Lady_Jag
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I purchased a photo package pre-cruise, but still haven’t received an email containing a link to my pictures. It’s been almost 2 weeks since we left the ship - past the 4-7 business days indicated ~ and still no pictures. I emailed RCI twice, but no response.
As much as I hate the thought of our photos being lost in cyberspace, is it time to call them and ask for a refund?🥲
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Hello, all!
We just got home from a 12-day air-land-sea vacation with my teen’s service dog, Charlie. He’s an 18-month-old white golden retriever, weighing in at 93 pounds. This vacation was his first flight, his first cruise, his first time in New York, first time in Bermuda, and his first train ride! I have to say things went even more smoothly than expected, although I was VERY disappointed in the lack of education and accommodations by Royal Caribbean’s personnel on board.
Here are my take aways from the experience. (Warning, it’s a long one!)
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Flight: Southwest from JAX to STL, then STL to LGA. Delays with the second leg of the trip made the first day nothing but a travel day. We made sure to complete the FSA service dog travel form, which we presented at check in. Southwest was AWESOME at letting me, hubs, and our teenager pre-board together with Charlie so that we could sit in the bulkhead seats and have plenty of space for Charlie. We brought along his blanket and a yogurt-filled bone (no more than 3 oz of filling for TSA!) so that he had something to lick and chew during takeoff and landing and also to keep him occupied during the flight.
Speaking of TSA - I packed the kibble for each of Charlie’s meals into 24 separate zip top bags, then spread the food bags out across all our checked luggage and carry-ons so that we wouldn’t be pinged for overweight luggage, and wouldn’t be up a creek if any bag got lost. It worked out brilliantly, except TSA pinged the food bags in the carry-on luggage when they went through X-ray, and our carry-ons got searched. Also, my teenager was wanded instead of passing through the scanner, and Charlie was thoroughly patted down. However, it was a quick process, and my teen didn’t have to be touched, except for a check of their palms for residue.
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Airports: All the airports had “relief stations;” some way nicer than others. JAX had a full out lounge with hand washing stations, benches and rocking chairs for us hoo-mans, litter boxes for traveling kitties, and a huge span of artificial turf with fake fire hydrant, poo bags, and trash cans for the pups. The place also has a great drainage system and separate ventilation system so that no odors permeated to the main terminal area. STL had a way smaller version of the artificial turf and fake fire hydrant, hand washing station, and poo bags/trash can, but no place or room to sit. It was pretty much an open area tucked away off an inconspicuous hallway, but was well marked and kept clean. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the LGA relief area. Oooof! Hubs and I opened the door to follow our teen and Charlie inside, and quickly backed out of the room and closed the door! It was basically a closet converted to a doggie waste dump. It reeked horribly, and the smell permeated outside the closed door. Needless to say, Charlie and his handler did not want to stick around long enough to “go.”
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Car transportation/taxi: This was the biggest challenge of the entire trip, so I did as much preplanning as possible. We live over an hour from JAX airport, so I rented a small SUV from Budget rentals near our house the day before to turn in at the airport the next morning. Brilliant plan, if I do say so myself. Lol! We we’re able to load up all 10 of our bags the night before, and it was cheaper than an Uber or Lyft.
I also prearranged a private car to pick us up at the airport in NYC and take us to our hotel. I booked through GoAirLink because the rate was all inclusive: fare, tax, and tip. I tried to prebook another private car company to take us to the cruise port from our hotel later that week, but the companies I contacted were either booked that day or, in the case of one company in particular, wanted to charge me a $35 “pet fee,” despite multiple arguments about Charlie being a service dog, not a pet. In the end, the brilliant concierge at our hotel arrange for a Cadillac Escalade to take us from Manhattan to the cruise port for only $95. We we’re so impressed, we got the driver’s card an called him when our ship returned to the cruise port so he could take us to our post-cruise hotel in the Chelsea area of NYC.
