10Jan54

I get one or two per week, that's it.

I have to ask, your original booking...was it with a casino promo?  Ever since I have been doing casino promos I do not get the calls to upgrade.  It has been like seven past cruises.  Prior to that I always got them.

we had to cancel the night before and I contacted carnival and they guided me on how to handle.  It was very speedy..

10 minutes ago, Chicity Traveler said:

Cruising on the Breeze on the 30th of November. Just got a message about an upgrade that will send me from an interior cabin on the Lido deck to an ocean front cabin on deck 1 for $78. I am seriously thinking of declining that offer. 

I would.

1 hour ago, jamie717 said:

We're looking at a 5 day cruise on the Miracle that has two days in Cabo San Lucas and I have a couple questions.

Do all passengers have to be back onboard the ship in between the two port days?

Does the ship stay anchored the first night in Cabo or does it cruise through the night?

we had to be back on the ship and we cruised.  That was a long time ago, things could have changed.

15 hours ago, jdemps said:

Does anyone know what the recent theme events are for 5 night cruises?  We're on Sunrise and I remember a white/glow party in 2017 that was fun to dress up with the crowds.

Is that still around or are there others we should plan for?  we're sailing 2/22/20 if that matters.  thanks.

we are sailing then also and I have not seen or heard of anything special going on.

When you call what does the answering message say?  That should let you know if on vaca, or if it's a different person I would figure they left the company.

Neutrogena (however you spell it has a stick sunblock.  looks just like deodorant. No worries about it leaking either. 

On ‎07‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 8:55 AM, ed01106 said:

Carnival has refurbished other ships in their fleet, but didn’t rename them.  Wonder why.

yes they have

On ‎07‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 10:15 PM, SNJCruisers said:

That's all well and good....but why does NCL provide their drinks package out of NYC on day one with no problem and Carnival doesn't?

I agree, makes no sense. 

1 hour ago, Caitlynhanc said:

So, I am sure this is a long shot but I have to ask.  Last year I was on the carnival conquest, and one of the bar tenders at the alchemy bar made me a drink.  I told her "I like sweet, but not too sweet, not to strong of an alcohol flavor" lol and she made me a drink that was cream based, with some sort of raspberry flavor and a couple fresh raspberries on top.  It was SO good, but I can not remember the name of it for the life of me! Anyone have any ideas?

any chocolate added?

HAS ANYONE FOUND ANY RELEASES OR PHOTOS ON THE NEW SUNRISE?  SHE'S DUE TO SAIL THIS MONTH AND I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING!

On ‎04‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 4:32 PM, vakamalua said:

yes, you can book your own excursions.  We'll be in Cuba in May with NCL.  My husband and I have booked a three hour Food Tour and a four hour Class Convertible Tour.  For both tours for the two of us we're paying less than a three hour ship's tour for one person.

On ‎04‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 4:32 PM, vakamalua said:

yes, you can book your own excursions.  We'll be in Cuba in May with NCL.  My husband and I have booked a three hour Food Tour and a four hour Class Convertible Tour.  For both tours for the two of us we're paying less than a three hour ship's tour for one person.

Which tour group did you use?

1 hour ago, mdsgu said:

You can do your own excursion.  The cruise lines will tell you that you "have" to do one through them, but that's not true.  We went last summer and booked a fabulous tour through Blexie (he's even on TripAdvisor!).  You can search for my Majesty of the Seas review and read all about it.  Long story short, RCCL wanted at total of US$550 for what we wanted and Blexie did it for CUC137.  Just mark People to People on your visa.  The cruise line doesn't really care and nobody else will, either.

 

Be aware that there are 2 currencies in Cuba -- one for citizens and one for tourists.  The Cuban peso (CUP) is for citizens.  The Cuban convertible peso (CUC) is for tourists and is worth 25x what the CUP is.  CUC bills have monuments, CUP bills have portraits.  CUC bills also have the words "pesos convertibles" on the front and back.  Be sure you get the right change back at stores; occasionally someone may try to intentionally (or unintentionally) scam you and give you change in CUP.

 

Changing money -- after you clear customs in Cuba, you will proceed to the other end of the terminal.  The Cuban tourist currency (CUC) is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar.  There is a 3% change fee no matter what currency you have.  There is an additional 10% fee if you are changing US dollars to CUC (they are still miffed about that little embargo thing).  Basically, if you change US$100, you will get back CUC87.  If you change an equivalent amount of Euros (or yen, or pounds, or Canadian dollars), you'll get CUC97.  When your time in Cuba is done, you go back to the same currency exchange, they take your CUC, and give you US dollars back.  There is a 3% exchange fee, but not the 10% penalty fee.  Don't bother bringing CUC out of Cuba -- it's completely worthless.

