Carnival Cutie

Thanks Reed Princess, you've helped quite a bit!!

Hi! 

I sail in September and have loads of questions. Although I'm sure besides the ones I have you'll get more if you mention what experience you were booked under (Bella, Fantastica, etc.)

Right now I am scheduled for late seating but since I booked under Bella (travel agent didn't offer any other options and I didn't ask since the price was great) I am afraid of being stuck with 9:30 seating. Did you have to change yours and if so was it difficult?

Was the ship difficult to navigate?

I know food is a personal thing but did you like it? Is it better to do the restaurant as opposed to the buffet? Did you do any of the specialty restaurants and if so were they worth the cost?

How was the entertainment? I'm referring to the shows and cruise director. 

When I booked WiFi and Easy Package were included. I plan on bringing my tablet and downloading Netflix prior. Do you know if I will have to upgrade my WiFi in order to watch what I've downloaded?

Do you know anything about the beer they include in the Easy Package? I'm not a drinker so it doesn't matter to me but hubby drinks Budweiser. Is it included or will it cost extra? I do occasionally drink Bacardi and I know that's included.

Are the "chair hoggers" bad or do they enforce it?

The cabin I booked is a balcony. Do you know how large they are?

Sometimes I like to be in my cabin instead of out and about which is why we got the balcony. But sometimes we watch TV. What channels are available?

Did you gamble? If so what was the casino like?

How were the pools?

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more when you respond to these.

Thanks in advance!!!

I apologize if it seems I didn't get your point. Thanks for the info. I will wait and see what happens and do what you suggested when we sail.

I get that you either pick early or late but if there's actually three times in each dining room why are you not able to choose the second time? I would be okay with either 7 or 7:30, I just don't want to be stuck with 9 or 9:30.

Thank you for the replies. We are booked as Bella and at the time we booked we were told by the travel professional there were only two times available for seating so as I mentioned earlier we went for late booking. When we sailed on Carnival we usually booked late seating (we did flexible once) because early was too early for us. We have sailed on Royal, Norwegian and Celebrity and did late on them as well until Norwegian switched to Freestyle. Do you know if it is necessary for us to wait until we sail to make the change? We would be good with either 7 or 7:30 but I really don't want to be stuck with 9:30.  We don't sail until September so there's time to make the change.

I have a question about the dining times. Right now we are booked for late seating but I have heard there are three times. Is this true? We only booked the time we have because the early seating was too early for us. I'm afraid to keep the time we have because I understand the late seating can be as late as 9:30. I also would like to change my time if necessary before sailing in case we are stuck with the late time. Thanks!!

Reading your review. Am sailing on Seaside in September (also Bella Experience) and would love to hear about the remainder of your trip. Sailed on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian and Carnival in the past and am wondering if we need to upgrade.

Been following your post. Going on Seaside in September with hubby, sister and friend. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. Keep it coming!!!

I am cruising in September on MSC and have questions I could not find answers to on MSC website.

We are booked on Seaside in September as Bella Experience with upgrade to Easy Package for liquor and free wi-fi. We are a party of four; myself, hubby, sister and her son's ex (who she still has a great relationship with). We are in our 60's, sis is in her 70's. We opt for cruising in September because we like to wait until after the kids go back to school. We have previously cruised on Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. 

I am hoping those who have already sailed on the Seaside can answer any questions I have. 

1 - How does Room Service work for someone with Bella status? If we opt for room service, which may happen as I may need to at some point, is there a charge and if so does it make sense to upgrade?

2 - I like to send gifts to my companions as a remembrance of the trip. I saw nothing where anything could be ordered. Since we have liquor package this may be moot, although I have sent gift baskets in the past on other cruise lines.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated. I do want to do any upgrades prior to my sailing to minimize any additional costs.

Thank you in advance.

I just returned from the Dream last week and our Meet and Mingle was at the same time as the St. Jude's party on the last sea day of the cruise. The only notification was in the Fun Times. I wound up not going because I attended the St. Jude's party. My husband went to the Meet and Mingle and no one was there.

There has to be better notification or the attendance will continue to be poor. In our case we had two sea days it could have been held on at the beginning of our cruise. No one will be looking to meet people at the end of the cruise. I know I wasn't.

Welcome to Carnival!!

In answer to your question regarding Meet and Greet, there will be one on your sailing if there are enough participants. You will have to have at least 25 for there to be one set up by Carnival. You also have to sign up for it. The Meet and Greet time and place (if there is one) will be listed in the Fun Times. Check your roll call to see if anyone else has signed up and encourage them to do so.

It looks like your other issues were addressed. I will say a lot of folks claim FTTF is a waste of money, I loved it. Having your room ready when you board is worth it, you can put your things in your cabin and explore the ship before most folks board. You'll likely get dirty looks when (or if) you go to the Guest Services line and get waited on before others waiting in a long line. I never used the priority tender when I had it but I've heard it's great.

Have a great cruise!!

Saint Greg:

Thank you for your response to my questions. You made an excellent point about the NFL schedule and whether there will be a home game. That is something I never thought about. Guess I'd better make some kind of reservation soon.