As for Bermuda, Charlie stayed on board with hubs the first day (since dogs aren’t allowed on the beaches at this time), while the teenager and I attended a Girl Scout/Girl Guide international cultural exchange and beach cleanup. That was just as well, as the poor boy was very seasick from the rough seas the night before, and needed the day to recuperate. The second day in Bermuda, I hired the only Pet Taxi in Bermuda for the day. The owner/driver, Paul, was super nice and took us to BAMZ (Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo) on the other side of the island, telling us about Bermuda history and points of interest along the way. I would HIGHLY recommend contacting him for anyone traveling to Bermuda with a service dog!
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RCI Adventure of the Seas: Gotta say I was unimpressed with the available information and accommodations. I contacted RCI multiple times in the months leading up to our cruise, and had to piece together the little bits of information I received from each person I spoke to. Charlie is a spoiled country boy with a big 1.5 acre yard of grass to relieve himself in, so I requested a couple of times 3-4 months prior for sod to be provided in the relief box. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting such a miracle, but did have a small hope that maybe if I asked nicely way in advance, Charlie might get his wish. As a Plan B, I got a plastic baby pool, cut drain holes all through the bottom, and filled it with mulch so that we could get Charlie used to the concept at home. Nope. Dang dog will EAT the mulch, but no use the pool for its intended purpose. And why should he? I mean, there’s all that grass around the pool for his enjoyment, after all. Lol!
Plan C - I brought puppy pads for those “just in case” moments. Nope. He eats those too!
Plan D - I brought a large rubber backed mat of artificial grass along. Nope. Charlie loves to rub all over it, but would not “go” on it.
As it turns out, though, the 3.5 days we spent in Manhattan was all he needed. Poor guy was so lost in this concrete jungle with not a blade of grass to be seen anywhere! It took about a day, but he learned to use the tiny areas around some of the trees when he had to pee, and just let it go on the concrete when nature called on line #2.
So the folks at the pier were super nice when we checked in. I provided the RCI service dog form, the US APHIS health form, and the Bermuda Import Certificate, along with Charlie’s rabies vaccination certificate and shots records. I had these at the ready, along with the stack of other paperwork required to sail: For each of Charlie’s Hoo-mans, I needed to provide a Bermuda Visa, negative Covid test, passport, vaccination card, and RCI boarding pass.
On the ship, the tiny relief box was located at the very back of the ship in deck 4. (Too bad our room was at the very front of the ship on deck 9.) When we got there, the box had just a tiny bit of mulch in it, which Charlie reluctantly agreed to pee in, but would never poo in. (Instead, he would go just outside the box.) By the end of the second day, Charlie was disgusted by the lack of mulch and would only put his front paws in the box to pee in it. Can’t say I blame him, as with such little filler, the pee started seeping through the joints and running out onto the deck.
I went to guest services and ask that they refresh and refill the relief box. Try as they might, no one at the desk had any understanding of what I was asking. Finally, one of the reps put me on the phone with the person in charge of their special services/disabilities department so I could make my request, and there was a full box of new mulch by the next morning.
So you’re probably wondering what was the problem with the relief accommodations, right? Well, both of our days at sea had some very choppy waves - 6’-10’ swells, in fact! That meant we were climbing and dropping 12’-20’ feet through the night! Add to it rain and high winds, and it makes for a very hazardous deck surface, especially for someone like my teenager who has mobility issues. Anyway, such weather caused the doors on deck 4 of one side of the ship to be locked and marked “closed due to weather,” so my teenager would use the doors on the opposite side in deck 4 and walk Charlie “the long way” to the relief box. Okay, not ideal, but still manageable.
Unfortunately, the crew decided that when the one side was closed due to weather, it was a great time to close the doors on the other side of deck 4 for maintenance! Which meant we had to walk Charlie to the relief box through the water, suds, and chemicals they were spraying all over the deck, creating a fall hazard for even the most balanced people! My teenager was enraged, and after sloshing back to the promenade inside, marched straight to the Guest Services desk to complain. Then it got even uglier.
