Almost There!

Tonight is my last night at home before we fly out tomorrow for Miami (Via Ft. Lauderdale), and I'm almost at 100% ready. Still need to email last minute instructions to pet sitter, pack medicines, double check a few more items, and tomorrow make a brief appearance at work, and then its officially vacation.

So far so good. Our flight hasn't been cancelled, while it will be very cold and windy, at least no chance of rain and/or snow to muck up travel arrangements to the airport, or delay flight.  I still need to make arrangements for transportation from FLL to our hotel; taxi, or hired car? The hired car and driver seems a bit classier, but costs a few dollars more. Hummm, still need to mull that one over.

Cruise seems to be shaping up nicely. Rumor has it the IMAX theater will be showing "Rogue One" (Oh I hope so), we are taking part in a cabin crawl on Sunday, in fact I am hosting one of the stops, and the weather appears to be improving.

The Nightmare, or Why Do I Assume the Worse?

I really, really want this to be a great cruise. Its a milestone birthday for my husband (#60), he works really hard, and I think that sometimes he feels that with the exception of 2 or 3 vacations a year he doesn't have much of a life. Plus he has health issues galore. No sooner does one issue get fixed, then a new one pops up.

My original plan of limo to take us to airport, first class airfare to Miami, a great hotel, and the Havana Cabana Suite has been scaled back a bit. I am driving us to the airport (Logistics more than anything else), premium economy on Jet Blue (Thank goodness I got the bulkhead seats), a hotel that looks great, but is it? And we still have our suite, but will I like the ship?

My sources tell me we are sailing at FULL capacity; all third & fourth berths on the ship are full, and 900+ kids! That means long lines everywhere. Granted, the Havana Cabana area is capacity controlled, but I worry. I reserved the steakhouse for the first night and the Chefs Table back in March. What if our reservations were lost? What if the Thermal Suite is as crowded as I heard? What if it rains, rains, rains? (Weather forecasted is iffy, not too bad, but not great either).  

Normally I go with the flow. I've had rain on vacations before-still enjoyed myself. Dealt with crowds before too, but I want this trip to be PERFECT. And its not for me either, but for a selfless reason, maybe that's why I making myself a wreak.

Take a deep breath Laura. You can't control weather, crowds, etc. Its going to be fine, its going to be fine, its going to..........

Packing, and Other Tiresome Duties

My husband and I are like night and day when it comes packing. He would be packed a week or two ahead of time, and bring half his closet. Me? Morning of is just fine, and I NEVER bring enough clothes. For this trip I compromised. I started yesterday (Saturday) a week or so before we sail. By today I had my carryon packed minus medicine and electronics. I packed my husbands carryon, and I have his clothes out (For the big suitcase), and a few things of mine out, next to said suitcase, and a load of my clothes in the wash that just need a quick fresh-up wash. We are good to go....Almost. Husband thinks Thursday AM will find me running around stuffing a few last things in.

Update December 12th-Husband's clothes, the ones I am allowing him to take, are packed. Washing machine is swishing away with my clothes. Dryer before bed, and I pack my stuff tomorrow AM or night. Wednesday night or Thursday AM is toiletries' and Medicine, and then DONE!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

If there is ever a reason to be grateful to be going on a cruise, its when the temperature falls below freezing (For the high!), and just keeps going lower. It appears while we will be enjoying temperatures in the low 80's in Miami, and Caribbean breezes as soon as our ship sets sail the 17th, my neighbor's will be dealing with the dreaded "Wintery Mix"

I hate wintery mix; rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow. Usually its just enough to make driving an adventure, and not in a good way. I much rather have a foot of snow!

The day we leave promises to be sunny, but cold. I can deal with that. As long as nothing delays the flight I'm all good. Its that first weekend that looks so iffy. Glad the pet sitter lives so close, no worries that my fur-babies are in danger of not being fed & watered.

 

A Mild Rant-The Not So Sweet Suite Life on Carnival

While we have sailed on a number of cruise lines; Carnival, Princess, Holland America, NCL, Celebrity & Royal Caribbean, we have earned priority boarding on only one-Princess. All cruise lines offer loyalty rewards programs and a perk that costs the cruise lines nothing, but it a much treasured benefit to many, is priority boarding. It is nice to get on board early, especially if there is an excellent reasons to be among the first to board. For example on Princess, if you want a spot in the much coveted Sanctuary, you need to be among the first to board, especially in the Caribbean. On NCL, to score hard to get Vibe Passes (And adult only haven) one must be in an early boarding group. But it can take a long time to earn enough points to get to the top tier loyalty program. Princess? Its after your 15th cruise. Carnival, one needs to have sailed 75+ days to reach Platinum status.

