nickykat

Interesting, I wasn't aware of the ban or the cost, but I wonder if he high cost on board is to discourage people from drinking bottled water partly because of environmental reasons? The more people who drink tap/filtered water the less plastic waste there is.

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Thank you so much ozkiwjj will make tomorrow much easier

I live in olinda in the dandenong ranges about an hour out of Melbourne and it's one of the most beautiful places I've been in my life. I feel lucky every day to live here (well when I am not freezing that is...!) best experienced in a car not a bus, the drive from belgrave to Monbulk is beautiful, also Sherbrooke road. Lots of gardens and national park walks

I'm going on the carnival spirit tomorrow as part of a larger group and just found out another family have a 4:30 boarding time while we have 12:30. We would like to board together, we are both in suites so have priority boarding, does this mean they can board earlier? Or is it just a different line?

That'll be good, I packed the car today and we have a lot of bags....!!

Thanks for the tip newcruiser

LOL mr walker! Very inconvenient not having an on ship herd I agree :)

I also agree with the taste of uht milk though, not a fan but I can live with it.

Thanks GUT for the tips, I will take my own detergent, both myself and one of my sons have eczema so a good idea I think.

I received a reply from Carnival today re the milk:

In regards to your inquiry, we carry a variety of milks onboard such as cow milk, rice milk, soy milk 2% milk, and lactose free milk. However we do not carry A2 milk. You are welcome to bring A2 milk with you as long as it is sealed and hand carried on through embarkation. Once onboard you can make arrangements with our dining staff for assistance with storage if needed.

So will take some UHT packs of that too.

Thank you cruisine21 :)

Less than a week until I leave on my first ever cruise, excited! A few questions I can't find the answer to: Are there coat hangers in the room (ocean suite) or will I need to bring my own? Is washing detergent provided free of charge or should I bring my own? Is there a chemist/shop on board for over the counter meds like panadol and children's liquid panadol/ nurofen? And an obscure one- is there A2 milk available on board? I've emailed carnival's special needs department but have not received a response yet.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks so much bobhsv, the fridge is the most important thing for me so that answers that question. Have fun on your cruise.

Great thread, thank you all for the info

I know it's months since you posted, but thank you for this :)

Does anyone know if there is a fridge and a kettle in the Ocean suites on the Carnival spirit? Also is there room under the bed to put stuff?

I had the same question about my son screaming and having a meltdown and others complaining. Last time we cruised we were lucky that the gentleman next door worked with special needs adults and worked out that there was an issue with our son and told us not to worry.

 

Setting up a routine will be important. Does your daughter have a comfort item for bed? Would a weighted blanket help?

 

You must have a lot of personal strength to have 3 kids!

 

I struggle with 1.

 

Btw we nearly ended up on your cruise.

Hmmm I may try a weighted blanket, thanks for the suggestion. I think it's mainly a food reaction to be honest, as soon as we slack off on the diet a bit (failsafe) the kids all go a bit crazy. Re the 3 kids, sometimes it's easier than 1! The 2 boys play together quite well a lot of the time, and the eldest is improving so much he was able to fly solo to Darwin a month ago and we didn't disclose to the airline about his aspergers, so MOST of the time not very high needs (he has his moments.....) funny that you were nearly on the same flight. Approx where are you in Melb? (I am admin for an ASD group on fb, would be funny if we were in the same area!). I am in Dandenong ranges. Your cruise sounds very cool though, I'm jealous!

Yes I am REALLY hoping she gets over it by then, it comes in waves, she will be fine for weeks, then have a few nights of screaming, praying that it's not while we are away..... She already takes melatonin. I wouldn't be too happy if there was that much noise right next to me either, so if she does I am expecting complaints :( Just hope they don't kick us off at the next port. Ah children, life would be so much simpler without them!

Re the melatonin, I am cruising from Australia, and do need to deal with customs apparently. I think I may go to a GP and get a prescription just in case.

Thanks all.

Thank you all for your replies. We're booked into a suite with a balcony and I'm sure we will spend a fair amount of time in there. And yes on the plans there are cabins above and below. I will definitely contact the special needs department before I cruise.

I'm starting to get quite worried about the noise my children make. Particularly my 2 year old daughter (not dx but with a big ? as to whether she will be in the future). She often wakes at night screaming and is inconsolable for up to 30 minutes. Has anyone has to deal with noise complaints from neighboring cabins?

Re Autism on the seas can you contact them after you've already booked with a cruise line or not? I've goubd their website quite confusing. Do they work in Australia at all or just the U.S.?

I would find it interesting I think- I've never cruised before but am booked for June in a suite. I'm not paying for this trip (didn't say no when it was offered that's for sure though!) but would be interested in looking at cabins like inside/outside that I could possibly afford for the future if I end up getting addicted to cruising like many on here seem to be!

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Could anyone access the $99 sales?

 

Website didn't work.. No surprise there... Disappointed :(

 

 

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I first tried to access it at 202 pm and very often since. States 'service not available. I'm not really surprised but it is dissapointing and I think false advertising- either everything sold out in 2 minutes (quite likely) or the site has a crazy ammt of traffic they can't handle that is easily anticipated. Doesn't make me more likely to go to that site to purchase a holiday, just makes me think it's a scam!

That's a shame about not being able to attend the kids club last time, I hope you have better luck this time. Thanks again Esilef for a bit more info on what to ask for when I contact the special needs department of Carnival prior to my June cruise- I hadn't even thought about the safety drill..... To be honest I am more worried about my 2 year old than my other 2 (5 and 10) who are both diagnosed with an ASD! She (the 2 year old) is having some very impressive meltdowns and extremely rigid, repetitive and controlling behaviour, I suspect she will be diagnosed at some stage in the future, but it's not exactly clear cut yet (I am praying that she is just a toddler and will grow out of it :( ) Do you (or anyone else) know what the cruise lines are like with small children that don't have special needs (or at least are not diagnosed with anything!)? I worry that in the middle of the safety drill she will start screaming and I will have to leave.... Would that be allowed, or is it mandatory that you stay for it regardless of what the kids are doing?

I hope you and your son have a great time. With the kids club it's the best kind of holiday to have if its just one parent and a child I think, at least you'll be able to have some time to relax :)

It can be quite a big difference, especially if you need several cabins.:D

Exactly, There are 11 of us all up in 3 suites and I think the difference was about $12,000 :eek:

:D:D:D Poor jillbob hope this helps..... google search $99 P & O cruises scan the page you will find it...;)

Thanks Badgerbill, found it, but Elislef a\said I think they are very limited, kind of like a lottery!

We have cruised with carnival in and out of the school holidays, and there were heaps of kids both times. But we are parents, so not complaining. A lot of families I know deliberately cruise out of school holidays because the prices go up so much in school holidays. We had fun both times and are booked again.

Thank you, thought that might be the case, the difference in price between the 8 June and the 18 June cruise was several thousand dollars for all of us.

A good idea except it doesn't include Private or Catholic schools which have holidays outside of these times (usually only a week or so)

Ah yes this is true, the more you pay for education, the more holidays the kids get!

Thanks for that, just confirmed that the cruise we've booked on 8 June is outside of all school holidays which is good, I think my kids will be better off in the kids club when it's less crowded.

On that point, I've seen a few posts on here which indicate that the Carnival Spirit is full of kids regardless of the date? Has anyone sailed in June on the Spirit and what was your experience with the numbers of kids?