Suzila

Jeff! Thank you soooo much for your quick reply! Very helpful information. I'm a bit of a worry wart, and wouldn't want to miss our flight because of a tour or excursion the day we go home. So your suggestions are great. Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it! Sue<]

We'll be on a cruise in July leaving from Miami. We've never been to Miami and have some questions: 1. How do we get to the port? Taxi? Bus? How far is it from the airport to the port? ----------------- 2. We're going on Carnival Imagination. What's the earliest time we can get on the ship? Is it 1:00pm? And if that is the earliest and we arrive in Miami at 7:00am, what can we do for about 4 or 5 hours before getting on the ship...without having to rent a car. --------------------- 3. On Monday when we return to port, we plan on taking a flight out of Miami at about 330pm/4:00pm. If we take the city tour the cruise line offers, (it says recommended for people who have flights out after 2:30PM), will we really be able to make the flight? Will we have to worry about making it to the airport in time for our flight? Do we store the luggage at the bus terminal while we take the excursion or take it on the bus with us? I posted some of these questions once before but didn't get any answers. If you've been to Miami and have any answers, I'd really appreciate your help. We're trying to figure out airline arrangements. Thanks, Sue

We'll be on a cruise in July leaving from Miami. We've never been to Miami and have some questions: 1. How do we get to the port? Taxi? Bus? How far is it from the airport to the port? ----------------- 2. We're going on Carnival Imagination. What's the earliest time we can get on the ship? Is it 1:00pm? And if that is the earliest and we arrive in Miami at 7:00am, what can we do for about 4 or 5 hours before getting on the ship...without having to rent a car. --------------------- 3. On Monday when we return to port, we plan on taking a flight out of Miami at about 330pm/4:00pm. If we take the city tour the cruise line offers, (it says recommended for people who have flights out after 2:30PM), will we really be able to make the flight? Will we have to worry about making it to the airport in time for our flight? Do we store the luggage at the bus terminal while we take the excursion or take it on the bus with us? I posted some of these questions once before but didn't get any answers. If you've been to Miami and have any answers, I'd really appreciate your help. We're trying to figure out airline arrangements. Thanks, Sue

We'll be on a cruise in July leaving from Miami. We've never been to Miami and have some questions: 1. How do we get to the port? Taxi? Bus? How far is it from the airport to the port? ----------------- 2. We're going on Carnival Imagination. What's the earliest time we can get on the ship? Is it 1:00pm? And if that is the earliest and we arrive in Miami at 7:00am, what can we do for about 4 or 5 hours before getting on the ship...without having to rent a car. --------------------- 3. On Monday when we return to port, we plan on taking a flight out of Miami at about 330pm/4:00pm. If we take the city tour the cruise line offers, (it says recommended for people who have flights out after 2:30PM), will we really be able to make the flight? Will we have to worry about making it to the airport in time for our flight? Do we store the luggage at the bus terminal while we take the excursion or take it on the bus with us? I posted some of these questions once before but didn't get any answers. If you've been to Miami and have any answers, I'd really appreciate your help. We're trying to figure out airline arrangements. Thanks, Sue

[/b]I'm ALWAYS up for a party!!!! I'll bring the 60's music, along with my choclate raspberry truffle...chocolate's not just for breakfast anymore! Congrats on your upgrade! Sue

Like Dan said, you definitely could get to your muster station early...that's not a problem. Or if your friend wanted to use a wheelchair, I believe someone is assigned to take her/him to their muster station. Sue

Thanks so much for your reply, Howard. I'll look forward to hearing from you when you return. Have a great time! Sue

When you get to the port, drop your friend off at the front with all your luggage, then you go park the car. There is an elevator in the parking lot, in case your friend wants to go with you to park. If you already have your room, you don't need to stand in line in the parking lot. Just give your luggage to the porter, and you can walk over to the big dome.(check-in) There are many people there helping...ask someone if they can get you a wheelchair. Once you get inside the dome, if you already have your documents and they are filled out, embarkation was super-fast. There is an escalator (sorry, don't know if there was an elevator) to get upstairs. Once you're upstairs, they give you your sail card and you just have to walk on to the ship...no stairs. As you get on board, tell the girl standing at the entrance to the ship that you will need a wheelchair for muster. (you might want to tell them when you're checking in, while you're still in the dome) Or go to the purser's desk as soon as you get on board. There were plenty of people with wheelchairs on board when we launched from Long Beach. Sue

(Unexpected) cruise coming up on 7/28/05: Carnival Imagination 4 day Western Caribbean. Hubby and I are going with our future daughter-in-laws parents. Our wonderful son and future dil are sending us all after the wedding! What a great surprise! WooHoo! Sue<]

