LucyB.

I hope the CSR you spoke to was correct about the Elation getting the Alchemy bar. My PVP said no a few weeks ago. Might be worth calling her again to see what is up.

I hope she was correct too. I've been reading some menus. Sounds like a perfect place for a few adult beverages. I can't wait to try the Red Frog Pub too.

I just called CCL, customer service to see about upgrading to one of the new balconies. She said they aren't showing available for our 10/7 sailing. So she wait listed me, incase any come available. She said it can happen up to 24 hrs prior to sailing. I'm happy with our aft E deck cabin, either way. Looking at how they added balconies to other sister ships, our cabin is only 2 doors up from where they stop. I even tried to be slick & move 2 doors back. Nope. Neither side is available. We have to have 4 beds. Maybe those who aren't limited can change.

Also, last week a CSR said Elation IS getting Alchemy bar.

My opinion is, few really know exactly what updates she will get during dry dock. Elation IS getting Waterworks, but it's not guaranteed for our sailing. Fingers crossed they finish it, before we go.

You answered your own question............arrive early

Lol! Thanks. I've only sailed once before, years ago. F2F wasn't an option then.

Can y'all clarify something for me? We sail in Oct. out of Jax. I have F2F. I chose the earliest arrival slot of 1:00-1:30. Called customer service to see about an earlier arrival. She said 12:30 is the earliest for that port, that day.

My question is, does my chosen arrival time need to be followed Bc we have F2F? Part of why we got it was so we didn't have to wait long.

Thanks.

The problem with a thread like this is that income between posters is all over the board, so everyone plans and spends very differently. There is no one answer. Some can't afford to prepay, some can. And everything in between.

Exactly! I booked the cruise Bc it fit in our budget & it's something new for our family. We usually go camping for vacation & take several trips a year. (We own a nice camper) Cruising is a change for us.

We all spend differently & have varied incomes. Right now, I have to budget tightly & plan in advance. Maybe one day we won't have to be as frugal & can book closer to sail away.

This is such an interesting & divided thread.

I'm a pre pay as much as I can, when I have the money. We have one income. (Like I shared in my reply on the other thread) Life happens & unexpected financial things come up. I paid for the entire cruise within a week of booking it. I've purchased cruise cash, bar cash, & prepaid tips as finances have allowed. I now feel like I can relax on vacation. We set an on ship budget & have to stick to it. We could afford the cruise when I booked it, thus paying it off early. I booked in Feb. for an Oct. sailing. I like having peace of mind by pre paying. That's what works for us, maybe not everyone else.

Love this thread. I'm in the pre pay as much as I can camp. We have one income & at times a very tight budget. Part of the appeal of a cruise was so much being included, for a base price. For us, the cruise cash program has helped. I admit to not being all that disciplined or I'd spend money on other things, household wise. We've purchased our max in cruise cash. Purchased a bit in bar cash. Pre paid tips. We will also have back up money in our vacation bank account. Hubs & I set a $150 pp alcohol limit. (I don't drink much, so Cheers isn't for us) Our kids know how much they can spend total. Once their money is gone, its gone. 24/7 food, included, was a big selling point for me. My kids are older w very healthy, eat anything, appetites.

Our splurge was a cabana on Half Moon Cay.

I know to some cruising is considered inexpensive. To us, it's our entire year of our travel budget. This is our first family cruise. I hope it's not our last.

Pre paying a lot & cruise cash gives me peace of mind & I'll be able to relax. (I'm kinda tight wound, usually)

Thank you for sharing these. We're sailing her in Oct.

:D

Twilight Zone? Does it look like a Miami Vice but with turquoise instead of red?

No. It's kinda blue green swirls. Different bar tenders look different. Google it & lots will pop up. I make them at home sometimes.

My favorite from our 2010 cruise was a Twilight Zone. They're totally girly, tropical, & delicious! I plan to have one in hand at sail away. I tried so many cocktails. I liked the Fun Ship, Miami Vice , (get one in New Orleans at a daiquiri shop next time.) , Dirty Banana.

I definitely plan to visit Alchemy. Elation is getting it during dry dock. Glad to see it's worth the price.

In 84 days, I'll be saying "Cheers Y'all!" and thanking y'all for this thread. We didn't buy the Cheers program, Bc I might have 3, max a day. Few will be the same.

