moongal

Must go google "rogue wave"! Sounds scary!

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Do the sign and sail cards come with the hole already punched to attach it to a lanyard? I can't remember on our first cruise, I think I had read to bring a hole punch so you wouldn't have to stand in line at Guest Services to have it punched so I brought one. But on our last cruise last summer there was already a hole punched.

Is is fleet wide now to already have the hole punched? I won't bother packing the hole punch if so.

Thanks!

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Wow that is scary sounding!!! And no one ever told you what it was that caused it? If the Captain pretended it didn't happen then I wonder if it was caused by an error made by the Captain? Kind of makes me a little scared?? I would feel better if there was full disclosure. If it was Mother Nature then why not say so? Why keep it a secret as to the cause? Do things like this happen often? I would probably almost have a heart attack to get awakened by such a list.

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Interesting responses! Those of you who like the late seating stated your case so well that now if I find myself stuck with it, I'll give it a try! I didn't book a cruise I wanted (my first choice of itinerary and date) because the only dining option still available was the "late" seating and it was a deal breaker for me, but now after reading some of your thoughts I would be willing to give it a try.

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How does one get one of these phone calls? Does it happen close to sailing time?

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Just curious, but do many people actually want the late dining or do most of the people who get it just stuck into it by default when both early and anytime dining are full?

We eat very late at home but on the ship it seems if you had the late seating you would miss a lot of the evenings activities.

I don't understand why they even have the "early" or "late" seatings. Why not just have it all be "anytime". I would hate it if I got stuck with late dining.

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Moongal have you tried flying to an all inclusive resort? You will feel very special and pampered there. And if you and he sig other go to a couples only place like a Sandals, no kids to worry about either

 

 

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I don't fly. I am too claustrophobic. The thought of being shut up in a plane with no way off is just too much for me. So that limits me pretty much to my home port of Galveston.

This is why I wish there were no cut backs. For me, I can't just go try another line. RC and Carnival I think (maybe also Disney??) are the only ones sailing out of Galveston.

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.....ok, I will bite, what makes feel pampered special?

 

 

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Well I really love having the steward come twice a day. I really loved interacting with them. I know I can still request twice a day service, and I probably will, but there will be a little piece of me that feels guilty about it (adding to a poor overworked stewards load) hence my enjoyment of it will not be the same. On my first cruise my steward seemed to have time enough to chat with me. The last one I never even saw him but first day.

I loved the tablecloths in the MDR. I don't use tablecloths at home and most places we go out to eat on land don't use them, so to me it felt "fine dining" even though in reality I know it was but an illusion.

I haven't been cruising that long but the midnight feast sounds like it would have been nice. I would have liked a chocolate on my pillow even if it was a nasty chocolate. It would have felt special.

Would have liked a lobster tail on a shorter cruise.

I do remember on my first cruise it didn't matter which deck I was sitting out on, some one would come by to take a drink order. On my last cruise, had to go to get drink myself and wait in long line. Nothing that is a deal breaker and yes I am aware I have two perfectly good legs to go walk to get myself a drink but when the drink servers came by it just felt decadent and luxurious to just sit there and be waited upon.

I'm the mom, and now also a grandmother (still have 2 teens at home though) and have spent the better part of 30 years waiting on people, cooking, cleaning etc. It is sooo nice to be waited on and that is why I am willing to pay more to get that experience.

Most Land vacations that I have ever taken weren't really that much fun if truth be told. When you factor in making sure all the kids had their things, ensuring that so n so's medicine was in the right bag, all the laundry afterwards, dealing with the inevitable kid who would always come down with something on a trip etc. The very reason I caught the cruising bug was that it seemed so luxurious!! Someone to come in and tidy the cabin 2x a day?!!! What heaven!! Anyway for myself I would definitely pay more have the luxurious feel.

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I guess I'm the oddball here. I'd rather pay more and get a better higher end product and cruise less often. Rather than pay less and go more often. I like it to be special and feel pampered.

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If you want chips bring them with you from home. We brought Pringles in a can so they wouldn't get all smashed. The only chips we saw onboard in the fun shops were CRAZY high. We learned after our first cruise to bring snacks for late night munching as there isn't much except for pizza.

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That's odd when we went it specifically said snap chat was not included. Maybe this has recently changed?

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Reading this whole thread makes me never want to cruise or go anywhere ever again. I have seen nasty things on both my cruises, a couple of kids grabbing fries from the buffet with their hands, taking bites of them and putting them back into the buffet - I guess they thought this was a hilarious stunt, I also saw kids putting their mouths on the ice cream dispenser nozzle to fill their mouth, (this was mostly late at night) and in both instances I told an employee and both times the carnival employee seemed apathetic. I told myself it was just an isolated incident and not to get too bent out of shape but reading all these stories kind of makes me feel like maybe these bad behaviors are not so isolated.

Kind of makes me feel ill. Pee on the deck? Pee in the hot tubs? Grubby hands in the food? Toe picking in the Lido? Yuck.

I don't think I will read any more of these stories. Will try to purge them all from my brain when I am on my next cruise but for real, why do so many have to be so disgusting???

I wonder has it always been like this or has our society digressed in the extreme. I just can't imagine in my grandmothers day any girl would pull down her bathing suit and pee on the deck or some of these other things.

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No it is not

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Just use Facebook messenger. She will be able to communicate with you using that app. You only mentioned losing the snapchat streak in your post.