When my teenager explained the issue to the clerk at the desk, the clerk couldn’t understand, and retrieved a manager. The manager heard the complaint, then walked my teenager down to the roped off maintenance area on deck 4 and said, “see, you just have to go around.” Ummm what?!? My child was furious and later told me, “I hope Charlie poops in front of the Guest Services desk so I can tell the manager to ‘just go around!’”
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Amtrak: Charlie’s 2nd favorite mode of transportation! We took the train from Moynhain station in NYC to Jax, which turned out to be a 22-hour trip. Because it was a long overnight trip, I bought tickets for the sleeper car. Charlie, the teenager and I had a full bedroom with camper-style bathroom, and hubs had a Roomette, which was about half the size but still comfortable. When I booked, I asked for an accessible room, but Amtrak wouldn’t allow it unless one occupants needed a wheelchair or walker. The room was tight, especially when the couch was pulled out to be made into a bed, but we managed. The only problem we had was that unlike airports, train stations have no pet relief areas. Worse, there were only a few stops along the route that afforded us enough time to walk Charlie onto the platform for some relief. Given most of the platforms were nothing but concrete, though, Charlie didn’t get much relief. However, the Amtrak employees were great and made sure to give us a heads up for the available stops, and which had some grass for Charlie.
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Ports of Call: NYC
So NYC wasn’t a port of call per se, but it’s worth mentioning that we saw a Broadway and an off Broadway show with Charlie during our pre- and post-cruise visit. For both shows, I purchased tickets at least a month prior through a discount site offered by my workplace. For both, I requested assistance seating, and for both, I was told none was available but we should be fine if we got aisle seats. So I got Beetlejuice tickets with aisle seats in the Mezzanine of the Marquis Theatre. Not a good fit. Literally. Even though the theater is a bit more modern than most Broadway theaters and have bigger seats and leg room, Charlie just couldn’t fit in front of or under the seats. Instead, he sort of oozed into the aisle and onto the steps. Just after the show started, an usher, the theater manager, and someone from security approached my teenager and carted my kiddo and Charlie out of the theater. The manager apologized and said that Charlie could not be in the aisle because it posed a fire hazard, and asked what they could do to accommodate him and my teen. They wound up moving my kiddo and Charlie to accessible seats just behind the orchestra section downstairs, and the usher sought us out to make sure we knew they were taking good care of the SD team.
The other show we saw was Blue Man Group at the much older Astor Palace Theatre. Being an older theater, there were absolutely no accessible seats. In fact, one guy arrived in a wheelchair and was carried up and down the theater stairs. Anyway, when we arrived, the usher noticed Charlie and asked where our seats were. I showed her our tickets, and she said “we’re not sold out, so let me check with the box office and see if I can get you better seats.” I thanked her and told her that even if we had to split up so that Charlie and his handler were accommodated, we would be okay with that. When she came back, she gave us 2 options: 4 seats together on an aisle mid orchestra section, or 2 seats just behind the poncho section near an exit door, so there was much more leg room. We agreed to the exit door seats for Charlie and my kiddo, and hubs and I went back to our original seats in the upper mezzanine. Well, before the show started, the usher returned and said, “I have good news - I convinced the people in the downstairs row to move down, so if you want, you can all sit together.” Wow! Yeah! Great seats and great view. Charlie did well throughout the show, for the most part, although we had to snag a marshmallow thrown at us so that Charlie wouldn’t eat it.
The biggest challenge came at the end, when the perfect storm had Charlie jumping into my child’s lap and trying to climb over the seats. There was very loud bass and drums, heavy strobe lights, and paper ribbons being shot out throughout the audience from the BMG who were in various locations in the aisle. Taken individually, Charlie would have been able to handle it. But when all the stimuli came together at one time, Charlie freaked out. Poor boy! He was fine once the house lights came back on, but needless to say, Charlie was not a fan of the show.
