rufflesmom

On 5/21/2019 at 6:00 PM, coevan said:

I could be wrong but there is only one access to the Cloud 9 Spa and you have to check in at the desk. The door you are talking about sounds like the public showers, where they male and female steam room too. 

No it was the spa.  We were on the Breeze not the Magic but they are the same class ship.  The layout might be different but there was a back entrance.  It was hidden but we found it.  There were steps that came down from deck 12 and the thassollotherapy pool.

10 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Did the other 2 women buy the Spa package as only 2 per cabin are allowed to use the Spa. The gym area has a male and female locker room with showers. 

No, only 2 women used the spa showers each night.  We did not use any other spa facilities at all.  The ladies shower room (not for the gym but for the spa) was literally right inside the back door (on deck 11) so we never went in thru the front door. 

I was in a spa balcony cabin on the Breeze.  There was a back entrance to the spa area that we used all the time.  There were 4 women in the cabin (which is why we booked a spa cabin).  The shower door was immediately inside the back door.  Each night 2 of us would use the showers in the spa and the other 2 would use the cabin (first 2 that were ready went to the spa).  There were 2 showers, one of which was handicap accessible.  There were never any other people  using the showers.  It worked great for us.  We didn't use any of the other spa facilities, we only wanted the showers.

Before you book a cabin, check the deck plan for the deck below the cabin.  One time we had a balcony on deck 6, right above the piano bar on deck 5.  It wasn't bad until the last night.  At about 1 am DH went down to the piano bar and gave everyone the stink eye because they were still going strong!  On the last night!  They seemed to break up after that.  Just make sure if there aren't cabins on the deck below that you find out what is below the cabin.

The accounts will be charged separately if you set up two different accounts.  However, if you want to prepay the gratuities, you have to pay for both at the same time.  You can't prepay for one person and not the other.

If your family calls the number given by a previous poster, the message will be relayed to you.  Unfortunately I know from experience.  My sisters, our niece and I were on a cruise when our aunt passed away.  My DH called Carnival and the message was relayed to me.  They even tracked us down at dinner (we had anytime dining and they still found us).  And their customer service was beyond outstanding!!!  I went to GS, they picked up their phone and called my DH for me (they even looked up his cell phone #).  And they even offered us early debarkation.  The people at GS were so kind and helpful.  They got an A++++++++ from me for customer service.  Other than my DH calling Carnival on his cell phone, there were no cell phones involved in this process, no internet service required. 

We sailed out of Long Beach in the fall of 2017, we had to be out of the cabin by 8 - 8:30.  It isn't a "Long Beach" thing.

We have never tipped up front and have always received great service.  What we do is be friendly and respectful to the steward during the cruise.  We always greet them, try to not get in the way when they are cleaning, etc, and then tip extra at the end.  Our service has never suffered because we did not tip up front.

I have sailed out of Galveston a couple of times since they started the check-in times.  It is enforced at Galveston.  There was not a special line for people who got there early.  They just had to wait outside.  And yes, they were checking boarding passes.  Check-in has greatly improved since this process started, at least at Galveston.

We did a Mediterranean cruise in August.  Before we left DH called our carrier and had the international plan added.  While on the cruise, in ports only, we were able to send and receive texts with no additional charge.  DH was texting back and forth with the guy that was staying at our house with our dogs.  He even sent us pictures thru texting.  While cruising we turned our phones off.  Unless OP is on a cruise with no ports, he should be able to text while in port the same way. 

The wine allowance is one bottle per person over 21, not per cabin.  I went on a cruise, 3 other ladies and me in one cabin.  We each brought a bottle of wine.  Anyone under 21 cannot bring wine.

I always check in early.  I have NEVER received an upgrade call. 

We have used a TA only twice.  Our first cruise, we got door to door transportation from the TA.  A driver picked us up at our house, took us to the airport, met us at the airport and brought us back home.  Really nice perk!  Last cruise, Mediterranean.  We booked cruise ourselves online but wanted to use a TA to book airfare (due to time changes flying to Barcelona).  We transferred booking to her.  She was able to save us $400 on airfare, also booked hotel room for us and drivers to pick us up at airport to take us to hotel and then pick up at port to go back to airport.  Didn't cost us anything to use her services and was worth it to us.  The 10 cruises in between those we booked ourselves online and won't hesitate to continue doing that.  I do like having the control of my booking.

