GeorgiaMomof4

I just got off the Fantasy last Thursday. It was the 5 day to Costa Maya and Cozumel and I do have the Fun

Times.

I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to post them but if you have any specific questions, I would be happy to

try and answer them.

I've been contemplating doing a review, but just did one for the Magic in February and they are so time

consuming. I'll probably do one though because I so enjoy all the information I get when I read them here

on CC.

Didn't you just upgrade this to a suite? Is that why your friend is cancelling? The additional cost? IF yes, your friend won't get a refund from insurance.

 

This is truly lousy. You mentioned in the other post that you waited to accept the suite because you had to clear the additional money with your friend. And now this ... seemingly.

 

But as others have said DO NOT CANCEL THIS PERSON. Even when/if you call Carnival, DO NOT CANCEL HER. Just ask using hypothetical questions. Letting your friend be a no show is better.

YES we did just upgrade on Monday and she was good with it and even paid her part of the upgrade. I can't believe

she waited until today to cancel on me.

We tried to find someone to take her place but at such late notice no one can get off work or out of their other

obligations which really sucks!

Oh well, I guess she will have to file with insurance and see if they will reimburse her any of her cruise fare.

Looks like it will just be the 3 of us - Mom and oldest 2 daughters. That's ok though - this bonding time

will be good for us.

Oh by the way, I did contact my PVP and he said he could do a name change but there would be some type

of fee associated with it if I found someone to go.

HELP! We are all set to go and my friend sends me a text and says she can't go on

my daughter's graduation cruise that me, her, the graduate and her sister are going on.

We leave tomorrow out of Mobile.

My question is, if I find someone to replace her and the person that cancelled has

insurance, how will that work? The cruise is already paid for and is non-refundable so

would the new person just get to go for free basically and the person who cancelled

have to try and recoup their money through their insurance?

Anyone know? I can't believe this is happening - we've been looking forward

to this for so long!

Congrats on your upsell!!! That's awesome and so exciting for all of you! There is going to be so much going on during that first day that you will totally be able to get away from the girls. The suggestions of a drink at the bar, or checking out the spa are both great. They could go to Lido and see if the pool is open or what kind of food they have for lunch? They could check out the serenity area, or go grab a coffee from the coffee bar. If you have Lindsey in on it, she will totally go along with the flow and will be easier to sway Whitney into going with her sister. So many places those two could go. Just tell them you will call them or find them in a few minutes. Don't let them know you are going to the room, that way she will think that you are all walking in together to see the room at the same time. How fun! It's going to be a great trip!

Thanks so much! I am very excited about this surprise for her. Whitney is a great kid (well young lady now) and has sacrificed a lot to get where she is. She enrolled at Kennesaw State College about 1 hour away from home and in December of her Freshman year her Dad had a heart attack and some related complications and was never able to

go back to work. She finished her Freshman year but then decided to move back home and commute and do online

classes so she could be home and help out with her younger siblings. (We are foster parents and she and Lindsey

are our biological kiddos and the other 4 - I need to change my screen name-lol have been adopted through foster care).

In doing this, it put her behind and when she finally changed to Dalton State there were some classes that didn't transfer so it's taken her an extra year to earn her History Education degree. But, she was steadfast and is graduating

with high honors!

I'm definitely going to have Lindsey in on the room decorating bit - hoping I don't have to tell her about the suite

either and I'm sure she will come up with something to keep Whitney occupied.

I've printed our boarding passes and they do say "suite" on them so I've decided I will hold all our passes or I will

white out suite on theirs and just make a black and white copy for them!

Like I and many have said, Carnival needs to realize that many cruisers like this size of ship!! Build a fleet of new same size ships, maybe 4 of them to sail and people will book them like crazy!!

I agree! We didn't think we would enjoy the smaller ships but we've found that we actually prefer

them over the larger ones especially if it's just the hubby and myself.

Congratulations! You do realize now, that younger sister might expect similar treatment when she graduates;)

 

Sisters getting a drink together on boarding sounds good, maybe suggest they explore the ship some or at least scope out the spa to take up some extra time. Since you have 4 to a room, you can have them check out the showers in the gym and see what you'd need to bring with you if some of you want to get ready there instead of in the room to help with crowding.

 

Enjoy!

You may be right - but younger sister is getting to come on this cruise and I have a feeling she is going to

want a different kind of trip for her graduation. She is a city girl and will probably want to go to New York

or somewhere and not cruise! I guess if we cruise it will be up to the Upsell God's as to whether she gets a

suite for her graduation cruise or not.

Good suggestion about the spa and the showers - hadn't thought of that one!

The ole y'all might want to stay here cause I need to go blow out the restroom works every time. Then Dona can just say I'll be right back I want to check on something after the two get their drinks at a bar. Congrats, my baby graduates from college this weekend too.

LOL! That's a good one! Just might work - congratuations to your kiddo too. Whitney doesn't actually

graduate until we get back from the cruise. She graduates on May 12th - we are celebrating early!

Hey guys! Sorry I've not been back to let you know my decision but trying to get ready for a

cruise, a college graduation and a graduation party has me pretty busy.

WE DID IT! I really was wanting to save money that's why we did book 4 to a cabin, but I figure

this is probably a once in a lifetime thing and we are celebrating a milestone for our family. Whitney

(my daughter that is graduating) will be the very first in our family to graduate with a college degree.

Lindsey is right behind her, but still...this is worth celebrating!

I'm not telling Whitney nor Lindsey about the upsell to the Grand Suite, only my friend Donna knows

because I had to check with her since she had to pay her part of the upsell. I cannot wait to see the

look on their faces when they open the door to the cabin and see that it's a suite. I just don't know

how so many of you keep these kinds of secrets for so long...I almost spilled the beans several

times last night while Whitney was helping me paint our deck.

Now - I do need some help in figuring out a way that Donna and I can get to the cabin and do some

decorating before Whitney goes to the cabin. Lindsey can be in on it but give me some ideas on

what excuses Donna and I can use to get away from Whitney and Lindsey long enough to go

put up a few decorations for Whitney. I've already looked at Carnival's decorations and they have

NOTHING even closely related to graduation or congratulations!

I know some of you have some ideas so shoot them to me! One I was thinking about was getting

Lindsey to tell Whitney that she wanted to buy her her first celebratory drink and they sit at the

atrium bar or somewhere for a while and we could go on and do the decorating.

OK everyone - GO! I'm waiting for some wonderful ideas!

Good afternoon!

I just received "the phone call" from Carnival.

We sail on Saturday on the Carnival Fantasy for a 5 day cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

There are 4 of us going and we are currently booked in an aft OV on deck 7 - we chose this

location.

This cruise is for my oldest daughter's college graduation and it's me, the graduate - Whitney,

her sister - Lindsey and my best friend Donna.

The offer was for a Grand Suite on the Upper Deck - U101. It would be an additional $598 total

for the 4 of us.

We've only ever cruised in OV or Balconies so never even thought we would have an

opportunity to be in a Grand Suite.

What are your thoughts? Should I do it and let it be a super surprise to my 2 daughters?

Breaks down to about an extra $150 per person.

Help!

Good morning!

I'm trying to determine if a package would be good for us for our May 5th Fantasy cruise.

I know we won't need one of the bigger packages, but maybe the small one. The only

drawback is that I don't need a 16 x 20 canvas as it's a college graduation cruise for my oldest

daughter and it's just her, my next to oldest daughter, my best friend and myself.

So - how much are 8 x 10's and embarkation photos regularly? Trying to decide if a

package will still be beneficial to us and even though we cruised in February I can't remember

what the picture prices were.

Thanks in advance!

Good morning!

We are now only 22 days away from our daughter's college graduation celebration cruise.

Since Carnival doesn't offer any graduation specific decorations, I am bringing my own and

plan to decorate our cabin when we get on the ship.

