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Great news that. And you are going on (in our opinion) Carnival's best ship. Regards, James.

Hi Deb, It was about 3 years ago during her first season that we travelled on the Valor which by the way is my favourite ship to date. I don't think the promenade deck went completely around the ship though but I won't swear on that. One of the few ships one can walkaround apparently is the QM2. We have been on 14 different ships and have never been able to walk the full circumference on any of them without either changing decks or going inside the ship. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Regards, James.

Yes, so sad to see this magnificent ship which still holds the Transatlantic speed record rust away. I'm sure if this had been a British ship the thousands of conservationists over there would have made great efforts to preserve her. That's not meant as a knock against the U.S. but Britain is well known for preserving the past- transportation as well as buildings and castles etc. I suppose it's better to 'put her out of her misery' so to speak and sell her for scrap. Regards, James.

Now J and D you just KNEW I would answer this as I'm a big Carnival fan!! Basically their overall product has improved immeasurably. I have to say their food is very good by and large both in the main dining rooms as well as the Lido deck. Their Speciality restraunts on the bigger ships are truly outstanding. I have to say that they beat Princess's posh dining rooms for ambience, service and high quality of food. Carnival's entertainment has to be the best of all the main stream cruise lines. Whether it's lounge singers and musicians or main shows one really gets a great evening. Carnival also has free ice cream, iced yoghurt and pizzas 24 hours a day. Drinks are fairly priced too. Their ships are very, very clean and well maintained. The staterooms are big-much bigger than RCI or Celebrity. Aw geez I could go on and on but my arm is aching from all this one fingered typing!!!LOL Hopefully Carnival will introduce 10 day sailings from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale into the Caribbean using their new ship the Carnival Dream in 2010 or 11. Can't wait. Regards, James.

Mercedes, please see my answer to the previous topic from Joey and David. Regards, James.

I really would like to know the percentage of people who have been on one cruise but will not take another one. Most ,if not all of us on Cruise Crazies have taken, or will be taking more than one. But what about those folks who disliked the experience. I personally know of two couples who far prefer other types of holiday after they'd taken just one cruise. Their reasons for choosing other vacations was, in part costs. I have monitored Royal Caribbean's prices compared to other popular lines and their fares are far more expensive ( that's just one of the many reasons we don't travel with RCL.) I think people today are very cost concious when it comes to spending money on a vacation. For example here in Canada one can find a 7 day all inclusive holiday to sunny Cuba for under 700 Canadian dollars including airfare.That's hard to beat when you consider all drinks, food and recreation is included. So as I've said so many times before, there are far too many ships going to the Caribbean during the Winter months. Cruise lines if they want to fill their ships, will be offering dirt cheap prices for a week's vacation. Just don't expect top notch service from these rock bottom prices. Regards, James.

Um interesting but not for us. Cruises may be cheaper to Alaska but those shore excursions aren't. The glaziers, icebergs etc look very beautiful but the thought of standing on deck wearing a heavy sweater or jacket does not appeal to us. After all, putting up with heavy snow and ice for 4 months of the year-would you really appreciate Alaska? Regards, James.

Hello Norva, My wife and I have done 14 cruises and we can remember our first one like it was yesterday. It was on the then Nordic Empress-now Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas. The ship was fairly small at 46,000 tons and held under 2000 passengers. It was a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. I had previously been on a 7 day cruise with my son, but this was Donna's first. She was really worried about getting seasick! To her astonishment and great pleasure she found she loved the experience. I'm sure you and yours will feel the same. Although I would not advise taking one of the mega ships as they can be rather intimidating for a first time cruiser. Perhaps one of Carnival's 77,000 Fantasy class ships would be a super introduction to cruising. We have travelled on Carnival 5 times and they are great value for money. Regards, James.

Unbelievable pictures! My wife almost threw up just looking at them!! Thank goodness the Caribbean is calmer-I hope!!!! Regards, James.

Debbie, I'll tell you a little secret if you visit St Maarten for instance. At the pier there are numerous duty free and trinket shops. One of these trinket places sell plastic minuture bottles of booze (name brands mostly) for 1 dollar 50 each. If your hubby or yourself wear shorts with deep pockets you can accumalate quite a few of these non-detectable, non jinggling goodies! Every time I have been to St. Maarten (over 5 times) on Carnival I have taken these bottles of booze on board with no trouble at all. Carnival do not do a physical body search just the normal walk through detection devices, These cannot detect plastic bottles. Obviously,the amount you stuff your pockets with do not add up to 40 oz but hey, each one of these little bottles add up to a shot of liquor as served on board. Regards, James.

Yes, Europe is a great place to visit. You may find it expensive though as the Euro currency can fluctuate like crazy. Enjoy! Regards, James.