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Ports of Call: Bermuda
I stressed a lot over all the paperwork required for bridging Charlie to Bermuda. But everything worked out okay, and I had everything I needed. The first day there, when my teen and I left the ship without Charlie, we were flagged on the way out when we scanned our cards. I pointed out that the dog was not with us, so security cleared the flag, and we were never pinged again, even when Charlie was with us the next day.
As I mentioned, I arranged ahead of time for the Pet Taxi to transport us to BAMZ.The folks at BAMZ were incredibly nice and accommodating, and when we purchased admission said there was no charge for our disabled teenager. Charlie was great and really loved the fish and seals. The lemurs, on the other hand, despised him and congregated near us to glare and growl at him. I led Charlie out of the exhibit so that hubs and the teenager could see the lemurs when they were undisturbed and not so p*$$3d off. I later found out that Charlie was not allowed in the lemur exhibit for exactly that reason, but no one told us that until after the fact. (Oops!) So word of caution - don’t take a service dog into the lemurs exhibit, because it upsets the lemurs. (All other exhibits are fine.)
- Miscellaneous: Even though I didn’t need them, I was glad that I looked up and added to my phone the numbers of emergency vets in NYC and Bermuda. Charlie’s seasickness had me extremely concerned on the ship, and I considered calling the Bermuda vet and asking Paul to take us to their clinic that Sunday. Fortunately, though, once we were off the ship and Charlie was able to get to dry land and green grass, he perked up a lot and was back to his normal self almost immediately. I was also glad to have purchased trip insurance, even though we didn’t need it. Since Charlie is a service dog, our trip insurance would have reimbursed us for any emergency veterinary visits.
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Flight: Southwest from JAX to STL, then STL to LGA. Delays with the second leg of the trip made the first day nothing but a travel day. We made sure to complete the FSA service dog travel form, which we presented at check in. Southwest was AWESOME at letting me, hubs, and our teenager pre-board together with Charlie so that we could sit in the bulkhead seats and have plenty of space for Charlie. We brought along his blanket and a yogurt-filled bone (no more than 3 oz of filling for TSA!) so that he had something to lick and chew during takeoff and landing and also to keep him occupied during the flight.
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Yes. As of May 22, 2022, the government of Bermuda put the responsibility of checking Covid test results on the cruiseline. You must have a negative test result prior to boarding.
Also, if you test positive because you had Covid within the last 3 months, Bermuda is one of the ports that will still deny you debarkation and will NOT accept a certificate of recovery from a doctor in lieu of a negative test.
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Thank you both for the helpful tips! I really appreciate it!
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Hi everyone,
Life has kept me away from CC and cruising for some time, but now I'm back and in desperate need of assurance and/or advice.
Back in late 2018, before we even considered getting a service dog, we booked a cruise to Bermuda out of Cape Liberty port on Royal Caribbean for 2021. We incorporated the cruise into a 2-week land, air, and sea journey and planned to spend a few days before and after the cruise in NYC. Well, Covid threw a monkey wrench in the works, things got rescheduled multiple times, and now finally, we are booked to leave in July of this year!
Except now my teenager has a 90-pound golden retriever service dog who will be a little less than a year and a half old when we travel. Now I am really nervous about this trip! We've taken long road trips with the pup before and he's been fine in the car and at our destination, but he has not yet been on a plane, train, or ship. I want to be sure I've crossed all the T's and dotted the I's, so here's what I've done so far:
- Alerted Royal Caribbean of traveling with a SD and answered their questions/got cleared via email.
- Alerted the airline of our SD and completed the TSA form for air travel.
- Got the dog's vaccinations renewed yesterday. (Expires in 2025.)
- Printed out the Dog Import forms for Bermuda and scheduled a vet visit to occur 1 week prior to our arrival in Bermuda so that the forms can be completed.
- Alerted Amtrak of our SD and answered their questions via phone.
