JoKen1

I agree! I've had a few changes that needed to be made because I'm taking my girl scout troop and we booked several rooms. The people I spoke to on the phone were all very nice and some went over and above.

I had two girls with name changes that needed to be made. They say you have a $100 charge to do that but they didn't charge me.

One girl has a different legal name then what she goes by and one goes by her middle name rather then a first name. I had no idea when I made the reservations but they were great when I called.

I also call late at night, mostly after midnight as I'm a night owl and they are never busy so they enjoy chatting up a storm or so it seems. They all made me laugh and bent over backwards for me.

I'm not real thrilled with the "price guarantee" they offer. I found one and they were going to give it to me but then the "other" fees were raised up and made the reduced rate actually higher. Come on! Those other fees should be the same for everyone. Tips, fuel and port fees is what they told me the "other fees" were so why would they go up higher when the cruise cost was lower?

But, I kept calling and finally got a reduced rate that gave us a nice OBC.

Don't give up. Keep calling.

So if you have an OBC on your cabin that you feel will be more then enough for what you will spend, do you have to still put a deposit down of cash or credit card?

We prepaid our tips, don't drink, won't be going to the casino and have no plans on shopping in the gift shop or buying the photos.

We are just going on a 4 night cruise and will do all shopping off the ship (if we shop at all). I have a great camera and take all photos myself so we won't buy the ones they take.

Not trying to be cheap, but there are no excursions on this trip that we want to take either. Been there to many times to bother going again.

Thanks!

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm bringing my girl scout troop with me. They earned the money to go by selling cookies :)

So this trip is really for them. I'm sure they will have fun no matter what.

Did people get dressed up like on the longer cruises or was more casual like maybe work clothes.

I'm just looking forward to having a nice relaxing time.

Are the beds comfy? LOL

I'll be on that ship for the 4 night cruise in a few weeks. Was wondering what kind of entertainment they had. How was the crowd? Was it mostly a drinking crowd or is it more family friendly?

Was the food in the MDR good?

Do you by any chance have a copy of the daily news paper they hand out that you could scan for us to see?

Does Carnival provide these? I think I read somewhere that you need to bring your own. Is that true?

It's my dream of seeing the lights. However, I was told that the cruise ships don't really go up far enough to see them and you really need to do a land trip.

I went twice on a cruise there and hoped I would see them too but I didn't. So I asked some of the staff on board and they told me it's almost impossible to see them on the ship :(

So I noticed that the price dropped on a cruise I'm going on.

I booked three inside cabins with a total of 8 people going. It's my girl scout troop.

When I called to get us a credit I was told that the price drop wasn't really the true price drop because even though it shows the cost of the same cruise and the same type of room we got there were no cabins at that cost.

So she told me the cost was only $25 a person less. Oh well, that was still ok. I should get $200 credit total right? WRONG!

While the price of the cruise dropped, the "taxes" went up????? The girl could not tell me how that could be. I felt that if the price of the cruise went down the taxes should be less too right? WRONG AGAIN!

I spoke to the manager and see then changed it to the taxes and other costs went up but she didn't know why or when they went up.

What Carnival ended up crediting us was $48.96 total for the 8 of us or $6.12 a person. What a joke!

As I was speaking to her I plugged in the cost of an Ocean view room and it came out to the same price as our inside rooms. So I said we may as well just change the cabins to ocean views.

Well guess what! When she punched the cabins in the cost shows more then what we were already paying. Give me a break!

So don't buy the prices listed on the web page because they clearly are not what the prices really are.

I feel like it's a bate and switch.

I've not had this happen on any other cruise line before and I've been on several other lines.

This is my first time with Carnival and I already have a bad feeling about them :(

But I'm keeping my mind opened and hoping that this is the end of the bad to happen and our cruise will be a blast!

Has anyone had this happen when you tried to claim a price drop credit?

