ryansmith18

This is indeed infuriating. One of my favorite activities on ship is to flip people's snooze/cruise card to the opposite of whatever it was when nobody is looking. Lame.

I don't have a firm answer to your question, but I've been on two cruises with Cove Balconies, each time with some pretty rough seas. This was never an issue. Wife and I were out on the balcony as the ship was rocking back and forth.

The general consensus is that Jamaica isn't that great of a destination. Some disagree, it's very subjective, but that seems to be what the majority believe (myself included). I'd use that as your down port to just walk around and so some light shopping, grab a bite to eat, etc. Kidnapping is optional.

The lower the deck you are on, the lower the motion you'll encounter.

Point your finger directly up in the air, and move it left to right (as if you are wagging your finger at a dog or child). Notice the difference between how far the base of your finger moves compared with the tip of your finger. It works the same way with cruise ships. The higher you are, the further you'll move from left to right. But at the bottom of the ship, movement is minimal.

This will be our first cruise. My DH and I are leaving out from NOLA and this is our 9th anniversary present for us. :) I need all the input from experienced Dream cruisers. By the way, we love New Orleans and we will drive from Birmingham, AL and probably stay the night or the night we come in.

 

My question is what activities are a must do and no miss on the cruise (ship). I know they will many activities and I want everyone to chime in. Also, we will have a balcony and I would like to know what are necessary things I should bring:confused:.Thank you in advance to all that response to this post.

Bring some wine and enjoy it on your balcony right when you've set sail. Leaving out of NOLA is unique compared to other ports because of the trip down the Mississippi river. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of NOLA cruises.

And I agree about the steakhouse. My wife and I tried it on the Dream last year for our anniversary cruise and it was hands down the best overall meal I'd ever had.

If you really want it you'll have to check every single day until they're available. I did so for about two or three months before I snagged ours. I checked later that evening and it was sold out again.

Edit: oh and also subscribe to your sailings roll call. If someone notices it they'll often let the group know it's available.

If you're referring to the ship's WiFi, no, you can't do that without incurring their typical charges for internet access.

If you're referring to your cell connection, then yeah, there's no reason you'd incur additional charges just for stepping on to the ship. If you're in, say, Miami and have a strong data connection, you'll still have a strong connection while you're on the ship in Miami.

Thanks mitsugirly! Yeah that won't be a problem at all for our group. I was just getting slightly concerned since everybody mentions it when talking about Mahogany Bay.

Depends on a few factors.

If the excursion is booked through Carnival, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. They'll make sure you're on of the first people off the ship so you can get to your excursion.

If you booked through a third party, are they supposed to meet you right where the tenders drop you off at? Or do you have to take a taxi to get to them? It's a short tender in Grand Cayman, so if you get off the ship asap, you should be on land no later than 8:30. If the vendor is to meet you there then that won't be a problem, but if you have to take a cab to meet up with them then you'll be cutting it close. If that's the case just contact the vendor ahead of time to explain the situation, surely they'll work with you.

Of course, should something arise I'm sure the priority line at GS would be nice but it's not a huge thing for us.

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I got FTTF on my last cruise (on the Dream out of New Orleans in fact). I ended up having to go to guest services twice and it was REALLY great being able to walk right up and talk to someone.

I think most of the time we think of going to guest services as a thing you do when something went really wrong. But sometimes you want something very minor addressed, and then change your mind when you see just how long that line is for most passengers. I had to have my credit card info updated, since the card I used had the name I go by, "Ryan Smith," while Carnival and my passport have me listed as my legal name, "Matthew Smith." A very minor thing that takes all of 2 minutes to correct. I certainly don't want to stand in line at guest services for half an hour or longer. It was pretty great just walking past all of them and right up to somebody who could fix it for me right away.

Everybody keeps talking about going up and down some hills to get to the vendors. Is it really that big of a deal? My family has booked LFK for our upcoming cruise and we're supposed to find the drivers over that hill. Is there some reason we should pay the $2 per person to take us to them?

Nice to hear about the tourism area. Did if feel safe? With six kids it's a lot of people to keep an eye on.

For example' date=' off the ship in Grand Cayman, I felt very safe. Very comfortable. Off the ship in Jamaica was unpleasant.

