PalmTree601

1 hour ago, odis said:

I kinda miss the cards and the scanner. That distinctive "ding" the scanner made signaled that vacation had really begun. 

I agree, it sounds dumb, but I miss the "ding"! 

On 12/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, nikki908 said:

If two of us have Cheers, and one hits the 15 drink limit, can the other person buy drinks for the one who hit the limit? For example, I only had 10, I could buy a bucket of beer for him?  Or order 2 drinks and pay for one?

First, any drink you buy for a friend has to be paid with S&S card, you can't do this with your Cheers credits (the no sharing rule).  Second, a bucket of beer is not covered by Cheers, only individual drinks.  However, in theory, you might get away with buying two drinks (one for yourself using your Cheers, and one for your friend who maxed out their Cheers using your S&S), but I wouldn't do it in front of a bartender that knows your friend is maxed out because they would likely not allow it. 

8 minutes ago, icedancer43 said:

[...]  May I ask were there places to get food after 9pm? When we traveled on RC Harmony of the Seas, the only food options after 9pm were the Cafe Promenade and Sorrento's, which was disappointing. Also, may I ask what the perks of getting a Havana cabin are, other than the private pool/sundeck area? Do you know if kids are allowed in the Havana area or is it adults only? Thank you.

So this isn't a Horizon-specific answer, but the ships tend to be very similar.  As for food after 9pm, there is always pizza and ice cream 24hr/day.  The Deli is open until 11pm, which includes normal deli hot/cold sandwiches plus hot dogs and probably a few other options.  If you have Anytime Dining option, I think you can go to sit down dinner as late as 9:30pm.  Also the Lido buffet usually stays open for dinner until around 9:30pm.  I think the specialty restaurants (fee) are also usually open until 9:30pm.  They have a late night "snack" buffet with limited (but free) selections from 11:30pm until 1am - that includes usually grilled ham/cheese sandwiches, chips, cookies, and probably some other options I've forgotten.  Plus there is always room service, which will have a fee at night.  You should be able to find all these menus if you search a bit online. 

As for Havana, I believe all guests have to be 12 or over to book the room or be on the Havana deck.  I think the uncrowded pool deck until 7pm is the main attraction for Havana rooms, although they also have the Havana Cabana "patios" if you choose that room, which is a unique option.  Someone else probably has more details on this. 

Hope this helps... 

On 11/18/2018 at 7:50 PM, Bowman1 said:

We are sailing the Miracle out of Tampa on Dec 30 - do they give out VIFP pins for both years since the cruise cuts across NYE?

Our experience last year was we got (only) the pin for the "boarding" year, regardless of the fact that it was Dec 31 and the next day was a new year. 

We got our upgraded VIFP status on the first leg of a B2B on Sunshine even though it was earned on the second leg. Booked online, didn't do anything special to "link" the bookings (but had same cabin for both legs). This status was visible after final payment on boarding passes/etc. Not sure if this is always the case, but it was for us.

... I’m not too worried, but if we were ever denied entrance to MDR because the hubby is in khaki slacks and polo, and me in a sundress, our Carnival days would be over. But I really don’t anticipate that to be a problem. My concern is that I heard you have to check in for YTD on one deck, and go eat at MDR on another deck. Really?? Doesn’t this seem odd? I’m used to going up to hostess at restaurant (note: ANY restaurant I chose, not just one banquet size MDR) and being seated as soon as table ready—just like any restaurant back home. But I am remaining positive, and excited to return to Carnival, because I missed all the fun we always had on our Carnival cruises.

You will not have a problem with khakis/polo/sundress - we have done exactly this lately.

The check-in location for YTD on Deck 5 may sound strange, but it's really not bad - it just relocates the queue two decks up and makes the MDR lobby less congested. You still get a pager if they can't seat you immediately, and I find Ocean Plaza (usually with live music at that time) and Alchemy Bar nearby to be a nicer place to wait than the MDR/elevator lobby anyhow. If a table is available, they give you a slip of paper and you go straight to the MDR. As far as I know, they use this system on Horizon, Vista, and also Sunshine.

On Sunshine they are using the new plastic bags for both submitting and return of laundry. Lying flat, I measure the bags to be 22 inches by 14 inches (I am excluding a strange perforated strip at the top that always rips off unintentionally when trying to use the bag - I have no idea what it is intended for).

We had a frig in our inside cabin 8114 last month(Jan.). Our cabin guy said it was just put in. Some rooms already had the hole made above in the desk, but no frig yet.

