ryanpatricksmom

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!

Does anyone have an idea as to where we would be able to watch the tournament on the Gem? DH is a 'Cuse alum, so if we don't get to watch, he'll be a crankpot. Does one of the bars show network sports? It's on TBS.

We're sailing on NCL this time because I'd had it with the lousy offers and customer service for the "VIP" casino department. Since then we've gotten a little more personal attention after I expressed my frustration and we booked a B2B in September on a free offer. We also booked the Panama Canal cruise (not free yet), but only because I really liked the itinerary.

Basically, we've run into the same issues (if you already have a cruise booked no Bounceback-and that includes both of us for some reason; no perks upfront, although the hosts always take care of us; and lastly, the only really good offers are to sail on the Premiere Cruises, which often don't work for us because of the dates).

They do take their best gamblers for granted. Carnival knows that if they can get you onboard in any way, shape, or form you're going to spend in the casino, so they try to cultivate new gamblers instead. Why they don't have a true VIP department that answers the phone, shows appreciation for the $$$ spent, and does whatever they have to as an enticement to sail is beyond me.

.....And this thread takes yet another turn, lol!

We were on the Magic last week. we stopped by the new bbq one day and I grabbed a small plate of food to sample. I had the chicken, pulled pork and the cole slaw. The chicken was fantastic. The pork and slaw were very good. I will also say that we liked the guys burgers too. My personal favorite new addition was the blue iguana tacos. I had a few of those almost every day.

I'm glad that it was good. My yucky experience with Guy's BBQ could have been due to an indifferent cook. I've always found Carnival's food to be good, and on the Magic last year, I thought that the pulled pork at the BBQ was amazing, so initially I was disappointed to hear that it was being replaced.

We sail in about a week on NCL, and I swore after the first time never again because the food was so awful. Never say never though, and supposedly it's changed, so fingers crossed.

What sucks on land often sucks less at sea.

True that.

What location would that be? As far as I know these dont exist anywhere. :confused: There is a Guys BBQ Joint in a Caesars casino and hotel in Baltimore but thats it. It was the first of its kind.

Baltimore. I promise it was horrible...and I really wanted to like it, and I do like the burgers. The BBQ that we had last time on the Magic was wonderful; Guy's was dry and stringy (pulled pork) and the sides were tasteless. I will usually eat anything and hate wasting food. For me to throw it away it has be really bad. Before anyone starts a debate about why I didn't complain while I was there, it was carry out and I didn't feel like going back in my jammies, lol!

according to ncl's rules, you can only sign for your child to be able to drink on board. so if you go by the rules, the definitive answer is no, you cannot sign for someone else's child to drink. but according to other's, sometimes they will bend the rules and allow you to sign for someone else's kid to drink. so in essense, flip a coin and see what happens.

Yeah, since I posted I saw where it says "traveling parent", so I'm not going to create the expectation that it's possible. If we take a friend, I'll ask his parents without the kids knowing and take a letter fully expecting to be turned down.

I'm so jealous! I've been hoping for that for years. I also have been trying to time a cruise on the Carnival Pride so that we depart on the 4th of July so that we can watch fireworks go off all along the Chesapeake Bay, but so far no luck.

People can still be excited. And draw their own conclusions.

 

I had a Guys burger in New York. Didn't taste as good as onboard. But I think it was because I wasn't onboard.:p

Okay, I'll say this instead, I wouldn't recommend standing in a long line to try it, because you may be very sorry that you did. I tried it once, ate 2 bites of each thing, and threw the rest away, lol! I was trying to be nice. :p They may actually do a better job of preparing the food on Carnival, but it was truly awful at my location.

Don't get too excited. I hope they'll do a better job on Carnival then the location that I ate it, but it's not very good...and I'm not a picky eater at all.

OP here, Thanks so much for all the reply's & advise ! A couple of things, no we are not traveling to mexico, but I have bought some things from the pharmacies there & I agree, they don't seem to be as potent. We are going to San Juan, St, Thomas, St. Maarten & Tortola, I don't think any of these ports will have over the counter type of pharmacies..

What is a travel clinic ? Ive never heard of that. Also I would think if I went to an urgent care center, I would probably have the same problem as with my dr. wouldn't I ? Would they prescribe something for an issue where I don't currently have a flare up ?

 

Thanks once again!

