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.

How Early to Fly in? Resort or Hotel?

My original plan was for us to fly in at least two days early, and stay at a swanky resort in southern Florida. However, I had difficulty finding one that checked all the boxes. Then I started looking at hotels in the area of South Beach. I quickly honed in on one that looked promising, Circa 39. It was built towards the end of the Art Deco period, and Miami is famous for its Art Deco buildings, and the décor looked bright, comfortable, but not too fussy-A perfect fit.

I kept looking of course, but in the end I have decided to stay with my original choice. While I think Marty will enjoy it, I must confess, this was really for me. The location is just outside Collins Ave, so near enough to South Beach to enjoy, but no so close that I can't get my beauty rest.

Turning 7 Days into 14, or Not

Last December I called my Personal Cruise Planner (PCP) at NCL to cancel a cruise I had booked months earlier on NCL's Epic sailing from Barcelona to Morocco, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and a port or two in Spain (One was Granada-so I could finally see the Alhambra), and finally back to Barcelona. I was cancelling because my husband had suffered a foot injury months earlier, and had not been working while nursing said injury, and there was a possibility of major surgery in his future. While, empathic to why I was cancelling, the PCP seemed loathed to let a booking disappear, and begged me to choose another, later cruise to transfer my booking to.

I had to admit I had become intrigued by reports of NCL's newest ship, that had just launched a month earlier, the Escape. I had heard the downsides of NCL; the ships were too big, with too many people, and way to many kids. So if I was going to book a cabin it would have to be a Haven Suite. Booking a Haven Suite gives one many perks. The first is a private area with pool just for Haven guests. Also their own restaurant, a butler to tend to your every whim, priority for dinner and show reservations, and in our case, because of the promo being run at the time; Unlimited Drink Package, Unlimited Specialty Dining, Pre-Paid Gratuities, and $300 On Board Credit. It appeared to be a good deal, and I thought this would be an "Extravaganza" sailing on two different ships, two different lines, but in both cases suites, so I could make a fairly good apples to apples comparison. So I transferred my booking to the week of December 10, 2016, giving us two weeks in the Caribbean, instead of one.

However, as the year went on I fretted about this decision. Marty wasn't thrilled about being away from work for two weeks, I hated leaving our five fur-babies for that long, The cost for a Haven Suite was not cheap, $6000+ for the two of us. I still had to pay the majority of our Carnival Cruise, which wasn't exactly loose change, and with the popularity of the Cabana Cabins I knew this could very well be our only chance to sail in a Havana Cabana cabin (As I write this they are booked solid until April 2018, with people checking daily to see when bookings for the sister ship to the Vista, the Horizon, opens so they can snatch one up on that ship).

Then during the summer I started reading reports on the web site Cruise Critic that had to do with new policies that had been implemented by the new CEO of NCL that quite frankly I thought deplorable. Granted, few affected me, but they did seem to have a negative impact on others that could only vent about them on the NCL Boards. After thinking about it for a week or so I came to the conclusion I didn't want to give my money to NCL, and I didn't think I would get $6000 worth of value for my $6000. I decided to cancel the NCL leg of the trip. That proved easier said than done. If you book with a PCP, you must cancel with that PCP. He was never available, and my messages went unanswered for weeks, until I finally got hold of him. At first he tried to talk me out of cancelling, I explained my position, he got snarky, I held firm, and finally he agreed to cancel my booking.

I got my deposit back a couple of weeks later, just in time to book a one week cruise Athens to Rome leaving in a month. I got a great deal, $699 for a deluxe balcony cabin (pp), and I definitely got my money's worth on that trip (That is a story to be told at a later date).

So Just one week instead of two, but it will be memorable.....I hope.

It Started When I was Surfing the Web.....

It was about two years ago, and I was doing an usual activity of mine before retiring for the night waiting for Marty, who takes much longer to get ready for bed than I, perusing the different cruise web sites looking for a good deal, or an idea for that next "dream vacation."