This is a little off topic but is very important. Make sure each girl has their birth certificate (not one issued by a hospital) with them. As their leader, I would have each of them give them to you before you ever leave home. If I'm not mistaken, you will also need a letter from their parents giving you permission to take them out of the country. If you don't have these documents, they will be denied boarding and be left behind at the pier.

Yes, I already have the birth certificates from all the girls. We purchased insurance both from the ship and from girl scouts for the trip, I have permission from council to take them and have all the letters and forms I need both to cover me and the ship :) That includes the letters giving permission for me to take the girls from the parents.

Thanks!

If anyone thinks of anything else I need to do, please let me know. Thank you for your help.

The girls all worked hard selling those cookies and doing other fund raisers to pay for the cruise. We have paid for the tips already so it's only spending money they will need.

My girls are 13 and they all are very good with money. We have worked on several badges that helped to teach them about spending and how to compare prices to get the best deal.

We have gone on trips every year and they were always responsible for their own spending money and did great. So I'm not worried about them spending more then they have.

I just didn't know if the ship required a certain amount of money to be on deposit for each person.

I don't think I will have them put any money down if it's not required. Then if they see something they just must have they can always add it to their card and purchase the item later.

They all agreed they do not want to purchase the coke cards and they aren't really into the arcade games. At least not enough to have to spend their own money on them :)

I'm sure they will spend money at the ports of call and maybe if they have any money left at the end of the cruise they may find something on sale at the shops they just can't live without.

Thanks for letting me know there is not a required amount they have to have on the cards.

You guys are the best!

I'm taking my girl scout troop on a cruise. I know as adults we have to either have a credit card or provide cash as a deposit. But what about the kids? Do they need to put anything down if they will not be charging anything?

Each girl will have her own money to spend how she wants so I was hoping they could go down and put money on their account as needed. Or put down the amount they are allowed to spend. Some may not want to buy anything extra on the cruise though. So do they have to tie up their spending money still?

Also, if paying cash do you know the amount per day that Carnival requires? What about when you provide them a credit card? What amount do they charge or put on hold? Anyone know.

I don't really have an issue with this but some moms are also going and I want to let everyone know what they will need to pay or send for their girls.

Thanks!

My brother wants me to book a cruise with him for next year. He is unable to walk and needs to be in a wheelchair. We will be using an electric wheel chair so he can get around on his own.

I was wondering if there are any tours that he will be able to do at the ports? Has anyone gone to Alaska and used a wheelchair?

Do you have any tips or ideas for us.

Which is the best cruise line for wheelchairs? Any special cabin you like the best?

Thanks for all your help.

Just wondering if the 4 night to Ensenada Mexico has a formal night and if so, how dressed up do most people get.

I was thinking since it's a short trip that most people are still pretty casual.

Also, do they have movies on this ship?

Well I have to admit I wouldn't want to be in the room of a murder or death. But if I didn't know about it, I wouldn't think about it. Now that I know about that web page that shows the info, I will check before I book my rooms :)

However, most of them don't tell you the room number.

Yes, I'm one of those people who always wonder if my hospital bed was one that someone died in. I just tell myself that no it isn't. Then I'm ok. Yet, if the nurse came in and told me, someone just died on the bed you are in then I would not want it as mine.

I do think the lack of knowledge can be good at times :)

I also understand the people who seek out those rooms or want to go see them. I've gone on several paranormal investigations and fully understand people being interested in the hereafter.

They even have tours you can go on to see where famous people died, where they are buried and things like that so there must be enough people interested in that area.

Death is a part of life and can be very interesting to study about it. But when I'm on cruise, not my idea of fun so I would rather not be in a room where any died or worse, was murdered.

Thanks to all that posted a reply. I've been reading up on reviews and I think we will have a great time.

We are doing the 4 night cruise and leaving on a Sunday so that should cut down on some of the party crowds, I hope.

I have checked all the girl scout rules and have been approved to go on this cruise so we are all set. Yes, insurance bought too :D

We have several cabins booked and one adult in each cabin. However, once on board we were told we can move people around so we may let the girls enjoy their own cabins and have the adults stay together. All the rooms are next door to each other though.

