catemo_x

55 minutes ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

I saw your question on a popular social media site (LOL). 

haha! I just saw that too 😂

Whoever posted me to John Heald’s page, thanks for the thought, but I’m certain he can’t just give me another cabin lol!!! 
 

lots of comments on his page mentioned my husband should definitely get a sleep study. I agree. He probably does have sleep apnea but as to convincing him to see a doctor, Let’s just say I might have more chance of receiving a free extra cabin from John Heald 😂

3 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

Whiskey. Lots of whiskey. You won’t hear anything (nor remember if you do). 

Alcohol will definitely be utilized...I just need to be able to get up the next morning! 😂 

3 hours ago, Liverpoollovely said:

Because you have said you have a SPA interior you have access to the SPA relaxing waiting room, in previous ships where I have used the SPA there is a waiting room with comfortable couches and I have seen people sleep in there without being bothered, I am unsure if you would have 24 hour access to this but with your room type you will have SPA access. 

I thought about that too! When we booked the same cabin type on Splendor a few years ago I did notice that the relaxation room was open 24 hours a day and would have been an excellent spot to escape to for some sleep if necessary. It seems like the Vista Class ships have smaller Cloud 9 Spa spaces and I’m wondering if the relaxation room is also smaller or is closed off at night. It will definitely be worth checking in to! Thanks for your suggestions! 

1 hour ago, Ziggy7 said:

Get a balcony and sleep on there, my friend does every cruise. Serenity deck they leave you alone as well!

I wish! We already booked a Spa Interior cabin. 

Thanks for the suggestions, all! I definitely have to use earplugs and I’ll probably use some sort of sleep aid medication as well. Like I said, I’m hoping it would never come to me having to decide to sleep elsewhere but it’s nice to know I’ll have options if I just have to 😂 I forgot about the Serenity Deck clamshells, thats a great option. I also had not considered the library. 
 

side note: if you use noise-cancelling headphones/earbuds, what brand/model do you recommend? A friend of mine has the Bose ones but I’m not in a hurry to spend $250 for something I won’t use often 😳

This is an odd question.  My husband and I haven’t cruised together in 2 years and since the last time we cruised, he has developed quite the loud snoring problem 😫 I know I can’t be the the only one with a snoring spouse. So I’m wondering if anyone else has, in a moment of desperation, found somewhere in a public area on Horizon that they could escape to in the middle of the night for a few hours’ sleep?? Also, would this even be ok? Or would staff members ask me to go back to my room?? Honestly I’m hoping it wouldn’t come to this but I need a plan in case I can’t deal with the snoring. Please advise!

On the Splendor 2 years ago, we just showed them our room key (spa interior room) and they gave us another key card that unlocked access to the thalassotherapy pool, saunas etc for our own use. Maybe they do the wristbands on the newer ships?

I am cruising with my mother (her first cruise!!) on the Splendor in November. I keep checking on FTTF, as I have always purchased it when cruising with my husband. I know it is still about 9 months out, and is most likely not available yet, but on Carnival's website it is listed as "sold out." Is this just the standard message because it is unavailable at this point, or is it truly sold out as it says? Has anyone else experienced this?

So much wrong with this post.

 

- Since when do "most" know why a service tipped employee is underperforming. We, as customers, should not even be told sob stories that their work load has increased, decreased or anything.

 

- your gratuities do NOT do to all ship employees

 

- you sound like you are being held hostage by a tip.

 

- if you wish to do the work that you are being supplied with to perform, that's between you and he.

 

- if the persons assigned to me is not performing to my specifications for any reason, their tip WILL be adjusted.

- I've never had a room steward who "underperformed." They have always been exceptional. I've also never been told a "Sob story" from any employee on a Carnival ship. However, I do know they have a huge workload and get paid very little for it, less than minimum wage in the US. The reason anyone's cruise vacation is affordable is because they have cut costs in labor. A pre-paid gratuity helps to off-set that loss for the employees, but is also COMPLETELY optional. My point is that I would personally NEVER remove the gratuity COMPLETELY. These people work hard for a long time away from their families and deserve their tips.

-Maybe the gratuities do not go to "all" employees, but they don't just go to your room steward. So if you remove the pre-paids based on what you perceive as bad service from the steward, you're also taking your money away from cleaning staff who work in common areas, as well as kitchen and laundry staff etc.

-Never been "held hostage by a tip." I'm not even sure what you mean by that statement. I believe all service workers deserve to be tipped and I budget accordingly.

-Just because I don't leave my room a mess doesn't mean I'm doing the work for my room steward. I like things to be organized and I personally enjoy my cruise more when my surroundings reflect that. BUT I also know it means the steward can spend less time on my room if need be, in order to spend more time on a room where someone has been less conscientious.

-And yes, it is absolutely your right to adjust the tips how you see fit if you are receiving bad service. My original point is that i would personally never completely REMOVE the tip based on all the above reasons.

Wow, some of y'all are harsh. To suggest that you would "remove all gratuities" based on a decision made by some corporate Bigwig at Carnival seems out of line... don't forget that your pre-paid gratuities benefit not only your room steward, but all of the other staff. And if it was up to your steward, they would probably go the extra mile to make you smile. Even if Carnival did move to a permanently once-a-day cleaning service, I would NEVER ever dream of completely removing gratuities unless every single crew member I encountered throughout my cruise was rude and unaccomodating by choice.

