seabreeze

I like boba's answer. Trying to lengthen each cruise would be a great idea. If only time permitted that each & every time. Our longest to date has been 15 days and I can't imagine doing that every time just with work constraints. Retirement time will be the time to add length.

Shari2 our first cruise was on the same ship, Carnivale and the same year as you, 1979. We definitely went to St. Croix first. We went in May of that year. Wouldn't it be something if we cruised together and just never knew it. I don't remember what type of shore excursion we did but I know we checked out the shops in town. We had so much fun but then we didn't cruise again for many years as we started the family, buy the house type thing.

Thanks for the link. I just have to give you some competition Howard!!

I would just go to insuremytrip. com & see who has the best pricing to cover the cost of your trip. I have insured before close to final payment. It just doesn't cover pre-existing conditions but it will cover flight delays, lost luggage etc.... Check them out as they have a variety of insurance plans for you to choose what works best for you. Hope this helps

We are going to cruise out of San Diego in Jan. 2011 so will get to see the new terminal first hand. I hope they kept the design to enhance the port area.

We usually get something to eat and check out the cabin as soon as we can. We then start our own little tour of the ship to get acquainted with layout. Go up to pool deck, order a drink and begin our cruise!!

Looks like everyone is gearing up for what sounds like a wonderful cruise. Glad to hear final payments are being made & shore excursions secured. We are cruising at the same time but with HAL. I just love celebrity but booked with HAL to try a different itinerary that they then cancelled. We rebooked with them as they already had our funds. I am sure we will have a good time but I truly have missed cruising with Celebrity. I need to book something with them in the near future. Have not tried the constellation but have sailed her sister ships and loved them.

I've stayed at the Renaissance also. It is in a great location & when we stayed was in great condition but that was a few years ago.

Glad to hear you are cruising again. Welcome back!

My husband and I went on a very delayed honeymoon... 2 yrs after we got married. He loved ships & had always wanted to go. I was game & we have been hooked since that time,although we went many years without a vacation once we started a family. My 2 sons became hooked immediately once they boarded a ship with us. We try to go every year but sometimes need to skip a year to play catch up on home / business things. Our first cruise was in 1979 on Carnival Carnivale to the eastern Caribbean. We had a blast!!

Sorry you had to cancel the cruise. At least you have another one on the books to look forward to... a long countdown but at least it is a countdown. It will go faster than you think too!!! I have never had to cancel one but did have to delay booking one this past year as we just had a lot going on at home & couldn't swing it. It is always worth the wait!!!

If I did that I would have to go shopping to buy enough items of the same coordinating colors to last the length of the cruise. I do try to pack things that I can mix & match but don't restrict it to just 2 colors.

We have done a couple of them on Princess ships. They are quite interesting. Did not cost a thing.

Sounds like an awesome. One I would love to take some day!!!

I too will spend time on our balcony. My husband is a very early riser and will head up to the lido deck to get coffee and watch the sun rise. I usually watch the sun rise from our balcony. We will sit there & watch the ocean slip by, read a book or just relax.

We too have been to all of them. Once it is over, the cruise really does start and so with it the best part of being on vacation.

I always do a lot of research and try to book on my own. We do use the cruiseline on occasion but prefer to have something that caters to our wants & needs at the time. We have had a great time and saved a great deal of money booking on our own. Again, I always do plenty of research before doing so.

I usually use the treadmill, eliptical, stair stepper or just go out on the running deck for exercise on our cruises. I also use the stairs most of the time so feel like I get enough exercise to be able to eat those yummie desserts!

I agree the history & architecture are truly amazing. I would love to go back especially to Italy. I too loved Venice the most. Would love to go and spend a week & explore some of the out islands too We spent 3 days in Venice & just did not have enough time to get everything in. Like most of Italy - it has so much to see. I think you could spend many weeks & still not get enough.

Congratulations on the DDM status. Dancing with you!!!

Congratulations on the booking. Love it when a plan comes together!

Absolutely feel that the author plays a key role in either positive or negative reviews.

I also take them with a grain of salt. Like to read them & then feel my personal experience is what counts in the end.

Sounds great. Hope we can try it out on our Noordam cruise in Nov.

I loved Venice and Santorini. Rome & Florence were also very interesting ports of call