Hello Everyone,

 Just found this website, I've been mostly on Cruise Critic.  My husband and I are going on this cruise, our 1st on Carnival.  2 years ago we had our 1st cruise on RCL also out of Norfolk.   On the 18th it will be our 28th anniversary so that makes it even more special.  I had booked an inside cabin to start, then I upgraded us to a balcony.  It will be our 1st and my husband still doesn't know I did it.  He was away for 5 weeks and I mentioned I was thinking of checking the price on a balcony.  So I did and then I booked it.  He has never even asked about it.  Even better is when I went to make the final payment, I asked my TA on the Navy Base to check on any price drops.  He called back and said there was a $136 price drop but instead of that or on board credit they upgraded us.  So we were already in a balcony on Empress deck and now we're in an Aft balcony.  I still can't believe it.  So now my husband will really be surprised.  I've wanted to tell him a million times but I'm doing my best to keep the big secret.  See you all soon.

 Hi redsoxfan,

My husband and I are going on this cruise.I also booked an AFT balcony on the empress deck! I handle all the details of going on the cruise he has no idea where our cabin is so I hope he isn't disappointed.We are celebrating our 10th anniversary a month early. I work retail and our anniversary is the day after Thanksgiving [BLACK FRIDAY], so there is no vacation time taken. I guess I will see you on our balcony.This is our 2nd cruise with Carnival,first out of Norfolk. We live in Va.Beach so I am happy we don't have to fly.

Hi Laura,

Thats great that your in an AFT too.  I'll be the one in a Red Sox t shirt.  I can't wait to see what the cabin is like.  I was excited as it was just looking forward to a balcony.  It was an 8C,  midship on Empress.  This Aft cabin is bigger too.  I think it may be hard to ever try that inside cabin that my husband still thinks we have.  I know he'll love this though because he loves the ocean.  He really is just doing this cruise to make me happy, we have a 19 foot Bayliner and he is just happy out on his boat.  I prefer something much bigger with men bringing me frozen cocktails.  My husband just took 2 weeks off to fish and I came close to telling him about our cabin while we were out fishing by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  I was watching the wake from behind our boat thinking how cool its going to be watching from the back of our balcony. 

Its going to be hard to leave the room but I really want to spend time in the casino and seeing shows too.  Our first cruise we had an ocean view and the room was small and we hardly spent any time in there except to get ready and sleep.  This time I plan on getting room service every morning with coffee to enjoy on the balcony. 

 It is great to be so close to Norfolk.  We'll just have our son who is 20 drop us off like he did 2 years ago.  That is if he's not in boot camp.  He's waiting to go in the Navy.  I am hoping our house is still in one piece if he is still here when we go. 

 hello all getting closer to the day to set sail .3 weeks . yeah  i was readding on another board that there will be a holloween costume party . this should be fun .. we are off to see if we can find a costume that we like .. i told her i want to  be a slot machine ..lol 

see yall soon

Hey everyone, we are from VA Beach, My wife and I are going on this cruise without the kids (YEHAW), we are looking forward to it our firs time n a vacation by ourselves in 17 years so watch out for us.  looking forward toit and seeing everyone.  BTW Go Steelers

welcome aboard .. im am sure yall will have a great time .. yalll going to be all over the place .lol thats great .. only 19 days till the shipp pulls in ... 

My wife and I are extremely looking forward to this cruise! We've been married for six years and this is our first ever cruise.  We live in Radford and will heading to Norfolk saturday night. We're going to a football game Saturday afternoon and driving down that night.

We've never been to the Bahamas before. We've been looking at the snorkel excursions as well as some of the beach ones and were wondering if there were any recommendations or for any other excursions.

October 18 cannot get here soon enough!

 Only 2 weeks left!!!!!

Laura

Hey All,

 Can't believe we only have 2 weeks. I have looked everywhere but cannot find out what time to be at the pier.

Thanks a bunch,

 Terri

If I read my pack correctly, I believe the pier time starts at 2.

My Sister..best friend..and my daughter will also be on this cruise..we are from Mt.Olive..Lexington and Denton..NC...Just want to relax and of course have fun..12  more days but who counting

Hey everyone! I'm so excited I just got an email from Carnival with all the last minute pointers before our cruise sets sail!  I read a few posts up that there will be a Halloween party??? Are you sure, and how did you find out?  I read somewhere on these boards a while ago that there will only be Halloween costume parties if your ship is actually at sail on the 31st.  How do we find out for sure cuz I'm all for bringing my costume if this is true!!  Also, someone was asking about excursions.  My hubby and I are doing the Sea & See Tour and the Atlantis Beach Day the 2 days we are in Nassau (one on each day) and then the Dolphin Close Encounter in Freeport.  Anyone else doing these??  Ahhh I'm going crazy here, the waiting is killing me! See you all soon!

hello armywife .. yes we got our email from carnival and our pvp said she will be calling us next week to say have fun ..yes i read on another board that there will be a holloween costume party on our cruise .. im not sure if im allowed to post link here but i will and if some one says i cant ( opps ) heres link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1065425 it should be alot of fun  we already have our costume  laid out to pack .. 1st day in port we will walk around the shops and stop by seinour frogs for a drink or two lol we have done that every year we have gone .. 2nd day we will probly be going to black beards kay beach .. its a realy nice beach .. might rent a jet ski again :) .. our vacation starts on thursday at 11pm  yay.. and we will probly be at the bus area about 9:45am 

is hubby back yet .. ?  getting ready to have some fun :) see yall soon

oh yeah anyone else going to do the walk for the cure on the ship .. this will be our second year we will do it my sister inlaw is now 15 years cancer free :)

ok were is the guy with the drink .. :)

That's awesome! I read that thread from cruisecritic and that's gonna be so much fun! I'm gonna pack my costume either way just so I'm prepared. It's nothing elaborate so even if for some reason there aren't any Halloween festivities my outfit won't take up much room in my suitcase.  Anyone watch True Blood on HBO? My hubby and I are gonna be Sookie Stackhouse and Bill (or Eric since my hubby is 6'5" lol)  :-)  I can't believe we are down to 10 days!  My hubby is home from Iraq, but he isn't quite home here with me til a few days before we cruise. He had to go back to Alaska since that's where he's stationed.  I'm so ready for a much needed vacation!