well, in the fun category and the good news, I won three games of trivia, so got 3 solid 14K plastic ships on a stick !!!

And I won about $500 at the crap table. Couldn't win anywhere else, and they only had the table open a few hours each day, but I love to play so I was there every time I saw it open. A couple of times I walked up to an empty table and starting rolling and before we knew it, the table was full. That gets a bit heady, but makes for a lot of fun.

Also, enjoyed people watching up on Lido deck, just laid back in the shade and watched how many different kinds of people were on board. I guess I had looked at the Carvival pics too much and expected all to have beautiful tanned sleek bodies except ME !!! NOT ! ! !

And another thrill was seeing the Navy Seals running on the beach on Coronado Island... EYE CANDY !!!! At least I think they were SEALS, I didn't really care at the time, just enjoyed those hard sweaty bodies running past us in the sand... we bad girls... lol

And I met a lovely young woman and her husband while waiting for my hair appointment. He is in the Marines and had just returned from his second tour in Afghanistan. He had planned this cruise as a surprise birthday present for his wife. Two lovely people and their two very well-behaved sons. Now that was a treat ! We saw each other several times and never did I see those children run or scream or push. They played hard, but also minded their parents. Great job done by their Mom and Dad.

So, yes there were many good moments. But mostly to have 7 uninterrupted morning coffees with my brother and sister. That was the real treat... we don't get that often at all.

Awww, those good times make me so happy to hear!!! I still feel awful about your experience and hope that soon we'll hear a good review from you on another cruise.

My daughter won a medal in the Game Show which was pretty fun. She was sooooooooo proud of that medal! Then I started to covet that darn ship on a stick, I wanted one SO BAD! But never came close. On the last day though my son won one on the Club O2 Amazing Race. We have it sitting in our Living Room window now because we are dorks like that.

Just wanted to check in quickly and say hello! I am trying to get things caught up at work and at home. So much laundry...so little time! I can't believe the journey is almost over...I could have never imagined that way back in March when I made my first little post that I would finally be 15 days from leaving for our first family cruise. And wonderful A'ndrea....from her first reply - she had me HOOKED! Thanks A'ndrea for all the wonderful replies and someday YOU REALLY DO have to write that travel guide! The next two weeks are so crammed I am hoping to not forget anything. Will have to go back through this thread at some point and copy down those lists we made!

Brenda - I am glad you made the best of things and I am hoping the weather clears up some in the next two weeks. It appears to be mostly rainy this month! We'll see how it goes! Thanks for the review...scared me a little... but I'll get over it!

Well I better get back to work...will check back in with you all soon!
Michele

Michele,
I'm sure you will post before you leave. I will wish you a proper "bon voyage" then. In the meantime, don't be nervous. Fortunately, Brenda's turn of events aren't common. You should be fine. Please plan on posting your photos when you get back.

P.S. Give the sea lions a wave from me in Cabo!

A'ndrea

Oh, Machelle, don't let what happened with us scare you... the odds of it happening again this year are slim to none.

And, in retrospect, and after a few days of rest and retelling and looking at pics, I wouldn't take anything for our cruise.

On the good side, we have such stories to tell !

All of the rest of you just get the same ole cruise down the Mexican Riviera ! We got a whole different thing, and without even asking !
lol
That's the attitude we are putting in our minds as we plan our next cruise !

You will love the ship, the crew, the water and you will have to send me lots of pics of the ports we didn't see. OK?

Have a great cruise and make a lot of memories, as we did.. The memories we made and the time we had together could not have been ONE little bit better no matter where we were !! !

I do so apologize to all my friends here for my gloomy attitude earlier in the week... but we are soooo over it and now will be looking forward to the beautiful sites in Alaska. Hope to have that booked soon !

brenda

Brenda, you were really dealt an awful card on your cruise, you had every right to feel disappointed that it wasn't all you expected, and have nothing to apologize for. Your attitude just amazes me, you're a really exceptional person to turn it all around like you did. We see so many horrible reviews on cruise boards that blame the cruise ship for everything (when really it's uncontrollable Mother Nature or their own sorry attitudes to blame) and it's great to hear you recommend the ship even though your trip wasn't all that you had hoped.

And now on to Michelle! YAYYYY! I'm glad there's another in line! I CANNOT WAIT to hear your review!!! Don't forget Afternoon Tea!

