I did get an e-mail that you resurrected my thread, and y'all got a response! I'll try to post current pics soon. Sorry for not responding sooner; I don't frequent the forums very often during the spring/summer months (9 month old daughter, working full time, large vegetable garden, collection of 50+ houseplants/orchids, flower/perennial garden beds, maintaining/mulching established trees on ~3 acres, 6+ fish tanks in the house to clean/maintain, the list goes on!).

We did a 1-week Carnival cruise four years ago - Mom, Dad, two teen daughters. Booked it quite last minute, paid retail, but loved our two rooms, right in the front of the ship (the bow, sez DH) - both rooms were very spacious, with nice portholes, we were very comfortable. Loved sleeping to the roll of the ship, and we loved being able to look out to see the ocean from our rooms (I would be claustrophobic in an inside cabin I think). HOWEVER we hated the Carnival program - mediocre food 24-hours a day at various central feeding facilities; CONSTANT merchandising from on-board tvs and deck microphone announcements; hawking of drinks at 8:00 o'clock in the morning; solid cloud of cig smoke on the gaming deck, where the smokey casino was attached to the kids' videogame room, so the kids were getting as much 2nd hand smoke as the rest of us... Everytime we found a nice quiet spot for sunning on the deck, someone would plug in the extra-loud salsa music, or start exhorting everyone to get up and join some idiotic game...we were on that ship for a week and could not wait to get off. The land excursions were fine, and we managed to do some Puerta Vallarta snorkling through an outfit that unfortunately made everyone play those embarassing "sit in the stranger's lap and pop his balloon" games. Ugh. Even our kids were mortified... too crude. I guess this was not the cruise for us - next time, we'll look for a slightly smaller outfit, with a less manic program -- maybe an environmental adventure cruise to Alaska? And we'll definitely book a non-smoking cruise. Good luck in finding the right cruise for you - I keep hearing that they're out there.

I have been on several cruises, my last Oct 02 was 11-night to Eastern Carribean, and I will go on as many more as I can find the time and money to go. There are activites to do if you want, lounging/resting if you want, excursions you can sign up for thru the ship or do your own, whatever you want to do. As far as the drinks, all alcohol is a separate charge which should be expected. However, soda/coffee is included and every ship I've been on has many cafe's, dining rooms, buffets that are open at some time or another nearly 24 hours a day. Coolers are not allowed to be brought on board but either your room will have a small refrigerator or you will have an ice bucket that the room steward will keep full. DON'T drink the soda that is in your cabin - the charge for that is $3.50 a can. If you are not flying, bring a 12pk in your suitcase. On my last cruise, the first after 9/11, any bag/pocketbook/tote was scanned thru a metal detector when you returned to the ship. Now, if you brought a pack of soda with you back to the ship, would they let you bring it on? I don't know, didn't try it. The rules can be different according to the cruise line you are sailing on. Tipping, dining times, entertainment, activities and changing all the time becaused the consumers request it. There are cruises for adults only, free style cruises where there is no defined dining time and the tips are included in your price, single cruises, etc. Talk to friends, coworkers, anyone who has cruised and they will give you hints and tips of what to expect and what to avoid. Carnival is for the younger set, not for me. Celebrity has upscale dining (quiet, elegant, gourmet), Royal Carribean has theme nights (American, Italian,etc, waiters parade and sing, more FUN than Celebrity, but food is excellent), top notch entertainment in theatre. Check with travel agents about other lines and what they have to offer. Personally, I love crusing. I would like to spend more time in port so I can explore but then again, that gives me an excuse to take another cruise. If you are still unsure, just take a 5 day cruise for your first. However, you will spend the first day getting to the departure destination checking in and leaving port and the last day you will probably arrive back home @ 8am and spend the rest of that day getting home, so that only leaves 3 days to go somewhere/see something/relax but it will give you a general idea of cruising. Good luck and maybe I'll see you on a ship sometme. I'll be the one with the big smile on my face.

Linda Beck had a very good year here this year. Clean blooms and color, with decent height.