Why the previews - Fun Times, Menus, etc?

[cruizergal70]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

[jasong38501]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

 

This is really what you are spending a Saturday worrying about? I enjoy seeing all this because it gets me excited for my cruise. It gives me motivation to work that extra overtime knowing that money can go toward paying for my next cruise. I would imagine seeing these would give people with picky eaters in their family a sense of relief that they will be able to find something to eat that they like. I am sure it soothes the fear of people who have never cruised that they will not be bored on the ship. I have never understood posts like yours. No one is hurting anyone else by asking for these things. Stop worrying about what others choose to talk about and live your life. So you tell me, what gives?

[CeleBrat]

I want to see the menus because we've cruised Carnival many times, and want to plan out which night we want to eat at a specialty restaurant vs which night we will dine in the dining room. We haven't eaten the American Table menu on an 8-day cruise, so it's new info to us.

 

There's nothing worse than when you skip the dining room, only to find out you missed a FABULOUS/FAVORITE entree.

 

CeleBrat

[Micahs Grandad]

We have cruised a lot and no reason to see menus and fun times.

 

Do care about the comedians aboard as we have favorites and also who the CD is.

 

To each his own.

[YourCruiseGurl]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

 

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

 

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

 

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

 

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

 

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

 

 

 

My Mom has stage 4 kidney disease and is on a very strange and limited diet. We take the menus to her nutritionist. Her nutritionist then chooses the meals she should/could have. With the nutritionist having an idea of what types of meals are available, she is better able to help my Mom make meal decisions that won't harm her while on vacation.

[beachbum53]

Since we choose YTD, I really don't care about seeing the menus before our cruise. We typically go look at the menu when it's posted outside the MDR, at least an hour or two before dinner time. Then, we decide if we want to eat in the MDR, or head to the buffet. As for the movie schedule, while it might be of some interest to know what's playing, it's not all that important. And for the Fun Times, we don't really plan our on board activities too much before our cruise. There may be a few things we'll talk about doing, such as lounging by the pool, or playing miniature golf, but mostly we wait until we're on board to decide. We don't have to have every minute of every day of our cruise planned out ahead of time. Sometimes, doing something on the spur of the moment can be a lot more fun.

[rs45thompson]

I usually like to see the menus beforehand to know when to schedule or Reserve my specialty dining.

 

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[SharkCruiser24]

I usually like to see the menus beforehand to know when to schedule or Reserve my specialty dining.

 

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Me too! Im a picky eater so if one days menu has nothing thats jumps out to me I'll go to the Steakhouse.

[KPfromCT]

I want to see the menus because we've cruised Carnival many times, and want to plan out which night we want to eat at a specialty restaurant vs which night we will dine in the dining room. We haven't eaten the American Table menu on an 8-day cruise, so it's new info to us.

 

There's nothing worse than when you skip the dining room, only to find out you missed a FABULOUS/FAVORITE entree.

 

CeleBrat

 

This!!!!!:D:D:D

We want to plan the steakhouse and Cucina's and not miss something we like in the MDR.

 

By the way, we are still waiting to see the 8 night Eastern menus for the Magic ( St. Maarten, San Juan, Grand Turk, and St. Kitts ) Not sure when they are going to start that itinerary, but if anyone is here reading, PLEASE take pictures of the menus. :D

 

Thank you!!!

[Badfinger]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

 

I am with you on this. Last thing I want to do is have every last detail planned out. Guys burger 12:25, Trivia 1:30, hot tub and two beers 3:00, Burp 3:15, Fun Shops 5:00, burp again 5:15 and so on. NO THANKS. That said, the only thing we pre-plan are excursions as some activities are only offered at certain ports.

[nunuc2000]

I like to know what movies will be playing so I don't watch it at home on pay-per-view or on the plane on the way to the cruise.

[Thrilled2012]

I travel as a solo adult with my 2 young children who are 7 years apart in age. I like to look at Fun Times ahead of time in order to help choose an appropriate ship that will have activities for both age groups and, yes, I DO make a spreadsheet of activities of interest and times prior to sailing. Of course, we do not stick to that spreadsheet but it gives me an idea of what is available, when to plan naptime, head's up about what to prepare the kids for, what nights/times to make specialty dinner reservations, etc. I also like to see menus because my kids can be picky and they do not usually eat off of the everyday kids menu (they are not pizza, hot dogs and chicken nugget types of kids) so I like to see what is offered where...again so that I can plan. And, yep, I make note of what to order in some restaurants to speed up the process once we are there. Granted, I would not do so much planning ahead if I were traveling with my kids along with another adult, or with no kids at all. But I find that this is what works for us so that I don't wind up with cranky kids (thus resulting in making your cruise better since my kids will be content and not fussing and ruining your peace and quiet).

[Banditswife]

I don't really need to see the menus or "funtimes" ahead of time, but it's interesting to see what is offered. If it helps folks to get more excited about their cruise or plan what nights to dine elsewhere...why not? I enjoy browsing the menus, even though I will not decide until I get there.

