CRUISE UPDATE- WEDNESDAY

Ok folks we've now got 13 cabins booked.  We're still waiting on 1-2 more.  Anyone else want to join us?  You've only got TODAY and FRIDAY to book.  Rubin is off on Thursday and I'm not sure if the whole office is closed on Thursday or if he's just off so don't chance it.  The more people that book with our group, the more onboard ship $$ we get.

Clay and I got our passports in the mail yesterday.  We applied Jan 22 so they took a little over 3 weeks to process but the guy told us that in the summer it will take a lot longer because more people travel then so don't wait too long.

Confirmed Cruise Guests/Rooms 

Alissa and Bryan-ocean view( Riviera)
Becky H and Mari P-oceanview (Main)
Gaye and Steve-balcony (Main)
Gina L and Bill-oceanview (Main)
Gina R and Richard-balcony (Main)
Jodie and King-balcony (Main)
Kim Grimes, Kristie and Christopher-inside (Riviera)
Lynne/Vivian/Sandy-oceanview (Riviera)
Paige and hubby-balcony (Main)
Phyllis and Amanda-inside (Riviera)
Que and Tom-oceanview (Main)
Sherry and John-oceanview (Main)
Steph and Clay-Balcony (Main)

Phyllis makes #12!!!!!  OUR NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING...

I need to get my passport. Any tips for first-time cruisers?

Lynne, I guess you didn't bookmark the whole "How to get a passport" thread I did a few weeks ago?  Silly girl.  Google passports and go to the US govt site and it will have the forms you need.  I had my pictures taken at Walmart but CVS and Walgreens do it to.

Okay I wasn't specific. I know how to get a passport, already have the form mostly filled out.

What I was asking - anything first-time cruisers should know about the cruise? Anything I should be planning for? How do you find out about the shore excursions and how much they cost? I have to save up money to play with. I've been all over the cruise line website and can't find out these questions.

Here's the link to shore excursions:http://www.carnival.com/Itinerary.aspx?embkCode=GAL&itinCode=GLC&durDays=5&shipCode=EC&subRegionCode=CW&sailDate=9/27/2010&sailingID=54034.  (It's on the page with the itinerary for our cruise.)  A lot of times you can find a "local" to take you wherever you want to go cheaper than the Carnival Excursions, it just depends on what you want to do.  If you just want to go to a nice beach, catch a cab in port and have the driver take you there.  If you want to swim with the dolphins, then go with a Carnival sanctioned excursion.  Don't forget, there's a csino onboard so if your're a gambler, you might want to plan for that too.

Go to FAQ under Carnival and it should pretty much answer any other questions you have.  But if you have a specific question that's not covered, I'll be happy to try and help.

Thanks - exactly what I wanted!

Hey Steph...I know I can't go...  :-(    but, as a reminder learning this from a cruise I took about four years ago - if you opt for the Carnival planned excursions and something happens like they are late getting back, then no worries, they have to wait.  If you do your own thing with a local which probably is cheaper, but they get lost or you lose track of time and are late, the ship goes bye-bye without you!  When I went with the whole family and my sister, Paul took my two older girls off to do a "swim with dolphins" thing.  Sarah was too little to do it so I didn't think it was fair to make her go and watch her sisters do it so my sister and I hung out with her all afternoon while the other three did the excursion.  Something happened to delay that entire group almost 45 minutes so because it was a Carnival planned excursion, the boat had to stay there and wait.  Of course the minute that boat brought back all the excursion people, OMG, the captain kicked it into gear and took off.  Heard these cruise places have to pay something ridiculous like $1000 a MINUTE for each minute they are late backing away from the dock.  Now, had it been some local guy's excursion, guess those cruisers would have been flying to the next port to catch up!!! 

Now...you all go have fun...I'll be here....

Thanks Jill, I didn't know that.  Last time we cruised, we talked to some of the crew and asked them for suggestions and we actually shared a cab with them and went to a beach they like to go to.  We made sure we caught a cab back with plenty of time to spare.  I definately wouldn't do it if I wanted to go see the ruins or travel a long way away but to just go into town or to a local beach it's easy and cheaper to do yourselves.

Yep, agree completely.  My sister and I took Sarah into the shopping area just right there by the port.  We could practically see the ship the entire time but she was only five at the time and got tired REAL fast of walking.  We had a cab take us to the far end of the shopping strip area, then just walked along the loooong corridor of shops, then back onto the ship once she started whining.  Paul and I went on one other cruise - our honeymoon, and did our own excursion with a couple at our table.  Paul wanted to parasail.  OMG, what a nightmare.  The second he took off running on the beach and HOPING the wind would take him, the winds died down and he never got up.  The parasail filled with water but the boat kept pulling, I guess hoping he'd get up.  I swear he almost drowned.  He probably would have had it not been for the life vest they put on him.  Anyway, what was supposed to be a quicky little parasail trip turned into a much longer event so by the time we caught what seemed like a ramped up golf cart to zip us through town, we got to dock right when they sounded the horn.  We got on board and within 10 minutes they left.  That was WAY too close for comfort!!!