MissesB4409

My kids are going to Camp Carnival during our upcoming cruise. It's their first cruise, and I don't know if they will like it or not, but we are for sure going to try it. We actually do not have ANY babysitter whatsoever. My husband and I work total opposite shifts, and we get zero alone time together. I'm not "pawning my kids" off onto anyone. I will be enjoying some time with my husband, who I chose to marry before we ever had kids. Its a time for us to regroup and relax as a couple. They won't be there the entire time, and I would never think to leave the ship without them in port, but I have no problem not having them with us 24/7. For those of you who do things differently, don't be so quick to judge. Having a sister or parents that can watch your kids is a huge blessing and not everyone has that. I'm hoping my kids enjoy it, so that my husband and I can enjoy a few drinks and a show together. If they don't enjoy it, that's okay...we will come up with a different plan.

I recently saw a Groupon for the Queen Mary, so you might want to check it out. I'm not sure if the dates you would like to go are available with the groupon, but it won't hurt to check. I have found with their website, its often easier to call directly and ask questions about the Queen Mary...you will get a more straight forward answer. I do know there is a big renovation coming up, so also consider that before making reservations.

We are going on the Imagination in 3 weeks! We are taking our boys. They are 6 and 4 and we plan on utilizing Camp Ocean. I think in your case, the Carnival Waterworks would be a great spot for the two of you to hang out. And when you want to have your alone time, you could also utilize Camp Ocean. I have heard that the 3 day weekend cruises that just go to Ensenada are much more of a party scene that the weekday 4 night cruises that also stop at Catalina.

I would think either way as far as partying goes most of that would be going on closer to the bars by the main pool. Carnival Waterworks area will probably be mostly kids/teens or adults who are not heavy drinkers. I am only guessing though, since I have not been on this ship yet. I'm guessing the big partiers would want to hang out closer to the bars and the music/entertainment.

Which port?

Long Beach. And I have heard that they have specials on the ship where you can get 4 bottles in a pack. We know for sure we want to buy 4 bottles for a gift, but we may want to also buy a bottle for ourselves. If we do end up having to pay taxes when we get off the ship, does anyone know about how much it is? Under $10, or are we talking a lot of money?

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering if someone had any knowledge on how early you could debark from the ship. I do understand the ship has to be cleared by CBP and there is a process...but generally speaking, could we be able to be off the ship by 7am? 8am? The port we will be in is Long Beach if that makes a difference. We also have FTTF and I do plan on stopping by guest services so we can try to get priority disembark too. Thank you!

Does anyone know if I bought 4 bottles of Sheridan Liquor would I have a problem bringing them off the ship. Its my husband and I, so can we each claim two bottles? And if possible, could we claim even more than that?

I just got an upgrade offer too....it was to move from interior to ocean view for $200...funny thing is that right now on their website it is only $100 difference.....doesn't seem like much of an upgrade or an offer..but I guess I can say that I have officially received a call! :)

Just keep checking and be persistent and you should be able to get it. You have plenty of time. We booked our cruise over a year in advance. FTTF was not available when we booked, but a little under a year later...maybe 10 months or so it became available. Funny thing is that we are 26 days away from sailing and whenever I check it is still available. As long as you check each day, or even every other day and don't wait weeks or months in between checking, you should have no problem being able to get it. I am only speaking from my experience however, a newer ship with a more popular itinerary may sell out much faster.

Thanks everyone! So we just bought our tickets!! But, I found out that May 24th, which is the day we are going is the last day for the southern California discount promotion. Last year on this day, the park reached max capacity and they are anticipating a similar scenario this year. Hopefully it won't be too bad, and for our boys first time ever at Disney, they will enjoy it. I'm so excited to be cruising and visiting Disney in the same week!!!! My two favorite things coming together! Its also my 35th birthday that week...so what a celebration its going to be!! 26 days and counting!

or 2-3 hours, depending on traffic. Have a couple of alternate routes planned and I would guess you could be there before noon with little problem. Don't try for to early as you will still be in the commute hours. There's usually a sweet spot around 9:00. I would Google maps route it a couple of mornings and see how long it takes. Keeping mind LA traffic can change at the drop of a hat.

