Sooner01

Just off the Conguest yesterday. We had FTTF, and arrived at 10:30. Was all checked in by 10:40, and then sat in the area set aside for FTTF. Diamond/Platinum/Suite guests boarded at 11:00. Called us at 11:05, I was on the ship with my first drink by 11:15 and in my room at 11:20.

According to John Heald on his facebook page, these are the movies for the last week of July and into Augjust:

Here are the movies to be shown the last week of July through August on the Dive In Movie Big Screens

Rogue One

Kong: Skull Island

... Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The Fate of the Furious

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The Boss Baby

Sing

La La Land

Hidden Figures

Beauty and the Beast

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Passengers

Arrival

John Wick: Chapter 2

Which ones would you sit on Lido and enjoy?

cheers

I too have only gotten the basic offers and I've booked all of our 5 cruises. Ironically, my wife who's been with me on all 5 cruises but doesn't do the booking gets much better offers. Her last one was 50 obc, 2 upgrades, and half off deposit which we used to book our next cruise. I always look at both our VIFPs, and her's is almost always better than mine.

I just checked Carnival's Website, still says $49.99.

My family and I have taken 5 Carnival Cruises over the last 7 years, and absolutely loved every one. In my opinion, Carnival is a good value for the price you pay. We have always found the service on the ship fantastic, and the food is great. Some people love to complain, but there are many positives also. So no, Carnival is not that bad, we find it to be good.

As others have said, Carnival.com is free in the internet cafe. Just go down, log onto Carnival.com, make your final payment. If that's the only thing you need to do, I wouldn't lug a laptop around just for that.

Though not in Tampa, we just had FTTF on the Triumph. Recommend you plan to be at the terminal by 10:30. You will get priority processing, then you will be allowed on the ship right after Diamond, Platinum and Suite Guests. For us FTTF was 10 minutes after those groups, and we were on the ship by 11:15. Then straight to our room which was ready (the doors will be closed, you just open them and go into your hall way as you have FTTF). Then we were enjoying our first Guys burger by 12:00.

For the excursion, if booked through Carnival, you'll get your tickets in your cabin, and they will tell you where to meet and what time. I see you are scheduled to be in Cozumel 9:00 am - 6:00 PM. I'm guessing your meet time for the excursion will be around 9:30 just outside the pier.

Have fun.

I personally would want to be there no later than 10:30. We just got off the Triumph with FTTF. Got to the pier around 10:00, dropped family and luggage, then parked my car. Walked back to the terminal and going through security at 10:20. Directed to the Priority Check IN upstairs, checked in by 10:40. At 11:00 they boarded the wedding parties, then Diamond, then FTTF. 11:15 we were on the shp, and at guest services to get the balconies opened between our two cabins, then up to the room which was ready by 11:30.

Nope, 11:00 shuttle is way too late if you want to maximize the benefit of the FTTF. My opinion anyway.

It depends on the ship. We just got off the Triumph. Docked at 8:30, and we were off the ship and through customs by 9:15 with FTTF. Otherwise, depends on what deparking number you have. Everyone was off by 10:40, as they started boarding the next cruise at 11:00.

We had cabins 7225 and 7231 on the Empress Deck. 7225 is the 6th from the front, and 7231 the 7th. Pretty far foward. The bridge wing is viewable from our balcony (and vice versa). Captain waved to us a couple of times when bringing the ship into port. But did not feel any extra motion and the walk to the lido food and dining rooms did us good.

We found it totally worth it, but only you will know if you will reach the break even point. 5 drinks or 7-8 beers, or a combination there of. We reached our break even point each day, so figured we saved money overall by doing it, even on port days. And like you stated, allowed us to try drinks to know (found out we are not martini people), but didn't feel like we wasted money.

My son reached 13 drinks a couple of times, but never got shut off. If you are not going to drink 5- 6 drinks, or 7-8 beers each and every day, then probably should just buy them as you get them.

So, now our bellies are full, went to the Red Frog and got a beer, DW got a DOD. We did the Cheers Program, but that's not available until Day 2 on Texas cruises, so you just buy your drinks first day. We configured our two rooms with Me, DW, and our 22 yr old son in 7231, and our 10 yr old son along with his 23 and 19 yr old sisters in the balcony room. We did it this was as those in 7231 wanted the Cheers while the 23 yr old daughter did not. Reminder, if you want the Cheers, everyone listed in the Stateroom must buy it. More on Cheers later, suffice for now that for us it was well worth it. Now in actuallity, our 10yr old son slept in 7231, and the three older kids shared the bacony cabin. (Remember, we asked for extra keys for each room). Plus, with the balcony open, you could always go into each others rooms (we kept the balcony doors unlocked). That made both bathrooms available for whoever needed them. For example, if both girls came back to the rooms and needed restrooms, then both were available. Also, the girls used the Whirlpool tub in the suite throughout the week.

Now it was time to explore the ship. We thought the ship was in great shape despite being 15 years old. Fresh paint everywhere, very clean, fairly easy to navigate. We had seen some reviews that said there was a lot of rust everywhere, but we did not see any. Every crew member to passed always smiled and greeted you. After the tour, we again went back to our cabins with another drink, and sat out on the balcony until we were called to the Muster Drill at 4:00. Now, as you've probably read before, you DO have to go to the drill (no, we didn't try to avoid it), but you do NOT want to be the first ones down there as you will be in the back and wait a good bit until everyone gets down there. Crew is directing you where to go, and we did not have to take our life vests. We got to our Muster Station, (outside deck 3, but covered (shade). They gave the briefing, did a count, and we were done by 4:20. Just as we finished up the drill, the Captain began pulling out of the Port of Galveston. We enjoyed sailing through the harbor on our balconies.

