Yes, you will be able to complete your online check-in early. Your boarding passes and luggage tags will say Platinum. and you will be able to board with plats.
I like a mix of seas days and port days. In this case, I would say that a 3 day cruise is barely worth it, You just get on an acclimated and it's time to get off already.
About time. Sometimes when comparing cruise prices, the one advertised as more will actually be less when fees figure in. the new policy will make it easier to compare
Some of the bars on our last couple of cruises were definitely understaffed; These were ships we had been on before and knew that bars that had only one person this time had 2 or 3 before. Wait time was more like 15 minutes.
We generally do not tip extra. If the bartender is particularly helpful or is hustling (seems to be the case more now, as bars seem understaffed) we will add an extra dollar amount to the slip. Sometimes we will give extra cash on the last night to a bartender who had been outstanding
Carnival used to enforce the policy that diners would not be seated more than 15 minutes past the set time. On two nights during our recent 5 day cruise, a couple was seated a full 30 minutes late and our servers had to scramble to serve them.
Yes to all. You can also use it to chat with anyone on the ship who has activated the chat app {$5 for whole cruise). You will make your dining reservations with it and schedule your debarkation time. You can review your S & S account in real time as well as your casino account.
We go to our muster station as soon as we board. We never waited in line since the new program was instituted. If several people get there at once, they do the demonstration for the group, scan your cards, and you are free to go.