HeatherMcNally

I had the same problem with adding both of my cruises. Carnival Elation and Carnival Dream in September.. neither would add for me nor could i find them already added... shame ...

I definitely found the novelty of free room service a lovely treat! On our cruise last September, I was recovering from a very nasty infection that had me rather wiped out. Which meant I often needed to turn in for a nap or evening rest before the rest of us were ready. I loved that i didn't miss the "fun" cause i could order up a sandwhich, some cookies and lemonade and sit on my balcony watching the time float by and having a rejuvinating snooze.... While I dont anticipate a NEED for that sort of thing this year, I know I wouldn't have been happy to PAY for my snack time... I wouldn't have used it at all!

We've only been on the one cruise on the Carnival Conquest last September.. bitten by the bug big time though so doing two THIS September. We chose Anytime Dining for our cruise and enjoyed it. We were a group of 3 and it seemed we were always sat on our own even when we requested a sharing table except at breakfast.. Which we really enjoyed. I had never eaten with people I didn't know but it was fun to get to know people and see what they got up to onboard and on shore. Is there anything we're missing with early or late dining that I should consider for this year's cruises? We're on the Elation and Dream b2b. One thing i kinda liked was making sure we were there at the right time to see the dining staff sing to us lol... their welcome song the first night and the goodbye song at the end were really fun!

Thats actually MORE room than the cabin we booked on our first Cruise.. we had two single bunk beds a wetroom combo toilet shower thing and thats about it... def worth reading the small print on the cheap rooms LOL

I cant believe how much I'm looking forward to this trip... actually PINING for it to be September already!! We live in the southwest corner of the UK in Devon, England. The weather here is "temperate" ie... not cold enough to snow... not warm enough to buy an air conditioner.. and almost always.... wet... Spending a couple weeks in sub tropical splendor .. sigh.... dreams come true.

we're always givin the Euro Lotto a chance... last I checked i think it was somewhere around £450 Mil... x about 1.5 for US $$ I'd live to cruise for a little while i think with that sorta dosh!!

Thanks for the advice on the laundry.. i just might have to do that ... makes sense to just take a bit of time and get it done the night before we leave the ship. We wont be looking for anything expensive for that night between, just a bed and quick nibble in the morning before setting off again to the Port for the Dream. Any cheapish hotels nearby or with a free shuttle to the port ? And Sunluva... i'll check out what's available for Progresso.... we're trying to keep that week inexpensive but as its somewhere we haven't been yet.. might be worth doing something like the ruins. LOL Hubby probably would rather stay on the boat or find somewhere to go fishing ... He loves fishing .. and i'd love to find a way to get him fishing SOMEwhere on our two cruises... any suggestions? the excursions for deep sea fishing are pretty far out of our budget i'm afraid .. he's not lookin for trophies.. the experience of catching a few new fish would be great though and it would be a nice birthday surprise !

I've had an interior ( single bunk beds... ) and a Balcony.... LOL... Balcony wins hands down! i know the interior is cheaper and sometimes a really great deal but once I had a chance to stand out on my own balcony in the middle of the night in my nightie... listening to the breeze and sound of the sea ... then laying out in my own private quiet piece of heaven in the day.. well... LOL.. i was hooked! we also liked having that couch to sit on and relax a bit in the evening before turning in and a quiet space to sit and read on the balcony was lovely too. we're booked on the Carnival Elation in Sept, and will have a porthole type room ( though i'm thinking of seeing how much to upgrade slightly.. i dont think we can spring for the suite to have a balcony) and then the next week we have a Cloud 9 Spa Balcony room on the Carnival Dream. I'll see which is better then LOL

