CA_Cruzing

;) I never noticed if the excursion desk was open when you board the ship. Dose any one know if it is open during embarkation?

Yes. That’s where you sign up for BTF tour and any other excursions you’d like to book.

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Vsmaitred@carnival.com

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It’s more than a tour. It’s an experience. Done it a few times on different ships. Fully enjoyed each one.

Book as soon as you board. It sells out very quickly. As within 1-2 hours of boarding (did so on Vista last November).

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Okay, I'm pretty torn here. We are looking at a spa cabin (interior) on the Splendor. I think having the spa access will be really nice. I'm not sure how overrun with kids any cruise will be that week (thanksgiving). We are in our 30's/40's and would prefer not feeling like we are on a senior cruise. I just wish the west coast had better options.

Carnival is always a mix of adults and families. You’ll experience more families at holiday times and summer season but the ship won’t be overrun with kids.

Many kids use Carnival’s kids clubs so the kids stay organized. Also, west coast cruises are less kidsy than Florida cruises IMO.

Based on your ages, I’d choose spa cabin on Carnival. Spa Cabin areas are kid-free as spa cabins are usually adults only. So this area of the ship will be quieter than other ship areas.

We’ve cruised Carnival both with and without kids and during holiday/summer season and out of peak season.

Princess skews older. Not that you’ll be the youngest but that there will be fewer people in your age demo on Princess than Carnival.

And head to The Office in Cabo. Great food and drinks. The margs are always amazing. Pricing is California pricing but the food and drink are top notch and you’re on the beach enjoying it all.

No kids, Princess. With kids, Carnival.

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Check out TripAdvisor. IIRC, I saw something similar there that you can book directly.

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Pass the popcorn. Sizzlechest just can’t stop arguing with others. Geez.

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I'll repeat what I said in this thread.... the order which I book a cruise is as follows: Cruise' date=' Travel Insurance (for the pre-existing condition waiver), Airline Tickets, Hotel.

 

 

 

When I booked my cruise in late March, I checked the flights from SMF to FLL/MIA and found a good-priced flight ($324) that left SMF at 8 AM PT, and arrived in FLL at 8:18 PM with a corresponding flight departing 1:30 PM ET the same day the ship docks in Miami (at 7 AM) and arrives in SMF at 8:15 PM PT. Flash forward to early June, and that same exact flight is now $659. A slightly different return flight (going through IAH instead of IAD) is $535. Are there still low-prices flights available? Yes.... but only if I want to SMF at midnight or 6 AM and leave FLL after 5 PM.

 

 

 

All those in the room, who is extremely enthusiastic about arriving at the airport at 5 AM to make a 6 AM flight? Who loves overnight flights? And how about spending the entire day after leaving the ship for your 7 PM flight home? Anyone? Anyone? Beuler? *crickets*

Curiosity; which airline and do you check luggage when flying?

I too fly from SMF to cruise and always check all FL airports and then add in Lyft costs and baggage fees for total cost to arrive.

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When do you typically book airfare? I am trying to decide on a cruise for next year, but airfare is outrageous! I'm talking over half of the cruise fare.

we buy one-way tickets only and secure the best price for each leg of our trips.

there's been as much as a 4 week difference between booking our outbound flights and return flights.

best way to see what the lowest fare are for your preferred airline is to use their flight search tool and "see" how many months out from today do their prices change.

i ran a search yesterday for one of my staff that's seeking to travel next March. we discovered that the best fare available is $61 one way which compares to $101 one way for most other flights to same airport. so she now knows that $101 is an average fare and $61 is the best fare.

now she'll book when the fare is less than $101 knowing she did better than average, or wait to see if she can get the $61 fare.

there are zero set rules for airfare pricing. flight prices are algorithmically created based on demand, time of flight, rate of sale/sold seats on a flight, time of year/month/day.

i recently paid $132 one-way, per person to fly from SMF to LGA. and on the return trip, paid $99 per person one-way on jet blue JFK to SMF nonstop. i usually budget $400 per person r/t to get to east coast. this trip example is 57% of budget. that's a good deal to me.

