Lisa63

No, I wouldn't go alone. Cruising is something we do as a family...even our son looks forward to it as much as we do.

Heaven.... I'm in heaven.... What lovely dinners I can look forward to in July! Shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, and now escargot! That should keep me in good spirits for 12 nights. BTW, I enjoyed your photos. Thank you for the share.

Thank you for the review. Now, what is this about escargot now a standard offering? :smiley:

Ditto what Shari2 posted.

Peddler, no need to apologize. I still haven't submitted two reviews -- one from August 2006 and the other from February 2006 (I only just discovered this one). So, I understand completely. Glad to hear you had a great time on Rhapsody of the Seas. We enjoyed the same ship years ago, and it's nice to hear that she is still offering a great vacation.

This is one of those stories where I can see both sides. Clearly, the couple should have bought a comprehensive insurance policy. It appears that their policy covered medical expenses, but not travel expenses or the cost of the portion of the cruise that was missed. They should not hold Princess liable for either of these expenses when, for slightly more $, they could have purchased insurance for these contingencies. (As an aside, I find that many pax purchase trip cancellation insurance, but don't bother to consider trip interruption insurance. Big mistake, IMO.) Yet, I feel Princess could have done better to help them out. At a minimum, their emergency contacts should have been notified. And, I don't know how they got to the hospital, but the port agent (or representative) should have been with them sooner.

Lisa, I can relate. One highlight of our Celebrity Infinity cruise (and I'm not kidding) was seeing Regal Empress pull into Port Everglades that last morning of the cruise. I leapt over the pulled-out sofabed to get to the balcony so that I could take some photos. I even asked DH to take a few photos of me with "my" Empress.

Congratulations, JohnG, on this well-deserved honor!

Cheryl, I agree with all of the above. We were on Carnival Victory this past summer and had a wonderful time. And, as you are going with a group of friends, I am certain you will enjoy, as well. I wrote a review of the trip, which is available here: http://www.cruisecrazies.com/reviews/carni...ry/review=2.php We were on a different itinerary, though, so some of this will not pertain to your cruise. Let us know what you decide. And, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Bon voyage! And, a very happy (albeit early) anniversary to you and your wife! I can't think of a better place to celebrate than on a cruise ship.

I love the panels, too. Like this one: Perhaps one day soon, we might share one of these tables:

I'm so thrilled for you and Browie. Please say hello for me to one of my favorite ships. I still think she boasts the prettiest dining room at sea.

Welcome home! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Welcome home, Lisa. Sorry to hear of your injury. I've found that some lines handle the areas around the pools well, but others tend to ignore it. It's so hard to see the slippery spots when you're walking. Hope you're back to 100% soon. And, thank you for the review. Excellent tips on cabin selection, by the way.

Welcome home, Kareen. Sounds like you're addicted for sure, as you are already planning the next one. I can relate. We're also thinking about northern Europe for summer 2008... I'd be interested to hear what you find out.

Welcome, SMB! I agree that Chichen Itza is too long and exhausting trip from Cozumel. Additionally, with the limited time you have there, I would very strongly advise against going there on your own. When you travel independently, no one knows where you are -- and you run the risk of missing the ship. Jeff made an excellent point about Tulum. If you've never seen Mayan ruins before, this is a great place to visit. Again, I'd recommend going with a cruise line tour -- while it's not as far as Chichen Itza, it's still quite a distance. Let us know what you decide. And welcome to CruiseCrazies!

Every so often, I am asked if there is anything that will get me to stop taking cruises. The only answer I have is that it will happen when the ships get too large and carry too many people. Now, I don't know exactly what those cut-off numbers are, but certainly 6,000 passengers is too much for me.

As others have said, it depends upon the ships. I'll add that itinerary and length of cruise are also important factors. I will say that, IMO, Carnival has improved its product vastly in the past several years. Our 5-night cruise on Carnival Victory this past summer exceeded our expectations in many ways.

It sounds as if you are already booked, so I'll focus instead on what to do on board. First, there are so many activities from which to choose. Remember, you don't have to do them all. You will be worn out. But, do take advantage of at least a few. It's a great way to meet other passengers, and this does enhance the cruise. Take a shore excursion in each port to get the most of the experience. I usually go with ship tours -- unless I have a recommendation of a private vendor from someone I trust. There are also some ports in which you can make your own tour by doing research ahead of time. Let us know what your ports are, and we can help you with your options. One thing I do now that I wish I had done from the beginning is to keep a cruise journal. It doesn't have to be elaborate -- just jot down a few thoughts about your day before turning in for the evening. I love re-reading some of my journals from years ago. Enjoy dinner in the main dining rooms. This may sound strange to some of the seasoned cruisers here, but many of the first-timers I know personally (neighbors, for instance) see the buffet on the first day, like it, and then take all their meals there. Dinner in the main dining room is a real treat, especially as it will be just the two of you without kids. Also -- and I might have put this first -- check your dining time when you board. It will be on the room key card you are given at check-in. If the time is not to your satisfaction, head directly to one of the main dining rooms, where the maitre d' will be set up to handle any dining time changes. The sooner you get there, the better. Most importantly, enjoy!!! And, don't sweat the small stuff.

