MujerIsla

17 hours ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

Breeze has a few secret decks on 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11. Also deck 5 on Breeze is a full promenade! And yes, just proceed forward through the stateroom hallway and there will be a door at the end. Enjoy your cruise!

Ah, so those ambiguous tan areas are all decks? That's good to know! I was looking for striped brown like the promenade when I was looking through deck plans. Thank you!

Sailing on Breeze this month and wondering about secret decks. I've heard about the one forward on Deck 7 on some ships. Is it the same place for all ships? Do you just walk through the Deck 7 stateroom hallway to get there? And any other secret decks, on Breeze specifically, I should know about? It's hard to tell from the deck plans what is what. Thanks!

February is a notoriously foggy month in Galveston. Ships are often delayed getting into port. IAH is a good hour and 15 minutes from Galveston if you're speeding and with no traffic delays. Add 15 minutes to that if you're going the speed limit. If everything lines up perfectly with no problems, you'll make the flight. If there's any glitch, probably not. 

Maybe the ports of call boards would be helpful? Here's the one for Hawaii: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/37-hawaii/

Just now, sparks1093 said:

For the shorter cruises, 5 days or less.

Thanks! Didn't realize there was a difference, but makes total sense.

If it helps your decision any, I think the Cheers price is $69.95 per day now. 

3 hours ago, CruiserLucas said:

I wouldn't greatly worry about it. But here are some practical tips, including one I've done when traveling abroad (not on a cruise, though).

1. Old phone/burner phone. Bring a secondary device that is new or that you wiped and reset. I did this with an old phone in place of my regular phone when traveling to a country that has a tense relationship with the US and a large security state that I was worried could stop me, search me, and use even innocuous information against me.
2. What can you remove from your phone that isn't needed on a cruise? You mentioned Google Drive information. Since that's cloud based, you don't need that on your phone, so removing the Google apps from your phone or other cloud based apps would reduce your risk of someone accessing it; same with banking apps and such. If your husband can get along without the information on his phone, you probably could, too. 
3. Install a security application. I use Avast for my devices, which has a built-in VPN. That can help detect and prevent threats, block malicious sites if one gets hijacked, etc.

Thanks. I have Avast as well. I'm leaning towards using my husband's phone instead.

16 hours ago, 1stresponder2086 said:

Is it really open if it’s on the ship only?

Yes, still open in the sense that the other 4000 or so passengers would have the potential to get to your information. I'm just hoping that most of them aren't smart enough to do so. 😄

14 hours ago, klfrodo said:

So I asked this question on Chat GBT

"Can my phone be hacked if I'm on an unsecure open wifi connection"

 

NOTE: Before I copy and paste the answer, just note that the answer is generated by AI. The validity and/or correctness of the answer has to be verified by yourself.

Myself? I never use a public wifi connection unless I have to and if I do, I will always use a VPN as an additional layer of security. VPN does slow down connectivity..

 

ChatGPT's answer:

"Yes, it is possible for your phone to be hacked or compromised when connected to an unsecured open Wi-Fi network. When you connect to an unsecured Wi-Fi network, your data is transmitted without encryption, making it easier for malicious actors to intercept and potentially manipulate your data. Here are some ways your phone could be compromised on an unsecured Wi-Fi network:

1. Eavesdropping: Cybercriminals can use readily available tools to intercept and monitor the data transmitted over the network. This includes capturing your login credentials, personal information, and other sensitive data.

2. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: Attackers can position themselves between your device and the websites or services you are accessing, allowing them to intercept and modify the data flowing between you and the intended server. This can enable them to steal information or inject malicious code into your communications.

3. Malware Distribution: Malicious actors might set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots with names similar to legitimate ones to lure users into connecting. Once connected, they may distribute malware to your device.

4. DNS Spoofing: Attackers can manipulate the DNS (Domain Name System) settings on the network, redirecting your web traffic to malicious sites without your knowledge.

5. Session Hijacking: If you are logged into sensitive accounts while connected to an unsecured network, an attacker could hijack your active sessions and gain unauthorized access to your accounts."

Thank you! Wish I would have thought to have done the same search. All 5 of these areas will be non-existent or at least limited, as we'll only be sending information in the Hub app. It doesn't sound like a hacker can get on your phone and "see" old logins or data, but rather they can only steal what you're doing in real time. 

4 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Personally I don't worry about it. Yes, the wifi is open so all traffic is unencrypted. But the worst someone could sniff would be me requesting a table for dinner. I just don't do anything sensitive on the ships. I never buy the wifi.

Thanks. I guess that's where I need more info: do they only have access to whatever I'm doing at the time on that network, or does being on the same network afford them the ability to actually get into a device (eg, my phone) and get anything from it (eg, my bank login that I used last week, though now I'm signed out; or my google password, which has stored passwords to other accounts)?

