Anchors Away 2016

Just a heads up to add that we were on the Liberty recently, and were all eager to use the Chat function on the app to help us find each other on the ship, only to get on and find that it was having technical issues. The rest of the app worked, but the Chat function didn't work at all during our trip. We spent a lot of time leaving notes for each other and looking for each other. They did refund our $5 each, though.

Once you arrive (at or perhaps shortly before your scheduled time), you go through security, then check in, then you get a loading zone number, unless you are FTTF. So OP can go whenever he wants. Others must wait in line and wait for their time. When I was in Port Canaveral earlier this month, there was a ton of people stuck at the Budget Rental Office. They were waiting to get on one of the big Royal Caribbean ships, but apparently there was so many people there ahead of their scheduled times that the place was swamped and no one could get in. Thus, Budget was using its shuttles to take customers to all of the other ships (including us to the Carnival Liberty) while the Royal customers were being held at the Budget office to prevent the Budget shuttles from getting stuck in the mess. I suppose it cleared up eventually, but the message is clear about the "etiquette." Arriving a little early is fine, though it may not get you on the ship much earlier, but arriving way early compared to your time is bad for everyone.

 

Granted, there has been a lot of negativity on this board lately but it's also an information board, not a joke board. And please don't tell me to lighten up.

Apparently, he isn't a "Stripes" fan, either. "Don't tell me to lighten up," is EXACTLY what Francis would say.

I thought it was funny, but then again, I understood it right away too.

Hello again. Just got back from the trip, so I thought I'd add my first hand experience replies to my own questions.

1) They were fine with my backpack. Didn't even size it. I did see them sizing a larger backpack (that clearly was too big). Plus, when I got on the plane, they offered to let me put it in the overhead compartment instead of under my seat. That surprised me, but I kept it under my seat because I had some snacks that I wanted to access. Nice to have the option, though. And as a bonus, (probably because Spirit charges for carry-ons) the over head bins weren't crammed full, like they are non just about every other airline.

2) As for boarding passes, it is easier than I thought. Pre-printed passes are fine. (Though they quickly replaced them with their own printed passes.) Passes on the phone were fine too. On the way back we did the check-in over the phone a few hours before the flight but it didn't go through. Still no problem. We used a kiosk in front of the Spirit counter and still avoided paying the fee. It turns out as long as you don't go up to the person at the counter without checking-in first, you are fine. They even had a scale there to weigh our checked bag to make sure we didn't go over. They also allowed people who were over to take things out of their bags to avoid extra charges.

3) We didn't pay extra for the seat assignments and instead got the "random" selection. One way we checked in about 8 hours before the flight, the other at the airport about 3 hours before. In both cases, we got seats together, and rather close to the front of the plane (which I think is desirable.) Once in row 8 and the second time in row 3! So I think random seats worked better than I expected.

Overall, I wasn't in love with the Airline. The seats were awfully close together, and the service was bare bones, but the attendants were friendly and enthusiastic and overall it was a lot better than I thought it would be.

***Update***

 

Had some follow up questions that I was advised I would have to ask after the cruise by mailing guest services. I did this received an auto reply stating it would take up to 7 days to reply.

 

8 days later, nothing received. Tried the UK listed 0843 number and was asked to go on hold to guest services.....been 30 minutes so far.

 

Not good.

I appreciate that you took the time to start this thread.

You can be sure some good will come of your efforts!

Learning from your own mistakes is great. Letting other people learn from your mistakes is priceless.

Thanks!

Ah, OK. Got it. Well, at least I didn't find out on board. Best to avoid the whole mess if I can. We'll see if I can do that.

Thanks!

I totally agree. The hangover factor is huge for me. Some people may say the is no difference in Tito's and Absolute when using a mixer but my headache would disagree.

 

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Your millage may vary, of course. Personally, i have found that the key to avoiding a hangover isn't what grade of alcohol I drink, it is how much other liquid (water works best for me) I drink the same night, and how soon I sleep after drinking ends. If I drink plenty of water after a night of drinking adn stay up a bit, I never have a hangover. If I fall asleep right after drinking and don't drink any extra water, watch out the next morning.

But it may well work different for you. If expensive alcohol is the only way you can avoid a hangover, then I agree it is worth it, but for me, water and time is enough.

The first one was on a 5 day cruise, the second a 7 day. If you want a discount, you need to buy ahead of time. There’s no getting around it.

