crewnewbie

Thanks all. We returned today. We were able to get on and off the boat quickly and on our own time with FTTF. Our meal times were adjusted before we even got on the boat. All in all- a success. I don’t think I’d take this cruise again though. The boat was small, pool is tiny, and the crowd was a little rough around the edges- maybe because it’s mostly people driving in to SC and a cheaper shorter cruise? But last night I had to rush my kids back to the room after a brutal and very bloody fight took place right in front of them on the Lido deck, requiring like 10 security guards to restrain the folks and a lot of deck cleaning to remove the blood. Just not the classiest bunch, and I have pretty low standards for class. 😉

Thank you so much for this thorough response - it was SUPER helpful. Any idea if there's a value in trying to call Carnival to ask in advance about changing the lunch time and arrival time? Or is it a waste of time?

Thank you so much.

Headed out next Thursday - first time cruising on Carnival in years. Taking my 3 kiddos (one of whom has special needs) out of Charleston for a 4 night quick cruise to see if they like it. A few questions! A million brownie points to whoever takes the time to read this 🙂 I've read here today and am nervous about how bad I'm seeing the port is. We planned to drive to Charleston that morning so we booked a 1:30 boarding time (the latest time). Now I'm nervous so I've booked an airbnb for the night before and we'll come down that night. Are we able to check in early or are we stuck sitting around until 1:30? We did pay for "faster to the fun". One of our kiddos has autism and REALLY struggles with lines and crowds (ADHD, non-verbal, so his vocalization of this can be jarring to others). I'd like to make this day as easy as possible for him (and us). Any other suggestions for a special needs kiddo on board? I keep reading how miserably crowded the pool and everything are - wish I'd seen that before booking, but alas. Can we bring a backpack or just the one suitcase each? We tried to get our meals for early - and they put one of our rooms (even though they're side by side and connected bookings) as the 9:00 seating.. we really don't want our kids up and eating that late 😕 so we're on the waiting list. Any chance you think that we'll be able to get that 2nd room to have the same seating as the other half of the family or are we out of luck (husband and I have separate rooms to manage the kiddos). Help! 🙂 Thank you!