Sunshine-n-Wine

After three cancelled cruises thanks to this thing called a pandemic, we booked a couple months out for a 4-day cruise on the Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral, Thursday - Monday.   Good price and easy for us to get to from central Florida.   We purchased the beverage package for this trip since we were planning to stay on the ship most of the time. Parking A very rare occasion, we parked at the port for easy in and out.   Usually we’d book off-site for about half the price, but I didn’t want to deal with a shuttle.   Turns out that the port wasn’t busy – at all! – and the parking was so easy!   Not a bit of traffic, plenty of parking, and a VERY short walk to the ship.   Definitely worth it this time.   We paid at the end of the trip at self-pay kiosk. Room We booked cabin 7347, because if we got quarantined for any reason, I wasn’t about to have an interior room.   Our cabin was a perfect location. Close to an elevator and stairwell, mi...

This will be a long one so feel free to skip to the stuff you care about most! We spent 8 days on Carnival's newest ship - the Vista - cruising from Miami. The Ship Inside Cabin 7309 As usual, we booked an interior on Carnival.  The major difference in the new ship layout is one few closet side and a few less drawers.  We still had plenty of space for our stuff - we typically don't take much more than we need.  No real issues with the cabin and location other than a very slow response time with the TV and flipping through options. The Food We ate in the steakhouse on the first night (Fahrenheit 555), which has been moved from one of the highest decks to Deck 5.  The layout of the restaurant was a little different than most other Carnival steakhouses, but it was still fine.  The food, as usual, was amazing and worth the upcharge. A+ 9oz filet from the steakhouse We ate at the Italian restaurant on the last night (Cucina del Capitano) and made the m...

Parking Used Park N Go near the Ft. Lauderdale airport and port.  We prepaid this time, and it was $69.77 for our 8-day cruise.  Again, super convenient, quick and friendly service. Ship Food - Delicious!  Everything was prepared correctly, and the food was great on this boat.  Loved the ceviche available at Fish N Chips.  My favorite breakfast was the huevos rancheros from the Blue Iguana grill.  Guy's Burgers were a little hit or miss, and we missed the Tandoor.  The chefs working the Taste Bar in the evenings were entertaining, and the food quite tasty. Service - Amazing!  Service was quick and friendly throughout the entire cruise - vastly different than our experience on Splendor last November. Entertainment and Things to Do - OK, not great.  Good variety of Dive In Movies, and the stage shows were alright.  If you are looking for a more vibrant atmosphere with more things to keep you busy, the Carnival Breeze is your best ...

We saw this cruise early and were intrigued by the really unique itinerary so we booked at a great price of $1000 for both of us including taxes and port fees for our inside room.  What was different for us about this particular sailing was the repositioning aspect of it - San Juan to Miami.  We flew into San Juan from Orlando on Southwest and rented a car from Miami back up to Orlando. Like the San Fran and Napa trip of 2012, I was in a boot for another stress fracture.  This put a pretty big damper on some of our plans.  I had really wanted to hike the rain forest in Puerto Rico, but that didn't happen this trip.  Guess we'll need to make another trip back when I'm not hobbling around:) Hotel in San Juan (2 days pre-cruise) The Renaissance La Concha in Condado.  We used the hubs' Marriott points and stayed two nights for a total of 60,000 points.  Very nice resort, good location, a couple of pools, and right on the beach.  Across from the h...

Booked this last minute as an Inside Guarantee, which was a first for us.  Usually we like to pick our inside room, but the price was significantly higher to do that.  Total cruise cost for both of us together was $807 for 8 days.  Not too shabby! Parking Park N Go (Ft. Lauderdale) - Reserved ahead of time at $6.99 per day, payable when leaving the lot. Free shuttle.  Service was fast and convenient.  Only thing that caught us off guard was having to leave the key with the attendant.  We also learned on the way out that there is a pre-pay option.  Would definitely do that next time. Room The inside guarantee paid off for us.  We ended up in 7441, the same location we would have booked ourselves.  To us, inside is great because we'd rather spend our money ashore.  Our ninja-like cabin steward was very attentive and friendly, and the AC worked just fine.  Since Lido is on 9 and the Promenade on 5, deck 7 was perfect. Ship Th...

This was a great Spring Break cruise out of Port Canaveral.  For the third time we used Park Port Canaveral at the Radisson.  As usual, it was much cheaper than parking at the port with great customer service and a quick shuttle.  $68 for a 7 night cruise. We booked Early Saver through Carnival directly last May, and we had 4 different price drops including an upgraded room before final payment.  If possible, we always book Early Saver.  For this trip, the hubs and I went with my coworker who stayed with us in our room.  She slept in a pullman bed, which was a bit of a climb up the ladder every night but tolerable.  The room did feel a little tight with three people, but the fare was much cheaper this way. The Ship On our 7 night cruise, there were two formal nights in the main dining room.  We selected Any Time Dining but never really had to wait for a table.  We were able to request the same waiter 6 out of 7 nights; one night it was...

I really wanted to take my mom on her first cruise, and I chose this 4-night out of Port Canaveral because I thought it would be a good place to start for her. Date: October 3rd - 7th Home Port: Port Canaveral Parking: Park Port Canaveral (at the Radisson) $7.95/day + tax (free shuttle) Price: $520 total incl taxes - Porthole cabin R23 Ports of Call: Nassau, Half Moon Cay (private island) Embarkation Day Recommend making a parking reservation at Park Port Canaveral . Easy, cheap, convenient, and quick. They have shuttles running pretty much non-stop and nice staff. Check-in and boarding was smooth and the fastest yet!  Food Your typical Carnival fare.  The Lido deck buffett area is small, but there are still enough choices to find something to eat.  I was surprised to find out that Elegant night was the evening as Nassau (port from 12-8).  Needless to say, dinner wasn't all that crowded. Dessert suggestion on Elegant night - order Che...

The Breeze ports in Miami and does several different itineries.  We chose an 8-day, which included Curacao, La Romana, Grand Turk, and Aruba. Parking in Miami Premier Cruise Parking ( premiercruisepark@bellsouth.net ), 1415 NE 2nd Ave. Parking Garage $8 per day, including tax.  Free shuttle to port.  The wait for the arrival of the shuttle at the parking garage going to port can be a little long, but it's worth it to us.  We've used this garage twice and will use it again.  I believe that it is better to prepay so you don't have to do it there. The Food The steakhouse is very much the same as any of the other Carnival steakhouses, but still very good. We also ate dinner in Cucina del Capitano - excellent food and service!  Highly recommend!  We also made use of Guy Fieri's Burgers several times - hello yumminess!  Tandoor Indian cuisine (aft pool location) and Blue Iguana burritos were also amazing.  We did not starve on this trip! ...

Had a great dinner in the Steakhouse on the first night as expected, and the service staff were amazing as usual throughout the entire cruise.  We went to four ports, but since I don't have much to say about Nassau, I'm not including it here. Here are a few tips about Valor: Cabin 6373 and the two on either side are right above where the band plays in the casino.  The room is super loud.  Be sure not to book near this area. Cabin 7440 is a corner room with a huge wrap-around deck just large enough for 20 or so people to hang out.  The Aft pool, Prometheus, is adults only and right next to the pizzaria. The Serenity deck is in the front of the boat and only has jacuzzis, no pool. Port Rundown: St. Thomas - Sapphire Beach Hopped a cab (JR AKA the "Road Runner" was our driver - he was great) and road out to Sapphire Beach - about 30 minutes or so.  Cost is $10pp one-way.  We took our snorkeling gear with us, rented a chaise ($7), and ordered...