I understand that. My issue is the AMOUNT of the "discount" or mark-up.

I was told for my cruise the pre purchase price was $4/$10/$15 per day. And that that was a 15% discount. So on the ship, I expected $4.7/$11.75/$17.5 per day.

But the prices you quoted on board were $6.7/$16/$25 per day. That is more like s 60% mark-up, not 15%.

Understand, I'd prefer not to buy any package at all and not use it, but if I get on board and find out that I want it, I don't want to be stuck with an even bigger price increase than Carnival's website told me.

Ironically, this trend of putting top shelf liquor in mixed drinks mostly came from Bars and Restaurants trying to think of a reason to charge you $3-5 more for that mixed drink you are about to order.

I agree that top end alcohol is best enjoyed straight, but hey, if they are on cheers, let them try it once. If they see that they can't taste the difference in a mixed drink, they can then feel good about saving money back on land where they are paying for the drinks by opting out of the high end stuff in mixed drinks, or maybe they will appreciate the "good" stuff straight. That is even better.

Oh no! This is even worse than I thought. Bad enough that I might not be able to purchase by the day, but those on-ship markups seem MUCH higher than I was told.

The pre-purchase info for my 4-day on the Liberty says that it is a 15% discount, and lists the prices as $4, $10 and $15 per day.

But the prices you list ($6.66 and not even available, $16 and $25) are WAY more than 15% more.

Now I am stuck. Do I bite the bullet and pay more than I want to now, or wait and risk having to pay even more on the ship?

Can anyone else share their experiences?

I know you can purchase one of three WiFi plans ahead of time or on-board the ship and that they cost a certain amount per day.

My question is, if I were to want to sign up for the plan halfway through my trip, would I still have to pay for all the days (even the ones that have already passed) or would I just be charged the daily amount from that day forward?

Thanks!

Thanks so much! This is exactly the kind of feedback I wanted. Will they measure it? Will they be sticklers with a ruler? I'm sure that my backpack could be adjusted and squished into a box of that dimention and fit under my seat (though I'm not sure where I'll put my legs!), I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't "go looking for problems to cause."

From what you all say, it sounds like I will be fine. Glad to know the boarding pass on my phone will work too. That will be great.

I doubt that I will become a regular Spirit customer, but I'm glad to know that I can make it to my destination and back without incurring $100s of dollars in extra charges on my "free" ticket. $80 (round trip) for the one bag that we paid in advance to check still makes for a very cheap flight for two people.

First, let me state these plane tickets on Spirit Airlines were a gift to us, so we have no option to switch to a different airline. And even having to pay Spirit's extra fees, a free base price is better than other airline choices. Still, I'd like to pay as little for these "free" tickets as possible.

We have pre-purchased 1 checked bag round trip, that the two of us will share. I know about the 40 lb limit. My big question is about the free "personal item." It suggests a purse or a computer bag. I would like to take a small backpack instead, but I don't want them to charge me last minute as a "carry on" bag. My backpack meets their 18X14X8 guidelines. Will it be accepted? Anyone every try this?

Also, I read an old post on this forum saying that I must pre-print our boarding pass when we check in the day before to avoid a $10 charge. If I don't have a functional printer (I know, right?) is there any other option, like on my smart phone, or at a kiosk at the airport, or must I pay the fee? Let's say (for the sake of argument) I don't have time to go to Staples or somewhere like that to print them.

Last question, if I don't want to pay the $12 each way per person for assigned seats, is there ANY chance that we can at least get two seats together, or will they spread us out?

Regarding the shows, how early did you arrive, and when did it really start filling up? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 5 minutes? Thanks!

Loving your review! I hope you can come back and finish it.

When I was 16, I went to Paris for 9 days with a school trip. My mother was allowed to sign a form saying that I could have a single glass of wine as part of the dinner that was included in the package. She signed it. I can't speak for others, but for me, this gave me enough of a taste of "French Life" and I never tried to get wine/alcohol at any other point during the trip, though I easily could have.

Now, this year my sons (15 and 17) will be going on a European trip through school, and it wasn't even offered as an option. As with cruise lines, their trip, their rules, but personally I don't see why they don't give the option. The "house wine" served in French restaurants is wonderful, and would be a great experience for them. In my judgement it wouldn't get them drunk or increase their risk of binge drinking, if anything it might lessen it. But oh well. Not a huge deal.

Carnival’s pizza is great, But the labor cutbacks continue.

 

You wait for everything on a Carnival ship.

