216Cruiser

On 2/11/2020 at 1:26 PM, fendersrule said:

 

Order a single shot of crown next time. It will taste exactly like a single shot of crown.

 

I did. I had the wife order one to dump into my drink to make it the way it should be. And then it was. 

I had her do it several times. A few of those, I would just take the shot and then carry on with my watered down version. 

I clearly said nobody is going to change my opinion lol, it was a fair warning. If you don't believe so, thats ok. I know what I know. 

On 2/9/2020 at 5:38 AM, ray98 said:

 

Absolutely no way they are 'watering down' a bottle of Crown.

You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine. I'm not just making it up lol. I know bars at home that do it. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. Any way to truly test it?

As someone who has bounced back and forth between RC and Carnival several times, this looks awesome and we can't wait to try it out. From what I see, most of the complaints seem trivial to me and I'm also pretty easy to please. 

18 hours ago, ray98 said:

It totally depends on what you order.  Many recopies when properly mixed will mask the liquor within, that is purposeful.  Other recopies go to the other end of the spectrum such as a Long Island.  It depends on what you order.

 

I can't count the times in my bartending days when some one ordered some frou-frou drink and complained it was weak.  Sure it is, that is the concoction you ordered, it has more mix so it kills the alcohol taste.

 

"Drink is a little weak bro."

"Dude....you ordered a Fuzzy Navel"

Like I mentioned, it got down to basic Crown Royal and Coke (Pepsi). Very weak and I watched the shot of Crown being measured. Nobody will convince me it isn't watered down. I drink the same thing at home. You pour a shot of crown in a rocks glass and fill the rest with your soda of choice, you're going to taste it. Barely could on the ship. 

10 minutes ago, fendersrule said:

 

You are correct. But...the Alchemy Bar does NOT water down drinks, even the $8.95 drinks, and certainly not the $10.95 drinks. Plan to hit that area up A LOT. It's a good known secret. 🙂

 

With a cheers card, you are in complete control. The Lido deck place, just tell them you want it strong. Many bar tenders will make sure to make it right. Without cheers, a $2 tip goes far and they'll do the same thing on repeat visits.

 

Sadly, most places, even off the cruise ship, cannot make a healthy mixed drink. I rarely order a mixed drink anymore from a place I don't know because it's mostly a crapshoot. My local neighbor bar sure can do it right. That's why I personally stick to scotch/whiskey, strong beers, wine, or simple mixed well drinks if I just want something sweet with alcohol. You can't mess up beer, wine, or hard alcohol. 

 

I typically do mixed drinks while "coasting" throughout the day or to start a sea-day. 🙂 

 

Too late now but I'll know next time to maybe try Alchemy. I even got to a point where I started watching them pour a full shot of whatever into whatever I was drinking because I knew something wasn't right. And they did pour full shots out of those bottles. Saw it multiple times. The taste and lack of a buzz told me something was up. It got to the point I just started drinking solely Crown Royal and Coke (Pepsi) because I KNOW what that tastes like and how many I can drink before the woooo sets in. Nope. Shame for as much as we pay. 

The wife is a hazelnut nut and very picky. She was happy with the hazelnut they have at the coffee shop. 

I'm thoroughly convinced that Carnival waters down their booze and nobody will convince me any differently. I'm actually a bit of a lightweight and could hardly get buzzed even when really trying. 

Always have booked regular balconies prior to our last cruise. Just got off the Horizon last week where we tried a Cove. We loved it for all the reasons mentioned by others. More privacy. Closer to water. We absolutely love sleeping with the balcony door cracked and hearing those waves splash. I will probably always book one again in the future if possible.

One tip, do your research with the specific cabin. Certain ones do and do not not have the lifeboats over the top of the Cove cabins and while it wouldnt have made me decide not to book one, I enjoyed not having one above ours. Just a little better, less restricted view. Also if that matters to you, do not go strictly by the Carnival deck plans. Those will get you close as far as figuring out what areas do not have the lifeboats above but you have to dig a little deeper than that to get specific. For me, I found a few room numbers on each side of the ship that looked like they wouldnt have them above and then used google images and Youtube to dig deeper and confirm. 

On 2/6/2020 at 11:05 AM, blueskadoo said:

Thank you so much everybody for your awesome input. I’m intrigued by the golf cart in grand Turk idea. Is that something that needs to be booked ahead? Hubs was interested in the trikes for Aruba as well...so we’re making progress. 2 days to go and it’s getting hard to concentrate at work, lol! Please keep the great suggestions coming- I never knew there were so many options (I’ve only ever cruised to Nassau). 

