Some pertient details:
We sailed with Carnival Cruise Lines on the ship, Carnival Freedom. We sailed out of Port Evergaldes in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Our intinerary was listed as 'Western Caribbean' and it was a six-day cruise, with stops in Key West, FL, Grand Cayman Island, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We left Sunday August 23rd, and returned Saturday August 29th.
Here’s what happed to us on our cruise. Your mileage may vary. :-)
Our adventure starts really on August 20, when we got a call from a Carnival rep, asking if we wanted to upgrade from our Interior room to a Balcony Ccean View Room for only $200 ($50/pp). We grabbed it, as the normal cost of this time of room, would have cost $1080 more. We figured this was a good deal. We had originally booked this on a military discount, so it was still a really great price.
Day 1: Sunday August 23
We were flying in the day of the cruise, so we had a very early flight. We woke at 5:30 am. I had packed the car the night before except for our one bag of bathroom items, which we needed to use in the morning. The kids were sleepy, but excited. We got on the road right as we wanted to at 6am. We arrived at our airport parking lot at 6:30am, almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule. We took care of the paperwork, and the driver came to take us to the airport in our car. I really like this service. I don’t have to move luggage or sleepy kids! We live near Philadelphia. If you live near there as well, try Winner Airport Parking. My wife found a cheap internet rate.
On our way, we run into our first, and really, only snag on the whole trip. The driver left the lights on, but turned off the engine, as we unloaded the car at the airport terminal, and the car wouldn’t restart. Nothing worked. The guy called his home base for a jump, and said he’d be fine. Probably a policeman would be by sooner and he could get a jump from him. I gave him a couple of extra dollars for his trouble.
By now, it’s still not even 7 am, so we’re still ahead of schedule. We took Southwest, and because my son is autistic, I asked for special boarding. We got it, and were behind only a wheelchair bound person in getting on board. We had a front row seat for the kids to look out the windows. We took off on time (8:05am), and landed maybe 5 minutes early.
We arrived in Fort Lauderdale airport, and had our luggage by 11:20, and found the Carnival rep for the bus transfer. She was a little stand-offish, but then again, all I needed to tell her was that we were ready. The shuttles are by Cabana Coaches. It’s $15/pp each way, so it cost us $60 for about a 10 minute ride to the port. I think that’s a bit much, as taxi’s were everywhere.
If you can, you might want to look at arriving a day before the cruise, and stay in a cheap motel/hotel near the airport. Many have complimentary shuttles to the airport and cruise terminal.
We had to wait a little bit for other flights to arrive to bring in additional folks, but we were prepared. I had my laptop, and snacks for the kids. We kept busy while waiting.
I thought we’d be arriving early enough at the terminal to avoid crowds. The building only opens at 12:30, and we were arriving just after that time. Boy, was I wrong! Lines, lines, and more lines. To be fair, they did keep moving, and we did not stand still very long. My wife wanted to trip a couple of line-jumpers, but she resisted, and instead muttered something about Karma.
To make a long line shorter, we were on board, by about 1:30pm, which meant we could go right to our room. Checking a cruise board, I found that this was the usual time folks could get into the rooms anyway, so hurrying would not have helped, as I would have had to keep my carry-on's with me during lunch. I wanted to go to our room first, as I had the bathroom bag around my neck most of the time waiting in line. Dropped off the bags, took a few pics, and used the latrine.
After that we met my wife's parents up on the Lido deck for lunch. They were near the pizza station, knowing our kids wanted to try the pizza. The buffet was Italian, but I had read some reports on something called the Mongolian grill on board, and wanted to try it. However, I was not the only one. The line was taking so long, and after 30 minutes I gave up on it. I went and got some chicken, salmon, and salad from the buffet. The kids did love the pizza.
Something to note, that while your food is pretty much all free, your beverages are not. Anything alchoholic costs money, as does any soda. Lemonade, water, milk, and unsweetened iced tea, are all that is free in the buffet. All purchased drinks also include an automatic 15% gratuity added to the price. A single glass of soda (not the can!), loaded with ice, is about $2.11 after this auto-tip.
