brooklynfc

Thank you! I found it. 

what does the number 1 mean under the note beside each person’s name in the confirmation? 

21 minutes ago, brooklynfc said:

Strange. ‘debarkation day’ is not considered a ‘cruise day’, On that last part because I'll hit day 75 on day 8 of my cruise and my tags show priority and I didn't buy Faster to Fun for myself. I wonder if this was an update to the policy that wasn't in effect when I booked. 

NEVERMIND. I was counting wrong. I indeed will be Platn. on the last Sea Day of the cruise. 

On 2/9/2020 at 6:02 PM, JMAE said:

Per CCL FAQ for the VIFP Club:

 

Will guests automatically receive recognition/benefits or must they be requested?
VIFP Club members will automatically move from one level to the next level based on their VIFP Points and will receive the benefits of their level on each sailing.  

Guests graduating into a new level during a cruise will receive the benefits of the new level they are graduating into from the beginning of the cruise (e.g. those graduating to Gold on the 3rd day of a 5-day cruise will receive Gold benefits for the entire duration of their cruise). Please note that ‘debarkation day’ is not considered a ‘cruise day’, therefore, points are not earned for that day.

 

Strange. ‘debarkation day’ is not considered a ‘cruise day’, On that last part because I'll hit day 75 on day 8 of my cruise and my tags show priority and I didn't buy Faster to Fun for myself. I wonder if this was an update to the policy that wasn't in effect when I booked. 

I would double check. I will be Platinum on the 8th day of this upcoming 8 day cruise 🙂 and my luggage tags have Priority on them already. I can't get to my Funpass yet. 

Platinum, Diamond and Faster to Fun should not have a "check-in" time. They can arrive at the first available time at port, which seems to be about 10 or 10:30am. 

I have to say. Since it came out I have bought it. And in all honesty, the only reason I wanted it was for the early boarding. I just want to throw my stuff in my room and not drag it around. It really puts me in a better mood from the start of vacation to have that one luxury. 

It really hasn't helped that much in any other way the times I've bought it (I think it has been four cruises now). 

1st time: It was the first 6 months they offered it, it was so new that they fudged it up a lot. Priority boarding was chaos and the tender priority was useless because they didn't know what to do either. (Liberty)

2nd time: Coast Guard delayed boarding for inspection. My friend's had zone 1 and were onboard 5 minutes after. They also broke the rules and went to their room anyway. But it WAS helpful because we got there early and we got a seat, inside, in the AC. Because of the delay, many cruisers were stuck outside the terminal, in the heat, standing for over an hour (I know 1st world problems). (Dream)

3rd time: Actually kinda worked this time. Boarding went smoothly, used it on our tender port and got bumped in line (pissed some people off), my friend used the short line when she had a problem with her card on file. (Dream)

4th time: Again smooth boarding process, got to our rooms, got our cards, used the short line because my credit card might have been comprised on an excursion. (Horizon)

I will actually make Platinum on this cruise in May, so I don't need to buy it this time. However, I did buy it for our friends traveling in another cabin. Another way to use it. That way they aren't too far behind my mom and myself when we board as Platinum (yes, I'm boarding with Platinum and not hanging out with our friends! It is my first time and I plan on enjoying it!). 

With a small child, it might be even more beneficial. If you needed a change of clothes or perhaps a nice nap (the child, not you) once you get on board, this could provide that. 

Also, I tend to get to port around 10am (and can because I don't have a "check-in" time). This has worked out well for most of the times. I'm usually on the ship by 11:30. 

On my cruise last year, I brought my cheaper version of the well known insulated cup and a metal straw that I bought in a pack from the same retail store that sells my off brand (but works just as well) cup. My straws came with different color silicone covers over the metal and a cleaning stick (I think they were like $4 for a set of 4). Here is where I'll get back to your post. The silicone is there to "protect" your teeth from a metal straw accidentally chipping your tooth and for those who have metal sensitivity etc. However, I washed my straws well, but the silicone was not easy to take off, so I wouldn't do that every time I washed them. One day I noticed that mold was growing between the silicone and the metal...............I cut everyone of those silicone covers off my straws. It wasn't worth it the annoyance of taking them on/off all the time or the potential health risk. Soooooo, just and FYI. I plan on taking my cup and straw back on with again this time (I take the cleaning stick too) and maybe an extra. Honestly, it doesn't bother me to drink out a cup without a straw, I used to drink out of the water hose as a kid.......I think it will be okay. 

