Bert64

Leaving on Saturday for this itinerary (Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Amber Cove) and would love to see them as well!! Thank you to anyone that could post them soon 😊

Is there anywhere online I can find a self-walking tour guide/map? Something to give me a route on where to go? I don't want to get off the ship and just start wandering.

I think they got their check-in time confused with the final boarding time.

I always take the very first flight out, the day before the cruise. I travel anticipating hiccups, so do what I can to prepare should something happen. If something happens with that flight, I have all day the day before and then also the following morning to get on another flight. Also, it's just good for you to get to bed early and rest up for getting on the ship the next day.

There are always cheap hotel deals you can find. You just have to do the research. Sorry for your coworker. But I don't blame Carnival for abiding by their rules and not bending them because your coworker and her mother did not plan well. Especially in this day and age, with travel not always being reliable. I also get scared they will lose my luggage, and I'd definitely want sufficient time to get that back to me before we sail.

If status on Carnival is that important to you, "slum" it with all the other lowly inside cabin passengers so you can cruise more until you reach your Platinum/Diamond cards. Then you can move it back up to the "upper class" accommodations.

What someone wears on elegant night isn't going to affect my meal. I don't think anyone here has said that. I might side-eye them, but I'm certainly not going to spend the evening fretting over it.

There are some jeans that you can dress up rather nicely. Dark wash jeans, oxford, sports jacket and some loafers/boat shoes look great. There are many a wedding where that is the attire for the groom and groomsman and I think that looks fantastic (also when they wear a vest.) For women, I think it can be more tricky, but dark wash jeans, fancy top, jewelry and heels with hair and make-up done can look nice and dressy as well.

But, I do find it silly that people can't just simply follow the dress code. Do you teach your kids to disregard such things? My boys don't enjoy dressing up, but that doesn't mean I'm going to allow them not to follow proper etiquette. It's poor manners and rude. And quite frankly embarrassing on my part if I don't teach my kids these sorts of things.

I find it hard to believe that an adult man doesn't have just one pair of slacks or khakis, and a button up or polo. I feel those are necessities that you will be required to wear at least some point in your adult life. Regardless of blue-collar or white-collar. You can go to Wal-Mart, Good Will, Salvation Army, Consignment shop, etc. and get both for under $30.

I like it better when instead of excusing the disregard of the dress code or explaining why it's fine, a person just admits they don't care or mind breaking the dress code and they have no intention of following it. Simple and honest!

It would be a drastic waste of my time getting ready to spend so much time using that puny dryer. If you have any length or thickness to your hair, I'd suggest bringing your own. The ones on board (and in hotel rooms) tend to be a joke, and it's not like I have top of the line, salon level hair blow dryers at home.

I am a planner. Like, an avid excel spreadsheet user. I love researching and organizing the itinerary, making packing lists, figuring out what we are going to do on the day before the cruise when we fly in, etc. Finding restaurants and shops. And of course, online shopping!

Have 3 kids at home. Get the "social internet plan" and use Facebook Messenger. You can even get the kids version of Messenger (tied through your FB account, you setup up which of your friends they can message with, they can't speak with anyone else and no one can see they have it/"friend them) and speak with your kids directly.

On our last 2 sailings we had over 600 people in our social media roll call and we just sent the CD a Facebook message and he gave a shout-out to us. Maybe because we were larger groups, who knows.

I'd be fine with them recognizing groups of 500 or more.

Shows how different people are.

 

While I take all reviews with a grain of salt I find reading negative reviews and complaints much more beneficial so I know what to watch out for and to adjust my expectation accordingly.

 

Rave reviews are fun to read for sure but less useful as I don't need to read about how cruise lines deliver exactly what they say in big flashy ads that they are supposed to deliver.

I do the same thing! That way I'm not surprised. So, if it happens, I was prepared and/or knew it was coming. If it doesn't, then great!

As long as my room is not flooded and they don't run out of food, I'm not going to sweat the small stuff. There's a lot you can choose to be petty about. In the grand scheme of things, is it going to be that big of a deal when you look back on your cruise years from now?

We are going on Glory in November and would love to hear some recent experiences as well.

How much does the specialty coffee run? Does anyone have a menu?

My name is IntrepidFromDC and I agree with this message.