Thanks again!!!!

I am also looking for assistance from Saint Greg because I'm clueless on where to start my research.

A bit of background: I will be travelling with family in November on the Carnival Dream. We will be coming from different parts of the country. I plan to fly in from NY area along with husband, sister and friend the Friday or Saturday prior to cruise and stay at hotel in area, exact date of arrival in NOLA is not known because we have not made air reservations yet. Cruise dates are 11/6 to 11/13. Depending on price and availability of air travel we may stay a day afterwards and return home. We need recommendations for hotels which are reasonable and preferably include airport shuttle, we also need to know if there are any which will provide some type of transportation to ship; if not need to know how much it costs to and from port from hotel.

Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

By the way, the gift can be ordered without the knowledge of the recipient. You will receive acknowledgement via e-mail and the recipient will be notified on the ship. I just ordered water for my sisters who are going on a family cruise without their knowledge. Since they're both big water drinkers I'm sure they'll be appreciative.

Do you have any idea what you're planning to give her? Log into the Carnival Website under your booking and then go to Gifts, they have many suggestions. One year I sent my husband a cake for our wedding anniversary (it was delicious). I have also sent fruit baskets to my sister and friend with wine. In the case of the cake they delivered it on the date I requested, the fruit basket will be there on embarkation day. It's a nice surprise especially when you're not expecting it.

Enjoy your cruise!!!

Guess it doesn't pay to wait. My cruise isn't until November and I planned on ordering water for myself and family. May as well do it now. And we're all flying in to the port so it's still a convenience to pay $1 additional for the water.;)

I think it's a really nice gesture that a gift is given to Platinum guests (last year I received the game board for my first cruise and the journal for the other). Having said this I think it would be nice if they asked what you would want at the beginning of the cruise or even allow you to make a choice as part of your check in. I hear about a lot of folks trading their gift for various reasons (I tried to trade my journal because I didn't have a need for it but wound up having to keep it because Guest Services claimed they had nothing else available). They're now asking for your preference at the start of the cruise as to whether you want your cabin serviced more than once a day. Not to mention you're not talking about having to accommodate the entire ship with what I've suggested.

Just my two cents. Your opinion may vary and I respect it if it does.

Just a suggestion: When you pack your cans, why not place them in a Ziploc or Hefty disposable bag and then place them in your luggage? If you don't feel that's enough then wrap them in a towel as well. Since I have to fly to the ports for the majority of my cruises I will do this to bring Pepsi because I'm not a Coke fan. Before I check in I simply take them out of the large luggage. I can then use the bag to bring back used underwear or swimwear. I purchase the extra large 2-1/2 gallon bags for this purpose. A 12 pack is too much for me so I would do this with a six pack..

You are correct about being able to order your bottle of choice as long as it is carried by Carnival on their Bon Voyage program. You should also be able to order a six pack of club soda at the same time. We sailed the Liberty last year and I ordered my hubby a bottle of Bacardi through Bon Voyage prior to our sailing. As far as glasses and ice are concerned that would not be a problem, just let your cabin steward know. We always had our ice bucket filled twice a day.

Enjoy your cruise!!!

You are not charged until you actually eat at the restaurant. I think the rationale is that you could cancel prior and then they would have to adjust your account.

Enjoy!!!

Normally we book about 6 months or so out but for our latest cruise we booked over a year out because it's turning out to be a family reunion of sorts (niece's 50th birthday and sister's 75th). The closest we have booked has been about 45 days, that was for hubby's birthday because airfare was good for departure port. We always book Early Saver which is another reason we allow as much time prior to sailing, we also prepay as much as possible (gratuities, excursions, etc.) for a stress-free trip. :)

I totally agree with you about the Junior Suite on the Ecstasy. In my case I upgraded from a balcony to a guaranteed suite for my anniversary. I was completely disappointed in the cabin I was assigned. I didn't gain anything from the upgrade because I am Platinum and had priority boarding anyway. The balcony was practically nonexistent. In addition, I thought the cabin would have a bathtub (as advertised on the Carnival website) but had a shower like the other rooms. Lesson learned. I will never book a guarantee cabin again and if I ever sail the Ecstasy or any other fantasy class ship I will stick with their balcony cabins if they have them.

Cruising in December with my mom and sister. They're in one cabin, I'm in the other. We booked together through a travel agent and selected guaranteed. They've been assigned their room. I haven't. Why would this happen?

They may be waiting to assign your cabin to accommodate passengers booked as doubles or larger as it appears you're a single passenger. In any event I hope you'll be assigned soon. Not knowing sucks.

I think the response time is supposed to be within 24 to 48 hours. I always had a problem with submitting the forms, for some reason they were never received so I would call. Also make sure you call before any price change is no longer valid. I had that problem after waiting once for a response.

Good luck and happy sailing!!!;)

I don't care why they made the change, I'm just sorry it wasn't effective when I sailed last month. I AM glad they made the change. Now I can bring my Pepsi on board again!!!!