That Time I Got Married... Again...

You may recall from a previous post that I selected "Leap Day" for my wedding anniversary date, but got married on a non-leap year. With those decisions, Husband and I booked a vow renewal on the Carnival Pride for Leap Day 2020, at which time our anniversary date would officially not be March 1 and would instead be Feb 29. 

Unlike this post, we were very fortunate to not have our renewal canceled by COVID (my heart goes out to everyone who did in 2020)...

That Time I Tried Traditional Cruise Dining...

Guest column: Carnival's Assigned Dining

Assigned dining is how cruises and resorts have been serving meals for decades. The idea is that you have a set time, and you sit at the same table, and have the same service staff every day. Large tables are used to fit in all the guests, which means that unless you are with a group, you will be eating with strangers.

Many cruise lines now offer Anytime Dining which is more like going to a land-based restaurant. There is an early and late Assigned dining time for each cruise. The early time at 6pm often fills up quickly, so for my first few cruises, I've opted for Anytime Dining over the late dining at 8pm.

On my cruise on the Carnival Inspiration, I finally got the chance to try out the traditional Assigned Dining which you can read all about on Cruise Radio.

More on cruising :)

That Time I Ate at The Chef's Table...

Guest column: Carnival's Chef's Table

Carnival's most upscale specialty dining option is the Chef's Table dinner. For the newer ships, you're going to want to book in advance to make sure it doesn't sell out. You also won't know the date of your Chef's Table dinner until the day you board and they call your cabin with the date and time.

All the food is delicious.

The cost is $75 + 18% tip on older ships; $95 + tip on the newer ships.  You get a very exclusive dining experience, but you will be eating with other diners unless you bring a large group. Once you get your assigned date, assume you'll be spending the whole evening at dinner.

Check out my experience on the Carnival Inspiration on Cruise Radio.

More on cruising :)

That Time I Was Faster to The Fun...

Guest column: Carnival's Faster to The Fun

"Faster to The Fun" is an option that cruisers can purchase for their cruise that allows them priority access for boarding, luggage delivery, guest services, tendering to ports, and disembarking. It is available in limited quantities, based on the amount of Platinum & Diamond VIFP guests that are booked on each sailing, as they get said priority for free with their status.

The cost varies by ship and itinerary so when I was on a 3-day sailing, on an old ship, I decided to give it a try. When people ask "is it worth it," well, it really depends on the people, their cruise, and their travel plans. What was it like for me? I'll let you read all about it on Cruise Radio.

More on cruising :)

That Time I Cruised on the Carnival Inspiration...

I got to travel for business to Los Angeles which put me in a perfect position to go on a West Coast cruise. I wanted to use as little vacation time as possible so I picked a 3-day cruise on the Carnival Inspiration which has just one port stop in the Mexican Riviera: Ensenada.

We stayed in the nearby Residence Inn because I had Marriott points to get a free room, but had that not been the case, I hands-down would have stayed on the Queen Mary which has been turned into a hotel and is permanently docked right next to Carnival's cruise terminal...

That Time I Had Fun Times on the Carnival Inspiration...

Here are all the Funtimes-es for Carnival Inspiration's 3-Day Mexican Riviera cruise (Ensenada)....