If you have a CC linked to the account you are fine.  You can go to guest services any time during the cruise and have the gift cards added to your account or you can use the kiosk.  Nothing is charged to your CC until the cruise is over.  One time I added cash to my account at check-in (I had already set up with a CC) and it wasn't pretty.  In the chaos of check-in my account was changed to a cash account.  When that money was used they cut off my charging privileges.  There is so much going on and so many people to check-in that those things can happen.  It might not seem like a big deal but I tried to buy something in the Fun Shops (deck 5) and my card was declined.  I had to go to guest services on deck 3 only to find out I had a cash account.  I then had to go up to deck 11 (my cabin), get a CC, go back to deck 3, add the CC to my account, go back to deck 5 to make my purchase and then go back to deck 11 to put CC away.  Just wasn't worth messing with it at check-in.  There are too many opportunities during the cruise to go to GS to take care of that.

On 10/19/2018 at 2:15 PM, CruiseFamilyx1215 said:

Hi everyone! We are almost all signed up for our 2nd cruise but I have a question about the adults-only area on the Carnival lines... It says 21 and over - do they card people as they come and go?  My daughters (20 and 19) and I are cruising together next June and I was hoping the three of us could spend some time laying in the sun and dipping in the pool in the Serenity Retreat.  They aren't kids but they aren't 21 either... 

You should know that not all the ships have a pool on the Serenity deck. 

We were on the Vision of the Seas in August. On more than one evening we saw people in the MDR with Izumi jackets on helping out as they seemed to be short staffed in the MDR. The problem with removing or reducing the gratuities is that you are always going to miss someone. As mentioned before, don't you eat breakfast or lunch somewhere on the ship? The staff work in many food venues, not just the MDR.

As for the tipping as an American thing, don't be deceived. We did a Mediterranean cruise, every excursion we did the tour guides and drives gladly accepted any tips. I was led to believe that it would not be looked upon very well but that was not the case at all.

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

Wifi will not allow you to text, it is for internet only. We have T-Mobile and just got back at the end of August from a Mediterranean cruise. We did have coverage in every country we visited (we never got better than 2G speed though). It was good enough to check emails and get text messages. For a true emergency though I would suggest that you give the grandparents contact info for Royal Caribbean and have them contact the cruise line. When you are sailing they should be able to find you on the ship. During the day your family should be able to reach you by phone or text. Perhaps they could do both.

2 years ago I was on a cruise with my sisters and our niece (another cruise line). My DH called the cruise line because our aunt has passed away and they tracked us down at dinner.

That question is better answered by the TSA. You may book the air thru Carnival but the TSA still sets the rules for travel thru airports. Unless you have TSA Pre-Check, you will need to take your shoes and excess jewelry (multiple bracelets for example) off when you go thru security. I did see that happen. I wore only rings and a watch and did not have to take any of those off. Anything bigger than a Kindle/E-Reader must be taken out of bags and put in a bin, also anything in pockets must be removed and put in a bin. Belts must be taken off also. I suggest slip off shoes and minimal jewelry. We just flew last month and this is what we experienced.

We just got off the Vision 2 weeks ago from a Mediterranean cruise. At the the tender ports, announcements were made on the morning as to how to get tender tickets. There was no signup prior to the day. Tendering seem to go pretty quickly though.

I agree with Angela715. We just got off the Vision last week. The only thing about the MDR is that the menu varied very little from night to night. The food was good but we got tired of the same thing every evening. They really need more variety. Carnival has it all over RCI in that department. They also pushed making reservations for my time dining each night. Didn't really care for that too much but that could have been because of a more European influence (they typically eat later than Americans). The entertainment was mediocre at best. Embarkation and debarkation were really smooth (we left out of Barcelona so it might have been the terminal). Overall we enjoyed the cruise but not sure we will ever cruise with them again.

It shouldn't matter if the 'friend' cancelled and didn't get the full amount refunded. The OP did not cancel and was not given a choice. She should not lose any money because the friend is being such a jerk. Sounds like small claims court could very well be your only option.

I think we are missing some information from the OP. At some point he must have mentioned "lawyer" and "lawsuit" or "sue." Once you do that, they are done with you. And rightly so. What I would like to know is what he was offered prior to being transferred to the legal department. Was that offer reasonable but he just didn't like it? As others have pointed out, once you get the legal department, everything is going to be by the book. Without more details, it sounds like he got mad and let it get the better of him.

To his credit, it is admirable that he wants to make his new wife happy.

BTW, I am not an RC cheerleader. I have never sailed with RC before. We are leaving in a few days for our first RC cruise.

As long as you bought plain cruise cash, you can use it for anything. If you bought bar cruise cash or photo cruise cash, those are they only things it can be used for.

You should also be able to buy the gift cards using your Carnival MC on the Carnival website. 2 of my sons have purchased Carnival gift cards on the website using credit cards.

I have stayed in a spa balcony cabin only once. there were 4 women, being able to use the shower in the spa was really a necessity. But that shower was much nicer than the one in the cabin.