dioxide45

On our Magic cruise in early November, there was the regular Mexican Fiesta Buffet. I was also surprised to see a few of the nights they had "Late Night Snacks" listed in the Fun Times. This consisted of what was normally served at Off the Grill during the day. So they still seem to have late night buffet options, though it wasn't at midnight, probably closer to 11:00pm.

The Chocolate Extravaganza was actually presented during the day on the last Sea Day.

Really? When my friend and I were on a ship's excursion out of Portland, Maine, and the tour guide had the bus driver drive around in circles for several hours, telling us that the ship would wait for us no matter how late we were, the Explorer of the Seas did not call us on our cell phones. At the time, I didn't know what to do, so when we eventually returned to the ship, I asked if there was a phone number for us to call in the event that this happened again. I was told that there was no phone number for us to call.

 

Afterwards, I was told at cruisecritic that I could have called the port agent. But the ship's personnel never told me that. And, as I said, they never called me.

No need for anyone to ring anyone when its a ships excurseion.

 

For those they wait.

Also no need to contact the port agent when on a ships excursion. Most likely the tour operator has already been in contact with the port agent and the ship to find out the ETA on the return of the tour.

I guess we will have to disagree, because there is no doubt that this decision making requires AI, and as much as you think it should be doable online it is really not feasible.

It is quite possible. They could just require the first booking that is made be the one with the adults. Then when you make the bookings for the minors, it requires the booking number for the related adults. The system would see that the room under that booking is across the hall and the people in that cabin are over the designated age. The issue right now is that the system only allows booking one cabin at a time and no way to link them at the time of booking. Setting up such a system is not really easy but not impossible. CCL has just determined that it doesn't happen often enough for them to justify the costs to implement such in their online systems since the same can be accomplished via a phone call.

I don't understand the policy though. For people under 21, they have to have someone over 25 traveling with them? I suspect this is to avoid problems with party groups where some members are 21 or 22 and others are only 20. However, what about young families with small children? Lots of people under 25 have kids.

Puerto Vallarta is in the Central Time Zone. With no Daylight Savings Time in January, it would mean it is two hours ahead Pacific Standard Time. I think that Puerto Vallarta observes Daylight Savings Time. So, any time of the year it would be a two hour time difference if sailing out of California.

Also confirmed above based on this thread.

I would think the fee would only be there for people that booked an Early Saver rate. Those not on that rate probably won't see the added fee.

My guess is that anything frequented by locals wouldn't likely be showing US college football games. I think you are probably better to stick with something in the tourist area. Likely to be others there wanting to see the games too. I know that there is a Champions Sports Bar at the Marriott Ocean Club up in Palm Beach. There are probably closer options to the port though.

You can pay to use the ship computers to print your boarding pass and check in for your flight.

There are still some folks(like me) without smart phones.

There is no "purser's office" to ask for this help.

IF you mean "Guest Services" then no they won't do it for you.

People use "pursers desk" and "guest services" interchangeably. Pursers desk is the more traditional name for guest services.

I don't see any reason to print a boarding pass ahead of time. If you are checking luggage, you have to visit the airline counter anyway. If you aren't then you can use one of the kiosks in the airport. The only advantage may be with an airline where you need to select seats at checkin or with Southwest. though if that is the case, just pay in advance for a seat assignment or pay for Early Bird Checkin. It would be worth it to avoid the hassle.

dood, I love my laser disc. But seriously, what a stupid statement. The cruise cost was the exact same for my cruise but I got $250 OBC, why wouldn't I go with a TA? I like free money just fine. I picked my room, have early saver, etc. No drawback that I know of.

I find that the Cruise Critic crowd tends to heavily favor booking direct or through a PVP. They seem sour on Travel Agents. I guess it comes down to preference. Some people see booking through a TA as a loss of convenience when you want to make changes or take advantage of a price drop. Others see the benefits of getting additional OBC, free specialty dinning or other perks. The travel company we use actually has lower "non public" rates, but we don't ever get promos like half price or $50 deposit.

So in the end, I guess it comes down to how much you are willing to pay for convenience. Some are willing to give up that $200 OBC so they can call the cruise line directly for a price drop. Some don't want to take the additional time and do the legwork to research the best OBC or other perk offered by travel agents. They want the simplicity of booking direct and not getting the best possible deal.

I am the one to use a travel agent and will do a lot of research to find the best offer out there. This is something I enjoy, sure if I spend five hours to save $200 that is about $40 an hour, so not too bad of a use of my time. Though if I were self employed, perhaps I could be making more money that by directing my energy elsewhere. Though I would probably make more money elsewhere than posting on Cruise Critic...

You and others have mentioned secrets but when I google this company secrets does not come up as an option with or without the dates. Am I looking at the right company?

I found it pretty easy with a Google search. Try searching "Secrets Wild Orchid Resort Day Pass". I see it offered on Shore Excursioneer for about $125.

You can pay in US dollars or pesos. I know we paid for lunch by credit card when we were there. Not sure if they will run a tab or not. I suspect so, but they will probably take your credit card at the beginning.

I was looking at this excursion as well. I'll be there in 3 weeks, does anyone know if the sea turtles will be there then?

Akumal is known for its sea turtles. You won't be disappointed.

People still use TA's? They must still have a VCR too.

I think these days it isn't so much a TA, but a travel companies/consolidator that sells cruises. There are a lot of online companies that do cruise bookings. There are still some local mom and pop or brick and mortar travel agents though too.

Travel agents do have their advantages. I think for certain types of things, they do have their advantages. The real good ones are worth their weight in cold. Ever want to book an all inclusive, and you will probably find yourself contacting a travel agent. You would rarely book those direct.