 

US dollars, while widely accepted everywhere else in the Caribbean, are actually illegal for Cuban citizens to possess.  The vast majority of stores will not accept them (and none are supposed to), so you have to change your money.  Remember, too, that US credit cards don't work in Cuba, so you need cash.  For a day stop in Cuba, you need cash for your private excursion (don't forget a tip!), cash for any souvenirs you might want (rum, cigars, small trinkets), and cash for lunch and snacks.  A nice lunch at a private paladar should run you CUC25-30 per person, your excusion will be whatever you've negotiated with the vendor, rum is CUC7-25 per bottle, mojitos and daiquiris like Hemingway enjoyed are about CUC5.

 

 

GREAT INFO, THANKS!

41 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

We are traveling on the Paradise to Cuba next week and we have a non-Carnival excursion booked through I Love Cuba Photo Tours. The cost is much cheaper, we can do a tour with our group only and customize it to what we want to do/see and it does meet the requirements. I've heard from people that you can select Support for the Cuban People on your Visa and that will also be acceptable and I've heard from others to just select People to People even if doing a private tour. 

 

As far as currency exchange, there is a penalty fee for converting US dollars to CUC. But it's not great enough (in my opinion) to justify the extra hassle of changing my money from USD to CAD and then to CUC. I'll just pay the fee. But do make sure you exchange enough money upfront cause the fee applies each time to exchange USD to CUC (my understanding is there is no penalty to change CUC back to USD). 

 

I'll be posting a comprehensive review of our Cuba trip on the Paradise when we return. Not sure when you are sailing, but I'll happily answer any questions that you have when we get back. 

Thanks and any info you can share would be wonderful.  I'll be watching for your review.  Have a great trip!

Curious to know if anyone has done excursions in Cuba that were not through Carnival?  I know we are supposed to do the "people to people" thing but can we book elsewhere?  Also the money....I heard it's better to bring Canadian to exchange because they give it a better rate compared to US dollars?  Any help would be great!

20 hours ago, jdemps said:

same sailing - 2/22/20

have you found the roll call? 

1 hour ago, jdemps said:

Does anyone have experience on an itinerary that has an overnight stay and they list the port as a "day" the next day but the ship leaves at 6am? 

Is there a sea day brunch on that day or is it still considered a port day so we don't get that?

 

We're on the sunrise in FEB 2020 if that helps.  It states havana for two days but it's really only 22 hours in port?  

 

Thanks

Which sailing?  We are the 22nd of February.  I was actually wondering why they don't call it a sea day also.

I tried the link and there is nothing there for my sailing yet.  Does CC intend on fixing the issue with the roll calls?  I am sailing the Sunrise on Feb. 22 to Cuba.

5 minutes ago, Yuridog said:

My husband and I have taken some 40+ cruises and we almost always book an interior cabin.  We are active people, so we are seldom in the cabin.  Many on cruise critic would never consider booking an interior, but we actually sleep better because of the darkness.  We'd rather book an interior and go on another cruise, rather than limit ourselves to just one a year. We don't cruise for the actual cabin, but rather for the ports.

Hope you enjoy yourselves. 

Totally agree with everything you said.  Especially a great night sleep.

I wanted to join the roll call for the new Sunrise and it's not listed yet.  she sets sail on April 19th????  Anyone know what's up?

On ‎01‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 9:36 AM, Crazy4Camping said:

I don't understand the trays left all night in the halls thing.  If there are all these stewards and folks supposedly at the beck and call of the passengers why can't they(or cleaning staff or whoever)go up and down the halls and grab all the trays at night?  Problem solved.  

just leave the tray in your room and when they come to clean your room they will take it.  Why do any of us need to see each others garbage?

If people didn't waste so much the charge would bother me but carnival should charge and maybe people will not just put all that food in the halls at night.

drinking or not stay off the railings, they are there to protect us from falling.

3 hours ago, cruiser2523 said:

I'm was wondering if anyone could give me more information about the $100,000 Ultimate Slot Tournament being held on the Carnival Magic ship in May. How many people usually participate in these Grand Final Events? How does it work? Are there numerous elimination rounds? How many people play at a time? If you went before, would you go again? Thank you in advance for any feedback.

I would do it again.  There are many, many people involved so even though there are only a few rounds it takes awhile. They stretch out over a few days also and then the final rounds and a reception to announce the winners.  They had other pecks going on also that we all were able to join in.  One thing for sure the casino is always very crowded since most of the guest are in the tournament or their spouse is and we all love to gamble

.