KatieBug28

Hi all,

We've never done specialty dining before and are considering giving it a try this cruise. So I wanted to ask, if you could only do one specialty restaurant, which one would you choose, and what would you order? (Or feel free to share favorite dishes from several)

Bit of background: we're on the Panorama, so we have quite a few options. We often eat lunch in JiJi and Cucina, but have never done the dinner service. I believe our other options are Bonsai Tempanyaki, the steakhouse, and sushi. We've mostly never bothered in the past because we like all these types of food and have great options for them at home for a better price. So there's no real "this is your only chance" situation. But thinking it might be fun to try something new this time around!

58 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

Was wondering the same thing.  Our ship (Majestic) stops from 8-6, and the Pirate Ship is from 9:30 - 4:30, so it seems like it’d be cutting it close.   

Oh gosh, it was a few years ago and I don't remember the details! They were wonderful though, and I felt like they knew the schedule of the different ships even better than we did! They were also very good about keeping us on ship time instead of shore time. I don't remember the exact details, but I would have no hesitation in trusting them to get me back on time!

Thank you so much!

If you book through a third party, many will offer a money back guarantee if you don't see whales! So that is something that might be worth looking into. We've seen them every time we've been in Cabo, usually in the winter but a couple of times in the shoulder season.

We've had a good time doing horseback riding and ATVs, booking through 3rd party vendors. Whale watching is also really great with the kids if they are still in season! There are quite a few affordable options (our favorite is La Princesa catamaran) that are child friendly!

Lots of great suggestions here already! 

Two I haven't seen mentioned but that you might enjoy, both in PV:

Mismaloya - you can take the public bus for something like 25 cents a person, or get a taxi or ride share, to this lovely beach about 20 minutes outside of town. It's got a great little protected bay, a restaurant that has cheap and delicious food and lots of loungers and umbrellas. It's super calm and just gorgeous! It's fun that you can just go a little ways away and have a whole beach pretty much to yourself! You do have to make a bus transfer downtown, but that gives you a chance to see the Malecon and shop a little bit in the flea market. The bus comes right to the port, super easy! Happy to DM if you need more exact info, I'd just have to go find it, so shoot me a message if you'd like!

One other option is the Pirate Ship in PV. This is absolutely not inexpensive, but I do think it is a really good value. Breakfast, lunch and an open bar are included, as well as the pirate show, a treasure hunt for the kids, beach activities like banana boats and snorkeling, etc. We did this a few years ago and while our family had a "personal pirate" to take care of us, they also assigned our youngest her own pirate, Pinky. He was AMAZING. Basically became her new best friend and made sure she was safe and having a great time the entire time. Definitely a splurge, but makes for a really fun day!

I've used a few similar apps during pandemic travel and they have been great! So nice to know your documents have been approved and you got the correct thing done (we went to Egypt in October and it was super nice to know we'd be admitted before we got on our flight!) We've also used it at some event venues (like the Rose Bowl) and it really made things go fast.

Yes, it's kind of a hassle to download the new app for each thing, but it sure does make the process easy once you are there! I'd much rather be uploading our vaccine info while I'm sitting at my desk and killing time rather than spend that time in line at the airport or cruise terminal! 

Hi all,

We're about to do our first cruise since the pandemic, and we've always had FTTF before, so never had to do the assigned arrival times. I have three cabins and three booking numbers for my group, but I have them all linked under my account in Carnival.com.

Question is - will it let me complete online check in for everyone at the same time so we can get the same arrival window? Or will I have to go back and restart the whole process for each cabin? (I'm really hoping it won't make the others do a separate checkin) I'm not super concerned with getting an early time or anything, as we are driving in and it might be nice to sleep a little later, but I just want to make sure we are all in the same boarding group. 

Any tips or advice much appreciated!

We just did the same thing! I ended up booking 3 interiors on Deck 8 for the 5 of us (hubs and me, our two girls 8 and 13, and a single for my mother in law). We chose 8 because it has cabins above and below, and we are close but still a few cabins away from the elevator. We like this location because it is easy to run up to Lido for snacks and kid activities, but also quiet when we want to sleep - even during the day! We haven't done interiors for a long time and usually do the 4 of us in a balcony, but it was actually cheaper to get 2 interior cabins than to fit us all into one, which was what made it worth it! We just booked last week to sail on the 26th, so a fun last minute Spring Break getaway!