That said, we have never had to choose between morning or evening; we have always received both. And we try to keep our room as tidy as possible knowing that these room stewards are responsible for 20+ rooms per cruise. I enjoy both morning and evening service, but if I had to choose, I would gladly give up the evening turn-down service. It is a nice perk, but really in the grand scheme of things, unnecessary. I'd rather continue to cruise for a reasonable rate on Carnival than pay extra for the evening turn-down service.

In any industry, costs continue to climb, and I understand that. If i can continue to cruise for under $100 per person per day while sacrificing the extra turn-down service, I would be fine with that. Every room steward we have ever had has gone above and beyond to make sure we had smiles on our faces and enjoyed every bit of our time on board. They have all earned every cent of the pre-paid gratuities, as well as the extra cash we usually budget in for excellent service. IF once per day cleaning services become a reality, we will not complain. We will still enjoy our reasonably priced vacation and MOVE ALONG!!

it's available 90 days out if you're in a regular room and i think 100 days out for haven.

Thank you! I figured it was something like that. I know I will be logging in at the 90-day mark to make sure I get our passes! And hopefully I will not witness any "funny business" at the spa! 😂 Some people!

To the OP, Long Beach can be easy or it can be a complete mess. I wouldn't be in a huge hurry to get there. Bring a jacket as you'll be standing outside waiting in line. The are concrete blocks to sit on, but no chairs. Hope for dry weather and warm temperatures.

Thanks for the info. Hubby and I will just take our time and enjoy breakfast somewhere in Long Beach before heading to the port at 12:30. Fingers crossed for good weather! I've been a little worried that we will have substantially colder weather than our previous January cruises in the Caribbean but we cannot wait!!! 89 days is still so long to wait!

It is check in that we would like to hear about and not so much actual boarding.

The first check in time listed for the Miracle is much later than most of us are used to for previous cruises.

We want to know if you have platinum/diamond, suites/FTTF can you check in before the earliest listed time???

I agree, I suppose the check-in process is more what I was referring to than actual "boarding" of the ship 😉 From my understanding, if you have priority boarding (Diamond/Platinum/FTTF) you still have to select a check-in window but you can come "at your leisure" (per carnival.com) with the only exception being that you cannot check in earlier than the earliest posted window. So I'm just as curious as you are if that will be strictly enforced. Every time we've ever cruised out of Port Canaveral or Miami we have gotten to the Port about 10:30 and had no problem getting checked in early 😊 I guess I am just very eager to get on the ship and start enjoying my cruise as soon as possible!

I wouldn't trust this weeks of staggered embarkation to be a good representation of how it will be in the future. Give it a cpl weeks to work the bugs out. Most people I've talked to say it works great in other ports. The only complaints I hear are from people who try and show up early and are not allowed in.

That Is a good point. Hopefully if there are any problems they will get worked out quickly. We are not cruising until January so I'm hoping embarkation will move along like a well-oiled machine by then.

Thursday was the very first embark using Staggered Check in. Hopefully someone will do a little review about it.

SadieN, I choose you to write a review since you'll be cruising next week according to your countdown! 😊 Enjoy Hawaii!!

Helllo! We are 90 days out from our Mexican Riviera cruise on Miracle. This is our first non-Caribbean cruise (we have only ever cruised from Miami or Port Canaveral)

To those who have cruised on Miracle out of Long Beach- what was your boarding experience like? I'm guessing much will be the same as it is in Miami, but specifically, how is the new staggered boarding process? Is the port truly that strict about the boarding windows (i.e. will they turn away early arrivals?) Not sure if it will affect us much, as we have purchased Faster of the Fun...but tell me, was it a smooth process? Thanks, all! :)

Thanks for all the responses! I'm glad to hear that everyone has had a positive experience. We will definitely be purchasing a spa package on Escape, as using the thermal suites on our most recent cruise was sooooo relaxing and a great way to get some quiet time on a ship full of people (especially on a sea day!)

So my next question is: at what point is it available to purchase online? We are 209 days out so I'm guessing they won't make it available until much closer to our sailing. Does anyone know how far out NCL publishes the online sale for the spa package? Of course I'd like to pre-purchase since it is a little less expensive!:)

Haven't cruised with them yet, going in November but I have already purchased my spa pass for the week for $199. It is currently $219 onboard.

 

I am shooting for Vibe but if I don't get those, the spa is my backup for a hiding place onboard. Everyone knows the pool is a nightmare and super crowded so imo, I needed the spa pass for a quiet place. Plus, it looks pretty cool.

Thanks! I guess maybe it isn't available online for me yet because we are not cruising until May of next year 😊 I feel the same about needing a quiet place to hang out...the Escape seems super busy all the time! Enjoy your cruise and thanks again!

Hello all! My apologies if this has been discussed before...but I was wondering if anyone had used the thermal suite in the Mandara Spa on NCL Escape and what they thought of it? My husband and I had a spa category room on our last cruise (Carnival Splendor) and we used the thalassotherapy pool and steam rooms every single day of our cruise...it was such a treat. It seems to me that NCL does charge a LOT more than Carnival for a similar cruise-length pass for their thermal suite so I'm just wondering... is it worth the added expense in your opinion? Also, does anyone know if I can pre-purchase a package online or do I have to do so on board? Thanks everyone!

We have never cruised NCL either but will be sailing on Escape in May of 2017. From the research I've done so far, it seems like their "freestyle" concept applies to dress as well. You can be as formal or as casual as you'd like...within reason. (i.e. shirt/pants/shoes or sandals required) We are really looking forward to the flexibility that NCL offers! Have a wonderful cruise!