dbrucern

Thank You again for the wonderful review

Buy insurance at the same time you book the cruise and then you can get cancellation for any reason with some insurances. And no you were not able to cruise so no points

This is all I drink on the cruise and either the Patron or Don Julio with my topper of Grand Mariner

21 hours ago, Out of Iowa said:

A brief historical recollection of how it used to be (decades ago):  US Permanent Residents ("Green Card" holders) had to visit their nearest Internal Revenue Services (IRS) Office to get verification they had paid their taxes/filed necessary tax returns. Doing so resulted in a "sailing permit" that was required to be presented to the airline, ship's representative, etc. before departing the US.  

Interesting when was this because I've had mine for nearly 50yrs and have never had to do this

7 hours ago, lisat214 said:

dbrucern:  We're going on a cruise in May and just realized my husbands Dominican passport expires in July of this year but he has his green card (permanent resident card) will he be okay with only sailing with that and getting off of the ship at the islands? (St Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan, Amber Cove)

I can only tell you from personal experience but I have never had to show anything but my green card when getting on a ship at embarkation and we have been on well over 40 cruises, I would think that is because your picture and fingerprints are listed with the federal government

Cabanas usually have the first tender going over

The shrimp and grits was great as well as the red beans and rice that my hubby ordered

We loved the Mardi Gras our only negatives and I mean ours were we felt the rooms were narrower and the bathrooms smaller but loved the glass door on the shower and they did fix the location of the toilet paper on the Celebration 

23 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I don’t think this is the same as an excursion, if the shuttle was delayed yes, but if the shuttle departed on time but without the OP the ship isn’t waiting. The shuttle wasn’t delayed.

I was speaking too if he made the shuttle

20 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

You loaded your own luggage on a Carnival shuttle?  Never seen that.  Bus drivers are particular on loading luggage and don't let people off at port until luggage is unloaded. The MCO  to PC shuttle always has a second person on the bus to load and unload.  

Believe me, we were just as surprised by this as well there was no additional personnel just the driver. It took place at the Ft Lauderdale airport for a cruise out of Miami so we did not take the Carnival shuttle back that we had booked for the end of the cruise

2 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Yes! YouTube is my next stop! 🙂

Look at Parodeejay on Youtube they will make recommendations for tours and companies and discounts that you can get

9 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Hi all! I tried to use the search function, but I'm either terrible at it or it's just not a user-friendly search engine (it's probably me, TBH! 😆). But I am looking for any detailed trip reviews w/ photos on Carnival Alaska cruises (bonus points if it's also on the Spirit!). In major info gathering mode for our first Alaskan cruise! I know we likely want to do a whale watching tour and my daughter really wants to interact with some sled dogs (don't need to pay the $$$$ for the glacier sledding tour - and that probably won't be happening based on our cruise date anyway). But still very open to things to do on our port stops - Juneau/Skagway/Ketchikan/Victoria. 

Thanks! 

This will be our 4th trip to Alaska but always on another Carnival ship however I was curious too because Spirit will be new to us and found excellent information on Youtube

To be honest we took the shuttle once, had to load and unload our own suitcases and then stopped at every terminal to pick up other passengers, we won't be doing that again.  However since the bus company contracts with Carnival I am sure they would allow you on the ship just like they hold the ship for excursions that are late but personally I would fly in the night before, stay at a hotel near the airport and uber or taxi to the port the next morning

On 3/12/2024 at 9:52 AM, vandercapellen said:

Has anyone hit the 1500 points in the casino and already purchased that drink package and asked the host for something else? I always buy the drink package and always hit 1500, but never thought to ask the host about it before. Any personal experiences or advice welcome. (Going on the Sunshine next month)

Yes I've gotten it on almost every cruise however I also usually get the drink package for free with my Casino offers and you can ask the host but when I asked they very politely say not at 1500 points plus like everyone has said getting drinks throughout the ship is much better than waiting for your casino drink to arrive

1 hour ago, EL Pitman said:

To date, we have only cruised Conquest Class.  I'm quite excited about going on the Mardi Gras while  my autistic hubby is in panic mode.  He has many questions, some I'm hoping someone can help me out with.  I could have sworn I saw somewhere that there is a deli, that was open late, allowing for late night snacking.  I cannot seem to find it again.  Is there a sandwich deli?  Is there a Pizza Pirate along with the Pizza Del Capitano?  

 

When on the Conquest Class, this board gave me the ultimate embarkation tip, the "hidden" BBQ place that is usually empty when you get on the ship.  Is there any such place on the Mardi Gras?  Also, are there any other tips & tricks you know about?