Wow! This opens up many answers. In my case the questions would be: I'm a poor traveller and will get sea-sick. Answer: As long as you keep active you'll be fine. Not my kind of food. Answer: You can get virtually anything you like 24 hours a day. Stuck in one place with thousands of people. Answer: On every ship you will find somewhere quiet whether this is inside or on an outside deck. One only notices the amount of people at embarkation and disembarkation. I could go on but those questions have been asked of me by people who were contemplating their first cruise. Regards, James.

Hi Folks. I believe I made an incorrect posting a few months back saying we were booked on the Emerald Princess to Aruba March into April 2009. Well the cruise was re-booked for February 28th until March 10.Would be great to meet any of the "Crazy Family" on this cruise. Regards, James.

Like most people, look up the shore excursions available for the trip. Perhaps also do some review searches of the ship and it's layout. After that, sit back and relax and count the days to embarkation! Regards, James.

Yes folks, saturation of the cruise industry is on the way, I'm sorry to say. Just an example-there will be 5 cruise ships in St. Thomas when our ship gets there in early March. There will be 8 in Fort Lauderdale the day we leave. This is not counting the departures out of Miami. No wonder there are cruise fare bargains out there. But if this recession continues, people will not be able to afford a vacation regardless of cost.If they do cruise, I believe more people will stay on board in port not only to avoid the crowded towns but to cut down the overhaul cost of their vacation.

My cruise begins on arrival in the departure city such as Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We normally arrive a day early to get used to the warm temperatures!! I see the day of our departure there will be 8, yes 8 ships in Ft. Lauderdale!! That's close to 40,000 people disembarking and embarking from 8-30 a. m. to 1 p. m. The place will be a madhouse!!!! But once on board in the cabin a whole new world opens up-I just can't wait for the 27 th of February-our flight to Florida. Regards, James.

Photos were great. Won't comment on the New Year's Video!!!! We are so looking forward to our trip next month on the Emerald. Your photos sure whet our appetites. Thanks. Regards, James.

What makes me mad is to see the great quantity of food left on diners' plates. Surely people are aware of what a buffet is. It strikes me there are some cruisers out there who never go out to eat in their hometown and gorge themselves on home cooking and try to emulate that on board a cruise ship. Normally in the ships' dining rooms quality usually beats quantity. Portions are nicely balanced to give one a satisfactory meal. In our experience, I don't think any of our fellow table guests have asked for seconds.I agree Cruises can and should be good for you provided one doesn't over-indulge. Regards, James.

Well guys the cost of holiday cruises are a lot higher than the rest of the year for a start. With this darn recession going on all over the world money for recreational needs will be somewhat limited. We have been on two New Years Eve cruises and both were terrific. Lots of fun, music, food and the free champagne flowed like water!! That's when you see the Lido deck jammed solid with wall to wall people!! Having said that, I highly recommend a holiday cruise even if you can only afford it once. Regards, James.

A great question but difficult to answer. We all take our vacations at different times of the year for various reasons. Things such as sun, time to relax, get away from friends and neighbors new places to visit etc etc all play a part in people's decisions.It is hard for me to describe to others how I feel about cruising because I'm not usually a fan of large groups of people on land or on water. I think for me it's my love of ships and the sea that I enjoy the most. Also I think one will find people in general are friendlier and more respectful at sea. This is not always the case of course but it is our experience.Not forgetting the endless activities for all tastes which offer the vacationer very little chance to be bored. Regards, James.

Yes, I look forward tremendously to reading about these. Despite my fear of saturating the cruise market, I think a lot of people will try cruising for the first time. I love all kinds of ships especially the cruise ships. I usually follow their construction right to the christening. Regards, James.

The cruise industry is becoming overcrowded. Service on some lines is going downhill, people are being asked to fork out more money on board ship for decent meals etc. The basic cost of a cruise no longer applies. I think elimination or consolidation of cruise lines could help avoid this "saturation". Sadly this would mean elimination of many jobs and the "grounding" of ships. However because jobs would be fewer service would or should improve. Also there would be less crowding in the popular ports of call. The mega ships are going to change the way many people feel about cruising and this may result in some lines amalgamating. or eventually going under. Regards, James.

I too can do without all that "entertainment". Many times I have had to wait for either dessert or coffee whilst this stuff goes on. Mind you some people will say "go to the Lido Buffet then" or " eat at the speciality venues" Trouble is one never knows when the maitre'd is going to do this. On one cruise there was a "waiter show" 4 nights out of the seven. Regards, James.

Enjoyed your review. Like you, we are not keen on anytime dining. We are stuck with this on our upcoming cruise in February. However on the Caribbean Princess we found that going early like 5-30 to 6 pm for dinner we virtually could sit anywhere. Having said that, I know many people like to eat later so space is limited. Yes, I enjoyed your review but how could you go back to Mexico???? Once was enough for us thank you.LOL Regards, James.

Very nice photos. It brought back memories of our trip on the Sapphire in October. I'm wondering if your review will match ours. I'm looking forward to reading it. Regards, James.