k2excursion

I've never had my straightener confiscated; never even thought it could be. Cameras, alarm clocks, etc have all been just fine. I carry an extension cord with the 3 plugs at the end, in my carry-on, and haven't had it taken. I haven't tried an actual power strip, but I've heard of those being confiscated.

I have booked a private excursion through Victor Bodden tours in Roatan. My biggest fear of cruising is missing the ship! Ive had nightmares about it! :eek:

 

Victor reassures me via email we will be back in plenty of time.

 

Can anyone here reassure me as well? :D:o I have read countless positive reviews and for some reason, Im still having trouble easing my mind. I generally dont book excursions I guess is the problem.

 

Any good, positive words on Victor Bodden here?

Victor Bodden is one of the best of the best in the entire Caribbean! You have no reason to worry at all. They do have group tours & private tours. I don't know which one you booked, but private tours are only slightly more expensive, & you get to choose what you want to do & what you want to skip, as you have your own driver for the day. And you can head back to the ship early if you wish. We ended ours a little bit early, as we got to do all that we wanted, & then some. And in the highly unlikely event of a car breakdown, Victor has plenty of other drivers that will be ready to go pick you up wherever you're at, and you'll be fine. It's not a huge island.

If the "snoozin" sign isn't put out, they will knock, and if they don't hear anything, they will come in the room. They won't clean if they see you sleeping in there, but it might wake you. If you put out the sign, they will know to not even knock.

I kind of like option 5: taking several long weekend trips. I have found that I really enjoy those. Instead of putting all my time off & money into one week, I spread it out over several small trips. More to look forward to spaced not too far apart, more variety. No cruises for over a year and a half, and I have barely noticed. One of those long weekends was a short trip up to Portland, exploring the Columbia River Gorge & the Oregon coastline. Spectacular!!!

For the cruise options, I would definitely take the Miracle out of LA. Splendor's 2 ports are easy cheap ports, but still very nice. Liberty's offer opportunities to do some exploring. And I do prefer ships like Liberty to ships like Miracle, but the 2 extra days are the deciding factor for me.

OR...

9am: Ship docks. Get off, grab a cab to a beach on St Thomas.

9:30am: Enjoy your beach...Eat lunch...Float in the water...Have a cocktail...Enjoy

4pm: Go back to the ship relaxed and refreshed...

I've done that too. Nothing at all wrong with that option. I have enjoyed my 2 times staying on St Thomas with that route. However, there's also nothing wrong with going over to St John. And having done that twice, and my parents have done it 3 times, I can assure people that it is not stressful at all to go over to St John on your own. It's actually quite easy. You do have extra waiting for the ferries & the ferry rides, which cuts into your beach time, but it's not stressful. If you prefer to have the more beach time, stay on St Thomas. If you want a more beautiful island & beach (not taking away from the beauty of St Thomas) & don't mind a little less beach time as a trade-off, go over to St John. It's personal preference. I have been very blessed to be able to do both options twice, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all 4 trips to these islands.

This is where I got confused but I think the watch idea would be a great idea and I think I will just buy a bunch of colored ones and give them to the teens as well. That way no one can say they didn't know what time it was.

denas is correct. Cozumel will be one hour ahead of ship time when you're sailing. If you have an independent excursion, or any kind of program booked there, take note of the time difference. We had a dolphin swim booked for there, and they will not adjust for your ship's time. That is island time, and will always be island time. So when Cozumel is one hour later than ship time, like for you, people will be late for their non-Carnival dolphin swim if they ignore island time. So, some people do need to know the time difference for things like that. That is why it is bad advice to tell everyone that ship's time is all that matters, & everyone should ignore island time. That's not true for everyone. Even some non-Carnival-based tours do not adjust for ship time. Most do, but some don't, so it's not smart to just assume that they will adjust. Some people on your cruise might miss their non-Carnival tour because of this time difference.

But in your case, you didn't bring up anything like that. You just mentioned the concerns about being a pier runner. If that's the only issue you have, then you can totally ignore island time. The watch, set to ship time, is all that you will need to take care of that concern.

Since timing has been brought up, I would say that you can still have plenty of time on St John going over there on your own as a cruise stop in St Thomas. Just be ready to go as soon as the ship docks. For example, using a short 8-hour time in port (9am-5pm):

9am: Ship docks. Get off, grab a cab to Red Hook.

10am: Get on the 10am ferry to St John. Then, take a cab to whatever beach you want: Trunk Bay (spectacular), Cinnamon Bay, etc.

