Pops, Esq.

Would you recommend Rum Point over Starfish Point, looking at booking a trip and have seen them with either of these as the 3rd location ? Thanks

If you have to pick one over the other for a single visit, then Rum Point wins without question. But, as a third stop on a trip (I assume the other two are stingrays and snorkel) it could go either way. The starfish point stop is neat, but not really very exciting. Rum Point will have food, drinks, sand, and a view that is hard to beat.

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We dock in Falmouth in October, DH just got his orders and he will still be playing in the middle eastern sandbox during our fall break cruise. So the boys, 9 and 11 at the time will be on our own. Looking for a good driver for the day. Blue Hole is our only destination. Any suggestions?

Liberty Tours is great. We did the Blue Hole and Lunch tour and had an absolute blast!

Sneaky that AT&T

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Buying the package during the cruise, instead of beforehand... so paying a little less since I will only use for the last night or last 2 nights.

You can only buy Cheers on day 1 or 2 for the entire remaining cruise. You can’t buy for just the last night or two.

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One word of warning (for lack of a better term). Starfish Point, while quite beautiful and pretty neat, is not the most exciting attraction on the Island. They're starfish. They don't do much. Not like the sting rays or the turtles. They...well...just lie there.

You know your kids best. I know it can be hit or miss on things like this. When mine were around that age, I had one that would have been wanting out of there in about 2 minutes ("yep, starfish. Neat. What's next?) and another that would have just hung out there all day looking.

It was my wife's favorite part of our trip (which included snorkeling and Rum Point). We had rented a car and so we came at it from the land side. It was pretty neat just wading out and finding starfish.

There are no cell towers at sea, so whatever "cruise package" your carrier sold you will not help in any way except while you are in port.

Actually, their carrier (AT&T) sells "cruise package" as (according to the link you provided) all billing comes through the carrier.

Charges, Billing, and Customer Service

Rates for roaming on ships are determined by your home carrier. Please note that calls to 800, 888, 866, and 877 numbers are not toll free. You will be billed by your home carrier for your international roaming usage on your regular mobile phone bill. Typically charges will appear on the next monthly bill, but depending on your carrier it may occasionally take up to 60 days for charges to appear on your phone bill. Please note that most cell phone carriers do not allow their unlimited rate plans to apply to cellular calls, texts or data used while onboard ships. Please contact your own carrier to confirm this and your specific pricing details.

AT&T has such a package and lists Carnival ships as on the plan.

https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/cruise-packages.html

wifi calling, Skype, iMessaging all require you buy the wifi package. Straight calls could only be made with Carnival's Cellular at sea, I believe it's $1.99 a minute. They can also call the ship directly. The instructions are in the Carnival website.

Cellular rate depends on carrier. $5.99 for T-Mobile, but others may be lower. The ship to shore phone in the rooms are $1.99 per minute.

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Hello all.

 

I am taking my wife and kids (3yr old and 1yr old) on their first cruise next week. We will be on the Carnival Sensation.

 

I just found out that non-potty trained kids are not allowed to use any of the water-areas. This ruins our plan as my boys love the splash areas. My 3yr old is potty trained, but my 1yr old is not.

 

While I understand the policy on the swimming pools, it’s ridiculous that it also applies to the kid-only areas. It would be cruel to deprive one of fun in front of the other because Carnival decided to save a little bit of money by NOT having a dedicated filtration system for the kids.

 

I read that people bring an inflatable pool to remedy the situation.

 

Does anyone know if this is allowed on carnival cruises? If so, is there a particular type of inflatable pool that is recommended? Where do I dump the water after he’s finished playing?

 

Thank you.

Here's a start at three threads that discuss this. Ignore the remarks by some directed at "ignoring the rules" as you are apparently not intent on doing so.

I think the takeaway is to go with something referred to as an "inflatable tub" rather than "inflatable pool". (the key here being

"pools" may be on the prohibited list while "tubs" are not)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2562198&highlight=inflatable+pools

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2543201&highlight=inflatable+pools

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2478801&highlight=inflatable+pools

I'm assuming our Ship's Time (Miracle From Tampa, April) will be U.S Eastern time And observing DST.

Three Ports; Cozumel, Belize, and Mahogany Bay are U.S. Central time, with NO DST.

Grand Cayman is in the Eastern time zone, also with NO DST.

For the first three ports, arrival time is 8:00AM , (Ship's time?) Making these port's local time two hours earlier than the Ship's arrival time. Correct?

Grand Cayman, being Eastern time zone will be one hour behind, right?

This brings me to ship sponsored excursions: are they at Ship's time, or local time?

Thanks so much in advance!

In April, after DST begins....

Miami will be on Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4 hours)

Cozumel will be on Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5 hours)

Belize will be on Central Standard Time (GMT -6 hours)

Mahogany Bay (Honduras) will be on Central Standard Time (GMT -6 hours)

Grand Cayman is on Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5 hours)

So...assuming the ship stays on Miami time,

Cozumel time will be one hour behind ship time

Belize time will be two hours behind ship time

Mahogany Bay time will be two hours behind ship time

Grand Cayman time will be one hour behind ship time

Thank you so much for this.

 

 

 

I do have a question- What is Wagu / Is it the Facy expensive cut of beef/steak?

 

I always order the ribeye at the Steakhouse but am curious about the Wagu.