I'd personally book it in advance to guarantee that you get one. Take your email receipt/confirmation and walk right up to the stand (right near the outside of the cruise port terminal) and hand it over and be on your way in 2 minutes. If you don't, you may have to wait in line or risk them being sold out. We used Wet Money Enterprises. You can also get a jeep and something else for about the same price but we liked the golf cart and like I said, the island is small enough to use the cart and take your time. 

PS, for La Romana, we went on a dune buggy tour through Pro Excursions Bayahibe with tour guide Donnie and it's a lot of fun and you get to see a lot of off the beaten path stuff like visit a little village and walk into a schoolhouse with kids (stop and bring them candy, they'll love you). We rode through Sugar Cane fields and stopped and tried some of that. We rode down a pretty steep hill (and up) down by a river where we stopped for some freshly made snacks (and shots!) that were good. Felt 100% safe the entire time and I don't know if that sounds like something you'd like to do but it was a lot of fun for us and I recommend it. You WILL get very muddy and that's part of the fun. There are videos on Youtube "Pro Excusions Bayahibe" that show you all you need to see. 

We JUST got off this cruise, same itinerary and loved all 4 ports. 

We rented a golf cart for about 100 bucks (Wet Money Enterprises) and drove around the entire island, stopped at anything that looked interesting and had plenty of time to spare to spend a good hour + at Governors Beach which is very nice and right by the cruise pier. You can get a Jeep or car for about the same price but the island is small enough to take your time on a golf cart and see any and everything you care to see. We got our cart right off the ship and headed as far north as you can go (Lighthouse) and worked our way back. Honestly, there isn't much exciting to see but for us, we like to see the "real" islands outside of the cruise port area and hot touristy spots. And that's not a knock on Grand Turk. It's a nice little island. If you walk down a little ways at Governors Beach, you're going to feel like you have the entire beach to yourself and it's nice. Crystal clear water and nice sand. 

Last week was the 2nd time we left out of the Miami port without FTTF. Both times we got on board so incredibly fast, I'm glad I didn't buy it. I absolutely loathe waiting in line for anything and was so pleasantly surprised at how smooth the process was. I honestly don't even think we stopped once we dropped our luggage at the curb. 

Last week on the Horizon, a few days in, they called quite a few Asian names over the intercom to come to guest services. I was assuming they were checking them or at least inquiring where they had traveled from. If that wasn't the reason, it was a helluva coincidence.  

I don't worry about it or anything else really too much. Whatever will be will be. 

We tried to sign up the second we stepped on the ship (Horizon) last week and it was already sold out. She said there were also 8 people ahead of me if I wanted to get on the list in hopes of people cancelling. She also told me unless you're FTTF or a platinum member (on the ship earlier than most) that you're almost always usually gonna be too late to sign up. 

On 1/8/2020 at 4:21 PM, Galatz said:

I have been burned buying gift cards before. They claim their is a 1 year warranty, but when I submitted a claim they found a reason to reject it. Here is my first hand experience.

 

I bought a $100 Dunkin gift card for $90. I was very happy to get the discount, just like you were. I registered the card to my account and the next day went to use it and the funds were gone. I called up Dunkin to see why and they said it was flagged as fraud. The card was purchased in Wisconsin and registered 1 week later to someone in NJ, which to them is a red flag. Unless I could provide a receipt showing valid purchase they would not reinstate it. I said I bought it through raise and could provide that receipt, but they told me that second market sales are a violation and they therefore would no longer unlock the card. I contacted Raise and they told me they sold me a valid card, that the fine print of Dunkin says I may not be able to register the card, so I was outside the scope of their guarantee. In short, I was out $90.

 

It should have been lesson learned, but it was not. I bought a similar discount on a Starbucks card. I tried registering it, but they said I could not register it because it was already registered to someone else. I figured, ok so I need to use the physical card, no big deal. I got my drink, and my $100 card now had $97 in it. The next week, I bought a drink and had a balance of about $55. Meaning whoever sold the card waited until I used it and then started using it again. I contacted Raise and they said unless I could prove which purchases are mine and which are not they could not help me.

 

So yeah, not messing with them again. You are welcome to risk it and save money, but once you get burned you will learn to stop. I would rather spend 5 minutes entering codes that I know will get me gift cards I dont have to worry about, than save the 5 minutes and risk losing money.

Wow, I was planning on doing this tomorrow for CCL cards. I was going to buy $1000 worth. Use that on the drink pass which would have a little left over and then use that leftover and the $100 "for free" bonus just as cruise cash or OBC whatever. But now, I'm hesitant. Thanks.   

Separate question: Are you able to ask for tables for just 2? We like to eat by ourselves. 