Since it's been a long time between cruises, do they still sell novelty cups and discounts on refills? Thanks

I like the cruise cash program. I've purchased both cruise & bar cash for our Oct. sailing.

I learned, from an awesome Fun Shop CSR, if you want a refund, prior to sailing, they'll give you one. I think up to 24 hours prior to sail away.

I purchased more bar cash than I thought we'd need. I was able to turn $100 of it into regular cruise cash. I still have some bar cash, but didn't want to be locked in to the amount I had. She said she can refund it to any card that is on file, like if you use multiple cards for purchases.

She also said it works like this on your SS acct. Cruise Cash comes off first, then ang gift cards on file, THEN your credit card you use to set up the SS account. She said, maybe the second day, to check our tab & make sure it's being spent in that order. Guest Service can fix it, if it's not.

Also, like many others have shared, if you still have cruise cash left toward the end of sailing, cash it out via the casino.

This program has really helped us budget, & purchase money, as our finances have allowed. We didn't pre pay tips, at booking, but plan to pay them w cruise cash at the end of sailing.

She said the cruise cash is linked to my name, Bc I'm the primary, so that's why I needed to check & make sure cruise cash for everyone else in our room comes from the same pot too. It should automatically, but sometimes glitches happen.

Hopefully, this helps someone needing clarification on how it works. I have no doubt we'll spend what we currently have on bar cash.

I have an activities schedule from the Triumph last October. If that will work, I'd be happy to scan it for you.. They are probably all pretty similar.

Awesome! Yes, is very much appreciate that. The latest thread I found was early 2015. I just want more of a general idea. We're going on Elation. She's getting Camp Ocean during the dry dock.

I searched, all I found were older post.

We're sailing in Oct., time is flying. My kids are finally interested in just what activities Camp Ocean does. I'm specifically asking for the Sharks. Does anyone have any recent experience? Activity list? I did give my Shark self check out ability, so he can participate in off camp group events.

I've pre registered both my kids. (10 & 16). When do we go visit the camps? I know on embarkation day, but can we wait until after we grab lunch or should it be top priority?

Thank you! We sail in 85 days. We're all getting a bit more excited.

We're on the same sailing, OP. The room will be tiny w the 4 of us in it. An OV, 2 uppers. I plan to use the spa showers occasionally. We're on E deck, aft. So at least it's close to food & fresh air. 187 sq feet won't go far, but we're not planning to be in there much. I'm looking at ways to save space, like using under the bed like a drawer by leaving my suitcase open. Using a shoe rack over the door. Taking some extra over the door hooks. Getting magnetic hooks too. Packing very carefully.

We booked ahead with the 30% just because it's our 10 year and we wanted a couples massage already planned and out of the way. I do have planned however to wait until we are on board to book some other treatments.

Happy Anniversary! We just celebrated our tenth, in Feb. I asked him if he'd like a couples massage. He said no. I asked this question, here, bc I was thinking of surprising him. Glad I didn't book it already.

We ARE planning to renew our vows at Half Moon Cay. On our own, towards the end of the day there. I AM going to surprise him w a White adjacent lace dress & flower crown for the occasion. I priced through the ship, too much for my budget. Our son can take pictures w my Nikon during the 5 mins renewing.

Thanks for the info & tips! Since I'm not set on a particular "treatment" or time. I'll wait & see until we get the fun times. I know I can get a massage at home, but it's the vacation aspect & doing something I don't normally do at home. Maybe I'll win some $ on the slots to cover it. A girl can hope, right? Lol.

I've priced everything from a couples massage to an updo on elegant night. We aren't sailing until Oct. Guess I've got too much time (& a credit card) on hand, teehee.

I'm a very type A planner, but I'm old school too. I write everything down in a spiral notebook. Be it a cruise or any vacation. Cruise date, booking & payment dates, room info, things like that.

I also have an email file labeled whatever Vac. I keep hotel reservations, cruise booking info, excursion purchases, all that in the email file.

I make a general packing list months in advance, then closer to time, I change it if needed based on the weather forecast.

Hotels get booked at any time. I've saved booking 2 days to

4 months prior.

