Beffy1167

Is the ship's casino open during canal transit?

Never having been visited by the Upgrade Fairy in the past, and having refused an offered upgrade last week (too pricey), I'm wondering if anyone has ever been offered an upgrade after refusing one.  Does anyone here know?

6 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Another option from long, long, long ago was to show up at the pier with your luggage and asked if there were any open cabins available for purchase. It was the ultimate last minute booking discount.

My father and stepmother did this in 1998.  Got a five-day cruise super cheap, because of a fully-paid no-show.  

Post 9-11 rules make it impossible nowadays, I think.

I got my refund on excursions, but not the cruise.  

I already rebooked us on the Glory for November 1, since we were originally on the Halloween sailing of the Mardi Gras. We got the 25% discount and $350 OBC.

392 days until we set sail on Halloween 2020.  Mardi Gras!!

On 8/21/2019 at 12:45 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

Oh they leave all of someone's belongings with the port? I've only ever seen people mention the passport. I guess I thought beyond that, and maybe a purse/wallet, they'd just hold everything else to be turned over back at the home terminal. Here's to hoping we never have to find our for ourselves. 🙂

CD on the Carnival Dream in January told us that they empty the cabin and leave everything with the port authority.  This was in response to someone asking in the CD Q&A.

22 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

And in case others don't know, ship security can access your cabin safe and leave your passport with the port authority.

 

My question to that is, if you miss the ship, do they do this automatically?

According to the cruise director on my last cruise, yes!

He told us that when a passenger is left behind, they empty the cabin of all their belongings, including items from the safe, and leave them with port authorities. 

We bring them in the Sunday-Saturday containers!

1 hour ago, richstowe said:

According to some ,

you may have inadvertently poisoned these sweet children . For shame . 

Who said it was inadvertent? ;) 

One night, at my son's Boy Scout meeting, they needed pens/pencils for the troop.  I dug through my purse and found 14 of them. 

If you ever cruise with me, find me and I'll happily donate a pen!  🙂

I thought twice daily was unnecessary until I realized that it meant I wouldn't have clean, dry towels for my morning shower if I'd showered after an excursion the previous afternoon.

Even though we hung them on the racks, they didn't dry thoroughly.

Towel animals were there, even though we had morning cleanings.  They were delivered during our dinner, along with the next day's news.

On 1/21/2019 at 11:04 AM, mml100 said:

Did she end up making it? I surely hope so!!

She did!  She arrived at 2:50, with a 3:00 pm deadline!  WHEW!

We had a great time together.  Thanks.

I traveled with a group of eighteen people, most of whom were clergy participating in a continuing education event on board.  Overall, we had a great time! 

My roommate and I were in cabin 2661.  This was my first (and probably last) time in an inside cabin.  It was definitely my last time being that far forward, and under the lounge where the main shows were held.  The unending darkness in the inside cabin was difficult for me.  I appreciate the ability to open the curtains and--balcony or oceanview--see the daylight for myself.  I also appreciate the quietness of cabins where the thumping of the music from the shows does not disrupt my rest.  Other than the noise, the cabin was comfortable and clean, although there is far less storage space than in a balcony cabin.  It wouldn't have been enough for my family of three on a seven-day cruise, but it worked for the two of us who shared it. 

I've been a Carnival cruiser for twenty years, switching to Disney Cruise Lines for two sailings while my son has been young enough to enjoy the characters.  Although my early sailings were different, Carnival's service today is no comparison to Disney.  I miss the routine twice-daily cabin cleanings.  I don't care about having the bed made twice (although it's nice!), but I sure as heck appreciate having clean towels before an evening shower after a long, hot day in a port!  Other differences were the lack of tablecloths on the dinner tables, a lack of variety of teas available with coffee, and other small amenities like body lotion, fresh soap every-other-day or so, etc.  I really didn't think any of this would bother me, but it felt like quite a step down in service. 

Please note that (1) the lack of tablecloths isn't enough for me to stop cruising with Carnival, but it's a noticeable difference and (2) I will ask for twice-daily cabin service for all future cruises.

This is the first Carnival cruise on which I've seen crew members acting as lifeguards, standing beside the pools.  It was a step up in service that I appreciated.

I found the ship to be impeccably clean and saw crew members wiping down railings, cleaning windows, and mopping floors all week.  Our cabin steward, I Wayan, did an outstanding job.  I only saw him once, and my roommate (who arrived late) didn't get to meet him, but he responded invisibly to all of our requests in a timely manner. 

The dining room meals were all excellent.  My prime rib was fork-tender, perfectly cooked, and seasoned well.  Roast chicken and stuffing were delicious, although the white meat was dry.  The same was true for the southern fried chicken; dark meat was great, breast was dry.  Filet mignon and flatiron steaks were as delicious as the prime rib.  Our dining room staff, Headwaiter Kijpracha, Team Waiter Pande and Assistant Brian were efficient and friendly.  They learned the names of our entire group on the first night, and managed to keep us all straight even though we routinely switched tables to enjoy different company each evening.

