amy2313

Hi Everyone, 

I am a long time Carnival cruiser and I am thinking about doing a back-2-back cruise for the first time next holiday season and have a few questions:

1.  are there any discounts that Carnival offers for people specifically doing 2 cruises in a row back-2-back?
2. are you able to stay in the same cabin?
3. do you have to pack and repack?
4. do you have to get off the ship between sailings?  
5. how quickly can you get back on the ship?
6. Is there anything else we should know about doing a back-2-back? any tips?

Thanks in advance.

We have never been to St. Kitts before and are looking to book a tour that would offer a tour of the island, maybe some light hiking and since we are also beach lovers, we want to also have lots of time at the beaches for snorkeling and relaxing.  Would we be wise to book something ahead of time??  If so with who??  Or are we better off grabbing a cab once off the ship the day we arrive in port (Dec. 26)?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Everyone,

I emailed a couple tour companies (Jo Junie, Bernards) to get prices and tour options for our time in port on Dec. 26.  We wanted to do a little sightseeing of the island as it has been many years since our last trip/cruise to St. Martin, snorkel time, a stop in Marigot for some shopping (aka bakery tastings), and Maho Beach.  The couple tour companies that got back to me quoted priced of $300-350 for 3 people.  I thought this was a bit extreme.

Could someone recommend another tour company or would it be less expensive to book a cab once we arrived to do those stops?

Thanks for any help you can provide!!

Have you tried calling Godfrey's Tours directly? Sometimes these people don't run their own websites and updates don't usually show up as fast as one would hope. Talk to them directly and see what they got to say. But don't say you want to go on a tour to "see hurricane damage". They have been through a tough time due to those hurricanes.

Good point!! And I appreciate the advice. The last thing we intended was to be insensitive and that is partly why we wanted to book again with a tour company that has been around a long time to give them back the business.

There is a beach club between the port and jack's that has a couple of inflatables. Island Jerk, maybe. You can't miss seeing it from the ship.

 

There is also ship excursions up to a beach in south downtown Cockburntown and there are inflatables and other water toys there. But you need a ship excursion to visit.

Thanks!!

Hi Everyone,

We will be in St. Thomas next month and normally book a tour with Godfrey's Tour that would bring us around the island and a stop at the beach to snorkel. Godfrey's website says his tours are currently unable.

We have been to St. Thomas a number of times and are just looking for a tour around the island to see the hurricane damage, a quick stop at the mountain top, and then a couple hours at Sapphire Beach or another snorkel spot.

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone to book with that is not too expensive or will there be plenty of options once off the ship to grab an open air taxi? With the hurricane we were not sure how many options there would be the day we get off the ship and thought it might be best to reserve in advance. We also want to be conscious of cost; we are on a budget :)

Does anyone know if any of the Grand Turk beaches have the inflatable toys/obstacle course/trampolines??

We've been to Grand Turk a number of times now and are looking for something a little different to do.

Thanks for any help.

We are going to the DR (La Romana specifically) for the first time on the Carnival Splendor. We leave in just a couple days and want to just spend time on all the gorgeous beaches.

Can anyone recommend the best beach that also has chair rentals??

Thank you!

We are going to Aruba for the first time on the Carnival Splendor. We leave in just a couple days and want to just spend time on all the gorgeous beaches.

Can anyone recommend the best beach that also has chair rentals??

Thank you!

We are going to Curacao for the first time on the Carnival Splendor. We leave in just a couple days and want to just spend time on all the gorgeous beaches.

Can anyone recommend the best beach that also has chair rentals??

Thank you!

The taxi fare to Sapphire is $10-12 per person each way depending on where your ship docks. If you ask the driver to make a stop if he has other passengers he/she may not be able to stop either coming or going and may charge more than the fare to Sapphire for the stop either on the way to Sapphire or back to the dock.

 

If you have a large group (10+) you should have more flexibility.

There are only 3 of us so we might be better off booking one of the private tour companies in advance??

Hoping we might get some advice:

We will be in St. Thomas next month and wanted to go to Sapphire Beach to Snorkel and a quick stop at the Mountain Top or Paradise Point to snap some quick photos. Are we better off getting off the ship and getting a taxi right then and there or would it be better to pre-book a tour with one of the provate tour companies like Godfrey Tours or Sunny Liston?? We have been to St. Thomas many times and do not want to do the shopping portion of those tours downtown. Which would be less expensive too??

THanks for the help.

I had booked and prepayed with Marysol tours last year, come to find out we were at the wrong port (La romana sp? Instead of Amber cove!):eek:

They were very understanding and promptly refunded my money to PayPal!

Wouldn't hesitate to book with them again.