Great suggestions!! I grew up in So-cal, but moved 17 years ago!! I should have known to consider the traffic. Hopefully Long Beach to Anaheim isn't too bad!! I will definitely keep an eye on google maps for an idea! And just pray to the traffic gods that morning!

We did this 5 years ago, we left our car at the Maya and did self disembark. Stopped at our hotel in Anaheim and were in Disneyland by 10 AM.

Do you happen to know what day of the week it was? I imagine on the weekends the traffic won't be as bad as during the week. We will be going on a Thursday morning. Thanks.

Hello,

I know some of this has probably been answered before, but here is our situation. We are getting off Carnival Imagination in Long Beach on Thursday May 24. I want to surprise my boys (4 and 6) with a quick trip to Disneyland. We are staying the night before the cruise at Hotel Maya and parking our car there during the duration of the cruise.

So what we have planned is to get off the ship ASAP, head to the hotel and pick up our car and go to Disneyland. I know its of course do-able...but I also don't want to get there at noon either. Would arriving to the park by 10am be too out of reach? I would like to add too a couple of factors. We do have FTTF, so that may help us get off quicker. We have no problem bringing our luggage off with us. And finally we are planning on buying some bottles of liquor for a gift while we are onboard. Does anyone know how that will effect debarkation? Will they bring us the liquor the night before, or are we going to have to wait around for it the morning of to pick it up from a lounge?

Disneyland opens up at 8am the morning that we are planning to go. Obviously being there that soon is unreasonable, but for my own sanity and understanding, is 10am feasible? Should we shoot for a noon arrival? Also, we are not planning on stopping at a hotel near Anaheim. We want to just drive straight to the park and pay to park there. Seemed like the easiest and quickest option to getting there. Thanks for all feedback!

Brrr! I'm a Florida girl! Haha!

 

They are only missing four days. Wow. I'm surprised this is a concern to others...I thought I was a super n a z i about making sure they were in school every day, and it's surprisingly not bothering me.

 

I won't be letting mine run free, though. No way Jose. I considered allowing them only to walk for ice cream together, but the last comment has me rethinking this idea. While my kids are respectful and not brats, they don't have much experience using soft serve machines, and I could see this ending badly...

 

This is a family vacation for me. I won't be getting drunk while they snorkel around the hot tub! Although now I want to snorkel around the hot tub!

I am taking my son out for a week in May...its the 2nd to the last week of school. I don't care one bit if he misses school. If you communicate with your school and your child's teacher, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone, except for someone who likes to blindly pass judgement! Enjoy your April vacation!! And don't worry if your children make a mess at the soft serve. Its their vacation too, and they are still learning. Adults make messes at the soft serve machine too! :) I would also much rather have some kids run past me through the promenade laughing and playing than some drunk person yelling obscenities, which seems to happen just as frequently.

For anyone who is about to ask, or judge me for the dates I chose for our cruise...before you ask, I will just say its my husbands one and only week of vacation for the year. He can't take off summer breaks/spring breaks/Christmas, etc. So we make the most of what we have and enjoy life. :)

I think you will be safe as far as children go by going mid september-mid october. Although it is hurricane season, so thats also something to take into consideration. And I often find most of the time its the adults behaving worse than the children on board a carnival cruise. I'd be worried about people going too HAM on the cheers package than some kids running on board. But thats just me...to each their own! :)

I’m sorry people like to spread such crap. We were on the Imagination last week and there were plenty of delicious options. Fruit, breads, ice cream, plus stations full of pies, cakes, tarts, cake pops, pudding, and the most amazing pudding/ganache.

 

 

 

 

I am really glad that you posted that they have cake pops still!! Haha. We are going on the Imagination in May and I think it will break my sons heart if there are no cake pops. He is 6 and he can't wait for the cake pops...Also, I haven't cruised Carnival in a while, but can anyone tell me if the cake pops are only out on embarkation day, or do they have them for dessert every day. That will kind of alter my decision on how many I let him eat the first day! :)

I am going on the Imagination for the first time in May, so I can't speak from experience on this ship. However, my husband and I went on the Pride a few years ago, and they pretty much had the same main courses in the dining room and in the buffet each night. We actually found that we enjoyed the food in the buffet better because it seemed hotter and fresher than our MDR experiences were, so from nights 4-8 we ate all our dinners in the Lido buffet. My husband liked it because he didn't have to get dressed up, which to him anything besides shorts, a tshirt and flip flops is dressed up. We are going on the Imagination in May so hopefully its not just leftovers. That will be a little disappointing.

