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Have a great cruise, Charlene! INVU!

Have a great cruise, cruisin05! INVU!

Hey Jason, You post the reviews with such speed. I hope it's helpful to those who are considering sailing the Fascination.

Thank you thomas and DaCruzNut, I know how much time it takes to respond to an open question like that. I just finished doing a review of the Carnival Fascination. Your indepth responses along with the others have made me obsessed with sailing on the Regal Empress. I'm desparate to sail the Regal Empress before they take her out of commission. I want to try to recapture some of the experience that you who have sailed the old ships had. I want to get lost in the maze of unconnected stairways, walk the indoor promenade, and be able to know most of the crew and passengers. That's a very ambitious feat for a two day cruise. I need to find some vacation days and a good airfare. Wish me luck.

Jim, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise!

elle, Bon Voyage. Have a great cruise!

Hi c21jim, That is such a great idea to carry an anti-bacterial soapless hand cleaner. I always have a tiny bottle tucked in my pocket and a larger bottle in my cabin to refill it. I use it right after any activity that I cannot get to wash my hands and immediately before each meal. Cruise industry pundits always emphasize washing hands on the ships. If you thing about it, were sometimes touch handrails, elevator buttons, other hands, etc. People don't intend to pass on illnesses but sometimes it can't be helped. We have to take on preventive measures ourselves. Washing hands may not help prevent all illnesses but it can help prevent some of them. Nothing will help prevent food poison if you eat contaminated food. The vast majority of cruises go very smoothly, but the occasional outbreaks do make people worry. I hope all goes well on your cruise and the cruise line gives you the information you need to make a decision. Enjoy your cruise.

Hi elle, Were you writing about a surge protector power strip. I've never done it, but I have read on the board that some folks use the surge protector to plug in more than one device, like cell phone chargers, PDA chargers and the like. The Carnival ships usually only have one outlet near the desk. It helps to have the power strip if you have more than one device that needs to be charged or used at the same time. I recall that the Carnival ship did allow for a three prong plug, but you should bring a three prong adaptor just in case.

Hi Wkdwarrior98, Congratulations on your first cruise. After my first cruise I got hooked, so be careful. :grin: krisp pretty much summed everything up. I am relatively new to cruising myself. I didn't start until 2003. My second cruise was on the Carnival Fantasy to the Bahamas. I definitely did not pay anything to get off of the island. I just went back to the ship through the security area and showed my Sign and Sail card. Your additional costs on cruises can be as much or as little as you want. The extra things like the spa services, casino, alcoholic beverages, specialty coffees besides the expresso and cappucino offerred in the dining room, shore excursions, souvenirs, shipboard merchandise purchases, bingo, and specialty restaurants are all optional. Tips are an additional expense that are pre-charged to your submitted credit card if you sail on Carnival. I personally have found that the crew works so hard and are so attentive that I throw in a little extra in an envelop. But you have to judge additional tips for yourself and the type of service that you receive on your cruise. If your service is really horrendous, you can request to have the tip reduced. I have never heard of anyone doing that. Even my worse cabin steward was not so bad. He just didn't make the little towel animals. All of the waiters and assistant waiters were great. So you may or may not be inclined to give an additional tip. It's up to you. I find that I enjoy the cruise experience and don't have to do much of the optional events. There are so many free things as krisp mentioned. The free meals in the assigned dining room, snacks and meals on the Lido Deck, spectacular shows, tours of the galley, the gym, the small pool, and relaxing on the sun deck are enough for me. I do sometimes take a shore excursion if I'm not familiar with the area or a site has some historical significance to me, but that's a personal preference. If the ship does not dock in the downtown area I find out from the purser how much a cap costs to get downtown. I find the shopping tours a waste of money. Check out the ships newsletter which usally lists the activities for the next day. You may find a number of free things to do or you may want to indulge in some of the activities that require fees. On the ship, you are the lord or lady of the manor and you get to make the decision yourself contingent upon your means and your wishes. By all means enjoy yourself.

Hi dazed10521, I sailed the Carnival Fascination recently and I noticed smoking in the Beverly Hills Bar on the aft of the Promenade Deck of the ship. There must be an equivalent on the Ecstasy. I noticed the smoking because someone was smoking a cigar, unfortunately.

Have a great cruise Sewut51!

Thank you sailinglisa, Shari2, Lisa63, Keith & Rita, and Bibb, Now that's what I call a real history lesson. I really envy your experiences on the old ships. However, you have captured the period enough for me to live vicariously through your testimonies. Thanks for taking the time to share your memories of the grand dames of the sea. I was lol at Shari2's comment That would not do on today's ships. Food is so easy to find on cruise ships today. Passengers would starve to death if they couldn't eat for 15 minutes. :grin: I have to get to the Regal Empress. I think I'm going to copy your replies and read them over and over. Thanks loads!