[snowskier]

This is really what you are spending a Saturday worrying about? I enjoy seeing all this because it gets me excited for my cruise. It gives me motivation to work that extra overtime knowing that money can go toward paying for my next cruise. I would imagine seeing these would give people with picky eaters in their family a sense of relief that they will be able to find something to eat that they like. I am sure it soothes the fear of people who have never cruised that they will not be bored on the ship. I have never understood posts like yours. No one is hurting anyone else by asking for these things. Stop worrying about what others choose to talk about and live your life. So you tell me, what gives?

 

On my goodness -- guess this question fired you up!

 

I often wondered why folks wanted these ahead of time as well. I certainly am not "worried about it", definitely not being judgmental of those that ask for them, I was just curious.

 

Thanks OP for asking -- the answers are interesting.

[Rudyard]

Different strokes, etc. You can always just scroll past it. I don't understand why people want to see pics of a particular standard cabin that's not a "special" cabin, so I don't click on those threads.

[RaiderDuck]

I generally don't like surprises. I like planning out the cruise in my head and thinking about which shows will be available on which nights, so we can look forward to them. And I like having a general idea of what the ship's itinerary is.

 

YMMV, of course.

 

Do they have karaoke early or late or both? Which night will have the Hasbro thing instead of a music production? Will the MDR be open during boarding or do we have to use the buffet? What kind of events will the secondary lounge be hosting? What days will they have wine or cocktail tastings? All these questions can be answered with a high degree of accuracy by checking a recent Fun Times (or daily program for whichever cruise line you're traveling soon).

Edited February 11, 2017 by RaiderDuck

[Saint Greg]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

 

 

A few things for me. First I like to know if the ship has the same shows I've already seen before. Second I like to see if they have anything totally different than the other ships i've been on (for instance Triumph had a variety show and a burlesque show on the same 5-day out of New Orleans as Elation...but Elation didn't have those shows). Finally I like to see the different days and times of the shows so I can figure out the best way to see everything. I had a cruise where I missed one show to watch another...when it turned out they had a replay of that same show a couple days later but not the one I missed. It would've been good to know that ahead of time..but since they don't send you a schedule for the entire week, you don't know how it's all going to fit in.

 

All of that would be nice to see but nobody ever posts a copy of a fun times I need so I never get that help. I'm on freedom in a week and I haven't seen a freedom fun times. I'll be posting mine though!

 

Why are you so concerned about everyone else?

[Blondie0428]

I like seeing menus and fun times to figure out what day and time to make a reservation at the specialty restaurants.

 

 

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[AmberMarie]

Any time I book a vacation of any kind, I like to do research or look at pictures of my destination because it's exciting-- even though my eyes will be open on my actual vacation so that I can see everything in real life, as well.

 

I've been on the hunt for a Carnival Breeze Eastern Caribbean Fun Times because I think it will further excite me about my upcoming vacation.

[cruizinisthebest]

We like to know the the fun times schedule, and particularly the kids' activity schedules, so that we can make dinner plans around it. Especially when we travel as a group. My kids love the kid's clubs. If we can get an idea of what will be going on during a specific evening, we will plan group pics before or after dinner around when we might be able to pry them away. Or schedule the steakhouse when I know they will be busy since the steakhouse is a treat for hubby and I. I don't care about the menus, but someone might want to see what's been offered on prior cruises to accommodate certain diets or plan things around meals they don't wanna miss.

 

Movies I don't care about. But again, there could be a movie playing that someone doesn't want to miss so they will think ahead to do things around when it's showing. So there are reasons. Not sure why it matters so much for you to be questioning people.

[watermelonqueen99]

I've never understood the requests to see the Fun Times, menus, or movie schedules before the actual cruise.

 

What do you do with this actual information?

 

Most people don't choose their meal until the time when they have the physical menu in their hands. Even special dietary needs aren't handled until being on the actual ship. Maybe an email to the special needs department.

 

Surely, people aren't choosing daily activities or whether or not to actually attend the evening movie until they get the actual Fun times the night before.

 

There are already enough scans of Fun Times, menus, etc. floating around for people to get a general sense of things.

 

So what gives since no actual decision making is being made until one is on the ship?

 

Why do you care? Scroll past those posts and move on.

[Kermarkim]

There's really nothing to understand. Some of us like to plan ahead and others like to wing it. I've been on enough Carnival Cruises to know that in 15 years nothing much has changed with the routine. Hairy Chest Contest, Trivia games, deck parties, art auctions, bingo, etc., etc., etc. Its just good to see it in advance on how it is laid out and scheduled especially when traveling with a family of all different ages to kind of determine when the kids will go to camp and when we will do things as a family. Same with the food. menus haven't changed much but the rotation. So to kind of see it in advance will help me to determine is it the Lido deck, MDR or specialty dining room. No big deal. Some of us just like to see it.

[CocaCola19]

I won't choose a single thing before I get onboard but I like looking at all the menus, fun times, and picutures. It gets me more more excited for my trip. I'm glad people post them

[hotsauce126]

People are just excited for their cruises. I know if you cruise several times per year its more of a lifestyle than a vacation, but for others it might be the most exciting week of their year.

[MaiTaiMary]

Oh, I love seeing all of this stuff! Gets me excited for my cruise!! :):):)