ArkTraveler82

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience and photos! I loved your review. We're going to be in the Vista in October and I can't wait. After reading about how much you enjoyed the Havana area, I really want to experience it! We're trying out out first cove balcony though so I'm excited about being that close to the water. Thanks again for sharing!!!

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Thank you for this link. According to the website the balconies on all three rooms open up to each other. We are in 8326 which is connected to 8330 and next to 8330 is room 8336 (my room). Both 8326 and 8336 have balconies that open to 8330. Now if we could have the bar deliver to us. lol

Your welcome and that's great that it worked out for you guys! Have a fun cruise!!!

I've found this link very helpful. It provides a description of the features of the stateroom and will state whether or not the cabin has a connecting balcony along with which room it connects to.

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3181

I zip tie the zipper on our bag shut, and then zip tie the bag itself to a beach chair within sight of where we're swimming. That's secure enough to stop someone from going through the bag or grabbing it before I could be on top of him.

I bought a vacation vault but its not big enough for my camera and I think it would take up valuable weight in my luggage :rolleyes:. I usually carry a lightweight backpack to the beach and I like the idea of zip ties! But I'm trying to figure out how would I cut my bag off the lounger? Do pocket knives get confiscated at the security check points when getting back on the ship? Are fingernail clippers strong enough to work? If my belongings were secure, playing in the ocean would be so much more relaxing!

Thanks for all the responses! I enjoyed reading everyone's preferences and experiences. I'd love to extend our vacation another day and just chill out in Miami but we're flying in 3 days before our cruise to spend time with friends who live in Florida. Hubby has to be back at work that Monday :loudcry: and our drive home from the airport is several hours. Thanks again!

Always take an early flight no problems. Off the Vista last Saturday and at the airport at approx 7:15am. Platinum Self Assist.

Btw, I read your review of the Vista. Loved it and the pictures you posted! Thanks for sharing!

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Always take an early flight no problems. Off the Vista last Saturday and at the airport at approx 7:15am. Platinum Self Assist.

I wanted to take the earlier flight so bad!!! I almost hit the buy button, backed out, and went with the later flight, lol. Thought about going the self assist route but started reading posts where people arrived in port late due to medical emergencies, hurricane rerouting (we're cruising in hurricane season), etc. I realize there are rare circumstances that could cause us to even miss the noon flight, but chances are, we'll get to the airport in plenty of time to have made the earlier flight and THEN I'll wish I had booked it. ;p

no disrespect meant here but if every single person made an early flight here it doesn't mean anything for you. Ships get into port late at times, customs sometimes takes much longer, traffic accidents on the road toward the airport, security lines at the airport over 1 hour long...

 

you need to be accepting that no matter what anyone posts here about their specific situation, it doesn't mean that you will make it.

 

I would spend the extra $80 for peace of mind and lose the hour.

I DID buy the later tickets because I realize that whatever happens on someone's cruise may not happen on mine. I enjoy reading other people's stories / experiences and thought it might be interesting reading for other's to share their stories and what situations they found themselves in that caused them to miss an early flight.

I use Barclays Arrival, same company as the Carnival card, which I also have but never use anymore. The Barclays card has a much better rewards program than the Carnival card. For every $1 I spend anywhere, I get 2 points, which adds up quickly! There is a nice sign up bonus and rewards add up quickly. I just purchased airline tickets for our next cruise for $732 and my current rewards balance will cover that plus our hotel room plus some of our onboard account purchases. We put everything we purchase and every bill we pay on the credit card. The key is to pay it off every month so you don't wipe out the rewards via interest. Carnival doesn't have an annual fee but Barclays does, which is $89 and waived the first year. That fee almost deterred me but I did the math and I still come out hundreds of dollars ahead, despite the fee. Plus, I was able to use my points to pay for the fee. I LOVE this card because I save over $1,000 every year on our vacation. I'm going to check out some of the other cards mentioned in this thread too. Never hurts to get a new sign up bonus... ;)

I just booked flights for our October cruise, yay! :D For the return flight, I really wanted to book an 11:05 am departure out of Miami, which would have saved us $80 total and gotten us home an hour earlier. We have a long drive home so the extra hour makes a difference. However, I was nervous with too early of a flight so went the safe route and spent the extra $80 for peace of mind. Cruise lines suggest a noon or later flight but I've read tons of posts where people easily made their early flights. Trying to make this decision got me to wondering how often cruisers miss early flights due to debarkation hangups, etc, and I was wondering if anyone would mind sharing their story?

