JenCruise710

So, it worked just fine. A few things to note...

If you want in/out privileges with Marriot, you have to register your car and it's a higher rate. If you're just paying it for the week, no need to register. 

When you depart, they ask if you were on the cruise. If you say yes, they will yell at you for parking there and claim it's a higher rate. We had an error with our ticket and she had to manually ring us up. Cruise rate was $90 but the regular overnight at $13 would have been $91 for our sat-sun, so if you're staying the night before, it's a wash anyway. Easy walk to Port and we'd definitely do it again. 

We got a water with every drink order and stocked up our room fridge. Just make sure you order it at the same time as your drink or you have to wait the how many ever minutes between orders to get one in a separate transaction. 

1 hour ago, simplelife said:

On port days an early seated breakfast is served in the MDR. On Sea days, a lengthier Sea Day Brunch is served in the MDR. For many years now, there is no lunch service in the MDR

Thank you. We haven't cruised since having the kid 6 years ago, then covid and seems like a lot has changed! 

I'm super bummed about nixing the cheese plate. I'm not a huge sweets person, especially since being diagnosed diabetic, so that's often my go-to for dessert. 

I've seen some posts recently that have me wondering... do they no longer offer breakfast and lunch in the main dining room on sea days? Is it just the brunch menu now and only on select days? I haven't cruised post-covid and had no idea this might not be a thing anymore. Buffets are my husband's idea of a dream meal, but I had hoped to convince him to enjoy a less chaotic, seated and served lunch on occasion. 

1 hour ago, TexasJohn82 said:

Good day all, we are on the Celebration next month and I have been trying (unsuccessfully) every day to book the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, they seem to only ever have an opening for one person.

 

Has anyone had any success with booking as soon as you board the ship?  Based on my booking it looks like there is a breakfast every day (I thought I had heard it was only once per sailing) so I was hoping there was some spare on-board capacity they don't book online.  Any tips would be appreciated!  Thanks in advance.

We leave in 2 weeks and it just opened up online for us last week. I'd been checking daily since we booked months ago. Keep checking! 

Curious about how camp ocean communicates with parents. We hadn't planned on getting the messaging service, but maybe we need to? I know we sign her in/out, but what if she wants/needs us prior to our planned pick up time? 

On 6/16/2023 at 9:11 PM, Sunseeker20 said:

Hello!

 

I have not sailed with Carnival yet, but I'm looking for information on cabins that fit 5 people. Does Carnival have these? I know sometimes people with a larger family will book connecting rooms but I feel like the cost can be more that way. We just sailed on Royal Caribbean in a balcony room and it worked great. Any information is helpful!

We're in a family deluxe Ocean view on Magic in a couple weeks and it can sleep 5. Also has an extra bathroom (tub /shower combo and sink only) which is great.

On 6/15/2023 at 8:03 PM, melsmom303 said:

im seriously thinking of taking this magic cruise in october if i stay at the hilton main or waterfront marriott is just walkable to the port

We're staying at the Marriott waterfront in July and it appears we can walk to the port.  I'll definitely report back! 

9 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Since the arcade is run by the casino and you are limited to $5000  charging in the casino, I wonder if the arcade limit is the same?

Oh, dear God. Could you imagine?!!? I'm envisioning conversations at 18 of how we could have paid for her college but she blew it all in the arcade on her first cruise. LOL!

37 minutes ago, Mavrick_RN said:

 

I believe OP did ask for strangers' opinions.

With all due respect, I asked for stranger's opinions on the best way to set up her sign and sail account, not on my parenting style, but the internet is full of experts so I'm not surprised either. 

24 minutes ago, momof3cruisers said:

we always did this as well. For the older two, it worked really well. For the younger one, it had mixed results. (As witnessed by his fairly dismal savings account at the age of 21.) It’s important for  kids to realize is that money is a finite commodity. It also inspires more consideration when spending your own money vs mom and dad’s money. 
 

If you want a fun idea, we challenged our kids even at the age of four to do extra jobs to earn money for their special trips or vacations. For every dollar they earned, we would put two into their vacation envelope. These were beyond their normal household contribution jobs. Cleaning out the car, finding all the lids and containers that matched in the cupboard, “making dinner” etc.  

I love this idea! She already gets a small allowance, but there are definitely opportunities for her to earn extra! Thanks for the idea! 

1 hour ago, dmet0225 said:

Pretty sure you don't need to explain your parenting techniques to strangers in an online forum.  Speaks more to them feeling it necessary to comment to you about how you're raising YOUR child.

I like to think that maybe my response will inspire others to consider the importance of teaching financial literacy and responsibility at a young age. There's research that shows many money habits are pretty firmly ingrained by age 7. Crazy, right?!

42 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Why would your 6 year old be purchasing anything without you being with her? I'd block spending on her card and if she wants something, you buy it and just keep track of it.

Because we want to teach her how to manage wants and spend within her means. I often have her use her own money and conduct the entire transaction, with my help, when she spends her birthday money or allowance st Target, etc.  