10:45am-1:30pm: Enjoy the beach for almost 3 hours.

1:30-2:00: Take a cab back to catch the 2:00 ferry back to Red Hook.

2:30-2:45: Get off the ferry, take a cab back to the ship, with 2 hours to spare.

The ship's excursions over to St John will give you anywhere from 30 minutes to maybe as much as 1 hour at the beach. With this example, on your own, you get almost 3 hours. If you have a 10-hour time in port, then you can have nearly 5 hours at the beach. It's not enough time to explore the entire island, but it's plenty of time to truly enjoy one of the beaches, maybe even 2 if you have a 10-hour time in port.

With that being a holiday cruise, I wouldn't wait too long to do it. Holiday weeks tend to fill up quickly, so the longer you wait, the less of a chance that a cabin that holds 3 people will be available.

Exactly what I was going to say. Plus, even if there is a 3-person room available, they might not let you put 3 in it. There are capacity restrictions, and if the lifeboat reaches capacity, no more people can be added, even if the room can hold more. This is highly unlikely, because Carnival plans to be able to fill every available bed, but it has happened before to some people. Sometimes, they're carrying more crew than they had planned, meaning some guest beds cannot be filled.

So again, the sooner you add the 3rd person, the better. You will probably have to switch to a room that holds 3, since your current room probably only holds 2. It might require you to upgrade, depending on availability within your category. As long as there are no capacity issues & there are 3-person rooms available, it's no problem at all to add the 3rd.

In the regular balcony rooms, no, those do not have a fridge. If it's any of the suites, including the tiny suites up on deck 11, then yes, those do have a fridge.

On one site that I look at, I have noticed the following note that is put on all the deck 11 junior suites & some of the grand suites: "Cabin has a refrigerator (not stocked) on: EC EL FA IM IS SE, cabin has a minibar on: FS PA". FS would be Fascination, so whatever the difference is between a minibar & a refrigerator, Fascination has a "minibar".

Dream class: 2 pools (1 midship & 1 aft). Because of how many people the ships hold, they do tend to get crowded on port days, but there are plenty of waterslide/splash activities.

Splendor & Conquest class & Triumph class: 3 pools (1 aft, 1 midship, & 1 under the waterslide). Because of the 3 pools, they don't get quite as crowded.

Spirit class: 3 pools (1 aft & 2 midship). These ships also are the least crowded Carnival ships, so the pools are easily the least crowded.

Sunshine: Only 1 real pool (midship), although there is an extremely tiny pool in the serenity area. With that tiny pool, even if it's empty, you can't really swim in it.

Fantasy class: Most have 1 pool (midship). Elation & Paradise didn't have waterworks added to the back, so they still have the 2nd pool, which is quite small) there, plus a kiddie pool. But at the midship pool on those 2 ships, half of it is used for the landing of the waterslide.

Well boy is 14 and girl is 16 so somehow I think two doubles will mean hubby and I switching. For balcony - any difference between deck 7 and 8 and front, middle back. Front of course makes it easier to use showers in the spa.

Deck 8 (middle-back) will be below public spaces of lido deck. Some spots might be fine (buffet area doesn't get much foot traffic overnight, but it can bother any afternoon naps). But being below the open deck spots can experience plenty of chair-scraping sounds throughout the day, and especially in the early mornings, and maybe late evenings. From the forward elevators on up, on deck 8, would be fine, because there are rooms both above & below. All of deck 7 has rooms both above & below, so those are all good.

I have loved both islands. You can't go wrong with either one. But, I felt that St John was more beautiful. I love Trunk Bay there, such a perfect beach with amazing snorkeling! And the 2 times I've gone, it didn't get overly crowded, even though plenty of people were there. We went on our own both times, and it was quite easy, with no worries. We had a ton more time there than people using the ship's excursions.

St Thomas has some great spots as well. Magens Bay was nice, but extremely crowded. Sapphire Beach was beautiful. For scenery, it's been my favorite beach on St Thomas, and it didn't get nearly as crowded. Last time there, my friends & I went to Coki Beach, which is right next door to Coral World (which is also a great place to visit). Coki Beach did have a bit of a crowded feel, but we really didn't mind it. It was a nice beach, with some spectacular snorkeling right off the beach. I loved it there!

I would avoid those 4Js on deck 10, because of the gym above. Many people report noise from being below that. If the teens wouldn't mind the double pullout sofa, then that 6K would be totally awesome! Floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the front of the ship. Those are very popular, and I would be surprised if they're not taken already.