TIA and happy cruising!!!

Its actually because the rules are different as to what you can use the cards for on Royal. It has to be a new booking only, you can't apply it to an existing booking, or to on board credit or anything else.

 

I sail both Carnival and Royal, but I would NEVER use points for the Royal gift cards...its just not as good a deal as the Carnival cards!

We used the Royal Caribbean certificates on our Oasis of the Seas cruise last October and it was an existing cruise. I called customer service first before purchasing the certificates and they confirmed that we could use them on an existing booking but they are more of a pain in the rear because they have to be mailed in. Carnival's gift cards are much more user friendly but we were able to save 10% on the balance of an existing RCCL cruise.

Sorry, I didn't see this question.

 

You should be just fine driving over the morning of your cruise.

 

It is a straight shot from I75 to 595 to Port Everglades. You exit to the port right off the interstate I believe.

 

The drive is absolutely gorgeous! When we were moving over from Sarasota to Fort Lauderdale I would get off work around 9PM and make the drive over. The stars are magnificent! It is a lot like they are in the desert.

 

Good luck and leave early just in case!

Thanks BlueHerons! After your description of the stars, I wish we could make the drive in the dark, lol. We have to return our car rental to the airport, then catch a cab over to the port but I'm thinking they are close enough in distance that it should still go pretty smooth. Thanks for the feedback.

I lived in the Naples area for six years and made the trip across Alligator Alley (I 75) and I 595 many times. You should not run into traffic problems, particularly on a Saturday morning, but there are no guarantees. Leaving early in the morning should ensure you get to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

If you don't receive a reply today, try asking BlueHerons again on the Florida Departures board. I know he/she frequents that board and provides a lot of great info there.

Thanks for the feedback Royal and tropiclvrs! Sorry I was so delayed in responding... been a super busy couple of weeks.

I make the drive 3 times a week at all time of day and night and it has never taken me less than 60 minutes to get from Las Olas to either downtown or South Beach.

On multiple occasions it has taken me three hours.

On a regular basis due to accidents and roadwork, 90 minutes.

If there is an accident on I95 the police will shut down the entire stretch and allow no traffic through because there are no shoulders wide enough for emergency vehicles. Police are instructed not to stop for speeding on that stretch of I95.

Chrislilynorah, It's so nice to see a happy ending! Can't imagine the disappointment after months of excitement, only to be denied boarding. I'd be a mess!!! Hope you have the best vacation ever in February!!!

BlueHerons, I have a question about the Florida traffic. We are booked on the Oasis out of Fort Lauderdale in October but we are flying in a few days early to visit friends in Punta Gorda. We are renting a car and driving back to Fort Lauderdale early on the morning of our cruise but after reading the many comments about heavy traffic, I'm wondering if we should drive back the night before our cruise. Looking at the route on Google Maps, we'd take I-75 across Florida and I-595 to the FLL airport to return the car before catching a taxi. As far as I can see, we can avoid I-95. My question is... is I595 just as bad as I95 and should we drive into Fort Lauderdale the night before? I really don't think we'd miss our cruise because we'd start the 2 1/2 hour drive early morning but we do enjoy getting on the ship early and getting as much out of our first day as we can. TIA!!!

Carnival Gift Cards are available!!!

I was just on AARP (4:10 central time for me) to see if the RC certificates were available for my October cruise but also saw Carnival Gift Cards in both $100 and $500 dollar amounts are available!

Thanks everyone for your input... this helps me when making decisions. :-)

You will be at Crown Bay.

 

You can track down the local port information to find where you will be, but some just know from having been there that RCL's giants always dock at Crown Bay.

