downtime

The cruiseline does not want customers sitting in their cabins watching television. They want you out and about spending money aboard ship and in port.

It is still possible to book a GTY cabin (you select the class and carnival picks the cabin) and be upgraded to a higher cabin, though it is ususally a cabin in the same class. It's the luck of the drawer. If the cruiseline needs your cabin for any reason they may upgrade you for free or offer an upgrade for a nominal fee. But short of paying for one, there's not much else you can do to score an upgrade. If you're adventurous and aren't set on a particular cabin, the GTY is the way to go. I did this on six cruises and I was never given an undesirable cabin.

Absolutely! Over the years I've found that less is more. I no longer hesitate to wear an item twice. I don't pack five pairs of shoes and I've learned to have a bag of laundry done midway through the cruise, which cuts way down on the amount of clothes to pack. It's so liberating not to lug so much stuff on a cruise. I still find those packing lists that suggest you bring everything but the kitchen sink, hysterical.

I have had two and believe me, it spoils you. You have so much more room, a small bar, a larger and much nicer bathroom, bigger balcony, more seating and plenty of storage space. Also, great recessed lighting with dimmers. One was free and one i had to pay a very small fee for.

We always cruise in October and November due to job scheduling conflicts. Every ship we've been on has sailed full and there were plenty of children onboard, including ours. I imagine there would more in the summer months when the kids are out of school.

I go to all of the drills...not something I want to play around with. I also listen to flight attendants when I fly. You never know what situation you'll be thrown into and I like to be prepared. One thing I do wish Carnival would be more vigilent about is getting people to shut up during the drill, so you can hear what's being said.

Sign and Sail cards. Not big on souvenirs, I have my pictures and memories.

I have thousands of cruise pictures. Last cruise I took about 600 pictures and 30 videos. I download them each night to my laptop and a flash drive. Love, love, love my digital camera!

Balcony or suite, mid-ship on a higher deck. Usually one or two decks below the Lido (no waiting on the elevators).

I will never go to those ridiculous "Art Auctions".

Serious health or mobility issues. I've had the flu on board, no biggie. I just spent a couple of days on the balcony, relaxing.

Carnival Triumph 1999. Still my favorite ship. The newer ships have different amenities but the Triumph has more open outdoor spaces which reminds of tv's Love Boat.

We always opt for the late seating, this wat we don't have to rush to get ready for dinner. We still dress for dinner so we need a little time. We also have one or two dinners in the specialty restaurants, we love the ambiance, menu and great service.

We cruise for our yearly family and friends vacation. We're a group of about 15 and the cruise is a really good value for everyone. We've been doing this for the last 12 years. Of course we take land vacations too, but not everyone can make those. No one wants to miss a cruise.

I've upgraded several times because I used to book GTY balcony cabins, once to a suite. On my last cruise I paid $80 to upgrade to a suite because the price dropped on my balcony cabin after final payment was made. They wouldn't give me a credit.