I'll have mostly stuff to hang from the ceiling like the spirally things, etc. My question

for all of you is what would be best to use to get these hung up so they will hopefully stay up

for the entire 5 days?

Also, is the door magnetized or just a standard wood type door? We've been on the Fantasy

before but I don't remember.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have.

In reading about your lost phone, my first thought was "its in the fridge with the soup." That's totally something I would do. Sorry that happened to you. We're headed out on the Magic in May and appreciate your review. Thanks!!

LOL - that's hilarious. We spent about 30 minutes looking for my daughter Lindsey's phone while she was home

for spring break. We looked everywhere and she had just had it. Ended up being in the refrigerator (she had helped me put up some groceries and had laid it down in there then)!

You'll have a great time on the Magic!

Thanks for reading.

You are so right. A vacation is what you make of it. It seems like so many people are negative:(

and nit picking, where I like you, try to find the "positive" things that I see and do.:) Once again, thank you for a wonderful review and pictures.

 

If you have posted this, I have not read it, but I assume, you never got your phone back, or it was turned in? How sad.

 

God bless you and your family in taking in the children as you do.

Beshears - Thanks so much for reading and following along. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to finish my review, but with 6 kids life does sometimes get in the way.

Unfortunately my phone was never turned in. A very costly lesson learned. After using my daughter's old phone which wouldn't hold charge for 3 weeks, I finally bit the bullet and went and got me a new phone. I did take the insurance out this time - probably will never need it again but it's there in case.

Believe me, we are the ones who receive the blessing with these children. They bring so much joy and sunshine to us that's it's just amazing. Since adopting William and Justin we have only done respite and haven't had a long term placement but our home is still open and we hope to do a long term placement one day again before long. With our ages and their activity level we just aren't sure we are ready for another little one just yet. We have so many people tell us that they don't think they could do it, that they couldn't let them go when the time came and it is hard, I won't lie. But, if everyone felt that way, where would all these children go? Having other children in our home we have to remember that Glen and I aren't the only ones who feel loss when the children move on - our own children have gotten attached to them just as we have and it hurts them as well. I always tell my husband (and sometimes he has to remind me) and our other children that God placed us in the lives of these children for a time....a time when they needed someone to love them, make them feel safe and secure and in turn to let them go when that time came. It's not for the faint of heart though.

Thanks again for reading!

I'll be cruising on the Fantasy in May - my oldest daughter is graduating college - the first in our family to actually graduate and I'll try and do a review then as well.

Debarkation Day

As seems to be when sailing from Port Canaveral we were back in port very early - like probably 5 or 5:30 Saturday morning. Glen and I got up and showered and I ran down and got the boys a little something for breakfast. I knew we

would stop for something a little farther up the road but I didn't want them to get hungry before we did.

One more last stop at Guest Services to check for my phone - still no phone and I went back to the cabin to collect everyone. As I mentioned before we had FTTF so we had the option of meeting in the lounge to do self assist debarkation

or we could use Zone debarkation and we would have been Zone 2 or 3 I think. We always try to do self assist

debarkation if we can. With the little boys in tow this time we weren't sure we would be able to, but we managed

to do it just fine.

They started calling for self assist before or right at 7 and we were off the ship by probably 7:15 or 7:20 at the latest. Of

course, everyone was staring because we were all kicking and screaming that we didn't want to leave and they shouldn't make us leave lol! Actually, this was the FIRST cruise that I was really ready to get off of and head home. I'm sure

it had a lot to do with my phone being stolen but I was just ready to be off and at home!

We walked across the lot and our shuttle from Park and Cruise was right there waiting. We loaded up and headed

to our car. Those are some more people who have their jobs down. We gave them our ticket for our car and it was

parked out front when we arrived at their lot and we loaded right up and headed out. We were on the road for our

almost 600 mile trip home by 7:40 if not a few minutes earlier.