I might just use the dummy device option if I can find one. Or force my husband to be the app holder, since he doesn't keep our entire lives on his phone like I do.

4 minutes ago, weezal said:

take precautions as with any public wifi, such as in hotels, businesses.

So what does everyone do for security? I might be able to dig up an old phone I can use just for the wifi. But it sounds like you absolutely have to have the app for everything, and therefore open wifi. Maybe I'm just paranoid about the risk of hacking?

Does anyone here who's smarter than me think just signing out of my google account (and therefore all its stored passwords) would be enough of a layer of protection, or doesn't it work like that?

Hi all. Bear with me as I continue to ask random questions I can't find the answer for on Carnival's website! Is the free wifi network you connect to in order to use the hub app truly an open network? I don't usually use open networks without passwords, given the security risk, so wondering how it works on the ship. I know people aren't on vacation to hack into my phone, but it's a very easy thing to do on an open network, and I have a lot of sensitive info on my phone. I'm careful about passwords and virus/threat protection normally. Any info, tips, or advice? Thanks!

4 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Which ship?

Sorry, Breeze. 🤦‍♀️

Hi y'all. I'm thinking of being a late-ish arriver. I live in the port city (yet this is only my 2nd cruise, because children 🤪), so I won't be in much of a rush. I'm thinking of letting the madness die down a bit before boarding. What would you recommend we bee line to? Will anything not be overly busy? Secret drink/food options we should check out as soon as we get on before everyone else finds them? Thanks!

16 hours ago, ObstructedView2 said:

 

Hi @MujerIsla🙂

 

Below is the information you'll need.

Have a wonderful sailing!

 

 

💃🍹💃

Thank you for this! I couldn't find it. Nice comprehensive list! I don't see on those screens where you can just jump to the arrival window as ms. z suggested above. Assuming it's just somewhere in there once I get in? 

Just now, Titan_Cruiser said:

Doing this from memory so I may miss something

They will ask for:

 - cell number for updates on embarkation day

 - emergency contact (name, phone, relation)

 - are you driving or flying 

 - if you are flying they want flight info

 - citizenship documentation, either passport or birth cert (for passport they want the number, issue date, expiration date, and city of issuance)

 - on board account, cash or credit card, if card you will need their CC info

I think this is it. If I missed something so one will fill in the gaps. 

I hope you and your parents enjoy your cruise.

Thank you, super helpful! 

I'm bringing my parents on the cruise with us and want to check them in when I check in. What exact information do I need for the 2-week check in, so I can make sure I ask them for it in advance. Thanks so much!

Hi y'all. Just a heads up for travelers coming into Galveston this weekend: 

Just now, kingston13 said:

You can start one 

• Don't see your sailing date on the list.  Use the START NEW TOPIC button to add yours.  Please format your sailing date in this fashion January XX, 20XX to be sure it is easily searched.

Yep, I did finally. But then I saw that none of the others even had any activity. So, it just doesn't look like a hangout spot anymore.

6 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Thank you!! Those all sound like great options. And the ice cream and taffy sound like so much fun for the kids! Is that walkable? I think we’re going to drive there so if not I don’t mind driving there as long as they have parking. 

Oh, and forgot to mention, La King's has a coffee bar too. You know, if you want to kill a couple birds. 

6 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Thank you!! Those all sound like great options. And the ice cream and taffy sound like so much fun for the kids! Is that walkable? I think we’re going to drive there so if not I don’t mind driving there as long as they have parking. 

Totally! I think it's maybe a block from the Tremont. 

The Gulf Coast Departures category is full of these same questions. Unfortunately, there's not a best answer. Ground transportation for sailing out of Galveston is less than ideal, but there are some different options for you.

6 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

While the social media sites have some advantages, IMHO, they are much less civil platforms.  While I’m sure many of those folks find CC boring, at least there is not usually outright hostility to other posters.  I use them to some degree but prefer CC.

It seems more civil here to me too. 

3 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

Video killed the radio star.............and social media has killed the roll calls.

Do people hang out on cruisecritic or Carnival social media? That sounds way lamer than roll calls! 😁

Back in the day, I was on cruisecritic with my maiden name. (Just prefacing that for when I ask a question about the dark ages but y'all see that I've only been a member for a short while). When we cruised before, the Carnival Roll Calls were the place to be! Like hundreds if not thousands of posts with people getting to know each other before and after their cruises. I bumped into people on the ship whose pictures I recognized from the Roll Call. I went and perused the Roll Calls recently, expecting to already have my cruise's Roll Call posted and up and running, but not only was mine not there yet, all the others had like 1 or 2 comments in them. What happened to the wild and crazy Carnival Roll Calls??