My cruise is in January but on the Spirit - I suppose this thread still applies, right? And then I can (hopefully) tell ya'll how wonderful the Spirit is. (Of course, Brenda won't care because it ships out of San Diego, haha, but I'll forgive her for disliking us Californians ) We'll be traveling to Acapulco, Manzanillo and Ixtapa/Zihuatinejo.

But first... Michelle!!!!

oh, don't misunderstand, I don't dislike Californians as much as California...

Just not my cup of tea... especially the Southern coastal towns... you see I am not a palm tree fan at all, just a telephone pole with a little poof on top.

My husband was born is California, he still has family there and I have a neice and nephew living in Malibu... I have met a lot of really nice people from California.

It's just mostly the bigger cities, like LA, that do not appeal to me. Of course, our nearest town of any size is only 150K and it's too big for me... I like my little lake community and it's closeness...

But that's just us.

Now on to Michelle, I really look forward to seeing her Pride pull into the terminal on the webcam and then hearing all about her adventure upon her return.

Living cruise vicariously through others is nearly as exciting as going yourself... nearly...


love to all of you who have so patiently listened to my rants and allowed me to vent it all out and get to a better place.

brenda

oh, and one more thing before I forget, because I don't hear it mentioned here a lot.

THE SHOWERS ARE WONDERFUL !

Ya know, everyone mentioned the lightweight shower curtains, but that's no problem with the chip clip on it.

But those shower heads and knobs are great. Set the temp one time and never have to adjust it again, unless someone else in your cabin likes it a different temp.

We loved them !

Since I couldn't bring my cabin steward Maroot home with me, the shower control would have been my second choice !

My the simple things in life...... how we appreciate them..

Brenda,
I agree. Those hot, hot showers and that water pressure would be an absolute dream at home.

A'ndrea

I agree, those showers were tops on my list of favorite things about the ship!

OMG I am getting sooooo nervous. The house is in such disarray and EVERYTHING still needs to be done. Mark and I spent most of the weekend at church at a Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar/conference. Ladies (and yes you too Terry if you are still checking in here) would love this! We spent Friday night and Saturday morning just laughing our heads off. The "seminar" was absolutely hilarious. It's not a workbook kindof thing...it's just a sit back and laugh kind of thing. It was awesome. Mark even cleaned the bathroom and picked up the dirty dishes over the weekend! Dang....that was worth it to me!

Anyway...13 days and I am literally loosing it! Next weekend will be slammed. I haven't started much of anything. My main goal this week is to get all the laundry done so I can figure out what to pack! Yikes!

I am trying to take one day at a time right now. We are sooo busy...without trying to fit in all the stuff for the cruise. Wow - I can't believe it's almost here. Thank you sooooo much for all the wonderful support here....

Will check back later - need to finish out my day!

Michele take a deep breath and take one task at a time.Not sure a seminar like that would work for me.Lynda is pretty much looking after all our cruise stuff as I am so busy at work right now I have to work 6 days a week and would work the 7th too if we didn't have laws stating that we can't.
Just think in 2 weeks we will be on the ship enjoying the sun and all the stress right now will not matter.
Take care
Terry

Thanks Terry - I am trying to take things one moment at a time. It just feels as if there's not enough money to take...not enough clothes to pack...is the dress formal "enough" (don't want ya'll bashing on me-of course jeans won't be worn so there's one point for me!!!)...who's going to feed the fish and bird while we're gone (I guess the bird could just eat the fish and viola...problem solved!)

The lady that was going to watch our Golden Ret. can't now due to her dog having "issues" with another dog - so we don't want to leave our dog there and take the chance of something happening. So now we will have to kennel her. Wow...that's expesive for 2 weeks! More funds being taken out of the cruise fund!

Ok...I'm done venting! That Drink of the Day better be Good & Cold when we get there!!!!

The marriage thing was so FUNNY - just could to get a night out and laugh for awhile!!!

I think we will start a new goal....we're going to see how "little" our Sail & Sign Account can be at the end of the cruise. We'll see how much we can actually get for free - oh yea...I just remembered the drinks aren't free. There goes that idea!

make sure you get to the Captain's reception early and stay late, the drinks are free there... they are small but they come around often with them.... it's a good start...

Enjoy and don't worry too much...