I like Carnival, but the Journey cruise I took a few years back (might have changed since then) was NOT worth the amount I paid for that cruise. I don't think we enjoyed any of the "extras" that made it a journey's cruise. I know that was our choice, but they really didn't "hype" anything or promote it.......it was just like any other cruise......just longer........newer islands. IMO. 

14 hours ago, Datasue99 said:

Could have sworn it was there last year.

maybe the hid it.

no?

 

apparently I am confusing the Horizon with the Magic (year before)

They have the Rum Bar, but now the "pub" is part of Guys' Pig and Anchor and is a "Brewery" now. It is basically the same concept though. Carnival is brewing their own beer..........

Eh, the last cruise on the Horizon, we only stepped foot in the Havana Bar once. Never went to the pool area. I can't see paying that much money for a Havana room just to have a pool and hot tubs. But, I'm pale and don't want a tan, so it wouldn't be worth it for me. I think it is nice for them to have the area roped off for the whole time for people who are paying that extra money to enjoy. 

I've read the reviews and the description, but for someone who doesn't really hike and is overweight (but young) how hard is this "hike?" I did the the Belize cave tubing through Carnival and did fine on that walk through the jungle on a hurt ankle. I'm also okay with pushing myself outside of my comfort zone because I don't believe in letting my weight slow me down or trying/experiencing life. But I also don't want to be a burden on my tour group. Any thoughts? 

Thank you for the reply. I've seen the videos, but wasn't clear on the other two people's sleeping arrangement. But a double couch bed makes sense.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a photo of how an Ocean Suite looks when it is setup to sleep 4 people. We are sailing the Horizon, but I'm sure the Vista or event he Breeze might be similar.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who are intentionally oblivious to others or just plain oblivious. I try my best to keep my cool because as others have said, its not really worth your time. However, we are all human and sometimes we can't keep ourselves together.

On the other side, sometimes I think these people continue this behavior because they assume that 90% of the time, no one will call them out and they get away with it. Sigh. The world will never be perfect, its how we deal with the imperfections that matters.

There are some "ifs, "ands" and "buts" to this, however to my knowledge I think it should have went something like this:

The only thing I can think of that could be causing this is that the room was only a double room, no third person space, so she would have to cancel her husband's spot and add her friend. However, even with ES, that should be a $50 fee. I could be wrong.

I would think that she would be able to just have done a no show and not have to worry about anything. But she wanted her friend to go with her and that complicates it. She should have just been able to switch the names and not cancel. And maybe the $250 would have been for the Early Saver rate change fee. But without more information............

I'm not saying that you don't have a claim. However, I did find an excursion by a private vendor for an excursion that Carnival offered and they did hold true to their guarantee when I submitted the claim. However, I found the private vendor before leaving for the cruise and submitted a website for verification. I wasn't refunded the money, it was OBC on the cruise. I just thought this might be helpful information for those who want to try the guarantee.

On the Sunshine we used the "chat" feature and we were ones who had the problem that unless the app was open, we did not know we got a chat message. But we had the same issue with FB messages. The hub was still new then though. We just got off the Dream and avoided the chat program and just got social media. The FB messenger was a life saver! We had three rooms (same floor, but apart from each other), plus we all had some different excursions etc. So it was a lifesaver for messaging each other to figure out things like, dinner plans, meet up places, inside jokes..............:halo:.

THANK YOU!!!!! Exactly the info and pics and stuff I was looking for. I really appreciate that you shared. Very awesome. I'm really looking forward to the trip!

 

I'm thinking about getting one of those cell&money pouches for my valuables and a locker for the rest.

 

Thanks again.

Your Welcome! Bon Voyage!

See if the link to my book of faces will let you see my album

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.839892956248.1073741883.62700819&type=1&l=4d68aaa4a2

I have a few short videos and a few pictures. I'm afraid I was enjoying being in the moment to take a lot of pictures. I simply got a waterproof case for my cell phone and got a floating wristlet that attached to it. I then clipped it to my life jacket and tucked it down my bathing suit top to walk with. My friends brought those little waterproof pouches for their cell phones and money/cards/etc. and took that stuff with them, but used the lockers for a change of clothes, towel, etc. If you aren't worried about having to carry the bag then you could take it. We had to carry our own tubes so it was nice to be hands free.

What kind of pics are you looking for? I didn't get too many that shows the trails or anything. I didn't want to take my eyes off the ground.

I wanted to do a short review of my experience with the Carnival Cave tubing w/ lunch excursion.

First off, I'm gonna reference a few things about size/weight because I'm a big person and I want to pass the info on. Hope it doesn't offend anyone.

