cruisecraze96

We went the route of getting the kids passports for the trip this weekend. Yes you don't need them if you are doing a closed loop cruise from a US city but it was one of those what if questions. It was $105 per child plus the fee to get their pictures, another $15.

Oldest DD is 11 so when she needs a new one she will be ready for her adult passport so that is good. It is just the ease of mind, just like buying travel insurance, that you don't have to worry about it in the case you need to get home by air.

This year we are actually going next week on the Dream during Spring Break but normally I take them out of school for one week around the last week of school after exams before prices go whee!

Usually I don't do the Summer/Spring Break thing but my mom wanted to do it then and she helped with the extra cost due to the time of year so it should be interesting. Oldest DD is now 11 and she has missed about 2 - 7 days each year without issue.

I can take some pics next week and send you when we get back, we have one group of 4 girls sharing an inside room on the Dream. Should be interesting, I was helping one of them check in and told her to make sure to print 2 of the luggage tags and she told me she needed 4...ouch! I can just imagine all 4 of them showing up with 3 to 4 pieces of luggage each.

Thank you! This really made my day and now I am even more excited to leave on the Dream this Saturday :)

On my November cruise on the Freedom I had FTTF and got to the boat around 11:30 and was on the boat by noon. My in-laws decided to board later and had a 12:30 shuttle pick up. By the time they got to the port it was so busy they got on the boat with just a few minutes to spare before muster, upset they couldn't eat and my FIL was thinking they made a huge mistake coming. This was his first cruise and I felt terrible.

Basically I would not recommend to just wait, since that is why the did and it caused them to be very stressed out. If I did not have FTTF I would get there early still :)

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Ship time stays the same through the cruise, they don't adjust based on the port you are in. They are usually the same as the port you are leaving from. So make sure to set your watch/phone/etc to that time and not let it set automatically based on what port you are at, for example next week if I remember right Belize will be 2 hours earlier than what ship time is, so if we are there at 8am we really will be there 6am Belize time.

This is just what I have experienced...best thing is that before you get off the ship you make sure your watch is set to the time that you see in on the ship clock.

I did the hot stone massage last time, with a facial and loved it! It was a special of $149 for 3 things 90 minutes and they did auto gratuity of either 15% or 18%

Did it on the freedom last November. They have a form they left in the room 2 nights before getting back home. Real easy it was a cost of $20 per person if I remember right, plus any luggage fees from your airline. We got different luggage tags and departure group. Left the luggage out the night before and there it was in Kansas when we got home.

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I was checkings rates for our Dream cruise here in less than 2 weeks to check prices for a friend and there was no single supplement :) wish that would have been the case when we booked since DD is in with Aunt to help with her room cost.

LOL!!!

 

My husband has never been to Disney and wants us to do a DCL. I showed him the prices and he almost passed out!! No Casino on board this ship(?) and I must admit that I do like the playing the slots and I'm a low roller :rolleyes:

That is why we have not taken one. Since my parents like to join us, and help with costs then, I try to keep it a happy middle where they have most the things they enjoy. Sadly this is 1. smoking on the balcony (yuck I know) and 2. casino so we have not done a Disney Cruise yet.

Hopefully I can sneak one in without them feeling left out ;) I think the girls would love DCL and DH says ththat he is game for going.

We will be leaving in a couple weeks but one of the room we have I don't see where they have checked in yet online. There are no little green checks :(

I have printed off the luggage tags for that room and they do have FTTF but what if they don't complete the online checkin? What delays will that cause, I am trying to push my mom to make sure they do it since they are in a different state than me.

Now, maybe for some reason I can't see their check-in results but I have their reservation under my profile. I have the other 3 rooms ready to go and printed out but on all 3 of those I helped with the check in.

Thank you :)

We are going out on the 15th but on the Dream, almost booked the Breeze but wanted the itinerary of the Dream with the kids.

I have the same concerns, from Kansas, but we are flying in on Thursday so have 2 days if we have weather concerns. I will be checking the weather pretty much every day, multiple times a day I'm afraid, to see if we might have any issues on the day we leave.

As of right now it is looking okay, we were supposed to get 6-10 inches yesterday and ended up getting just a couple inches of ice instead.

Good thing is that we are flying southwest and they have been pretty good to work with on issues in the past. Worse case we figure out a way to get out or drive :)

Great Review, we will be on her in a couple weeks now on the 15th sailing and your review is just great!

I also do the 3 ring binder (really a hot pink soft one) and since we have a larger group I have everyone's boarding info, extra luggage, tags, etc in sections so that way if someone was to forget something I have it all there :) We have 10 traveling in 4 rooms this trip.