The frig was put where the stool was before, under the desk.

Interesting. I hadn't thought about it before, but our deck 8 balcony that unexpectedly had a fridge did indeed have a hole in the desk for the cord, so it probably wasn't "temporary", but rather a permanent addition. Incidentally, the fridge did use up the European power plug at the desk, if anyone was planning to use that. I didn't notice if our deck 8 interior (which had no fridge) had a hole in the desk or not...

We were in a deck 8 balcony on Sunshine in December. We didn't expect to have a fridge, but we did. It wasn't "built in" as usual, but merely on the floor under the desk. But we were thrilled to have it. I don't know if maybe it had been placed for a previous guest's medical needs and just never removed, or what? A second cabin (deck 8 interior) did not have a fridge. If no fridge, there's always ice buckets! Have a great cruise!

It has changed recently, as the last 2 cruises I have taken. They no longer offer the local Miami affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC).

We experienced the same on Sunshine in December.

It’s 11 and under. https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1070/~/camp-carnival-%282-5-years%29%3A-things-to-know-and-activities

“Safety Information

All children 11 and under must wear a muster station wristband throughout the cruise.

..." (rest of quote removed)

Thank you for the reference, that's very interesting.

Interesting, because our recent experience was that the rule they enforced was "12 and under" when we were on the Sunshine last month over the holidays. This was a B2B, and the same rule was applied on both cruises. We paid particular attention to this, because we also have a 12 year old, and she was not too thrilled that she had to wear the band again, so we clarified the rule to make sure.

I'm not sure if different ships have slightly different rules, if some staff have the rule wrong, or if they have changed recently and the website isn't up to date? All I know is that on our two cruises a few weeks ago, the kids had to wear the bands if they were "12 or under".

As others have said, the answer really is "it depends".

If you have onboard credit (shareholder benefit, price matches, booking promotions, port fee refunds, onboard refunds, etc), then it depends on that OBC type whether it is refundable or not. Some of them are "use it or lose it", and you should not get anything back. Some ARE refundable, so you could receive a check.

If you paid with a gift card, you normally receive that portion of the refund in the form of a new physical gift card sent to you for that amount. Although a few times, I've received a check for gift card amounts.

Normally they charge everything (tips, purchases, etc) towards any available OBC before using a cash balance or credit card. A credit card is usually only charged at the end of the cruise for the net amount due. (There may be exceptions for casino-related transactions, I'm not sure about those?) I don't believe they will credit a credit card for an OBC refund - that will come as a check if applicable.

In my experience, overage refunds have been very fast. I usually receive a check (USPS) and/or gift card (Fedex) within 3-7 days of getting off the ship.

Hope this helps!

We routinely cruise with 5 people. For those cruises when we are all in one cabin, this disclaimer is often found on the room we end up in. We've never an issue, nor has anyone even questioned, setting up with a king configuration. The only issue is that one of the ladders won't fit in their intended slots, but the kids are easily able to crawl across from the upper next to it, or you can use the ladder in a "non-intended" location, which means it just doesn't have the little slots the ladder locks into. Unless you have very small children, I wouldn't let this affect my cabin choice. Have a great cruise!

If your attachment is a picture of your actual card and number, I don't think I would post it publicly. Hopefully it is a "sample" image with a dummy account number!

Food, especially pizza, is very subjective. Some love it, others hate it - and that can be from different slices from the same pizza! :)

IMHO, you can't take 100% what you read in reviews, because everyone has their own vantage point. Something that "ruins the cruise" for one person, might not even be noticed by someone else. Especially for food, but other things as well. Reviews are helpful as a general guide, but don't let them rule your selection process, because you may be missing out on something you would love. And try not to get hung up on the little things - get out there and enjoy your cruise!

We are off Splendor just a few weeks ago in cabin 8457, which is not an aft wrap, but is the starboard "bowling alley" right next to it. From a brief "peek" next door when no one was around, I'd say the aft wrap (8459?) is a nice "corner" balcony with two loungers but not a huge amount of "wrap". That may be the ship, or the higher deck, but I've seen other aft wraps that seemed longer. That balcony also appeared quite sunny since there is not much overhang there (not sure about other decks). On the other hand, our cabin 8457 had a large overhang and had virtually no sun. Of course, sun/shade can be good/bad depending on your preference. We didn't hear bar noise in our cabin, but the aft Lido bar is on the port side. The only thing we heard was occasional brief chair scraping noise in the evening while the crew was moving chairs to wash the deck above, but it was not a problem for us. I hope this helps!

