RhinoMomIL

I think all the people who are bringing their own disposable straws are missing the point. They are trying to keep the straws from being thrown out and they are not recyclable. I was in Mexico in the spring and had trouble getting them at the bar at our resort also. Why not just try to do without them? I am a huge soda drinker and am very dependent on straws but I can make an effort.

So how many points do you need to purchase the gift cards? 

1 minute ago, 3smithboys said:

 

That’s what we found on our RC cruises. Now, we have not been on any of the mega ships yet; however, we also missed the causal dining choices while on RC. We also thought the main dining room food wasn’t as good on RC. Our kids had more fun on our Carnival cruises, so when we asked them which line they wanted to go on for our cruise this summer- it was unanimous, Carnival! 

 

I would still till like to try one of RC mega ships. I think you are correct in saying they are a destination in itself. 

The Allure didn't even have a waterslide which surprised us. We sort of assumed. They are getting that mega slide on the Boardwalk when they go into dry dock but it's not a waterslide - more of a coaster slide. But definitely a great ship!

1 minute ago, JaxsMama said:

She was wrong. He can do bottles or draft. Just no buckets of beer or beer tubes etc.  It used to not include self service beer or wine but that may have changed. 

That is what I thought. I believe it specifies you can't have the self-pour wine for sure and the draft(craft) beers cost more so why would they want you to have those instead? I appreciate your quick response.

Not to change lanes but how do you get the Carnival gift cards at a discount? I want to plan ahead. TIA!

I've been on about 6 Carnival cruises and just went on Allure of the Seas June 2. I loved it! But now I'm going on an other Carnival. The only thing I thought Carnival did better than Allure was the choices for casual dining - but that is huge. We really missed Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, and the Deli for grilled sandwiches. They did a great job of crowd control at port stops also. I was afraid with that many people it would be a nightmare getting on and off but they open up 3 different gangways and they really move you well. We didn't wait once to disembark in 3 port stops. And it's a gorgeous ship that's a destination in itself. But I'm anxious to see the Carnival Horizon in February! Much cheaper. 

Ok we had a confusing conversation with a customer service rep earlier today so I'm hoping someone here can clear it up. My brother is thinking about getting the Cheers package this time (has always just done the buckets of bottled beer) and the rep made it sound like he would only have access to "self serve draft beer". I told him that is just wrong but I wanted to clear it up. It's all bottles except for the craft/IPA beers correct? And people on the Cheers program can drink whichever they prefer? 

On 6/11/2019 at 10:43 PM, Organized Chaos said:

Even with Your Time Dining, they can link the bookings. Our PVP does it for us, but customer service can just as easily. Last year we had two cabins, but only had to give the MDR host one cabin number and she'd see that it was two linked together, for a total of four people. The only time we had to say anything was when our son & his friend didn't go, so we'd tell them it was just the two of us.

 

Now on the Vista class ships, and some of the others, if you have Your Time Dining, you can check in through the Carnival Hub app. You basically let it know you're ready for a table and it'll alert you when it's ready (it'll tell you your table number). Just get to the MDR within a certain amount of time, I think 10 minutes or they give your table away, and let them know.

So if sailing on the Horizon with a large extended family (5 staterooms) should we link all our reservations for the times that we all want to dine together? How would it work on the nights that its a partial group, do you know? On the app does it ask how many are coming when you check in? TIA

On 2/2/2019 at 4:02 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

Have your teen go the firs5 night at 8:00. All the kids will be new and it will be much easier to meet people and form a group that night.

 

There  were nights that they had dances, proms and get together that went until 1:00am. Most of the time the kids just met up, hung out and did their own thing.  They do have various activities planned...sports court, flowrider, rock climbing etc.

I have been wondering about this also - what if you have late seating dinner and they can't be there at 8:00? It looked like there were also events a little later - do you think it's worth having them miss dinner in the MDR the first night to meet everyone? 

This has really spiraled. There will always be people who want to take off the tips regardless and as stingy as we find that its pointless to argue with them. The real argument here seems to be between letting the cruise line distribute vs trying to distribute them yourself. There is a disagreement over what happens when you hand the money to the waiter/cabin steward directly. Earlier someone posted that those people still split it the same way. If that is true then why mess with it? If it's not true and as someone said they are "giving it to the people who deserve it" you are assuming the people you see are the ones who deserve it and not any of the back of house people. We can't compare it to McDonalds, the pizza place, or any land based business - it's just different. We will never all agree but until someone tells me definitively that RC steals from them unless we self distribute I'm going to leave them on my account and give cash directly to anyone I think deserves a little extra.

So if you tip strictly in cash do the behind the scenes folks get any money? I'm talking about the people washing the bedding, the busboys, etc. I am all for going around the corporate process but I don't want to punish people because I didn't see them face to face. Someone said earlier that if you take your gratuities off and pay in cash that those still get reported and split but if you give them cash over and above that they don't have to split those but my question is how do they know the difference when you are just handing someone cash? I will have 3 staterooms/6 people cruising in my party in June and I would love to have a plan going in. I'm tempted to leave them on and just give extra to the room steward and wait person. 

