Mebert

Hi lilrosie, Carnival serves food and beverages until the wee hours on the last night of the cruise. As a matter of fact, They even serve breakfast on the last day of the cruise. You will not have to worry about food at any time on Carnival. Room service does stop after about 2:00 AM on the last night. But you can always go to the Lido deck and get pizza, ice cream, coffee, tea, lemonade, fruit punch, or apple juice for FREE.

Welcome home, JohnG and Karen. I hope you enjoyed your cruise!

Bon Voyage, captbill. Have a great cruise!

Bon Voyage, lovetocruise. Have a great cruise!

Bon Voyage, Defensechic8. Have a great cruise!

Have a great cruise, Cruisechic2000!

Welcome home, lisa63!

Bon voyage, hazelson. Have a great cruise!

Bon voyage, sailingrose and daughter. Have a great cruise!

Hey sailinglisa, I thought I was the only one on the edge.

Hi howiesgirl, I have never sailed the Imagination but there are loads of CruiseCrazies members who have. I did sail the Carnival Fascination that sailed the same itinerary. An original birth certificate and driver's license worked fine to board the ship and to go ashore in Mexico. Your ship will issue a Sign and Sail Card that will act as your boarding pass and I.D. to board the ship, but to get through security at Key West and Mexico you need a government issued picture I.D. like a driver's license. Yes, even on Key West you need a government issued picture I.D. because the ship docks in a military base. I find that the U.S. passport is the best all around document. It makes things go very fast and it last for 10 years. If you are traveling to places other than Mexico or Canada, you will need a passport. The sooner you apply for it the cheaper it is. You won't need it for this trip but once you get hooked on cruising, and you probably will, it just opens up many more options for foreign travel or foreign cruises. Key West is really small and there usually is not much time spent there so I would avoid spending money on an excursion. Take the free shuttle instead and walk around town. Check out the sites you'd like to see on Key West long before you go. They may be in walking distance from each other. From Cozumel we took a ferry to mainland Mexico and saw the Ruins of Tulum. I enjoyed that very much and broke down and purchased a beautifully composed photo of myself and my traveling companion taken by the Carnival photographer in front of one of the pyramids. I had to admit that the colors and crispness of the the photos was excellent. After the tour of the ruins you won't have much time to do anything else. In Cozumel we piled into a taxi to San Miguel. It only cost $6 per load in the same party so make some friends if there are only two of you. If there are two pairs not traveling together they charge $6 per pair, but if you're all together it's only $6 for all four of you. We went into town to do some shopping. You don't need to do the ship's shopping tour which is usually overpriced. San Miguel offers a bunch of shops, restaurants, liquor stores and a major supermarket that looks like a super K-Mart. I have grown to love the island of Cozumel and will explore San Miguel and other sites a little more because almost every Western Caribbean Carnival ship goes there. Good luck.

Hi siki00, I have heard that since the 9/11 scare for travelers may be a thing of the past that there has been an increase in travelers booking their cruises early. Carnival said that they are 50% booked on most of their cruises. I have also noticed that some cruise lines are raising their prices for some European cruises as departure dates get closer. But at the same time I notice that there are last minute deals. I can't be sure as to whether or not her statement is wholly accurate. I've been booked for my cruise since November. I guess you have to do a little research and check prices for your desired cruise on a few online sites. You might even check cruisecompete.com so that the different cruise travel agents let you know what they are selling the particular cruise for. I'm glad more and more people are getting turned on to cruising. It is one of the best kept vacationing secrets. I'm also thinking that it will be more difficult to get good fares as cruising becomes more preferable than land vacations. Good luck.

Hey gogetter, We can dream can't we. If I start saving now and continue to take some modest cruises maybe I'll be able to take a luxury cruise in 10 years. :grin:

Hi everybody, I have found some sites that show free cruise videos. I often watch these videos while I anticipate my next cruise. Here they go: http://www.cruiseprofessionals.com/RealVideo.html http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/world...s/wbvideos.html http://www.travelago.com/cruise_ships.asp?...ory_type=Cruise [url=http://www.sealinks-tv.wanadoo.co.uk/]http://www.sealinks-tv.wanadoo.co.uk/ [url=http://www.cruiseshipchannel.com]http://www.cruiseshipchannel.com [url=http://www.cruisedirectonline.com/multimedia.htm#Multimedia]http://www.cruisedirectonline.com/multimedia.htm#Multimedia Enjoy!