Hi justcruisin, I'm not going on your cruise but I just wanted to reassure about the claustrophobia factor. I felt the same way about being squeezed into a small space before my first cruise and then I found out that even some of the small cruise liners are so huge that you have to give yourself enough time to get to the dining room on time. You sometimes have to make appointments to find your friends or have enough space to avoid some folks you might want to avoid, even though that is rare. Enjoy exploring the ship and have a great trip.

Enjoy your cruise Luv2Humor! INVU!

Hi krisp, I don't have much experience with the cruise line booking my flights. I can't afford it. However I booked a flight out of New York at 6:40 AM and arrived at Ft. Lauderdale baggage area a little after 10:00 PM. The shulttle actually started taking folks to the pier at approximately 11:15. We arrived at the pier in Miami at about 12:00. Embarkation went smoothly and we were on board at about 12:20. We went to the Lido Deck, washed our hands and had lunch because the staterooms were not ready until 1:00 PM. You can board before 1:00 PM on Carnival Cruise Lines. You just can't get to your stateroom before 1:00 PM. There are many comfortable areas on the ship while you are waiting. If you don't have too much carry on luggage, you can explore the ship. You can check out the location of your stateroom and its proximity to the dining rooom or other public areas you are interested in. I booked the early flight because I wanted to make sure a delay would not make me miss the ship. Now on the other hand, I booked a 3:30 PM Flight back to New York. I paid an extra $25 to change to an earlier flight because the shuttle got us to the airport for the return flight at approximately 11:00 AM. I booked the later flight in case the ship had engine trouble. You do have an advantage over me by booking your flight with the cruise line in that if your plane is late, the ship may wait for you or arrange to have you sent to the next port of call. I do understand your frustration though.

Thanks Dan and Bibb for your reply. Bibb, Your message was exactly the type of message I was looking for. I can just imagine what I must have been like to sail on the early oceanliners. My only chance to try an old timer is to try to catch the Regal Empress out of Ft. Lauderdale. I hope I can catch her before she retires. Wish me luck.

Thanks for the welcome back replies. I'm warming up already. You folks certainly know how to make someone feel welcome.

Hi DestinyinDec, Welcome back. The Destiny was my first cruise. I think I know exactly how you feel. I'm just back from a cruise on the Fascination. CruiseCrazies helps me get back into the swing of things. I look forward to seeing your review of the Destiny. The itinerary is slightly different than the cruise I took. We sailed into Martinique instead of Dominica. How was Dominica?

Hi CruiseCrazies, I have noticed that some of you have sailed on some of the older and smaller cruise liners. Can you write a little something about your experience on the older ships like the Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Regal Empress or any small ship with a similar configuration. How do those ships compare to the ships today? Are they easy to get around? Do they have an equivalent "Lido Deck.?" What are the staterooms and the lounges like? What about the dining room and the crew? I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to experience the thrill of boarding an older ship like the above so I must live it vicariously. I long to hear about or experience cruising the older ships. Does anyone know if an old ship is still in commission in the U.S.? Thanks

Hi Luv2Humor, I just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Fascination. I noticed that some passengers were allowed to disembark at 7:30 AM. The cruise line is usually aware of when your flight is and tries to get you off the ship on time. If you have doubts, see the pursers desk and they will give you special tags for your luggage for early debarkation. It also helps if you can take your luggage off yourself. If not, you'll have to look for your luggage in a designated area at the port. Enjoy your cruise.

Hi CruiseCrazies members, I'm back from a great Carnival Fascination cruise. I will be posting a review as soon as I get a chance. I can't say I'm glad to be back in a windy, snow covered city, but I'm glad to be back on line with you all. Look for my review.

Dear shari2, sailinglisa, gymbrat33, Keith & Rita, and rogue, Thank you for your good wishes. I hope to be out of cold New York in just a few hours. Pray that it doesn't snow too hard. I've got to get out of here. I'll let you know how things went.

Hey gogetter, May I recommend the Frog Pond for brunch. It's located at 16909 Gulf Blvd., North Redington Beach, FL 33708 Tel: 392-4117 (I'm sorry, I don't have the area code) North Redington Beach is north of St. Petersburg Beach. The Frog Pond makes excellent frittattas, large enough for two. Also check out downtown St. Petersburg. The city is really building it up. There is a moderately sized mall with a cinema and a Danny Marino's Restaurant. I mustn't forget the Dali Museum if you are into visual arts. I love St. Petersburg. I hope you will too.

Thank you GottaCruz and jtutak, Believe it or not this is my first time receiving a Bon Voyage message.

Hey elle, I wonder what whould happen to the 3 egg omelet so popular in New York. I'm a big guy. I would have to opt for the four or six egg omelet. :shocked: