Cinnamon2

I just received an e-mail from Carnival that they are taking away the air conditioners in villas and cabanas and refunding us 10% of what we paid! That's fair enough in my opinion. The letter is the first I heard of them replacing the AC's with fans. In my opinion, air conditioners in an open air building was a waste and wondered why they even had them. The fans should work fine and I will be happy to get a hundred bucks back to spend elsewhere.

Way back in April when I booked the Villa it was sold out within a few days. Then it became available again. Now four months later and 11 months before the cruise, the Villa is still available but limited. Looks like the price hike to $999 really made a difference. Still glad we reserved it because it will limit sun exposure for the vulnerable young children with us.

I am cruising with a group of ladies in January. Our flight arrives in FLL at 11:45 p.m. the night before our cruise. We chose the Hilton Garden Inn due to it having 24 hr. shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and is close so we will get settled in and sleep a few hours before going to the port. After making our reservations, I read some reviews and some are good but many are not so good. Has anyone had experience with this hotel? I understand that it is under renovations through October so perhaps many of peoples complaints have been addressed. I would appreciate comments from anyone who has been there. Thank you!

Thank you for your entertaining and informative review! I always look forward to reading your words, especially your humor.

I wonder why. I booked online a few days ago and cannot get Carnival's insurance. So what is the recommended avenue to insure my trip? Thank you in advance!

My point is - the Villas are available over 15 months ahead of cruise instead of 9 months ahead as in the past. I booked our cruise Wednesday night, on Thursday evening I noticed the Villas were available, consulted with family and booked a Villa on Friday morning. By Friday evening the Villas were sold out. My original post was a warning to look for the Villa as soon as you book and not wait until closer like you could do in the past. So I guess the 999 price is not a deterrent.

I just booked a Beach Villa at Half Moon Cay for a cruise that's over 15 months away! Booking Villas used to not be possible until 9 or 10 months before sailing. They still seem to sell out fast, even add $999. Just a FYI if anyone wants to book one.

I've been looking at inside Havana cabins on the Vista and see that the pool, hot tub and bar is very convenient. Do they also have coffee and continental breakfast in that area in the morning?

I think it's worth it . . . larger room, larger balcony, larger bathroom with dressing room. All not absolutely necessary but very nice to have.

Enjoying your review. Question: Are there still "free" chairs available on the beach in front of Margaritaville under the shady palm trees? In your photos it looked like there was just sandy beach and no place to sit. We were never bothered with people trying to rent chairs/umbrellas - there were always plenty of seats back from the water in the shade.

Following - thanks for your review!

I carried my drink to the table and actively played every time.....if I had waited for wait staff, I might have been finished playing before my drink was delivered. No guilt feelings here . . . . I probably purchased at least $800 in chips and drank about 5 "free" drinks in the casino all week.

I only do the roulette table and went up to the bar and said I was heading the table and can I please have my "included" drink. The bartender gave me my drink but hinted that he would do it just this time. During the week I was able to get my drink at the bar before sitting down 3 or 4 more times, no problem. I always feared that I would go through my self-disciplined money at the table before my drink was delivered if I ordered from wait staff.

I was able to book a cabin on "cyber Monday" back in November which offered half off for second passenger. So I booked a balcony cabin for myself for the price of 1 1/2 fares, plus taxes and port fees etc. Saved a few hundred dollars by booking during that promotion. Many different cabin categories and sailings were available - they were selling fast and some people complained on here and on other boards of not being able to book.

Just curious, if your son and friend just showed up and said the "main guest" would show up later, could they board? Once they are onboard you wouldn't think Carnival would kick them off. And how would they charge them more money once on board? It might be a couple hours before they determine that the main guest is a no show. Just curious about how this works . . .

I get offers for $50 pp inside cabins with $100 onboard credit for cruises leaving in the next day or two from Florida and other southern states. It would not be worthwhile to travel from northern New York to these places.

Wondering if it customary to tip when you dine at the steak house and how much. I am asking because I am wondering if the gratuities you paid automatically go there too. Also does part or maybe all of the $48 you pay for the steak house goes towards or covers tips. I just want to know what the proper procedure is. I realize some people tip according to the level of service, but I know that at land restaurants the customary tip is now around 20%.

Good to hear. Thank you and everyone for your comments. I plan on getting the temporary grab bars.

OK thanks. Yeah no documentation was needed when I originally booked as it was an ambulatory accessible room which just means it has grab bars and is not wheel chair or scooter accessible. I do believe Carnival was "being very mean" by not honoring my original cabin situation. Funny that on Freedom the accessible cabin was a regular balcony cabin. On Spirit the accessible cabins are the very popular ones with the sideway configuration and larger balcony. Carnival knew they could sell them for more than I paid . . . just not nice. Oh well, not a deal breaker, I will purchase my suction cup bars and be careful and enjoy the cruise.

Glad to hear they work pretty well. When I am away from home I try to keep my balance by leaning into the wall of the shower so would not rely on the suction cup bars but they would probably be helpful.

Two comments: BlerkOne - I don't believe I would be responsible if I accidentally damaged a towel rack/faucet/fixture if I grabbed it to keep from falling and it broke. That just doesn't make sense. Schoifmom - Thanks for the encouragement. I do realize the suction grab bar would just be to help me from falling in the shower and hopefully not to hold full weight. Just don't know what the circumstances would be - maybe nothing will happen. Another thought: Hmmm, actually, maybe Carnival would be held responsible if I fell due to not having the accessible room that I originally paid for and was then denied so they could sell them for more money. Maybe I should have a lawyer's phone number handy . . . LOL (JK, but maybe not)

Thank you!

Not available and they said not available back in March when they switched ships. I decided to just go with the flow and still plan to sail. Hope the bathroom fixtures don't fall out due to my leaning on them.

No because it was not required for ambulatory accessible. It was not a fully accessible room.

We were booked on Carnival Freedom for Dec. 3, 2022 and back in March Carnival switched our ship to Spirit. We were told to wait for new cabin assignments and could provide no input. I had an ambulatory accessible stateroom because I need grab bars in the bathroom. Carnival's cabin assignments and our group of 7 cabins were all near each other on the Freedom and they "shotgunned" us on the Spirit. I was no longer assigned an ambulatory accessible cabin. I spoke to my travel agent, she called Carnival and was told there were no accessible cabins available and that they would give me a shower chair. Not really helpful, but oh well, she tried. I know there were cabins available because they did occasionally show up online as available. They just wanted to sell them for a higher price. I guess I will use the toilet paper fixture, towel rack fixtures and faucet setup in the shower as grab bars. They are not made to hold weight, but oh well, no grab bars there. Question: Thinking of trying this . . . Purchase suction cup grab bars and put them up temporarily. Has anyone ever done this? Do they work? Just trying to avoid ripping out the plumbing in my shower, LOL.