Hi everyone, After posting that I have Post Cruise Depression Syndrome, because we have no cruises planned for the future, our wonderful son and future daughter-in-law informed us this past weekend that they are sending hubby and me, and her parents on the Carnival Imagination for a 4 day cruise in July. We are so excited, and know that after the wedding WE will need a break! I want to start planning and could use some help. We have very limited time to take this cruise, so ww are considering a red eye from California to Miami on Wednesday night. The cruise leaves Miami at 4:00pm on Thursday. 1. What's the earliest time we can get on the ship? Is it 1:00pm? And if that is the earliest and we arrive in Miami at 7:00am, what can we do for about 4 or 5 hours before getting on the ship...without having to rent a car. 2. How do we get to the port? Taxi? Bus? How far is it from the airport to the port? 3. We make a stop in Key West and Cozumel. For various reasons, we can't sit on the beach...would love to, but have some health problems. Should we stay on the ship in Cozumel or is there an excursion you can recommend that doesn't include sitting on the beach in the sun? I think I read there is a city/trolley we can take in Key West to see the place. We have no problem spending the day on the ship if necessary, if there is only sun and beach to do and see in Cozumel. Any shopping? Any sightseeing? 4. On Monday when we return to port, we plan on taking a flight out of Miami at about 330pm/4:00pm. If we take the city tour the cruise line offers, (it says recommended for people who have flights out after 2:30PM), will we really be able to make the flight? Will we have to worry about making it to the airport in time for our flight? Do we store the luggage at the bus terminal while we take the excursion or take it on the bus with us? If any of you have any answers to these questions, I'd appreciate your assistance with planning. Thanks so much in advance! Sue<]

How funny! Anyone who hates the cruise experience so much that they wouldn't experience PCDS wouldn't actually be on this website, would they? LOL! There is a person on one of the other websites I frequent (not a cruise site), that said she had a terrible experience on her first and only cruise and would never recommend it to anyone. Almost everyone on that website jumped on her about her post...I can't imagine. A BAD day on a ship? Nahhhh! Our last cruise was in February and we have nothing on the horizon at the moment. I'm so depressed. Both our sons are getting married this year and finances are tight, so we can't plan another cruise until 2006. The wait is gonna kill us! Sue<]

I too, feel your pain. We're in the same boat (or not!, and wish we WERE in a boat!). We took a quickie cruise last month just down to Baja...we live in the Los Angeles area so it was soooo easy to just drive down to the port and jump on the ship. It was an unexpected cruise...isn't that the BEST kind? We happened to have some points left over from our timeshare that needed to be used up before the end of 2004, and rather than do a condo trip, we decided to take a Carnival cruise with the points. It was super-fun, because everyone who sat at our dinner table were from the same timeshare and we met and found out a lot more info about our timeshare...we haven't owned it very long. Anyway, I'd go along with all the recommendations that DaCruzNut gave you for holding off Post-Cruise Depression Syndrome EXCEPT watching the movie Titanic. Absolutely NO GOOD can come from watching a movie about a ship sinking! Definitely read the travel and cruise magazines, and check out the different cruise websites to dream about your next cruise. That's what I'm doing right now until we can plan our next cruise. <]

Thanks! I'm already enjoying being here! Love talking about cruises with others. Thanks again for the welcome! Sue

Our next cruise is Monday, 2/7/05...just a quick getaway to Baja on Carnival Paradise. No excursions planned...we've done this itinerary many times before and have seen it all. We need a break...one son got married two weeks ago and the other will be married in May. Too much stress and I need to veg out! (Thankfully, we had boys! Ha ha!) So we booked a quickie cruise where we can do nothing, sleep late, have fun and eat a lot! 9 days and counting..... Sue

I'd say our first cruise was about 12 years or so ago. Our two sons were 13 and 12 by then and hubby and I were thinking about a quickie vacation without kids. We decided upon a Friday-Monday cruise down to Baja...it was the shortest one we could find. (we live in the Los Angeles area) Both hubby and I get seasick on small boats. We stood in front of the ship when we got to the terminal and almost backed out of the trip...all we could think of is 'what are we doing'? We went on the cruise and loved it so much when we got off the ship we went to the travel agent and booked our next cruise...with kids! We've been cruising ever since. Our next cruise is in just a few weeks...again, we're going down to Baja, for just a nice, quick getaway...Mon-Fri...without kids. Our youngest son just got married a few weeks ago and we sent he and his wife on a cruise for their honeymoon...The oldest is getting married in May. Yep, a cruise honeymoon. Sue

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but have been on 9 cruises, one of which was the Mexican itinerary you're going on. I just wanted to say that you won't really need a tux on this itinerary. Cruises going out of the west coast are much more informal than east coast or elsewhere. You would be fine with a nice suit, and your wife can do a dress or a gown or even evening pants and a nice blouse or sweater. There are, of course, people who do get very dressed up for formal night, but there are more who don't. The only cruise we've ever been on where my hubby had a tux was the Panama Canal cruise...and he actually had packed his suit, but our luggage was lost for a few days. The cruise line gave him a tux to use for the entire trip in that case. But, truthfully, you really just need a suit. I know you'll have a wonderul time...enjoy your cruise! Sue