I was on Carnival web site and they were promoting their newest ship; the as of then, unbuilt, but newly named, Carnival Vista. As this point it was all conceptual drawings, but it did look like a nice ship. We had sailed on the Carnival Magic in March 2013, and had really enjoyed all the ship had to offer. I was sure that this ship would have everything the Magic had, and more. One thing really intrigued me; The Havana Cabana cabins. I loved the concept, a cluster of cabins on deck 5, with exclusive access to its own pool area, and the outside cabins and suites had, instead of balconies, patios with ocean views. The patios were enclosed with a low fence to give you some semblance of privacy, but there was a walkway where others, I presumed other Havana guests, could walk past the patio. These patios were much larger than standard balconies and had a chair with footstool, lounge chair, and a hammock swing chair. When Marty finally came to bed I showed it to him and he was mildly interested, and I checked the available dates for December 2016 (The ship would not launch until May 2016, and not start its Caribbean sailings until November). I quickly honed in on the fact there were only four suites in the Havana area, and two were already booked. That's when the seed was planted for this trip. I would make it first class all the way! Book a suite, fly to Miami First Class, have a limo pick us up to take us to the airport, and fly down a day or two early and stay at a fancy resort. Maybe even go down to Key West for a couple of days, AND keep all the details a surprise for Marty.

The first step was to book the cabin, which I immediately did, placing a 24-hour hold, until I could call the next morning and place a deposit.

Two years is a long time to wait, and it was far too early to book airfare or hotels, so I busied myself with planning other trips until I got to December 2015, when a new idea popped into my head, courtesy of a cancelled cruise on NCL's Epic.

The Countdown to Marty's 60th Birthday Extravaganza Begins!

Three weeks from today my husband Marty & I will board the Carnival Vista for a one week cruise in the Caribbean, Marty's favorite vacation spot. This cruise is to celebrate Marty's 60th birthday. It has become something of a tradition for us to celebrate his milestone birthday's by cruises, our anniversaries too. My birthdays, not so much, but that's another story. Anyway, I wanted this birthday to be celebrated in a big, BIG way, and I started planning it about 2-years ago.

Just a little background on his last two birthday cruises. The first was for his 49th birthday, and we celebrated it on our only Mexican Riviera cruise in January 2006. It was a great trip, at least from my perspective. Only our 3rd cruise at the time (We are veterans of  26 or so cruises as of todays date), it was the trip that made me fall in love with cruising. We sailed on the beautiful Sapphire Princess out of Long Beach, CA for a 7-day trip that included Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas.

The following year we did a true 14-day Caribbean Cruise on the Sea Princess. We actually didn't sail until April because Marty wanted to go as late in the season as possible to ensure it was warm (Our Mexico cruise had a few chilly days at sea). This was not one of my favorite cruises, but again that is a story for another time.

So for birthday #60 I asked Marty when would he like to sail, his actual birthday in January 2017, or the month before in December? You see, Marty is in commission sales, and January his store holds a big sale all month long and he makes the big money (So mama can book more cruises), but December tends to be a slow month, so a great time for us to go away. In fact we have cruised in December the last three years in a row, and 4 times all together since we began cruising in 2004. December, as long as you avoid Christmas/New Year sailings can be a great time to cruise. Fares are cheaper, and fewer children. Marty, super competitive and driven to be the #1 salesman in his company, which he is, picked December. So I looked around, and settled on the Carnival Vista sailing December 17-24. By picking this sailing I also got in our wedding anniversary (the 17th), and picked the 18th as the day we would officially celebrate his birthday on board.

I normally hate planning this far out, but there were good reasons that in this case, I had to start early. My plans have waxed and waned like the moon, at times my planning had spun out of control (Mostly financially), and other times I had despaired if it would be an "Extravaganza" at all. It will be a full-month before I know if I was successful, giving him the vacation of a lifetime in fun and memories, but hopefully he won't be disappointed.