DebbieandJerry

Now that you found us, we'd love to know more about your cruising adventures

Welcome, welcome

Jump in on any conversation. It's worth it

Can't wait to read more about you and your cruising adventures

So glad you found us.

We are selling a voucher for a seat to play in the Carnival Grand Finale Blackjack tournament that takes place in April. Message me for more information if interested!

I just got back from this cruise and loved it. We have been on the Carnival Freedom at least 3-4 times and the ship is in great shape and the folks working on it are top notch. We started from Galveston and stopped in Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. Let me know if you have any questions or want any tips and I'll be glad to provide you with info. 100 days will fly by!

One of the ladies that traveled with us purchased the $25/week Wi-Fi package. She thought it was a gonga and sent pictures and emails home pretty much by the minute. I try to stay unconnected on vacation. I guess it's easier for us because we have no kids and no grandkids. I did notice an awful lot of texting going on in the dining room and at the pool. I had to chuckle!

I'm always suspicious of "giveaways".

Jay: Do you know this radio station? I ask because what seems to be a "giveaway" isn't always. Our first cruise was a radio station promotion. Little did I know that we were booking an inside cabin and the radio station host and the travel agency got a FREE suite because of all the rooms they booked. Granted, we had a blast and it got us hooked on cruising. Sometimes you can find deals through websites. Keep searching (which is what we all do). Something will pop up.

Spectacular

Forgot to add, on our last cruise, our waitress has been with Carnival for 14 years; our room steward for 16 years, etc., etc. Really? I get sick of my job after 5 years. Something to be said about an employer who keeps employees!

It's becoming obvious that the cruise industry is listening to their passengers. You see that with the changes that are happening on the ships. Even the little "any pool chair with a towel on it and not used within xx minutes" will have the towel removed. What I saw was more lounge chairs available and no one rushing to the pool at 7am reserving a space (which is something I saw a lot of in years' past). I think that Carnival has had the most hoops to cross - with all of the negative publicity and the image of the "party ship" and that they have done a great job of being a FUN ship. Good for them for this award!

Galveston is a very easy port to get in and out of. Getting there was not the cheapest. I hope that once more ships utilize the port, the airlines will be forced to lower their prices.

It's amazing how many vacationers stayed connected while on our last cruise vacation. Even in the dining room, texting - taking and sending pictures - etc. I guess these are the signs of the times!

I too am looking forward to hearing all about this vacation! Bon Voyage

Hope you have a great time and that the stinky weather was a thing of the past!

Wanted to provide an update: We had 2 complimentary bottles of water waiting for us in the room with a "welcome returning cruiser" label. Marcy and James also had complimentary water so this is not just for Platinum members. The soda was in the room. We needed to ask for the refrigerator to be opened. It is now locked unless the guest specifically requests for it to be opened. No bathroom free-bees on this 7-day cruise. Just the round bar of soup for the sink and the liquid soap and shampoo in the shower. No candy on the pillow which was fine by us because we always said not to leave the candy. Didn't really miss that these things were no included. And I'm sure that these little bits added up to a bigger savings overall.

We also give the extra cash directly to the cruise member who went above and beyond. We tell him/her that the money is for him/her and that we have taken care of their helpers as well. Last week I had the majority of my lunches from the Mongolian Stir Fry. For 7 meals, I gave $1 to the person who cooked the meal for me. Amazing how many other travelers saw what I was doing (because I saw someone else do it) and followed suit. We did the same for the guy behind the deli station, the guy at the pizza station and the room service people who brought us our "pre" breakfast in the mornings. All in all, this probably added up to less than $20 in extra one dollar tips.

Jerry won a seat for the blackjack tournament on the Carnival Magic - Port Canaveral end of April sailing that he wants to sell. According to Carnival, the grand prize is $50,000 and other money guarantees for other places. Message me if you or someone you know is interested. You would still need to purchase the cruise!

"A week of fun, sun and great friends" Click here to view the cruise review

We see this in the construction industry in Tucson on a daily basis. It is cheaper, more efficient, and more economical to the end user to build new than to rehab or refurbish old. I get it. I think by building new, you are also adding to the job market in many areas instead of rehabbing piece by piece and only impacting certain subspecialties. Eventually there will be a glut of old ships that no one will want to purchase. Then decisions will need to be made. As folks travel more by sea, I think their tastes become more refined and they start comparing stories and ships. If a ship is continually in a state of dis-repair, that information spreads immediately and that ship won't be able to fill "slots". Kinda reminds me of the restaurants that have gone out of business because the landlord increased the rent and the tenant couldn't afford to stay open. So the restaurant sits vacant, the landlord makes no money and the tenant has moved on to a new place where the new landlord was willing to put in money for improvements, etc.

We have been on a couple of Caribbean cruises where we picked up distressed "sailors". I don't ever recall hearing any grumblings other than, "gee I hope they went through security and scrutiny". Our entire universe is in crisis mode. I think any traveler has to be aware of his/her surroundings and what may or may not happen, whether it be on land or at sea.

Carnival Freedom from Galveston to Western Caribbean - cannot wait! This will be number 3 or 4 on the Freedom for us (I'm getting old and can't remember s**t. Marcy and James and Marcy's sister-in-law are also joining us. So far the weather calls for rain, rain and more rain. Let's hope the information is inaccurate (kind of like the information we get in Tucson). Stops include Belize, Honduras and Cozumel - places we have been to many times before and always love returning back to visit.