Excellent - thank you for the info!!

Hey Everyone,

We decided to book the 12 waterfall tour with Marysol Tours and they ask that you pay now through PayPal in full. Marysol has received some excellent reviews both on CruiseCritic and Trip Advisor but normally we do not pay in full ahead of time. I normally try and book private tours instead of through the ship and have never paid in full ahead of time; usually only a deposit.

Any concerns with doing this with the tour company??

I have a question...what did you do with your personal things? Do you leave it on the bus? Did they tell you to bring dry clothes to change into? towels from ship? We are thinking of bringing a small backpack with your S&S cards, camera, towel, etc.

I read on another thread that you can leave things locked in the transfer vehicles depending on which tour operator you chose I would assume.

Hi Everyone,

We are booked on the Carnival Magic next month and planned out all of our excursions back in December/January and did not realize until now that Carnival finally added the waterfalls excursions. Unfortunately it is already sold out!! However, considering that Carnival has added this tour, this must mean there is enough time to do this tour during our time in port (9am - 4pm).

With that said...

1) Considering the Carnival Tour is sold out already, who would people recommend as our best private tour option? I have read a lot of posts that mention either Marysol or Iguana Mama. What are the pros and cons of each?

2) We would like to have a little time at the port to take a quick swim and walk around, does one get us back earlier then the other?

3) Any chance Carnival with have any open slots once we board the ship?? If so, how many falls does the Carnival excursion do? Are we better going with the private option anyway??

4) What is the water temperature? Is it cold??

5) How clean is the water?? My sister thought the water looked "murky" and was concerned about swimming in it/unintentionally swallowing some water.

6) Would you consider the tour dangerous?? If so, how so?

Thank You!!!

We just got off the Magic yesterday 2/4 and did the newly added Waterfalls tour in AC offered by Carnival. The tour was amazing. Highlight of the cruise. We only did 5 waterfalls but they were amazing. I am very surprised that Carnival offers this excursion because its actually very dangerous and not an excursion for just anyone. Ill gladly answer any questions anyone has about the tour.

 

Also, does anyone that has done this tour through Carnival have the website to purchase the pictures from the tour. They gave everyone a little card but I can not find it. Thanks

My sisters and I will be on the Magic next month and it was not until today had a realized that Carnival added this tour!! We had originally booked the ATV tour but had read about the waterfalls on TripAdvisor but were a little nervous about it due to time and getting back to the ship. This is very exciting as this is the tour we wanted in the first place.

With that said, a few questions...

What was the temperature of the water? Is it very cold??

How clean is the water clean?? I have one traveler that noticed from pics of the falls that the water seems "murky".

And how dangerous is it? Is it just the slipperiness of the hike of the falls themselves?

Thanks!

We didn't take pics of the menus. We did that itinerary though!

 

The menu that I mentioned that I didn't care for was on Amber Cove night.

 

This link is the correct menus: http://www.zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalFreedomBC9/menu/mdr_menu.html

 

HOWEVER, your port of call options will be different. I wish I could remember what they all are, but I definitely cannot. I'll list what I can remember at the bottom of this post.

 

On that link, you will need to swap his nights 5 and 6. Your second elegant night is San Juan, since you are in Grand Turk so late.

 

Port of call options that I can remember:

 

Port Canaveral: no idea on appetizer; entree was a swordfish dish with a fruit salsa and coconut rice. My sister got it and LOVED it.

 

Sea Day 1: American Feast Menu #1

 

Amber Cove: appetizer: Manju (or something like this?) - smashed plaintains with chorizo and onion and mayber something else. No idea on the entree.

 

St. Thomas: no idea on the appetizer; some sort of curry was the entree

 

San Juan: American Feast Menu #2

 

Grand Turk: Chicken Pasties (fried little chicken pastries) were the appetizer and plantain crusted fish was the entree. I think it might have been sea bass?

 

Sea Day #2: no idea on appetizer; Caribbean pepper pot was the entree

THANK YOU!! This is incredibly helpful!! MY plan is to go over all the MDR menus with my sister for the week in order to come up with the night that she likes the least and that will be the night we reserve for her Bday dinner!

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions on this!!

I am wondering the same thing for the western itinerary, have some serious extra OBC and am thinking the steakhouse will get a large portion of it.

I see that you are sailing on the Magic in just a few days (from your signature)!! Lucky you!!

Any chance you are doing the Eastern Itinerary?