We stopped for gas and some breakfast a little ways up the road and luckily the boys were still tired so they slept a

lot of the way home. We made 2 or 3 more stops - bathroom breaks, lunch, ice cream - Marble Slab is my favorite and we don't have one at home so I always try to incorporate a stop into our trips when there is one close by. We arrived home

about 5 so we really did make good time.

Final thoughts -

This was our 2nd trip on the Magic and we did enjoy it. It was a very different cruise this time because of having the kids with us but that wasn't a bad thing - we just did very different things.

Our food was good this trip - nothing to write home about but I'm a simple girl and I'm not too hard to please. I don't do

5 star restaurants at home and certainly don't expect that on a cruise. I will say that I'm not as big of a fan of the pizza as I used to be and I do feel like the quality of the food has gone down a bit since we first started cruising in 2004. Certainly not enough to stop me from cruising with Carnival, but there have been some changes.

I have only wonderful things to say about our room steward Michael and Andrea at Guest Services. They were both stellar employees and Carnival should be very proud to have them as part of their team. I would hate to have to deal

with some of the petty things that Andrea and the Guest Services staff have to deal with on a daily basis. People really

should be more considerate and not complain about each and every little unimportant thing!

Oh, I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this but on Wednesday morning, Glen woke me up about 5:00 pacing the floor.

He said he was in a lot of pain and he thought he might have a broken rib. You see, the week before we left he went to the

chiropractor at home and said when he was getting his adjustment he thought the chiropractor had broken a rib. He hurt for a couple of days, but by the time we boarded the ship on Saturday he wasn't hurting any more. He took some pain medicine he already had for another chronic condition he has but it didn't ease up. We decided to go on down to the

medical center and have him checked. It wasn't opening time yet, but the nurse and doctor were very nice and professional. They did x rays and although a break or crack didn't show up the doctor said he was almost certain that was

what was wrong. As you know, there isn't really anything you can do for a broken rib, it just has to heal on its own. He gave Glen some tips on sleeping and staying comfortable and sent us on our way. We did have to pay a little extra because it was "out of hours" for the medical center. When I checked our sail and sign account I was shocked and actually pleased. With the x-rays and even with the extra hours charge, it was only $275. I know that may sound like a lot, but have you every gotten x-rays at home for less than $275 - we certainly haven't!

Once again, I will say that this is only my opinion. A vacation is what YOU make of it and nothing more. If you choose

to go into it with a positive attitude, 9 times out of 10 you will have a wonderful time. Don't sweat the small stuff, things will happen when you're on vacation - heck they do when you're not on vacation. Just make the most of it and go with

the flow.

I'm sure I have forgotten some things that I really wanted to add and I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to finish my review. I do hope you got some good information and that maybe I've answered some questions. If you think of anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for reading!

It's too far in advance to see excursions on our cruise for 2019, but I'm wondering if any past cruisers on this itinerary can share what sort of beach excursions are available through Carnival? The typical outside vendors appear to only offer day passes that are available from 9a-6p.

 

I'm not sure what kind of chair availability we'll have on Eagle beach with our arrival being so late, but it does appear that we're the only ship in port that day. That would be our other option, unless someone has other suggestions.

 

Thanks

I'm absolutely interested in this thread - but I'm wondering...what's your sail date? We will be on the Sunshine 8 day on Feb. 15, 2019. Will you too?

Sorry - it was a busy weekend and has been a busy week.

Friday - Sea Day

That last dreaded day was here. I always hate the last day because I know my wonderful vacation is coming to a close

and now I have to pack up all those clothes that I just knew I would need but are still sitting on the shelves and hanging in the closet.

We got up early because I was determined to get a decent seat today out in the sunshine.

I actually went down and brought breakfast back for the boys to save some time. We were up on deck by 8:30 at the latest and you guessed it - chair hogs were in full force! Once again, the only seats I could find were the chairs right beside the

waterworks area. This was ok but it was windy again and the waterworks didn't open for a while. When it finally did the

boys made the most of their last day and had a blast.