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

They will give you some BS about the 25% being deducted from some "regular" price.  You're likely not going to get the package for any less than the website says.

Thank you - I definitely don't want to wait another hour on hold to find out I'm not getting any help but if it was already $52/day how is it $52/day with the 25% off? It's aggravating. 

1 hour ago, kimberlym4 said:

I have been trying on and off to add some of the Black Friday beverage package deals on-line with no luck.  Now on hold for 35+ minutes.  Anyone else been on hold tonight?  Any idea how much longer I might be waiting based on your experience tonight?

I am on hold right now. What I can't figure out is I have 3 bookings, two staterooms only have one adult, one stateroom has 2 adults. I'm trying to take advantage of the BOGO 50% off Deluxe beverage package for the one cabin with two adults. I put it in my cart but it's still $52/day and it states that the price reflects savings. How is that 25% off? If I go into one of the other bookings it's still $52/day for one adult. I was pretty sure it was already $52/day before the "sale". Anyone know?

On 10/6/2018 at 8:41 PM, deepcman said:

Who builds a messaging app with no notification features. There is absolutely no notification of any kind when you receive a message.

Also, as one users screen goes dark they appear as offline but messages still go through but they're not notified so you need to keep checking you phone. Offline doesn't really mean offline. If their app isn't open then the message doesn't go through.

If you try to link to someone in another cabin you need their name, b-day and reservation number. Then they need to complete the same info using your data to complete the link.

We had IT folks from corporate on this cruise but I wasn't impressed as they spent more time defending the app rather than looking for improvement suggestions. I told one that they should send her on a Carnival cruise to see what a useful app looks like. She just smiled.

I guess you get what you pay for and since this is free don't have high expectations.

Our only point of reference is the Carnival app from last year which I thought was really helpful. We will have 11 people cruising in 5 staterooms with at least 4 reservation numbers. If we put the time into linking everyone can you have "group chats" or is it just all individual messages? If someone is offline you can still send a message and then they will see it the next time they open the app correct? I don't want to pay for all that internet just to use iMessage if it's not necessary. TIA!

3 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

You will get a 12oz can of Coke, no refills.  You cannot get a glass of fountain soda without an unlimited beverage package.

 

I have a Boardwalk Balcony and I believe that comes with the unlimited soda package. This will be our first time on RC so not exactly sure how it all works. Is it tacky to bring your mug to the MDR and will they refill it for you if you do?

I actually saw a few photos of boys doing the tuxedo shorts thing with Homecoming dances this year. But I guess not tuxedos - just regular suits. I'm not a huge fan but it does appear to be a thing. 

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Development on the Royal IQ app stopped more than two years ago and the RCI app is the only one being deployed to ships now. No chance any other ship will get Royal IQ.

 

Biker, who tries to stay away from absolutes.

So which app would I use on the Allure? I'm a former Carnival cruiser and I really liked their app last year. We used their texting function quite a bit but from what I've read it sounds like that isn't available?

When we had a boardwalk cabin on Harmony they gave us a Coke package. Maybe this was just Harmony....but when I tried to get just water (Dasani) out of the machine, you had to choose a flavored Dasani water. So I got the Power Aide when I used the machines.

 

I asked the dude in Sorrento's and he told me to get plain water I had to go to the bars.

 

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

We just booked Boardwalk cabins on the Allure that comes with a beverage package but now I'm confused if that is just soda or if it comes with bottled water and specialty coffees

The wife and I usually cruise carnival so this paying for room service is new to me. I would normally give the delivery person a $5 tip for room service. If I am paying for room service and gratuity is also being added to that fee, am i expected to also give the $5 tip i usually offer? I will probably give it anyway, just want to see what the majority of you guys are doing.

It's just like Carnival in that the Continental Breakfast is free but the hot breakfast items are extra. You can order a bunch of muffins and cereal and not get charged.

Sailing on Allure June 2 and these are all great tips. Can someone tell me if you do the 8:00 seating for dinner which MDR will we most likely use? I know often times on other ships the MTD is in one area and the two early/late seating are in another.

My concern with such a large ship was that the pool decks wouldn't really be any bigger so it would be that much harder to find a lounge chair on deck during sea days. If you aren't really trying to be directly pool side what are your favorite spots?

How do you contact the maitre'd before your cruise?

Thank you!

It says on the Carnival website that the cabanas hold four people but we are a family of five? Is that actually an issue? Will they object? Also what is the location of the cabanas? I would hate to book one and then find it too "off the beaten path" and not close to pool/beach/etc.

Thanks!!

We have been to Aruba several times on land based vacations and three times as a port of call. In my opinion Palm Beach would be the best beach to visit. No problem renting beach chairs and umbrellas. Plenty of places to get Food and Drinks and just a beautiful Beach.l

Thank you for that recommendation. My only question is that if we are not arriving on our ship until the afternoon will we have difficulty getting chairs? We are supposed to be in port from 1:00-10:00.

TIA