lauren009

My Husband and I would have loved a TA if that had been our first cruise. Our first cruise (2017) was 6 days. We got engaged two months later and booked a TA for our honeymoon (this past May) and LOVED it. But we both really love down time. We were also on Carnival's newest ship that has tons of stuff to do on board.

If you really want to try one, find one between January-May when the Atlantic is the least (typically) stormy. Pick a lower deck and towards the back of the ship (according to my friend who was in the Navy; most people will tell you low-and-middle of the ship). But there's just no way to guarantee you wont hit any weather. Bigger ships handle the weather better than small so that's another factor to consider when looking at options.

Here is my blog post about my TA cruise: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2018/06/horizon-transatlantic.html

Note: Carnival doesn't normally do TAs. This one was it's one-time repositioning from Europe - where it was built.

For the soda you carry on- you probably want to put it in a glass first. No one can give you trouble this way. You can find cups on lido, ask for an empty glass at a bar, and/or there are water glasses in your cabin.

People tried to tell me that I can bring a bottle of wine to the dining room and not pay corkage as long as it's already open. The first night I tried this I had no trouble but the second night I had to argue with the manager and promise not to do it again to not get charged.

After this one guy online INSISTED that you absolutely won't get charged corkage if you bring it open and that he's done it for millions of dining room meals, rudely disputing my saying "you have to bring it in a glass", and then they tried to charge me, I was SO mad.

Even if I ran into the one server who decided to be a jerk about it, I'm going to play it safe for the rest of my life and only bring wine in a glass from now on

I love cruising because I get to spend everyday with my husband (we barely separate the whole time which is what be both want) without having to worry about cooking, cleaning, and our entertainment for the week is walking distance away. It's like the entire cruise is "date night" for us.

My coworker told me he hated cruising because of all the down time with nothing to do. When I cruise we go to a lot of the trivias during the day and we do sometimes watch movies and tv in the cabin, but that is fun for me and my husband, not a waste of time.

So, to me, it comes down to: will you hate having nothing to do? If yes, then maybe don't cruise, if no, then definitely do cruise. If you are in the first category, but want to try cruising, I'd advise you pick one of the largest ships by whichever cruise line (Oasis class for Royal Caribbean, Vista class for Carnival, Breakaway Plus class for Norwegian) as they will have the most things to do while on board.

Here's my packing list; will give you ideas for what to bring. Obviously adjust for potential cold weather in AK.

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/10/cruise-packing-list.html

Anything from these lists:

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2018/04/cruise-necessities.html

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/10/cabin-must-haves.html

You might find more ideas from my cruise packing list:

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/10/cruise-packing-list.html

You can tip if you want, but cruise lines actually have automatic gratuities set up so that you don't have to: you can either prepay them, or let them charge them to your room to be paid at the end. Which ever way you go, you are not expected to tip additionally, but a lot of people still tip a little in addition to the automatic gratuities because we know the crew makes such a low salary.

I went over all about tipping in detail in my blog post if you're interested/confused: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2018/06/cruise-automatic-gratuities.html

Most cruise lines only have a first name on their crew's nametags: I would have them address crew by "mr/ms firstname" if this is the case. After all, stewards call the passengers by just their first names. In all of my dance classes as a child this was how I addressed my instructors, so it feels appropriate for this situation as well.

I've written several blog posts pertaining to cruising; one specifically about Carnival: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/p/cruise-tips.html

Basically, you should be calling with a specific itinerary in mind and say "the cruise starts in [city] but can I get on in [alternate city] which is the first port stop. I do believe you wouldn't be able to (for example) board in Florida for a cruise that began in New York.

Ask the ending-the-cruise-early question the same way. Though if you were on the ship and then told customer service that you had an emergency and need to get off early; I don't think they can stop you.

Your passport and marriage certificate will almost certainly be ok. BUT if it were me I would want to be 100% sure and not subject to the mood of the person checking me in that day. I would call the cruise line and change your last name on the reservation to the name that matches your passport. It should be an easy thing to do.

Carnival publishes that marriage certificate is acceptable with passport.

I just got back from my cruise honeymoon and, yes, it was worth it to me to have to explain at check in a couple of times, in order to be addressed by my new married name I waited so long to get.

I checked online first to make sure I could.

You were lucky.

I wasn't lucky; I followed Carnival's policies: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409/~/travel-documentation%3A-u.s.-citizens (see "names on travel documents")

A marriage certificate is acceptable if ID and name do not match (also need passport or birth certificate, etc.)

I didn't change my name on my reservation until confirming I could use my certificate on Carnival's website.

I went on my honeymoon (on Carnival, last month) before I was able to get my passport changed). I brought my current passport and marriage certificate and cruised under my new name. The guy at check-in was confused even thought I explained the situation (english was not his first language), I explained it again b/c he tried to look me up by the name on my passport, so he asked someone else for help and it was fine. Your SS card is not a factor, and you shouldn't bring it with you. I did already change my drivers license so I was able to use that when getting back on the ship, but did not show it at check -in. If you if you don't have a driver's license with your new name, you will need to bring your certificate with you off the ship at port stops, and show it with your passport to get back on. (If you haven't cruised before, they require a photo ID to prove that you are the person that your cruise card belongs to. )

I haven't used a TA and I'm new to cruising. I like to do things for myself and don't want to have to call a TA anytime I want to make a change to my booking. Really it comes down to personal preference.

