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I Wish Someone Had Told Me On My First Carnival Cruise.....

dpeeps87

By dpeeps87,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Inconspicuous

Inconspicuous

Posted
Posted
No, most of the HUB app features are free. You just connect to ship's wifi through the HUB and browse all its fun. BUT if you want to chat with someone on-board, that feature can be enabled for 5 dollars per cruise per device. It will let you chat with anyone else on the ship who also has the chat feature enabled.

 

Only if you want to communicate with people not on the ship and/or browse the internet would you need to buy any of the internet packages.

 

NB: HUB is not on every ship yet but coming soon to the rest. You have to leave the app running if you want notifications that someone sent you a message. Right now, Vista is the only ship that lets you see your photos from the Pixels gallery. Horizon will have it too and I assume they are working on getting that feature to the rest of the fleet. You should download it from the google or apple app store before your cruise so you have it ready to go when you board. Your home internet is almost certainly faster than the ship's and you may not have even bought the ship internet. You can set a countdown timer to your cruise in the app prior to sailing.

 

We just cruised on Breeze last week and had access to our Pixels pictures through the Hub app.

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bUU

bUU

Posted
Posted (edited)

Some questions came to mind while reading what y'all have written in this thread...

 

The beverage policy is generous compared to what I'm used to. I'm eyeing those 12 cans as mixers... but Carnival's prices for bottles of liquor still seem high. I think I read that a small (one liter) bottle of even Malibu rum is $89!! That's $4 a shot!

 

Clarifying something I read above... *All* cabins can request robes to use for the week? That's not just a suite benefit (like on some other cruise lines)?

 

With regard to the comment about Carnival's reputation for rowdiness... I've read that there is such a big difference between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises in that regard that some averaging ​of opinions would be useless. Just how different is Carnival between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises?

 

For those who have cruised on various cruise lines, how much have you experienced what louanne93 related... that Carnival tends to foster more social contact between passengers that lasts longer than the cruise?

 

I understand about quarters for laundry, but does Carnival offer any "fill this bag" for laundry service at a flat rate?

 

What is a "wrist card holder"?

 

I'm annoyed that we have to deal with that silly system requiring us to leave an old gift card in a slot while we're in Port so that Electronics we left behind in our stateroom will still charge. On some other Cruise Lines folks have reported that even cardboard business cards will do the trick. Is that true on Carnival?

 

It is interesting that Carnival's hub app provides a very nicely priced onboard instant messaging solution at $5 per day. I need to do more research on all the features you get for that $5 per day and how many devices it allows, and find out if it is on the Magic yet.

 

Did I understand correctly that MDR is open for lunch even on port days? Also, I thought I read in another thread on this forum that is not open on embarkation day. Did I remember that wrong?

 

Porters... I need to read up on porters at debarkation.

 

nhsails: Can I call it a stateroom instead? :)

Edited by bUU
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Drazil65

Drazil65

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Posted

Yes, there is a flat rate laundry bag on all of the ships we have sailed and the laundry room is also convenient (you use your S&S card to use machines) but I would go very early in morning.

 

 

I wish someone would have told me that there is a drip/clothes line in the shower for wet bathing suits etc. that comes out of the wall. Took a couple of cruises for me to discover this little convenient item. :)

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teknoge3k

teknoge3k

Posted
Posted
Some questions came to mind while reading what y'all have written in this thread...

 

The beverage policy is generous compared to what I'm used to. I'm eyeing those 12 cans as mixers... but Carnival's prices for bottles of liquor still seem high. I think I read that a small (one liter) bottle of even Malibu rum is $89!! That's $4 a shot!

 

Clarifying something I read above... *All* cabins can request robes to use for the week? That's not just a suite benefit (like on some other cruise lines)?

 

With regard to the comment about Carnival's reputation for rowdiness... I've read that there is such a big difference between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises in that regard that some averaging ​of opinions would be useless. Just how different is Carnival between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises?

 

For those who have cruised on various cruise lines, how much have you experienced what louanne93 related... that Carnival tends to foster more social contact between passengers that lasts longer than the cruise?

 

I understand about quarters for laundry, but does Carnival offer any "fill this bag" for laundry service at a flat rate?

 

What is a "wrist card holder"?

 

I'm annoyed that we have to deal with that silly system requiring us to leave an old gift card in a slot while we're in Port so that Electronics we left behind in our stateroom will still charge. On some other Cruise Lines folks have reported that even cardboard business cards will do the trick. Is that true on Carnival?

 

It is interesting that Carnival's hub app provides a very nicely priced onboard instant messaging solution at $5 per day. I need to do more research on all the features you get for that $5 per day and how many devices it allows, and find out if it is on the Magic yet.

 

Did I understand correctly that MDR is open for lunch even on port days? Also, I thought I read in another thread on this forum that is not open on embarkation day. Did I remember that wrong?

 

Porters... I need to read up on porters at debarkation.

 

nhsails: Can I call it a stateroom instead? :)

 

The Hub app is free but the messaging feature is $5 PER DEVICE, for the duration of your cruise. Not PER DAY. Yes, it's available on the Magic.

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bUU

bUU

Posted
Posted (edited)

Am I confusing that with the social plan? That's the data plan that allows you access to Facebook and Twitter I think. Or is that the still the same thing and therefore still $5 per cruise per device rather than $5 per day per device?

 

UPDATED:

 

Okay... This is the page where I got my recollection....