This: USB Quick Charger RAVPower 60W 6-Port Fast Charger Desktop Charger Charging Station with Quick Charge 3.0 for Galaxy S7/S6/Edge, Note 5 and iSmart for iPhone 7/6s/Plus, iPad, LG, Nexus 6, HTC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSYIGDV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_kunfBb4EY1CJA

And this: Power Banks 16750 RAVPower 16750mAh Phone Battery Charger Portable Chargers External Battery Pack 4.5A Dual USB Output Power Pack for iPhone X, iPhone 8, Galaxy S9, iPad, Android Devices (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQSMEEE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_GvnfBbMEHWGH4

Never run out of power.

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You are wasting your $$$, we boarded 3 min after FTTF.

Some people have money to burn. Why burden yourself with what others see value in?

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It also depends on what season you’re cruising. If it’s summer/schools out/holiday, then you’ll gain the privacy more. If it’s off season where cruises tend to be less children, then the benefits might not weigh as much.

We try to cruise in March or November (early) to avoid kid-full cruises. But when we cruise with our kids, we choose summer season and don’t care much about privacy.

It just depends what you’re seeking, desired experience and what do you view as reasonable cost.

Good luck with your decision. Happy cruising!

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Which cabin class are you asking about?

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$4k for a 7 day cruise?

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Your cruise manager online will also show you as Platinum on the booking docs. Enjoy your perks and free laundry.

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It pays to comparison shop . Some Carnival promos like obc are linked to higher fares as well.

Since the op has already sailed on MSC some of their low fares now include free drinks . Beats cheers by a mile .

Exactly. Carnival is not the least expensive cruise line when you calculate value and perks other cruise lines offer. Do your math on total cost to cruise per day and you’ll learn more of each line’s offerings.

Every ladder has a rung. Every cruise ship and itinerary has a value. Some cruises may “cost more” upfront but your included value exceeds other cruise lines base fares when you add up your total cost to cruise.

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Pre purchase it and when onboard just follow the instructions to authenticate your account. Your account is driven by cabin number and guest name. Doing a pre purchase saves a few bucks.

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We travel and use this to avoid all problems and everyone can charge their devices.

USB Quick Charger RAVPower 60W 6-Port Fast Charger Desktop Charger Charging Station with Quick Charge 3.0 for Galaxy S7/S6/Edge, Note 5 and iSmart for iPhone 7/6s/Plus, iPad, LG, Nexus 6, HTC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSYIGDV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_W2bcBbXK1SESN

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we stayed at JW Marriott Marquis this past November. spectacular hotel and we stayed on concierge level with a bay view. service was top notch and everything was great. in walking distance to Brickell area and restaurants. this trip was my wife and i as we celebrated our 25th anniversary pre-cruise.

we just booked Marriott Biscayne Bay for upcoming July cruise with kids (18 and 14). we chose this hotel to be more out of the financial district and we scored a great room deal (marriott/spg members).

i personally like to use rewards points getting a value of $0.02 per point or higher. if i can't, i hold onto my rewards points and save them for international air travel (transfer points). this way i can fly business class or higher. there's nothing like a comfortable seat on a 8+ hour flight along with upgraded service.

i've read mixed review on the Hilton which swayed me to stay Marriott on this upcoming trip. the Hilton has VERY cheap rooms compared to other properties right now. i use tripadvisor and googlemaps reviews for hotels. i find them to be fairly accurate for the experience one will have at a hotel.

two totally different itineraries.

i prefer the Southern Carib so that would be my choice.

what are your deciding factors? that might aide in better feedback here.

La Romana. We’re on the same cruise. Itinerary explicitly states La Romana, not Amber Cove.

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This happens to me at times. What I do is add some other gift card to the order and then cancel before hitting credit card and for some reason it works for me.

Hope this helps.

i will try this. thank you for your suggestion.

Just bought some and had no issue.

email delivery physical card mailed delivery?

i was able to buy 2 physical cards, no shipping cost, vial mailed delivery.

email/egift cards wouldn't complete online for me as the order said "sold out."

anyone have success in buying e-gift cards within the past 30 minutes (320PM PDT)?

website keeps showing as in stock and on purchase i get a message that both the $100 (5) and $500 (2) are out of stock and the transaction fails AFTER they hit my credit card!

If I may ask, what are the age groups of respondents here? We’re booked on our first Celebrity cruise, 10 day in March 2019.

Dear wife and I will be 50/49, respectively on this cruise. We’re seeking to sail with similarly aged passengers (not exclusively, but in part).

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