breezy270

Have always tipped the steward extra only once did it not make a difference in the service but I believe that this particular steward hated his job all others have truly earned it and were fantastic

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Don’t pack an outfit to wear on the ship during the days... you will mostly be in your swimsuit or cover up and I found I packed and never wore half of the clothes. Now I pack yo be comfy for getting off the ship and an outfit to wear on and off the ship and clothes to dress up in the evening

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The only exception on the ship leaving without you is if a cruise line booked shore excursion is late getting passengers back to the ship... the ship will wait so it is best to book excursions with the cruise line to get that guarantee... however, in my experience this rarely happens.

QUOTE=SquishTheWhale;55549077]Find out what you are NOT allowed to bring on board. For most cruise lines this includes irons, kettles, any electrical appliance that could cause a fire hazard. Some cruise lines allow extension leads, some do not. Some let you bring bottles of water or wine on, some don't. Check your cruise line website and FAQs and there should be a list. If they find anything you shouldn't have, your luggage will take a trip to the 'naughty room' which isn't the best way to start a cruise!

As mentioned above, ensuring you are back on the ship on time when in port is essential. The ship will not wait for you if you are late. The 'all aboard' time is usually 30 minutes before departure, but try not to cut it so fine. We always aim for an hour before. Make sure you check if the ship time is the same as local time or if there is a difference, and always go off ship time for all aboard.

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You can also pre pay the gratuity before you sail Royal NCL and carnival have this option so once you board you don’t have to account for the charges to your onboard account. I do this and I like stepping onboard knowing everything is paid for.

QUOTE=zoryana;55679437]Ok! Now I understand! You all are amazing! See what I was thinking that they maybe change $50 per day or something like that per person. But if it’s up to $20 that’s not bad. I also wanted to give cash tips to people who I felt like gave us good service. So that’s why I was asking. But I’m glad I know now. Auto tip stays on :) and additional tips when I feel it’s good.

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It was $30.00 bucks previously. I used it on Royal Caribbean a couple times previously in the past when it was just them and not Carnival.

I used it also on NCL but some of my stops were not included in the plan.

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I believe you can purchase lanyards onboard to carry your card in otherwise I carry a small wristlet big enough to hold my card and my phone so I can access the app onboard and for time keeping

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If I'm not mistaken the cheapest plan was $30 in the past .. I have used it before and sure does save money when facing charges without it if you must use your phone

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I have seen people use a magnetic chalk board to decorate their door

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I haven't cruised Carnival for four years. I recently booked with them for an upcoming October cruise. One of the reasons I left was the feeling of wanting more entertainment and activities. On my last carnival cruise I tried one show and couldn't return the rest of the cruise as the first was not good. I went to NCL and most recently Royal which are fantastic IMHO. I'm giving Carnival another try and I hope this will be a great cruise. I'm nervous after some of the posts I have seen regarding the same concerns you have.

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On my last cruise we got stuck at sea due to Irma... only those with a valid passport were allowed to disembark the ship at our port of call to fly home... those traveling with only a birth certificate were not allowed to disembark until the ship returned back to the original port of departure... that was two weeks later... these things are rare but best to be prepared for

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Large or small a cross body or back pack style is best ... on the ship I carry a small wristlet....

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Do not scratch your lady parts only minutes before serving yourself at the buffet... and walking right past the hand washing station without using it... so gross

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I always learn something new on CC :eek:

 

 

 

My contribution:

 

Don't call it a Mustard drill.

I'm guilty of it but as a joke of course!!!! Makes my husband laugh

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In my experience the bottles sold are larger than what you will find at home... on the ship they generally have similar prices... I got two extra large bottles of baileys in Cozumel for 35 dollars.. most are sold as two for one price... the shop will box them and once you board the ship takes them and delivers them to your stateroom on the last night of the cruise ...

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No idea what is true for grand turk; but this statement is not generally true. Generally when you enter a country some documentation of some type occurs and this documentation may need checked on your way out. Often it’s a visa stamp that states when you entered. In some countries, like Mexico, it’s an actual piece of paper you get upon entry that you need to present upon exit. If you try to exit the country without the documentation showing how you entered it (as would be the case for leaving a cruise), there’s every chance you could be stopped for questioning.

 

 

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This happened during Irma when I was on my honeymoon cruise... once RCCL announced the cruise was not returning on time half the ship exited in Cozumel... you are correct ....When exiting the ship at a port where the cruise did not originate you must get clearance form approved ... in the case on my cruise they came onto the ship to process the paperwork and collect the fee from those wishing to disembark...it was 35 dollars per person and then you can disembark and exit through customs at the port to be able to travel to the airport... they had a separate line for those leaving the port for the airport

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I would certainly hope that you would NOT clean up your own vomit. I doubt you travel with the proper cleaning utensils such as mop, bucket and the cleaners that would sanitize the area.