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1152/~/carnivals-wi-fi-service-and-hub-app

 

I see now the note about chat being for $5 per device per cruise. That is separate from the social plan at $5 per day per device for access to Facebook, Twitter, etc. I would hope they wouldn't charge for access to chat if you're on the social plan. That would not really make all that much sense since you could just chat with each other using Facebook Messenger or Twitter messages.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Edited by bUU
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bUU

bUU

Posted
Posted
Any card should work in the slot to activate your lights. I would advise using something you can afford to lose as I've read reports of stewards taking them when they clean.

Thanks. We always print up a stack of personal calling cards with our name and email address to share with new folks we meet aboard the cruise, so we will surely have something we could use to fill that slot.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

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O2Cool

O2Cool

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Don't miss Sea Day Brunch. Before 11:00am there is a basket of pastries put on your table when you sit dawn, But after11:00am, it is POPOVERS!! They are wonderful. Also, Teatime, around 3:00pm on sea days is a lot of fun.

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evandbob

evandbob

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Posted
Can these be taken off the ship for beach use?

 

 

Yes the blue towels can be taken off the ship. When you return from your excursion and get past security, look for a towel exchange station before getting on the elevator. You can toss your wet towels in the bin and take clean dry replacements to your cabin.

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jazzynannie

jazzynannie

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Posted
Thanks. We always print up a stack of personal calling cards with our name and email address to share with new folks we meet aboard the cruise, so we will surely have something we could use to fill that slot.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

Thank you for this idea, I just created a template to print out my new PERSONAL CALLING CARDS! :D

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evandbob

evandbob

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Posted
This is not the case at all ports.

 

It IS the case at PortMiami and (based on a post here) Port Canaveral, but it is NOT the case at Port Everglades. Your porter will be your constant companion during the 30-45 min. it takes to get through the Customs line. :(

 

With the growing use of global entry lines at ports, it usually takes us less than 3 minutes to get through US Customs.

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LouisianaCruiser4200

LouisianaCruiser4200

Posted
Posted

This is a different tip than I've seen from most, but I wish someone had told me to turn OFF iCloud photo backups on my iPhone. If my phone is connected to wifi, it automatically tried to upload all my pictures to the cloud and drained my battery like crazy. The first two days of our cruise I couldn't figure out why my battery was dying after only about 2-3 hours.

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nhsails

nhsails

Posted
Posted

BUU,

That's funny. We cruised an Inaugural cruise years ago. In our cabin was a sample "calling card" where we could put in our info and go to Future Cruises desk for a picture. Next day we had 25 cards in our stateroom. Have made many versions over the years and always take them on our travels. Face to name helps in my old age. Also leave with extra tip $ for free.

Dee

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Inconspicuous

Inconspicuous

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Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but the Italian restaurants on Breeze and Magic for sure (probably the others also) do free lunch. I don't think many people know about it, most probably think there is a charge for lunch up there but there isn't. We did lunch one day there and it was awesome, but it was just my wife and our daughter and one other couple right in the middle of the lunch rush. Great pasta, the chicken alfredo was perfect.

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Shaded Lady

Shaded Lady

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Posted
This is a different tip than I've seen from most, but I wish someone had told me to turn OFF iCloud photo backups on my iPhone. If my phone is connected to wifi, it automatically tried to upload all my pictures to the cloud and drained my battery like crazy. The first two days of our cruise I couldn't figure out why my battery was dying after only about 2-3 hours.

Great tip, LACruiiser! I wouldn't have thought of it!

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tovin

tovin

Posted
Posted
Some questions came to mind while reading what y'all have written in this thread...

 

With regard to the comment about Carnival's reputation for rowdiness... I've read that there is such a big difference between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises in that regard that some averaging ​of opinions would be useless. Just how different is Carnival between the 3-4 day cruises and the 6-8 day cruises?

 

We've done 1 4 day, 1 3 day, and 2 7 day mexican riviera cruises with Carnival (another 7 day with Princess, and one 4 day with Royal). The difference in the vibe is night and day, though it didn't effect our enjoyment of the cruise except the "adult" pool was unusable on the 3 day because of the crowd of rowdies - but that was our choice! If you wanted that fun "hang out with people and chill" vibe, it was definitely there.

 

On the Mexican Riviera at least, the 4 days being Mon-Thur, there's less of a party vibe, but there's a lot of first timers. Not sure if it varies in the Caribbean.

 

For those who have cruised on various cruise lines, how much have you experienced what louanne93 related... that Carnival tends to foster more social contact between passengers that lasts longer than the cruise?

 

We've cruised Princess, HAL, Carnival, and Royal, and haven't noticed a difference. But we're not really social people to begin with, so that probably makes a huge difference and means you should take my comment with a grain of salt. On the shared excursions we've done (we were cruising on HAL and shared all our ports with a Princess ship), we've always found we enjoy the princess crowd on excursions but we've never made friends while onboard Princess (or any other ship). It's very weird! ;p

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torcruise

torcruise

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Posted
Don't miss Sea Day Brunch. Before 11:00am there is a basket of pastries put on your table when you sit dawn, But after11:00am, it is POPOVERS!! They are wonderful. Also, Teatime, around 3:00pm on sea days is a lot of fun.

is this on the mdr?

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hobster7

hobster7

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Posted
Keep checking to see if some become available. On our last cruise, right around the date that final payment was due, several opened up. Likely they were from people who booked then canceled their cruise when final payment was due. Doesn't hurt to check.

 

 

 

Actually FTTF was avail then because they wait and see how many Diamond and Platinum guests are signed up before figuring out how many additional FTTF passes they will release.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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