For beverages, they offer a Drink-of-the-Day card, and a Fountain Fun Card. The DOD card, allows you 1 drink special per day. I don't know what this cost, as my wife and I really don't drink alchohol, so we skipped this. The fountain fun card, however, offer unlimited soda for a price of %5.50 per day for adults. Which means this bugger pays for itself after just 3 soda's a day. One at lunch, one at dinner, and I only need to have one somewhere during the day to make it worthwhile. I think I had about 5 a day. :-)
95% of the ship does not use cash, as you charge everything to your room, which you have to back up with a cash deposit, or credit/debit card. We knew this ahead of time, but it was still shocking somewhat. The casino accepts cash for your game play, but take note that when advancing funds from your room card, they charge a 3% transaction free from the casino.
My advice: bring cash for the casino, and for any off-ship purchases while in port, but otherwise, charge stuff to your room. It's easier that way.
While the kids were finishing lunch my wife went to the bar, and got the Fountain Fun cards for herself and me. We did not buy one for the kids, and we used them right away. I got 2 drinks for myself and my wife, while she took the cards and got 2 for the kids. They did not check them for anything.
So after lunch we headed back, and begin to unpack the two suitcases that had arrived. The kids wanted to head to the pool, but their swimsuits were in a different case. We probably should’ve packed ‘em in a carry on, but they learned to wait.
Muster Drill, as I call it, was around 4pm. This is a mandatory emergency briefing required by International Maritime Law. Don't try to avoid it, as they send crew through the ship looking for stragglers. It is not long, about 15 minutes, and the only nonsense you have to put up really. No more difficult than the airline saftey briefing.
We departed almost immediately after our muster drill, and we missed a bit of our departure while waiting for the elevators to take us up to deck 7, where our room was. My wife is an asthmatic, and couldn’t climb the stairs after standing out the humidity during the muster drill.
My wife's parents followed us back to our room to watch the remainder of the departure. More luggage arrived, and we unpacked and killed time until dinner.
We then changed and went to dinner in the main dining room. Attire is casual for all but 2 nights on our particular journey. Jeans are OK, so long as they don't have holes. No shorts, or swimwear in the MDR (main dining room) I wore light khaki slacks, a polo shirt, and docksiders shoes. The wife wore a long patterned skrit, tank top with another light top that matched her skirt, and black sandals with a low heel.
We were overdressed compared to some folk, and underdressed compared to others. Our daugter wore a sundress, and sandals, while our son had slacks and a polo shirt with sneakers.
We were seated with my wife's parents as she had hoped we’d be. We were in the Posh dining room, with early seating at 6pm. (Late seating is 8:15pm) It had windows for the kids.
We met our headwaiter and waiter, Felix and Neil. These two were great! Especially with our kids. Felix has a son named Alejandro, which is the Spanish version of our son’s name, so it was easy for him to remember. Neil made napkin-animals for our daughter, which she loved.
I had the flat iron steak, while my wife had linguini with sausage. My son has sweet & sour shrimp, and my daughter had the chicken al greque (chicked prepared with Greek herbs). Meals are of a slightly smaller size that I am used to seeing in restaurants. My in-laws said that this was a more Eruopean portion size. With appetizers, and desserts, the meals were just right for me.
I think we have pics of most of our meals, which I will try to post later. After Fantasy Football drafts are done.
After dinner we returned to our rooms and our last bag had arrived. I unpacked it, and we found out that we had missed the Camp Carnival Kids Program briefing. That's OK, my wife wanted to see the program for herself. Apparently the meeting was in a different room than were the kids would actually be most of the time.
We met our room steward, Eva. She had a longer Russian or Slavic name, like Evaginka, but she said to call her Eva.
Me & the kids were tired after an early start, so we stayed in the room, while the wife went to the casino. She came back with what she started with, so I count that as a plus!
That's it for day 1. If I should not continue, speak up. If you have any questions, ask, and I'll do my best to answer.
