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@@helenwhitehead6750 in our group - it sure is! 😁

@@helenwhitehead6750 thank you! Happy early Thanksgiving! 🦃

@@Supervixn what a great way to ring in the new year! It’s just so much fun.

It does not. The Excel-class is ships have a co-ed sauna that is included. There is a co-ed steam room as well, but that’s in the paid area of the spa. The lockerrooms still have changing areas, showers, and bathrooms. Those, of course, are not co-ed. Haha ;) -Mark

How awesome! We hope you have an amazing time! Don't miss the Solo meet up event that takes place just prior to Sail Away! It should be in the app, but if you can't find it, just head up to the Net on deck 16 and you should see at least one member of the Happeings Cast there with a "Solo" sign and champagne. 🙂

That's right around the corner! We hope you have an amazing cruise!

Oh wow! And look at how much you've evolved over the years!

@@thiscruiselifeit was the Southward. Went to Catalina, Ensenada, and San Diego. Wow, found that tonnage was 16710.

@@Tom-rd9qp She was just a baby ship! That's amazing! Thanks for sharing.

You totally just made my day! Thank you for the kind words and for watching! Would love to know what you think about the experience!! If there’s anything I can help with or any questions I can answer, just let me know!! -Mark

Thank you so much for the feedback! Mark had booked this transpacific itinerary while we were both still gainfully employed. There wasn't any way I could have gotten the time off, so I told Mark to still go and have fun - without me. In doing that, and since we're both doing this full-time, I got myself booked on the Holland America Standby Program. While it was fun to check out a new ship, it just wasn't the same without Mark. We'll have a few more individual sailings next year, but most of the big ones will be together with our witty personalities side-by-side! -Rocky

@ love it and love you two!!

Thank you for driving safe! 💙

Oh goodness; I haven't thought about that - but I LOVE the idea! Off the top of my head, I already know my favorite appetizer (by a mile) and entrée (along with second favorite entrée). Dessert would be a challenge due to inconsistency between the times I've enjoyed it. The cool part about this is each favorite item is on a different ship! Thanks for watching, the kind words, and the suggestion!! -Mark

I've had that before and thoroughly enjoyed it! Because we were on Carnival Panorama, we enjoyed JiJi's Asian Kitchen for lunch every day where we had the noodle and broth bowls. We figured since it was already included (and we enjoyed it on at least 8 of our sea days!) we'd skip it this time at Bonsai Sushi. ;) But definitely a recommend from me!! -Mark

Oh no! Didn't care for the sausage patty they used? Curious to know what you didn't like about it.

@ The sausage tasted like it was rotten and the biscuit had a weird texture. I’ll be honest… it tasted so foul I had to spit it out. That’s not like me at all and I’m not a very picky eater. Maybe I just got some rotten pork idk 😂

@@tiffanyhanson3701 We're so sorry to hear that. Definitely not the experience we've had, but things do change as the crew changes throughout the year. Hopefully the supply gets addressed, and you were able to find more palatable food for breakfast for the duration of your voyage!

@ oh yes. We love the huevos rancheros and arepas from Blue Iguana - our favorite! We will be on in a few weeks. I’m sure someone in our party will try the breakfast sandwich from Shaq’s so we’ll see if I just had a bad one. But I am excited to try Java Blue breakfast sandwiches now!

@@tiffanyhanson3701 Yes! So many great breakfast options available on the Excel-class of ships! Fingers crossed that the breakfast biscuit has improved since your last experience...

Love it! :) It really was such an amazing time. I can't believe we've already been home for almost 2 weeks. Where does the time go?!