After water works Glen took them back to play more mini golf and I sat and talked to Lisa and read some. It had been a

busy week for the little guys and they were once again nap ready so Hope took them back to the cabin and let them have a nap so Glen could enjoy the seats he and Shane had snagged in the shade right above the lido deck.

Back to guest services I went and still no cell phone! I did file a lost item claim with Andrea at Guest Services and she was wonderful. She said her cell phone had been stolen a couple months back by a passenger and it was never recovered either.

Lisa and I scowered around and found us some great lounge chairs on the starboard side. Once again, it was windy so you certainly didn't have to worry about getting over heated. I was pretty much a bum today. I enjoyed the beautiful sun and the beautiful view and my book and just chilled.

I finally decided it was time for lunch about 3 and was going to get me a taco bowl from the Blue Iguana but it was already closed! I ended up with another Guy's Burger and it was good. About that time, William and Justin came back up and were starving so I got them a burger too! Looks like William is enjoying his.

Glen and the boys walked around some more and played more golf and I stayed in my lounge chair. :)

Late in the day I decided I had to head in and shower and finish packing up what I could before dinner. We had decided to just eat on the Lido deck tonight because we didn't want have to get all dressed and ready to go to the dining room plus we just weren't really thrilled with anything on the menu.

We went to eat about 6 or 6:15 - the boys had hot dogs and I had a salad and some odds and ends. I wasn't really hungry since I had eaten such a late lunch.

We took the boys to the Lido deck for the last Dive In movie of the week. Gosh, I can't remember what it was, but they thoroughly enjoyed it as they always do.

After the movie we headed back to the cabin and I finished packing - I hate that chore!

One last trip to Guest Services - no luck there and one last trip for ice cream and it was time for bed.

Next up - Debarkation Day and some final thoughts

Thank you for sharing information in regard to what I ask. Yes Ross has nice dresses, as I have bought them there before, and I believe there is one that is even moving closer to where I live, so that will make it even better.:) I will mention that I get quite a few of my clothes from thrift stores, or consignment shops. I get so many of my formal wear there, as I know I probably won't wear the item more than a couple times, so I get my "money's worth.":)

 

You mention the two younger boys (I thought they looked like they could be twins) were foster children that you had adopted. How wonderful! The reason I say this, my mother was adopted, and we have at least 3 or more couples in our church, who already have families, like you and your husband, and started caring for foster children, and have adopted them. God bless you and your husband in doing this.

We are actually getting a Ross in our town in the next few months as well. I've been having to travel to Chattanooga to go to the Ross.

Thank you for the well wishes. We love fostering - it's the letting go part that's hard - I assume that's why we now have 6 children. When we began fostering we had no intention of adding to our family - only to help the children in care because our county had so many in foster care. God had plans we didn't know about I suppose.

We stayed in 10272 last February and loved it! It was a perfect location - easy to get to Lido and so many

other places.

We had no issues with any noise at all and I think your views will be fine as well.

We were just on the Magic in February and were on deck 1. I was worried at first about being that low but

we needed the OV cabin for 5 so that was what we had to pick from.

You will actually get off in ports on deck 0 and it's usually mid ship or forward.

You are very conveniently located though and I agree that I think you will love your cove balcony. I want

to try one one of these days.

Have fun!

I really didn't want this thread to turn into a bickering match.

I do appreciate all of your opinions and experiences and you have given me some options to check which

I did not know of before.

Thank you very much!

We went with Nationwide Choice for our Splendor cruise last month and as we were leaving the plane from LA here in OKC, my husband had a heart attack and they are picking up everything. They have been great to work with, but unfortunately he passed away after 2 weeks of struggling.😥

 

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I am so sorry for your loss! I know you must be devastated. I am glad that you did have the insurance and they are working with you. Once again, I am very sorry for the loss of your husband.