 

Food, drinks etc.

 

Moving to a different line.

 

 

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Sorry. You'll have to wait to do that.

There is a line.

:D

we sail on Sunday. I'll see what I can get.

That would be great! A lot of interest in that itinerary and none of us seem to be able to find one.

In my opinion, as long as you have a responsible substitute (which you do) I think it is BETTER FOR YOUR CHILDREN if you take a little time to yourself once in a while.

For one thing, it is good for them to have time with other care-givers, who may do things a bit different. (Sound like you are already doing this one!) Second, I think it is good for children to remember once in a while that although they are SUPER important to you, the whole world doesn't revolve around them. This will be a good lesson for them later in life too.

Since our boys were little, we had a "Camp Grandma" one week each summer with each of their two sets of Grandparents. Let me tell you, they LOVE it. They are teenagers and they STILL love it. Plus, my mother, and my wife's parents have each told us how much that time with their grandsons have meant to them. So, we enjoy the alone time, but they all look forward to it even more than we do. Win-Win-Win.

On the way to the port right now. They handed us an envelope with crisp $100 bills. They kept their promise. We really weren't expecting it.

This made my day! I'm glad you gave them the chance to make good on their promise. Have a great time!

These posts are so interesting and helpful! Thanks for keeping it going, Silent Penguin!

Caveat emptor applies here.

 

To me, this is ancient thinking. Especially with a major corporation, one that wants to have to reputation of being reputable, the buyer should not have to think of every proper question to ask to avoid getting tricked.

Now, perhaps they did explain that it was a restricted fare, and the OP missed it, or didn't think it would be an issue. This might be the most likely scenario.

But in general, I think it is a dangerous argument whenever someone says, "You didn't stop me from cheating you, so it is YOUR fault." (I'm not saying that anyone here said that.)

Also, most states (and all Credit Cards) have processes to contest almost any purchase, so once you get the documentation, if you find out it wasn't what you wanted, you can dispute the purchase. Usually the company (if they wish to be reputable) will willingly refund the purchase, as long as you do it in like three days or so.

All the best! It certainly can be confusing.

Interesting. Let me ask you a question: What if these were adults? Would you expect the crew to intercede for you so you could get your turn playing the games?

 

Actually, this poster may have hit on a good solution (though perhaps not the one they had in mind). If they were adults playing game after game, what would you do? My guess is you would ask them for the next game. Same thing here. Ask the kids (or their parents if they are around) for the next game. Might just work.

Personally, I have no problems with some areas being Adults Only after a certain time. Some other lines do this, even Disney, which is obviously family friendly. It allows families and kids to enjoy the space, but allows adults to have some "alone time" too. Win-win, and a good compromise.

One can say, "it won't happen," but that isn't very constructive. It might happen, and discussing it is the first step. Comment cards are the second step.

For what it is worth, I think the OP brings up another Disney policy that is not well understood by many people. (I'm sure most of the posters here understand it, but others may not.)

That is the tagging of bags. I personally thought that only certain airlines participated in the automatic bag transfer program. I also thought that it only applied to people using Disney transportation to the port.

So when my DW put our Disney luggage tags on our luggage, I thought, "well that isn't needed now, but it won't affect anything since we aren't using Disney Transport and since we are flying SouthWest."

I was WRONG. We got to Orlando the night before the cruise and our bags were all missing. We inquired and were told, "Oh they are on the way to the port, because the tags were on them."

In the end, we got them back that night, and no harm was done. Indeed, I hold no ill-will towards Disney for it, but I would have liked to have had more information. Did it specifically say NOT to put those tags on until we reached the port? I tried to read the documents that came with the tags and didn't see that. For that matter, we probably would have LOVED to have the option to have our luggage go straight to the port if we knew about it ahead of time (so we could pack accordingly) and if we knew it would be stored safely overnight.

So if nothing else, a warning to future travelers, DON'T put those tags on ahead of time, unless you are using the Disney Transport.

We asked our room host, Benjamin, for some wine glasses on the second day. He brought 4 of them sealed in plastic attached to a plate. It was very convenient. After that, whenever we dirtied a wine glass he removed it, and when we used up the 4 he had brought us, he brought us 4 more. Such great service!!!

Likewise he opened the veranda divider between our room and my sister's family's room next door. It stayed open the whole trip. It made for a second convenient way to interact with our family members next door in addition to the interior connecting door. Plus it made the veranda seem bigger.