Davey Wavey

Probably not legit, especially since it includes airfare. Is it from Carnival directly, or does the small print say something about a travel agency? Feel free to call Carnival and ask if they have any specials for you, or use your VIFP number on their website and check for yourself.

It sounds like most the time the offers are sent they're sent to those gambling (the Players Club). Am I wrong?

 

There were TWO promos going at the same time that offered the free cabins. The letters looked identical but the wording was different. One was from the Players Club and the other was just for "past guests." The booking deadline was 2/28 for one and 3/31 for the other with sail by dates of 6/30 and 11/30. Based on that and the lack of people posting about more free cabins, I would say those promos are over. Maybe same time next year??

Do you need FTTF? No. Our excursion meeting times are usually 1 hour after the ship docks no matter what port. We are slow moving people on cruises and have always had plenty of time to look around in port before heading to the meeting spot. Belize has a longer tender time than most ports and even there we had time to sit down and people watch for a while. In Grand Cayman, we actually walked down the street and went in a few shops and still had to come back and sit and wait.

 

If you are still unsure, just head down to the exit 15 minutes before docking time and get a ticket for the earliest tenders.

Just a suggestion...

 

Hold are handled by your bank, NOT Carnival or any other vendor. The bank decides how long they stay on when the final charge comes in. My travel card is a Chase Sapphire and they immediately remove the holds when the final charge comes in. But even if yours doesn't, many banks will remove them if you call the customer service number on the card and request it. So if there is a concern that you need the available credit that a hold may tie up, call your bank before you go and ask about it. Ask how long the hold time is once the final charge arrives. Ask if you can request to have it removed sooner by calling.

 

If your bank refuses to remove holds in an acceptable time, get a different card if you are able.

I think you are referring to how the made to order items are a separate station from the rest of the buffet. This is a vast improvement from when the grill was at the end of the buffet line. People waiting for omelets would make the entire buffet line back up and it made for lots of arguments when people would cut in the line just to get to the buffet part. The buffet has a complete set of hot items. You can get those cafeteria eggs and pancakes from the buffet. It's only if you want made to order eggs and omelets that are at a different station. And the fruit, cereal, and milk are across from the buffet or in the center of the 2 buffet lines so that the buffet line is just for people wanting the buffet.

Even the "fast" internet options on the newer ships is really slow. We bought minutes to check in with the kids using Skype text messaging. We could switch over to voice communications if needed in a pinch, but the voice quality is obviously terrible. On a 7 day cruise, we only needed it on sea days. Every port had a free wi-fi connection somewhere close to the ship where we could make free good quality calls (or 2cents per minute to a landline).

 

So maybe consider just checking in via text to see if there is any reason you need to call. Plan to call while in ports with either cellular or wi-fi. It really keeps the costs of staying in touch reasonable.

If I don't do breakfast in the MDR, I create a breakfast bowl at the buffet. Scrambled eggs (they are otherwise inedible), hash browns, crumbled sausage, grilled onions and peppers (from the sausage conconction), tomatoes, fresh pico, melted cheese, and salsa.

I prefer ports in Western mostly because I don't like the more built up places like the Bahamas stops. But I do like Grand Turk and St. Thomas. I just consider Eastern more shopping and Western more beachy, but there is obviously plenty to be had in either place. My family has agreed that 7 days is perfect for us. We are always ready to go home by then no matter how fun the vacation.

 

I do like Sunshine has all the newer programs and venues. I would probably just suck up all the "negatives" (hahahaha) and do the Sunshine trip.

There was a generic non dairy powder at the coffee station. It didn't have a commercial Coffeemate label and I doubt it was anything but generic.

 

The TV's have no ports that I have seen. You may consider one of those $20 small bluetooth speakers. They can get pretty loud and sound much better than the onboard speakers.

We sailed Splendor post fire and we smelled smoke and lots of it in the casino!

 

Haha...nice. It would be great if they could whisk more air through the casinos.

Has anyone not called the Players Club prior to their cruise but spoke with the casino host once on board and received "perks" ?

 

Yes, there is a Players Club rep (sometimes not the same person as the "casino host") in every casino that has the same info as the people on the phone. They can tell you your eligible comps and have some discretion in what you receive...so be nice. :)

[quote name='stefyo']Just saw that Carnival is offering $50 reduced deposits with the Early Save Rate that expires tomorrow - if I book with this rate and and submit a price drop after this offer expires will I have to pay the full deposit of $250 per person?[/QUOTE]

The only time they require the deposit amount to change is if you change to a different rate code. Price drops under ES remain under the same rate code. If Carnival comes out with a new promo like pack & go, which is a different rate code, that has a lower price and you choose to take it, you lose any perks (like reduced deposit or onboard credit) you received from the ES rate code.

If you get a rate drop with the ES rate code and it demands a higher deposit, you need to call Carnival ASAP as something incorrect happened.

Something I found out the hard way - if you request a new rate with an onboard credit then later request a rate without that credit, you will lose it. Also if you book under a promo with a $50 deposit and later change to a rate with a normal deposit, you will owe that amount of deposit (unless after final payment). Anyone with more experience feel free to correct me.

 

I'll confirm this. Changing from a reduced deposit rate code to one without it will require you to pay the additional deposit amount within 24 hours or the booking gets canceled. The website will tell you this before submitting the change.

 

Also, if the rate code included an onboard credit, you will lose it if you switch to a different rate code.

...no one really needs ice cream 24 hours a day.

 

Speak for yourself.

