mferris77

I just got off the Breeze this Saturday and noticed some of these as well.  There was rust all over the hull. I know it happens, and they paint it, but I don't really recall seeing that much rust on my past cruises.  When we arrived at our first port, I noticed the 'rust drips' from the name of the ship at the aft - when we came back on board, the rust was gone.  So during our cruise they were painting the outside.  I saw them again painting from a little platform boat while we were in Grand Turk.

I also noticed lots of plates of half-eaten food laying around in the stairwells.  No idea how long they were sitting there, but my first thought was "wow, that's trashy to leave your plate there" and not "why hasn't anyone cleaned that up".  I'm guessing the people who would clean that up don't typically need to go up/down the public stairwells very often.

As for the buffet/lido, it was busy but I didn't notice a difference in the time it took to clear off tables.  No problem with lido waiters, although my wife asked for a bottle of water twice from the same guy, he never came back.  When I got there I ordered a 'real' drink and he of course showed up with that.

Like I said I noticed it but it didn't bother me or put me off cruising with CCL again.  I was traveling with a first timer and hoped it didn't impact her first impression.  She had a great time which is all I cared about. 

3 days!  Woohoo!  Been looking forward to this for a long time.  Taking a first timer who is clueless about cruising.  A little nervous since "you either love it or you hate it" but she's a lot like me so I think she'll love it too.

So I read a lot, and I find myself with more books than I can fit on my bookshelves.  The last time I cruised, the selection was a bit lackluster.  Does Carnival accept book donations?  While I know they're a huge corporation and can afford their own books, I'm guessing they don't give much attention (or funding) to their library selections.  In fact last time I borrowed a book from their library there was no 'check in/check out' process.  I just took a book that looked interesting and walked out with it, there was no attendant to record my 'borrowing'.

If I wanted to give a few books (or more) to the ship's library, is there a way to do that efficiently? I'm not sure how I'd deal with a box of books as 'luggage'.  I'm wondering if I could contact whoever is in charge and somehow direct a box of books to them/the library.

There's a difference between making a drink in your room and heading up to the pool versus bringing a half empty bottle of vodka with you to the main dining room.

8 hours ago, kylesplash said:

On our last cruise there were several nights where I got more than 15 drinks using the cheers program. I got in good with several bar tenders, and they would charge drinks to my wife's cheers account for me (without her being with me). If they know you, and know you will tip them accordingly, they are pretty cool about it. There were several times that I got sample drinks too, "here try this martini and tell me what you think"

This reminds me of my first cruise that had Alchemy Bar.  We loved it, the two bartenders were from Eastern Europe, and we got along well. We went there every day.  In the course of talking we both discovered we shared the same favorite drink - a 'caiparinha' which is made with sugar cane rum, which isn't available on board.  Our next port of call was Curacao and she said to come back the next day as she had time to get off the ship.  When we went to the bar the next day, she went into the back room, showed me the bottle of sugar can rum she'd bought, then came out with two drinks - one for me, one for her, and no charge to my card.   I tipped her very well. 😄

11 hours ago, TG6 said:

Just wondering.  What is the benefit of staying around and sitting in a chair?  Is it to avoid the mad rush? I'm honestly curious.  I've only done one cruise.

We live locally, we have someone we can call to come pick us up, so there's no need for us to rush off the ship.  I in no way want to get in the staff's way or have them chase us down, I just want to be one of the last people on the gangway.  I figure we will be tired, possibly a little hung over, and we are able to take our time.  If we can miss the mad rush off the ship, then we can have breakfast a little later than everyone else and sit by the pool or lobby, and by the time we're off the ship it (hopefully) won't be a mad house in the parking lot/pickup area.

Hi all -

I live local to the port, we'll have a friend picking us up.  Combine this with the fact that the night before we'll likely be getting our money's worth out of the Cheers program, I'd prefer to stay on board as long as possible.  Does anyone know when 'last call' is for getting off the ship before they come looking for you?

Does the fact that we'll have luggage put out the night before complicate matters?  I haven't been on Carnival since they stopped handing out luggage tags in your room, so I'm not sure what the process is or if you can choose to be the last group off the ship or something like that.

Also totally off-topic, but within the realm of the Breeze - I don't think it warrants its own thread:  Is there really no more Indian food on board?  We loved the Tandoor grill but I think that's been replaced with the Fish Fry.  We were really looking forward to some Indian food.

Thanks for your feedback!

I'll be there too - I'm on the August 17th sailing.