- Alerted our pre- and post-cruise NYC hotels of our SD (as a courtesy to the hotels).
- Acquired travel insurance.
- Got "Mutt Muffs" for the 5-hour plane trip to NYC.
What am I missing? I was reading through this thread and took note of the potty box training. Now I plan on filling up a baby pool with mulch so my teen can start working on getting the dog used to doing his business there, but what else? I think I read on the RCI site that sod for the potty box is available if notified in advance, so do I contact the cruise line and ask if they'll provide sod to make it easier for the dog to go?
I feel so unprepared and am worried that I'm going to forget something important that will cancel our whole trip.
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Just got off the Elation and Bingo was priced $20 for a 3 card/ 3 game bundle, $30 for 6 card/ 3 game bundle, and $40 for 9 card/ 3 game bundle. Daubers are $2, but you get one with the $40 package.
Daubers? They don’t have the punch cards anymore, where you use your finger to punch out the number?
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Sweet! We sail the same ship and route next week!
How was Half Moon Cay? Did you get a cabana?
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This is great. I have purchased the package with Princess, and I'm so happy to find it with Carnival. :)
We have 2 cabins, DS, DIL, and 5 year old granddaughter in one, and us in the other. I'm assuming I only buy 1 package ???
But I have to be in all the photos??
Patti
You don’t have to be in all of them, only someone from your cabin (or your child under 21 staying in another cabin.)
I just purchased a package last night for our cruise next week. When I bought it, I was prompted to select the names of everyone the package applied to, from a list of people in my cabin. (I selected all 3 of us, of course!) I’m sure if my booking was tied to another cabin with a child under 21, I’d be able to select that child as well.
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Spring break for Duval County (Jacksonville) Public Schools is March 16-23. While you may or may not be encountering an abundance of college students at this time, you will probably be cruising with a lot of high school, middle school, and elementary school students.
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I’m Platinum with Carnival and have tried Royal Caribbean and Disney. I like Carnival and am booked on the Elation this spring, but after 2 Royal Caribbean cruises, I think I like RCI slightly better. They all have pros and cons, so here’s my take:
- Carnival has better food than RCI, or at least they did when I sailed a couple years ago. I haven’t tried the new menus yet, and I’m disappointed that the Steak and Brie sandwich went away from room service. Still, the chocolate cake from room service is the bomb!
- Carnival is the only ship that sails from my hometown, so if I want a quick and easy departure that doesn’t require a flight, long drive, or overnight stay, I have to go with CCL.
- Back on food, there’s something magical about having access to soft serve ice cream 24x7.
- We like comedy shows onboard CCL ships.
- The cabins seem slightly larger than other lines.
- The price of a Carnival cruise is often the cheapest. However, RCI does specials that rival CCL prices. (2nd person 1/2 price and 3rd person free.)
- RCI does great specials (see above), making their prices pretty reasonable for my family of 3.
- Royal Caribbean’s entertainment venues are outstanding! Parades through the promenade, ice skating, rollerblading, indoor theater, ice skating shows, etc. And at Christmas, there was Christmas caroling on Christmas Eve, followed by Midnight Mass in the main theater. Then Christmas morning, Santa paraded down the promenade to the ice skating rink, where it was snowing! He then met with each child and gave them each an age-appropriate gift. (My 8 year old git headphones.)
- RCI brings a priest onboard for Christmas and Easter services.
- RCI cabin layouts use the space efficiently, so that there is a clear division between the bed and “living” space.
- RCI goes to Key West more frequently, it seems. My last cruise, CCL and RCI were the same price, leaving from the same place on the same day, and had the same number of cruise days. However, RCI went to Key West and Cozumel, whereas CCL went to Cozumel and Costa Maya.
- RCI has Coke Freestyle machines. Unfortunately, this also means carrying a for-fee large plastic cup around with you, then hunting down the 2-3 machines on the ship each time you want a soda. Still, I’ll take fountain sodas with over 100 flavor choices over flat canned soda with limited flavors any day.
