Krissica

There is a post concerning how people think Carnival is thrashy, but yet one only needs to read Carnival Boards to find out for themselves. Just do it, and don't broadcast it to everyone. If you get caught, I will be the guy laughing

A quick search shows the alcohol smuggling threads show up on a variety of cruise line forums, not just limited to Carnival (though they do seem more prevelant on Carnival's board). However I appreciate this thought process, I apply the same thought to many other instances where someone is "breaking the rules" but it doesn't necessarily directly impact me. Kudos to you

There are 17 of us leaving on Saturday on the Paradise! Any suggestions on how to stay in touch with each other while on board (for the kids especially). We have ages ranging from 11 years old to 78 years old. As far as I know no one will be using their cell phones while on board to avoid roaming charges.

Set meeting times throughout the day, plan when to meet for lunch and dinner. Look at your Fun Times and get an idea of where/what people might be interested in. Post-it notes in the cabins work wonders as well.

My girlfriend and I are definitely going to try Shampbooze in our checked bags. But i think we've found a genius way to get liquor aboard.

 

We're going to take a couple of empty wine bottles and fill them with liquor and recork them. They sell heat shrink foil for the tops of the bottles for super cheap. We're going to give it a shot.

 

Has anyone tried this?

We actually do a cheap wine bottle that has a screw-on top and fill it with liquor. We are always in a hotel the night before, so we enjoy the wine at the hotel the night before, fill it with liquor of our choice, and superglue the screw lid back on. Has worked like a charm every time.

Be careful with the moneys! I'm an RN in the ER and have had many patients, the most recently being 3 weeks ago, that needed the rabies vaccine series (which can be very painful) because they were bit by these monkeys on vacation.

We realized, especially after our first cruise, that many of the extra costs weren't necessities or even luxuries that were worth it to us.

For instance, we never purchase any photos - we have our own camera, no need to pay for photos.

We never buy souvenirs from the gift shop - if we feel the need to get souvenirs, we will do it off the ship.

We also make sure we are stocked on anything that we would need to buy from the store onboard - one time we had to pay $9 to replace deodorant that was left at home:eek:

We always bring our alotted amount of carry-on alcohol, and possibly some extras (I'm sure the Saints will flame me for that one).

Personal choice. Until we reach platinum status, I plan to buy it for every single carnival cruise we take. There are many benefits. Not just one.

 

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I absolutely agree and will continue to buy it for every cruise until we reach platinum. We love being on board quickly, getting to drop stuff off in our rooms immediately, having luggage shortly after (we have been fortunate and never got ours late), priority tenders, and the dedicated guest services line which has been well worth it on the few occasions we were able to bypass the crazy long line. But it is definitely a personal choice, and it might not be worth it for some.

My husband and I went on the same itinerary for our first cruise ever, granted it was without kids, and we absolutely loved it. Key West is so beautiful no matter what you do, although I heard Key West is not the ideal place to go if you want to have a typical "beach day."

As far as going through a non-carnival excursion, there are many that do it and have never had any problems. Yes they tend to be cheaper, and if you do enough research they are safe as well. You just have to use common sense, and do your homework. For example we found an excursion we wanted to do in Jamaica through the carnival website, then used this site to find good experiences and reviews with non-carnival companies and did it through them for 50% cheaper than what carnival charged.

Took a look at Pre-Order on board options today.

Noticed Carnival Gummy Funnels and also Carnival Sour Gummy Funnels.

Are these in the Candy Shops on board?

I did not notice them last cruise, but didn't really do more than glance a bit.

 

We ordered a bag of each.

DH & I love gummies....it's like a secret, behind closed doors treat...LOL

I also have some tasty recipes to use them with while on board...Woot.

Happy Sailng.............

Sounds like they would be perfect for alcohol-soaked gummies :D

Planning on getting to the next one early, probably 8:30-9ish. It'll be fun to people watch and guess peoples stories.

Great point! This is also something hubby and I like to do. Though we tend to make up ridiculous stories for people lol

Since we don't live near a port, we are always in a hotel the night before. We like to sleep in til 8-9, then get to the port around 10 or 10:30. We have FTTF so we get to board fairly soon after they start. As you stated, it is either wait at the hotel or wait at the port. Either way even with waiting, just the idea of being on vacation makes waiting not an issue at all.

I haven't been to neither Grand Turk nor Antigua, so in true CC fashion that means I am the perfect person to give my expert opinion ;):p

But seriously, just based on your own reasoning here it seems like the 11/15 one may have the slight edge. You said it yourself that the extra time in PR makes a big difference. And I know personally I would rather NOT have to check in with work while I'm on vacation.

Either way I'm sure you will have an amazing time!

The best sleep we ever got on a cruise was in a pitch-dark inside cabin :) We got a balcony room, just to see how we would enjoy it, and realized that we really didn't care that much. We used the balcony because it was there, and it was nice - but we don't miss it.

I absolutely agree with this! We have cruised inside, porthole, and then finally last December we tried a balcony. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but we are the type of people that are in our rooms for showering, sleeping, getting ready, and that's it so overall we realized the price was just not worth it. Instead we use the extra money to do other things, whether its a few extra drinks of the day or something else in port.

I just checked the FTTF availability for our November 2014 cruise. It is sold out. I thought I read somewhere that they periodically have more available? True? Or once it's sold out, that's all that will be available?