 

I turn platinum on my 8/28 Horizon sailing, and I turned gold in the middle of a sailing a few years back and it was nice to have the water in the room and the other gold perks.

 

Now I get free wash and fold, I can't wait to see my whites turn grey!!! :D

What are the other Gold perks?

We opted for the Social Wi-Fi instead. Used Facebook Messenger amongst ourselves, and also to keep in touch with people back home. (They make a specific Messenger for Kids that only allows them so speak to people the parent allows, which I use with my kids if iMessage doesn't work.) I think SnapChat works as well?

You can check a variety of social media platforms. And check-in for your flight, too. $4/day, but a little bit cheaper if you pre-purchase.

I checked. You can google Carnival Glory Fun Times Eastern Caribbean.

You found recent ones?

Our November Glory cruise will be the first time we have a balcony on the Lido, and I'm looking forward to it. I was initially concerned about noise and foot traffic from everyone being on Lido, but from what I read it isn't an issue. Also liked being sandwiched with cabins above and below. Looking forward to being "closer to the action" and we can get exercise if we need to take the stairs downstairs. For $38 more total, I'd take it.

We prepay gratuities and don't drink all that much. Buy the social media wi-fi plan (although that's prepaid as well.) Also, generally don't buy any Carnival merchandise on board and get souvenirs at the ports.

We need cash for spending in ports and tipping. We do third party excursions as well, instead of through Carnival, so that is cheaper for us. If you go through Carnival, you have to budget that cost. Sometimes we go to specialty restaurants with a fee.

So, it's hard to say how much you specifically will need without knowing your spending habits and exactly what you plan to do and how much of that is prepaid. We can get away with only needing to bring $200 in cash and having a $100ish bill on board for a 7-day cruise (When we prepay everything available, and don't go to specialty restaurants.) Other couples may need $1000.

My advice -- set a budget according to what your financial constraints are and whatever you feel comfortable with spending. Add up what you know you will need money for, and see how much more you will be comfortable spending. Even though we can afford to spend more than what we do, our priorities dictate that spending $1000+ on board isn't something we want to do, and plan accordingly.

I wonder what percentage of cruisers actually go to guest services? Because it seems like nearly everyone on this board goes, every single cruise. I've been on many cruises on RCL and CCL and visited one time.

For their jacked up price of $90, they only need half as many people to buy it than before to make the same money. But, it seems that they still have a good number of people purchasing, so that's a lot of profit for $0 of cost. So, much like the casino, if people want to spend $$ on this extra and it'll keep my fares down, I'm all for it!

Total longshot, but, anyone seen American Spirits onboard or any of the islands?

I have cruise cash and an OBC when booked. Since I bought the cruise cash, will ALL of that just be a credit in MY folio? What a pain! I assumed it would be for my husband, myself and a tiny bit for our 2 kids ��. Will I have to be the one to buy everything so as to not have them run up a bill?

This is my question too...I will have $50 OBC and $150 cruise cash. So they OBC is split between our two folios, while all the cruise cash goes to my folio?

But it supposedly doesn’t matter, because at the end, all the cruise cash is used to cover BOTH folios? Is that correct?

Is there anything I need to do to ensure that? I will probably spend less than him, so I don’t want it charged to a credit card on his, while I get a refund because of leftover cruise cash.

I wanted to pre-order a cake for our cabin. Do I have to go with the messages offered (bon voyage, happy birthday, happy anniversary, etc.) or can I ask to have a different message written on the cake? Has anyone does this?

Rental car. We always fly into FLL and have to get down to MIA. Not only is the car cheaper, but it gives us the ability to go out and about and not be stuck at the hotel. So we can grab dinner or go shopping.

Got social package for that reason. Works perfectly as advertised. Able to keep in contact via messenger with my kids and parents. You shouldn’t get the social package expecting to be able to video call.

Great start! I'm going on Glory in November and can't wait to read more!

Haven't sailed for 4 years now, just a little worried about the chance of lost luggage when checked vs carrying on all suitcases. What is the better option? Check bags or carry all bags?

 

Also, hearing a lot about $20+ tips to the porter to ensure bags make it on the ship?

 

Thanks!

:o I didn't know they started extorting people at the ports!