craycruzerlady

I would go with other posters and give Carnival a call.

When we booked about 6 weeks ago, Carnival extended our VIFP offer to our friends we're traveling with even though they've never sailed before. Saved them over $200 plus they got our same OBC. (they're traveling in another cabin)

Worth the call.

The last few cruises the hubby has purchased Bottomless Bubbles and he likes to buy the souvenir cup too. I think its $6-7 for the cup.

I wouldn't do it.

I'd be stressing out the last 2 or 3 days of my cruise wondering if I was going to make my flight.

I don't like stressing during my vacation

I agree. Stress of it not happening could put a damper on your cruise.

Do the non alcoholic drinks count toward the 15 a day limit?

No, non-alcoholic drinks are unlimited and don't count toward 15 alcoholic ones.

I'll be sailing this Sunday and using Cheers! so will be posting a review of my experience with the program soon.

You can pre buy a 12 pack for $3.99

Agreed. Log into your Carnival.com account, go to Fun Shops and pre-purchase the aforementioned case of water. It will be delivered to your stateroom. No need to lug to port! :)

I found little plastic baggies at the dollar store. I put all the necessary meds in each baggie and write on the baggie which medicine is in which. For meds we don't take often, I cut the directions off the container and put them inside the baggie so we know the dosage. All the little baggies go inside a nice compact carrying case. This helps to save room by not packing all the containers of meds.

I just found these and saved quite a bit of space packing this time around. Just put the name of medicine and dosage on the bag in sharpie. Never really need a whole box or bottle so just 4 or 5 just in case so this works great. Will refill when I get home and leave it packed for next cruise!

Don't look like a geek (or noob). That's what pockets are for - to hold your card.

HAHAHAH Almost fell out of my chair. I'd like to second this. Pocket, or if you're carrying your phone with you, they sell little silicon stick on card pockets to keep your card nearby.

Personally, I just stick it in my bra (built in pocket!) Deal with it people! :p

A 30 year old ship is really, really old? Give me a break! Jubilee was extensively renovated when she was transferred to P&O to become "Pacific Sun". It was only the eventual sale to the Chinese that signed her death warrant.

 

Many folks think of ships like cars, and they need to be "new", or just a few years old. It doesn't work that way with ships. Jubilee could easily have another 20-25 years of service left in her, and this premature scrapping is really a shame.

 

For those who will only sail on the newest and biggest, fine, but do not comment about things of which you know nothing. There are many who appreciate the "smaller" ships, and at 48,000 GT, I would not consider Jubilee to be small. She's still larger than Titanic.

 

The USA is defended by some "very, very old" ships, and even airplanes. You take care of them, upgrade them, and they can outlast you! Do any of you know that our force of B-52 bombers is over 50 years old? Many F-16 fighters are well over 30. The plane I fly is turning 37 this year, and she looks like new.

 

Well, as the saying goes; "ignorance is bliss".

Amen! Well said. Especially the part about older planes. Love em!

Good advice! I'll pack my goggles now :)

In your Carnival Account, under "My Cruise Manager" click Cruise details to the upper right hand side.

Under the "My Guests" tab in grey, you will see each cruisers info.

Below you can select EDIT and then under special occasions, select an option from the drop down menu along with the date of the special occasion. Don't forget to save before you exit.

Enjoy!

Milkshakes not a deal breaker. I doubt that those things will make the package more cost effective but they definitely make them more ENTICING for someone who is not a big drinker. As has been thoroughly discussed in this thread, for two people in the cabin to buy, this makes it nice for them to feel as though they are using the program as well. We purchase the program as a 'final bill insurance policy,' not as a fantastic deal.

I think there is another consideration based on the posts I have seen since the cheers program was enhanced. Many people are now participating in cheers as they see its more of a deal, getting water, milkshakes specialty coffees and energy drinks. I think the majority of these people only normally spend a couple of hundred a week on these items, but now they are spending 400.00 as they believe they are getting a better deal. Even if people are now drinking more, they are spending double or more of what they used to, so carnival gets more money.

I agree completely with this. We declined to purchase cheers because of its limitations before and just paid for drinks, but now with all the additional coverages, we're purchasing cheers for the first time. My husband is not much of a drinker but I know he's looking forward to milkshakes, specialty coffee, powerade and other bottled drinks that are included. I'm curious, though, to see if we will get our money's worth or if we should just pay up at the end of the cruise. I hate the suspense of not knowing how much I'm going to owe at the end of the cruise (and i'm not interested in constantly adding up or checking my sign and sail account throughout) so for me buying cheers is as much buying peace of mind throughout the cruise as it is buying drinks.

I would like to purchase the Cheerios Tablecloth package but I'm told everyone in my cabin who will be eating must also purchase the package and I'll be danged if I'm paying for 2 packages when only one of us is sophisticated enough to use a tablecloth properly.