The Carnival Dream seemed to have to tender process down to a science. Our tickets said to be in the Encore theatre at 7:30am for a 8am departure, however, it was closer to 8:30am before we boarded the tender. But since this was a Carnival excursion I wasn't worried, the whole group was with me, lol.

Once ashore there were people with signs on the pier pointing you where to go. NOW, they told us and I hope they tell you, but just in case... It's an hour and 15 min. ride to the center, sooooooooooo GO PEE! I was thankful they thought of this and we had time to go to the bathroom. Now, there were two buses of us so no fear on getting left behind.

Our guides were Slim and Stan, they were both enthusiastic and funny. We actually had some bus trouble and had to pull over and get on a new bus, but it was actually only about 10 mins of waiting and off we went. They kept us talking and assured us it would not impact our excursion or getting back on time (of course with a Carnival excursion, they would wait if we were late). They told us about their city, local traditions, local wildlife etc. Very informative.

Stan gave us the run down of how the excursion would work once we got to the site near the end. So here is a bit of the info:

-You don't really need sunscreen, you are under tree cover or cave cover for the majority of the time

-They told us that the time frame we were there (mid-August) that it was not mosquito season, so we really didn't need spray, but if bugs seem to always really like you, you should probably use some just in case. I used the wristbands with the natural repellent and didn't have any problems or bites. Then again, it wasn't season, soooooooooo.

-You have to get off the bus you are on and load onto another bus to go up this really steep, kinda scary hill to the other side. Its literally a 1 min. trip. No AC though and they ask the guys to stand up b/c there isn't enough seats for everyone.

Once you get to the site, they show you to the bathrooms (GO-note, they don't have lights in the bathroom. Thankfully I had my cell phone withe me and used it). You can rent lockers and "water shoes" there.

*They say to use water shoes................they do work well when you are in the water, but along the trail they were horrible. It is very rocky and there are roots and such. The water shoes did not have a thick enough sole. I'm not sure if light tennis shoes would be better or not. I managed on the trail as it wasn't but 20-30 min. walk.

*Now from a perspective of someone who is 33 years old, overweight (size 28), and who has been very bad at being active the last year, it was not a bad walk at all. There are two sets of stairs. One going down into the river you cross (its actually where you end up) and one going back up to the other side. The ones on the other side of the river are a little steep and at the top it turns into dirt stairs and can be slippery. I had to really pay attention to my footing. Now, in the river, you will go about waist high. I opted to wearing my bathing suit with a cropped tshirt and a pair of workout capris. Most everyone else just wore their swim suits. I opted for this because I didn't want to get chub rub (anyone with thick thighs understands this). I wasn't uncomfortable at all after getting wet, actually it made the walk a little more bearable. The bank to get into the river on your tube was a little scary. I forgot to say I was dealing with tendinitis in my Achilles heel this whole cruise and so I wore a little slip on brace for this excursion. My group was super nice to me and one held my tube and the other help my arm as I went slowly down the hill to get to the river. So the visual is: River banks that have washed away during a flood that have those grooves in them, yea, that's it. Getting into the tube was not as hard as I though. The water is shallow and someone held it for me and someone had my hand and I just kind plopped in . I don't want to embarrass my friend, but she isn't on here that often and I think its just important to know. My friend is taller and bigger than me. Probably 6'1 and size 32/34. They gave her a yellow tube instead of the green we all had. It actually is "taller" in inches. Like how tall off the water it is. I have to say, I don't think she needed it. It made it WAY more difficult for her to get in the tube even at her height and the hole in the middle was smaller, which made it harder for her hips to sit right. She actually couldn't balance on the tube right and fell backwards into the water. The ended up putting a small black tube behind her shoulders to balance her and give her something to hold her up. Again, I think this all could have been avoided should they just gave her the green tube. I really don't think she weighs much more than me (I'm only 5'7), it just looks different on her b/c of her height. Anyway, just be aware. They balanced her and I out. She was in the front and me in the back. Big Booty Caboose, lol.

*It was SUPER humid in the forest. DRINK WATER! You can bring bottles of water that hook on are enclosed (workout bottles), but not plastic ones from the cases. They only offered free punch in tiny cups after the excursion (with lunch) for free. Water was $2.