Hey there! Thanks for watching. If you want to access the Terrazza area at the aft of the ship, you'll need a wristband during the day. However, the "secret spaces" at the forward of the ship are accessible for all passengers. Of course, we always say, pay attention to any signage as these areas can sometimes be closed due to windy conditions on board. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Mark

Yes! It was such a wonderful time. I'm already looking forward to the next one!!! :) -Mark

Hey there!! :) I hope that the video brought back some GREAT memories of the Jubilee inaugural. Glad you found us - and even spotted yourselves. Yes, the closet was a little loose, but thankfully, noise it made was negligible. Sadly, the noise inside the wall wasn't accessible even via the plumbing access panel in the hall unless they took out a portion of the unit. Hopefully, they've been able to fix it by this point. I'm excited to get back on the Jubilee to introduce it to Rocky at some point. It's the only Excel that he hasn't seen in person! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!! -Mark

Many of the major cruise lines require a spa pass to access their ship saunas, however Carnival still makes them available to the public. Some of the ships have additional saunas and steam rooms within the exclusive spa areas.

Hope you also had an enjoyable cruise! Loved all of the relaxing sea days.

Thanks I went there on November 1st 2024

Alaska truly is beautiful! Let us know when you're ready to get booked! 😜

Awesome! We're so glad to hear that you've enjoyed the benefits that come with the program.

Thank you for watching! Glad to hear you enjoyed the video.

We didn't experience issues getting deck chairs during our cruise. And we also very much enjoyed the main dining room food and experience on our cruise. We hope you have a great time! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

@@krickenthekraken8844 ah! Thank you for sharing that information. We attempted to access our invoice on our TV however it wouldn’t load. It was a minor setback to have to request a printed copy from guest services.

Thank you for watching our video. We always approach our cruises with an open mind and share our experiences with what went well and what didn't. With that being said, there's always the possibility that your experience will be different. I very much enjoyed my sailing on Eurodam and believe that a longer sailing would make for a better, more encompassing experience. -Rocky

@@Allthathingss haha. We definitely hear you there! Wouldn’t that be something?

What a great way to experience the Carnival Firenze!

Sounds like it will be a group cruise! How fun!

Will be in the terrasa suite . Let me know what time to meet you both their and where​@@thiscruiselife

It's great getting to co-host these sessions together rather than in separate places. Definitely our preferred way to go Live!

@@notme222 haha. That’s valid. Maybe they won’t feature that option across your sailing, or just don’t look at the pizza stand during your cruise to avoid the conflict. Haha. Enjoy your cruise!

@@thiscruiselife Thanks! I appreciate the excellent video. Helps me look forward to the good and brace myself for the small negatives.

@@notme222 we can't wait to hear what you think! Please keep us posted - and enjoy all that Meraviglia has to offer!! -mark

@@mkatal8329 we’re certain you’ll manage to have an enjoyable time on that itinerary. It’s similar to our experience where the itinerary is what put us on the ship. Hopefully you have a great cruise! Thanks for watching our video and commenting.

PS- thank you for reiterating something we always say: We share all of our thoughts knowing that some stuff will absolutely matter to folks, and other stuff, may not matter at all! We're pretty low-key and can find a good time anywhere, so the fact that there weren't waterslides, ropes courses, etc. didn't really impact our time all that much because we loved the ports (which I know you're going to on your cruise!). Like you, I missed several features from the Encore, and so I'm excited to get back on some of the newer ships again in 2025!! -mark

Awesome! Thanks for chiming in and sharing your experience. -Rocky

@My family and I have been to the Barceló Maya Grand Resort 11 times. My daughter grew up there and she is 25 now.

@@davegrimpe9052 that’s amazing! Sounds like a great place!

@@davegrimpe9052 WOW! That's amazing. We might have to feature YOU in an upcoming Travel Tip Tuesday! ;) We've heard GREAT things about their properties - and you've reiterated our desire to check 'em out!

You just made my entire day; thank you for the kindness in return. 💙 We love this cruise life of ours and hope that it inspires and brings smiles to everyone we get the honor to interact with. Thank you for following our journey!! -Mark

Oh how fun! Thank you so much for watching and leaving a comment. We hope you have an amazing cruise journey. We'll be back on board in the middle of December so there will likely be some more videos coming to the channel ahead of your cruise. Fins up!

@@thiscruiselife I look forward to the videos, you guys are quite entertaining! Do you plan on giving the Margaritaville Paradise another try?

@jonathankent5898 Thank you! We will get back on the Paradise eventually. Mark isn’t so excited about it, but I think it’s necessary. Just going to let it go through dry dock before we head back out on her.