I've gotten several of them as well, despite filling it out right after booking. They keep sending them to my husband as well (we have two rooms, one booked under his name, for our kids). It certainly makes me feel better that you are all having the same experience!

Hi all! Wondering if I can get your help deciding on a Panama Canal cruise.

I'm trying to decide between a 9 day on the Freedom out of Miami, and a 14 day on Glory out of NOLA. Obviously we'd much rather do the 14, but it is more than twice as expensive and much harder with our kids in school (undecided on whether to take them, but would either need to miss school or coordinate care while we are gone). 

Any differences on ship, itinerary, etc. that are enough to bump that 14 day into "definitely worth it"? We've been to a few of these ports before, and the Canal is really the only one that is a must do. Also been to both departure ports. 

Here are the stops, for reference: 

14 day: New Orleans Montego Bay Aruba Bonaire Cartagena Panama Canal Partial Transit Limón Cozumel End: New Orleans

9 day: Miami Grand Cayman Limón Colón (Panama Canal) Cartagena End: Miami 

Would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you!

I also got a casino offer without ever playing in the casino! I originally was able to put it online as a hold, while my husband figured out if he could go or not. It wasn't letting me add him, so I called the PVP who had helped us a couple of years ago. Turns out HE ALSO HAD AN OFFER. We ended up booking the four of us in two cabins, because it was cheaper than doing 3rd and 4th guests in one! So now my kids are right next door and we'll have two bathrooms. Great deal and so glad it worked out!

We've never done an ocean view cabin before and are thinking of giving it a try if we end up booking a last-minute Spring Break cruise. A Deluxe Ocean View is only $12 more, so thinking about trying that.  However, a little worried about the space issue. Does the extra washroom make the cabin super cramped? 

My love for long hot baths is at war with my need for space for my family of 4! Any tips or suggestions appreciated!

I'm sure this has been covered before but the search function is giving me some issues. TIA!

I feel like some of it depends on where you are cruising from? When we've cruised from NOLA or Galveston, folks were dressed more formally than when we've cruised out of California. I saw lots of cocktail and formal dresses/suits on those cruises, versus maxi dresses and button down shirts when we've cruised from Long Beach. 

Anyone else had this experience? I always just kind of shoot for middle of the road, and ended up quite over dressed! But planning for the Panorama for Spring Break and admit it's much more convenient to just bring a maxi!

Weird question that I haven't been able to find an answer to, so figured I'd ask the real experts here!

I've casually got my eye on a Spring Break cruise that is currently quite cheap, but seems to be falling in price a bit every week. It's from Long Beach, which is drivable, and we already have the week off of work and school. We're planning on a national park trip, but if the price keeps dropping I might sub in a cruise instead.

My question: how late can we book? Is there a cutoff?

Obviously we'd need the time to get our COVID tests (all fully vaccinated, so no exemption needed) and drive down, but those are fast and easy. Can you still book a week out? Two weeks? (Assuming there are still cabins available, of course). 

Would love any info anyone has on "last minute" bookings. We are normally the type that book months or years in advance (currently booked for Costa Rica and Thailand later this year and have had those on the books for over a year!), but it is honestly looking like a cruise might be cheaper than our cheap camping trip at this point, and I'd love to take advantage if we can!

I agree on the whiteboard/sticky notes! Sometimes the Hub app can be a bit spotty and it can take a while for messages to come through, so it is nice to have a backup. Plus you can draw fun pics of the day's activities, etc. and it helps to find your room!

I also agree with the buddy system, and just stressing that they need to let the group know where they are. Our kids pretty much have free rein when we go, as long as we know where they are and they understand the safety rules.

One more thing: make sure they understand charging to the room or possibly even have that disabled! We've always just put a limit for each kid for arcade, etc., but some friends did not and their daughter ended up spending around $80 at the candy store!

Update: With the vaccinations now available, my friend was able to get her two youngest in to be vaccinated this week, and they will be fully vaccinated in time for the cruise. She had applied for exemptions for the two younger kids and was denied, several months after booking and filing. Thankfully she was able to book the same cabin, but it cost her an additional $275. I'm just glad her Christmas is saved!

She still hasn't received her refund, however. 