Immediately upon getting off the ship is the Havensight Mall... a mishmash of the usual port stuff.  Trinkets, cheap liquor, clothing, Diamonds International and Del Sol, etc.  Across the street is the gondola/cable car, which goes up to a small area at the top of the mountain with a beautiful view, a bar/restaurant and a few more shops.  You can buy tickets on the ship or by just walking up.  I don't know if there's a price difference between the two.  Sunsets are amazing from here, but sunset is going to be around 6:30-6:45 and sailaway is at 7pm.

The main non-port shopping area of Charlotte Amalie is a 30 minute walk along the waterline.  There you'll find more shops, restaurants, bars, and there's a flea market there (more trinkets).

I suppose you could pull your waiter aside or mention to the Maitre'D that it's a child's birthday - I'm sure they'd go out of their way to do something for you.  (Or I'd like to think they would.)  Better to make sure they're aware than just hoping they'd get some kind of alert or something.  Who knows what info is available to them when they're putting in your food order.

Thanks.  I know there are exclusions with Cheers, and that there is a 15 drink per day max.  I guess my rambling question was:  

What if you do want one of those excluded items?  For instance, I'm cruising with two other people - what if we wanted to share the fishbowl drink?  Are we simply unable to purchase it at all because we're on the Cheers program? 

I suppose maybe we'd need to sit there and let them swipe our card every 5 minutes until we've 'banked' enough liquor to make a fishbowl drink (if they'd even do that).

Hi all - How does Carnival handle the happy hour specials if you have the Cheers program?  I was just watching a video where certain bars/drinks (including that fishbowl thing at Red Frog Pub) are half priced when in port.  So if you have the Cheers program, how does that work, if at all?  I just watched a video of them making that fishbowl 'painkiller' drink at a happy hour special where it was half price, but I'm wondering if it - or any drinks during a "buy one get one" special - actually gets you more than your Cheers limit?  (Which, while I know it's hard to hit your Cheers limit, I have done it on a few occasions).

Adding to that, how does the Cheers program handle non-traditional drinks like the fishbowl?  Are you simply not allowed to order that *at all* if you have Cheers?  That would kind of suck.  I am traveling with two other people and we've all purchased the Cheers program and it would be nice to share a fishbowl drink at some point for the novelty of it.  I know the Cheers program only covers single drinks, but I guess I'm wondering what if you do want to buy a non-Cheers-covered drink?  Are you simply not allowed or can you still get it as long as you pay for it like a non-Cheers passenger?

Thanks!

I agree.  As someone who smokes and "smokes", if there is *any* appropriate place to "smoke", it's on your balcony, and then only if there is no one else on their balcony around you.  I subscribe to the "we're all on vacation" philosophy in that I don't want other people to ruin my vacation and I don't want to ruin theirs.  If other people notice it, you're not  being discrete enough.

If you're in an inside cabin, don't even try.

Hi all.  I booked our cruise in which one of the people in our room is having a birthday.  I do recall when I booked the cruise that they asked if there were any special events happening, and the options were something like honeymoon/anniversary/birthday.  I did select birthday and I had to specify the day of the cruise when it was.

What I don't know is what, if anything, I should expect for that.  I would like to do something special for the birthday girl but I wasn't sure what we should expect.  For instance, I don't want to order a cake if they give you a cake, etc.  

Does anyone know what they give you if you say you're celebrating a birthday during your cruise? Ship is the Carnival Breeze, if it matters.  

Thank you!

Hi all - looking for feedback regarding parasailing in St.Thomas.

We'll be visiting in August.  Carnival offers a 'parasailing adventure' which costs $99 per person and takes you as high as '400 feet'.  It doesn't say *where* the parasailing happens, how long you're in the air, or who the operating company is.

I searched for parasailing in STT and 'virgin islands parasailing' seems to be the popular choice.  They do pickups from Havensight or from their home base at Sapphire Beach.  Their price is $90 per person, with $5 off for booking online, and say they take you to 600 feet, with 10-12 minutes 'air time'.

I'm not really sure which way to go - does VI Parasailing operate the excursion for Carnival in STT?  Anyone have an idea how much a taxi would cost to get to Sapphire Beach?  Looking at videos online, it seems like the Sapphire Beach location is much nicer - you're parasailing between the islands of St. Thomas and St. John.  If you leave from Havensight I imagine you're just hanging off the southern coast.  

If anyone has done parasailing either with their cruiseline or with a parasail company directly, any details you could share would be appreciated!

Another vote for no connecting cabin unless you actually want two rooms that will be open to each other. We traveled with my girlfriend's parents with adjoining rooms and one night we clearly heard.. well... let's just say my girlfriend was horrified.