Well, I found it interesting. I've always wanted to take a cruise, and while I've had friends tell me about their experience, it's neat to see somebody break down all the details.
Please continue. I'm also interested in taking a cruise.
One question: how old are your children? I think I'll have to wait a bit before dragging my son along on a boat.
While I'm not considering a cruise myself (I hate people. Like, hate hate. They ruin every damned thing ...), I found this very interesting, entertaining and would have also found it useful had I planned on taking a cruise. Well done and please continue. 
Please continue. I'm also interested in taking a cruise.
One question: how old are your children? I think I'll have to wait a bit before dragging my son along on a boat.
My son is 10, and my daughter is 6. She will be 7 later this month though.
The kids program on board is for kids as young as 2 years old, though. Our kids really liked it. They didn't want to leave a couple of times. So they did like it. :-)
Ah, I was wondering if there'd be a recap given the Q&A before "the change" here when you were, if you'll excuse the expression, testing the waters as it were. I'm not sure anything I had to offer given an old family cruise was of any value to you, save perhaps fending off pushy vendors in the straw market @ Nassau, why fire coral sucks hard, or how to get fried to a crisp in 20 min.
Don't get me wrong, I think it was one of the best vacations ever, but for some reason, me and mine always seem to get the harsh independent variables during vacations. Ex) 1 day in Munich, I lost my Eurail pass (like losing a hand), was hit by an Audi, and we had our camera stolen on the night train from Amsterdam by a cabin-mate. And yet, I'll be damned if Neuschwanstein, Dacahau, and the border jump to Salzburg didn't more than make up for it.
I'm surprised to learn about the little bells and whistles you picked up on and wisely noted. 3% transition fees, assumed gratuities, and the like. They can really stick it in and break it off (when it rains, it pours), but given my recall of your previous post, you planned ahead smartly & didn't piss away a lot of money like so many of the other families I remember from our Muster Station we saw for the remaining days. Btw, hilarity is seeing a guy whacked out of his mind (either really drunk or on a psychedelic) in the muster station we shared not knowing it was a drill. He couldn't seem to understand why everyone was so casual about such a serious undertaking...
Anyway, rambling. Western Caribbean, eh? Like skirting the Yucatan/Vera Cruz/etc? We were decidedly more North and way the Hell more East (Bahamas), though I suspect you got the better end of the stick geographically and meteorologically speaking; scary fast storms and land locked ppl out for chills & thrills (Ohio...yay) don't mix. What about those games and peripheral entertainments you were gunning for IIRC? Eat like a king? Keel haul any pirates? Curious, what was the name of your ship? I think we were on the "Oceanic", same outfit IIRC. I guess a pic is worth 1,000 words...you know where this is going, yes?
My wife's parents are notoriously early risers, so they called ahead and woke me up. I then had to rouse the wife & kids so we could have breakfast together.
We had it in the Posh dining room. On this ship the other dining room is called 'Chic', but it does not open for breakfast. You can also go to the breakfast buffet on the Lido deck, but I enjoyed being served my breakfast every morning.
I chose Eggs Benedict, and a side of corned beef hash. Both were excellent! I washed it down with pineapple juice, for a nice start to the day. We had a nice lazy morning meal. We were already docked in Key West, having docked at something like 7 am. It was now approaching 9, so we decided to head off the ship immediately after eating, and slathering ourselves in sunscreen.
We're not big on exploring. Well, I am, but the rest of my crew isn't. We did not sign up for any excursions, or touristy stuff. We walked, and shopped, and took some pics. That's enough for my wife in the humid tropical heat. Her asthma does not like hot & humid weather.
We got our souvenirs, t-shirts, and freebies thanks to some coupons my mother-in-law had with her, then were back on board by 10:15 am. Not having slept well, my wife took a nap Having slept like the dead, I took the kids to the pool.
It was filled with very clean, very clear, SALT water. O_o ???? This makes sense in hindsight, since carrying that much freshwater would be stupid, when you had all that clean, clear ocean water all around you. I think it was desalinated a little bit, but couldn't swear to it.
