Sweet Dutch Girl

People always have their own agendas to the point that "reviews" (especially on the internet) have become more and more slanted towards personal grievances and disappointments the "if I'm miserable everyone is going to know it" syndrome.

Like movie reviews it is all about the "what did this do for me", not about presenting facts and figures. A line for some is anyone being ahead of them, for others a line is 100 people. For some, bad food means anything they wouldn't eat at home because it isn't cooked by Grandma, for others it is tastes that aren't their usual fare. Many cruisers "hate" kids on vacation so more than a half dozen on a cruise makes them miserable, others "like" kids and families and spring break works great for them. Some believe a cruise means they are "the Vanderbilts" and the cruise staff are their personal butlers and maids, others are pretty darn self-sufficient and don't need to be catered to 24/7.

Just another "rule" that is regularly broken and cc'ers are told to ignore, probably by the same folks who have apoplectic fits when the dress "rule" IS broken.

I like the tablecloths, it seems elegant and reminds me that I'm cruising. I especially remember when the staff would come around after every course and use the crumb scraper. They still do from time to time.

I've had the American table a few times and didn't really mind it but there is just something about the tablecloths that are special.

zzzzzzzz..... I'm on a CASUAL vacation, beaches, snorkeling, water sports, zip lines, parasailing, sleeping in, resting in the sun. What in the world does "fine dining", tablecloths, dressy clothes have to do with a vacation in the sun to get out of the gray gloom of most winters. Cruising IS NOT a trip back in time to an age when a first class passengers demanded royal service 24/7 and the most invigorating thing they did was tip their champagne glass. The world has gotten more casual (for the better in my opinion) and cruising is a bit behind the times...it needs to catch up, not revert back.

What do folks consider the problems a ship full of people pose to their "responsible" children? Having researched cruise lines I haven't read any articles or reviews that indicate that kids are susceptible to dangerous situations, have been attacked, or have been "molested" in any way.

The biggest concern may be kids using the pool unsupervised when they can't swim...but, again, I have only read about one drowning and the parent was close by.

Actually rating all vacations for "kid safety" a cruise line seems to rank very, very high. Do people have evidence to the contrary?

Unless we turn cruise ship employees into a mini police department issues like saving chairs, saving a place in line, saving a table at the buffet, holding up elevators for your friends, hogging two slot machines in the casino etc. will just continue to roll merrily along.

If I find a chair with only a towel, or a flip flop, or a book I don't hesitate to move said object and take over ownership. If someone saves a place in line for 30 of their nearest and dearest I just walk past them and step into line in front of said group. Sometimes you just have to be a bit assertive when other people are straying over the line.

It's a well known fact that Carnival doesn't like CC. That's why I feel they take post here quite a bit above a grain of salt.

 

Do they read here, yes and more often than most posters here think. Over the years if you will bother to read back in the forums you can see where CC.s and Carnivals relations have deteriorated. . CC has been the first to post about problems with Carnival faster than the media can even receive the information. In fact quite a few media /staff reads these forums for information.. CC , a thorn in Carnivals side..

Three to four million passengers travel Carnival during any given year. Maybe, if stretched, the Carnival board at CC has less than a thousand members who comment regularly, and many of these are anti-Carnival out of the gate. Even if we give CC the doubt and say that they have 100,000 members who comment and write reviews each year (and I'm sure that there weren't more than 10,000 reviews, really) that is still less than 2% of all Carnival cruisers. I wouldn't, if I were Carnival, even think that was representative of their passenger base. Until Carnival doesn't fill their ships and prices are significantly lowered to be nothing more than "give away" fares I'll continue to believe that CCers have their own personal agendas that aren't in anyway related to how the majority of passengers think and feel.

I think the bigger concern might be eating in ports. I wouldn't be a happy camper if someone in our group insisted that we eat only at McDonalds while there are are all those great local restaurants.

Go ahead and try your bag...the worst that can happen is it has to be checked and can't be carried on. Just in case, bring along a zippered tote bag or extra large beach bag that you fill with all your valuables and irreplaceables and make it the last item you pack. Then, if you have to check your large bag you can remove and carry on the tote.

