Mic101680

This is VERY true! There were 4 of us on our last cruise, and we spent the majority of our time by the pool. We gave the server a $20 tip on the first day, and he took very good care of us the entire rest of the cruise - would even come from the opposite end of the theater when he saw us come in for a show and be the first one to greet us. He would check on us regularly, but not to where it was annoying, we never had to wait more than about 5-ish minutes for a drink once it was ordered, and he regularly brought me ice for my water bottle without me ever asking for it (I was fine without the ice, but it was thoughtful and as it melted, I had to get up less often for refills). I also added an additional $1-2 for each drink I ordered, and we gave him a little extra again at the end of the cruise because he just went above and beyond for us. I think with 1 exception (and outside the dining room), we only ordered drinks from him the entire cruise. We did the same with a bartender at the atrium bar on a different cruise a few years back, and not only did the drinks get significantly better, but even if the bar was totally slammed, she would come to us first when she saw us. That said, I have still had good service without giving extra tips, and with 18% already added on, you shouldn't feel any guilt about not adding extra if you don't want to.

We could get paper menus on the Ecstasy a few weeks ago, but we had to request one if we wanted it. I don't recall seeing the menu posted outside the dining room each day like I used to pre-covid, but could have missed it. I liked being able to see what was available that day to decide early-on if I'd rather have a burger or eat at the buffet, but I guess the app replaced that too. As long as it works, I'm actually okay with the app, but hate having my phone at the dinner table, so I just put it away after I order.

Do spa treatments or shore excursions count? 😂 If not, I would have to say just a pile of gifts for family/friend I got on the Legend during an Alaskan cruise a few years back - the gift shop onboard actually carried a lot of the same Alaska things we found in town for around the same price, so it was nice to be able to get the onboard after not having time to circle back to some places in town at the ports.

I personally prefer a boarding time before noon so I have time to get something to eat, get oriented with the ship (especially if it's a larger ship), and can get the app for that cruise set up and flag things I may want to do during that week. If rooms are ready early (which they have been for most of the cruises I've been on), I can go ahead and unpack too.

You most definitely can! I was just on the Ecstasy a few weeks ago (2nd to last sailing for her), and a couple guys at the table next to us one night ordered 3 apps, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts EACH and they didn't have any issues. I also ordered a 2nd dessert one night because the first one was so good, I wanted a second helping. (Not that it matters, but it was a very small portion). As far as portion sizes, it depends on what it is. I ordered a chicken parm dish one night, which was huge, and a different chicken dish with the same cut of meat another night and it was significantly smaller. They also don't bring a whole basket of bread to the table anymore and are coming around and letting you choose one, but of course you can also ask for additional bread/butter.

I actually just talked to a Carnival rep today about this because I booked my first B2B cruises for January. Carnival will escort you off through customs and then back on board because they are technically multiple trips, but depending on the customs officers, they typically won't bother with you until you are done with the last leg of the last of your B2B cruises because they consider it a single trip. That said, on my last cruise a few weeks ago, they didn't even look at my passport as they were using a facial recognition thing when we got off the ship. Walked right into the parking garage from the ship! They appeared to be doing random stops of those with passports, but were more thorough with those using an ID and birth certificate 🤷‍♀️

I actually just talked to a Carnival rep today about this because I booked my first B2B cruises for January. Carnival will escort you off through customs and then back on board because they are technically multiple trips, but depending on the customs officers, they typically won't bother with you until you are done with the last leg of the last of your B2B cruises because they consider it a single trip. That said, on my last cruise a few weeks ago, they didn't even look at my passport as they were using a facial recognition thing when we got off the ship. Walked right into the parking garage from the ship! They appeared to be doing random stops of those with passports, but were more thorough with those using an ID and birth certificate 🤷‍♀️

I couldn't get the app to work for a recent cruise, and ended up just bringing my hard copies (which I would have done regardless). They barely looked at the hard copies before pushing me through the rest of the security line anyway, so I doubt the app would have helped much. Fine with me! One less electronic mess to deal with!