I brought the kids back about 11:30, and we got ready to go to lunch on the Lido deck. The main dining rooms are closed for lunch while in port. (They want you to go spend money.)
This ship's buffet chose to serve a particular cuisine each day. Yesterday was Italian. Today, it was Caribbean. The kids loved the Calamari Fritters and jerked pork. I got in a much shorter line this time for the Mongolian Grill. It took 25 minutes to get my food, but it was very good, and very fresh!
We took the kids to Camp Carnival after lunch. This being our first exposure to the kids program we wanted to check it out first hand. They were very organized, and very prepared for most kids. My son is a very high functioning autistic, so we wanted to make sure they understood his issues, and some of his quirks. He saw the PS2, and was hooked. They also had lots of arts & crafts stuff for our daughter, so this made her very happy too.
Satisfied, my wife and I went to a series of trivia games. General Knowledge, 80's Trivia, and Scattergories. I won a medal for 2nd place in the the general knowledge, and a "Ship on a Stick" for winning the 80's game. I got 19 out of 20 right.
We then picked up our kids to get ready for dinner. Showers, changing clothes, etc. We all had the Penne Mariscos, except for my wife's parents who had the Short Ribs.
We took the kids back to Camp Carnival after dinner, and my wife went to the casino tables to lose some money at blackjack. I went back to the room to watch a DVD I'd brought along. They play pay-per-view movies on a giant screen TV, but I didn't like what they were showing. I picked up the kids from the camp at 10pm and went to bed about 10:30. My wife came back to our room about midnight, now a little ahead after playing something called "Fun 21". It sounded like Blackjack for Dummies, which my wife is not. But if ir was easier for her to win at it, then I was all for it.
Next day: A day at Sea!
Please ask any questions!
Please continue. I'm also interested in taking a cruise.
One question: how old are your children? I think I'll have to wait a bit before dragging my son along on a boat.
My son is 10, and my daughter is 6. She will be 7 later this month though. The kids program on board is for kids as young as 2 years old, though. Our kids really liked it. They didn't want to leave a couple of times. So they did like it. :-)
Good to know. I have a 2 1/2 son (probably be 3 or so the soonest I could cruise), so I'm always aware of stuff for kids/kid-friendly places, while also trying to have some fun myself! :-)
We went on our first family cruise last week as well on Carnival Pride out of Baltimore to Grand Turk and the Bahamas. We have two kids 10 and 8. For us we don't gamble, drink (neither alcohol or really sodas) so where pretty frugal on that front. We did do one shore excursion (horseback riding), my wife did use the spa twice, and we did some shopping (actually it was the kids who had saved up their allowance who did almost all the shopping). We have exterior rooms with balconies, two adjoining, and that worked well. Camp Carnival was a hit with the kids and that gave us more 'us' time than we normally have on vacations, well, except for vacations where we leave the kids with people. 
I did get seasick on first day, so did daughter, as it was rough seas as Bill, I think, has just went by and churned up the sea. We had brought dramamine and after one day of illness I was fine the rest of the time and I have pretty bad motionsickness in many situations. If you expect problems on this there is a patch some people were wearing behind their ears which their doctor had prescribed, it works well.
The food was good and the kids ate well, mostly pizza and ice cream, but hey it's vacation! We are vegetarians and admittedly there was always vegetarian options, but the food is geared towards carnivores, like our 8 year old daughter. Still the desserts were good and the dinners were well done and incredibly organized. I've worked food service and considering the scale, the quality and speed of the service at dinner was excellent.
All the staff are pleasant, rooms are cleaned TWICE a day, plus you get the towel animals, which the kids loved.
Talked to various staff and it was interesting. Almost there entire salary is gratuities. They work 7 month contracts, 10-12 hours a day, and NO DAYS OFF! They do get three months off at the end of their contract to head home, all of them are pretty much foreigners. Yes, when they dump you off they pick up a new cruise and are off again. So don't begrudge them the gratuities. However, their reliance on gratutities is one reason they are so upbeat and always smile and are pleasant - it's their livelihood.