This LITERALLY made me laugh out loud. Made my day!

I think this is a great idea. Even from a marketing perspective, they could keep each line's respective branding for each program while still making them compatible.

While we have seen this throughout other industries, it is a HUGE undertaking in the back office with $$$$ spent to make it all happen. Without a huge outcry or some other reason to prod Carnival into making a change, unfortunately it seems highly unlikely.

If the programs were merged, I admit I would branch out to other Carnival family brands.

What a gorgeous review!!! Loved your great snorkeling pictures!

Brought a little piece of the sea back for us landlocked ones.

Can't be any worse than what goes on in the dining rooms, even to get soda.

 

We have now resorted to stopping by a bar and getting our own and bringing it in with us.

I've heard this tip on a few other threads and will definitely be doing this next month before hitting the MDR. The bar service is SOOOOO slow in the MDR so hopefully this will help.

A 15% gratuity is added onto the price of the Cheers package. So that's on the $50 (prepaid) or $55 (bought onboard, yes, I'm rounding.) IMHO, if you buy more than $50 worth of drinks you should be tipping more. If you end up getting $100 worth of drinks in a day, and you're not added to the $7.50 they added when you purchase Cheers you're shorting the bartenders.

I understand that when I purchase the cheers package that I'm paying $50 + 15% up front - And that I'm more than likely to actually get more than the $50 I paid for, therefore 'shorting' the bartenders as you say.

My question actually is, when I get a drink onboard, am I AGAIN charged 15% on the receipt?

I do plan on tipping additionally (usually in cash) but my question is not ethical in nature, just if I'm charged that 15% automatically or if the auto tip was considered 'paid' when I purchased Cheers. Thanks again!

F) We noticed that once we started tipping $1 per drink (in addition to the auto gratuity ofc) we started (1) receiving increasingly generous pours by the bartenders as the trip progressed and (2) being given priority when bars were busy with MDR waits /busy comedy club nights, etc.

Thanks for the great tips! We're booking Cheers for our cruise in June and there's still one thing I'm unclear on...

Are you still charged 15% gratuity on every drink you order? I know you're referring to adding an additional $1, but I was under the impression paying the full price of the cheers package (which has 15% added to the daily price) I wouldn't be charged the 15% on each item bought onboard. Am I misunderstanding here? Help me out :) Thanks!

(And we'll definitely be using your tips onboard!!!! )

Also, I'm not sure about the rules at LAX, but many cities/states prevent Uber from picking up at airports. Just something to consider and look into.

While this is true at some airports, Uber does allow pick ups/drop off at LAX now.

As far as if UberX would be sufficient size for your group, I think the above posters are right on. We usually park at nearby family's house and use uberX to get the cruise terminal. We have a short, less than 10 min drive, but with four adult passengers plus luggage we are almost always crammed in like sardines. Its a short drive for us so we don't mind, (plus we are full of pre-cruise adrenaline) but If you'd like to be comfortable, I wouldn't recommend it.

We walked up and just flashed our S&S card after we did early check in. I advised our friends to do the same and they reported no issues.

 

Have fun!

I had no idea of this! Thanks to the OP and all the rest of the posters for this info. We may want to check in early and walk over and check it out.

How much time would you allow for the tour of the Queen Mary for first timers?

I had no idea this was standard practice until my husband mentioned he'd gotten multiple calls from a Carnival rep. Apparently his number somehow got attached to the account even though I am the primary travel scheduler.

Anyways, it ended up being a great experience as the rep who called has gotten us great prices and made sure everything was taken care of. Its good to know someone instead of just calling an 800 number.

On the last night of the cruise when I am packing to go home, I take notes. I make a list of what I should left home and what I needed more of. This is extremely helpful when I pack for my next cruise. I have learned to bring less makeup, less jewelry and more moisturizer.

I absolutely LOVE this idea. Right after when the trip is fresh in mind, you know what items you didn't touch and which were important. I'm going to write myself a note to do this when we get back home after our next trip in June. But those notes sound right to me, less makeup (I always get lazy on the trip and wear little) less jewelry and more sunscreen, moisturizer and aloe! :)

Here's a little cut and paste from the above link:

Beverages excluded from the program are:

Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines and self-serve beer stations

Most of the ships have 4 tops so what I would do is go YTD and request a private table for 4 every night.

I've had the same problem pre-cruise trying to get this set. They always refer me to the Maitre d. We make it our first stop as soon as we get on the ship to see him and get those requests in, and we've never had a problem when it's done that way.

We've sailed on the Imagination 4 day cruise several times.

Unfortunately the MDR is not open for lunch on Embarkation day. There is staff there, however, to speak with regarding changes to reservations or table seating questions.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise! (and check out the lido deck for lunch, as the last poster mentioned.)