weluvcruising9804

I'm enjoying reading your review. We are going on the 4-day cruise on the Liberty in June.

I spoke with a Carnival rep and was told that Princess Cruise and Carnival cruise have excursion contracts with different companies. It's just odd since they are both owned by Carnival. At any rate, the aqua bike and banana boat ride are a no-go if you cruise with Carnival.

I was under the assumption that Princess Cays is actually part of an inhabited island.

Has anyone done a non-ship excursion on Princess Cays? If so, who did you go through?

Check again to make sure there are no excursions offered - with a captive audience, the cruise line wants to take as much of your money as you'll give them, so I can't imagine they won't have something set up to offer you. We're traveling there next month on a Princess ship, and our choices through the cruise line include a Banana Boat ride, ocean kayak rental and stand up paddleboard rentals, aqua bike and paddle boat rentals, surf-fishing, guided clear-bottomed kayak ride or glass-bottom boat ride, coastal cruise, Hobie sailboat rental, snorkel trip (by boat), dune buggy tour, a stingray encounter, and a scenic drive.

You were actually able to book these online before the cruise? We too are going to Princess Cays but on Carnival and it's odd that they do not have the aqua bikes or the banana boat ride listed under excursions.

Hi All,

 

Stopping in Princess Cays in a couple weeks...I understand this is a private island and it sounds like "everything" is included (lounge chairs, buffet lunch) other than alcoholic beverages (which can be purchased with your cruise card). Is there anything that I might need to have cash for? I wasn't sure what the setup was like as I haven't stopped at one of these private island ports before. Always want to be prepared! :cool:

 

Thanks!

Were you on a Carnival ship or a Princess ship?

Does anyone have these menus or know where I can find them?

In June we will be on the Liberty for the second time. We love it! We're visiting Nassau again and Princess Cays. There isn't a lot of information on Princess Cays especially in relation to Carnival cruise ships.

well we live in north cackilacky but we always leave a day early, sometimes two or three!:D

 

only id were on some kind of tight schedule where we couldn't leave the full day before will we drive down the night before a cruise to say Walterboro SC so we can pop into jax the next day for a cruise OR we stay in jax the night before our cape C cruises now always

 

that's only a 2 hr drive but easy enough down 95

1. My father is from North Carolina and we call it North Cackilacky too. Brings back good memories of visiting Ahoskie in the summer.

2. We are driving from Virginia to Jacksonville, staying in a hotel then driving the 2.5 hours to Port Canaveral the next day. Good idea.

Just back from Princess Cays and here are some general observations:

 

There are plenty of cement/brick walkways to get where you are going.

 

The vendors in the buildings accept your S&S card for purchases, the cart vendors take cash.

 

There is a 7.5% VAT charged on all purchases, including drinks.

 

We had cabana number 2 and it was a great deal (especially after we had paid $350 for one on NCL's private island).

 

If you have a cabana snorkeling equipment is included in the rental, as are two floaties.

 

While there is a trolley to get to where you are going the walk from the tender to the cabanas is less than a 10 minute stroll.

 

They do have bar servers making the rounds.

 

If you walk out to the small pavilion in the snorkeling area you will be able to see fish etc. in the water.

 

If you have any other questions I'll see what my faulty memory can come up with.

What kind of rentals did they have besides snorkeling gear and the yellow paddleboats? Do they have the banana boats or aqua bikes or are these only available to those who cruise on Princess ships?

My sister was a hairdresser on the Carnavale. My husband and I went to Bermuda (1980 time frame) three times from Norfolk Virginia. I remember the midnight buffet and capers on the pizzas.

 

 

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I didn't know they had cruises from Norfolk back then.

Here a quote from my November 2017 Vista Cruise blog:

 

“We were told that for $200, we could get 10 pictures on our phone, those same 10 on a USB stick, 2 large printouts, and a canvas photo. That's outrageously priced. We were also told that we could buy a digital photo on our phone for $15, and printouts started at $20.”

 

I know that doesn’t fully answer your question but I hope it’s a start!

 

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Is there a blog for each ship? If so, where can I find it?

I would love to do the steakhouse for our first night since my husband enjoys a good steak and we don’t cook meat at home.

 

My issue is that I am a pescetarian (eat some fish but for health reasons don’t eat any other meat). That said, I’m allergic to salmon and shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab, etc.). I can eat scallops though and some fish.

 

Does anyone know if the steakhouse will accommodate for that?

 

We’re sailing the Liberty end of April.

Be careful because someone else's salmon and shellfish may come in contact with your food resulting in an allergic reaction. I assume it's similar to people who are allergic to nuts. Sometimes if they are near it, they can have a reaction.

It is posted on the Carnival website. The food is cooked to order, but the fried shrimp were just average but the clam strips good - but I live in Tidewater VA so some of the best anywhere. The lobster roll didn't have as much taste as I would have expected - bland compared to what you get in New England, even with just the butter, no mayo. I wouldn't do that again.

The Tidewater area?! I haven't heard it called that in a lonnnnng time. You must remember when our area code was 804.