On our cruise a third were kids under 18, but you really don't see that many kids, or we didn't. We went to two of the evening shows, yes, it's sad, but we go to bed early even on vacation and were up at 7 (or earlier) every day as our kids never sleep in. The two shows (dancing/music) were very good and fairly impressive spectacles.
Of course, the big thing was that I didn't get suburned! I used an UV protective shirt and lots of sunscreen and shade. None of us were that sunburned - do not underestimate the sun. Some caution and common sense will allow you to spends hours in the sun at beach or on deck.
It was a good outing and most importantly I got tons of writing and design work done for my current and upcoming campaigns. In other words a very productive vacation.
Ah, I was wondering if there'd be a recap given the Q&A before "the change" here when you were, if you'll excuse the expression, testing the waters as it were. I'm not sure anything I had to offer given an old family cruise was of any value to you, save perhaps fending off pushy vendors in the straw market @ Nassau, why fire coral sucks hard, or how to get fried to a crisp in 20 min.
Don't get me wrong, I think it was one of the best vacations ever, but for some reason, me and mine always seem to get the harsh independent variables during vacations. Ex) 1 day in Munich, I lost my Eurail pass (like losing a hand), was hit by an Audi, and we had our camera stolen on the night train from Amsterdam by a cabin-mate. And yet, I'll be damned if Neuschwanstein, Dacahau, and the border jump to Salzburg didn't more than make up for it.
I'm surprised to learn about the little bells and whistles you picked up on and wisely noted. 3% transition fees, assumed gratuities, and the like. They can really stick it in and break it off (when it rains, it pours), but given my recall of your previous post, you planned ahead smartly & didn't piss away a lot of money like so many of the other families I remember from our Muster Station we saw for the remaining days. Btw, hilarity is seeing a guy whacked out of his mind (either really drunk or on a psychedelic) in the muster station we shared not knowing it was a drill. He couldn't seem to understand why everyone was so casual about such a serious undertaking...
Anyway, rambling. Western Caribbean, eh? Like skirting the Yucatan/Vera Cruz/etc? We were decidedly more North and way the Hell more East (Bahamas), though I suspect you got the better end of the stick geographically and meteorologically speaking; scary fast storms and land locked ppl out for chills & thrills (Ohio...yay) don't mix. What about those games and peripheral entertainments you were gunning for IIRC? Eat like a king? Keel haul any pirates? Curious, what was the name of your ship? I think we were on the "Oceanic", same outfit IIRC. I guess a pic is worth 1,000 words...you know where this is going, yes?
I'm sorry I missed this earlier 1tg, but I was writing my next day, posted, and had to run to something.
We never have the kind of bad luck that seems to have followed you. We usually visit a Temple dedicated to a Rat God in the Great Swamps of Florida. This year though, my wife & I turned 40, and we celebrated our 15th wedding anniverssary, so we decided to do something special.
We explored around on the net, and asked my dad, and my wife's parents who cruise a lot, about what to expect. We thought we planned out pretty well. No bad weather to speak of, and we were on the Carnival Freedom. I did not scare up any D&D players though. There really isn't much of a way to communicate to other folks on board. The best bet would be to check on a cruise message board, and try to find like minded folks.
I have pics, and I will upload them as soon as I can. Soon as my fantasy football drafts are done for the season. My last one is tonight, so tomorrow, I can start uploading them.
Photo test.
We got up and had breakfast again with my wife's parents again. My daughter and I had the blueberry pancakes today, while my son had a ham & cheese omelet.
Afterwards, while I took the kids to CC (Camp Carnival), my wife went to the casino games 'class'. She learned about craps, roulette, and some of the other card games aside from blackjack. She got a $5 play card that she could play at certain tables after the lesson. She turned it into $25 then lost that. Easy come, easy go.