However, if you haven't been on a large number of cruises one can usually score priority boarding by booking a suite. It stands to reason, you have paid extra, in some cases a lot extra for a little more real estate in your cabin, there should be some perks to go along with the high price tag. Priority boarding for suites is pretty much a given across cruise lines, but many lines offer other perks as well. Some offer a private dining room for breakfast, or maybe a special lounge with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon. Some may even provide a concierge to help with specialty dining reservations.

However, Carnival lags far, far behind in offering their suite guests anything more than a little extra space, and priority boarding. To add insult to injury, while offering priority boarding to suites (After Diamond/Platinum guests) suites do not get access to their staterooms until 1:30, along with everyone else-EXCEPT Diamond/Platinum and those that have shelled out an additional $40+ for FTTF, or Faster To The Fun. Yes, Carnival has figured out a way to make money by selling something that cost them nothing. No matter your loyalty status or cabin type, you can get priority boarding and access to your cabin right away by paying an additional $40+ (The actual amount depends on the length of the cruise). I paid about $1000 for our Havana Cabana Suite more then I would have for a Havana Cabana Cabin with a patio. Yes, I have a tiny bit more room (I looked at the photos, the size of the suite is about the same as a deluxe balcony on the Royal Princess), and the bathroom does boast a nice walk in shower and double sink, but its probably not worth the additional $$$$. I think we get one bag of laundry done for no additional cost, but then we are paying an additional $2.00 a day for the service charge, personally, I think that covers the laundry.

When I compare what Carnival offers to say NCL all I can do is sigh with wistfulness. NCL suites, admittedly much more expensive than Carnival's, include priority boarding, access to the exclusive Haven area, their own restaurant, a concierge to help them get into fully booked specialty restaurants, or shows, and a dedicated line at guest services. On Carnival, we don't even get that.

Okay, I am done with my rant. I knew going in I wasn't going to get exceptional value for our suite. It was mainly just to spoil my husband, and give him bragging rights of what the Best.Wife.Ever did for his birthday.

What to do Once On Board?

I have been reading reviews on cruise critic and facebook, watched videos on YouTube, and I feel like I have a pretty good idea of much of what the Carnival Vista has to offer. Besides the Havana area, where I suspect we will spend much of our time, some of my must do's include

• The Chefs Table-A special dining experience limited to just 14 participants. Have had my reservation booked for months

• The 555 Fahrenheit Steakhouse-The premium steakhouse on board. From what I have read, Carnival offers one of the best premium steakhouses' at sea. Reservations for the first night, which happens to be our anniversary.

• The Thermal Suite Spa-We both love Thermal Suites; heated stone loungers (More comfortable then they sound), special whirlpools, rains showers and steam rooms.

• The Red Frog Pub-Trivia games are held here, love trivia.

• The Library Bar-Haven't heard too much about this, but looks like a quiet place to enjoy a book, or play a game of chess. Marty will love that, if we can find a fellow chess player.

• IMAX theater-First run movies at sea!

• The Seafood Shack

• Guy's Burger Joint

And I am sure there is so much more. The countdown continues...............

Now What?

I really wanted this trip to be memorable for Marty, so it wasn't just about paying for a better experience, but I wanted us to do the things, such as snorkeling, that Marty loves. However, for months Marty has had terrible pain in his left shoulder. After several doctors visits and tests, its a torn rotator cuff. Surgery will wait until after the trip, but it means swimming is out. A few weeks ago Marty began having back spasms. Two doctor's visits later, still no relief. I guess the dune buggy ride in Grand Turk is looking iffy. Marty assures me he is fine with laying in the sun and just relaxing, and I'm sure he is.....But I'm not! Oh Lordy, but I am going to go out of my head with boredom. It wouldn't be so bad if Marty didn't have a fit every time I leave his sunbathing side and go to trivia or something. I burn super easy, Mary just gets a nice dark tan, I just can't spend an entire week in the sun, just "relaxing."

Thankfully, on such a large ship there should be plenty to do. I have gotten us passes to the Thermal Suite in the spa, Carnival has lots of trivia during the day, there are both an IMAX theater and a Thrill theater, plus the water park, putt-putt golf, ropes course, and a new thing called the sky ride. Lots of food choices, and of course there is always drinking.