Just keeping my fingers crossed we don't get snow now in a couple weeks. They are calling for 6-12 inches tomorrow but if I have to get in a car and start driving in a few weeks with 2 kids so be it!

So, if Carnivals cancels your cruise, say they move Freedom to a different home port, and they give you a full refund of your deposit; but, you have already spent a couple hundred bucks on trip insurance from an online agency; do you get stuck eating the cost of the insurance policy for a trip you are no longer taking?

I had asked once when we were thinking of changing dates what could happen and it is up to the insurance company. The one I used through the TA would allow me to move the policy to the new date, I think it was allowed only once and before final payment.

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I dont think that is accurate

You are right...sorry. I don't get priority main dining room when you have a set time :) unless they mean lunch or breakfast

Priority Check-in with Express Boarding

The quicker you board the ship, the quicker you're holding a frosty drink.

Guaranteed Stateroom

Your stateroom will be ready as soon as you board, so you can relax or freshen up for the fun you're about to have.

Express Luggage

Your luggage will be expedited to your stateroom so you can unpack and get settled in for a great vacation!

Guest Services

You'll have a dedicated phone number and line at Guest Services so you can quickly have your questions answered.

Dining Reservations

Priority Main Dining Room and Specialty Restaurant reservations (excluding Your Time Dining).

Tender Priority

You will have the option to choose a priority tender from the ship to shore (multiple departure times may be possible), so you can explore ashore as quickly as you would like.

Debarkation

We're always sad to see you go. But when your cruise is over, you may choose an early or late disembarkation time upon arrival to your homeport.

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I'm not listening to anyone:). Just curious why one doesn't like it. $100 is a great price IMO.

 

What is priority main dining?

 

 

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I loved it last November and this March have it again so I can drop off items in the room. My mom has a suite so it just helps us go on around the same time too and with 2 kids easier to not lug around water, soda and the 4 year old has a place to nap if needed.

For priority dining, if you have anytime dining it helps reduce the wait when you go up it get your table. We had early dining last trip but might do anytime this one and will see how good it works :)

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That video was on a HAL ship!?:eek: Yikes! I guess it's not just a Carnival thing, then. The drunken idiots are everywhere.:eek::rolleyes::p

The recent attack was on a HAL ship, the video was from a very past carnival ship.

I was solo in my own cabin this past November and never felt I had any issues. I travel alot for work so have the common sense to lock the door, after I check the room upon entering. If for any reason you don't feel safe the last thing I would have done is waited until after I got home to ask if it was normal. I would have called the front desk right away if I thought there was anything that was off.

I would also suggest you know where you want to go out of, this spring break we went with the Dream since I didn't want to do an 8 day for the kids' first cruise. After working through the logistics of getting the fights with prices, getting to the port I decided that it would be much easier to have gone with the Breeze since we went on the Freedom and it was much easier to cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale area :)

Oh well next trip will be on the Breeze ;)

I would pick the Allure too, I am taking the kids on their first cruise so I can't tell you how they will like the kids activities. The one thing DD is looking forward to is meeting other kids her own age, so not having her own friends there is not that big of a deal.

I would pick one that the whole family can enjoy together :)

Does anyone know who the current Comedians are on the Dream? I didn't know if there was anything out there :D My sister asked today since we sail in a few weeks and she knows several that have done cruise ships, she was just curious if anyone she knew would be on the boat.

Thank you!

There is a recent one of John Healds blog page

http://johnhealdsblog.com/funtimes/2013-07-29/Carnival%20Dream/

Thanks for the info, will be going in March as well and we have 4 rooms with 1 balcony and one OS next to each other. Hopefully we can get the doors open up to extend the balcony.

Oldest DD will be 11 when we go too, she is looking forward to the kids camp. I hope DD 4 gets into it so mommy can have a couple hours down time :)

What was your travel itinerary for before the cruise? Did you stay anywhere near the port, parking etc :)

One negative thing I could see is if the person behind you has a latex allergy :( Of course they should see what you are doing and either move ahead or go to a different line.

I think I am going to just stick with hand washing :)

There are 3 ports, The "Mole" over at the Navy base and the only way on and off is by a trolley since it is secured and then there is Pier B in front of the Westin and Mallory Square Pier. Carnival usually uses Mallory Square and it is maybe a 5 - 10 minute walk over to the City Trolley.

When we were there in November a Disney ship was over at Pier B.

From what I read some Carnival boats will use the Navy Base but only if there are other boats in port that day. ports dot cruisett dot com will tell you about what other boats are in port the same day as you. Gives you an idea on how busy it might be.

We will be on the dream in March and will have to ask about those. I know they had kid spa packages, DD is looking to do the icecream one.

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