Before cruising a new ship/cruise line, I do a TON of research. I watch youtube videos, read blog posts, and join corresponding FB groups (you just have to search and you'll find them for RCL, the Oasis, and your specific sailing) where I can ask questions, and see what others are asking to get answers to questions I didn't know I had. I'd advise you do the same even if you do book through a TA!

You may get extra perks but I've also seen people say they don't get anything extra with a TA. It depends on if they have a group booking set up that they can put you in to get those extra perks.

r

 

I am learning all the differences! When I said prepaying, I meant the auto gratuity option in general.

I wasn't sure, so wanted to clarity. I see the question "how does the crew know that I prepaid when I don't tip cash" (they don't, but they don't expect tipping-as-you-go because of the automatic gratuities) all the time, so I always jump in to clarify.

I am not sure if you understand how cash tips work. If you remove auto tips and pay them cash, they do not get to keep the cash that you give them. The must turn the cash into the tip pool and they get their regular share of the tip pool. This means that if you cash tip them less than the auto tip amount, they get less instead of more cash in the end.

 

Now if you leave the auto tip on and then give them some extra money, they do get to keep all the extra money.

 

Hope this helps.

 

DON

I understand how tipping works.

The original poster asked "does crew prefer pre-paid or cash tips" and I wanted to clear up that you don't need to pre-pay to avoid cash tipping; you can let them auto-grat you.

My other point was that if you remove auto-gratuities but tip more than that in cash, that would be the crew's preference. And also, whether the cruise line takes a cut of it auto gratuities, isn't disclosed, so that's why I said I can't speak for the crew [if you were to tip the same amount].

I My question is: what would the cruise staff prefer we do? Prepay or cash?

I want to address the way you worded your question because there is a HUGE misconception of "prepaying." By default there will be AUTO-gratutities, unless the cruiser asks for them to be removed. The auto-gratuities can be pre-paid but this is for the cruisers budgeting style only (otherwise is billed at the end of the cruise) and either choice is not better or worse for tipping the crew.

If the question is "do the staff prefer auto or cash tips?"... I don't have insight on this except to assume that they prefer which ever is more $$ :)

Cruise Critic is an excellent resource for sure. There are also TONS of groups on Facebook where you can meet fellow cruisers and ask questions. There are groups for each cruise line, specific ships, and specific sailings, and more! I saw that others have already answered your questions, but I do have some blog posts about cruising and Carnival specifically (haven't been on MSC), that you are welcome to peruse: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/p/cruise-tips.html

There is plenty of complimentary food; you will not get bored of your options and it is delicious. Beverages are limited to juices in the AM, iced tea and lemonade PM, coffee, hot tea and water all day.

Most cruise lines will honor a price drop if it comes before final payment is due. You are better off booking now any watching for a drop. If it drops just call and say you want the better price.

If she has already paid-in-full, the cost difference will be granted as On Board Credit, which can be used to pay for drinks, specialty dining, or her daily gratuities (and more!). If she hasn't paid in full at that point, they will adjust the price.

I wouldn't risk waiting in case the price goes up or sells out. The best option for a much lower price is booking a "guarantee" room, but then she could get put anywhere on the ship, and you're probably prefer she be in a cabin near yours.

Agreed. Yuck!

I had to scroll they the thread to see who said they keep it in their underwear... bras are not the same as panties/whatever dudes wear. I doubt many are phased by a woman pulling it out of her bra. I'm a restaurant server, if someone did that with their credit card I would laugh.

While I you were asking about the MDR, I want to mention the specialty restaurants... they have a surcharge for everyone and there is an adult rate and a kid rate, if you were to go to one of these, the kid rate gets them the Kid's Menu, and the Adult rate gets them the Adult menu if you choose to order them adult food.

Children get no discount on their cruise fare, so it makes sense that they can get the adult food that's included with cruise fare.

I wear cocktail dresses or something a little fancier if it doesn't take up a lot of room and we're celebrating something.

I haven't sailed Celebrity, so I can't give specific advice for your ship, but here is my packing list (warm weather, 6-8 day cruise), and some things you might want for your cruise:

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/10/cruise-packing-list.html

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/10/cabin-must-haves.html

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2018/04/cruise-necessities.html

I pre pay gratuities' date=' and I tip additional cash if want to do so at the end of the cruise. If you tip only in cash, you will shortchange a lot of people working hard behind the scenes.[/quote']

You are right about short-changing behind-the-scenes crew if you ONLY tip cash, but having the gratuities added at the end automatically (the default if you don't prepay) accomplishes the same thing as pre-paying.

Did I miss something?

You said:

$50 ship board credit, $50 Carnival Bar Cash, and $100 Carnival Cash.

How is that a "LOT"? $50 ship board credit and $100 Carnival cash - that could go quickly in pictures and excursions.

The $50 bar cash - if you both have "a" drink each day there's your $50.

I did a spa visit with my onboard credit last time and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Maybe I just spend more money than most - my husband would agree. :-)

She'd said they rarely drink soda or drinks and aren't necessary doing an excursion. With nothing else to pay for, and only a 4 day cruise, $200 is a lot.