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We just booked a cruise via a TA and were promised a certain OBC amount.

How do I verify that amount by looking at the booking online?

I looked through all the sections I could and did not see anything related to payment or OBC

So far we only paid the deposit but have not made the final pmt yet

Cancellation fees even if you are not cancelling but just changing the cruise date?

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Thanks for all replies.

I went ahead and emailed an agent and got a lower total price and higher onboard credit.

I had lots of issues with RCCL website lately. Very slow and it wouldn't let me remove the prepaid gratuity even though it says optional but the check mark was grayed out.

Are you allowed to change your cruise date after final payment?

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Got some questions that I could not find on RCCL website.

Don't feel like calling them...yet so maybe someone here can answer these:

1. Are there penalty fees for changing the cruise date after booking?

The booking clearly shows cancellation fees but there is no info on what happens if you simply need to change a date

2. I am pretty sure that RCCL offers pack n play or crib for smaller kids. Do you have to call to reserve that? Do they offer anything else like diaper genies?

3. For RCCL, can travel agents offer any lower prices or extras that I can't get by booking direct? I know for Carnival, agents can't offer any lower prices than whats on the web...

Also, when I was looking at available rooms for a specific date that we are interested in, the balcony rooms are cheaper than oceanview. Does that mean that OV is nearly sold out or what?

I was charged $.50 per text out and text received. From cellular at sea. On my phone bill

The fees vary by provider. Whoever your provider is, they charge 0.50 to send and receive text (sounds like T-Mobile or ATT).

Verizon charges 0.50 to send and 0.05 to receive.

So if you post prices, also post who your cell provider is because prices will vary. It doesn't matter that the actual comms are through Cellular At Sea. Each provider has a separate agreement with them...

I am still a little confused. We will be cruising with our girls. We all have i phones with Verizon. So we can use them on the ship to text or email each other? Just want to make sure I have it all figure out before we go. Thought about using walkie talkies also to find each other on the ship.

Communicating using phones on the ship will get expensive.

Walkie Talkies don't work very well. There is too much interference.

If you really want to use 2 Verizon phones to communicate on the ship you can do the following:

-Add the 100MB Global Data package to each line you want to use before you leave. The cost is $25 and is prorated based on how long you have it for.

-On the ship you can then use email to message each other (most other messaging apps don't work because the connection is just 1X)

-Remove the Global Data feature when you return

I wouldn't do this but its an option.

Like I said earlier, Verizon is really good when it comes to cruising since they have a global data feature which applies to cruise ships and it's relatively cheap. This is good if you need to check your email or stay in touch with someone on land...You can communicate via email (and text via email as well)

I just did this on the 5 day cruise last week.

I checked email a lot, also got on Facebook, Twitter, and browser.

All together I used 70MB out of 100MB allowance

We turn off data & iMessage, with Verizon, texts are 50 cents to send & 5 cents to receive. We did have an issue with this at first, daughter at home had to turn off iMessage in order for us to receive her texts. We weren't receiving hers since we had data off.

So with Verizon you could easily communicate by email (text) for just $25

(It actually turns out cheaper than that since the fee is prorated)

100 MB should last 7 days if you are just emailing.

With Verizon, the email format for sending to SMS is:

<phone#>@vtext.com

Then when the person replies to you it goes to your email so you are not paying any text messaging fees to send or receive.

Not sure how much WiFi costs since its different than texting.

SMS fees, data roaming, and international voice all vary by provider.

Who do you have?

I think Verizon is the best when it comes to options while cruising.

They have a $25 Global Data Feature which gives you 100MB allowance and is good on cruise ships. This is more than enough to send/receive email daily (without large attachments) and you can send / receive TXT messages via email as well (just need to know the SMS email address for the person you are trying to reach)

I'm booked on a 4 day Cozumel and back trip from Galveston for next month. This will be only my second cruise, the first with HAL last month. We really enjoyed the HAL cruise but looking at the reviews and deck plan I have to say I'm concerned about the upcoming Triumph trip.

 

Seems like:

100% of people hate the traffic flow. Any tips on staying out of the fray?

50% say the boat smells like sewage. Probably no tips on this.

50% say the food is terrible. I can't find anything other than fast casual on the site. Do they not have The Steakhouse or anything else other than burgers, tacos and fast casual?

Very little info in the reviews but is there a spa? I don't see anything but a massage room on the deck plan. Could I book a thermosuite / pool package?

 

Is there a formal night on this type of cruise?

 

Thanks for your help.

Have no clue where you are getting this info from.

We just got off the Triumph and were on the same ship this past July and did not experience any of the items you are mentioning.