We pretty much NEVER book Carnival excursions, and have always had a great experience. You save so much money and have a much smaller group (or in some cases with things like a Pirate Ship, we've literally been on the EXACT SAME EXCURSION that the folks from the cruise were on.)

I feel like folks are always saying that booking through the cruise line is worth it for "peace of mind" because the ship won't leave without you. But every excursion we have ever done was absolutely militant about getting us back on time. They know if you miss your ship, their business will suffer from the bad review. We've had fantastic professionalism from everyone we've ever gone with, and never missed the ship - or even come close!

Hi all,

Wondering if you can all help me help out a friend. She booked a cruise several months ago for her 5 kids as their Christmas present, and just got notified that Carnival is cancelling her reservation due to the vaccination status of her two youngest. They are too young to have received the vaccine yet, but she plans to have them vaccinated as soon as it becomes available. The rest of the family (mom and 3 older kids) are all fully vaccinated.

She is hoping the vaccine gets approved very soon and that she can re-book at a similar rate, since she has already paid for flights for all of them. Does anyone have experience with this at all, or any suggestions for her? She spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Carnival already and they said there is nothing they can do, because the kids violate the 95% policy. To make matters worse, they said it will take up to three months to process her refund, so she is now wondering how she is going to afford Christmas this year. Any suggestions of how to get this trip back on track for her family are much appreciated! 

Giving this a bump! I'm in the same boat (ha!) at 60 days out from the Mexican Riviera on the Panorama. Don't see it happening, but waiting to cancel so we can get the OBC to move ...

I agree that the type of sleeper is more important than age! Our oldest is a thrasher and I actually brought along a pool noodle to shove along the side the first few times she slept up top. Youngest, on the other hand, sleeps like the dead and has never fallen out of bed. She started sleeping up there on her first cruise at age two when she was jealous of her sister. 

If you are going to Costa Maya I highly recommend checking out Maya Chan! Our kids are still talking about it more than a year after our visit. The food is FANTASTIC, the beach is wonderful, and they have all kinds of beach toys (and folks that will help the kids with them while mom and dad relax!). They also had a "create-your-own" smoothie competition that was a huge hit. 

And agreed, the sloths in Honduras are so fun! We absolutely loved that excursion!

I think it really depends on you and your situation. For us, with a tiny one who still naps, it's REALLY nice to have early access to the room. We can hop on, drop off our bags and get the kiddos fed before putting the littlest down for a nap. Since our luggage arrives early, one of us can stay with her and unpack while the other explores the ship with our older daughter or takes her swimming. She can wake up just in time for muster and sail away, and the vacation is off to a much better start for all of us! It's also just great to get on the ship with very little waiting, since they get impatient and bored in line.

We also tend to book our own shore excursions outside of Carnival, and so the priority tender has been very nice in ports where that is an issue.

I also like skipping the guest services line when needed. I don't use it often, but it always seems like there are 2-3 times per cruise I need it.

I also like being the first group off the ship once we are home, because we usually have something planned in the home port for the day.

But, if it were just us adults, and we weren't planning on doing outside excursions, I would probably save the money.

On days when we are headed ashore, I grab a couple of the small cereal boxes from the breakfast buffet to take along for snacks. They are sealed and so are allowed on shore. My kids always seem to get hungry before it's time for whatever local food we have planned for the day, so I can give them that to much on. (We also enjoy buying the popular local pre-packaged snacks in the ports and bringing them back with us. They can make for a fun tasting party before dinner, or a fun way to remember our trip once we are back home.)

Other tip for going ashore: bring a Camelbak or other type of water bladder or bottle, preferably insulated. My husband brings his and fills it up with ice and water on Lido before we head out for the day. Excursions generally give you a bottle of water, but it is nice to have ready whenever you need it, especially if you are venturing out on your own.

I wish I'd been brave enough to book my own excursions! We could have saved a ton of money and done some more exciting things. 

Also I wish I had known how dark it would be in an inside cabin. The first day, my husband and I kept waking up in what we thought was the middle of the night. We finally turned on the light to check his watch, because we just couldn't go back to sleep (this was before smart phones). It was almost 1 p.m. No wonder we weren't tired anymore!

(Now I love the dark of an inside because it makes my kids sleep in, lol. But we've kind of outgrown that space and are in balconies now.)