(BTW, I've read 100s of good reviews, but writing one is a lot harder than it seems, so bear with me). More later.

I agree, he was good. Also I never felt the music was too loud.

We enjoyed a quick glass of wine in our cabins (each of the 4 adults brought 1 bottle in our carry-on. I also carried on a 12 pack of diet coke. Yes, security did open the container, look at each can, then put them back in the container and said have a great cruise. Brought a soft sided cooler on board which Melvin our steward kept filled with ice as well as an ice bucket in the suite.

It was now almost 12:00, our carry-ons are unpacked and stowed, we've enjoyed our rooms, checked the balcony (joked about the "I was promised an Ocean View balcony but I can only see a parking lot................." complaint, and then my oldest son stated GUYS Opens in 5 minutes. So we headed up to Lido deck.

Guy's: They are as adverstised, fantastic. We never waited more than 30 seconds in line to get a burger and fries. They have two lines always going. The crew that works there are friendly, energetic and fun, and always served us with a smile. The burger is great, but the fries are even better. I had at least one Guy's burger each day. Guy's is open 12:00 to 6:00 PM daily.

More later

Our family of 6 (Parents, 23, 22, 19 and 10yr old kids) just got off a fabulous cruise on the Triumph. Here is our review, but sorry, no pictures).

Flew into Dallas from Kansas City, and rented a van for the week (cheaper than flying into Houston and then paying for transfer to Galveston).

We stayed the night before at the Homewood Suites near Webster. Great hotel, and had a great rate on a 2 Bedroom, 1 King, 2 Double Suite that was perfect for our family. Sleeps 8 people if needed. Hot breakfast included. Highly recommen this property. That evening, we went to the Kemah Boardwalk, ate at the Lighthouse Buffet, and had a great night.

CRUISE DAY FINALLY! Following breakfast, we departed for the Port of Galveston around 9:15am, and arrived at the terminal at 10:00. Dropped the family and bags off there, ensured the porter put the orange stickers on our luggage as we had FTTF, and then drove the van across the street and parked at Park N Cruise ($40 for the 5 day cruise). Then I made the easy walk across the street, joined back up with the family, and we proceeded to Priority Check-in. (We had a suite, which gets priority check in as well as FTTF. We were quickly checked in in the Priority Lounge, and waited to board the ship. Probably 10:30 at this point.

Shortly after 11:00 they boarded the wedding parties, then Diamond and Platinum guests, shorty followed by suites and FTTF. We were on the ship by 11:15 and first stop was guest services (priority line due to FTTF) for 3 quick things. 1. Asked for the balcony divider between our two rooms be opened (suite 7231, and balcony room 7225). They were able to do this, and told us 80% of the dividers on the Triumph can be opened despite what go ccl shows. 2. Asked for extra key cards for each room and got those (need to have someone from each room there). And asked for FTTF sticker to be placed on 2 or our cards that were missing it. Yes, he had FTTF for both cabins as wanted the cabin ready when boarding. Suites get priority embarkation, but not early access to cabins.

Now it was up to our rooms. Hallway doors are closed with a sign stating they will be open at 1:30, but open for Diamond and FTTF. Went in and went straight to our cabins which in fact were ready. Our steward Melvin immediately met us, welcomed us, and told us he was going to open the balcony divider for us which he did. More on Melvin later, but he was the best steward we have had on 4 previous cruises. Always smiled and greeted us by name.

I'll have to post more later.

Just prepare to have fun. If you go to the Comedy Shows, go early. Even the though Club Rio is good sized, it fills up fairly quickly for both the family friendly comedy and the adult comedy shows. The main theater is never really full.

We just had the Cheers program on Triumph May 24-29. We asked the waiter in the dining room how the tips are shared. He stated that those who serve more drinks receive a higher percentage of the tips. So it's not just an equal sharing of the tips, but a reward for hustling and working hard to get customers their drinks quickly.

Just off the Triumph May 29th, and a fantastic ship. Ship was in great repair. The 2.0 upgrades are fantastic (Guys, Frogs, Alchemy, etc) Camp carnival facilities were great. Dining room did show a bit of age, but clean and GREAT service and great food. Highly recommend the Triumph.

Oh, and sailing out of Galveston is our best experience yet.

They have both cartons for cheap in the shops, and packs available for $5.75. On the Triumph at least, the Casino Bar has packs.

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from this trip, but the ship was in great shape.

We did early dining, but at least on the Triumph, folks we talked to did not have slow service in anytime dining. Certainly with Early Dining as we did, each night's dinner service lasted about 1 hr and 20 minutes.

Just off of the Triumph yesterday. 10 piece show band, and shows on 4 of the 5 nights of the five day cruise. Great shows.

What are you questions? We had a fantastic time, will write a full review later.

We had a balcony cabin and an Ocean Suite next to each other. Rooms 7225 and 7231.

We had FTTF.

We did the Cheers Program.

I agree, that's why I did it. But was led to believe they limited it to 15-20 per cruise. Unless many people cancelled theirs, there are at least 28 on this sailing.

Thanks to all. Yes, I've been on both Paradise and Mr Sanchos websites. Looks fun. Family of 6, with 24, 22, 19 and 10 yr old kids.