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On 3/15/2022 at 1:44 PM, pghflyer said:

Anyone booked this within a final payment window - how does that work?  For the cruise I am looking at, I wouldn't book it at all if the discount isn't approved but if I have already made full payment, they kind of have me stuck right?

My son booked in the final payment window. Booked on March 4th and they sail April 3rd.  He paid in full and submitted his discount request this week (2 weeks before they leave).  He received an answer the next morning and did get a discount.  They said he can have it as a ship board credit or a refund after sailing.  It was around 22%.   

Does anyone have the 4 night planners from a recent Meraviglia Bahamas sailing?  Mainly looking for the page that states what the dress code or theme for dinner is each evening.  Do they still do a white night? Also any idea if they relaxed the dress code in the main dining room?  I was on the ship Feb 2020 and at that time they were stopping men who were wearing shorts and asking them to change into pants.  Of course some still entered wearing shorts but I'm just trying to make sure we have what is requested.  Thanks!

thanks for the input, I think we will most likely skip Sanchos.  Going to check out some of the other suggestions that were given.  We have a little time yet to figure out what to do.

Just looked and saw there will be 8 ships in port and it looks like 6 of them will arrive before us.  Our group (adults in our early 50's, no kids) was interested in going to Mr. Sanchos but now I'm  not sure that's a good idea.  I've never been there and was wondering do they limit the amount of guests for AI?  I know Nachi does but it has been many years since I've been there.  Loved it back then but thought it would be nice to try something different.  Now wondering if that's a good idea with that many ships?  We do want a lively atmosphere but not overcrowded to the point that service suffers.  The website states they don't mix AI guests with pay-as-you go guests, but does this acutally happen? Anyone been to Sanchos on a crowded port day and  have any input?  Thanks in advance.

Is it common for a shuttle service to require prepayment for reservations? I've been getting shuttle quotes for a Ft. Lauderdale hotel pickup to port of Miami for 8 people. JR Shuttle Service gave a good rate but require a credit card prepayment. Anyone have experience with them? I searched JR Shuttle but every thread with the word shuttle comes up and JR doesn't produce anything useful either. Thanks!

this happened to me as well. Back in January 2016 a group of us booked cabins next to each other on the Escape for March 2017. A few months after deposits were made, I was making a payment and noticed my cabin number was now on deck 11. We originally booked deck 10.

I called NCL and the rep had no explanation as to why it was moved. It was the exact same category so it wasn't an upgrade. I wouldn't have cared except that now I was split from my friends. My original cabin was booked so I couldn't get it back. Luckily there was still 1 open cabin next to my group so I was able to get that one. After that I started checking my reservation online to make sure the cabin didn't change again. Still have no idea why it chaged in the first place.

We like Gaido's Seaside Inn too. We stay there,leave the car & take a cab to the ship. :D Check out their web site for pics. Just walk across the street for a walk on the beach. :p

do you recall what the cost for the cab is? Also is it a hassle to get a cab when trying to get from the ship back to the motel? We are staying at Gaidos next week and debating if we should leave the car there or pay for parking by the ship. We need to get back to Hobby for a 1:30pm flight and thought it might be faster to have the car closer to the port. thanks for any input

We have done both with our kids, ages 11 and 15. They have been to several AI's and on 3 cruises. Our most recent trip was a cuise this past Spring. When asked what they wanted to do for the next trip, it was hands down a cruise. There just seems to be more variety and activity going on with the cruise. Night life and entertainment is also much better. AI's don't seem to offer much in the way of evening entertainment and we seemed to be bored at night. Also with the cruise I love the excitement of waking up to a new destination. We booked our next trip on the Magic for Spring Break. Can't wait!

We heard the noise with the door shut. If we couldn't hear anything with it shut it wouldn't be an issue for us either as we never leave our door open. I figured choosing a few decks up would be ok, but we still heard it.

thanks for letting me know. I also thought being a few decks up would be fine, but guess not. I'm a light sleeper so it will probably bother me. Going to call my TA tomorrow and see if I can change cabins. Not sure how early saver works, hope there is no penalty. Will look at moving forward on deck 8 or 9.

We had a balcony on the Magic on the 8th floor and it was smack in the middle of the 2 hot tubs below on the Promenade. It got a little noisy at times from people in both hot tubs and the people outside of the Redfrog Pub. If I had a choice I wouldn't choose this exact location again.

 

As far as elegant nights are concerned, I believe ours were on Monday and Friday.

I also just booked Magic, 8th deck cabin 8354 for next April. Did you hear the noise with your balcony door shut also? If the cabin is quiet with the door shut then I'm ok with that, otherwise maybe we should move forward more. thanks!

anyone use them recently for transportation from Hobby to Galveston? The website has decent rates but can't find any recent reviews on them. Are they reliable? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

I found out that the 2 hotels near Hobby airport no longer offer the free transfer to the port. I can not find a hotel on Galveston Isle that has a shuttle from Hobby to the hotel. Does anyone know of one?

 

Thanks!!

I called Country Inn at Houston Hobby the other day after I read on these boards that they have a package to stay 1 night with roundtrip transfers to/from the port for $200. When I called the front desk told me they no longer sell these but if I already had a room booked under this package they would honor it. Then he told me to talk to the shuttle manager and handed the phone off. The manager told me that if I book a room he would transfer my party to/from the port for $120 roundtrip plus the cost of the room so $200 total.

I haven't booked a cruise yet, looking at next year but want to figure out all of the logistics first. The shuttle driver said when I was ready to contact him and he gave me his number that he would book the room and schedule my transfers.

You could probably call and ask to speak with the shuttle manager and ask about getting to the port. See if he offers the same thing to you. Just a thought in case you are running out of options. But my concern was what happens if this man gets fired or quits prior to my trip and I'm stranded with no transfers? I'm looking at April 2013, not sure when your trip is.

Good luck.

I believe the bed is by the door when it sleeps 4 in the cabin. The upper berth drops from the ceiling and when it is down there is very little to room to access the balcony door. So if it was reversed, you would have a hard time getting in/out of the cabin. Those of us who need 2 extra beds for kids are stuck with the inconvenient arrangement. When I booked our upcoming Easter trip, I didn't have an option to book the other setup. But at least we will be on vacation!

Thanks for all of the advice! I booked the Freedom this morning. Both ships look awesome but I'm afraid being Easter week the Dream will be too crowded and the lines long. Plus like most of you said 8 nights of vacation is better than 7!

never cruised Carnival before, looking at Dream or Freedom in April 2011. Any suggestions for those who have been on either? Both are Eastern Carribbean, Dream is 7 nights 3 ports/3 sea days and Freedom is 8 nights 4 ports/3 sea days. I can get an ocean view on either for pretty much the same price. We are a family with 2 boys age 14 and 10, so need lots of activity on ship. The family rooms on Dream look nice with bigger bathroom but don't want to base my decision on that. Any advice? Thanks!