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From everything I have read, it is not worth it. Though many people will now come and chime in as to why it IS worth it to them.

 

Why I am not choosing to do it:

1: early boarding....not worth it. If you get there around 12:00-12:30pm you walk right onto the ship

2: get suitcases early.....I have read a LOT of reports where that is just not happening

3: able to drop off carry-on in cabin....ok, if that is worth $50 to you, maybe? Then again, if you board at Noon, you can do that anyway.

4: early off the ship.....you can ask for a group 1 tag anyway.

5: short line for CS. I never got here, so no biggie for me.

 

$50 buys me quite a few drinks. :D

i agree, FTTF is not worth the price, I think newbie cruisers are the ones falling over all this "deal".

Let me be more specific.

 

It is me, my boyfriend, my son , my daughter and my boyfriends son going which equals 5 people.

 

I have PLENTY of money, but I feel it is very foolish to pay the exact same price on air fair as the total cruise price which is the case thus far.

 

Just looking for cruise tips and tips on maybe some places to book flights on the cheaper end or a different way to travel .

Why don't you do a cost comparison for a cruise out of Miami with pre-cruise hotels, food, gas, transportation, etc. versus a cruise right outside your doorstep in Baltimore, or perhaps taking the Amtrak up to New York City and cruising out of there?

I found that it is cheaper to cruise out of New York than Miami, only because of all the added expenses such as pre-cruise hotels, food, transportion, parking, airfare, etc.

If you use a credit card at M in Grand Turk, it is subject to international fees?

Thanks for the link above. They also have bike rentals. Wonder how large Grand Turk is and could be covered by bike?

EDIT: Found it .... : The Island is seven miles long and 1.5 miles wide.

What would be your daughter's cost if you cancelled the day before the cruise? Still $0?

I only ask because our next cruise we received a FREE cabin, just had to pay taxes. After a lot of talking to various agents, it was suggested that we do not ensure it for $0, or the cost of port fees and taxes, but at the rate of Fun Select (Carnival tier pricing). Even though I paid $288 total Including taxes and port fees, we are insured for $2,500 - the cost if we were to cancel.

Any new updates? Is the Crew Bay and Village Bar back open for business?

I have never used this person but I was looking around for Deep Sea Fishing and came upon Wet Money and they rent scooters. Nothing on the website regarding pricing but I received very quick email responses to my fishing questions.

 

website is www dot wet money ent dot com (no spaces)

website not showing in my results

Enjoying your review, we are sailing on the Splendor in a mere few days!!

Latest update. Persistence pays off. After 2 calls and 2 emails to Carnival the did the right thing and restored my OBC. One key point is that I sent 2 emails to guest relations and only received 2 auto acknowledgements with a commitment to contact me in 48-72hrs which they did not keep. I followed up today with a call and they finally came through.

 

 

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Good for you! Enjoy your cruise!

All cruise lines do this. If you "upgrade" ...basically you cancel and rebook. They are now booking under new promo. I assume the upgrade was a better deal than you had.

Not true. Last year on NCL, we upgraded from a regular balcony to aft-facing and I was still able to hold onto my $200 OBC.

I saw that post, oh my... is it getting heated over on that thread.

Link?

With 3 of us in a cabin we got a call from the upgrade fairy 2 years ago on the 7-night Liberty. The offer was to go from a 4H (interior on Panorama) to an 8A (balcony on Veranda) for a mere $200. It was much less than if I wanted to upgrade myself. I jumped on the deal, had a few cabins to choose from (I asked) :p

I don't plan on using a debit card.

What if I don't want Carnival to have a credit card on file, what is the cash deposit needed upon check-in for 2 people?

They do place a $100 hold on your credit card the morning of your sailing. That hold never shows up on your onboard account. Our tips were prepaid at time of booking and we never saw them on our sign and sail account. The only thing that appeared on that were purchases made onboard. In the past when we paid our tips onboard, they simply added the entire amount of the gratuities at one time.

So the initial hold on the first day is $100, is that per person or per cabin?

So if prepaying tips, that's the only hit on our credit card. Then whatever we spend at the end of cruise will be charged to our card.

When does the $100 (or possibly $200) get dropped from the hold?

Can someone explain the credit card deposit and tipping information? We are sailing for 8 days.

This is what I understand:

When checking it, Carnival will put a $100 credit card hold ($200 for both of us?) on our card?

If we haven't paid tips, they will place additional holds on the card?

I'm planning to prepay tips before we sail so there aren't many holds on our card, but want to ensure there's enough credit on my card if I'm just relying on that.

As an alternative, we could put down $400 case and no credit card, providing we prepaid the tips?

I'm trying to figure out how much credit I'll need on my card for all the holds.

Airfare is less than $250 one way to JFK from Bermuda. It's just that they would need to find a hotel for the next 2 nights, among other things.