Lido Deck meals were also good.  Guy's Burgers were juicy and there were a nice variety of toppings available.  The pizza on board is not my favorite, as I prefer a thicker crust, but the sauce and toppings tasted fine.  I didn't try the tacos, but heard nothing but praise for them.   We enjoyed the barbecue from Guy's Pig & Anchor, too.

For me, the entertainment on board was a mixed bag.  There was an absolutely wonderful string trio (Allure), a decent singing duo (Recap Acoustic), and a superb steel drum musician (Ms. Drumz).  The Hasbro games were boring to me.  They might have been less so if anyone from our party had been chosen to participate, but I doubt it.  What I saw of the song-and-dance shows were good but, frankly, the volume in the theater was offensive to my ears, so I never made it through an entire show. 

Other observations:

Negatives:   Our group was in Sam's Piano Bar for our learning sessions.  I was disappointed at how many people completely disregarded the "Private Session" signs and walked right into our space.  It was distracting to us, and to our leader.  One day, a man even moved the sign in order to open a closed door--and then propped the door open!---in order to walk through the bar.  He could just as easily have exited the Burgundy Lounge through the main hallway, but chose rudeness instead.  There was a child (preteen or early teen) who ran the hallways outside our cabin shouting and/or screaming nearly every evening around 10 pm.  Neither of these issues is the fault of the cruise line, of course.  And neither would prevent me from cruising with Carnival again, but they were unpleasant experiences. 

Positives:  Every time we had to wait in line, people around us were courteous and good-humored.  Guest Services staff was efficient polite when (1) I needed a new S&S card because the bar code on mine had misprinted, (2) an excursion ticket was not delivered in a timely manner and I needed a reprint and (3) my credit card was declined because I'd forgotten to tell them I was traveling.

Ports of Call:  Montego Bay, Jamaica--Meh.  We did the Top Ten bus tour, booked through Carnival.  There were no photo stops, just stops for shopping.  Definitely would not recommend it.  We ended at Margaritaville, which was crowded and unimpressive to us.  We chose to walk to a nearby park, where we sat and enjoyed the view while chatting with a local.  On the walk back to our bus, we were offered (1) a taxi, (2) marijuana, and (3) a man--in that order.  Needless to say, we refused all three.  🙂

Grand Cayman--I stayed shipboard, since I've been there several times.  My roommate did the VIP tour, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a small-group tour, with several stops for sightseeing and photos.  She liked the Rum Factory best.

Cozumel--We did the Atlantis Submarine tour.  It was short, but fun.  We got to see a variety of underwater life, and the ship that is becoming a reef. 

Sailing out of NOLA.  A bunch of pastors doing Continuing Education on the Dream.

We're all praying for her.

My cabin mate's flights were cancelled and she is driving to the port.  Right now, we're not sure she will make it.  Can I check in without her?  

If CCL were the only one that did it this way people might have a point, but NCL also does it this way (and other cruise lines AFAIK) and it's also a practice in every hotel I've ever stayed in that offered room service.

Disney cruises don't have trash in the halls. The cabin attendants pick up the room service and/or buffet plates and trays. It was a big difference between them and Carnival.

My son wears them!

We did Halloween on the High Seas last year. Most of the kids dressed up (ours chose not to do so). I'd guess about 25% of the adults were in costume.

All of my Carnival cruises have had a laid-back sense to them. I'd avoid taking an 8 y/o on a shorter, weekend cruise, as the ones I've experienced have been full of hard-core party people.

Because of that, I stick to 7 day itineraries (or longer), but I take my son (now 13) along all cruises.

Hands down, the one with more sea days would be my choice! They're my best relaxation time.

Don't put more than you think you will spend...better to have a small bill at the end, rather than LOSING the "prepaid" money you put down. It's not refundable.

Not true! They will refund you any cash you put on your S&S. Edit for clarification: Cruise Cash, purchased from Carnival, is not the same as putting cash on your account. Cash (money) is refundable. Cruise cash (purchased from Carnival) is not.

They will not refund money from gift cards in cash. They'll refund it via gift cards.

Even when the band's off, there will be musical entertainment.

Grand Cayman is a port where you tender to get off and on the ship. If the seas are rocky, then you might miss that port.

If the storm's heading toward your itinerary, Carnival will divert you to whatever area has space for the ship.

I once boarded a ship for a scheduled Western Caribbean itinerary, knowing that we were going to be diverted, but with no knowledge of where until we were literally walking on board. We went to Nassau. It's not my favorite port, but we still had a great time!

1: Yes, everyone gets a S&S card. You can set your kids' cards up so that they cannot spend anything, if you want.

2: Yes, you can prepay tips. I always choose to do so. Then, if appropriate, I'll add cash to it at the end of the cruise.

3: We all wear our S&S on lanyards. My cruise clothes don't always have pockets, so it's a convenience thing.

4: I've never, ever had anyone bother a bag I've left beside the pool.

I schedule a massage on every cruise! It's a bit more than I pay on land, but so worth it to me.

As for being ticklish, the massage uses enough pressure that even my super-ticklish husband tolerated it.