Bonzo

I've always found doctors at Urgent Care Facilities to be very capable and accommodating. You could try calling one close to you and explain the situation. Are these drugs something that could be used for recreational purposes? I just don't get your doctor's response. It seems irresponsible to me. Does your husband or your kid(s) have a different doctor? Perhaps you could call them.

Cool idea. We do something similar when we travel on Carnival....we leave a $20 bill and a post it note on our cooler asking for ice, lol! I thought I remembered the steward taking direction from the butler, but it's been a long time ago, so I'm probably mistaken. These days I rarely ever see a steward!

I received mine yesterday and we sail in 10 days.

I can't imagine what your physician thinks you're going to do with those prescriptions....it's not as if they're narcotics!

I would count on the pharmacy having anything widely prescribed, but not any specialty medications. It seems as if Prednisone is used for asthma based on some of the responses, so in all likelihood they would have it. I know that they have a wall full of medications on Carnival, but that probably includes medications that have already been required for certain crew members. I think that you should go back to your doctor or go to an Urgent Care facility and request a prescription just in case.

I stayed in a 2br suite a number of years ago and I don't recall asking the butler for anything actually. In our Disney suite we had lunch delivered once.

We sail again in 10 days, also in a 2br suite. Now that they have the Nespresso machines, I'll ask for half and half. I'll probably ask for a pitcher of iced tea for each day, ice, and now that I know about it M&Ms. I do recall them delivering snacks in the afternoon on our previous cruise, and I likely will mention that we would prefer savory to sweet. I don't anticipate calling the concierge at all. I will ask them to make up the second bed even though there are only two of us....one will be the snoring room.

That's the extent of what I want, and expect. I like to be left alone on vacation, and pampering often feels like an intrusion to me. To each his own.

I was actually curious as to the answer because we could potentially be taking our almost 19 year old and a friend (either the same age or older) on a cruise next Spring. We would allow it, only if the other kid's parents allowed it of course, so I would like to know. It only took me the first page to realize that I wasn't going to get a definitive answer; I did continue to read in sheer amazement, however.

Before we sail I'm going to call NCL and ask if it's possible, and what the proper documentation would be. Somehow I don't think there will be a debate involved, LOL!

I know I need a drink right about now.....

A bit off topic, but even after multiple trips to Alaska, the most whales that I ever saw congregated together was off of Provincetown in Cape Cod. We had so many whales breaching around our boat that we were unable to move for about 45 minutes...and we saw a baby.

Definitely a couple of times in Alaska. I remember our Captain shouting, "There she blows!" over the loudspeaker on one occasion.

I'm sure there have been dolphins a time or two in Florida/the Caribbean, but I wasn't looking for them. I know that every time I step into the Gulf a couple always seem to show up.

Even if true, if your room is done to your liking (in terms of the number of refreshes), why do you care? Our cabin steward on the Sunshine last month handled 35 (including the captain's suite I might add) with an assistant. Same for the cabin steward down the hall, had conversations with both of them. They also said the biggest obstacle to getting their job done was getting in the rooms (people sleeping late or staying in their rooms in the evening) which adds value to offering the "option" of alerting what the cruiser would like (including twice a day).

That's why I think it's actually a good idea to have the cards. It has the potential to make things more efficient, and the stewards should have more time to devote to those who want 2 a day service. I don't doubt that the original intent was to cut-back services for those who didn't know better, but in the end it may just be a win. I would take things a step further and have cards with 1-2 hour windows. I've been in some hotels that offer that option. In the old days you could communicate directly with your steward, but in our more recent cruises, I usually don't even run into him/her. Remember when they used to ask when your assigned dining time was? It was for our convenience, and also allowed for the stewards to be more efficient.

No offense, but just because you think the policy would be convenient for you doesn't make it a good one. I'm pretty sure that you could always have instructed your porter to only do service once a day. I could be wrong, but I doubt that they would have argued with you and said they have to clean your room twice a day no matter what. So you could have gotten what you wanted before. Unfortunately now, it looks like they're planning on taking it away from everyone. Giving people the option is certainly fine. Restricting people, or guilting them, into only one service a day is unacceptable -- unless they want to adjust the prices and tipping accordingly.

No offense taken, but I was making an observation comparing my preference to the majority, which seems to be the exact opposite. I didn't comment on the policy at all. I fully acknowledge that I don't have a horse in this race.