ryanpatricksmom

We booked a 14 day that does an Eastern/Western Caribbean itinerary, and we realized after doing so that they also offered the individual 7 day for both "sides" as a booking. My question is, is this really an organized B2B and should we expect a repeat of activities (obviously not excursions offered) and menus for the second week? It's not a big deal either way, but it will help with planning. Thanks!

I think it happens if you've purchased Cheers online for a previous cruise. I finally had to call to order ours for our upcoming cruise.

My favorite time on a cruise is the first full day. All of the traveling headaches are over, but nearly the entire vacation is still ahead of you.

It sounds like a great adventure even if you don't have the proper wardrobe! I would love a relatively empty ship, and an overnight in NYC...especially since hotels are so expensive. Enjoy!

I'm pretty sure it was either Tuesday or Wednesday for the Chef's Table. We did it our first week on a B2B so I sort of lost track. I don't think that they necessarily schedule it for the same night each cruise though. FYI, don't wear any pants that will drag....after doing the galley tour I threw my dress pants in the trash, lol!

On our most recent cruise we received a letter in the cabin that explained the tips and stated that we could go to Guest Services and add an amount for any crew member that we felt warranted an extra tip. We usually give extra cash to our room steward, but this time we went down to Guest Services and added it to our Sign and Sail. I was a little leery because I wondered if he would actually get the $$, but I also thought that perhaps they were trying to track the performance of their employees, which could possibly lead to promotions.

I still wonder if we did the right thing.

Pride had the duffel bag.

...And it takes up a line normally used for the lunch selections on the Lido buffet creating more lines and congestion when trying to get lunch. We avoid the Lido like the plague that day.

I find this such an odd policy. It wouldn't even occur to me that Carnival would impose any restriction on the amount of people that could hang out in the cabana, so long as the supplies are kept at a finite amount. I mean, is there really anyone who uses the interior of the cabana other than to fix a drink? It always seems to me that folks who rent them spend the majority of their time hanging out in lounge chairs in front. I could even understand if they had bathrooms, but seriously, it's almost as silly as restricting the number of people that can share a clamshell. It's a good thing that I never rented one, because if DH and I were chatting with another couple and chose to share the overhang and then received an adjustment to our Sign and Sail, I'd be pretty annoyed.

We had very little effect from Hermine here in Baltimore. I think that was the reason that they chose to come in early and dock. The bay was choppy (small craft advisory) but nothing that would impact a cruise ship, and she will certainly be safe docked on the river.

Will trade you 2 journals' date=' 4 picture frames and a visor to be given later for 4 chess sets:)[/quote']

 

Sorry, I have journals as well and I think I actually threw the picture frames away at some point. Notepad w pens and binoculars...I also have covered. The craziest things that we ever got were a pair of huge beach towels once and a pair of bathrobes another (both from the casino). Fortunately we weren't flying, but do you know how heavy those are? I can't imagine how anyone would have been able to put them in their suitcase for a flight home, lol!

I was cleaning out a closet yesterday and counted six chess sets, lol! I have no idea how many tumblers we have at this point, but it's a lot. I think the most important thing that they should consider when choosing a "gift" is the weight and space that is used when you pack it up. I'm not really a visor type, but I do like the idea that they're basically weightless. When we drive to Baltimore it's no big deal, but when we fly I could see me leaving some of the gifts behind.

We bought Cheers for our upcoming B2B, and I guarantee that we won't break even each and every day....but, over all there's a good chance that with the addition of the coffee drinks, bottled tea and water that we will. We always have "free" drinks in the casino, but we've found over time that those "free" drinks end up costing a fortune because we are stuck at a machine waiting for our server to return with a drink. We also feel compelled to do our drinking there, which certainly ends up costing more over the length of the cruise.

The nice thing about Cheers! is that you do end up trying new things...maybe it's that more expensive glass of wine, or that drink that you aren't quite sure if you'll like, but heck, it's included so why not? I may even throw caution to the wind and have a milkshake this time! I've also never been one to buy the coffee, so I have settled for the freebie version. I've also been known to buy a cup of tea rather than hike it up to the Lido deck, so in both of these cases I could easily make up $10 per day.

I had just gotten so tired of the whole Bon Voyage bottle thing...the initial cost, bringing mixers, running back to the cabin for a refill, and only having one type of drink for most of the cruise. It's a win for us.

I didn't forget to pack anything prior to my cruise, but on my Magic sailing out of Galveston I forgot to leave out a pair of pants for the trip home. We usually self debark and somehow I neglected to add pants to my "keep" pile. I realized my error around 1 am after my luggage was gone. I fully intended to grab a pair from my luggage after docking, but due to a mini-hurricane we docked late, and we barely made our flight. We then had limited time to make our connection in Atlanta. Essentially I traveled from Galveston to Baltimore in a pair of boxer shorts. So proud.

The simple answer is yes they are too high, if they weren't they would sell out and upsell opportunities for far less wouldn't exist. It's a matter of personal choice as to whether paying for a particular cabin at the asking price is the right thing to do....and maybe on some sailings, it does pay to book ahead. The fact remains though, that on a lot of cruises there are upsell opportunities at terrific prices and the only thing lost is an additional two freebies that don't nearly make up for the difference in price. You do have to be willing to take what is available, but from my experience there were several cabins to choose from...and that was only a few weeks out. It appears as if they are throwing a price against the wall and seeing if it will stick. When it doesn't, the cost drops like a rocket.

