my kids mama

I just take my favorite lanyard, and binoculars.

On my very first cruise out of Galveston, there was fog in the port and we couldn't dock until after noon. Got off the boat around 230 I think. I had many conversations with fellow passengers that were missing their flights. Ever since then I just wouldn't do it. I like to take my time on the last day anyway. I like to have breakfast when it isn't quite so crowded, one more cup of coffee, etc.... On my next cruise, I chose to do fly2fun. I ended up with a 3:30 pm flight out of Miami. Later than I wanted but I can either get off the ship and find something to do for a few hours or take my time on the ship and be the last one off. We can have lunch at the airport before the flight. Either way is fine with me. I will still be back in Denver by 6:30 pm.

I think if you put fly then they ask for your flight info. Since you don't have that yet, just put driving.

I haven't sailed on NCL so I can't compare. For me, the cheers program allows me to have top shelf drinks and not have to worry about how much it costs. I will pick the best wine available at dinner instead of "house" wine. If I am having a martini, I will request grey goose etc.... It's break even for me after about 5 drinks which I can easily do on a fun day at sea and probably would even do that on port days. Do they let you have top shelf on NCL with the included drink package? I am curious about that?

Not fond of sea days. That's the reason we don't do TA cruises or Hawaii from US. That being said, we could have used an extra sea day on our Med cruise a couple years ago - long days in port.

I agree 100% on this one. 10 days 8 ports. It was a great experience but it was exhausting! I was longing for another sea day.

I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and knowledge of cruising. I love to cruise and have been on 8 so far but I learn something new here every day. And even when questions are asked more than once you guys still take the time to answer.

 

So thank you for sharing what you know!!

 

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Thanks Mom! How nice to see a positive post! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

We love the cheers program. It allows us to try the best wines available and the top shelf spirits without worrying about any additional fees. Our next cruise is in December with our adult children. Cheers will certainly be more expensive this time but my son likes expensive scotch and whiskey so I think he will get his moneys worth. We also take advantage of the bottled water, vitamin water, specialty coffees, etc...

I am going on my first ultra cruise in December. I went on a premier last year. As far as I know, I am still getting some casino cash. It said so in my mailing and I expect to get it when I board. Last time when I went on the premiere cruise, it wasn't on my paperwork but they had it for me at the casino cage. There are different codes for different benefits though.

They are just trolls racking up posts (like there is a prize for them! HA!), if you look at their past posts you will see that's all they do is offer negativity, not helpful advice! They need attention, probably live a sad and lonely life! I just ignore them :)

I have noticed that quite a bit on this site. Someone once accused me of being from the "me generation" because they didn't like what I wrote about my experience on a cruise. It was so rude! I looked them up and noticed that they had called other people the same thing in other posts. I don't understand why they have to do things like that.

Thanks for posting this op. I didn't see the "other" posts about it because I don't have time to be on cruise critic every day. I have one of those things called a job, lol.

We also cruise a couple of times a year. We have had the same feelings from people around us. We are self employed, not rich, but better off then we used to be. We take advantage of bounce back casino promotions and we book in advance. Most important, we use a credit card for our business that gives us travel points. We can use the points for air, hotel, cruise, etc..... It usually covers almost half of our trip. I never feel guilty planning our vacation because I know some of it will be covered. We do have to fly to any port as we live in Denver. Still a good value though, even if we purchase the cheers option. I have done the math. Where else can your family go to several different Caribbean locations for this price??? We do take land vacations to an all inclusive resort in Mexico every other year or so. Our next cruise in December will probably cost us a bit more than that would but we get to see so much more! It's a no brainer.

I think Carnival is pretty good at casino perks. I haven't had much luck communicating with them though. You can leave a voicemail for them to call you back but it took a week for them to return my call and I was working and couldn't answer. They never really did answer my question, just said that they were sorry they missed me. In the past they have delivered a bottle of wine while we were at dinner. Dinner at the steakhouse, etc... We went on a premier cruise in February and we are going on an ultra premier in December. It certainly isn't a free cabin but they are giving me $500 casino cash to play with. I have also been given free interior cabins on certain cruises. Drinks on us card if you get enough points in the casino, that kind of thing. If it's been a while since you cruised, you may want to inquire. They may say that you need to earn current point to get perks though. Search the carnival sight for the number or call the 800m number and ask to be transferred. I hope that helps.

I'm sorry, but lighten up. how does what someone else wears effect your dining experience or how your food tastes.

Thanks Countrygirl, I agree.

You are a bonafide card carrying member of the me generation. Congratulations. Your offspring must be proud of the example you set forth.

 

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Actually, yes they are very proud of me as I am of them. I am sorry you feel the need to attack me. If you would like to have carnival change the rules, call customer service and maybe they can do that for you. We had a nice time at the bar in the Steakhouse and had some wonderful conversations with the bartender and the manager. We weren't breaking any rules and the staff assured us that our attire was just fine at the bar.

Hope everyone is having a beautiful day! Don't let the haters get you down!

Sorry... don't feel that it's the right thing to do. If the steakhouse has a ban on wearing shorts to eat dinner, why do you feel you have a right to wear shorts while sitting at their bar and utilizing your Cheers program? The employees said it was OK because most employees don't want to rock the boat with guests and upset them. If I was paying my 35.00 pp to indulge in the steakhouse and I was dressed accordingly and adhering to the rules of the establishment, why should you be able to come in and wear shorts and have a rampant disregard for the dress requirements?