If you want to go with a regular oceanview, I would recommend on deck 2, between the forward & midship elevators. Those are below either the lobby or dining room (below the dining room is the best spot possible). From the midship elevators to the aft elevators on deck 2, you would be below the noisy galley, so avoid that.

For a balcony, I would avoid deck 6. Some spots are okay, but many spots are above noisy spots on deck 5. Deck 7 is great, for having rooms both above & below, and it's centrally located. 2 decks up to lido, 2 decks down to entertainment. A deck 9 balcony puts you really close to the pools & buffets, but far away from the nighttime things. Deck 11 balconies will also be uncovered, just like Liberty, so people can look down on you.

You will remain Early Saver, even after upgrading, no matter what rate you're matching to. We had a 3-person porthole room for Dream under Early Saver, then upgraded to a deluxe oceanview for basically the same price, by matching to their More-the-merrier rate, but we remained Early Saver.

They're not worried about anything like that. I put vitamins & OTC meds in a few different bottles, with a few different ones mixed together in each bottle.

Does anyone know about the sofa beds in the new cabins on deck 5? We have 4 big boys in one room and I assumed the sofa bed was the size of a regular bed. I also assumed the seat cushion came off and there was an actual mattress that came out. Is that the case or are you just sleeping on a sofa with sheets on top?

You are sleeping on the seat of the sofa, with sheets on top. The back cushions of the sofa are removed. The seat of the sofa is pretty much the exact size of the standard beds. I think the width is 1 inch less. It is not a pullout. There are some suites that use a double pullout sofabed, which sleeps 2 people. But the single sofabeds in balconies & oceanviews are not pullouts. I have slept in the single sofabed on 4 cruises. My friend had one of those double pullouts, and the single sofabeds are much more comfortable than that double pullout.

I was more concerned about my luggage being opened in front of everyone or possibly holding up a line. I always see people on Lido

 

 

with their luggage, but I never noticed them in the security area. Thanks for the info about the scanner.

You don't need to worry about that. I carry on my soda cans, which has typically caused them to need to check them. It doesn't hold up the line at all. I go off to the side, where another security agent checks the cans. For whomever, while whatever is being checked, other guests will be going through the line, so they aren't being held up.

I don't blame you at all for wanting to carry on your own luggage. The one time they lost my suitcase, it was Port Canaveral. And it always takes us forever to get our luggage, even as platinum. Carrying on all my luggage is so easy, that I can't imagine not doing it. It's no hassle at all. If your suitcases have wheels, then all you need is a couple of working fingers, and it's the easiest thing in the world to carry it on board. Even before I was platinum, I would carry the luggage on board, then pick a spot up on lido deck, take turns getting food, and relax until rooms are ready. Very easy!

The luggage does have to fit through the scanners, but there is no limit on the length, so it would have to be quite enormous to not fit. You do have to lift it up to be scanned. They scan the suitcases just like they do the small carry-ons.

We took a taxi to Megan's Bay and it was idyllic. We were the only ship in port and the beach was mostly empty. Next time i want to go to St. John, and will do so through a ship excursion since it's further away.

 

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Magens Bay is very beautiful. I've been there before. However, there's no snorkeling there, so it's not a good choice for this family.

If you do get back & go to St John, I would highly recommend going over there on your own, not through the ship. This is especially true if you have more like 10 hours in port. Taxi, then ferry, then taxi to whatever beach (I recommend Trunk Bay). I have done this twice, without a ship's excursion, and got back to the ship with tons of time to spare. A little research, & it's a piece of cake to do it. The ship's excursions might get less than an hour at Trunk Bay. We saw groups come in, & they were being called to leave barely 30-40 minutes later. Meanwhile, we're there for 4+ hours at the beach, and still end up with over 2 hours to spare in the end. Even if you have only 8 hours in port, you can still have nearly 3 hours at the beach on your own, and make it back to the ship with almost 2 hours to spare.

I highly doubt anyone will even ask. No need to make up an elaborate story. People check in separately all the time. If they do ask, just say she can not make it.

 

But honestly, the check in people just don't care. They are only there too check in people that are going.

It's quite a stretch to say that the factual statement, "She's not here yet", is an elaborate story. I agree that there's no need to make up an elaborate story, which is why I suggested a very short & simple statement (less than 10 seconds) that will allow the person at check-in to quickly dismiss the issue. Trying to explain that she's not going to make it, causing the worker to take a genuine interest in asking what the story is there, would take much longer.