I wandered around the ship taking pictures, while she was at her class. We went to lunch and we all had a Crab & Shrimp sandwhich. After lunch, my wife went back to the tables, while I went to movie trivia. I didn't win anything this time.
About 3:00 my wife & I went to the wedding game with our Cruise Director, Wee Jimmy. He was nice, and very funny. Although his Scottish accent makes some of his English sound a bit off. I'm sure he uses that to his every advantage. We were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary during this trip, which made us too long to be newlyweds, and too short to be the oldest couple. We figured we might get the middle seat, but, we weren't picked. Oh, well, the show was still fun anyway.
Today was the 1st elegant night in the MDR, so we picked up the kids and went back to change and shower for the Captain's Party. We went to the party for free drinks. We don't drink much, but my wife's folks were there, so we made an appearance, for about 15 minutes. Enough to have 1 free drink, and then we left to get some elegant portrait shots done.
Dinner was Prime Rib & Lobster. I honestly never looked past either of these choices! My son had the lobster, and my daughter ordered the Prime Rib, as did my wife. We made the two kids split their meals, and have half of each. I was a pig this night. I had BOTH the Prime Rib & the Lobster! This is allowed, folks. The dining staff are aware that most Americans do like larger portions, and will sometimes ask for two plates. The only consideration is that you alert your headwatier ahead of tmie, so he can place the order. Don't order it after you've finished the first plate. This was the only night I did this, and mainly becuase I love lobster and prime rib. There was no way I could have ever decided.
After some belching and sighing, we took the kids to get changed, and back to CC. My wife went back to playing "Fun 21". I wanted to go to the 10:30 adult comedy show, but it got cancelled due to some technical difficulty. My father in law had said the next morning, that he heard something about people on the phone to Italy.
My wife stayed at the tables for a long time this night, as we were shifting our clocks back. She played 3-card-poker, and got 3 of a kind 3 different times. It pays 30 to 1 odds, and she won $150 each time it happened. $450. I asleep when this happened otherwise I would have had her leave then. As it was, when she was down to $300, from that $450, she called it a night. At about 3:00 am, which then set the clock back to 2am. She woke me, and I was happy, but sleepy. I appreciated it more in the morning.
The next part deals with our day spent on Grand Cayman Island, in the Grand Cayman Islands.
We had breakfast today alone, as my wife's parents woke up extra early, and my wife was up extra late. We went towards the later end of the breakfast window today. Breakfast was served today from 7 to 9, and we arrived there about 8:30. The service today was pretty poor. I had been having pineapple juice each morning instead of OJ. Well, when the server finished pouring OJ for my wife and my daughter she left! Didn’t ask what the other’s wanted.
We ordered only moments after the table to our left, and right, and yet they were nearly finished by the time our food came out. And it was wrong! My son& I had the wrong omelets, and my wife got the wrong toast. No one got any fruit they’d ordered. And there were no waiters in sight! My wife was very upset.
Afterwards, my wife called her parents, and they met us down by the elevators for the gangway.
In some ports, the ships can not dock, so they anchor at sea, and use tender boats to shuttle folks back & forth.
I think we had docked at 7am, and we were getting off about 9:30. We got our souvies, took some pics, and were back on board by 10:45.
I took the kids swimming again, while my wife napped. She was up late winning money! Her parents picked up the kids at 12:15 to take them to lunch, and mini-golfing. My wife I decided we didn’t like anything on the French Day Lido buffet, so we ordered room service. I had the Roast Beef & Brie on baguette, while she had the BLT on white, and we shared the shrimp salad sandwich. All were very good, and delivered quickly.
We went to trivia again at 2pm, and we won ships on sticks, for getting a tied score. I helped my wife got a lot answers.
After this, my wife played a little more "Fun 21", and didn’t win big or lose big.
We picked up the kids from CC, and had dinner at 6pm. Tonight’s fare was OK. My wife & I had the veal parmesan, while the kids had the turkey with cranberry dressing. After dinner, the kids went back to CC, while my wife went back to the tables. I watched another DVD, as the movies again did not appeal to me.
