mickide

As I understand it, they would provide the refund to you in the form of another gift card.

That is correct, it didn't take long to get but you do have to wait for it. I think mine came FedEx.

Every drink is supposed to be put in the computer. That is how they track inventory. It just shows as no charge, just like cheers but the receipt says DOU.

Since their computer won't let them add another drink, they would be doing it without accounting for the pour and potentially risking their job. Do you really want them to do that?

When did this rule come into effect, in May on the Valor they did not combine the drinks on us drinks and the cheers package drinks.

I believe it was sometime in May. We were just on the Miracle and we knew it was combined but still bought Cheers as we aren't in the casino as much as we are in other areas. The benefit to Cheers is that you can get drinks anywhere. The benefit to the DOU card is that it's free and you can also get bottled water and coffee. The downfall to the DOU card is that it can only be used in the casino and technically only while you are actively playing, that said we have been served at the casino bar using our DOU card.

On the Miracle, we were also told (at the time of purchase) that we would NOT be allowed to buy any drinks after we reach the 15 drink limit.

I did get a call last week from Carnival wanting to know if I needed help booking excursions for our December cruise. She was a little pushy and even told me that unless I book through Carnival, I should just stay on the ship especially in Jamaica. I thanked her for her concern and hung up.

Thank you for posting, going on the Breeze for the first time in December and loving the pictures. Your daughters are adorable! The youngest is a spitting image of you!

This is great! Thank you!

Either use a PVP or a Travel Agent BEFORE people start booking. Once you get so many cabins booked, there are some benefits given if you do it as a group. If you do it on your own, you won't be able to change it to a group booking later. I have a friend doing a group cruise in January with 22 cabins booked for her wedding but they did it on their own and tried to change later...nope, couldn't do it.

12 cruises (10 on Carnival) total of 69 sea days (58 on Carnival) and another three Carnival cruises/20 sea days booked. :)

You will probably make it, assuming no anomalies. I would never do it, would be a nervous wreck. If one thing goes wrong you miss your cruise.

 

We sail the Miracle this Saturday and are flying into Long Beach airport on Friday.

We're also flying in to LGB on Friday for the Miracle cruise on Saturday. We almost always go a day ahead of time.

In July we flew from PDX to LGB on the morning JetBlue flight but our daughter & grandson were on the later flight which ended up being cancelled and she almost missed her sisters wedding since she had to wait until the following day...and that was in July!

When you are checked in at the pier, can you use the GC then?

I wasn't able too. I didn't have the gc's that were mailed, mine were emailed so I had printed copies and the lady checking us in had no idea how to deal with them. I've used them the last 3 cruises and had them applied at GS each time after boarding.

I'm loving seeing what's in store for me :). Thank you for taking the time to post this!

I bought gift cards to pay for Cheers for our upcoming cruise. Do I need to apply them to our s&s account before we purchase Cheers?

We've done this on our last few cruises. Yes, you need to take them to Guest Services and have them applied to your account before purchasing Cheers UNLESS you have a credit card on file too. If so, you can get Cheers before visiting GS. I only open cash accounts so until my gift cards are applied, my S&S card comes up as inactive.

We don't know that the OP does not have frequent flier loyalty priorities, or some other "in" with the airlines. Maybe they are good with the airlines, but not experienced cruiser.

Well I've already said I decided to fly in the day before and appreciate all the input here. And while I may not be an experienced Platinum (or higher) cruiser, it's not my first rodeo. I appreciate your reply as well as all the others. Have a great evening :).

The good news is that the Pacific Northwest is supposed to have another very warm and dry winter (thanks El Nino) so weather in Portland shouldn't be an issue. You're probably connecting in Dallas or Denver - that may be where the weather issue could occur. If the connection is Atlanta, you should be ok.

 

I've done a red-eye before and it took about 2 days to get the sleepyness out of my system. Wasn't a fun first 2 days of the cruise.

The weather here has been awful because of our warm winter. I work for the Dept of Forestry and am heading out in a couple of hours to go to fire camp for the new few weeks. We need some moisture and snow pack this winter or next year will be worse.

I did look again and that red-eye had a connecting flight in Charlotte. I'm just planning to go the day before and enjoy the peace of mind and time with my mom. She always housesits for us when we cruise and has never been on one so this is a special trip :).

Thank you for your reply and btw, love your CC name :).

Now that I've had a cup of coffee this morning and slept on it, I'm pretty sure I will fly in the day before. I've never done "same day" flights except to the west coast as I am comfortable with a 2 hr flight the same day.

However, because I am taking my mom on her first ever cruise, I don't want her to stress out. If it were just me, I'd book the red-eye and know the risks.

Thank you all for your comments (even the few that tried to make me feel stupid...didn't work by the way), they were all very helpful in making my decision and well received.

Hope you all have a fantastic day and I hope to meet you on a cruise sometime.

Now...to update my signature with this cruise :p.

"Pennywise and pound foolish."

Given that you are asking this question, might we also assume that you are cutting corners eksewhere (e.g., no trip insurance or med evac).

Even with a non-winter direct flight, modern air travel has a significant number of delays. And what a previous poster suggests is the "don't worry about it" attitude of "savvy business travelers" doesn't mention that these frequent fliers have loyalty priorities for rebooking.

One should never assume, we all know what that does ;).

Take the redeye, but do it a day earlier. Saving on hotel but missing the cruise is not good economy. EM

Very true!

 

Funny story - one year we went at spring break. FLL has some rule on the hotels saying no more than 4 in a room, so with 3 kids, we would need two rooms. Our flight came in at 2 AM, so we just rented a minivan, parked it in the airport lot, and slept in the van until daybreak. We went shopping, had breakfast, then returned the van around 11 AM and took the shuttle to the port. Much cheaper than two spring break hotel rooms.

Haha, that is so something I would do! I love it!

This would be WAY too stressful for me. Sorry. Have read WAY too many nightmare stories here on cruise critic. The cost of a cheap hotel room is well worth being frazzled.

Any suggestions on hotels? :-) I'd rather spend an extra $200 on the cruise than for a few hours in an overpriced hotel.

Before anyone days that I shouldn't cruise if I can't afford the hotel, I can afford it, I'm cheap by nature (until I get on board lol).

The Miracle cruises out of California ..Long Beach and the Magic cruises out of Miami.....so you are right....WINTER. BUT.....where is she flying FROM?

Sorry for the confusion, I'll be flying from Portland, OR to Miami for a sailing on the Breeze (not on my signature yet ). There is one connecting flight, however, I can't remember where that is and will have to check. I have thought about weather but not in that connecting city.

Thanks for all your comments, I'm reading them all :).

I'm looking at taking a red-eye to Ft Lauderdale in December for a sailing out of Miami. The flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:29 a.m., ship sails at 4:00 p.m. Is this a crazy thing to do? Saving the hotel cost is just an attractive option for me.

Can I purchase these and use them towards my current balance on Carnival.com or are they just applied to the account on the ship?

They can be applied to your reservation online :). I've paid off our last few cruises this way.

Your review convinced me to book LFK for our February girls' trip!

Hello! Just a quick question about Serenity deck. Is their a designated bar and is food available ? Doing an anniversary cruise on the Miracle in Feb 2016 and excited to have "adult time" :)

Yes, what Sadie said. There is a great bar, small pool & hot tub. Just inside the doors is the Lido buffet, pizza & deli, so food is always available. I rarely leave the Serenity deck :).