 

Please report back on Goff's Cay if you will![/quote']

 

Oh it absolutely felt safe. Belize gets a lot of crap for being "dangerous" and whatnot, but I don't think it's anything close to Nassau or Jamaica. Especially if you stay within the Tourism Village. That's the gated area designed specifically for cruise ship passengers. There's your run of the mill jewelry shops, clothes outlets, a small chocolate factory, a couple of vulgarly named bars/restaurants (The Wet Lizard and The Bearded Clam) which you might not be comfortable with your kids, lol, etc etc. There are no people in your face hassling you to buy their product like you find in other ports. It's very nice.

I did see that and looked into it' date=' thank you. :D

I'm a little concerned with just HOW isolated it looks and how small it is (in the photos I saw anyway.)

 

Did it offer a nice day?

 

 

We might stay on the ship, which depresses me. We are considering Bacab Ecopark; but it seems like that could be any old hotel in any state, as opposed to feeling like we are in another country.[/quote']

 

Well I haven't been there myself just yet. Headed there the week of the Superbowl. But like you my family was looking for something kinda beachy, and all the reviews for Goff's Caye seem exactly like what our group is looking for. The isolation is appealing to us.

 

If you haven't been to Belize before you should at least get off the ship for a while to browse around the tourism village. My wife and I were there last January and didn't do any excursions, but had a great time walking up and down the tourism village, stopped at one of the bars to grab a snack, etc. It's a nice place.

Y'all might consider Goff's Caye. Various 3rd party vendors will take you out there for $40 to $50 per person (which might be a bit much for a party that size, but still it's one of the only real beach options in Belize). Small tropical island out in the middle of nowhere, a few palm trees, very plain.

Cool, thanks everybody. I'll give 'em a call.

Hi all -

I suppose I'm just overlooking something very simple, but I can't find it in my booking profile or in the Carnival FAQ. We have 3 different booking numbers, have all chosen late dining, and want to let Carnival know that we'd like to be seated at the same table. How do I go about doing this?

Thanks!

Can you tell me if the port in Belize has a cruise ship pier or is it still Tendered?

We are on the Magic in January and last time we were in Belize it was Tendered.

It's still a tender. Can't imagine that changing any time soon due to the coral they need to protect, as tourism is such a huge part of their income.

Thanks!

 

I know I'll be happy, I was more worried about the hubby, but I think he'll do fine. I feel better after reading everyone's responses. :D

He'll absolutely be fine. Having never been on a cruise before, he'll have no frame of reference with which to compare it with. That first cruise is always exciting and you don't have the past experiences to measure it up against.

My wife went through this a few years ago. Not a big issue, just called Carnival up and they fixed it within a few minutes. Just make sure it matches your passport or driver's license.

riclop,

Will one or both dining rooms be open for lunch?

Neither. Dining rooms are closed for lunch on embarkation day.

I think the cost of a family of four traveling to New Orleans would eat into the cost savings of choosing the Dream. You'd still come out cheaper by going that route, yes, but that's a 6 or 7 hour drive, kids are going to have to eat, gas is cheap now but it's still gonna cost, and they have to pay for car parking for the week, and then when the cruise is over they get to repeat these costs all over again. And that's assuming they drive in the morning of the cruise - if they opt for a hotel, that's yet another expense.

Considering they live in Houston, they've got to have a friend nearby that can drop them off at the terminal and pick them up when they return. No hotel, no parking garage, no extra meals, no gas, etc (though it'd probably be nice to toss a few bucks at the friend).

So in my eyes, the extra $600 for the Magic isn't actually a full $600 anyways. Hell, the extra money it costs might be worth it solely for the non-road-trip after the cruise. I don't know about y'all, but I'm always so fatigued at the end of a cruise that I reeeeaaaaally don't want to make a long drive back home.

Definitely agree with others here that your best option is to contact your lawyer asap, and let him/her discuss it with your parole officer. Obviously depends on how serious of an offense it was, but they would be your best bet at getting your husband on the ship. If that fails, grab a friend and pay the fee to swap her with your husband on your booking.

In my opinion you do indeed have it all wrong. I very much prefer the larger ships, the Dream class being my favorite by far. I've never felt like I was at an amusement park - it feels like a ship. You're still surrounded by endless water and I haven't had too much of a problem finding a nice place to sit and enjoy the view.

Technically yes, there's a chance. But I'd say it's unlikely. Usually they just change up the itinerary or cruise around the storm. If it's small enough at the time they can cruise right through it.

Why on earth are you racing the Navigator? I've never once sailed out of a port and timed how fast/slow we get to the destination compared with other ships. So long as we get there at the time according to the itinerary, what's the big deal?