Others not in your stateroom are not included in the package... That's too bad, I wanted one of my father with my kids, but he is in a different stateroom. Also, my oldest son is in a different stateroom. I guess I'm stuck buying individual ones - which will probably mean I don't buy as many.

I was disappointed in that also. My son will be in a room with his cousins. I would hate to have pictures with just the 3 of us (myself, husband and daughter) and not him. Of course, I could buy extra pictures....

Everything that was said above plus:

 

* Addition of Punchliners (we like very much)

* Addition of Cat in the Hat theme party

* Addition of Hasbro show

* Eliminated midnight buffet

* Changed what was related to a proper afternoon tea into... I don't know what to call it

* Addition of FFTF

* Elimination of $5 match play card with purchase of drink in casino

* IMO the short cruises are more rowdy and even less appropriate for families and people like me

* The decor of the newer ships is less gaudy

* Addition of Chef's Table

 

Some I like and some I don't. Either way I love to cruise.

 

 

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I forgot the addition of the Hasbro game show and Dr Seuss breakfast. My only cruise before 2014 was in 1995 on Royal Caribbean where we had the midnight buffet.

We love Carnival too despite the changes. In fact, we are on the Carnival Liberty for the 2nd time. I just love to hear how things have changed--for better or worse.

Why tell them they switching rooms? Just exchange key cards... DONE!!! Happy cruising

 

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I thought they would have to switch keys because each person's credit card will be attached to their S & S card. My son will be responsible for paying for his own things. I guess we can work something out regarding the credit cards.

We booked the Nov 24th (post Thanksgiving) cruise on Celebrity Equinox several months ago, but just found out today that this cruise is part of the Pied Piper travel group for LGBT. We get along with anyone, however, we'll be travelling with 3 children. If anyone has travelled on similar cruise, can you please share your experience with us? We have kids range from 7-13 years old, and I'm curious if this would be an appropriate environment for them. Please don't take this question the wrong way, this is a first cruise for us and I want it to be a good experience for everyone. Thanks in advance.

How did you find out this information?

I was thinking of getting Cheers, but I do not like alcoholic drinks. I drink wine maybe twice a year and liquor and beer taste disgusting to me. I do like fruity non-alcoholic drinks, iced coffee, milkshakes, Powerade and water. For our 4 day cruise on the Liberty, do you think the Cheers package would be worth it? If so, what are some good virgin drinks and other drinks that I may be interested in?

Question #2 To use the early saver and VIFP, I am in the room with my son and daughter and my husband is in the room with my nephews. Neither of us are big drinkers. If I get the Cheers package then I will be the only person who can purchase it because my kids are not 21 yet. However, once on board my husband and son will have get their rooms switched. How will this affect the Cheers package if I pre-purchase it? If my husband will have to end up paying for Cheers, then it will definitely NOT be worth it. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

When we went on Regal Princess, they offered a banana boat ride as an excursion. When we went on a Carnival ship they did not offer it.

That's disappointing to hear. My kids and nephews would have loved to do this. I wonder why there is a difference if Carnival and Princess Cruises are owned by the same people.

My first cruise with Carnival was in 2014. My next one is June 2018. In those 4 years, there have been at least four changes I've noticed.

1. No more bottles can be brought on the ship (I distinctly remember bring water bottles)

2. Choosing between morning or evening service (although you can request both)

3. Check in times to get on the ship (in 2014 we just walked on)

4. Room service charges from 10 pm - 6 am (didn't pay a dime in 2014 except for gratuity).

What changes have you noticed since you've been a Carnival cruiser?

I am not sure if you can just rent the water bike, but I do know that its part of the Beach Party pack excursion. I am doing that when I go next April. Looks like its going to be fun!!!

The paddleboat is on the Beach Party pack not the water bike. I'm holding off on purchasing the beach party pack until I find out if the water bike will be available.

Is the water bike available for rent through Carnival or only through Princess Cruises? I do not see it on the excursions list.

I'm confused.....sounds like you just want her to hang out with older kids, and Carnival, like all responsible companies should and will say no. There are reasons, why little kids are not permitted to hang out with big kids. You should give up the size argument, it doesn't work.

There's no reason to be confused. If there is something you don't understand or if you do not know the answer, you can just skip the thread. They did this for my nephew on our 2014 cruise so your "like all responsible companies should and will say no" response is incorrect. My thread was only to see if anything can be done beforehand. As I stated before, she has 16 year old friends who will be 17 in October and she behaves more maturely than they do at times. There's nothing wrong with asking a question. However, there is something wrong with making assumptions. I did not just point out her size but her mental maturity too. The fact that you only focus on her size is concerning.

When trying to convince Carnival to let your 14 year old daughter into the camp with the older age group, I would leave the part out that she is "physically mature". That doesn't seem like something appropriate to mention as a reason to be older older teenagers.

The only reason I mentioned that is because she's bigger than the average 14 year old and I didn't want her to feel out of place. If the other children are smaller in size (more average), then she will feel uncomfortable. Of course there are smaller 15-17 year olds but the majority aren't. She fits right in with her 16.5 year old friends.