- Disney does a wonderful job catering to kids. The deck with the kids club even has lower ceilings so that the kids aren’t overwhelmed. They also have tracker bracelets on the kids so they can locate your child in seconds.
The downside is that Disney neglects the adults when it comes to nightlife. By 8PM or so, the ship is like a ghost town. The adult clubs are open, but no one is there.
- Fireworks at sea. Nuff said!
- Fountain Sodas are included in the price of your cruise. They even have soda fountains on their private island. Just grab a cup and fill ‘er up.
- The cabins are very nicely designed. Again, there’s a clear division between sleep and living areas. The upper bunk even has a nice Peter Pan/neverland starry sky painted on the ceiling above it.
- The themed restaurants are really nice and you get a new dining room and new adventure each night.
- The characters onboard are a lot of fun. We got into a glass elevator with Stitch, and his “handler” said, “hey kids! Who wants to help Stitch bang on the glass all the way up?”
- The indoor movie theater with first run movies (some 3d) is wonderful, as are the shows in the main theater.
- It’s Disney, which means they pay attention to the smallest details. Unfortunately, that means Disney prices, which are usually 3x what we pay on other lines.
- You can get Mickey ice cream bars 24x7. Just ask room service.
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You can surprise him and have some sent to your cabin before you cruise by purchasing them through the FunShops on Carnival’s web site. Bonus: I think a portion of the proceeds goes to St. Jude.
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Regarding Afternoon Tea: I am just off the CARNIVAL BREEZE and tea was offered on the sea days, as it has in the past. The quality of presentation and service has declined so much though I found it unpleasant. Several people walked out with disappointment. o longer do you get your own little pot of hot water, you now have to share one pot between every two (2) people. I like to place my tea bag in the pot to gt a second cup out of it. We sat for fifteen minutes before they came to our table with the sandwiches...and they ere most out, only 2 people awn a table of eight received any. They never came with the pastry cart. nd, you now have to pay for your tea bag. Sad to see this cutback.
This makes me very sad. I’m also concerned that with the cutbacks and added fees, people will stop attending altogether, and then tea time will go away forever because of “lack of attendance.” ☹️
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You should be just fine in March.
The only time hubby and I encountered incredibly rough seas when we sailed out of Jax was decades ago on the (long retired) little Carnival Celebration in early November. A cold front happened to cross our path on the return, creating 12’ swells the final day at sea.
Sick bags were taped everywhere for people to grab. I tried sitting on the Lido and looking out the windows on the other side of the ship, but the horizon would disappear, then rise past the top of the window. The aft kiddie pool was swirling like a washing machine, and before it was closed, the kids had a blast challenging each other to see who could stand up the longest before being knocked over and swirled around the pool’s edges.
“Do Not Disturb” signs were hung on almost every cabin door on our deck, and walking towards the elevator, you couldn’t help but hear violent retching from behind the closed doors all the way to the elevator bay. I’d lift my foot to take a step, and the floor would fall away before I could plant it again. The next step I’d take, the floor would slam into my foot before I expected it to land. It made me feel like I was walking on the moon.
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I always cruise with a nice banner that I hang on my door with either cord or super strong magnetic clips. I don’t have a pic handy, but it is an undersea scene from Shindigz with “Cruising with the [our last name]” then lists all our first names.
When my daughter turned 10, I customized a vertical “Happy 10th birthday, [daughter’s name]!” with an anchor on it. Then I hung a sharpie marker from the corner grommet so that everyone who passed could write a birthday message to her.
We’re doing a cruise for her 12th birthday this spring. I’ve got another custom banner and I plan to do the same.