I am a big movie buff, but I am picky about what I watch. If I don’t like something, I leave. Which is why I don’t often go to theaters anymore.
We let the kids stay an extra hour again in Camp Carnival, and we went to bed about 11:30, while my wife came back about 12:30.
Day 5: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
We had breakfast again with my wife's parents at 8. We asked to have the headwaiter that we usually have for dinner, Felix. But he was off this morning as he was on the Lido deck last night. I guess it was his turn or something. Service today was much better though, but we did eat more towards the early to mid part of the service, rather than at the end.
Again we headed off the ship immediately after eating & slathering. It was a little after 9 when we left, but only a little after 10 when we got back on.
This was the hottest day & place it seemed, as the humidity was approaching something like 95%. My wife's asthma was already unhappy. I knew we would walk off, go to the nearest shopping place (my mother-in-law already knew it's location), get our souvenirs, and make our way back to the ship.
I will say this was my least favorite stop, not because of the weather, but because of the cabbies! Every 10 seconds it was "Cab, sir". or "Cab, ma'am". And the others didn't seem to hear us tell one that we said no. It was crazy! It was like it was their turn to try. We were only walking down 1 street. They were pushy to an extreme. Watch yourselves here.
Wife was a little tired and stressed out when we got back on the ship. She decided to take a nap again, while I took the kids to the pool. We found out the day before that the waterslide is only open from noon to 5 while in port. I'm not sure how long it is open while at sea.
I brought the kids back about 12:30, and we headed to Lido for lunch. Today was American, and I decided to try the Deli counter today. I got a grilled ham & cheese on rye, and it was good. It was done on a Panini press, so it had those grill lines on it, and warmed and melted everything very nicley.
After lunch, the humidity was wasting out the wife, so she took another nap, while I took the kids to Camp Carnival, and then went to a trivia contest. I forget what this one was for, but he won another ship on a stick, so if you are counting, that is 4 ships he won. (well, 3 plus the wife's).
We lazed about today and went to the past guest party. Another free drink affair, but this time, as opposed to the Captain's party, there were tray of finger foods. After this we went to dinner. The kids and wife Had the flat iron steak, while I partook of the Chateaubrinad with Bernaise sauce. I had the Baked Alaska for dessert, while everyone else skipped it.
My wife's parents arranged a cake for our birthdays & anniversary, so Felix & Neil sang to us. Neil sounds like he could sing professionally, and Felix needs a little help. J
After dinner, I took the kids for the late night party up at Camp Carnival. They wouldn't make it to the wee hours of 3:30 am, but they got to stay an extra hour for $10.
My wife went back to the tables and lost $100 of her winnings, and the money she'd intended to lose today. I went to watch his last movie. She lost her money fast tonight, so she was back before midnight, and we all went to bed together for the first time since we left Florida.
If anyone still has questions, please feel free to ask.
Our last day, and it was at Sea. We slept in a bit, and had breakfast at 8:30 again, towards the end of the time period again, I think. But today we had Felix. Service was great this time!
Afterwards we took the kids to Camp Carnival, while the wife & I had some ‘alone time’. We had lunch in the dining room, and we all had the BBQ Ribs. They were quite good! I took the kids swimming and using the water slide after lunch, while my wife went to the tables again. She had a little of her bingo money left, and left with what she started with.
The kids & I went for some ice cream after swimming, then we started our packing. There were things going on, but nothing of interest. We attended the debarkation breifing, so we knew what to expect. My wife's parents did not.
Afterwards, we got ready for dinner. Starters included Lobster Bisque tonight, which was very good! Dinner was Prime Rib again, and we all had it, except my son who wanted the Shrimp dinner. We all had the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. We liked it but it seemed a bit heavy. Still, it was very tasty & chocolate-y
After Dinner, I took the kids to Camp Carnival for their goodbye party, while the wife and I finished packing. After that my wife went to lose her last little bit of gambling money, while I watched part of a movie on Lido (Quantum of Solace). We picked up the kids together, and got to bed early, like 10pm, since we knew we had to be up early for debarking.