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I don't want to come off as sounding preachy, because I have 2 teenagers with snapchat streaks also but when we sailed last, I told them I wasn't going to pay extra for the premium Internet, we just did the social plan, and of course they were not too thrilled with this prospect leading up to the cruise, but then something magical happened and they saw that life does go on if you lose a snap chat streak, and it made them see maybe just a little what really is important in life. They even admitted this to me that it ended up not being that big of a deal.

We had so much fun just being together when most of the time when they are home they are on their phones.

The kids today get so wrapped up in their phones and don't even know that there is a whole life going on around them.

Maybe it won't be so bad if they do wind up losing their streaks. Just sayin.

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I guess in my long winded postings I didn't phrase my question clearly.

Is it less of a chaotic rush/crowd if we hang back and just relax and leave later? Or is just going to be be a crowded chaotic mess no matter what time we exit the ship.

We do have FTTF and only live a short drive to the port so not in any rush to catch a plane etc.

I don't mind sitting around waiting, I would rather do that than fight crowds.

Does anyone know if it is calmer when exiting at a later time?

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Since they only have $49 (per person) of your money, that's all you can lose. Not a large penalty.

Yes I am not worried at all about losing the $49 per person, I was wondering what happens if you cancel after full payment. Is it treated the same as other bookings? Like a different amount penalty depending on how close the cruise is. Or if you book early saver does that mean you forfeit everything once final payment is made regardless of how near or far your cruise is?

I have called the actual Carnival line to ask about this but every time I have called I get a different answer. To be honest I would never call and rely on the ones answering the phones to get ANYTHING right. I am constantly amazed at how little these people seem to know.

I tried just a few weeks ago to make a courtesy hold booking, I normally do it myself on the website but the website was crashing and it wasn't letting me do anything so I figured I'll just call and they can do it. Long Story short, when I got the confirmation it showed the wrong room and the hold was only good for 1 hour instead of the 48 hrs it normally is good for.

Is it that difficult to hire at least semi-competent people?

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So if you book early saver is there any difference if you need to cancel your cruise? If you cancel AFTER you have paid in full, are the penalties different from any other booking? I tried to find this information but under the details it said *except early saver and whatever that last minute fare is called (can't remember) but it didn't tell you what the actual difference would be.

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This sale applies only to early saver fares. I'm not real sure on all the fine details but I think if you book under early saver you cannot make any changes or cancellations without large penalties? Someone else more knowledgeable might be able to shed more light. I don't like booking under early saver because it seems too restrictive in case you need to change your plans.

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Hi,

IF you have FTTF you will get a message the night before you disembark telling you where to meet to get off the ship early carrying your own luggage. IF you do not get this message go to Guest Services and ask where the meeting place is located.

Go to the meeting place early and wait there with your luggage.

Then when it is OK a crew member will lead all the FTTF people off the ship before the other folks who are just carrying their own luggage withOUT FTTF.

I don't know why you didn't do this on your other cruises??

The only people off before you will be Platinum and Diamond cruisers who are also carrying their own luggage.

You should not have to deal with crowds or waiting in long lines!!

I did do this!! I couldn't even reach the FTTF meeting place at the designated time! And yes we left way way early. I guess we did waste a lot of time trying to get an elevator but even trying to get down the stairs it was jammed. One step at a time. Go down one step wait, go down another step wait. By the time all 7 of us had gotten even close to the place where the FTTF was supposed to meet, they had all been released and it was like trying to cross a herd. We didn't realize that the herd was the just released FTTF people and were still trying to get into the lounge or wherever the meeting place was.

I don't know if was because we were new at this or if there were just tons of people trying to leave early but no one was checking to see if you had FTTF or what zone. To me it seemed like it was just a free for all everyone just leave now!!

This was on the Liberty when she was in Galveston last summer. Maybe it was poor people traffic management? We had got up at 530 am, had eaten breakfast and were out of the room and on the way by 7 am. The ship was docking in Galveston at 8 am. Do most people vacate their rooms earlier to avoid the rush? What is a good time?

Thanks!

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Please continue! We are on the Valor next month so I am anxious to hear more!

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We loved the Magic. As for the menus there is only one. The American table. I have no idea what was on the old menus because I started cruising after the American table menu was released. Must have been some fab stuff the way folks go on about the old menu!!!

With that being said, I have had no issues with the current menus. Always have found something to eat. I will say the portions seem a little on the small side but maybe they do that since so many people ask for multiple servings. I am thinking I will try asking for 2 this time of some of my favorites!!!

You will love the Magic. I wish she still sailed out of Galveston. I would go again!

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If you are self debarking (or disembarking) can you go at any time? (As long as you leave before or with the last group?)

On my first cruise we did the bags out in the hallway thing and had FTTF, so we were called to leave in one of the first groups as far as I can remember.

On my second cruise we did the carry our own bags off the ship but we had FTTF (faster to the fun) again so we left early again.

I remember when leaving it was a madhouse. All the elevators were jammed and seemed to actually not even be working and we had to lug our luggage down stairs. We have FTTF for our upcoming cruise (my 3rd!) again but I was wondering if we HAD to leave in the first rush. Would it be better to wait? Would there be less crowds trying to get off the ship?

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I am not seeing any $50 deposit sale. Has it already expired?

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Looking forward to your review! We sail on Valor next month!

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