I'm sorry but "Code Baby Ruth" has got to be a joke. Anyone on the ship who's seen caddyshack would know exactly what that means. I also don't know that they'd need to dispatch people from all over the ship just to shut down and clean out a pool - that's just a call to maintenance. Still, I'd love to hear it be announced.

There was an article recently about a person who was denied boarding at Port Canaveral for attempting to smuggle - but that's because they became rude and argumentative and caused a scene.

It's all situational. They have the right to kick you off for many reasons. It doesn't mean you'll automatically be kicked off for breaking a rule. I along with many others on the forums here have had things confiscated and returned at the end of the cruise without incident (other than a hefty bar bill).

Just so I'm clear.. the Taste Bar offers food from restaurants found on ALL carnival ships, not just the ship you're on? So on my upcoming Liberty cruise, I'll be able to taste something from Cucina del Capitano or Blue Iguana Cantina, even though none of those restaurants are on board?

That's nice, if true. Just seems odd to me since they're now having to cook dishes that the ship isn't even set up to serve, other than sparsely through the Taste Bar when it's open. Then again maybe a recipe is a recipe and they already have all the food items on board. Or maybe it's a way to cross train employees coming to/from the ships that have those venues. Maybe I'm overthinking it, now I just want something tasty. :)

Thanks for the info. I'm always worried that even if I'm using wifi, there will be some kind of charges added to my bill when I get home. Don't want any surprises :)

 

 

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You might be confusing wifi and phone/data service.

WiFi is just a wireless connection to someone's network, and their network is connected to the internet. There is no charge for it, unless the business charges you personally in order to access their wifi - just like Carnival does when you're on the boat and can buy internet time. (And in many cases when wifi is not meant to be public access, it's password protected to keep people off of it.) In other words, the service has nothing to do with the contract you have with your phone service provider and there's nothing for them to charge you for.

Phone/data service provided by wireless carriers is where things get expensive if you're roaming internationally. You can put your phone in airplane mode to make sure you're not accidentally connecting to a network and having apps update and using data without you knowing about it.

Also, I have AT&T and St. Thomas is considered part of their US network so no roaming charges apply there - you can use your phone there just as you would at home with no extra charges. (Well, that was the case a few years ago at least) Most major carriers should list coverage areas on their site.

It almost happened to us on our first cruise, it was a horrifying experience and now I always plan to be back ON BOARD an hour before they tell you to be on board.

First cruise, eastern itinerary on the Glory, docked at St. Thomas. Didn't do much except hang out at the shops at the dock, but we wanted to eat dinner at the bar at the top of that mountain with the gondola.

So, we buy our tickets to the gondola, it slowly makes its way up the mountain... found out there were more shops up there so we looked around there, then headed to the bar/restaurant to grab a bit to eat. It was a bit busy, ordered a couple drinks and some food. Food was taking much longer than expected - we already knew we should be heading back before the food even got to us. Finally get our food, inhale it as fast as possible, and suddenly the bartender (we were eating at the bar) disappears. We must have sat there for 5 minutes waiting for some staff to show up so we can get our bill. As I'm signing my bill, I hear the blaring of the ship's horn. Holy crap - run back to the gondola and it *slowly* makes its way back down. We run across the street, back to the pier, no one there at all except two guys at the gangway, bent over holding the end of the gangway, staring us down. People were jeering at us - "You're late!" "Run faster!" "Hurry up!" As soon as we walked across the gangway they lifted it up and pulled it in.

Pretty terrible feeling, but at least we got on board and we learned a lesson we'll never forget!

You should be fine. Technically hurricane season doesn't end until November but an October hurricane would be very rare. August and September tends to be the heaviest time for hurricanes. It is also when the cruise lines tend to have the lowest rates.

Is there a charge for the food at the Blue Iguana?

Nope - no charge for blue iguana or Guy's burgers (both of which are right by the center pool on most ships).

Should have waited until he passed out, carried him to the library to sleep it off and have the Friends of Bill W people wake him up when they meet up in there the next day.

Yes Disney came up with this idea a few years ago - they have them on the Disney Dream. It's the 'Magical Porthole'. Here's a little video showing it. Those animations apparently only play on the hour and half hour.

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I also imagine a full wall video screen (or heck, even screens as large as the OV rooms on Carnival) would be very expensive.

There may be a 'con', but I think it depends on what type of cruiser you are. Personally, I like a little 'down time', and prefer my balcony to be quiet (of course that's a roll of the dice in any cabin depending on who your neighbors are) but I wouldn't want to go read or take a nap on my balcony in the middle of the day and hear the noise from the lido bleeding over.