For anyone who's car is parked in Galveston, my brother went to the parking lots & there is no water. The owner of some of the lots has been sleeping there & has pumps ready if they need to keep water out of the lots. That is a dedicated business owner.

Which parking lot specifically?

Just got off Splendor a week ago. While not particularly "old", it is true she doesn't have the "2.0 upgrades" that many of the other ships have. So instead of a "Guys Burger Joint", you have the Grill. They have regular burgers/fries, plus a bunch of other options (hot dogs, chicken, etc) and some options I haven't found on "2.0" ships (chips/cheese/salsa/etc). She also still has the Indian food place, the Mongolian Wok (stir fry made to order), a made-to-order burrito bar, and a BBQ area, in addition to MDR, Lido Buffet, and probably others I missed from memory. Instead of Alchemy Bar, Splendor has a regular martini bar. There is a sports bar. The Lido area has two bars, they just aren't called Red Frog and Blue Iguana. Splendor has the same activities (parties, trivia, shows, comedy, mini golf, shops, kids clubs, Dive-In movies, etc) as most other Carnival ships. The only thing I can think of she doesn't have is a ropes/bike course (which is only available on a few ships anyhow). IMHO, the biggest difference with "2.0" is in the branding, not in content.

I have been on a number of Carnival ships, and I enjoyed that the Splendor was just different enough to be interesting, but still very similar to the other (especially Conquest class) ships. Some examples are the retractable roof over the middle Lido pool (instead of aft), the covered deck encircling Lido area, the kids "splash" water area, slightly different deck layout, etc. Yes, it is decorated with pink, but I think it works for the ship - and after all, you're only there for a week!

I agree with others that a cruise is what you make of it. Although we sometimes second guess when booking, we have never regretted booking a non-2.0 ship (same thing happened for us on Victory). We enjoyed the Splendor! Go with an open mind and experience Splendor before she moves to Australia. Enjoy your cruise!

We just got off Splendor on Sunday (8/13) and the sign was posted "Adults only" on the aft pool, and it had only adults in it for the most part. I also noticed that Splendor had a nice-looking "splash pad" type water area for kids - in addition to the water slide and 3 pools (including the adult-only aft pool, not including hot tubs). Have a great cruise!

This week I had my fastest Shareholder OBC response ever. I faxed it in very late at night, and had a confirmation the next day, about 12 hours later!

I usually send mine to the fax number published on the Shareholder Benefit form: LINK (fax 305 406 6102), but there is no email listed there. What email address do people use to submit Shareholder requests?

Pretty sure your room steward can do that.

 

On a recent Glory cruise, we were told that while room steward actually opens the balcony divider, the request has to go to Guest Services first then they email the steward - maybe they have to verify the divider can be opened or something?

If you have friends or family in the rooms next to you, can you have your balcony partition opened or taken down for more room?

With the ship and specific cabin numbers known, you can look up or ask Carnival about the balcony partition. Some can be opened, and some cannot.

If it can be opened, you must to go guest services onboard with someone from each cabin, then they will make the request to have the partition opened.

Old thread revived here, but does anyone know if we have 2 cabins booked because of 3 kids, do I need to get it FTTF for both?

If you want all guests to have the benefits, yes, you must purchase two. FTTF is per-cabin.

I'm sorry to bring up an older thread, but we are sailing on the Breeze in a deluxe oceanview with 5. I've looked online and have seen conflicting information about whether we will have 1 king and 3 twins or 5 twins. Anyone know for certain?

The Dlx OV rooms we have had consisted of the main bed(s) on the floor as king-OR-two-twins (configurable by room steward), plus two twin upper bunks that come down from ceiling (with ladders and rails), and a couch that converts into a twin.

Not sure what is happening. I am assigned late dining on our reservation online. When I click edit, I have the option of selecting your time dining. I do that and it shows I am on the waitlist. When I log off and check again, it shows me back at late dining. Is this a bug with the site?

I've had the same problem. Last cruise, I trusted that the request was "in there" despite what showed on the web page, but it wasn't. We had to stand in line for the Maitre'D on board to get it changed. Now same thing is happening for our next cruise, so I called Customer Service to make the request and it now properly shows waitlisted. Hopefully they handle it properly on board.