cherbear4000

My sister booked us under one of her casino offers.  She says she is pretty sure it includes drinks but she can't remember if the drink offer is just for her or both of us.  She also isn't sure if it is the Drink on Us only in the casino or the one that includes anywhere on the ship.  Is there a way to look on the booking to find out or do we need to wait until we are on the ship? 

Does anyone know if it is true Carnival will not let you jump into the water when booking thru them?  I saw video reviews on YouTube where people booked with Carnival and did jump.  But, now I am reading people recently saying Carnival will only let you slide and you have to book private if you want to jump off the platforms. 

I did this tour a few years ago and it was amazing!  They make the times work with the ship. 

We are flying into LAX the evening before the cruise.  We would like to stay at a hotel in Long Beach.  I would love to find one that is walking distance to restaurants nearby and has a shuttle to the port in the morning. Any recommendations? Also, any suggestions for transportation from LAX to Long Beach? There are 8 of us. 

Can Platinum disembark at any time?

I have always used my Cheers to get coffee the morning of debarkation, even after 6AM.  I only had to pay tax since it was a US port. 

I am cruising on the Vista soon and am thinking of trying Jiji Asian Kitchen for dinner.  I know it is served family style and the number of items you can order is determined by the number of people.  If there are just 2 of us, how many items from each category can we order?  Is it just one per category for us to share?  Does anyone have any items they would recommend?

ji-ji-asian-kitchen-dinner-menu.pdf

3 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Getting a free bottle of wine after paying $38 a head to eat in the steakhouse doesn't strike me as a way of saving money

True, but if you are planning on visiting the steakhouse anyways, which I am, it makes sense to do it on the first night for the free bottle of wine.  

1 hour ago, coevan said:

 

 

why not, without a doubt the cheapest way to go

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How much are you planning to drink?  Unless you are only a beer drinker, it only takes 4-6 drinks a day to benefit from Cheers, and that doesn’t include all the non-alcoholic drinks included with Cheers. 

I have actually purchased Cheers in the past.  I did love the freedom to order anything I wanted any time I wanted. I found myself drinking way more, both alcohol and non-alcohol drinks, than I typically would just to get my money's worth.  That is way too many unnecessary calories.  Six drinks a day for 7 days straight is a lot for me.

Does it really matter what you use the VISA/MC  gift cards for?  Use them to purchase your groceries and then the cash you would have used for the groceries can now be put towards your cruise expenses. Use them to purchase clothes and other items like sunscreen for the cruise, etc.  

I just don't think I would get my money's worth on the Cheers package and am looking for ways to save money on drinks.  I have no intention of smuggling alcohol.    I know each adult can bring on a bottle of wine. I know you can purchase bottles of liquor through the Fun Shop to be delivered to your cabin.  I know you get a free bottle of wine the first night in the steakhouse.  I also know there is a drink of the day for $1 off.  What other ways can I save money on drinks on-board.  I have heard about happy hour specials for 1/2 drinks.  I have actually never seen this on-board.  Can any one give me more details about when and where these happy hour specials take place?  Also any other tips for saving money on rinks would be helpful.  Thanks

I always check in oline using a credit card for my Sail & Sign.  Then sometime during the cruise whenever there is no line, so not the first day, I visit guest services and apply my gift cards.  They will use the gift cards before using the credit card.  Be sure to get a receipt when you apply the gift cards.  My sister's cards were never applied to her account and had she not have had the receipts, she wouldn't have been able to prove it. 

Thanks, but the AARP gift cards are cheaper.  They are $90 for a $100 gift card. 

My husband and I are supposed to cruise in 4 weeks with my family. We have pre-purchased Cheers and gratuities. My husband will not be going on the cruise. If he is a no show, will I get his Cheers and gratuities refunded or should I just cancel them outright? I would still like Cheers for myself if possible. I pre-paid using gift cards so I assume the gift cards will be refunded.

They have them sleeping on yoga mats in the health club according to the woman who posted the photos.

I get there is nothing Carnival can do, but I would be so upset if I had to sleep on yoga mats with a bunch of strangers. What about people that have health problems or are elderly? Does anyone know how many days are left on the cruise? Personally, I would demand to be flown home at the next port. There is no way I could spend my cruise like that.

What do they do with all the passengers whose cabins were flooded? It's not like they have a bunch of empty cabins to put them in.

From what I understand, as long as you're not obvious about it (ordering a shake and immediately turning and handing it to your child), you should be okay. Just leave the counter and walk away from the area a bit before giving it to them. The 5 minute rule between Cheers orders still applies, regardless of whether it's alcohol, bottled water, shake, coffee, etc.

You can actually order an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic drink at the same time. I ordered a Long Island, but I also wanted a Coke. I asked if I had to wait 5 minutes for my Coke and was told I could order one alcohol and one non-alcoholic together.

I would absolutely move to the Lido deck.

My husband and I recently tried Cheers for the first time. We have never, ever come close to having a bar bill the amount of the Cheers package, but we were always cost conscious. This time, we decided to splurge on the package. We loved it. We came nowhere near the 15 drinks per day limit. We may have had 5 or 6 drinks each in a day tops, but we loved being able to try new drinks and not worrying about wasting our money if we didn't like them. We really got our money's worth with the non-alcoholic drinks included. We were at the coffee shop constantly getting specialty coffees and milkshakes. We also got a lot of bottled water and energy drinks.

Has anyone ever pre-paid their gratuities and still been charged on the ship?

My sister has 2 children 3 and 5. They are both still in car seats (the 5 year old is really small for her age). My other sister has a 2 year old. They will not be bringing car seats with them. They will need transportation from FLL to Port Everglades. Normally they would just take a taxi so they don't have to wait on a shuttle, but some people have told us that Florida does not allow children in taxis without their car seats. Does anyone know if this is true? If it is, can someone recommend a shuttle company or other transportation that does not require the children to be in car seats?

My Platinum sister and her Gold husband were booked in separate cabins and were allowed to board together in the Platinum line to keep the family together.

Your status for your July cruise will change after you cruise in March and complete the online check-in for the July cruise.

I sail with a group of 20. We are usually at 2 tables next to each other. Just make sure the bookings are linked.

I really liked this excursion. The Twister boat is fun, the beach is beautiful and the drinks and food are great. There is no snorkeling though. I did not see any fish in the water.