Hey! It's Mark here. I will ABSOLUTELY give MAS Paradise another try! Will just be more diligent scanning the room before I crawl into bed. LOL ;) -mark

Sounds like an amazing experience and I hope to enjoy some of those longer itineraries that HAL has to offer. Thank you so much for watching and sharing your knowledge with us. We will definitely keep those considerations in mind when booking our next HAL cruise! -Rocky

We hope you have an amazing cruise and that the food is just as great as it was during our sailings!

It's like a cruise ship, without the movement. You get to really enjoy the resort you're staying at and they have plenty of restaurants offering different types of cuisine to keep you from getting bored!

@@jibbityjab2469 hi there. Thanks for the comment. When we were sailing on MSC Meraviglia, we visited the individual restaurant to make new reservations during operating hours. Ocean Cay is central location that is open outside of normal restaurant hours to help you manage and make bookings. Hope that helps!

@@thiscruiselife Yes it does!! Thanks for the quick response & info!

@@jibbityjab2469 very welcome! We love answering questions, especially about our favorite topic: cruising and food! lol ;) -Mark

@@kathyb606 absolutely! Every month there’s a new property that’s featured by the management company.

@@bkf3857 doesn’t an all-inclusive sound relaxing?

That's what I was thinking. I thought it strange for him to not be at the toast. I should have attended the shows at 7 as I don't usually eat dinner that early, especially on a cruise since I'm usually eating all day. Thank you so much for watching the video and sharing your thoughts! Happy sailing! -Rocky

I'm glad I was able to sail on the Eurodam, even if only for 4-nights. I realize that there's an untapped marked on TH-cam for videos like these, so hopefully we'll be able to add more itineraries to our calendar in the near future!

Thank you so much for watching the video and leaving a comment! I hope that the next time I sail HAL I can get assigned time dining so I can attend those events in the World Stage. I still enjoyed the other entertainment I participated in, especially the tea times. Thanks for striking up conversation with me, it was great meeting you! -Rocky

@@thiscruiselifewe had open dining as well, and had no problem getting a table, you might have to line up but that gives us time to meet other cruisers, a time we enjoyed. 😊

@@VistaJulie it's funny; we always say, a line is just the ship's way of helping you meet your fellow cruisers! LOL ;) -mark

Fantastic review. I appreciate that you hit some points that I haven’t seen in other HAL reviews. It’s good to see that they have lots of activities. We will be sailing on HAL next year in Alaska.

@@soniaallen7264 Thanks for watching. We always share our honest review and since we have experience on other cruise lines, we tend to bring some of those highlights with us to new brands. Overall, it was a great sailing, and we think you made a great choice for Alaska! -Rocky

We hope you have an amazing and memorable anniversary cruise! You chose a gorgeous ship to celebrate on. You'll have to let us know if your room looks different!

@@thiscruiselife Thanks! Will do 👍🏾

It’s true! Tho, it has been sooooo nice to be home for a day. I haven’t left the couch. Shhh, don’t tell anyone. I’m soooo exhausted after the 25 day journey from Singapore. But sooooo blessed! 💙 -m

@@thiscruiselife I understand!! Welcome home!

@@bkf3857 It's great to be back! Excited to be by Rocky's side for Sail Talk Saturday - first time in over a month!!! Hope to see you there! -m

@@thiscruiselife I am so sorry, but I can't. Out of town with family and friends. But I will watch afterward. Cheers to you two! 🙂

@@bkf3857 We'll miss you on the live, but enjoy your travels and being with family!

Hi there and thank you for the comment. I just did a quick search on Australia and found that if you plan to visit for less than 3 months and have an eligible passport, you can apply for the Electronic Travel Authority Subclass 601 visa using the Australian ETA App. Here's the details on who is qualified and how to obtain the visa: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/electronic-travel-authority-601 And here's the details to apply for the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority: nzeta.immigration.govt.nz/ It sounds like they've made it a little easier to obtain the necessary approvals to travel to both countries for leisure. -Rocky

Oh wow! Well, if you do remember the name of it, please let us know! We'll be heading to Oahu in early December and would love to check that place out!