Port Canaveral – Sea Day – Amber Cove, DR – St. Thomas – San Juan – Grand Turk – Sea Day – Port Canaveral

If so, would you mind posting pics of the menus, day by day when you get back?? Sure would be helpful!! :)

Which itinerary are you doing? If it's the 7 day Eastern, just note that Elegant nights are the 1st Sea Day and San Juan. :)

 

In my opinion, the worst menu is Night 3 on the American Table (lamb, veal parmesan, baked ziti, and tilaplia). If I was picking a night to skip, that would be my pick. :P

We are going on the 7-night eastern itinerary with stops in St. Thomas, San Juan, the Dominican Republic and Grand Turk.

Any chance you have pics of the menus per day?? Thank you!

I was on the Magic in November. I'm sorry I don't have any menus to share, but I can confirm the Magic does have the American Table menus. They also had entrees in the main dining room each night that corresponded with our locations, for example on our first evening there were foods from Florida and during the week there were other Caribbean entrees, appetizers and desserts.

Thank you! Even knowing that the Magic has the American Table is helpful! Hopefully someone might have a copy of the menus by day or a link to share :)

Here is the info from the Carnival website:

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1386/~/carnival%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98behind-the-fun%E2%80%99-tour

 

 

Carnival’s ‘Behind the Fun’ Tour

 

 

For those who want to get an insider’s look at the inner-workings of a Carnival ‘Fun Ship’, Carnival has created ‘Behind the Fun’, a guided tour that provides guests with a unique insight into the company’s shipboard operations.

 

‘Behind the Fun’ is offered fleet wide. The informative tour offers participants a behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of shipboard venues that are normally off limits to guests. During the tour, key shipboard personnel, including the captain, chief engineer, chef de cuisine and other department heads, share their vast knowledge in their particular area of expertise.

 

‘Behind the Fun’ begins with a stop backstage in the main show lounge where participants can see exactly what goes into creating Carnival’s award-winning revues. The tour then moves on to normally restricted areas such as the laundry room, crew galley and dining room, crew gym and crew training center.

 

Next it’s on to the expansive main galley where talented culinary artists prepare upwards of 12,000 meals and snacks a day for Carnival’s guests. The tour also includes a visit to the ship’s bridge and engine control room and informative Q&A sessions with the captain and chief engineer, respectively.

 

In addition to a comprehensive overview of Carnival’s shipboard operations, ‘Behind the Fun’ participants receive a number of commemorative gifts, including a custom-made ‘Behind the Fun’ baseball cap and lanyard and even complimentary photos with the captain on the bridge.

 

General Information

• ‘Behind the Fun’ can only be purchased on board through the Shore Excursion Desk.
   
  
• Depending on the duration of the cruise, the cost is $55 USD to $95 USD per person and is approximately 2 hours to 3-1/2 hours long.
   
  
• Capacity is limited to 16 guests per tour.
   
  
• Tours are conducted on the last sea day of each cruise.
   
  
• Guests must be 8 years of age or older to participate; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
   
  
• Guests are not permitted to have cameras, cell phones or video recording equipment on the tour.
  

THANK YOU!!

This is exactly what I was looking for! I did a search based on "Carnival Ship Tour;" "Onboard Ship Tour" etc. Apparently I did not use the correct search text!!

Thank you again!

Does Carnival still offer some sort of ship tour while onboard?? Full galley tour, bridge, crew areas, etc.??

If so, what is the cost and can you reserve in advance??

I tried doing a search on the Carnival website but came up empty.

Thanks.

Hello all,

My sisters and I are cruising together on the Carnival Magic in a couple of months and my sister has a birthday coming up so I was trying to incorporate a bday gift into the cruise planning and thought I might reserve the Steak House for her. With that said, I found a sample Steak House menu on the Carnival site which looks fantastic but now we need to pick which night during our cruise to make the reservation. My thought was to take a look at the day by day menu options and pick our least favorite main dining room options and go to the steak house then.

I tried doing a google search for the Carnival Magic dining room menus and got back a lot of returns but I am not sure which is accurate. One even said the Magic has the American Table menus. Is that true?

If anyone has a copy of the Magic's dinner menus by day 1, day 2, day 3 etc. that would be fantastic or if you could point me to a link that would have this I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.

we did sunny liston last year and had a blast. He has an open air vehicle and keeps the music hopping. If you like a calm, relaxing, quiet tour than this one is not for you. We had people in age from 6-66 and we all had a great time. There was a lot of loud reggae music being played and some information of things that we were passing. He was very informative when we were at mountaintop and it was very interesting to hear about how much he loves his island. The group chose to go to Sapphire beach and others went back to the ship. We are going to St Thomas again next March and plan on going on another Sunny tour.

Thank you so much for the info. I have emailed Sunny twice now and no reply. I even used different email addresses thinking it was something on my end even though other emails are working just fine. Has anyone had trouble reach Sunny or getting a response.