No issues navigating the ship - even with a toddler

Never once smelled any sewage

Food is all based on peoples opinions and you know what those are like...everyone has one. One person will love it and one person will hate it

It was fine for us...

Lots of conflicting info here...

Its simple, check with your cell provider and ask if they have a global data plan that includes cruise ships.

The fact that you have unlimited domestic data has no effect if you are roaming internationally.

I have Verizon and they offer a Global Data plan which gives you a 100MB allowance. It costs $25 per month but is prorated based on how long you have had this feature enabled for.

This works just fine. I never had to pay any per per use fees while using data on my phone while on the ship or in port. This is for data only. They have a separate option for calling and I believe that text messages are $0.05 to send/receive.

Speeds vary. Just now on our cruise that we came back from, on the ship we had a solid 1X connection. I was able to send and receive emails without any issues. Also, all cell providers should have an email address format for texting. For example, Verizon is phone#@vtext.com

This way you can send text messages to people via email and when they respond to you it will come by email as well so there are no TXT charges.

So check with your carrier. I saw ATT has several cruise ship plans but they were not cheap and don't include Carnival.

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We just got back from a 5 day cruise on the Triumph out of Galveston.

Last time we were on the Triumph was back in July, just a few weeks after dry dock. That time we left the baby at home. This time we took him with us. He will be 21 months old next week.

Cruising with the baby is different but still fun.

Out of all the cruise lines that we have been on, Carnival is probably the worst if you have kids younger than 2.

They hardly offer anything for babies.

About the only thing they provided was a crib.

Their under 2 daycare is useless. You can only go there from 8 AM - 10 AM on sea days but you must stay with your child. On port days you can drop off your baby from 8 AM - 12 PM for a fee but again, unless you just plan to get off the ship, walk around, and come back that option is pretty useless. Their last offering is from 10PM to ?? AM. Again, useless since most kids are already in bed by then.

Other than this, there was a small playground with little cars and slides on deck 12 and our baby enjoyed that.

We don't really like the buffet and we were able to go to the main dining room every night. We had anytime dining which is a must if you have a baby. We also brought a portable DVD player and some snacks like goldfish and squeeze pouches with us. That was a life saver. It kept the baby occupied throughout the whole dinner. The baby liked the mashed potatoes and we told the servers that he may not last long so they rushed our orders every night.

Overall, everything was fine.

We are not big complainers. If I had to point some things out that we did not like it would have to be:

1. Crib - it was not in the room right away as promised. In fact, we did not get it until about 8 PM so we had a hard time putting the baby down for a nap when we first got on board at 1:30. For some reason he does not want to go to sleep on our bed. We asked the steward several times but he said that the crib was located in a locker that he did not have access to due to some maintenance.

2. Our AC vent was blowing cold air like crazy and there was something wrong with the regulator because even when you moved it to the off / lowest position it was still blowing very hard. We went to customer service and they called maintenance and told us that someone would be there in 15-20 min. Overall, we waited for over an hour and nobody showed up. We called customer service again and also our room steward called maintenance twice to check where they were. Eventually we just told him to cancel the call and have them look at it next day when we are at port.

The AC issue would not be a big deal for us but the crib was right under the vent and it was freezing.

The next day someone did come and fix it while we were out. After the fix we could completely shut the air off. We know that someone worked on the vent because the tech left his flashlight in there and it was still turned on. We told the steward but nobody came back to fetch it out so the flashlight is still probably in the vent :)

3. It is difficult to find a high chair or a booster seat in the buffet area. They don't have them readily available so you have to ask for it if you can't find one that someone already used and left behind. Problem is that some workers don't even know where they are. A few times we asked, the workers found them quickly other times they ran around for nearly 5 minutes each time looking for one...

So pretty much all of our complaints are because of the baby :D

Other than that, everything was great except for buffet breakfast on the day when the ship was in Cozumel. The buffet was packed! People were literally fighting over things because several lines ran out of various items and plates. Some guests were even snapping at the poor workers and being very rude. This is my 9th cruise and 2nd on this ship and I have never seen anything like that before.

Whats normally the check-in time for the Triumph out of Galveston?

I never really paid attention and usually would just get there around noon.

Today I got an email from Carnival saying that the check-in for the cruise sailing on Jan 18 is now 1PM to 3PM. Sailing is still 4 PM. Sorry for the inconvenience.

What time is check-in usually?

But at a charge, correct? Carnival does as well, with limited hours, and about an hour daily but parents must accompany.

Technically yes. Carnival offers it at a very limited capacity.

After 10 PM on sea days.

Until 12 PM on port days.

That's nothing.

RCCL and Disney are all day, with activities, feeding, etc...