Thank you! This gives me a starting point for planning.

There are many sites that show where ships dock. Here is one site that has info.

http://wico-vi.com/cruise-ship-dock/ship-schedule-port-availability

 

There are others that post info months in advance. I'm sure someone will provide other links.

Thank you for the link! I don't see October's schedule yet but I'm going to save this link. Thanks for your help.

It's 8:35 am central time and I was just on AARP. There are $100 and $500 Carnival Gift Cards available so grab them while they last! Good luck!!!

I've been reading threads about beaches to visit while in St Thomas and there are many references made to the closest beaches depending on which cruise port your ship is docked. Apparently there are 2 ports... Havensight and Crown Bay. How do you know which port your ship will dock at? We're cruising on the Oasis of the Seas and I've looked online at my cruise information but I've been unable to determine that particular piece of information. What am I missing that everyone else seems to know? :confused: TIA!

I found it much easier to scan the certificates and email them to RCCL. I redeemed 16 that way and had a pretty quick response from them.:)

Hi Mikelaw!

Thanks for your response. I didn't know you could email copies and I think that is a great idea! I've tried to email a couple of times today and each time, was unsuccessful. I receive a message that says...

"We are currently unable to complete your request. Please try again later."

Did you ever have any issues emailing your certificates? I just wanted to check with you before spending 30 minutes on the phone with them. :rolleyes:

Mikelaw, I had no idea they would accept scanned certificates. What kind of response did you receive? I never received notification of any kind when they posted the certificate I mailed in. Did you use a particular email that got it to the accounting department? Thanks for sharing how this worked for you.

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Also, on the website, or on the certificate itself, I found that there is a separate number to call to track all of this. What you will find is, if you call the RCCL "normal" number, they look at the screen and wonder if they can actually "get into" the booking. I found calling the special number is much faster. You should be able to use the cruise planner as normal, but you won't see a balance for your cruise, as you already know.

Hi DrinkinsinceCharlotte! Sorry to bother you again but was wondering if you could answer another question since you've had experience with paying with the RC certificates. When you mail yours, do you usually insure them? Also, do you wait and mail them all at once after you purchased them or do you mail them as you buy them?

Thanks so much in advance!!!

That is the strangest request i have ever read.:confused:

I don't think its strange at all. As a matter of fact, I'm so glad I read your post Valiamo because I think I'm going to steal your idea. :D I make a photo book of our cruises and for the last book, I took a picture of the current Funtimes (Carnival's daily newsletter) as the photo that started each day's section. We'll be on the Oasis in Oct and I love your idea of starting each page with the elevator day. So now I'll have to make sure to get a picture every day too. :) Thanks for the idea!!!

Thanks for sharing, I've been enjoying your review and photos! We were on the Conquest Oct 31-Nov 8, 2015 for the Southern Caribbean itinerary. This was our first holiday cruise and we participated in the Halloween fun by dressing up as the Flintstones. There were 6 in our group and it was an absolute blast!!!

It was a wonderful cruise and we were able to visit ports we had not been to before. We were also at sea during a time change when we reverted from Daylight Savings Time back to Standard Time. The ship changed over to the new time on the same night the states did and luckily for us, we didn't have any issues. Actually, I enjoyed the idea that I gained an extra hour of cruising time, LOL.

I agree with the food assessment. We used to love the formal meals but they seem to have gone downhill since Carnival switched to the American Table menu. We were on the Freedom in February and it was the same thing. I talked to our waiter about it and he said there are a LOT of complaints that the quality and selection of the food is no longer the same. I get that they attempted something new in hopes of making improvements but in this case, its not working. Hopefully Carnival will wake up with all the complaints and go back to the old menu. And unfortunately, I feel the same about the entertainment too...

Except for the sub par food and entertainment, I have no complaints and everything was great! I can even tolerate the food because I'm not having to cook it or clean up and seriously, who goes hungry on a cruise ship? There's always ice cream to save the day! LOL.

Again, thanks for sharing and looking forward to the rest of your review!