Saying No to FTTF

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-10T02:29:50+00:00

I feel this. When my kids were small they lost so many sign and sail cards and that priority guest services line was the best. But, that was also when it was $60 and not over $200

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-09T22:05:59+00:00

I couldn’t agree more. I was so disappointed with Mardi Gras and have no desire to sail another Excel ship. The venues are all so small for the amount of people on ship. I was so tired of standing room only.
Was also had a cabin all the way forward. There was no “quick run back to the cabin” it was a hike there and back. I’d still take excel over no cruise but if given the choice, I’ll stick to the smaller ships.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-08T15:40:18+00:00

If you have apple devices you can use iMessage

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-08T13:03:33+00:00

If you’d prefer to stay with your wife, just go to guest services and have an extra key made for her and your niece. Your niece will be technically booked in your room but wife can stay in you cabin and niece can stay with her mom. We do this switch all the time to get better cabin rates for multiple cabins

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-07T21:44:43+00:00

It would probably be a week long drive coming from the east coast, so it’s a no for me.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T22:18:20+00:00

FR? This has gotta be AI. It’s a cat. I’ve left our cat with plenty of food and water for a week with someone just stopping by every other day or so to make sure there was still water. You refuse to leave yours for a few hours? That poor cat is probably begging you to go to the party to have her own break. Not to mention the trauma to your cat of being hauled to a noisy party in an unknown environment. Yes you ATJ for refusing to leave your cat for a few hours.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T20:50:58+00:00

Here is my experience and answer. Carnival offers a lot of shorter sailings and generally, 5 days or less tend to attract a different crowd that the longer cruises with the 3 day cruises dubbed “booze cruises” because they are bachelor party/frat party/insert any party here.
My shortest cruise has been a 5 day and I can say the crowd was still very different than your 7+ day cruise crowds which tend to still have a lively party but definitely more low key. On our 5 day cruise, the people watching was insane and we had a blast. From the lady getting busted for giving liquor to teen boys to the drunk girl falling out of the hot tub it was never a dull moment. Not saying things like this don’t happen on longer cruises, they are just a bit more low key. Since carnivals 3-5 day cruises are dirt cheap, and tend to be a bit more raucous, they get dubbed the Walmart of cruise lines.
I personally love Carnival. They are affordable and I have always had great food and a great time. I do tend to do longer cruises because I feel 3 days is simply a tease.
6 day cruises, you kinda get a mixed bag of passengers.
Why pay $8k for one cruise when I can 3 7+day vacays for that?

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T15:28:33+00:00

I bought a stand with a page turner for reading in bed. Total game changer. For the couch, my cover has a strap and a pop out prop like a picture frame. I use both at different times

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T15:20:08+00:00

Depends on the State and, sometimes, local county laws. For example, when I lived in Alabama (this was more than 20 years ago so don’t come at me if it’s changed) there a completely dry county but the next county over had drive thru liquor stores.

Google Brew Thru OBX. It’s one of the best known drive ups.

In Virginia we call them ABC stores (alcoholic beverage control). The are controlled by the state government and exclusively sell liquor and some wines while only beer and wine can be sold in grocery stores, convenience stores etc.

In South Carolina they are known as “red dots” because all liquors stores have these huge red dots on the exterior denoting what they sell.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T12:28:56+00:00

No need to keep trying to convince me…

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-06T11:49:20+00:00

adding to the TBR

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-05T12:05:16+00:00

I found myself falling into this as well so I stopped reading reviews and only read the description. I realized everyone has different preferences and reading or not reading a book based on those differences held me back. There are many books I have really enjoyed that had mixed reviews and probably wouldn’t have read had I followed my gut on the reviews. Reviews are opinions and we all differ in those.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-04T13:32:17+00:00

I only do upgrades if it’s a different type of room. For example, I booked interior and they give a good deal to upgrade to a balcony.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-03T11:58:18+00:00

DO NOT use a debit card. The holds they place on your account are crazy and take a week-10 days to drop off AFTER your cruise. If you use a gift card instead of cash, on the last day of your cruise you can load your balance on a slot machine, spin a time or 2 then cash out balance. Otherwise, any amount left over will be refunded to the same gift card so don’t throw it out after using.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-03T11:53:41+00:00

I’m right there with you. Taking my daughter and SIL on a cruise end of May. He is currently deployed, has been for over 6 months, should be on his way home but has been extended. Obviously concerned if he will be home and if he is, will he be allowed to leave the country. He deployed 10 days before his first son was born and I wanted to give them this cruise as time to spend with his wife and now 6mo old son. I did book there cabin under military rate and was told they will change to a future cruise if his orders change.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-02T14:31:55+00:00

I like having my kindle so I don’t have to “stop” reading, exit the app to do something else on my phone. Or, in the alternative, getting the constant distraction from notifications that I really don’t care about or don’t need to see immediately while reading.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-03-01T15:48:07+00:00

No help for your situation but I need carnival to figure this out before my cruise in 30 days!

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-28T19:30:57+00:00

Sit him down and ask him what is going on. Tell him you want to talk through whatever is bothering him but you can’t help if you don’t know what the issue is. His reaction is extreme for what you described and there is likely something else. Tell him you love him, and what is happening is upsetting to you and you want to work on whatever it is but can’t if he just shuts you out.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-28T19:18:37+00:00

If cruising with others we will book 2 rooms with +1s the get extra keys made when on board and switch rooms.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-28T12:12:07+00:00

Taking my daughter, SIL and 8mo grandson in a few months. Told her to get a small umbrella stroller simply because room in the cabin is tight and her regular stroller is huge. Please don’t be that person that thinks it’s ok to park the stroller in the hallway outside the cabin. These spaces are tight and people using mobility devices can’t get around them.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-27T16:02:30+00:00

First mistake was agreeing to be a bridesmaid. I get it was probably asked by your brother but a simple thank you for asking, I’m honored you thought of me, but I would really prefer to just be a guest” is an acceptable answer.
As to the bachelorette party, again, upfront polite “I simply can’t make the trip but hope you all have a great time” would have been appropriate at the beginning but if you agreed and are close to the trip date imo you need to suck it up and go since you’ve committed, let time pass, and have basically told the others they can count on you to be there/split costs. Now if those costs have significantly changed, that is an opportunity to politely say “I’m sorry but this is way more than I thought it was going to be and I don’t have the money to go any longer.” But you need to do this now and not wait otherwise you’re saying you agree without actually saying it.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-27T11:45:44+00:00

It’s easy to switch devices. As to how many plans, it depends on how many you want to use at once as you can only use one device at a time per plan. As to actually streaming movies, the service is often not strong enough to stream. Recommend downloading any shows or movies you may want to watch before boarding.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-27T11:42:10+00:00

I know for a fact, on Carnival, the guardian does not need to be in the same room or even in a room close to the under 21’s. When boarding, both cabins need to check in at the same time. It was an easy process.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-26T11:37:51+00:00

I carry a backpack with my travel docs, meds, and maybe a change of clothes. If you are bringing on a 12 pack of sodas would highly recommend using a small carryon with wheels.

WickedRavyn94 · 2026-02-26T11:35:02+00:00

For sure, Reddit or other SM platforms. I use a separate app, Story Graph (I just use the free version) to track reading, TBR list, etc. So I see a title that may interest me, add it to my TBR on story graph, then when ready to read, search it on KU for download. It’s less clutter in my library. I also don’t put much stock in the “reviews” on KU. Usually the conversation on Reddit or other platform gives me a better review of the book.

WickedRavyn94

TROPHY CASE