Carnival newbies

[FlaMariner]

If you are new to Carnival or have not cruised Carnival in a while, you may want to venture over to the Carnival forum and get educated.....

 

I've learned a few things about:

 

• arrival time at the ship might really need to be observed (my arrival time is 2pm but on "the other cruise line" we can arrive early, get onboard around 11:30am, go to our rooms, enjoy lunch)....That might or might not be a possibility.
• Needing smart phone onboard....(seems like the carnival app may be needed to see a menu at dinner, get into breakfast at the MDR, get off the ship and other vital functions....work arounds are possible but you may be ostracized by some if you ask for paper)
• Early dis-embarkation requires a time reservation also...(.that is done in the app.....We are used to lining up at dark thirty with our luggage and being off the ship in 10 minutes)

 

Perhaps I am the Lone Ranger on these issues.....but if you are a seasoned Carnival cruiser and you might know about some more of the "Carnival type operations", please pass them along.....None of that was the Carnival when last we boarded...And we have sailed on the original Mardi Gras. 

 

We embark in 15 days!!!!!!

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

If you are new to Carnival or have not cruised Carnival in a while, you may want to venture over to the Carnival forum and get educated.....

 

I've learned a few things about:

 

• arrival time at the ship might really need to be observed (my arrival time is 2pm but on "the other cruise line" we can arrive early, get onboard around 11:30am, go to our rooms, enjoy lunch)....That might or might not be a possibility.
• Needing smart phone onboard....(seems like the carnival app may be needed to see a menu at dinner, get into breakfast at the MDR, get off the ship and other vital functions....work arounds are possible but you may be ostracized by some if you ask for paper)
• Early dis-embarkation requires a time reservation also...(.that is done in the app.....We are used to lining up at dark thirty with our luggage and being off the ship in 10 minutes)

 

Perhaps I am the Lone Ranger on these issues.....but if you are a seasoned Carnival cruiser and you might know about some more of the "Carnival type operations", please pass them along.....None of that was the Carnival when last we boarded...And we have sailed on the original Mardi Gras. 

 

We embark in 15 days!!!!!!

If you have Priority Debark, you do not need the Hub.  You will get your specific instructions where to meet as before.  

[Drazil65]

work arounds are possible but you may be ostracized by some if you ask for paper)

 

DH asks for a paper menu anytime we choose to eat in the MDR (he does not take his phone to dinner and prefers paper), receives it with no issues and no one is ostracized by the request. 

 

There is also the option to look at and read the menu posted outside the MDR very early in the afternoon for that evening just to get an idea of what they are serving.  We average 2 or 3 cruises a year easily (on diff ships) so this paper request is not a one off thing.  

[dallasdan]

Some debarkation ports will have an early arrival line that you can wait in. Rooms are ready at 1:30.  You don't have to use you the app on board however, there are many uses in the app.  You can see all daily activities, look at menus for the week, view your on board account etc...  

[vacruisin]

You'll be fine with or without the Hub App.  And no one is ostracized if they chose to not use the app.  Just know that it is 2024 and most businesses are going more and more the way of mobile apps so no use getting irritated if that's not you.  Just know that you can't run from technological advances forever but if you choose to there will be less and less accommodating your old school way of doing things.  That's just the way it is. 

 

You can still check your account balance at guest services, or from your stateroom TV, or from a kiosk located at various locations throughout the ship.  You can still go to the dining room and wait for a table.  You can still get a paper menu in the dining room or a paper FunTimes at guest services or the JavaBlue coffee shop or various places on the ship.  Or, you can download the Hub App and have access to all of those things right on your phone.  The chose is yours.  

 

Happy Cruising! 

[staceyglow]

3 hours ago, vacruisin said:

 Just know that you can't run from technological advances forever but if you choose to there will be less and less accommodating your old school way of doing things.  That's just the way it is. 

 

 

Exactly. Time matches on. 

 

I am sure that a hundred or so years ago there were people saying, "Why are you insisting that I call you on the telephone? Why can't I just write you a letter?" 

[cruisingguy007]

8 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Exactly. Time matches on. 

 

I am sure that a hundred or so years ago there were people saying, "Why are you insisting that I call you on the telephone? Why can't I just write you a letter?" 

 

More apropos might be knocking on folks door to summons them. Totally normal when I was younger, now, fuhgeddaboudit! Folks are actually offended if you show up unannounced. If you aren't Amazon, USPS, UPS, Fed-Ex or food delivery, you can stand there and talk to the camera or keep stepping 😀.  

[DanJ]

We always have our phones with us, as they are also our cameras, so it's no issue to us to use the app. People at our neighboring table got paper menus, no issue. We always had a paper Fun Times left in our cabin mail slot every evening (maybe that was just something our steward did, I don't know, never asked).

 

From all reports, the ports are pretty strict about arrival appointments. The key is to be up at midnight (not sure if it's midnight Eastern time, or midnight embarkation port time) when the checkin window opens 2 weeks before your cruise (17 days if you are higher tier I believe) to get the earliest check in time you are able to. Also keep in mind that a lot of people confuse that with boarding time, which is why I think many still show up early. They think "I'm boarding at 11, I better get there at 10 so I can get checked in and wait for boarding". No, the 11 is when you can enter the check in line, then boarding happens at whatever time after that.