 

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Because the dress code requirements are only for dining not for sitting at the bar. You don't have to dressed up to sit at the bar in the steakhouse. To each his/her own though.

Don't forget, if you eat in the Steakhouse the first night of the cruise you get either a free bottle of house wine, or 50% off any bottle of wine from their menu. Also, yes, you can go into the Steakhouse bar when not eating - I read a tip to go in and have a nice glass of Champagne there, before dinner in the MDR, which I have scribbled down on my planning notes :)

We did this on our last cruise. You don't even have to be dressed up to sit at the bar in the steakhouse and have a glass of wine. We got a couple of looks from some of the guests when we arrived in shorts but the staff assured us that it was fine and welcomed us.

Our very first cruise (too many years ago to admit to!) and my 14 YO daughter was being a typical teenager- 4 days in a cabin and she didn't speak one word to me!!! (mad because I wouldn't buy her TWO bathing suits in Freeport- mean mom that I am I made her pick ONE of her favorites)... this is all just a setup for the greatest thing that I ever saw on a cruise ship.

 

She was a very picky eater at the time, but each meal in the MDR, our waiter Hamdi (I still remember his name 25+ years later!) fussed over DD and had her giggling, acting human, speaking in complete sentences and even eating different foods! Things she would never ever try at home! But she liked certain dishes, and he'd always promise to have her favorite replacement dish there 'in less than 2 seconds' if she would just try this, or that... and she did! Some she liked, others not, but it made meals an adventure instead of a chore! I LOVED Hamdi and made sure he got a larger tip than I could really afford at the end of the cruise!

 

BTW DD is now 40, and has the son she deserves! He's a mini-me around her- a complete mirror of what she was like as a child! I tell her she got the child she deserved! Of course, he's a perfect angel around grandma!!!

That is Hilarious! I always secretly hope my daughter gets one just like her too. Ha!

Carnival keeps luring me back with casino offers.

Or rather to the port from you hotel.

Bring a lanyard for your sign and sail card and look for the free red bus in Long beach that will take you very close to your hotel. No need to take a cab!

We just sailed on the Conquest in May. As usual, we opted for the "Cheers" Drink Package. Love to have our cocktails while cruising! We also enjoy spending time in the casino. I managed to get my points up to 1500 and assumed that the "Drinks on Us" while playing in the casino would apply. I told my server about this and she said, "Oh, no, you already have the Cheers Program so you can't do both."

 

I totally understand if this new policy is to make sure no one gets over 15 drinks per day. On our previous cruise in Jan, I had a card in my cabin the very first day which gave me free drinks in the casino. I was able to use that card in the casino and my "Cheers" card elsewhere. As much as I enjoy my cocktails on the ship, I don't ever get to the max of 15! I'm just wondering if this new practice is on all CCL ships? Also, I think Carn should stop the promotion of "Drinks on Us" if you get to a certain point level without telling people they can't double-dip with "Cheers." I know for certain that some people maybe play a little too heavily in the casino just to get the drink card.

I had the DOU last time and still did cheers as well. They never told me I couldn't do both. I still never made it to 15 drinks but I was able to get plenty of water, vitamin water, etc..... without worrying about going over. They even let me order a glass of wine and a bottle of water at the same time without waiting "5 minutes" in between because I had both.

I got my Ultra offer the other day too. I left a message for my carnival travel agent telling him I wanted to book the Vista Dec 16th. When he called me back, it had sold out 20 minutes before! I was so bummed. He said he would keep checking to see if it cam back up. Guess what? I got a call about an hour ago. Someone had cancelled and guess who got the spot? I did! I am so excited! I am sorry for those of you that haven't been as lucky yet. Do what I did and call your agent and have him/her keep checking. You never know, someone else might cancel.

Pretty sure just the small bottles are included.

 

That's the main reason I like it too! It turns off the how much are you spending voice in my head and let's me relax and order that second cup of coffee and have the extra drink.

 

 

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Thanks Ravyn and I agree with you 100%. After all, we are on vacation.

We like the cheers program and figure it's a break even for us. Love having the freedom to choose top shelf. I normally would be too cheap to order a glass of wine at $11.50 per glass. With the cheers program, I might have 3 or 4 of them in the evening. Yummy!

Can anyone clarify what size water bottles are included? Last time we got the wrong ones and we were charged.

Did you book it? I didn't see a date of your sailing. We will be on the Dream on Feb 19th. We also have a cove balcony. We had our first cove balcony last year on a med cruise on the Vista and loved it. Can't wait to get my sea legs again.

I was looking at LFK as well but I read somewhere that they aren't very nice to the animals. For those of you that have been.......What do you think?

Hubby and I were doing the math to see if it was worth it. I think that you should look at it as a week total instead of by day. Yes you drink less on port days, but for us the sea days more than made up for it. We also enjoy trying more expensive wines/ scotch than we would drink if we were paying by the glass. We do drink the fancy coffees, and I drink bottled water between every alcoholic drink. I also prefer the chocolate martini for dessert instead of the Carnival desserts that I am not really a fan of. Even being pretty conservative with what we will realistically drink we figured it was worth it to us.

 

 

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That's exactly how I felt. It was break even for us but, I think but we definitely drank nicer wines and my husband drank nicer scotch. Without the cheers program, we would more than likely order cheaper stuff. This way, we didn't have to.