 

Thank you' date='[/quote']

 

 

 

Wagyu is a breed of cattle. Specifically, a Japanese breed. They are known for extreme marbling. Wagyu beef can be raised outside of Japan, but must be that breed. The most famous Wagyu beef is Kobe beef, which is from Wagyu cattle raised in the Kobe area of Japan.

 

The cut of Wagyu on the new menu is the flat iron steak.

 

 

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In the past, we rented a car and drove there. It was an easy (and, actually sort of fun) drive. There are car rental places at the airport and one near the port. We went with one at the airport because it had a "cruise ship" rate. Basically a day rate with all extras included (insurance, driver's permit fee, gas, etc.). I think we paid $85 for a mid-sized. You might find cheaper. Still cheaper than an excursion. We just went with that because I could know what the cost was.

We took our own snorkel equipment and snorkeled. Also took a quick stop at Starfish Point.

On our upcoming cruise, we are going with Nativeways. Travelling with others who want to do the stingrays.

It was worth the trip. And nice to be out on our own after four days of cruise ship and excursions.

If you are leaving from Tampa, and the ship stays on EDT, you (the ship) will be one hour ahead of island time, which will be EST.

Assuming the Miracle does not change time, if your schedule says you port at 10am, that means you will port at 10am ship time. This will be 9am Island time.

BUT, if you are the only ship in port that day, they may hold the 8:45 departure a bit. It would seem silly to start an excursion 15 minutes before the only cruise ship ports for the day. Maybe they have enough on-island tourists to do so, but I have to think ships are their bread and butter on these excursions.

Edit: See the link below. The port says the ship is getting in at 8:00 a.m. So, maybe that's what the tour operator is looking at.

https://www.caymanport.com/ship-schedules-calendar/

Great to hear! We are booked with them in May.

I have a steakhouse question. Can anyone answer? When they say you get a free bottle of wine on embarkation night is that referring to one bottle for the table or per guest?

 

 

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Officially, it is one bottle per table. This has been reported even when two couples (in different cabins) are dining together. That's the official position. However, some have reported being able to talk the manager into two bottles with two couples at the table.

From personal knowledge, we were able to get two bottles at 50% off with two people at the table. My wife wanted white and I wanted red and we asked very nicely. I think maybe the manager sensed that I REALLY didn't want white wine with my steak.

Not to be dense, but if I sail out of Galveston on Sunday, would my cheers package kick in Monday morning? I will be needing my spiked coffee after my morning run and mimosas at breakfast Monday :-)

 

 

 

We had cheers for the first time in October and loved it. No clue if i broke even or not, but what I do know is I never worried about how much I was spending on my drinks and I tried things I never would have.

Cheers starts at 6:00 a.m. Monday (for a Sunday departure)

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You pay for one day less than the cruise. 5 day? 4 days of Cheers charged.

Galveston/Freedom will be on Central Daylight Time.

Cozumel will be on Eastern Standard Time. (same as ship time)

Roatan and Belieze will be on Central Standard Time (one hour behind ship time)

Itinerary should be in ship time.

https://www.timeanddate.com/

What's confusing? I understand it.

 

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I didn't say it was confusing. I implied they did not have a grasp on what the word "non-refundable" means.

If something is "non-refundable" then you shouldn't be able to get a refund.

If you can cancel and get a refund, then it is NOT "non-refundable."

Per Carnival' s website when trying to purchase Cheers it says before proceeding to the payment page that the program is non-refundable.

Carnival seems a little "loose" on what they mean by "non-refundable."

From Carnival FAQ, where they actually use the term "non-refundable" and immediately give you the deadline by which you must cancel to receive a refund:

• CHEERS! is non-refundable; if the program is purchased prior to the cruise, it is refundable up to 10:00pm ET, the evening prior to the cruise departure.
  

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Inigo Montoya

Never heard of it being an issue. That doesn’t mean it isn’t, it just means I haven’t seen it mentioned on these boards.

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Pre-purchase though Fun Shops. It’s high, and they now add a service fee, but the view can’t be beat.

It’s 1 12-pack per person. And yes, they hold bottles bought in the ship’s store.

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I've never looked, but do the cabin TVs have HDMI ports to allow connection of devices?

Yes and no. Yes, they have them. But, they have been disabled and are not operational. Seems I have heard suites may have operational ports, but I may be getting my information confused with something else.

How much are specialty coffees? And how many locations on the ship can you get them? I am not a big drinker, but would consider package if I could at least break even. It may be worth it for the pop, water, coffee and wine for dinner if I could break even; hubby would like to get the package.

Generally, about $3.50 without alcohol. $5.75 for a “spiked” coffee drinks.

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For my 7 day cruise, the total cost of the booking with taxes and fees was $810 (for two). The cost was $840 for cheers. You can sell me all you want on peace of mind, "breaking even", but I would rather have a second cruise vs drinks.

 

My views may change if I didn't have to force my non-drinking girlfriend to buy the package or if it included drinks on the excursions. If I'm paying $840 for drinks, then have to buy more when I hit the beach, I'm not in a peace of mind state.

 

You can bring a bottle of wine, you can find room credits, self-pouring beer stations are good and cheap, gold and above and you start to get more free drinks. When all else fails, buy a couple.

If one is travelling with a non-drinker, Cheers makes less sense. Your break even is 12 or so mixed drinks or 20 or so beers. Then again, you would be looking at $100 plus in bar bills per day to make NOT having Cheers a losing proposition.

You don't have to be over 50!

Not that there is anything wrong with that.