No it won't help the worry-wart in you that wants control over your luggage, but it will allow you to use what you have and to get on the ship. I've been traveling extensively for over 50 years and have never-ever lost any luggage, if that helps ease your mind.

Carnival carries about 4million plus passengers every year. They have to be doing "something" right or else there must be 4 million really "stupid" folks out there.

An opinion on service, quality, bang for the buck is always subjective and we all know that if you have two people in a room there will always be a dozen different opinions on any one subject.

We should all be glad that the cruising industry has lots of available options that cater to lots of different folks with varied backgrounds, economics, and "requirements". I'd hate to go back to a time when cruising was only for the "elderly" with lots of time and money.

And labeling anyone a cruise snob says more about the person doing the labeling than the individuals they label and more about keeping up with the ever elusive Joneses who only exist in someone else's jealousies.

To be honest, most people don't really care about what other people's opinions are. If passengers don't feel they are getting a good bang for the buck they won't be back....obviously Carnival still has heaps of passengers who return again and again.

As long as you notify and update your Social Security Information anytime there is a name change you are golden. If you forget that step you may end up spending a lot of time standing in a lot of lines when (as a woman) you try to renew anything else. And as long as you have an old driver's license with a picture ID you don't need a sack of documentation to renew....loose your license and it's another story.

Carnival says on their ticket contract that all you need is a valid picture ID (non expired, etc. etc.) that matches your booking name and a valid birth (US) certificate. If they ask for anything else they are voiding their own contract and I don't think that is going to happen.

People who post "sob stories" are not relaying all the facts and there will always be something that caused a hiccup. I know people don't choose to believe me, so good luck to all of you who are digging through the records bureau trying to get paper work you don't need.

If you have no Passport, than bring a Birth Certificate, all bridging documents for name changes, DL, adoption records, divorce records, and any thing else that proves you are who you are.

 

It does not matter, if a stranger, on this board was never asked for it. Do you want to be denied boarding based on a stranger's opinion? Bring it.

Let's see...my birth certificate: name one, my naturalization papers: name two, marriage one: name three, marriage two: name four, legal name change back to an earlier surname...over the course of 70 years. I'm sure I have all the paperwork delineating each of these changes, NOT.

If you are traveling from the US in a closed loop cruise (returning to a US port) regulations say you need a US birth certificate and a current picture ID (driver's license) matching your "booking" name. Nothing else is required. If you were not born in the US you need a passport or naturalization papers.

You can't get a driver's license (anywhere in the US) unless you have previously "proven" name changes.

The only time a marriage certificate is required is when you book in your (probably fairly new) married name and you haven't, yet, updated your driver's license.

All the "false" information on this board is laughable.

Not really. I was advised by a Carnival Rep to do it that way. Frankly, I would haven't even have thought of it on my own. If it's not allowed, then the system will reject it just as the system won't allow only 1 adult in the cabin to purchase Cheers.

Regardless of anything you are not abiding by Carnival rules that say "name changes are not allowed" on Early Saver. So if someone orders a drink for someone on their cheers and the Carnival bartender doesn't flinch isn't that exactly the same scenerio as you are describing. Why is one OK and the other is a federal offense?

It's interesting that peeps thinks its a criminal offense to share drinks on cheers but don't bat an eye when it comes to being dishonest on an early saver booking....so much irony.

You can check in and request your table without everyone being there but they won't seat you until everyone in your party is ready to go into the dining room. And that is just common courtesy.

I believe the issue, for some, with this new method of leaving your sign&sail card (aka room key) in your mailbox is that anyone could "steal" it before you get there and use it for nefarious reasons before the rightful owner takes possession. Unlikely to happen on a ship where it would be easy peasy to ID the thief but some people still are concerned.

"Since cruise ships have stabilizers they don't actually sway from side to side unless they are being buffeted by hurricane force winds from a single direction hitting the center of the ship, and any good captain is going to turn the butt of the ship into the wind. Most movement comes from an up and down motion caused by riding the waves..."