I don't go around puking in public places... however, I would certainly take responsibility and try to assist in the clean up if possible.. on a cruise they clearly have protocol to clean up such things... I certainly would feel bad about it if I did... and would offer to do something ... if this were my child I certainly would do what I could to clean it up...

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Violently ill people are rarely up to "properly" cleaning up. Parent of violently ill children are usually more concerned with their child than "properly" cleaning up.

If I puked in public I would clean up after myself... not sure why you would leave your puke for someone else but to me is more disgusting than OP blaming the crew... parents are responsible for taking care of their children including cleaning up their puke ... if that is in fact what happened as OP only saw the quarantined puke and not the person who was ill... but still can't blame the staff as they may have been dealing with the situation just not at the pile of puke when OP walked by it... as I stated the staff may have been getting items to "properly"clean up the puke which was OP complaint that no one was attending to it... that the OP could see...

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He said that it was cordoned off. Obviously the ship's crew had seen it and nothing had been done to clean it up.

Maybe the crew had to go and retrieve items to properly clean it up...and maybe the person who puked should clean up after themselves or their children... not the staffers fault

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When you put warm salmon on top of lettuce, the lettuce does wilt. That's not the same as being rotten.

 

 

 

Definitely, the post lives up to the title!

Agreed... the lettuce is all wet so of course will wilt ...

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Just a side note from a former "local". The traffic is a big part in the decision on where to stay. If you stay in Santa Monica and are trying to get to BH or Hollywood it will be a long ride in LA traffic. I suggest staying in West Hollywood or Hollywood and that will put you closer to the Walk of Fame, Hollywood BLVD and try to avoid traveling at peak rush hour times. Give yourself an hour to get anywhere. If you are cruising out of San Pedro the fish market there is fantastic! Right on the water you can choose from a huge variety of fresh seafood and they cook it there for you to enjoy. The smoked swordfish is delicious.

Thank you Steve, I was hoping for your input :). I have noticed posts from you before so knew I would get a thorough response. Just a quick query, what would you suggest 1 night post cruise? We have a late flight home, and would be off the ship relatively early so would have a day and half to wander around. We probably just want somewhere to wander get a nice bite to eat in a good part of town not too far away from airport. TIA xx

Never been neither one. Will be in the Miami & Fort Lauderdale area this summer coming 4 days prior to next cruise. Family stuff, daughter 11.

 

Our interests are:

 

Best discounted Malls

 

Beaches

 

Zoos/ Aquariums/Gardens

 

Museums

 

Shows

 

Anything else cool & unique

Look into big bus tours Miami... we did it after a cruise and got to see the city.. you can hop off at any of their stops and hop back on when you are ready... they have a boat tour of star island also ... Ft Lauderdale beach and south beach are popular

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Hello All:

 

 

 

Can you make reservations to Coastal Kitchen in advance? If so how? I sail on March 4 on Allure and was trying to make reservations for dinner at CK for a couple of days and didn't see CK as an option. Thank you in advance for your information.

 

 

 

Dave

You call them once onboard and make your reservation. That is what my hubby and I did and it was never a problem getting the time we wanted. Since it is for suite guests only you cannot make reservations online for it in advance. I called them daily and let them know what room and what time and it was great!

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Aren't onboard purchases and approved vendors guaranteed? They used to have a form you filled out and dropped off at the Personal Shopping person before end of cruise.

I was going to suggest that also. I thought you had to fill out the form for any items such as jewelry and give it to the port shopping person . The fine print on the fun times should say what the policy about purchases being fully backed by carnival means.

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I do an annual cruise for people with fibromyalgia. Not all of us LOOK physically disabled, but the amount of walking to and on ships easily sends us into "flares." On boarding day, a group of us approached a bank of elevators. There was NOBODY waiting. When the first elevator came, we got on. Two of us were in scooters, some people used walkers or canes, and some "looked" perfectly normal. As the doors began to close, a woman came up pushing a wheelchair. She hit the buttons so the door opened again and literally yelled for the "able bodied" people to get off so the wheelchair could get on. First of all, there were already two scooters on the elevator. Second, she had not been waiting at all. I turned around on my scooter and said "everyone in this group is handicapped even if they don't look it." She just rolled her eyes and said "yeah right" as the doors closed.

 

 

 

I had a mixed reaction to the earlier post about the woman on the scooter who didn't wait for anyone. Having done at least three or four cruises on a scooter, I understood her pain. Sometimes, by the end of a cruise, I've had to start being more aggressive because people ALWAYS cut in front of me as if I'm invisible. There have been times where I've had to wait for five different elevators to come and go.

To see others not giving priority to those with scooters and wheelchairs makes me mad. I see people just walking and not allowing those with scooters or wheelchairs through .. others won't even wait for people with scooters to get off the elevator before they get on... it is just rude

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In the buffet at the solarium on Allure for breakfast I was at a table eating ... saw a girl coming in she scratched and dug into her crotch then proceeded to help herself at the buffet... so disgusting I shy away from the buffet now after this

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