Carnival Cruise Lines reports 2 people overboard in Australia

Now everyone who knows me knows that I'm not a fan of Carnival at all, but this really isn't something that can be blamed on them.  You can read the news story at ABC News for all of the details.

What I wanted to say here is that people falling overboard is really something that can plague any cruise line, but the reality is that it's' extremely difficult to go over the railings.  You have to be extremely drunk to be able to do it accidentally and even then you need to be goofing off pretty good.  I think, at least in my opinion, you really have to either want to go over or someone else has to want you to go over for someone to be overboard a ship.

We will see in the coming days/weeks what the security footage shows and see if these two either were victims of an awful crime, decided to take a suicide plunge together or were victims of a spectacular accident.  Regards of what the situation, unless a railing failed, this is one case where Carnival will get bad press that it didn't deserve.

About Jr

This blog was my idea after going on my most recent cruise and wanting to share that experience with others.  This far I have been on 17 different cruises, all listed below.  All but one of my cruises has been with Royal Caribbean and I am very loyal to Royal, achieving the status of Diamond member, nearing the Diamond Plus level.   My wife Denise and I have been on 7 cruises together since we started dating at the end of 2009.  I've even once cruised entirely by myself, so I have a completely unique perspective about that experience which I'll blog about at some point!

Cruise history:

3/30/1990 - The Big Red Boat - 3 night Bahamas
6/14/1998 - Enchantment of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
9/24/2006 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Western Caribbean
9/16/2007 - Mariner of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
1/17/2008 - Grandeur of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
10/9/2008 - Explorer of the Seas - 9 night Canada
11/27/2008 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
3/19/2009 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
7/17/2009 - Monarch of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas
10/22/2009 - Enchantment of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
9/24/2010 - Radiance of the Seas - 15 night Eastbound Panama Cana
11/11/2010 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
2/17/2011 - Navigator of the Seas - 4 night Western Caribbean
2/3/2012 - Monarch of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas
2/19/2012 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Western Caribbean
2/26/2012 - Freedom of the Seas - 7 night Eastern Caribbean
5/3/2013 - Enchantment of the Seas - 3 night Bahamas

Enchantment of the Seas - May 3, 2013 - 3 night Bahamas

This last weekend Denise and I went on a 3 day sailing to the Bahamas of Enchantment of the Seas and overall it was a very great experience.

The Good

• The Ship is in AMAZING shape, this was my third sailing on the Enchantment and it was probably the nicest the ship has been.  I went in 1998 (my first Royal Caribbean cruise) and again in October 2009.  I was not expecting much from the ship, but with the new revitalizations they just completed in December it's a much better experience.  Everything is new and upgraded to the best of their abilities.  Going on this I was expecting it to be like the old Monarch of the Seas which is no longer part of the Royal Caribbean fleet, and was very happily surprised to see that my assumptions were wrong.
• The customer service was outstanding.  We had a very minor issue where there was flooding from one of the adjoining rooms that was causing our carpet to be soaked.  We told the suite attendant just to let them know and hopefully get it dried up.  They went ahead and not only cleaned it up but offered us a 30% refund on the sailing in the form of a future cruise credit.  Since we were planning on booking two new sailings on board this was a great surprise and awesome treat for us!
• The Diamond Lounge is great!  I can't speak enough for how wonderful this addition has been to their line, it basically allowed me to drink for free each day (as long as I was willing to wait until 5pm to start drinking).  Not only that, but it provides a concierge option to those of us who have sailed a lot, but not enough to join the true concierge lounge left for Diamond Plus and the higher level suites.



Our beautiful and spacious balcony!