Because my credit card offers some trip insurance, which does not include medical I don't buy comprehensive travel insurance. I have the Carnival Credit card, and it offers just as much trip cancellation as many comprehensive polices as long as I pay for the entire cruise with the card. And many other credit cards offer this same thing. I purchase separate medical travel insurance through Geo Blue Travel Insurance. It is a Blue Cross Blue shield company and it covers pre-existing medical, and the coverage limits are massive compared to the comprehensive insurance policies. And the cost is substantially less. You should really give this a look. It is only for international travel, which is all you need. I found out about it through www.insuremytrip.com.

 

Thankfully I haven't needed it, but the limits are adjustable to what you need for much less. I think it covers like $500,000 in EVAC and I got $1,000,000 in health insurance for $36 for the week. Check and see what your credit card offers first, and then look at this. You can book this close to the trip.

Wow - I have the Carnival card and usually use it for our down payment and final payment. I'll have to check into this - interesting. Thanks so much!

You can go back - it may not be easy but it can be done.

Our first 3 cruises were all balcony and all 7 day. We decided to try a 5 day and balconies are few so we did an OV. We lived

through it! Then we booked several more 5 days in an OV. We have still thrown in a couple of balconies along the way including our 8 day Southern next February (our first aft view balcony and I'm soooo excited and we turn Platinum). The only cabin we've never booked is an interior.

Oh and just my 2 cents - but I'm thinking you should play the lottery and soon! Sounds like lady luck is on your side lately.

Have fun!

I hope it's ok to post this here and not on the other board where there is other insurance information, but I need

Carnival specific insurance information.

My husband has some health issues and therefore we need the medical evac and the medical insurance (just in case)

as well as not be excluded because of pre-existing conditions.

I'm in a time crunch because I've waited until the last minute to decide what to do. We put our deposit down almost 2 weeks ago and I know if I'm going to purchase outside insurance I need to do it immediately to avoid the pre-existing clause.

It seems to me that Carnival's insurance payments are low at $10,000 medical and $30,000 evac. The good thing is though we don't have to purchase their insurance until right before final payment vs. purchasing outside insurance now.

If any of you have had to use Carnival's insurance, will you please give me some insight on how things went and also any of you who maybe had to use outside insurance.

I've always purchased outside insurance in the past and the only reason I'm questioning this now is because of a stolen cell phone on my last cruise that was not covered by my outside insurance (electronics were excluded) but my PVP tells me that it would have been covered under Carnival's insurance.

I've even thought about purchasing outside insurance for my husband and Carnival insurance for myself?

Thoughts please?

Thanks in advance!

Oh my losing your phone, that was bad. I know how I would feel as well. It looks like it put a damper (you still tried to make the best of the day/s) on the rest of the trip.

 

Your young sons looked so nice (reminded me of when our twins were about that age, dressing them up in their suits, and getting so many compliments) in their suits for formal night again.

 

A few questions. We have never been to Costa Maya before. You mentioned Tropicante. Is that a private beach to use, and if so, what is the cost? I notice flamingos close by. I love the color of them. I believe (???) someone said in Costa Maya there are swings. I know you will think this is funny, but I LOVE to swing? No matter where I am, nor my age, if I see a swing, I will leave everyone to go and swing for a while.:)

It definitely did put a damper on the remainder of my cruise. It's just beyond me that someone would keep something so personal of someone's knowing that most everyone has so many photos on their phone.

Tropicante is a restaurant that is owned by a gentleman named Steve. He is from Texas and my understanding is that he went to Costa Maya on vacation and loved it so much that he purchased a business and moved there! It is gorgeous - one of our favorite places to go. You can email Steve and he will hold lounge chairs and or chairs and a table for you - all at no charge. All he asks in return is that you purchase some food and drinks - even just sodas from him. The beach is beautiful and his staff are all very nice and attentive. The great thing about hanging out at the Tropicante is that Steve and his staff will arrange anything you want to do and you just pay one bill when you leave. Like I said in my review, you can get a full 1 hour massage for $30 and it's a good one. The ladies are trained and it is wonderful. I will be happy to get you his email address if you are interested. You can also google Tropicante and it will bring up his website with the menu and everything.