We go on the Imagination in May too! We are doing the 4 night leaving on May 20th. We will keep it clean for you! :) I hope you guys have a great time. I have been on 4 so far, this will be my 5th cruise and 3rd with Carnival. I think they are overall the most leisurely, relaxing vacations. I hope you have a great time! I would also love to go to Alaska, it is on my bucket list!

Ok, you've convinced me!

 

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I have never tried it. But from everything I have read online and heard from my in-laws, I definitely want to try it. From what I read, it is an Irish Cream, mixed with coffee liqueur. My mother in law wants 4 bottles, which will be our max allowed through customs, but I am kind of now wanting to buy a few bottles for myself!!! I will just have to go on another cruise! :) My mother in law also said she thought by now (when she bought it on the only cruise she has ever been on, it was 15 years ago) it will cost about $100 a bottle! She is going to be surprised when we have 4 bottles of it for her for that price! :)

I am sorry if this is not allowed on here, but we are going on a cruise in May and I was just wondering if anyone knows if Carnival still sells the Sheridan Liqueur on their ships. We will be on Carnival Imagination. I would like to get a bottle of it for my Mother in Law for a gift. If they still sell it, does anyone know how much it is? Thank you.

I am pretty sure there are some youtube videos of it if you do a search! It looks really nice!

I got the same e-mail. I cruise May 20 on Imagination. I am guessing it has to do with what ships are in what ports on certain days, but I don't really know. The only thing I am a little disappointed about is that May 23 is my birthday and that was the day we were going to be in Ensenada, but now its a day at sea instead...but its okay...not a huge deal. I am 58 days a way and this week has been a killer! I cannot wait for that ocean breeze, a drink in my hand and relaxing. Honestly at this point, Carnival could take me anywhere an I really don't care as long as I don't have to go to work! Haha

When they say "photocopy", don't they mean the authenticated photocopy obtained from the government agency? My BC is a photocopy but, its stamped/embossed as being a copy of the original on file. Not the same as a photocopy you make yourself.

I don't know...I thought it was saying a photocopy like you would make yourself. I think the other one is called a certified copy or something along those lines. It just seems so bizarre to me that just making a photocopy of your birth certificate would work.

I guess to each their own but it bothers me. We were on the Vista and we had a Cloud 9 Spa cabin. You needed your room key to get into the thermal spa area. We'd see people (usually the same people) every day walking up to the glass and have someone they knew in the spa let them in to utilize the spa. You know they didn't have passes and were sneaking in. Carnival never came in and checked. It wasn't right after people paid for spa passes and spa cabins. The space is small enough as it is with limited loungers to have the scammers using them. When I sail the Horizon Family Harbor and see anything like this happening in the lounge I'll be sure to let the concierge or security know every time. I'm not paying extra for these amenities to have the freeloaders sneak in and help themselves to things intended solely for those who paid for it.

Thank you for the replies. I totally understand what you mean. I would be bothered by paying for a service that people were sneaking in to use for free also. That's why I was wondering if it was monitored. At least it sounds like its not too crowded, so if I book the family harbor rooms my family can still enjoy the lounge without being over crowded. Its these people who sneak around trying to get stuff for free that causes prices to go up! That's the annoying part. I don't care what they do, but it does eventually effect everyone with price increases.

Can anyone on the cruise use the family harbor lounge? Or is it only for people who stay in those rooms? I am guessing its the latter, but how exactly do they monitor it?

Thanks guys for the replies. I thought it was funny that it says on their website that a photo copy of the birth certificate will work. I was more or less looking for a bunch of people saying that the photo copy would work so then I would consider. I will just stick to the plan and bring the originals.