*So, now to the not so fun part. I want to state, that in no way am I hating on Carnival or the tour guides or company. This is just a matter of fact statement and really is just so others don't have the same issue. You can rent lockers to put all your stuff while you go on your tour. My friend and I rented a medium locker for $7 and both our bags fit just fine. So we locked our bags up and went to wait. I forgot to take off my hat and sunglasses ( you won't need either) and so I went back to put them in my locker. I laid them on top of my bag and locked the lock back (it clicked and stayed shut). When we returned from the tour we went and got our stuff and joined our guide again. I was getting my wristlet out to give him and tip and when I opened it, there was nothing inside! NO money! I had about $90 in cash in there (for tipping and shopping). I also brought a credit card, it was still there (I ended up canceling it when I got back to the ship b/c I thought they may have stole the numbers off it). I would later discover that my fitbit was also gone. Now my friends bag was untouched, which seemed odd to me. But my bag was on top and probably took less time to go through. We went back over to the lock to see if it had just fallen out or something. The lock had locked back crooked so my friend just pulled on it and it opened. We hadn't left anything behind, so we closed it again and my friend locked it again. She then jerked on the lock hard and it came right open. Of course, there is no way I can prove that I had the money at all (unfortunately people have lied too much in this world) and its not like there was anything anyone could do. My guide was very sympathetic and had me report it to the main desk. They were also very sympathetic and offered me free drinks (they brought me a huge coconut water) and made sure my guides understood that I wouldn't be able to tip them. This is what I felt the worst about. I was almost in tears b/c I hated not being able to give them money they deserved. They were very sweet about it and checked on me. I did give them a good review and that helps them get to work the next week, so hopefully that did something. So moral to this story, PLEASE check your locks!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it sounds so simple and almost common sense, but I was excited about my tour and the lock clicked and I didn't think anything about it. On a side note: My friend said she thinks the guy who gave me the lock, gave me a bad one on purpose. She said he could clearly see me pulling out money when I was buying the locker from where he was and knew I had money. She didn't think about it until my money got stolen and hers did not. B/c I paid for the locker not her, they might have assumed I had all the money. I remember when I went to get my key, he went to hand me one key and then paused and put in back and picked another and specifically said locker 149 to me, out loud. He hadn't done that with anyone else. I guess it is wrong to make these kinds of assumptions with no actual proof, but its things that I thought of after the fact and women's intuition is normally right. In any case, I've learned a good lesson. And in the end, I hope that they really needed to money and are using it to feed their family or at least that is what I'm going to think about. I could be mad, but this is life. It could have been much worse. I was worried the whole time I would break my ankle and would have to go to the hospital and miss the ship or something. Alls well that ends well.

I really enjoyed the excursion. I got to go out of my comfort zone and do something I wouldn't normally b/c of my weight and I came out feeling really good about myself. It will be something I remember fondly.

If you have questions. Let me know.

I forgot to say, what about cruises that are inflated because of the time of year or a new ship? My Vista cruise in march is around $1600pp for the HCB. I wouldn't bring that much money with me for a normal 8 day cruise. In fact, I'm kinda planning on not really getting off the boat that go round.

This post just made me sit down and look at my budget. I'm not sure about the OPs technique, but I think this could turn into a great thread for cruise noobs who want to know what to budget for.

Cruise Fare with grats: $714

Flight: $337

Baggage: $50

Hotel: $150 (split three ways for two nights)

Port of Call spending: $100

Insurance: $80

Port Transport: $60

Excursions: $209

Island Transport: $15

Est. Extra Tipping: $100

Drinks: $200

Spa: $200

Pictures: $0-$100

Port Gifts: $50 (for my nieces and nephews)

I bring $500 in cash. My friend owes me about $150 for excursions I booked for both of us. The rest will go on my credit cards for points.

The guarantee does have to be invoked within 24hrs. What they experienced during that time may not have been enough to want to invoke it. I don't think they are saying they hated their entire vacation, they just went over their experiences that weren't great and referred to times that were and that they did enjoy a previous cruise with Carnival. I had a not so great experience on the Sunshine, but it wasn't enough for me to want to get off the ship and it wasn't enough to ruin my vacation or stop cruising Carnival. I mean out of 10 cruises, I was bound to not have a "not so great" cruise. Some of the things the OP listed maybe something that would concern someone, not me, but others and its good information to compare.

OP, have you cruised in the main part of summer before? I know that when I went in June with my mom, I was surprised at the number of people, but I didn't take into account that more families would be traveling during this time and therefore the ship would be over 100% capacity (more rooms with 4 people instead of 2). That could be the cause of all the extra lines and such. Not making an excuse, just trying to give information. The rest of it is subjective to your personal preferences so I'm sorry things didn't live up to those expectations. I hope you try again.