TheSkipper

I think Celebrity is your best answer. We have cruised on all these lines many, many times. On formal night try alternative dining to avoid the formalwear thing if you wish. Less kids on Celebrity and even less if you are sailing from San Juan due to the airfares. Princess is a very, very close second, IMHO. But, Celebrity seems to have just a bit more "class." :wink:

Shari2, Go ahead and do it! I'll take the formal night pictures when we are all aboard the Infinity in December. :shocked:

We have found that using a spare bedroom closet for my tux stuff and shirts that I pretty much only wear for cruising helps a lot. Also, a couple weeks prior to the cruise we begin to stack things on the bed in that room, so when time gets short packing is a breeze. Suitcases are never closed until about 30 minutes prior to the limo arrival to take us to the airport. But Keith and Rita are right, anticipation is a large part of the fun of cruising. I am now planning our shore excursions for our Mexican Riveria cruise in September. Only been to all these ports a dozen or more times, but always look forward to doing something different. :grin:

It can and should be done! We have made the mistake a couple of times of not swapping when we really should have! Now, I would never hesitate to ask for a change. We have paid a bunch for a great vacation on board and it should not be spoiled by the tablemates from H....

Way back when we first started cruising (over 20 years ago) we even paid brochure prices for a cruise!! Hard to believe with all of todays discounting. :wink:

Lisa, The Captain of the Sun Princess during our April cruise was Alan Leonard Wilson. A very engaging Scot. :wink:

Tomorrow would be good, or if I hussle I can get to LA today to board. :wink:

Rogue, Worse than the napkin thing is the bill at the end of the meal!! It's only been about six weeks since our last cruise and I'm already getting anxious for our next one on Sept. 5th. :cool:

If my memory is correct, I'm now on my 3rd Tux. Started cruising over 20 years ago and bought my first tux for our very first cruise. Have had double breasted and single breasted models and I too own a white dinner jacket and lots of cumberbun sets for accents. Also have two pair of formal shoes. You will find it well worth the investment. After 41 cruises mine have more than paid for themselves. It is great not to have to decide which suit to take on a cruise. I'm sure your husband will ejoy the look and feel of his new tux.

What a bummer! Had to cause havok with folks air reservations. We were once held up outside of Tampa Bay for hours, docking at around 3 PM. What a zoo with everyone from five ships arriving at the same time! Not to mention all the folks waiting to board these ships. Getting a cab was near impossible and everyone missed their flights. We spent an unplanned night in Tampa and left at dawn the next day for Las Vegas. I am sure Bayonne will get their act together soon or RCI will say so long! In any case Welcome Home and will be looking forward to your review. We are heading out in September on the Legend and it has been a few years since we have been aboard an RCI ship. :cool:

Like NIKE says "Just Do It!" We have done it many times and have always enjoyed it. We are returning to the MR on September 5th aboard the Legend of the Seas (RCI). Sailing out of San Diego. Have sailed this area with both RCI and Carnival and feel RCI is a cut above, but these things are always subjective. :wink:

During a talk to the passengers the Captain said "I beleive in the ABC...XYZ system of publice speaking. ABC - Always Be Calm and XYZ, eXamine Your Zipper!! :grin:

Puerto Rico

I would have to also go with Venice, Italy. Did this port while aboard the Silver Wind. Back in the "real world", I think I'd have to vote for St. Thomas which we love. Received Christmas Cards from four Jewelers on the island, so I guess we are on the "A List". I traditionaly wake up Roe upon arrival in St. Thomas with - "Wake up it's Christmas!"

Well Jason, I guess Roe and I will do our best to keep up the average in December. We will cruising roundtrip from San Diego aboard the Infinity. This will be our first cruise to Hawaii, in the past we have simply flown over.

For most first time cruisers, the first thing that happens upon arrival at the stateroom is they open the door and have a religious experience. They say "Oh my God!"

I have taken tons of video on cruises over the years and we do go back and look at them to get in the mood for a cruise. I have used everything from a very large professional type camera (the one used be CNN during the Gulf War) to the very small ones. I think for the average cruiser, smaller is better (yes, size does matter!). If I were going to buy another video camera today, I think I would opt for one of the new ones which records directly to DVD's and forget tape all together! Tapes do age, they can break or the cassesetes can and do fail and most folks now have a DVD player. If your computer has a DVD burner, you can still edit your movies. These cameras are not the smallest on the market, but they are quite small and you will have no problem holding a tiny one steady for night shots as mentioned and the controls are not too small for large hands. Just my thought while strolling. I too have a viewcam, problem with it is that in bright sunlight you can't see anything on the screen and it has no optical viewfinder!! I also have a Nikon and a Sony Procam. The larger ones are less likely to go ashore with you because they become a bother! Don't know if this helps, but these are some things you might want to consider. One last thought, go ahead and buy your new camera at home, no REAL deals in the islands and in fact the major stores will admit that they sell pretty much at US retail; however, they usually throw in little extras to make the package more attractive and you do save sales tax, but the saving are not worth no having the camera at the beginning of your cruise. (I have bought a couple of still cameras in the islands, not because they were just such great prices, but because I wanted them NOW! I think

Hi Tamara, Did you ask the folks at HAL to check with your cabin stewart/stewartess?? He may have set it aside to turn in, but has not yet got around to it. Over the years, I have found Cruise Staff very good about turning in lost items, no matter what they were.

Kristy, Just a little food for thought. If you book on your own after you disembark with a cab driver you will be paying in cash. On a ship's excrusion it is charged to your onboard account. Cozumel is a very easy walking town unless you want o go to the Mayan Ruins.

St. Martin??

Thanks Jason. I entered, even though we have a RCL cruise already booked for Sept.!! :wink:

The pic was taken from Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbor. Probably the most visited point on the Island. :wink:

Pammie, Your post reminded that we have sailed aboard the Zenith three time including her Inagural Voyage! Twice to the Caribbean and once to Bermuda. Gotta check my cruise log more often!! :undecided:

Good Job April.. Antiqua it is!! Now for fun, where on Antiqua?? :rolleyes:

No, No and No so far. Lisa you are correct, it is way too big. Don't know if Jason can scale it down or not. I think I was shooting at 1200 x 1800, if I recal correctly. Keep the guesses coming. :wink: