spikester

I always tip cash. Last couple of cruises I have given my bar staff chocolates too. (All the bar staff at home love chocolate!) (just little individually wrapped ones) I also give away my chocolate strawberries that I get as diamond. One cruise I offered them up, but they weren't good, so I went and bought some at the coffee shop.

On my last cruise, I was going to see a bartender who I have cruised with 4 times already, and she loves a certain lipstick that is a little hard to find now. I bought her 2 of them, and surprised her with them. I told her and others that I will let them know when I am sailing with her again, and if there is anything that they need and is hard for them to get, to let me know. Their time off is so limited, and getting to a mall store like Sephora could be a challenge.

but for someone you never met, I would just give cash.

i get cheers every time, it is nice to not have to worry about the bill afterwards.

The wine I like is 9.25, Alchemy Bar is $10.25, and I have cut back my drinking in port. Also, you can have sodas and they give you bottled water, so i always get one or two to take off the ship for ports.

I have seen so many people asking about it on day 1 and thinking, no I won't drink that much, then by day 3 wish they had purchased it. With so much free time at night and on sea days, you usually end up drinking more than you think you will.

And you don't have to break even every day, so really it is about spending $400 per person over a week.

it's the right spot. I always try to send a "jokey" message, you will get a sheet of paper in your cabin announcing the "gift".

Research on Carnival.com before you talk to them. And go early in the cruise, you will be able to spend a little more time. If I book on board I always say exactly what I want. That said, just book the basics and expect to fix it up with your TA or PVP after.

Ps I can't add, 6 x 7 is 42. Lol.

I have had Cheers for every cruise since it was rolled out. I don't worry about the cost per day, just overall. I spent most of my time in the Alchemy Bar where drinks are almost $10. I might not have spent my $50ish every day, but my bar bill went from $1200 to $$800 on a 7 day cruise.

I have seen many guys drinking beer, then suddenly their wives are at the bar getting a beer....hmmmm. Most bartenders are there to make sure you are happy. The first day they might not let you buy the 1 drinks with 2 cards, but if you talk to them a bit, and go to the same people, they will do it.

Last cruise, there was a guy at the sports bar, drinking beer, and he said to the bartender, oh, I am going to have to tap into my wife's drinks soon, and he was fine with that. If you know you can drink 20 beers then go for it, your partner can always buy you some drinks too.

One last thing, everyone underestimates how much they *might* drink, especially if you have never cruised before. I saw a few couples who didn't get it, then checked their bills a couple days into the cruise and would have benefitted. Of course if you don't drink at all, then you know. I recommend getting it day 2 if you are unsure, then you can see how much you drank on day 1. Or don't get it, and see how much you spend.

At current drink prices, it is about 6 drinks/ day or a total of 49 for 7days.

search on here for some of the spreadsheets that show the current prices of the drinks.

Beer is approx $6.00 per bottle. If you husband has all 15 of his this is $90.00/day. If you have 3 margaritas at $8.50each your price is $25.50 for a total of $115.50 per day per couple. Cheers is $49/pp or $98.00 per couple per day, so you have made money on the package.

Also, you can always order a beer or 2 or 3 to take back to the room to drink later, or give it to your husband to drink, no one really polices it if you are discrete. The only thing they are strict about is the 15 drinks.

I love love love the Breeze. I have been on it 3X and have booked myself for the 4th time in Dec.

I love the promenade that goes all the way around the outside on the 5th floor. The Red Frog pub, is awesome, the 1st time on the Breeze I sat outside a lot, but it is on the smoking side of the ship. It mostly wasn't too bad, but if there were a lot of people with cigars, I don't enjoy that, so moved on. Although I do think sometimes the staff seems to be trying too hard to be all "caribbean", I can't explain better than that. They have live soloist/guitar players each night too.

I love the Ocean Plaza, they have a band in there most nights, the one in Aug was the best ever, I was so sad that they have mostly left the ships. (#groove6)

The piano bar was a blast, but we had Ben, and he won't be there in Dec this year.

I thought the steak house was good, it doesn't stand out as super memorable though, but some of them all seem to run together.

I did go to the Cucina, and while the food was fabulous, i thought the service was a little slow, and the restaurant wasn't full. I am not used to having to flag down a server to get assistance, they are usually so attentive.

I found there to be some bottlenecks in the crowd near the comedy club, piano bar and the steakhouse, especially when dinner was getting out.

I don't like sushi, so didn't go to Bonsai.

The casino bar had a lot of people smoking on the smoking end, so it seemed that the bartenders spent a lot of their time down at that end. Also, I found the service wasn't super great at that bar when I was on in May, but it was better in Aug even though it was mostly the same bar tenders.

The EA sports bar, was mostly empty, but the bar tender was super nice and friendly.

The buffet food was pretty good. I am a huge fan of the Tandoor, i wish it was on all the ships. I didn't have an issue with huge crowds. Jimmy's bbq was ok, i got there early, so there wasn't a huge line. I don't think it was worth waiting 1/2 an hour for.

I love the new pizza.

Anyway, I love the Breeze and highly recommend it. My other current favorite is the Freedom, they have a really great hotel manager, and the ship seemed very well run, with happy people on it. But of course by Dec there will be a lot of turnover in staff.

If you have any other questions please ask.

I just wanted to say I am really enjoying your review. I was on the Dream last Feb and had a blast, it is a great ship.

You will LOVE the Breeze! Everything that is great about the Dream plus more. The only thing I don't like about the Breeze is that they put the steakhouse by the piano bar, so the area is a little crowded.

I have been on the Sensation many times, the last time being in Oct.

However, I usually do the 3 night weekend cruise.

The motion of the ship depends on the weather, if it is windy or a storm it will be rocky. I would recommend bringing some sea sickness medication just in case.

The ships are usually full, but the beginning-middle of May is sort of a quiet season, so there shouldn't be loads of kids on board. Also since it is a Sun-Thurs cruise, probably not a ton of groups like bachelor/ette parties on board.

That being said, the shorter cruises are great for people who have never cruised, it gives you a taste for cruising.

The crew were all super friendly.

the liquor store is after check in for the cruise, and they will tell you how to get the liquor on board. They xray after the store, and put a tag on your bag so when you get on board the people can see you have liquor and are there to collect it.

We were on Dec 7th on Freedom as well, and all the ships were on the other side of the island, we did get docked late because of having to go over there.

But other than that, it was business as usual for all the ports.

I love Cheers too! I definitely break even, and I like how I can order what I want without pinching pennies to keep the costs down.

I don't mind the Disney bands, but they don't always work well in the stores and restaurants. I don't want to make this into a discussion on the bands themselves, but since they started the bands, I have stayed onsite 4 times, and renewed my annual pass, so I now have 6 bands. They do load my pass on each of the bands, but when you book a new reservation they send you new ones. As of right now they are working on setting it up that you can reuse your bands.

Anyway, it would be a huge undertaking for Carnival to retrofit their whole fleet with bands, but they could do it on the new ships they are building. if they were a little smaller than the Disney bands, that would be nice, maybe the size of a fitbit band.

17 until the Freedom, then I have 2 on the Conquest coming up in 2015.

whoo hooo!

I was on the Liberty a couple years ago, (2012) it wasn't as elaborate as the scene described above either. They sold some coffee mugs and key chains for each team. I sat out on Lido and watched it on the big screen. They also had it in the EA sports bar, and in the main theater. I don't recall if there was any special food out. My bar waiter did keep me well supplied with beer! I am a Pats fan, so I pretty much needed it.

I got the 8 day Conquest on Feb 7th for $290 pp for guarantee. I don't really care about my cabin, just don't want to be over the disco, but it is worth saving the $200.

John should have a schedule of the holiday decorating on his blog, i was getting of the Ecstacy last year and they were decorating, it was Dec 5th, I think.

I haven't found that the staff don't like Cheers, but I can't imagine that they would say if they don't like it.

By the way, I have purchased Cheers on all of my cruises that it has been offered on, and most of the time I haven't had any problems.

I also prefer to have a single shot in a tall glass, I did have 1 or 2 bartenders say they they couldn't do it, but most of them would. I also had my Carnival tervis mug, and some of the bartenders would make my drink in one of the silver cups, and pour it in my mug, and some wouldn't.

They all use the jiggers, some are a little freeer with overpouring it than others.

What I suspect is that the bar tenders on the Fascination are mostly newer/inexperienced staff, or the hotel/beverage manager is very strict.

My last 3 cruises were 2 on the Breeze and 1 on the Sensation, and most of the crew had been with Carnival for a long time.

ETA: the funtimes are the same every week, they only update the date on the front. My last cruise, there was a new cruise director, and he used the same ones from the previous CD. He also didn't change the name of the Piano Bar player either, so I am NOT surprised that the price of Cheers was incorrect. (A fun time waster game is "spot the typos" on the funtimes!)

I did Cheers on the Breeze 2 weeks ago, and I got the match plays. about 1/2 of the bar staff give you duplicate receipts for all of your drinks, but everyone gave me the 2nd one when I got a classic cocktail.

I have been on the Sensation several times, I have only done the 3 night one.

If you do the 3 day one that goes on the weekend, it will be a lively fun party atmosphere. I had a lot of 21st birthday parties, bachelorette and bachelor parties as well as a lot of people just taking a quick get away.

I am going in 3 weeks, so I can report back more. There used to be a cover band.

If you are close to your limit, ask to purchase drinks or buy a bottle of wine. Once you hit the 15 you won't be able to buy any drinks.

Really, the best tip is to drink enough so you break even. You don't have to have 15 daily.

I am platinum on Carnival and I have fun on the ships. I also haven't found a RCCL cruise that I want to take, I was looking into the Oasis, but I didn't want to make reservations in advance for the shows.

On my last 6 cruises, I have found the entertainment to be awesome. On the Dream and the Breeze there have been fabulous cover bands in the Ocean Plaza, and awesome soloist/duet singers. On the Breeze just 2 weeks ago, there were 2 soloists, a latin band, the cover band and the piano bar player. I was on the Ecstasy in Dec and there was a very good soloist. I don't remember if there was a band or not, I enjoyed hanging out with the soloist.

I don't really go to the shows, but I love the comedy.

I also really like the steakhouse, I enjoy the staff and I just have a great time.

I did go on 2 NCL cruises a few years ago, and the one cruise was crazy, the children onboard were everywhere, the disco, the spa. I had to hang in the cigar bar to get away from them. They might be bad sometimes on Carnival, but at least they police the adult areas. (Disco, spa, serenity, and adult pool if there is one)

I just got back from the Breeze, and they added in gratuities to the Cheers purchase price. I have also been told that the tips on the package are prorated by the # of Cheers drinks they sell. But i haven't asked anyone lately.

I do tip an extra $1 or so. Sometimes more depending on the service. I give it when I pay, i do know some who put $ with their card, and plenty who don't tip extra. Tips are at your discretion, right?

As for the receipts, they look at them to make sure they are signed, and to check for an additional tip, they have to separate them to ring in the tip. I don't think they expect them, but being human do hope!

some bartenders will fill up the glasses directly and some won't. I used my platinum tervis mug on the Dream in March, it was very convenient. If the bartender wouldn't fill up the tervis mug directly, I just poured my drink into the mug.

And I had Cheers too.