Call me crazy but I think it's cool when we're in a port and entering and exiting from deck 2. One time I was with a crew member trying to get off the ship and we took a shortcut down "I-95" through the crew area to get to the other gangway because there was a bottleneck at the main one. I find it fascinating to see the behind the scenes stuff. I wouldn't mind at all not entering right into the Centrum.

 

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I couldn't care less about that either, but I'll tell you what will be a big, hairy deal. Baltimore has an unbelievable number of pax who use self-debarkation. Unless they "outlaw" that option until they have a replacement gangway, it's going to be insane!

Since we sail in just 33 days - can't help but wonder what the plan is for access until the repairs are complete.

I'm thinking RCL isn't too happy right about now either! There's an awful lot of people between the two ships that have to board and debark. It's going to be a huge mess if they don't have the old gangway sitting around somewhere.

I wasn't on the ship this time, so I can't speak to what happened this sailing but I have sailed the Pride many, many times, and when docking there usually seems to be a series of attempts to line up the ship's opening to the gangway. I remember one morning in particular that it took nearly 15 minutes on a rainy, windy day. Frankly, it seemed as if both the ship and the gangway operator were trying to work in unison, so had they collided that day I don't know that anyone could have really assigned blame....not saying that's what happened here, just that they seem to often have a problem "hooking up".

Maybe this is typical? I'm usually asleep when we dock at most homeports; Baltimore is the exception. I'm hardly a navigational expert, but because we get priority debarkation we're always sitting right there next to the gangway opening observing the process.

Well, I booked a suite for the extra space for our Panama Canal cruise, and heard the "news" that new perks were coming. I thought, what the heck, it can only be a plus. Absolutely nothing for me, since I'm turning Diamond that cruise.

As far as prices, we just sailed 10 days on the NCL Gem and upgraded to a 2br Suite for essentially the same price as our suite for a Panama Canal sailing 13 days, and the Gem sailing included the UBP. We also were given a number to call following our cruise which produced a free 14 day cruise on the Epic including UBP, a 50 8x10 photo package, $70 food credit, spa credit, Spa Balcony stateroom including a Thermal Spa pass, and $100 video arcade credit. On our sailing we had 2 BRs, 2 Baths, a living room, deluxe coffee maker (think lattes and such), butler, en suite dining if we chose, free ppv movies, and access to a very nice dining room for breakfast and lunch. I don't think it's necessarily a price thing any longer. It may just be that Carnival has gotten just a bit too confident that their pax will continue to stay in their comfort zone.

I love Carnival but they seriously need to up their game if they want passengers willing to drop dollars on their ships to continue sailing.

It seems to me if there's a continuing problem with dishes being stacked in the hallways, the crew isn't being sent to fetch them frequently enough. I'm pretty sure that with the sophisticated system that they have onboard tracking room service they have a pretty good idea as to how often they should be making a pass thru the hallways. If they're not doing that, it's Carnival's fault.....I'm sorry but there's no way that any passenger should have to keep the remnants of Sushi or Buffalo Wings in their cabin because the galley staff isn't doing their job frequently enough. Sending someone around every hour with a cart should not be a huge, hairy deal.

This may not be the most popular answer, but it's my two cents. We tipped the butler quite a bit even though we never dined in our room, or requested any "special deliveries". She did provide us with snacks and restock our iced water and iced tea each day, so that was enough to warrant a significant tip. We also tipped our cabin steward quite a bit above the daily amount because we had a 2br suite, and in my opinion that meant that he had to clean extra area, which equated to extra $$$ earned. The concierge was nice enough, but the only time that I asked for anything (if we were going to be able to see the NCAA championships), he never got back to me. I didn't book reservations, use special seating, or use any other services that he could provide. If I'm at a hotel and don't use the concierge I don't tip, so I didn't tip the ship concierge either.

I was on the same cruise. One of my favorite moments was the Captain's noon announcement where he scolded the passenger(s) who continued to disrupt the plumbing system. He was a hoot!

I'm hoping that when we attend the cocktail party for Suite passengers that if I bring it up in person, maybe they'll take a hint....like they may have a rebellion on their hands, lol! If they truly can't get TBS that will suck big time...and too bad that the NCAA finals didn't get picked up by CBS, but I guess we'll have to see. I bet that there are plenty of Upstate New Yorkers and Philly folks onboard that will be sorely disappointed to find out that it's not available. We are so used to Carnival and having more stations that it didn't even occur to me....I also assumed it would be on CBS. DH may have my head!

The concierge just replied and said they would not be aired. I even tried the "There's a NY team and a Philly team playing and we sail out of NYC", but she wasn't moved, lol!

It may be way too late, but a good idea is to send an email to the Cruise Director on the ship a month out and request.:)

I'm hoping whoever's onboard now is taking up the charge! I'll try sending an e-mail to the concierge...might as well look needy and demanding before I board, lol!