Fee yes but we happily paid it :)

RC does not take children under 3. I don't know what disney's policy is.

RC does take children under 3. In fact they take under 2 to infants.

Google Royal Babies and Tots

Disney takes infants too but that's expected of Disney.

No, they must be two years old for CC.

Which again sucks. Carnival needs to get with the times.

Carnival attracts lots of families but does not provide child care for kids less than 2 yrs old. Why?

Royal Caribbean and Disney do

We have a 20 months old. We wont have to worry about this much longer but up until now Carnival has not been our first choice because of their policies.

First time we went on Disney and did not consider Carnival even though it was much much cheaper.

This time we are going on Carnival just because RCCL and Disney is not sailing from Galveston at the moment.

I am amazed at folks bringing small kids on cruises? Why are they included? I remember when I was 2, the greatest vacation...that doesn't sounds logical. Maybe no one to watch your kid? It's probably just me but I don't get it. Wait till 5 or 6 then they can appreciate it.

In addition to what others have pointed out, not everyone has a luxury to just leave their kids at home. I can't snap my fingers and summon a baby sitter. So based on what you are saying, since we can't find someone to baby sit our small child we should just stay home? Please....

Next week will be our 3rd cruise since having our baby.

First one was when he was 9 months on Disney and that was a breeze due to all their accommodations..

Last one in July, we left him with his grandmother, she works but was able to take 5 days off

Next week, we can't leave him, so he is coming with us and we will have a great time even though Carnival doesn't offer much for kids younger than 2. Ours is 20 months old.

That's an understatement. Read my Dream and Allure reviews (links in my signature). I compare Camp Carnival with the Royal Babies and Tots program. The differences are like night and day. Royal's program turned an already wonderful cruise into an absolutely amazing one.

I totally believe you. I read wonderful things about Royals baby program.

Our next cruise in June 2014 will be on Royal but by that time our baby will be older than 2 so we will have more options.

Our last cruise when the baby was 9 months was on Disney and that was wonderful. They go above and beyond with all their programs especially the babysitting services for little ones.

It's kind of disappointing that Carnival does not offer anything even though they attract a lot of families with kids and from what I was told is that they have no plans of implementing any baby sitting services for the little ones either which is sad for those who want to cruise with babies / toddlers.

We like Progresso, it is more authentic Mexico than places like Cozumel. Which is the same reason a lot of people don't like it. The beaches won't be as pretty as most ports, but it's still a beach.

Cool. Our baby likes the poo water in Galveston so I am sure Progreso will be just fine :D

It's pretty clear in the FAQs:

 

We do offer limited services for Under 2's each evening from 10:00 pm-3:00 am and during port times. Services in port varies depending on the time spent in the port, please see Youth Staff on board for additional information.

 

You will need to inquire on board for specifics. Personally I would not leave the ship without my child, regardless of who is running the excursion.

It's actually not very clear.

Yes, it's clear as in we understand what it's saying but we were looking for someone who may have actually used this service recently to see what the "Services in port varies...." is.

Anyways, its highly unlikely that we will leave the child on board since Carnival does not have appropriate programs and child care in place for kids under 2 like other cruise lines have.

Great info. Thanks everyone.

We speak spanish so we can get around but this is the first time taking the toddler with us so we want to be prepared. :)

What is your back up plan if you have a problem in port and miss the ship's departure? I know I have seen this debated on several forums and the general consensus is leaving a child that young while the parents are in port is a bad idea.

If we were going to leave the child on board then we would only take an excursion sold by the cruise line so we are guaranteed to make it back. We would never go off on our own.

We did this on Disney when the baby was 9 months old and did not have a single issue.

We may not even do this on Carnival since they don't really cater to kids younger than 2. Just wanted to see what our options are.

Do the shuttles drop you off right at the beach or is there some walking involved? Just need to know if we should bring a stroller for the baby incase there is a lengthy walk.

Does the free beach have chairs / cover (free or paid) ?

Thanks for the info

Thanks. Do you recall the name of this free beach so we can lookup some info?

Would like to find out how often these shuttles run to and from the beach.

Can anyone recommend some good beaches in Progreso that we can take a taxi or a shuttle to? We wants something that is easy to get to and also same with getting back...

We always get cruise excursions but this time we will have a 20 month old with us. So we don't want to pay a lot for tours which maybe longer than the toddler can handle and include things that we won't do.

We just want to go to a beach on our own which has some lounge chairs and cover, stay as long as the baby wants to be there and then catch a taxi back to the ship.

We have been to Progreso several times on our own without the baby but have always taken excursions inland so we are not at all familiar with the beach area, taxi cost, etc...