We use a travel agent/travel company to book all of our cruises. Usually save a few hundred bucks or get some other perks. So far they have also been great with price drops. Just called them up yesterday and had them adjust for a $380 price drop.

As most of you know, when you purchase the beverage package on Royal you get a cup to refill at your leisure. I usually kept this full of ice water or seltzer. Does Carnival do this as well? Or if I want to get a soda (assuming I've purchased Cheers) how does it work? Thanks!

Carnival doesn't have soda fountains like Royal Caribbean does. So with Carnival there is no self serve fountain. I did like the convenience of the self serve fountain on RCCL, but do like that all soda is out of a can on Carnival.

For missing the sailing at a port of call I'm inclined to agree. ;)

 

And those still in the mix after excluding alcohol-related will include folk who mis-remembered the back-on-board time, or at a change of time zone confused ship's time with local time or relied on the time shown on their phone/I-pad, or simply didn't allow wiggle-time for delays.

 

I have NEVER heard, thro Cruise Critic or anywhere else, and neither first-hand nor second-hand nor tenth-hand, of anyone on a private excursion missing a sailing. No doubt it's happened somewhere/sometime but you can be as confident as anyone can be that a tour operator will not allow you to miss a sailing.

 

JB :)

I would be inclined to agree. I would also think that the ship wouldn't be likely to leave even a private tour of 10-20 people behind. I would also expect a good tour operator to call the port agent and tell them of a delay and also their expected time that they will make it to the port. The port agent will then be likely to not let the ship leave. Realize also, in some ports it is an employee of the port that sails the ship out of the port, not the captain.

I would expect that the ports where the most people are left behind are Nassau and Cozumel. Perhaps St Thomas would be in the top three.

Platinum and Diamond still get a free drink coupon.

But isn't the free drink coupon now only good on the last day of the cruise after 5:00pm?

Not going off property in Jamaica when staying at a resort is for safety.

 

When we stayed at what is now the Jamaica Grande Resort we were advised not to leave the hotel grounds after 4 pm.

Not leaving the resort and not leaving it after 4pm are two different things. I would not necessarily want to be out at night in Jamaica. Nothing wrong with taking a day trip somewhere with an organized tour.

We went to the Grand Palladium Montego Bay using an AI day pass on our last cruise. This is one place that we decided that we would probably come back to if we ever did AI. We had a great time there and in Jamaica. We talked with a travel agent while at the property who specializes in AI and she was saying that the Grand Palladium was a moderately priced resort and that they had recently just done a huge refurbishment. It was a great place to visit. The food and drinks were pretty good, though not fantastic. I would suspect about average for AI.

Obviously, with AI you are going to have all of your food and drink costs covered. This is unlike a cruise where you will have to pay extra for your alcohol. You can probably find an AI with airfare for about the same price or only a little more than a cruise if you usually fly in to the port.

Not sure why one would go to Jamaica on an AI and not leave the resort. I guess there are a lot of people who go there on a cruise and don't leave the ship. I don't get it, we have only been once on a cruise and had a great visit. When we return we will go off property. Though it would probably be an organized tour.

I would never do AI in Aruba. There are too many great restaurants in Aruba. If you don't want to pay resort prices for drinks, just stop at the duty free shop at the airport on the way in.

Thanks for the help.

 

What if I don't spend it all will they write me a check at the end of the cruise? Can I go to the casino and get it out on cash?

Different reports. Some people report getting a refund check in the mail, others report getting a new gift card with the balance in the mail.

Same with getting cash on board. Some have been able to cash out gift cards at guest services. If that doesn't work, it can be done quite easily at the casino by downloading funds from your S&S account to your casino account then cashing it out at the cage. I used the slots to do this on our last cruise.

We stop by for our free drink and that's all/

No more free drink at sea day brunch.

We usually go once on per cruise. The novelty has worn off. Our first visit to the sea day brunch a few cruises ago was great, the last on our last cruise was awful.

We will probably continue to go at least once, but what I usually eat, eggs Benedict, is also available on the regular breakfast menu in the MDR.

I think a cab would be necessary. When we went we passed through a gate that was lined with a long fence on either side. The port didn't seem conducive to walking to.

Thank you! Did the have the steakhouse selections in the dining room?

Yes, steakhouse selections were on the main dining room menu for the upcharge. Don't remember the charge exactly, but I think it was $20.

We sail on the elation in 12 days (!!!!). We last sailed her in June 2014, does anyone know if they have been any upgrades/changes? And is there a new dining room menu or new room service menu (the new for charge items)?

We sailed the Elation the last week of October, no American Table (Yay!) and no items on the room service menu that carried a charge.

What happens if I apply a $100 gift card to my account and then don't spend it all?

 

If I have a $100 gift card, can I ask the person at the desk to just use some of it to pay on my account?

 

Do gift cards expire?

I know at the kiosk that you can specify the amount of the gift card you want to apply to the account. So if you have a $100 card, you could apply just $50. I would suspect you can do the same at GC.

El Gaucho is on a hillside, but it isn't on the ocean and the views may be more factories than beautiful scenery. The food was very good though.

I suppose it isn't really the cabin steward's fault if the information from your booking profile is not available to them. However, why does Carnival ask us to provide it if they aren't going to make it available on the passenger manifest that their room stewards receive? It shouldn't be left up to judgement. Don't ask for it if they can't make it available to the people that need it most, the room steward.

In the end, it would be faster if they just got it right from the beginning. Sure they can perhaps turn rooms over faster if they don't have to worry about bed arrangements, but doing something twice instead of once is still inefficient. They also always have cards in the bathroom about saving the environment :rolleyes:, or otherwise save them money, by reusing our towels. However, all those sheets that they have to pull to change the beds that were wrong have to be re-laundered...