And don't do what I did, don't pack too much.. the laundry is there and NOT too expensive, or the steward will do it for you, but to save a few $$, it's just a little walk down the hall.

Relax, take a deep breath, and don't feed the fish to the bird !

brenda

I sure have been praying ALOT lately! And at least one of them have been answered. The kennel was just going to be so darn expensive I couldn't figure out how we were going to swing it...and last night Mark's brother said he would stay at our house and take care of the dog, cat, bird & fish...oh yea and the house while we are gone. WOW!!!! Such a weight was lifted! And I got two more loads of laudry and one more load of dishes done. We accomplished ALOT last night!!!! I know you all are thinking "how much laundry can one family have!" It's been neglected for awhile!!! But at least now it's done and I can finally start the packing! Yea it's packing time...it's packing time!!!

One moment at a time! I just have to stick to the list and get my things done!

Brenda - I will definitely drag Mark to the Captains Party. Now is this a party I need to leave the kids in the room for? Wasn't sure.

i don't really remember any kids being there. Sort of like a fancy reception line and then sitting in the Taj Mahal with the cruise director introducing the captain and crew while the wait staff passes out the drinks and food... it's nice, it's on the Captain (only cocktails on board you won't pay for.) and a nice prelude to formal night. They make a video of those entering the room and greeting the captain, this is shown on the in cabin TV and I think is available on DVD.

But I don't know about the kids, while they may be allowed, it's probably not something that would entertain them.

OH, and there was on stage dancing we joined in .... first time ever for my DH and DBIL to get up on stage and waltz with us for the cameras. It was nice.

See, my attitude and memories are mellowing as the days go by, and I am remembering only the good things......

Now ready to book another.

Have a great trip and remember us as you enjoy that wonderful ship.... I wonder if everyone who sails on a ship starts to think of that ship as "their" ship... we all keep calling the Pride "our ship".....

Michelle, the harder you work before you go, the more fun you will have when you get there. A wonderful week of relaxation! I'm SO glad you found someone to take care of the animals - I felt very lucky to have a trustworthy friend of my kids' who took care of ours.

Just don't stress out too much beforehand, you just need to have some clothes with you, and your documents. You can live without anything else you forget. I'm so excited for you!!! And now I'm getting excited for my next one!!!

Well we leave for SoCal in 4 DAYS!!!! I am getting soooo excited. Really looking forward to EVERYTHING! Good to know about them showing the Captains Party on the tv....the kids can watch out for us while they are waiting. I figured it would be more of an adult only thing!

Brenda - The weather is also looking a bit bleak for us too. Don't see any hurricanes lurking yet but the 60%-70% showers puts a tear in my eye! But I just looking on the bright side...we'll just have more time on the ship! We'll figure it all out. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen! Nothing we can do about it!

Cynthia - I AM so glad the house got cleaned before we are going....there is nothing like coming home to clean house. I have worked hard to get all the clothes,dishes, house done before we left...so we can enjoy the rest of the vacation when we get back. One less thing to do!!!

I do have one more question that I didn't think about...there are showers in the rooms...no bathtubs, correct? Should I bring one of those little blow up pools to place in the bottom of the shower so the little one can take a sort of "bath". He's never done showers?

DIANNNNNA - if you are out there...email me your phone number. I will call you so we can do lunch when I get back!

A blow up bath, hmmmm... I'm not sure one will fit. Unless you have a suite there will not be a bath, but the showers and the bathroom floor are not large. They aren't as tiny as I had expected though. The shower head is hand held, maybe you can help them with it? There is also a drain in the bathroom floor to deal with any splashes.

I agree about not knowing if a blow up bath would fit. Although, the shower stalls are roomy, for a cabin, as I NOT a small size and I had no problems with space. The shower heads are great, and it might be fun for the little one to take their first shower on a cruise. Take the shower head down and let them have fun, the floors have a drain, so messes are easily drained away.

As for the weather, I hope that it turns out OK... no high seas or bad bad rain. I watched the Weather Channel online for weeks before our cruise, and the temps did drop nicely when those showers went through, but bad rain would NOT be fun.

Our main lesson learned was "have a great time" and make the best of whatever is dealt you. After, all you will be on a cruise and that cannot be all bad.

I will be watching and hoping for good seas, good weather and a wonderful trip for you and yours.

BON VOYAGE...

Brenda