My family thinks I'm nuts for planning so far in advance & so detailed. For me, I like knowing our options. That way we can pick & choose what to do or just be lazy. After all the planning, once vacation starts, then I relax. It's fun to me, being meticulous about it. Like self challenge accepted, lol.

I'm contemplating treating myself to a spa treatment, maybe a facial or massage. I know they're cheaper on port days, bc I've looked.

Are the rates even lower if I wait to book on board? I'm not set on time or particular service. We're not planning to be off the ship too long in Nassau.

Thanks!

No! I don't wear my real rings on any trip. I've got a plain silver wedding band I usually wear. I found a kinda blinged out set on Amazon for 8$. (My real set isn't gaudy, but it was kind of expensive at least to me & beautiful)I won't spend over 20$ on a fake ring. I spent 20$ on a real silver band, bc I'd planned to wear it for years traveling. It's also 1/2 a size bigger than my real wedding rings. I tend to swell when traveling, so it helps. It's not fancy, but I feel naked w/o some form of wedding band.

I also don't take any of my other valuable jewelry, not that I have much. A pair of simple hoops from Walmart & a couple inexpensive necklaces are about it when I travel. I'm not going to be upset if my 5$ strand of fake pearls gets lost or broken. I would be if my real pearls did.

My real wedding rings are insured, but they are irreplaceable in sentimental value to me.

Amazon has a ton of not so fake looking stuff & the jewelry case at Walmart has plain Bands.

I've purchased both bar & cruise cash. When you're completing the purchase, it lets you choose the recipient & time of delivery. Bar cash only let me choose myself or DH, bc our kids are minors.

I selected individuals on bar cash purchasing, just to keep up for myself how much I've spent for he & I. Other times I select both names. Sometimes I've got $25 extra, sometimes it's 50$. I'm assuming once on board, it will be a general fund type thing. I opted to let my teenager have charge privileges, but not my tween.

When purchasing regular cruise cash, the receipt says all 4 names.

I'm glad they have a program like this, it's like a savings account prior to sailing.

If you'd rather your accounts be separate, add a card for yourself & a different one for DH. You can still add cruise cash, just for him. Like if you're buying him a gift. I like that it lets you individually select the recipient.

When I sailed w my friend, we each had separate accounts linked to our own credit cards. Even though we shared a cabin.

I like that it shows you individual charges. I can see what everyone else is spending, to stay in budget.

I wonder with a swimming obsessed 8 year old if the Ecstasy would be better? I've never been on this class of ship. I'm sure it will be packed being winter break.

 

 

 

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I've only ever been on one cruise, on Fascination, too many years ago. No kids. If you think your child would have more fun w a water park, instead of one slide, then Ecstacy is the answer. I personally booked the sailing for HMC. It was cheaper for Fall Break. My guys like water, but at this stage in parenting I can't seem to fill them up long, lol. I know they'd rather have breakfast burritos at Blue iguana than the water park. I was kinda bumbed she's not getting water works, but it's bc I like them. 😊 I'm thinking once I'm chewing down on my 5th Burger of the trip, I won't miss the water park. Best of luck & happy sailing!

It didn't give me the option to select a check in time. That's why I was curious.

Yes, earlier we can get on board, the better. I've got the cabana in mind I want & 2 back ups. Hope to get 1 of the 3.

For those who've had Faster to the Fun, in Jacksonville, what time did you board?

Our boarding passes don't have a set time. I saw something that said 12:30. When is a suggested time to arrive at the port? I was thinking 10 or 10:30, but is that too early? I understand how F2F boarding works. I just don't want bored antsy kids waiting too long, if possible. (I do know things happen to cause delays, for whatever reason)

Thank you!

We have only sailed on bigger ships(Carnival Dream and RC Liberty) but we are looking forward to trying a smaller ship. I read a lot of negative things about the Elation but I looked at pictures and videos and it already looked pretty nice to me. Can't wait to see it after the renovations. We are doing the 5 day Oct 7 sailing to Nassau and HMC.

 

 

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See you there! We're sailing then too. Hopefully they'll be completed on updates.

I started a Roll Call,in that section.

Per John Heald's FB, when someone asked just this weekend.

No water works. All he said was she's getting a Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana, & Alchemy Bar.

Dry dock dates are:

8/31/17 - 9/27/17

Hope that helps clear up speculation.