Another aspect of Freestyle Cruising is the so-called "resort casual" attire, as alluded to by JohnG. I had, and still have, no clue as to what that meant. To me, dressing casually when at a resort means swimwear, lol. Yet after cruising on NCL a few times, with several other lines in between, I noticed, for the most part, very little difference in how people dress in the evening from one line to the next. True, NCL has optional formal nights... but formal nights appeared to be optional on other lines we sailed recently, although these other lines specifically requested that passengers honor the requested dress. But they don't. My husband and son wore tuxedos on formal night on a HAL cruise a couple of years ago, and were in a very small minority. In fact, few even wore jackets/ties. And once dinner is over, many on other lines tend to change into shorts/Ts. (One exception was Celebrity, where people tended to stay dressed up throughout the evening.) Back to NCL, though. This is the only line on which I have seen dining room dress codes enforced. People were routinely turned away from the main dining room if in shorts or blue jeans. I noticed this during each of my last two NCL cruises. Now -- this is just my experience, all of which were on the same ship from the same port in three different years. I'm sure there are variations throughout the fleet.

We have sailed three times on NCL since they implemented Freestyle Dining. All were on one of their pre-Freestyle ships, Norwegian Majesty. I had expected to hate Freestyle, but ended up being OK with it. My preference is still the traditional, but Freestyle wasn't that bad -- if you knew how to work with it. Granted, we were on a small ship, so I don't know how it would work on a newer one. Anway, we opted to go to the dining room by 6:00 or after 8:00 and did not find long lines. Often, we'd be able to walk right in. When you think about it -- and I can't take credit for this one as it was told to me by a maitre d' -- ships that offer only traditional dining typically offer two dining times, 6:00 and 8:30, so this approach wouldn't be much different. That said, we did have a line once -- when we went at about 7:30 on a formal night along with half the ship. We were told we'd have a 20-minute wait, and sure enough, it was a 20-minute wait. Another option is to reserve one of the specialty restaurants on nights you think the main dining rooms might be crowded. There are several alternative restaurants that have no additional fee. When we were on Norwegian Majesty again this past summer, we had dinner in the Pasta Cafe two evenings (the first and last nights of the cruise), and once in Le Bistro (extra charge) on one of the sea days. Another plus to Freestyle is that you don't have to rush back to the ship if you are out enjoying the port. I recall one day last summer when we were on a beach in Bermuda, and people from another ship started packing up their things to head back to the ship for dinner. We lingered. The negatives? Sure, there are a few. First is the absence of the rapport that develops between passenger and wait team. (Then again, that was absent, as well, on my last two "traditional" cruises -- not at all like in the past.) We also found ourselves watching the clock at dinner as our son really enjoys the shows and didn't want to miss them. With traditional dining, the spacing is pretty much done for you. I don't like wearing a watch on vacation. :) I'll post more as I think of more...

Thank you to those who provided the wonderful tips on Alaska. This is one area we have not cruised yet -- and would love to. Yet, we fall into the group that can cruise in July through mid-August only. Depending on school schedules, the last week of June might work, too. As for ship and itinerary, I am flexible. The most important aspect to me would be to share it with my CruiseCrazies friends.

Good advice above. I'll add the following: 1 - Use a travel agent, preferably one with certification from CLIA (such as Accredited Cruise Counselor or Master Cruise Counselor). S/he can help narrow down the many choices that are out there to help create a vacation that best suits your personalities and needs. I use a MCC, and I have been on a couple of dozen cruises. 2 - Buy travel insurance, and do so within the specified time frame that covers pre-existing conditions. You never know when you might have to cancel a cruise -- we nearly had to earlier this year when my MIL took very ill. 3 - Don't sweat the small stuff. Go with an open mind, a sense of humor, and a sense of adventure.

If you're going to take the four-night cruise, I also highly suggest combining it with a pre-cruise stay in southern California if you have the vacation time to do so. Perhaps a night on Queen Mary in Long Beach (I can help with that), a day in Disneyland, or something else of interest in the area. I just flew cross-country for work, and it is pretty tiring. Are you able to get a non-stop flight? If so, that helps a lot.

I agree that this was inappropriate. Did you say anything to the waiter?