 

Just because you aren't wracked by horrible convulsions, sweats, and headaches at the 25th hour of ice cream withdrawal doesn't mean everyone is so lucky...

I just booked a cruise about 18 months out without discussing with my wife in advance. My PVP called with the info and I wanted to lock in a good cabin. I booked with Past Guest rate, which is fully refundable up until final payment. You may want to use a refundable rate until you tell your husband. You can always change to Early Saver from Past Guest once you tell him (I believe Early Saver rates are available up till five months before the cruise date).

 

^^THIS!

 

And book it ON the cruise and get the extra $100 OBC for booking a 7 day cruise while on a cruise. Make sure you can pay the deposit though.

Our most recent cruises, the debarkation information said room checkout time was 9AM. The room steward was standing RIGHT THERE at 9AM when we left. Luggage had to be in the corridor by 11PM. We saw plenty of people put stuff out after midnight and it was still there the next morning. Dining room was serving breakfast until 10AM, but the Lido buffet was still open. In fact, they close for about 30 minutes around 10AM to switch over to lunch stuff for the incoming crowd. You can leave when they call your zone number which is on the blue tags they leave in your room the night before, or you can just hang out and eat lunch then go people watch in the many lounges or in the main theater. We have always been at the very end of the customs line on the way out. It does make it way easier to find your luggage!

How do I know if I have a Casino rate or not? My Fiance plays a lot of slots, and got a free cruise. How can we tell if this cruise we have now is the Casino rate?

 

Go to the Carnival site and try to do a new booking for your current cruise using her VIPF number. Select the casino offer from her list of special offers and pick all the same options that you have for your current cruise. Compare the final price.

 

You may also be able to use the FareViewer to check available rates, although it doesn't list your VIPF available rates.

Another question- The casino rate looks $100.00 less than our current booking. Problem is you can't mock book the casino rate to see if that is the rate for your deck and room. Hate to bother my PVP for nothing but if I can save $200...That's a lot of onboard credit. Does anyone know how to do a mock booking with the casino rate? Thank you.

 

You should be able to do a mock booking with the casino rate unless there are no comparable cabins left to select. The casino rate should appear in your list of available "special offers." If that fails, go ahead and bother your PVP. That's why they are there. I have switched to a casino rate, but be aware that if you first booked under a reduced deposit rate you will have 24 hours to pay the difference between the deposit rate for the casino or they will cancel your reservation.

I have changed it at check-in about 50% of the time. No time lost. No hassles.

 

I will say that on my July 2012 on the Legend out of Tampa, once we reached the end of the line where they send you to one of the check-in windows, they had a sign posted and asked if you had a cash account. Those people were directed to another line to make a deposit and then came back to be directed to the check-in windows. It didn't look to take more than 15 minutes. But, that was in Tampa and back in 2012 so I don't know if it is done differently now or if that was common across all the ports.

We did this on the Triumph with 2 adults and 3 small kids and it was...cozy. I couldn't imagine 3 adults in anything less than a suite, but if you do...hopefully you all love each other very much. :)

 

Look at the bed arrangement. It would probably be doable with a queen bed and the sofa that converts to a 2nd queen bed with a pulldown overhead single. When the beds are all open, there is NO floorspace, so nighttime floorpacing is out...and definitely no twister after dark. Even getting to the bathroom might be a challenge without crawling over the sofabed. Again, you all hopefully love each other very much. But when everything is stowed, there is ample room to move about.

The Carnival MC is a very poor rewards program. I got one when they gave an instant credit for opening one. Then I closed it six months later (so that it counts as a "rated" positive account on your credit report). Barclays has one of the best reward cards in the Barclay Arrival card. Then there is Chase Freedom and Discover Cashback. Look at the rewards amounts and very easily see even charging a Carnival cruise will get your better rewards with other cards. Depending upon what you buy, it is not difficult to earn over twice the points that do not expire and are not confined to just cruise credit. Plenty of people will tell of receiving a few hundred dollars in onboard credit when they could have received twice that amount in cash to apply to their onboard account.

 

Of course, having a cruise ship on your card may be worth it to you. Maybe put a Carnival sticker on a better card to feel better about that and walk away with twice the rewards? :P

Your S&S account has nothing to do with your boarding documents. If you change anything on your ACCOUNT, you do not have to reprint any of your documents. The credit card you use to open the account just has to be valid for the time of the cruise. You can change it anytime before the end of the cruise and not have to reprint anything. You can change it at home, during check-in at the terminal, or at guest services on-board. HOWEVER, if you try to board with it still set as cash, you will have to make a deposit before boarding. I would change it BEFORE arriving at the terminal to avoid an extra thing to do during check-in.

 

Again for clarity, you do not have to reprint your cruise documents when you make payment changes to your S&S account.

Has anyone every used them. Do they work like match play or do you use them like regular chips on all games?

 

Fun chips are yellow chips that you play like regular chips. No match play needed. When you win, they pay you in regular chips. You cannot cash fun chips in for cash.

We started with Carnival for the good reviews of the kids program. I stayed for the kids program. My kids love it, and that makes for a better family cruise when they are happy. But just as important, we have not been dissatisfied with Carnival. We don't like the eggs on the breakfast buffet, but we get an omelet or made to order eggs from the grill or dining room. The staff give excellent service. Most of the passengers are not pretentious. There may be something better out there, but I'm way happy enough with Carnival not to look elsewhere.

This came up in a cultural diversity class. US words that will confuse your neighbors. Yes...we've reached the point where we take classes to understand that soda = soda pop = pop = carbonated soft drink