What is travelcompete trying to hide? I tried to use them and they got real invasive! I've used both a TA and carnival.com and found both to be equally competent and helpful. A TA can help you find other options that the company will not tell you about. I love Carnival but that doesn't mean their people won't try to influence you with ...

Regarding people in tourist areas: I was visiting Amish country in Central PA with some friends and learned the Amish are not allowed to pose for pictures, however they can do nothing about being caught in a picture that you happen to take. Just don't expect them to hold still and smile for the camera. Not that I expect to see Amish in any ...

If you click on her name in the user ID section in the upper left of one of her posts, it should lead you to an e-mail link so you can write to her privately and directly.

Great thoughts Matt. And when she's ready, I'm sure we will have multiple chapters to read and they will be issued in due time. . I didn't hear of any icebergs or other mishaps at sea so I'm hoping that cruise 1 leads to cruise 2. Only 10 weeks to San Juan for me!

You can never trust a gate person or any other person not flying the plane!  One time in Atlanta  they announced a gate change and 200 people moved to the new gate and totally confusing the agent there. A dash across the concourse was now needed. Upon returning to the original gate, the agent denied making the announcement that 200 ...

When it comes to excursions, wait until the night before so you know the weather for the next day. I have NEVER been shut of an excursion waiting this long. I also like to change up the nature of the excursions, doing two hands on adventures like snorkeling, cave tubing, etc, one general island tour and one historic, as my breakdown on a four stop ...

The pricing game is fun to play but shouldn't make or break your decision to book with Carnival. Time and time again they win head to head competitions by giving you more port stops and better pricing. Their goal is to get every ship sailing full and it usuallly happens. When things are selling as well as they want, prices drop. They've ...

I'm taking the lack of news the last few days as a hopeful sign that they are having a great time and too busy to write as I would expect. Anyone who has time to keep in touch is not having enough fun! I was shocked at what happened but that subsided with further analysis. All that departure day heartbreak was totally avoidable. Who stops to ...

Hi Sandra, The spirt of this thread is first-time cruising though some of it's participants have ridiculously tried to raise it to some ridiculous level of sanctity. Thank God for sane people like me! While we wait, and we should wait until she gets back for Fina's report, I'll take a few moments to offer my thoughts on your ...

Leave it to your friendly part-time travel agent to give you information on the Spirit sailing for Dec. 29: Fun Select Choose your stateroom number (exact location). $899*  (inside) $999* (oceanview) $1,069* (Balcony) $1,649* (suite)  --> Fun Saver5 You pick stateroom type ...