Welcome back GottaCruz. I hoped you enjoyed your cruise.

Hi mpdej8, The cruise lines usually have shuttles that take you right to the pier, round trip. Call the cruise line and ask how much it is. I sailed the Carnival Fantasy from Port Canaveral and was able to get to the pier and received a voucher for the return trip to the airport via a shuttle. I found it to be a very easy transaction since there are cruse line representatives at the airport. It takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to Port Canaveral from the Orlando Airport.

Hey gogetter, Congratulations on your cruise booking. You must be really excited.

hazelson, Congratulations on your sdm status. I am really envious of you because I have such a loooooong way to go. Enjoy your cruise.

Hey lilrosie, I'm dancing for you too. I know you're going to read every bit of the documents, including the luggage tags. I remember I couldn't put the documents down until I had read everythning. Dance on lilrosie.

Good for you GottaCruz, Have a great weekend with your family.

Hi Jdemo78, Don't forget the tips for the crew. The minimum you should count on is about $10 per day per person. If you feel service was outstanding you may or may not opt to give a little more for the waiter, assistant waiter and room steward. I have never sailed RCCL so I'm not sure if they don't charge tips to your account automatically like they do on Carnival Cruise Lines. In most cases your credit card will do in case something comes up that you absolutely have to do or have or eat.

Hi Ken, I like Carnival so much that I've applied and received the Carnival SeaMiles MasterCard credit card. It's just a regular credit card through Juniper Bank. There are no problems whatsoever. The SeaMiles card does offer rewards for cruising or upgrades or onboard credit. I have not earned enough points to critique if the exchange works out. I will let you know that about 6 months to one year from now. Are you having problems with your card? Good luck with it.

GottaCruz, I'm ashamed to say it but we have eaten in the dining room and one hour later gone on the Lido Deck to eat again. We were so embarrassed when we saw our assistant waiter busing tables on the Lido Deck after we had such a nice dinner. It didn't seem to matter to him one bit. As a matter of fact, he insisted that we sit down while he served us our drinks. He also came back to converse a little. So you see you can even do the dining room and alternative dining on the same night if you choose. Gotta Cruz, are you a Carnival fan too? Sometimes I think Carnival gets little credit for the service and entertainment they provide now. I know they are not considered a luxury cruise but they sure treated me royally when I was on the ship.

Hi Lilrosie, All of the above are true of alternative dining. We were lucky enough to win a dinner in the alternative dining room on the Carnival Conquest. We dressed like we were going to any fine restaurant. The presentation of the was far superior to that served in the regular dining room. Portions were much more generous. Waiters are also more attentive. We enjoyed our dining experience so much that we decided that it would be worth it to reserve seats in the alternative dining room on future cruises. We would find out when something was being served in the regular dining room that we didn't particularly like and than make reservations in the alternative dining room on the day that those particular meals were being served in the regular dining room. Regular meals on Carnival ships are pretty good, so just imagine dining in a resturant a few notches above that. Alternative dining can also mean you prefer to dine on the Lido Deck, cafeteria style, rather than in the regular dining room. Dining on the Lido Deck is more informal and some passengers prefer to have their meals there so that they can keep their shorts on or their more casual clothing. I have known some passengers who have never stepped foot in the main dining rooms, opting to stay on the Lido Deck and listen to the Calypso band. My advice is to be prepared to experience everything on your first cruise so that you don't miss out on anything. You may be pleasantly surprised. So bring something nice to wear on formal evening. You will fit right in with other diners in the dining room. If you decide it's not for you then you can opt out in the future. I'm not exactly a very formal person, but I do enjoy formal nights just for a change. I have to admit I do get a little tense preparing for it, making sure that my suit and shirt are well pressed and my shoes are polished. Once I get into the dining room and the ladys start remarking how well dressed I am, I am immediately put at ease. Of course I comment to the ladys on how beautiful they look. As you can see you have many choices on the ship. You can create your own cruising experience.

Welcome back Charlene. You make a great case to sail the Sun Princess. Where does it go?