Thanks so much for the welcome! Jan you're right that the Belgium Christmas Cruise was rustic lol It was Very cheap though. £99 for an inside cabin. The bummer was that TONS of people got called from the £99 deal to upgrade free to a bigger better room, but unfortunately the phone number they had for us was my husbands Iphone which He lost 4 days before our trip.. DOH!!! that was a bummer to find out after we were on board lol Basically I needed a very different Christmas, my mom had just passed away in September and I was dreading the Christmas season without her. Even though we didn't talk much and I wasn't close enough that i'd be spending Christmas with her anyways, Still those firsts without your mom here are hard. So we booked this deal and I have to say I didn't think of anything but this brand new adventure I was having the entire time. I even played Bingo for the first time since I was in kindergarten .. lol yeah... really weird but i have a bit of a phobia of Bingo.... Got just a little sea sick on the last bit back from the really rough weather, but took a pill and had some breakfast and had a great day anyways. And Antwerp... omg! I had looked it up and it said that Christmas in Antwerp was generally spent at home with family... I figured the town would be quiet and that but NO! One of the Biggest Christmas markets in Europe was happening right on our doorstep... or the bottom of the plank as it were. We had a great two days there exploring and enjoying new foods and new culture, then hanging out in the clubs in the evening... just grand! LOL then i went on the Conquest this past September and had even MORE fun in the first few hours than I had the whole trip to Belgium, seeing as my sights were set pretty low, when i saw our balcony room and all the pretty decor and friendly people i was just floored LOL... easily pleased me

We actually have been to Conzumel last September on the Conquest. We did a great ATV jungle thing and had a great time. We will also be there the next week with the Dream so we might give it a miss for the first week. LOL knowing me we wont! On our cruise on the Conquest we didn't go ashore at Belize. I wasn't feeling well and slept most the day. Wasn't bad though i actually enjoyed the down time and felt much better for a rest. Yeah this time we'll be sailing out of New Orleans, its about an 8 hour drive from my dad's in Northern Arkansas so we hope to spend a week there with him before renting a car and driving down. What do we do... drive down overnight? or aim to get there the afternoon before and book a hotel somewhere? Also any suggestions on where to stay that night between the Elation and Dream? We'll need to do our laundry so we dont have dirty clothes for our second cruise but i'm told its just as inexpensive to do it ourselves onboard the Elation ?

What a cute idea... might have to think of something to take along... As my picture shows, I'm a fan of Ferrets. Maybe i'll find a Ferret to come along on our adventures this fall!

Hi Everyone, I'm new here and my husband and I have only been on a couple cruises so far. Being in the UK we did a Christmas Cruise to Antwerp Belgium that was fantastic and a Carnival Conquest Cruise this past September for my 40th, His 52nd and our 8th Anniversay ( all the same week in September) This year we are doing two! A 5 day cruise on the Carnival Elation was cheaper than spending a week in New Orleans so we're doing that. It stops in Progresso and Conzumel But we haven't planned any excursions yet and might not even get off the ship because!!! The Next week we will be going on the Carnival Dream for 7 Days lol Seeing as we already pay the airfare to get back to the States each year why not take advantage and have a lovely holiday for our special week!

I would love to be able to go on one of these luxury lines... Right now though, Carnival seems to be the only one to fit our budget and we have a brilliant time.

Hi! I'm Heather and I am new to cruising but definitely have the bug! I live in Devon, England with my husband and I intend to make cruising a part of our yearly holidays back to the States ( I'm american, just married a lovely Englishman) A couple years ago my husband treated me to a Christmas Cruise from SouthHampton Uk to Antwerp Belgium. It was Great! Depsite the fact that the boat was a glorified Ferry, and Despite that food was not included, and despite that we had bunk beds in an itty bitty interior room and despite the fact that most of the travelling part was done in gale force 8 winds ... I figured if i had a Fantastic time THERE... lol how much would I enjoy a cruise on a bigger ship with more options? So we booked a Cruise for my 40th birthday last September on the Carnival Conquest. My Birthday, His birthday and our 8th wedding Anniversary. I'm sure i dont have to tell you how much fun it was! By the time we got home I was ready to book again. So we booked the Carnival Dream for the same week This September. (great way to celebrate all our important days) I had intended to plan a week in New Orleans for the week before. By the time I crunched the numbers; car rental, hotel ( motel 8ish cheap), food.. not expensive but not McDonalds ...I hadn't even started on entertaining ourselves for a week. it was looking like £600 plus! So i had a sneaky peak at other cruises or something.. and LOL it was Cheaper to go on the Elation for 5 days Before our 7 day Cruise... Better Accommodation, better food, entertainment ... So it looks like I get Two Cruises this year lol I enjoy chatting about my new obsession and my friends here all barely indulge me ( i think they're all jealous lol) so i looked for somewhere online where i wont be seen as any crazier than the next person... well... maybe just a bit