 

thanks.:)

As everyone else has said, keep checking! Check both the carnival site, and your cruise's roll call here on CC. For our cruise in October, FTTF sold out quicker than I've ever seen and we were really bummed. We checked back at least once a week for a couple months and didn't think there would be any hope, but then about a month or so ago they released 15 more FTTF passes and we were thankfully able to get one.

We have done FTTF for all of our cruises over the years and will continue to do so until we reach platinum.

Then I would bet that you'd use the Fun Times app if it was available, right? If they had both apps, I mean. Since you would already have your phone with you, most likely. :)

No I wouldn't use it still, even if I had my phone with me. If my phone were with me it would most likely be tucked at the bottom of my bag wherever I was and not being used - however the idea of being able to send an occasional message "hey change of plans meet me at the sports bar" via the phone is an option that appeals to me. However there is no appeal in a FunTimes app for myself personally...similar to those who choose to read the actual printed newspaper versus an identical online version, it just isn't the same for me.

Based on this thread alone, Carnival will probably 86 their planned app that would enable cruisers to message each other for free onboard the ship with their smart phones. Too bad.

Completely disagree on several fronts. First of all, I highly doubt a couple-paged thread on CC is going to make Carnival 86 anything. Secondly, while I'm against having my FunTimes via app format, I am all for free onboard messaging. These are two different things.

Oh PULEEEEZE! Part of the fun of being on a ship is going to your cabin each night after turn down and finding, along with the towel animal, the FUNTIMES for the following day and reading through it and planning. I would be most disappointed if the cruiselines did away with this. The FUNTIMES also make a good souvenir.

Agreed! My husband and I love settling in the evening, relaxing with a drink and looking through the FunTimes to figure out what's going on the next day. I also enjoy carrying around the tearout portion to keep with.

I'm all for technology, have a smart phone, ipad, laptop etc but this is one instance where I would personally use the old fashion way. I like to leave my phone and all electronics when I'm on a cruise, it is part of the draw for me.

I tend to get very motion sick in the car when I'm not the one driving, motion sick on amusement park rides, etc so the very first cruise I went on I expected to get very motion sick but that was not the case. Many cruises later, I still bring meds and remedies in case it happens but I would definitely not advise to pre-medicate yourself and instead wait until you have symptoms.

debee105, excellent point. I work in the medical field as an RN and we finally got our last names removed from our badge due to several instances of patients/families searching/stalking/contacting us on social media sites.

Back to the OP, I am sure they use an alias. I don't think it makes a difference though.

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Saw this and laughed! I see a market for this in the cruise community!

 

 

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I just saw this at Spencers store yesterday and chuckled! It is up there with the inflatable "rack" of boobs

Depending on the length of the cruise $550 more is either excessive or a good deal.

 

 

Sure , if you're in an Inside cabin you may not wish to spend too much time in it . With a balcony you may spend much more time in your cabin.

I absolutely agree with the first statement and respectfully disagree with the last statement. I still think it comes down to your personality type, whether you're the type that like to lounge in your rooms or not. For us we aren't that type, and that won't change because we are in a different room type. We found that out the hard way.

I just booked our first cruise about a month ago. I booked an inside room. I've spoken to a few people who told me that's fine because you're "never in the room anyway."

 

Today I spoke to a friend who works on the Disney Cruise line. (I am traveling on Norwegian.) He told me I should definitely try to upgrade to a balcony room. I looked at the price difference and it's only a difference of $550. I thought it was going to be much more. My question is...is it really worth it and should I spend the extra $550?

 

Any input would be appreciated!

As others have said it is really an individual personal choice. We have cruises inside, port hole, and most recently balcony. We got an amazing deal on the balcony thorugh our PVP, only $100 more total, so we decided to go for it. While it was nice to have the balcony, we weren't on it nearly as much because we are the type of people that rarely ever spend time in our room except to nap, shower, get ready, and sleep. So for us and our upcoming cruises we booked inside again because the price is right.

We went directly through Carnival's website for our very first cruise, and then encountered a Carnival PVP that we absolutely loved and have used since then...however we always know what we want, what dates, room type, etc and just call him directly. It benefits us both because he knows we do it so he can get the "credit" and in turn he always finds us little extra perks here and there that are nice.

I never thought of it like this but I too go through these phases.

 

Phase 1

Feel the itch to travel. Look at options and find something. Lately it has been cruises.

 

Phase 2

Book it. Check details on boat, planes, hotels, cars, insurance, excursions and all that.

Now I research more and for a cruise dive into YouTube and CC. Find new and exciting rare things to see on my trip.

 

Phase 3

Tire of looking at maps and photos. Realize I have ignored my house and work a bit. Not enough to get evicted or fired, but a bit. Get back to those areas of my life.

 

Phase 4

Tickets arrive. Hyperventilate until departure.

 

Phase 5

En vacance. A comet can destroy the rest of the world and I do not want a phone call about it. I am on vacation.

 

Phase 6

Last day of the cruise. This is the feeling used by composers over the years to write the Blues. There is no known pharmaceutical which can cheer me up on the last night of the cruise and during the flight home.

 

Phase 7

First day back at work YELLING of how wonderful the trip was.

 

Phase 8

Second day at work. See Phase 6 followed by Phase 1.

 

Later,

M

:D:D Perfect description

For years we have always cruised in December and have always experienced amazing weather. Definitely shorts/tank top type of weather without being unbearably hot in the high 90s. Plus the added bonus of leaving the snow one day and being on the beach the next day is one of the many reasons we love to escape in the winter.

I agree about the wave phone that Disney has, that would be nice.

I also like the Coca Cola Freestyle Machine that RCL has.