All of my girls going are very mature and we have traveled a lot in our troop with no problems ever so I do trust them.

We have set down rules with the girls and have all paperwork signed by parents and kids and we are ready to go.

The girls are super excited and I'm looking forward to seeing what Carnival has to offer.

Has anyone done the 4 night to Baja Mexico from Long Beach?

I'm taking my girl scout troop and was wondering how the ship is and what the crowd is like.

This is my first time on Carnival and I've heard they are more of a party cruise going on the 3 and 4 night trips.

I'm sort of worried about this. My girls are 13 years old.

Thank you guys so much! So many wonderful ideas. I think I will go get a book and have the girls pick places they want to go to.

As girl scouts we still do a ton of community service work. In fact that are going to do 15 hours this next weekend.

We do go camping and earn badges. Right now we are working on getting their Silver Awards which is the highest award they can get at the level they are at now. For the project they want to earn money to purchase bullet proof vest for police dogs. Here the police department do not purchase them for the dogs :(

They are getting donations from several places, going to hold a big event this summer where there will be a class to learn CPR and 1st aid for animals. Plus they will have the police dogs do a show for every one and have vendors also. People will purchase tickets to get in and will have a chance to win prices that were donated.

With all the money it will go to the police departments that need vests for the dogs.

So you can see, these girls do a lot of hard work. We are a small troop of only 5 girls. We had 10 before but people moved and had to drop out. These girls have been together since the first years as brownies.

Even though we are one of the smallest troops in our county we end up in the 10 ten of the biggest cookie and Fall Product sales. We beat out troops that have 25 girls!

They are out there daily holding booth sales, going door to door and hunting down companies that will purchase larger amounts at a time.

Because they work so hard we have been able to go on a trip each year I've been the leader.

The first year was to San Francisco and last year was Washington DC. This year is a cruise to Alaska and next year we will go to New York. Once in high school the goal is to go to Paris.

I'm super proud of my girls and am thrilled I've been able to spend time with them and teach them things they normally wouldn't learn. Take them places they wouldn't get to go with their family since they all come from low income families.

I know excursions are very costly, most of the time. But I also know there are things to do at every port that can be fun and cost nothing or very little. Things like you guys have been telling me about!

So thank you! Everyone for all your wonderful ideas.

Also thank you to the one poster (who asked to not be named) for their wonderful offer of sending me a coupon book for us to use. That will help us a lot! They asked nothing in return, except a thank you. Thank you so so much!

It's so nice to know there are such kind hearted people that are willing to take the time to help out. So thank you to all of you!

Wow! Great photos! I can't get over all the salmon! What month did you go? We are going in July/Aug

Thank you! That sounds like a great idea! Any one else?

I'm a leader of a girl scout troop. My girls are 13 and we are planning on going on a cruise this coming summer.

We are in CA and will fly into Seattle to get the ship there. They are so excited.

We are a small troop of only 5 girls and with me and my co-leader will be a group of 7.

I'm trying to plan out the full budget. The girls have worked hard and earned the money for the trip by selling cookies and having other fundraisers.

Are there things that they can do for free at the different ports? Or at least not cost a lot?

Any tips or advise would be great. Thanks!

So why are there not any cruises into Mexico in the summer months any more? Anyone know? Would love to take my girl scout troop there but they have school except in the summer :(

Great deal. Have a wonderful time!

I think it's a wonderful deal and a great trip! I love doing the East Coast. Wish I had the extra cash laying around for the air price from CA to Boston. I would do this one for sure!

I've only been to Key West one time and have been wanting to go back ever since. Wish they went there more often.

It was the first time I had ever had Key Lime pie....YUMMMM

Joanne

Oh ya, when we were in Victoria BC we took one of those bikes where the guy gives you a ride on the back in little seats and when we got off he gave us a free Victoria BC pin. We are putting it in our scrapbook.