Again, thank you all for the advice. She's gonna be a no-show. The only thing I need to figure out now is whether to tell the people at check in that she's not coming at all, or tell them that she's late due to visiting family, and let them figure out she's a no show.

Chances are, they wouldn't add on a solo supplement at check-in, even though I have read one isolated report of that happening. Still, you could just say, "She's not here yet. She told me to go ahead and check in, and it's up to her to get here on time." That's not a lie.

I have had a deluxe OV room. You will love it! There is so much storage in there, and the extra half-bathroom is so nice! We all ended up using the junior tub for showering, as it's much better than the standard shower. But we had the option of 2 people showering at once. There were 3 adults in mine, and we had more than enough storage. One of the hanging closets didn't even get used. Plus, the room has a total square footage of 230 (which I confirmed as accurate), while the insides I have measured to actually be about 150-160 sq.ft. Huge difference!

I third Coki Beach. My friends & I went there in 2014, and totally loved it. The beach can get crowded, but that didn't really bother us. The snorkeling was amazing there! I didn't expect it to be that good. It was almost as good, if not better, than the snorkeling at Trunk Bay over on St Johns. St Johns is a much more beautiful island, and Trunk Bay is spectacular, but that takes nothing away from the beauty of St Thomas. Coki Beach's snorkeling was so good, that I broke my $100 underwater camera from using it too much. The pics & videos were all saved though.

As others have said, Coral World is literally right next door to Coki Beach. It's about a 1-2 minute walk. DH can do the Sea Trek (scuba) tour for $79, which includes admission to the park. The rest of you might be interested in some of their other programs there, or you can do the cheaper route by just relaxing at Coki Beach, paying a nominal fee for beach chairs & snorkeling for free. There is shade from the trees there. You can easily take taxis to/from the ship, which doesn't cost much at all. Coki Beach/Coral World is almost certainly the best value that will suit your needs, and will probably provide a better experience than the more expensive options.

Actually the bright side is, he did not put down a $250pp deposit.

Exactly! medowlander, your friend paid a reduced deposit. It sounds like he must have been solo, if the penalty was only $50, since the penalty is usually $50 each. So he has $48 in future cruise credit. If he paid regular deposit ($500--even for a solo on a 7-day cruise), then he would have $400 in future cruise credit. That's money that is tied up for however long it takes to finally use it. And if he doesn't get around to taking a future Carnival cruise, then that money is also lost. With how it is now, only $48 is tied up.

If this wasn't a solo booking, then there is no future cruise credit from the cancellation, since the $49pp deposit is all wiped out by the penalty. So no money is being tied up in that case, which is even better.

Early Saver has been around for many years, at least since 2008. It wasn't available for my 2007 cruise, which we cancelled for no penalty, then later rebooked. We were always aware of the restrictions & the cancellation penalty with that rate. Almost all other rates for Carnival will allow free cancellation up until the final payment date. The downside there is that the rate is usually higher than ES. Plus, after the final payment date, ES allows you to continue to price match if prices drop, while other rates don't allow it after the final payment date. The TA definitely should have known all of this, and they should have explained it to your friend in detail before booking.

The way it reads to me is you are assessed a $50 pp fee if you cancel before final payment. So if you only paid a $49 pp deposit, there is nothing to apply to a future cruise. :confused:

Yes, there is nothing to apply to a future cruise. But, it's still a good deal. You pay far less now on your deposit. And if you do need to cancel, and let's say you don't take a future cruise for whatever reason, then you're not out any extra money. There's no worrying about using that future cruise credit before it expires. If you're okay with the restrictions & potential penalties with ES, then it's a great deal to go with, especially with the reduced deposits.

They have never had a fridge. Call Special Needs and they can get you a refrigerator. Sorry I can't give you the length of the sofa, but here is a picture if that helps.

Thank you for providing that pic in your post. The sharp angle of that pic could trick the mind into thinking that it's the short sofa, but it does look like the long one to me.

Just off the Sunshine last week in rooms 8161 and 8163. Both rooms had a fridge in it. Was pleasantly shocked as TA told us they would not. Couches only about 4-5 feet long, one side opened to pull out bed and seat remained on other side. Sorry, no pics of couch

The fridge was a nice surprise there, perhaps left over from the previous week, if those people had requested one. Some people are able to get one, even if they don't have special needs. They just ask the steward for one, and they get it, although it's not guaranteed if there is not a special need. Your 2 rooms are both 2-person rooms, which means that the sofas could be the shorter ones, 4-5 feet. However, if those were rooms where the sofa needed to be a bed, then the sofas would have been the long ones, 6+ feet long.