Blog status 2025

Update

It is nearing the end of 2025, and I have not published a post since January of this year. Unfortunately, it looks like my blog will be retiring, as I have just not had the time to keep it up. If I decide to start sharing videos instead, as they are less time consuming than writing, I will let everyone know. For now, I am sharing a few photos and bits of information that I had planned to write about since January. As always, if anyone has any questions, just let me know! I am happy to share my experiences and knowledge.

Above: MSC Seaside in Ocean Cay
Below: atrium/lobby on MSC Seaside

7-day Caribbean cruise from Miami on MSC Seaside

This was our first time sailing with MSC, and we were impressed! In fact, we are cruising with them again in a few months. MSC gave my husband and I both a status match; diamond for me, and gold for him. We both have earned diamond status with Carnival, and MSC took better care of us than any experience we have had with Carnival. 

Above: espresso martini on MSC Seaside
Below: diamond champagne and chocolate delivered to our cabin

We booked balcony cabin 10083 with the drink package, which was an incredible value. The cabin was perfect for us: quiet, nice private balcony, comfy, and clean. The spacious shower in the bathroom had a glass door. The food, beverages, and service on board were all top-notch. The only thing we did not like on this cruise was the noise volume in the showroom. It was incredibly loud! I have not read many complaints about this since our cruise, so maybe the noise we endured was not typical. My husband says he is bringing ear plugs on our next cruise, just in case. 😉

MSC's private island, Ocean Cay

MSC's private island, Ocean Cay, is absolutely amazing. You can walk the entire island, and there are several beaches, bars, and food trucks. Ocean Cay is one of the main reasons we chose the itinerary of our next MSC cruise. Our ship will be there from 8AM until 11PM on our 4-day cruise. 

Above: sunset from guestroom in Embassy Suites Miami airport
Below: pool view from guestroom in Embassy Suites Miami airport

Carnival Horizon Cruise B2B: 6-day Western Caribbean and 8-day Southern Caribbean from Port of Miami

 January 2025

We were on the Horizon from Port of Miami in 2020, and you can find additional ship information in my previous post.

View of Carnival ships at Port of Miami from bridge sidewalk 

Arrival and diamond check-in ~ Miami

We walked to the cruise port from the InterContinental, which was farther than we usually walk to a cruise port (just under 2 miles). The walk was pretty easy, although there is a small section when you first get to the port area after crossing the bridge where there is no sidewalk. Traffic is slow, so this did not present too much of a problem. We had planned to take the Coral Way trolley to the port, and then decided it would be easier to walk with our luggage, than it would be to load it on and off the trolley while hoping to have enough room for it.

We did not receive diamond status before boarding this ship, because our Carnival Glory cruise credit from two days before this cruise, had not posted to our accounts yet. I left a voice message and an email with our PVP to inquire about this, and she never responded. Needless to say, we are longer working with her. We worked directly with the diamond desk after this cruise (more information about that experience at the end of this post). The cruise port was packed before we boarded, and we again had difficulty maneuvering through the crowds of people to board when it was our time, just like previous Miami port experiences. 

Cabin 9201, category 4J, on Carnival Horizon

Interior picture window cabin 9201 category 4J 

We think the front walkway cabins on Carnival cruise ships are a great value. Every cabin we have been in is spacious, and they have a large window. The only thing we missed was a second chair, or loveseat type seating for two. Not many people walked by on the front walkway in front of our window. You can only see through the widow to the inside when it is dark out, and the cabin lights are on. Additional photos for this cabin category (#9203) can be found in my previous Horizon post (link above).

Cabin 9206, category JS (junior suite), on Carnival Horizon

Junior suite obstructed view 9206 

We booked a suite for the second leg of our back-to-back cruise, so we we had to change rooms. We packed everything up, and our room stewed pushed our bags down the hall to our new cabin, after it was ready. This was our first time booking a suite, and we loved it! It was a bit pricey, but we had a 25% on board credit, after our 25th cruise, that we used. This was enough to cover our gratuities, drinks, speciality dining, and a few purchases.  

I neglected to get photos of the bathroom and closet area in our suite. This cabin has a large walk in closet by the entrance with a full length mirror. The bathroom has a whirlpool tub/shower combination, and a large vanity with a double sink. The suite also comes with two bottles of water. 

Above: view from balcony of cabin 9206 on Carnival Horizon
Below: 9206 balcony and wetness after bridge window cleaning

Miami, Florida: InterContinental

January 2025, two nights, weekend

Beautiful sculpture in the lobby at InterContinental Miami.

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

InterContinantal has an ambassador program, and elite level IHG members do not usually receive perks if not also an ambassador member. I am not a member of the ambassador program, because there is a cost to join, and the program is only good at IC hotels. I received the platinum on-site 600 bonus points at check-in, and I opted to pay for club access. I had booked this stay with points, and the only points room available when booking was a basic guestroom. The club upgrade was a bit pricey, so we only added this for one night of our stay.

Floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Guestroom on floor 28

This guestroom is one of the corner rooms with a partial view, so I suppose we also received a slight room upgrade. The guestroom did not seem particularly large, although the corner rooms do look larger in the guestroom diagram (see photo above).

Guestroom on floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Carnival Glory Cruise: 4-day Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral

 January 2025

We were on the Glory from Port of Miami in 2011. You can find more information about the ship in my previous Glory blog post.

View from Carnival Glory in Port Canaveral

Arrival and platinum check-in ~ Port Canaveral

The last time we cruised from Port Canaveral, our ship was docked at terminal 5, so we had to get a ride out to the pier, as there is no way to walk to that location. This time, Glory was docked at terminal 3, which is located across the street from two Holiday Inn hotels, so we were able to walk to the port. Arrival and check-in was the smoothest we have ever experienced with Carnival. This port has a waiting room for diamond and suite guests. We were platinum, and our waiting area was outside this room. After guests in the private room boarded, we were next. We are on board at 10:40 AM. 

Cabin 6233 on Carnival Glory

Interior cabin 6233 category 4D

I had not noticed that this cabin is above the showroom until shortly before departure. We have stayed on deck 6 before; just not in a forward inside room. After I saw this, I tried to contact our PVP to see about changing rooms or upgrading. The first time I contacted her, she told me there was nothing available. She told me to check with her again after we had completed check-in. I called her and sent her an email after we had checked in, and she never got back with me. After we boarded, I stopped at guest services to ask about a different room. The person I spoke with said there was nothing available; however, she did not look at our cabin number or check anything on the computer. In hindsight, I should have approached guest services again after the first night, and given them our room number. During our 4-day cruise, the late night comedy shows were in the front showroom, rather than the comedy lounge, so the music and noise vibrated inside our cabin until midnight. There was only one night this cruise when there was not a late night show in the front showroom. I do not suggest this cabin, unless you do not plan to sleep until after midnight.

This video was from one of the quietest evenings in our cabin. Noise was not the only thing we disliked about the cabin. The bed was hard, and the two twin beds they make into a king bed would not stay together. The lumpy pillows had a stale odor, as if they needed to be cleaned, and I had to request laundry bags from our room steward. After the poor sleep quality on this ship, I was not interested in another Carnival cruise when we disembarked.

Platinum Aft dining room on Carnival Glory

Food and beverages

Food was pretty much the same as I wrote in my previous Glory blog post. The only food item I recall being disappointed with was the turkey wrap from the deli. It was dry and did not taste fresh. Lobster is not served on elegant night on 4-day cruises. The Carnival drink package has gotten outrageously expensive. We have purchased this in the past, when it was around $50 a day; however, for $80+ a day, we did not even consider it for this cruise. We each brought a bottle of wine on board at the beginning of the cruise instead. We also purchased a bucket of six beers for the week, as they are each $1 off when purchasing the bucket. You can get this at any bar.

VIFP gifts on Carnival Glory

Cape Canaveral, Florida: Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort

January 2025, Sunday night

Above: sunset from Holiday Inn Beach Resort Cape Canaveral building 2
Below: property map for Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort Cape Canaveral

Arrival and platinum perks

I reserved a standard king guestroom with points, and received an upgrade to a two bedroom villa. We arrived early, and the front desk agent said she would put in an early check-in request for us. We checked our luggage, then returned our rental car, and walked back to the property. I am not sure the early check-in request really did much good, because we did not receive a call saying our room was ready until over three hours later, shortly after 3:30 PM. After we received the call, we returned to the front desk to get our checked luggage, and then waited a few minutes for the property tram, as our villa was in building 2 at the far end of the property. We arrived at our villa around 3:45 PM. It did not appear that anyone had recently stayed in this villa. Since check-in time is 4:00 PM, I guess the early arrival request got us into our room a few minutes early! 😆 😳

We absolutely loved our villa upgrade, even though we did not have much of a view. It was much more fabulous than a regular hotel room.

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral

Guestroom villa #2312

The villa number matches the building number, floor, and then unit number. We were in building 2 on the 3rd floor, in unit 12.

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral
Below: view of cruise ships leaving port from our balcony in villa 2312

This villa is a complete living unit. The living and kitchen areas were spacious, and the balcony contained a table and chairs. The view overlooked the pedestrian walkway. The channel was beyond the walkway, although you could not see the water due to the shrubbery. 