 

Thank you in advance!

The Deli and Pizza are located on deck 8 at the back of the ship right before Guest Services, Summer Landing and the back elevators. Don't forget that inside Summer Landing one side is the Pig and Anchor and if you go to the right and out the side doors they have a BBQ available (free) on embarkation day, They also have a light breakfast there every morning

23 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

First one I’ve seen in the wild outside of Alaska

 

 

 

Come to NC you will see a lot of them especially around the lakes near Charlotte 

Always enjoy your reviews Thank-You, we will be on the Spirit for two week Alaska cruise in September. It is the only Carnival ship we have not been on and now we have a good lay of the land. Thank-You again

Actually we have always had 6pm dining but it was recommended to us to change to Your time dining and it turned out the recommendation was correct. There are so many places to eat and if we wanted the dining room rather than the other options we just checked in for 6pm because there was a Your time dining room on 7. The trick was to check in around 5:30 and we would be seated by 6

6 hours ago, ciabelle said:

If I'm reading the terms on the website correctly (pertinent areas in bold) All your winnings get downloaded onto your cruise card, which you must cash out by the last night, but there is a 3% fee to do so? So if I end up with $1000 in slot credits on the machine at the end of the cruise, I'll lose $30?

Am I missing something? The slots are tight enough without an added rake!
 

Money

• Cash is accepted at all tables and slot machines on cruises departing from North America and Europe. On Australia cruises, all cash transactions are in AUD dollars only. 
• Players will set up a Player Bank account in order to upload and download credits. Winnings must be cashed out from your Player Bank account at the Casino Cashier’s Desk by the last night of your cruise. You may also access these funds for continued gaming action at another slot machine.
• Table players can exchange cash for chips directly at the table or at the Casino Cashier’s Desk.
• There is no charge at the slot machines to access funds, but any transactions done at a table game or the Casino Cashier’s Desk will incur a nominal service fee of 3% each transaction. You can charge up to $5,000 USD per day on your Sail & Sign card to play iin the casino, or $7,500 USD per day for Invite-only cruises (Premier / Ultra / Premier Plus / Getaway / Tournaments) or $10,000 USD per day for Elite cruises. Please consult the casino staff once on board for further details.
   

 

No there is no charge you will get all monies back, the only charge is if sit at a table and rather than give them cash to play or say take the money from my Casino account (monies won on a slot machine) but just want to charge to your S&S account then there is a charge

The Carnival Capers reappeared on our last sea day of our Journey cruise last week

We use it if available on every cruise need to get my clam strips and my husband always gets the platter very worth it considering the price is really not bad

On 12/23/2023 at 1:31 PM, jxtgreek said:

Doesn't Carnival usually give notice of a price increase?  I just noticed a 12 Pack of water went from $9.95 to $11.95.   Still getting it but it would have been nice to have a heads up.  Oh well.  They know they got us.

It was announce by John Heald Carnival's Ambassador as well as multiple others that report on Cruise news and that's why I bought it prior to the increase for my next 5 cruises 

On 12/29/2023 at 1:28 PM, Paula B said:

We just got booked for next year on Carnival Magic. We have been assign room 6382 and was looking at our deck plans. I noticed deck 7 has mainly cabins above us. I'm trying to figure if there will be a problem below us on deck 5? It looks like we will be above the Plaza Cafe alchemy bar or the Red frog Pub but, not positive. We are kind of worried about the noise floating up to our deck 6. We would appreciate any input that you could give us.

Thank you Paula B

Looks like you are right above where the band is playing in Ocean Plaza, I would move if that was my room.  

On 12/27/2023 at 10:11 PM, reddfinn said:

What does being diamond have to do with the question? 

Because one of the perks for Diamonds is free dinner at the Steakhouse

29 minutes ago, MRVEGAS711 said:

So looking to see what peoples experiences have been with Sail Anytime Offer. Want to book a HAVANA PREMIUM VISTA BACONY. My CCL offer is $2180.

 

BUT....I have the option of the "Sail Anytime" offer, which sounds great initially. $1922 with $750 OBC. The caveat is "Your stateroom will be assigned within the selected room type (Suite, Balcony, Oceanview, Interior)

 

So my question is, Will I can an assigned HAVANA PREMIUM VISTA BALCONY  OR  A Balcony of their choosing????

 

(Remember that this offer comes up after I already select Havana Premium Vista balcony.)

Thanks for any advice.

I usually have two Sail Away or Game Time offers, ones where they choose my room and ones where I choose my room but can be a little higher priced. Being assigned a Havana Premium Vista Balcony by Carnival are slim but not impossible you take the chance