on these boards as often as I'd like to be; I didn't know there was a Cruise Crazie member on the Liberty at the same time as my sister. It is a small world, isn't it? Again, thanks and take care! Dawn

Love, LOVE the idea!!! My sister lives 50 minutes from us in Palm Coast, but you would think it was a 50-hour drive!! Ironically, my sister is on a 12-night Mediterranean cruise right now on the Carnival Liberty. Maybe we'll change our minds and take a 7-nighter after all!! And sailingrose - don't worry about it; I appreciate any and all info on the ship, so thanks for taking the time to reply!! Dawn

Have a fantastic cruise! I'm totally envious! Let us know all about it when you return! Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dawn

We haven't cruised for quite awhile; had a cruise planned for September, 2004, but my dad passed away in August, 2004, so we canceled it. Had another one booked for this past January, but my mom moved in with us when my dad passed away, and we didn't want to leave her while we were on a cruise with no one home to help her. We've always wanted to cruise in June, 2007 to celebrate our son's graduation from high school but weren't sure we'd be able to do it because of my mom...but my sister has FINALLY agreed to take my mom to her house for 4 days while we cruise (not getting any help from my sister at all!). So...we've always loved the balcony cabins, cat. 12, on the Carnival Fantasy/Sensation, so we may do that 4-nighter out of Port Canaveral. But I see now that the Sovereign of the Seas has balcony cabins. But I'm also reading things like the balcony cabins are above the lifeboats and you can't look down and see the water, and it is obstructed views, etc. I've also read where some of the balcony cabins are very "public"; are these balconies "private" balconies or not? I know I've read that several people on here have gone on the Sovereign, but I'd like to know if anyone has stayed in these balcony cabins to tell me what they are really like. That would really help us in making a decision as to which ship to cruise on. Thanks, in advance, for any help anyone can give me!! Dawn

Our land vacations are what keep us sane!! We live in central Florida, and go to the beach for one weekend every month; just a nice, little, one night getaway and we are totally rejuvenated. Then in February, May and October, we will go to the beach, sometimes the Atlantic side and sometimes the gulf side for 3 or 4-night vacations. We haven't been able to cruise because my dad passed away in August, 2004, and my mom moved in with us and we take care of her; can't leave her for too long and when we do, we try to be within a couple of hours from home. But even if we could cruise all of the time, we'd never give up the wonderful trips we take to the beaches!! Dawn

My sister and her family are flying to Rome as I type this. They sail on the Carnival Liberty on Wednesday, on a 12-day cruise around Europe. You may want to check Liberty's itinerary to see if it's something you like. I can let you know her thoughts when she returns home on June 13th if you like. Have fun planning! Dawn

FANTASTIC photo! Thanks for sharing! Dawn

I would just LOVE to see this work out!! My dad passed away in October, 2004, and since May, 2005, we now have my mom with us. She was unable to make it living on her own because of health conditions and restrictions. Because she is with us now and we have no one to help us, we have decided that the most we can go away at one time is 2 nights. Since we are lucky enough to live 30 minutes from the coast in central Florida, we have been going to the beach one weekend a month just for overnight, with a 2-night trip planned in a couple of weeks. Because of this, cruises have been out. But if this company works out, and we could take a one or two-night cruise out of Port Canaveral which is so close to home for us...well, this would just be perfect. I just hope the prices aren't outrageous! Thanks for posting this info, Jason, and thanks for the picture, Jeff! Dawn