Questions

[mustardgirl]

Ok I have a couple questions. We are doing a family cruise this April for my parents 40th wedding anniversary! I booked my family and my parents room and put us down for YTD cause I couldn't figure out what everyone would prefer for the time. Now it looks like everyone wants late dining. I thought I could go online and change it but it won't let me.

So my question is, can I have the dining time changed? Do I call and have it done before we get there or is it going to be one of those things we have to wait and see? There is going to be at least 9 of us, so would a set dining time be better? When doing YTD can you still see the shows?

Also, is there anything that Carnival does special for something like a 40th wedding anniversary? (We are paying for 1/2 my parents cruise so that has maxed us out on what we can pay for their something special.)

Thanks for your answers!:D

[katcas]

I believe you can call to have your dining time changed. You can look into the Bon Voyage Dept on the Carnival website. There are all sort of things you can order to have sent to their room. You can also prearrange to have a cake at dinner. You can also decorate their door with Happy Anniversay signs, just buy some stuff in advance and go to town.

Have fun and congrats to your parents!

[BeccaBecca1713]

When you tried to change it did it say waitlisted? If you booked directly through Carnival, call them and see what you can do. Make sure everyone's bookings are linked and tell Carnival you want to be seated together or at least at tables next to one another.

 

Last resort, you can all still do anytime dining and just go at the late seating time. Only negative is ATD isn't really set up with a lot of larger tables so you could all sit together.

 

As for the shows, with exception to the first night Welcome Aboard show, each nightly show is performed twice. Once at 8-something and again at 10-something.

[ramrax4]

YTD will work too....just decide what time you all want to meet for dinner. For instance if everyone wants to go for late dining which I beleive is 8:15, you can all plan to meet at that time at YTD. And yes you can still see the shows but make sure you give yourself plenty of time for dinner service.

You should have no problem changing to traditional dining tho. Just call Carnival or you can wait till you board and go to the dining room, explain the situation to the Maitre'd and they should be able to accomodate you.

[mustardgirl]

Thanks everyone! I will call about getting it changed. (I would think that changing it to late wouldn't be an issue)

Also I love the cake thing!

How do you go about getting a cake for dinner? The day we sail is their anniversay day so that would be awesome!

[CorvetteLady]

Carnival really doesn't do anything special for birthdays or anniversaries. The waiters will bring a piece of cake with a candle and sing to you. If you order a cake they will bring it to the table and sing.

 

If you think your parents would like to do it they can try for the Marriage Game. They usually pick the longest married couple in the crowd and 40 years would probably win. If they play they will win a bottle of champagne

[mustardgirl]

I didn't even think of the marriage game... we will have to do that... I'm sure my parents would crack us all up!!!

[BeccaBecca1713]

You can go to BV's website http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/Default.aspx

or call them directly to order a cake and request that it be presented in the mdr on the first night.

 

Or, once onboard, there is a formalities shop inwhich you can order the cake. Although I'm not sure if the shop is open while the ship is still in port.

[btrbill]

If you think your parents would like to do it they can try for the Marriage Game. They usually pick the longest married couple in the crowd and 40 years would probably win. If they play they will win a bottle of champagne

 

Should have heard the answers on the last crusie of the Ecstasy out of New Orleans!! They were priceless!! So funny, and the couple had been married 53 years!

 

Do not miss this game!

[kwbound]

We had a group of 14 on the Ecstasy in June 2010. We did anytime dining because when I did the booking I didn't think it would be possible to get everyone together every night for dinner. But as it turned out I think we ate as a group 4 or 5 out of the 6 nights. After the first night the hostess would call me every day to see what time we would be dining. We never had to wait and had the same servers every time. We tipped our servers and the hostess extra at the end of the trip because they were so good.

[mustardgirl]

We had a group of 14 on the Ecstasy in June 2010. We did anytime dining because when I did the booking I didn't think it would be possible to get everyone together every night for dinner. But as it turned out I think we ate as a group 4 or 5 out of the 6 nights. After the first night the hostess would call me every day to see what time we would be dining. We never had to wait and had the same servers every time. We tipped our servers and the hostess extra at the end of the trip because they were so good.

 

This would work great as well! We all are from different parts of the us (from florida to california) so trying to figure out when we will eat has been a pain.

[crusinpsychRN]

If you can't get dining time changed by phone on the first day around 1pm go to the maitre 'd and ask to be changed.

[spunkie4]

We have taken three family cruises. We find YTD to work best. We decide each day what time for dinner. On the last cruise, we really liked the waiters, so we asked for them each evening.

 

In the dining room, a small cake will be delivered and Happy Anniversary sang. Just let the hostess know on the evening when you enter.

 

You can pre-order a fruit/cheese/wine basket to be delivered to your parents' stateroom. For the enjoyment and surprise factor, it's the best bargain.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Shirley