• We had a very spacious suite on the aft of the ship with an extra large balcony.  It really gave us a great view of where we'd been and as we backed in to port at Nassau it was fun to see how the ship maneuvered in to it's dock.
• We got a free bottle of champagne from our travel agent, it's a minor thing but it really adds a great touch to the trip.  We went through AAA travel agency this time and could not be happier with the services they provided and will definitely be using them again.
• This cruise left from Port Canaveral, that's always a plus since it's just more than an hour away from our house.  One of the things we look for when booking trips are that they leave from Canaveral and Tampa and with fewer and fewer sailings leaving from Tampa it seems like Canaveral is going to continue to be our preferred departure port.
• We were able to walk right off the ship thanks to our Diamond status.  The walk off line for Diamond members was almost 0 while the line for others was probably a good 100-200 people deep.  From when we left our cabin till we were off the ship and in our car was less than 10 minutes.  That kind of efficiency can't be beat
• The suite had an iPad there for use, it came loaded up with a lot of classic books and several movies and TV shows that were available for purchase.  It was a really nice and neat touch that we didn't take advantage of but definitely something that I could see being very useful.

The Bad

• Tendering at Coco Cay, I can't stand having to tender so I wouldn't have gotten off the ship even if I felt like laying on the beach all day.   I can't believe they haven't built a doc here for their ships like they have in Labadee
• The food was just not up to par, we didn't eat in the dining room at all, but I still expect more from Windjammer.  In the end most of my dinners were from the appetizers offered at the Diamond Lounge



Denise putting on a brave face when
she was feeling awful

• Denise was sick from the start, she was having stomach issues and just did not feel like being out and about on the ship.  This put a huge damper on our trip since it was supposed to be a trip for just the two of us it was hard to have fun while she was spending most of her time in bed with stomach pains.  That being said she did a great job of walking around Nassau with me and getting out from time to time, including some time in the casino.
• Parking at the port was a little pricey, $60 for a 3 night cruise.  We could have done off property parking and taken a shuttle but with how Denise was feeling we didn't want to risk that.  Still if this is the price we have to pay for them to upgrade the port for bigger (Oasis please) ships then I'll deal with it.

Overall Impression

I have to give this cruise very high marks, the ship was in great shape and the crew was very friendly and helpful throughout.  Despite Denise's sickness I had a really good time and enjoyed the weekend!  I definitely would go back on Enchantment for another quick weekend getaway out of Port Canaveral. 

Royal Caribbean current Diamond level coupon book

We didn't think that this coupon book has changed too much, if at all, since we last used it lsat February.  Here is a rundown of the items within the book as of May 2013:

• Buy one wine, beer or soda by the glass and get a second one free
• Purchase any glass of wine, beer or soda and receive a 20% discount
• One complimentary non-alcoholic speciality coffee drink with the purchase of dinner in a speciality restaurant
• 2 for 1 milkshakes at Johnny Rockets
• Get 10% off a Digital Photo package or a custom created PhotoBook
• Free any size photo of your choice from your existing printed photograph selection (cannot be a reprint or special request)
• 30 Free Internet Minutes
• 20% off any internet package purchase
• $2 per stateroom phone rate (75% discount)
• $10 off one $25 bag of laundry on Wash and Fold day (4+ night sailing only)
• $5 off any dry cleaning or pressing services of $25 or more
• Free Spin to Win (3)
• $5 Match Play casino certificate (3)
• Purchase any bingo package and receive one free strip of six jackpot bingo cards
• Spend $25 or more on Royal Caribbean logo products and receive a 15% discount
• 20% off custom framing on any Art on Royal purchase
• Spend $1,000 or more on fine jewelry and receive a 15% discount
• 10% off any temporary tattoo purchase
• 15% off your Pets at Sea package which includes a pet and outfit
• 15% off any tuxedo rental package
• 25% off the purchase of Royal Caribbean International's cookbook
• 20% off any one spa or salon service
• 15% off any one BRITTO Collectible
• Crown and Anchor society members enjoy 15% off their Bedding Collection purchase!

Welcome!

Welcome to our cruising family's little blog.  Here we will provide tips to those new to cruising as well as give reviews and updates on our own adventures.  I am Glenn and I've been on 17 cruises thus far, just getting off a ship earlier today for which I'll be posting a review later this evening.  While on that trip my wife Denise and I booked two new trips, one in December with our 1 year old and one in February to celebrate our 2 year anniversary.  We will try to keep updating this as much as possible with news and insight on our cruising experiences.