On 6/12/2019 at 2:54 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

 

Last time we did a dune buggy excursion and had an absolute blast!!!! Lunch included and drinks as well. I highly recommend it!

 

 

Hi, I tried to message you but it wouldn't allow me. I didnt want to bump an old thread but I'm going to since it wont let me message you. When you did the buggy excursion - I've read that the little schoolkids love gifts/candy/ school supplies. When you went, what were most people giving them? We want to take something but not quite sure what or how much to bring. 

Ok well, as much as I loathe talking to any type of customer service here's how it went:

At first they tried charging me the $400.00 "change fee" just like when I mentioned above when I tried on their website. Plus $130~ something for the more expensive flight and I balked at that. I was actually willing to pay the $130 change begrudgingly but not the $400. Asked him why am I paying a "change fee" when you guys are the ones who changed things. Politely. And he did the old "let me check brb" deal and came back with 0.00 charge for anything and flight changed to 11:40 AM which I feel much better about. This one isnt non-stop but that's life, I guess. I'll still be home in time for the SuperBowl which my beloved Browns most certainly wont be a part of. As long as it aint the Steelers or Ravens, I'm ok with that too lol.

Thanks for the help and moral support lol I was stressing about this. 

9 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

You have to call the airline and tell them you don’t accept the time change of your flight and rebook at no additional costs. I’ve never been charged when they change the flight time and I’ve never heard anything about the hour change rule. Just last week I saw that United changed an upcoming flight from 7:45am departure to 7:09 I called and changed to the 10:00am with no charge,

Thank you. I'm going to call them soon. Just looking for some ideas or what to expect when I do. 

But this is from United's website directly:

"When a schedule change happens, we try our best to provide you with options that minimize the disruption to your travel plans. In cases where the new flight options don't work for you and one of the following scenarios applies, we may be able to offer you a refund:

• The scheduled departure or arrival time changes by two hours or more."

And on top of the flight prices the day after the Superbowl, I'm sure the hotels the night of are ridiculous as well. 

46 minutes ago, BNBR said:

Is leaving the next day a possibility?  Hang out local and watch the super bowl at a restaurant or bar.

If I could change the flight without any major penalties, sure. When I tried to do so ( just the next flight out, same day) online they wanted to charge me a $400.00 fee ON TOP of the more expensive flight. Jeez. And then also, flying out of MIA/FLL the day after the Superbowl, Jesus Murphy the rates are sky high. I'm going to call United right now and see if they'll work with me. There is a flight leaving at 11:40 the same day that would be just fine in my opinion. 

Welllllllll, the reason I'm asking is: I had a flight booked out of FLL at 10:40 which I thought was probably pushing it a liiiiiittle bit but should probably be ok based on prior experience across several cruise lines. I have cruised Carnival before and also have cruised out of Port of Miami but never the two in sync. Well, now the airline changed the flight time (didnt even send me an e-mail or anything, just happened to check out of curiosity how much the flight had gone up or down $ wise) to a 10:00 departure and now that sounds almost impossible. They also changed the inbound flight but that's not really a problem. 

I always self assist and this time we will be on deck 2, trying a cove balcony for the first time. This is making me too nervous and I think I should just contact the airline and see if I can switch to the next flight. The current flight is a non-stop and would have been perfect and have me home at 1:00. Wanted to be home in time for the Superbowl, dahhhh!

I did purchase flight trip insurance, not sure if that helps me here. From what I understand, the airline has a right to move the time up to an hour either way without recourse. I've had FTTF before and loved it but read that with Port of Miami, it's so smooth it's not even worth it and I checked last night and it's sold out anyway. 

What to do what to do what to do. I've flown 100 times and honestly never even heard of them changing the time of the flights (other than gate delays and such). So I'm not even sure what my options are here but keeping this 10:00 flight doesn't sound like one of them. Sigh.....this just adds to the mountain of stress I am under right now due to other things. 48 days....

Hello, ship (Horizon) is supposed to be in Miami at 8am. What would you say is the expected reasonable time we can be off the ship without FTTF. I know things can happen and be different from cruise to cruise, customs, etc. but just looking for a ballpark estimate of when we can reasonably expect to be off the ship and hailing an Uber or whatever else. Thanks. 

Just now, nelblu said:

 

The Custom Form has been discontinued for at least 2-3 years on both cruises and Transatlantic flights into the US (Philadelphia).

Nice. I wasn't aware that it had been. My last trip before this one was Feb of 2017.

I wasn't aware of them using it disembarking the Allure last Sunday but I was amazed at how fast the entire process was. We didn't even have to fill out the old "what did you buy" paperwork or anything.  Basically walked off the ship. Nice.