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My girl was 3 her first cruise on the Glory (conquest class), and was placed on the sofa. We pushed the coffee table and extra chair and pillows against the sofa to keep her from rolling too far. At 4, she was in the upper bunk on the Inspiration. There was a guard rail, and the bunk was directly above our bed, so even if she did somehow manage to make it past the rail, she wouldn’t fall far onto us. (I nicknamed it a “bonk bed,” because I had to be careful sitting up in my bed, or I’d hit my head on her bed!)
I’m not sure what arrangements are on the Triumph, but It will likely be either a sofa or a very low upper bunk for the third person.
What you can do is bring a pool noodle with you and tuck it under the bottom sheet near the edge of the bed. This will serve as an additional “rail” to alert your son that he is approaching the edge.
If you go with the trundle bed, know that they take up a LOT of floor space! This is why my family of 3 is always forced to book OV rooms on Fantasy class ships rather than IS, because navigating the room with a trundle in it is tough!
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I cannot find any details on the woman dead on the Elation, I do not think that has been released yet.
I can’t find any details either. This is one of the few reports I could find so far: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/carnival-cruise-passenger-death-two-190416089.html
The Elation incident was the 2nd falling death in a year. [emoji50]
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Does anyone ever get nervous about letting their kids roam the ship by themselves? Or once they leave the camp to come and meet you? My daughter is 12 and turning 13 in March. Mature in some ways but still immature too, lol. I just can't get comfortable with her being by herself on that big ship. How do others feel about this?
My daughter is turning 12 in March and will be in Circle C when we cruise in April. Similar to when she was 9 and could sign herself in/out of camp, I drew up a contract for her so that she knows what is expected for her to be safe and have roaming privileges.
The contract this time is 2 pages and has a list of about 20 or so safety and courtesy points that include:
- Do not go to any cabin-only decks, even as a cut-through. Our cabin is close to the elevators, so she should not need to pass other staterooms.
- She must prove to us on the first day that she knows the way to Circle C and back to our cabin. I show her the path she needs to take, then she leads me there and back without a word from me.
- She must check in with us before she goes anywhere on the ship without us. If she is using the chat app, she must receive confirmation from us that we received the message before she goes. She must then check in again (chat app) to let us know she reached her destination.
- Don’t leave the ship without us. Period.
- Travel from one side of the ship to the other must be done on deck 9 or higher (public decks.)
- Don’t enter anyone else’s cabin, even friends’ cabins. Do not allow anyone else into our cabin.
- If she returns to the cabin alone, hang the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
- Keep the TV volume to a reasonable level. It should not be heard outside the cabin.
- If room service is ordered, take the tray and tip the server. In the unusual circumstance that the tray is too cumbersome to take, keep the cabin door open while the server sets the tray down and until the server leaves.
- Don’t accept drinks from anyone other than from us or a drink server on the ship.
- Don’t sip any drink not in your constant possession/eyesight. If you set your drink down somewhere and take your eyes off it, don’t go back to it. Get a new one.
- Be respectful. Say please and thank you, wait for people to get off the elevator before getting on, don’t throw things overboard, etc.
- Keep your S&S card with you at all times. If you lose it, notify us immediately.
- Curfew is set by us each day, depending on the next day’s activities. She must be *in* the cabin by curfew.
- If there is a ship emergency and the muster alarm sounds, do *not* go looking for us and do not return to the cabin. We will meet her at the muster station.
There are some more items on the contract, but I don’t recall what they are at the moment. I did note that the contract can be modified by her parents and only by her parents. Then all three of us signed it to indicate that the terms were read, understood, and accepted.
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For the muster wristbands - everyone 12 or under must wear them. So only when they become 13 will they be able not to wear wrist bands.
It’s 11 and under.
“Safety Information
All children 11 and under must wear a muster station wristband throughout the cruise. Wristbands are available from the Youth Staff or the Guest Services Desk. In the event of an emergency, any children participating in Camp Carnival activities will be taken to the kids assembly area. There, they will be divided into the appropriate groups according to their muster station and taken to their station by the Youth Staff. During an emergency situation, parents should collect their child’s lifejacket from the cabin when they pick up their own. A Safety briefing will be held onboard when all regulations will be explained.”