Villa 2312 in Holiday Inn Club Vacations Beach Resort Cape Canaveral

Carnival Paradise Cruise: 5-day Western Caribbean from Tampa, Florida

 January 2023

Tampa from Carnival Paradise

Arrival and check-in ~ Tampa

The check-in and boarding process in Tampa was not as efficient as most cruises we have been on. Our early arrival, because the hotel shuttle schedule could not meet our desired arrival time, did not help matters. When we arrived at the cruise port around 9:20 AM, people were still disembarking (passengers are usually off the ship by this time on most Carnival cruises we have been on). We found a place to wait out of the way until all the guests had disembarked, and porters were starting to take new guests' luggage, which was around 10:00 AM. We then walked up the stairs to the check-in lines. There is an escalator next to the stairs; however, it was still roped off when we ascended the steps. There were stations at the top where staff members viewed boarding passes, and then directed guests to the appropriate lines. Several guests were already waiting in the roped queues. A short time later, we were told there was a computer glitch. Around 10:45 AM, our VIP line started to move. We went through security, completed check-in, and then went to the platinum waiting area. We were on board around 11:30 AM.

View from Carnival Paradise heading out of Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida: Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Tampa East Ybor City

 

January 2023, Sunday night, one night

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ybor City, Florida

King suite walk-in shower

I do not recall our guestroom number at this hotel, and I neglected to write it down. Our room was on the front side of the building facing the parking lot. I used a free night certificate for the room, and paid only the cruise parking fee. The parking charge of $53.75 shows in my IHG account activity; however, there is no hotel bill available to check the guestroom number.

King suite in Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ybor City, Florida

Carnival Elation: 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise from Jacksonville, Florida

January 2023

Carnival Elation in Grand Turk

Arrival and check-in ~ Jacksonville cruise port

We opted to park at the Parking Mall across from the cruise port, as the cost was $7 less per day. The parking area is fenced in; however, we would not choose this option again for a couple of reasons. I am providing the details here, to assist others in making their own decision. If you do plan to park there, I suggest NOT booking in advance, like we did. Pay when you arrive, and have exact cash for the cost. The cost is $70 for a 7-day cruise, if you pay when you arrive. If you book an advance reservation online, you will be charged $75. This is extremely unfair, because our check-in process to board the shuttle was a quick click by the worker on his tablet. We then had to wait an unreasonable amount of time for people checking in that day, who needed change, or to run their credit cards. The second thing we did not like about this business, was the return shuttle pickup process. There was no organization at the cruise port, so each time the bus arrived, people who had just gotten off the boat were trying to shove in to the line to board, when there were already too many people trying to board who had been waiting two runs or more. Some of you may think the return chaos cannot be controlled by the shuttle service, and I would disagree with that to some extent. We have observed other shuttle services that have someone at the port, and/or more than one bus running during busy times. When the first bus arrived after we got to the pickup area, we observed a few people who seemed quite annoyed with the wait, so possibly they waited even longer than we did (we got on the third pickup after arriving). A second bus did start running this day just before we got on our shuttle, so things may have run smoother after we departed. Unfortunately, there is not a pedestrian walkway to get from the cruise port to the parking lot.  

The boarding process to get on Elation in Jacksonville was efficient, and one of the easiest we have ever experienced. Our credit card authorization was processed before 8:00 AM. Our check-in time was 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM, and we were on board before 11:00 AM.

 

Carnival Elation cabin R26

Porthole cabin R-26, deck 4

We usually prefer a balcony cabin when on a cruise of 7 days or more; however, this time we went with an interior less expensive room. Overall, we were quite happy with this cabin. We liked the windows, and we liked having the ledge in front of the windows.

Carnival Elation cabin R26, small stool in corner of top photo

Florida: Jacksonville Airport Hilton Garden Inn

January 2023, weekend, one night

View facing SW from guestroom 526 at Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville airport

Arrival and diamond perks

Our check-in experience at this hotel was not the best. We arrived around 2:45 PM, and the agent said our room would not be ready until after 4:00 PM (check-in time). He did not confirm any details after he requested my name, and he did not offer a different available room. I had checked in on the app, and I did not receive any notifications from this hotel, even after our room became available. 

After he had said it would be awhile, we walked around the hotel to check out the pool area, and the activity on our guestroom floor, before we sat down in the lobby. We observed housekeeping cleaning guestrooms near the elevator on our floor, so we assumed they were working toward the end of the hall, where our room was located. 

I then returned to the front desk to ask for the wifi code, because my phone was not working. The agent said this area is in a "dead zone," and that often happens. He apparently started checking on our room at some point after we had first arrived, because when I returned to the lobby, I received a notification that the credit card authorization had gone through. A few minutes after this, the agent called out to us, and said our room was ready. This was before 3:00 PM, so not much time had passed since we arrived. When we got to our floor, housekeeping was still cleaning in the same area. It appeared to us, that our room had been ready when we arrived.

Above: screenshot from my phone showing the diagram on the Hilton app
Below: no diagram in guestroom 526 Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville airport

Guestroom 526

I chose this guestroom because of the diagram on the Hilton app, and the diagram is incorrect. There are two more guestrooms at the end of the hall next to rooms 526 and 525.

Guestroom 526 in Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville airport