What amazes me is how do they not make it to the ship in Bermuda, the ship is in port 3 days!

The first day or two we laid on deck 10 - overlooking the lido. The lido area is small compared to the other areas to lay out. Deck 11 and 10 have large areS on both side of the ship to lay out. Always saw empty chairs. Keep in mind the right side of the ship decks 10,11 are smoking so if that bothers you keep it in mind (didn't bother me).

 

After that we only laid out in serenity. Not sure who the knuckleheads were who put the mini golf and the slide right above it but again, definitely not a deal breaker and much more quiet than anywhere else. The serenity chairs have pads which is really a nice touch. Also there's a bar on one side. It was easy to get to via stairs since it is located deck 12 forward, 2 floors above our spa cabin.

 

The chairs do fill up somewhat fast but my husband and I always managed to snag 2 at some point in one of the 4 areas, and no one was hogging any chairs.

Was smoking allowed on the right side of deck 10's secret deck/balcony area?

The first day or two we laid on deck 10 - overlooking the lido. The lido area is small compared to the other areas to lay out. Deck 11 and 10 have large areS on both side of the ship to lay out. Always saw empty chairs. Keep in mind the right side of the ship decks 10,11 are smoking so if that bothers you keep it in mind (didn't bother me).

 

After that we only laid out in serenity. Not sure who the knuckleheads were who put the mini golf and the slide right above it but again, definitely not a deal breaker and much more quiet than anywhere else. The serenity chairs have pads which is really a nice touch. Also there's a bar on one side. It was easy to get to via stairs since it is located deck 12 forward, 2 floors above our spa cabin.

 

The chairs do fill up somewhat fast but my husband and I always managed to snag 2 at some point in one of the 4 areas, and no one was hogging any chairs.

Ok thanks! So there are places to lay out on deck 10 or 11, even if the roof is retractable? This whole retractable roof is throwing me off! :p Luckily we are going in June so the air should be warm and the roof won't be retracted unless it rains??

it just seemed weird to see the jumbotron in an enclosed space! lol.

Ok, I will be the odd woman out here.:o:o

I cannot cruise WITHOUT a balcony.

Never had inside/oceanview, however, I also haven't been on a short cruise.

We always do 7-8 nighters.

If you can afford it, I say go for it.

It's nice to have coffee/breakfast/lunch/drinks at night out there.

Also, it's nice to sit out there after getting back from port.

JMO.

Otherwise, save the money for excursions/drinks/casino.

Have a great cruise!!!!:D:D

We will be in an interior for the first time next month! AGGHH!

We always get a balcony, been spoiled the last few cruises with an aft-wrap and an aft-extended so I'm curious how I will be able to handle an interior. I did pick one on deck 10 next to the stairs/elevators/doors to the outside, plus the secret balcony on deck 10 so I'm hoping it won't be tooo bad. :p

I would definitely take a pass on it. For the 3 of us on the Liberty a few years ago, we got a call from the upsell fairy and went from an interior cabin on Panorama deck to balcony on deck 8 for only $200 more - and that was for 7 days.

We will be in a spa cabin next month!! Where did you lay out in the sun on the ship? I haven't seen pictures of the ship without the retractable roof so when I first look at deck 10 overlooking Lido, it was enclosed!

The passengers are reportedly in stable condition.

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/258825811.html

Taking an 18-20 year old on the ship and keeping them entertained is difficult. They are too old be included in kids club and too young to enjoy the singles get together, as well as too young to enjoy the Serenity area - BUT they can gamble, which you need to keep an eye on because it most likely will be their first experience gambling with real money. :eek:

When my daughter was that age, she mostly hung out with us - went to the casino with a few bucks and the disco one night. Most of the time we spent it lounging in our room at night or going to Trivia.

Now my youngest is 17 and this will most likely be her last year in the kids club (really not a "kids" club but more of an opportunity to meet other kids their age).

Carnival should have a meet and greet for the 18-20 year olds. Really, they have nothing catered to that age.

I have posted a bunch of the media I shot during the Sunday morning chaos here on my Google Drive Folder:

 

 

 

Does anybody know what a CODE Alpha is for NCL?

 

Just as the line started moving to get off the ship, an announcement was made about a CODE Alpha on Deck 7 Port by the shuffleboard game.

Within seconds I saw 3-5 Officers pushing through the crowds in that direction.

Looking forward to your review! Please post a link to it here when it's started.

I believe that a Code Alpha is a medical emergency.

The delayed docking agitated many of the more than 4,500 passengers aboard the cruise liner leading to shouting matches and pushing and shoving, according to other passengers. The crews tried to calm them down by offering breakfast and bottled water as the ship was tugged.

A passenger also complained that the disembarkation was disorganized.

http://gantdaily.com/2014/05/04/propulsion-malfunction-delays-cruise-ship-docking-in-nyc-pier/