Debarking
This went very smoothly.
They had two options. Self-Assist, and regular. Self-Assist is what it sounds like. You take your own bags off the ship, by yourself, and you can leave as early as you like, or as late as you like. The only rule is that you had to be off ship by 10:30 am.
We chose regular since our bags are pretty heavy, and the kids can't manage them, You pack your bags, and leave them outside your stateroom by midnight. You are given a simlpe tag to put on them with a # from 1 to 33. The order is based upon any connections you have once you debark. Earlier flights mean getting off earlier. Later flights, you could be the last to get off the ship.
Our bags were outside by 9:30pm, and gone when we woke up. We had a nice breakfast, taking our carry-on’s with us, but we did not have to. We had plenty of time to go back to the room if we had chosen to do so.
We had a flight time that was kind of on the border. The announcements said that you should request early debarking (#1-5) or self-assist if your flight out of Ft. Lauderdale was noon or earlier. Ours was 1:00pm, so while it was not before that deadline, it was close.
We were given ticket #9 for our debarking #. I thought we’d be off by 9:30. It was close. 9:45, I think is when our # was called. There was almost no line to get off. (I didn't really expect one?) We found our bags quickly, and my wife grabbed a porter, while I was collecting luggage. There was a short line at the customs point, but we had nothing to declare, so we were through that in a jiffy. Wife tipped the porter while I got the kids on the bus for our 2nd 10 minute ride to the airport.
We arrived at the airport about 10:30am, I believe. Here’s something for all you folks who check in with their airline using the internet. I had seen some posts on a cruise board, about asking at the purser’s desk to get them to help you check in, by print boarding passes. They could not do this. They said they did not have internet access at the desk there, and that I should use the computers down in the internet café on deck 4.
The computers in the ship cafe, can not be used on a per minute basis. You had to purchase a plan of minutes. I do not recall the minimum number of minutes, but it seemed it was too much to spend for what I needed to do, which should have taken me only 10 minutes at best. It also costs something like $0.50 per page, if you wish to print. I would glady have paid 25 bucks to avoid the lines of check in at the airport.
An intolerably long line aside, we were at our gate by a little after 11. We had to wait 2 hours before our flight. I got out my laptop because apparently, Ft. Lauderdale airport has free WiFi throughout it. We checked our e-mail, and alerted friends we were on our way home.
The flight home was delayed a little bit, by some lighting, but it wasn’t serious. We landed perhaps only 5 minutes late. We got picked up, and drove right to an auto shop to get a new battery for the car, paid for by my wife's casino winnings!
That’s the end for the report. We had a lot of fun. We’re looking at another cruise in 2011 or 2012. I am thinking that I would have to search a cruise board for people who also play D&D, and maybe I'll do that next time. Just to see if I can scare anyone up.
Feel free to ask any questions. If you've read this this far, thanks!
That’s the end for the report. We had a lot of fun. We’re looking at another cruise in 2011 or 2012. I am thinking that I would have to search a cruise board for people who also play D&D, and maybe I'll do that next time. Just to see if I can scare anyone up. Feel free to ask any questions. If you've read this this far, thanks!
Now that gives me an idea. Considering that a lot of people travel already to go to gaming conventions, would it be possible to start a CruiseCon? Sure it wouldn't be a typical Con and it would cost you the price of a cruise to go, but could it be done? I'd love to hear opinions from those of you who have been on a cruise before.
IMHO this would probably fall flat. At least if you tried to orgainze it here. However, better luck might be done through a cruise message board, like CruiseCritic, or some other such.
IMHO this would probably fall flat. At least if you tried to orgainze it here. However, better luck might be done through a cruise message board, like CruiseCritic, or some other such.
Oh definately, I'm sure organizing something like that would be out of my league anyhow. I was speaking hypothetically from the standpoint of having the same sort or organization as a regular Con as well as the cooperation of the cruise line.