14 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

Is the six-year going around the ship alone? If not why would she need any spending limit? 

Because we believe in teaching her the value of a dollar and smart spending habits. I'd rather she make small mistakes she can learn from as a kid vs $20k in credit card debt by 25. And it's much more valuable for her to learn to budget than "mean mommy" cutting off the fun. 

On 6/7/2023 at 3:50 PM, WeBeCruisinMon said:

Hello! Leaving on the Celebration next Saturday for my moms 60th birthday cruise. The whole family (14 of us) are going. Any clever or interactive ideas for how we could decorate her cabin door? We thought of decorating the door and then making it a Photo Booth for people walking by to take pics and then tag her in them - would people actually take pics? Any other ideas? Or interactive ideas with post it notes? She loves meeting and talking to new people! Thanks! 

2 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

Assuming you won't be sending a 6 year old into the arcade by herself. Just monitor her activity and honestly if she blows through the $100 in a day, she'll learn a valuable lesson about the value of a dollar. Wow I sound old and preachy but we're trying to instill that with my 6 year old.

On our last cruise she was mindful to keep some money for the must have item she spotted in the candy shop, while still spending some money in the arcade, and picking up some small things here and there. 

It's called picking my battles for maximum cruise enjoyment. I'd rather she have daily opportunities to learn how to pace her spending, whether arcade or treats, than deal with the dramatic disappointment daily after she blows it all. We are very intentional with teaching her about money and aren't the kind to give in to the drama either, but if I can avoid tough lessons while on vacation, that's definitely preferable!

1 hour ago, Aplmac said:

It's only Money! lol

Feel free to message me your credit card # to link to her account... lol

Is it better to put cash against our 6 year old's sign and sail every day or can I easily adjust her daily limits when linked to a credit card? I'm thinking she'll get a little more $$ to spend on sea days, but I don't want her blowing through her $100 for the week in the arcade in one day. She's 6. Self control is a challenge. lol

Just wanted to share my joy that availability opened back up for our cruise in 18 days! My little one is going to be SO excited! Don't give up hope... I checked every day for availability and it finally paid off! 

3 hours ago, WeBeCruisinMon said:

Hello! Leaving on the Celebration next Saturday for my moms 60th birthday cruise. The whole family (14 of us) are going. Any clever or interactive ideas for how we could decorate her cabin door? We thought of decorating the door and then making it a Photo Booth for people walking by to take pics and then tag her in them - would people actually take pics? Any other ideas? Or interactive ideas with post it notes? She loves meeting and talking to new people! Thanks! 

Maybe create a hashtag and encourage people to post selfies with birthday wishes and include the hashtag so you can pull them up? You could put a fun poster on her door with the details. 

Any idea on cost and ease of getting a taxi at port to CoralVita? We're not really interested in a whole excursion, but a tour of their coral farm seems like the perfect mini stop, so we're thinking of grabbing a taxi and just booking the tour directly. 

This is our first cruise with the kid and we've booked the family deluxe Ocean view cabin. It looks like all of these rooms have 2 of the bunks in addition to the sofa that converts. I'm thinking we might be better tossing her up in a bunk so we have the sofa area to hang/play. Anyone sailed in this cabin type and have insight on the best layout option? My husband is tall, so that's the biggest reason I'm questioning the bunk set up. Whacking his head on the way to the bathroom is probably not ideal either. lol

23 hours ago, pasodancer said:

I recently attended an event at the Sheraton downtown Norfolk waterfront.  We parked in the city garage next door to the hotel and there were signs about "no overnight parking".  I'm not sure if the hotel has a special parking area inside the garage or if there is some sticker you place inside the front dashboard?  You may want to also check with the Main (also downtown Norfolk) - I've heard they have a special "park & cruise" package, but I haven't confirmed it.  

We're staying at the Marriot, but using points, so will inquire when we arrive about extended parking. It's more expensive through them, but then our car is in a garage and we can just walk the couple blocks to the port vs parking, shuttle, etc. 

6 hours ago, Lizard13 said:

I believe the only way you could stay in that parking garage is to arrange with the hotel and pay the parking fee they charge which if I remember correctly is more expensive than what the city would charge.  Otherwise you do run the risk of having your car towed. It is a city owned parking garage and overnight parking is not allowed unless you have a reserved space that is paid monthly,

Oddly, I've searched the entire website for city parking and I can't find anything that says overnight parking isn't allowed. In fact,  it says most garages allow it,  so that's why I'm so confused! 

We're going on a cruise on July out of Norfolk, but staying at a hotel the night before. Has anyone recently parked in the main street garage for the duration of their cruise? It's the designated garage for our hotel and is closer to port, so we'd like to just leave our car there for the 6 days and walk over. I see posts that say "no cruise parking" signs are out but how is that even enforced if we're there the day before anyway? I went on the Norfolk city parking site and didn't see anything about cruise parking not being allowed. Anyone use this garage recently without issues? They obviously allow overnight parking if our hotel uses them... ?