 

 

OMG, as a USCG Capt., you have no idea what you are talking about, this is simply not true. The seas are always flowing in the same direction. The Capt holds course towards it's destination. "Butt of the ship into the wind?" So go in the wrong direction?

Absolutely if you were caught in the throes of a hurricane.

Doesn't matter what we think. Cruiselines believe higher decks are worth more...the higher you stay, the more you sway, the more you sway, the more you pay

Since cruise ships have stabilizers they don't actually sway from side to side unless they are being buffeted by hurricane force winds from a single direction hitting the center of the ship, and any good captain is going to turn the butt of the ship into the wind. Most movement comes from an up and down motion caused by riding the waves...which means the front and the rear of the ship have more movement than the center. And, in all actuality, upper decks don't cost the most. On newer ships suites have been moved to mid ship mid decks with cabins above and below because that is the prime real estate.

Yup,, same, we have had "large" groups,, and we LINK groups of 20 ... at one table .. sometimes a big round one

In order to seat 20 people at a single round table you would need a minimum 12' diameter table, and I don't think I have ever seen one that size (that would be the size of a bedroom and the center of the table would be wasted space since no one has a 6' reach). The largest round table may be 8' and you might be able to get 13 peeps around it. Long banquet tables are often set up running perpendicular to the perimeter walls and may sit up to 20 people but you won't be visiting with those sitting at the opposite ends unless you yell real loud.

Large groups are best served by breaking up and sitting 8 to 10 at a 6' table and shifting seats each night to be able to visit with everyone. We have always done this (our travel agent does all the work) and it works great. Besides you can reach all the stuff at the center of the table.

 

I just can't follow the logic....

Welcome to CC where logic and common sense are often hard to find.

A chair, any chair, with nothing but a towel or a banana or one flip flop is, in my mind, empty. I have no qualms about gathering up said towel, banana, or flip flop and moving it to an empty, on the deck, corner.

It is very easy to distinguish a "currently being used" chair or lounger from a "I'll save this for later but I won't leave anything of consequence in it".

And, if you really want to enjoy the serenity deck just forego a port visit and visit the deck then. They are always virtually empty, quiet, and serene.

We'll it seems like no one agrees on the answer. We're just going to try and get a copy and play it safe.

Waste of time and effort. Cruise Critic members are not the authority on traveling Carnival. Just read the requirements on Carnival and don't "read" into their explanations. A bc and a current ID matching the name on the reservation is all that is required. If you find anything else I would be surprised.

A riot indeed! Especially since ships now have far more passengers than deck chairs. I would join the riot if I had no chair but there were empty chairs just sitting around. That would just be a different kind of chair hogging.

 

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Easy solution...sit in the chair until it's owner shows up. The whole problem, as I see it, is that people want chairs for hours and hours to bask in the sun and get burned to a crisp.

What is needed is a chair that starts timing when you sit in it and ejects you once you've been there for more than a couple of hours...

My current "legal name" is 4 times removed from my birth certificate because of various marriages, divorces, etc. There is no way I would have all the legal documentation chasing down the name change from now to then.

When traveling on a cruise the destination is the cruise ship if the ports are Mexican or caribbean or canadian and your embarkation port is US or a US territory. If you got on you can get off at the final US destination as long as you use the same travel documents at both ends and your photo ID matches up to you.

People are confusing customs post ship with customs after you have traveled to a foreign destination where a passport is required and a birth certificate, ID and all the marriage licenses in the world wouldn't get you there much less back.

I have always had smoked salmon for my morning bagel at all Carnival breakfast buffets. Cream cheese is also available. Onions and capers and sliced tomatoes may not always be available.

Reading the Carnival "rules" it says NOTHING about the name on a "required" photo ID matching a birth certificate...only that the photo ID matches the name under which the cruise was booked.

So...to the OP: If your companions driver's license or state ID card matches the booking info and your companion has a valid birth certificate that is ALL that is required, regardless whether the birth certificates matches the driver's license.

People need to understand what they read on Carnival's website and not publish erroneous information.

The only time a marriage certificate is needed is when the booking and the photo ID don't match...as is often the case for women traveling on their honeymoon who book in their new "married" name.