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Thanks for the information. I wasn’t aware of the price match policy. That may come in handy when I book.
Although nice to have, be aware that Carnival incredibly picky with the price match. For example, if you find a much cheaper excursion that is the same for everything except that Carnival includes a cheap bottle of water with theirs, you will not be able to get the difference in price.
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Thanks, all!
I was afraid the excursion might be on hold. We are still a few months out, so I’ll wait and see if it changes. I booked using a special promo in which they gave me a percentage off for booking excursions within the first couple days of booking the cruise, so I’m not anxious to cancel it and then pay full price for another excursion.
If this excursion happens, great. If it’s canceled between now and the time we’re supposed to go, then we’ll figure out something else to do in Nassau. If it’s replaced with the Blue Lagoon Segway Tour, then I suppose we’ll be getting a tour and then 2 beach days in a row. No matter what, it’s still a win.
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Been a while, but I remember Camp Carnival being open only for registration and for checking out the place during certain hours on Embarkation Day. Then that night, there’s a family meet and greet, followed by a Camp Carnival family dance party in one of the lounges.
As another poster mentioned, Camp Carnival offers a “dinner with your friends” option for kids at the Lido restaurant. You can check your child in for dinner there, then go to the MDR for your meal. I think the counselors walk the kids back to the Camp Carnival room when their dinner is over.
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I have fond memories of the sushi place that was there before the taste bar. I would get there at 5pm each night while my bride was getting ready for dinner.
Alas it's coming back but won't be free anymore.
Bill
I loved the sushi bar that the taste bar replaced! My husband was always in awe of the things my picky, seafood-hating self would try (sashimi) while on the ship, but there was something about the sushi bar that made me brave. I’m not sure I can be brave if it’s not free, though.
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Thanks for in input. My goal is just to get it to the cabin until it gives out on it's own. Won't be taking it out on a deck to fly away.
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I always tie my keys, or another heavy object (like an action figure) to the balloon, in case there are any accidental releases. [emoji6]
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one day I was in the buffet line and saw my son (he did not see me) I walked up behind him and I was like "Wow are you going to eat all that food?, I love your shoes were did you buy them?, Do you want to be my friend?"....LoL One of the kids he was hanging out with was like "hey creepo leave him alone". My son was like :o "that's my dad":o:o....LoL One of the greatest pleasures in life embarrassing your kids if front of their friends.
This cracked me up! Definitely something I or my husband would do to our child. LOL!
We’re cruising Spring Break too, in celebration of my girl’s 12th birthday. She’s been sailing Carnival since she was 3, and loved the kids clubs when she was on the low end of the age range for the group (3-4, 6 , 9-10); not so much when she fell just before the cutoff (5 and 8). She was 9 on our last Carnival cruise and loved being able to sign herself in or out. She didn’t spend much time in the club then, but having the freedom to go to the club and then return to our room on her own made it really special.
Now that she’s turning 12, she’s really looking forward to Circle C. This is the first time she’ll be in a club that does activities around the ship, and not just confines the kids to one area every day. I showed her a few of the fairly recent Circle C activity sheets for our sailing and she is thrilled. She’s also happy not to be tagged with the uncomfortable muster station bands anymore, and of course, there’s the [limited] independence she can’t wait to have.
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Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!
in Disabled Cruise Travel
Posted
I am glad you commented. This NYC/Bermuda trip last year has to be our #1 favorite, if not one of our top 5 trips ever!
To answer your question, moving the box was not an option. I had puppy pads and a roll of fake grass as a [failed] “Plan B,” and I think if Charlie was a little older, wiser, and less diva-like, it would have been a great backup.
I also think Royal could stand to learn a little more about how to be accommodating to guests with special circumstances. I don’t know how other lines compare, but I lost count of the number of staff who would whistle for Charlie whenever they saw him or try to pet him without even asking permission.