Bulzie

I have about $200 left over on a card after paying for cruise.  If I put that on Sail and Sign card when I check in, will that just get added to my Onboard credit and can then use it for anything as well as cashing that out at casino if I have any left over?  Or is that considered Cruise Cash which I don't think you can cash out?

Sorry it is Carnival Valor

Can you still cash out everything left on Sail and Sign card at Casino?  Was going to add some cash to the card but didn't want to lose it at end if not spent.

Also can you still carry on a 12 pack of can soft drinks?

No Italian except the 24/7 pizza station :). You basically have buffet, Guy's Burgers, Guy's BBQ, Pasta Bar, Steak House, Coffee Shop, Pizza Station, Indian (India) Station, Burrito Station, MDRs (Coffee shop costs unless you have Cheers)

Tip you might already know, don't stop at the first section of the buffet as that is what everyone does and it gets packed, go to the back section of buffet near back of ship and most times have same stations but no lines. Also the one Station outside at back of boat(opposite side from Pizza) serves breakfast items along with doing Omelets and no one goes there so no line.

We just sailed on that exact cruise on Dream 2 weeks ago. We live close do did not have to do any travel or hotels. For the Cruise, the formal nights are Monday and Thursday I believe. We did the Steak House on Monday not realizing it was the first Formal Night which was mistake as they had steak and good food in the MDR anyway. So I would pick a different night to do the Steak House. I don't think the FTTF is worth it, we got on and off the ship pretty fast and the wait on rooms the first day was not bad at all, they were ready at 1:30pm, we boarded at 11:30am.

The shows were great each night, highly recommend those as well as the comedy club. Tipping the bartenders $1 frequently really does work, they remember your name and will spot you among the crowd most times.

Alot of folks who had latter boarding times had trouble parking in the garage so if you need to park which I don't think you do but others might, get there early. We had a full ship on the May 27 sailing.

If you have other specific questions post them and will be happen to help.

We leave Sunday out of New Oleans on Dream. Hoping we just get wet in NO and they can swing out west around the worst of it.

I was told if you do not attach a credit card to the kids (18 yr olds) S&S cards, then you had to put $400 cash minimum on them? Is that right? Do you get that back if they don't spend it? Is this considered cruise cash or is that something else?

Speaking of the Carnival App, so you just download it, turn on wifi(turn phone to airplane mode also?) and then you can send messages through the Carnival App to family(who also must have the app open?),

On the Dream, do all the bars have these frozen drinks or do you have to go to Alchemy or soemthing?

There was a thread awhile back that had the top item you would not want to forget on your cruise. If anyone knows of one I am talking about could you link it, I cannot find it in search.

But can you list those items you think helps on a cruise, some have suggested shoe rack to go behind closet door for toiletries, most know to bring a power cord, magnetic hooks to hang things, etc?

Few things, I read that if you paid for your cruise with a CC, you can call carnival and they can apply the GC amounts and refund your CC. I have not done that so maybe call Carnival before you purchase the GCs to do this.

Also read if you have Cruise Cash on your SS card which I think you will lose if you don't spend it, you can sit at a slot machine, put it all in the slot machine, spin 1 time(not sure if this is required or not), then cash out and take that receipt to the Cashier to get the cash. Again I have not done this but read it on this site.

What time do the big shows in the main theater usually start? If we have the late dining, will we miss out on the shows? Do they just have 1 show a night or do they do an early and late show? Going on Dream in May, would they already have the list of shows or do you have to wait until you get onboard?

Any recommendations on excursions for those ports? Looking for something under $70 each? Does either port have good shopping off the dock and maybe beach near by?

Getting Cheers package so trying to get info on all the bars/places to get drinks on Dream by looking at the deck plans? Also anyone have tips of some of the out of the way stations to get faster service as the main ones say on Lido deck or casino always seemed to be super crowded the last time we cruised years ago. Again this is on the Dream.

Dream Bar - Deck 3

Club O2 - ?

Rendexvou Lounge - is this a bar? Deck 4

Jackpot Bar Casino - Deck 5

Plaza Bar - Deck 5

Calente Dance Club/Bar? Deck 5

Piano Bar - Deck 5

Waves Bar - Deck 10 Lido (Are these the Red Frog and Blue Iguana?)

Sunset Bar - Deck 10 Lido

Alchemy Bar - Did not see this on deck plans, does Dream have this?

(not counting Main Dinning Rooms in this list)

What is your experience with the servers that walk around say on lido deck, are they hard to come by or do a pretty good job? Do you tip these guys even though gratuity is included already? Can you tell them to say bring you another beer next time they come your way or do you have to initiate it each time?

Do all the bars have the same selection available such as frozen drinks?

Also on Carnival webpage, for say Alchemy bar it says Additional Cost where RedFrog says Included? What do they mean by that? If you have the Cheers program and order from Alchemy you have to pay additional costs?

How often does it come back available to purchase? Is it an option in the pull down box that you select your boarding time?

Yes I was told by my TA that if everyone in cabin is 21+ you are good. But if 1 person in cabin is younger then 21, you need someone 25+ booked in that cabin. As far as yourself at 23, you should be good to go.

Also have read if you did play with a credit card, you can call Carnival and they will take the Gift Cards and refund your credit card thus giving you the 10% gift card savings. I have not done this but read others have so verify if you plan on doing it.

How strict are they on the cruises these days concerning sharing drinks with spouse and kids(18+)? Went on cruise 3 years ago on Dream and the waiters and servers did not care that my 18 yr old was drinking if they ever noticed in first place with all the kids and crowds on ship. He could not get drinks himself but no one came up to him to ask for his ID or anything. If they did see or catch you handing a drink to wife or kid, would anyone really stop you and cancel your cheers package? I know maybe they can but have you seen it or experienced it personally?

Have a number of families in group and were all planning to do the $5 reserve a spot at Mr. Sancho's but is there a way to have them reserve an area where we can all sit close together? Or is it all just first come first served as far as chairs/tables and such? Going to do the water inflatables also. Do they sit you in different areas for that or is it just a matter of wrist bands or something?

Also with the group, do they offer bigger vans to take whole group or is it just individual taxi's and how many do those fit? I hear it is $17 I think per person one way?

See this at bottom of all the wifi plans:

To keep you connected while at sea, every one of our ships provides satellite Internet access facilitated through the HUB Internet Café and through the bow-to-stern ship-wide Wi-Fi network. To access Wi-Fi, simply turn on your device's Wi-Fi feature and you will receive the information needed. You can do this anywhere onboard the ship. All of our ships feature areas with publicly accessible computers, which are open twenty four hours a day.

So does the part on bow-to-stern ship-wide WiFi mean you can connect to that to message others on the ship with out having to get one of the plans and without having to be in the Cafe? Or do you still have to get one of the plans to use ship wifi?

Says it will be delivered to Cabin between 10am and 9pm. What does this mean, isn't it attached to the Sail and Sign card? I don't want to miss out if they don't activate it until later in the day.

Anyone have an idea on when AARP restock the $500 Carnival GC? From your experience could it be every week, Month, longer? I know no one might know for sure but was just wondering in general.

Not clear still on how best to use the GC. We do not cruise often, going in May 7day on Dream, will have 2 cabins(adult and kids in each). We plan to buy 1 Cheers package and go on maybe 2 excursions. So if I buy say a $500 card, I can add that as credit to my S&S card before the cruise and use that once I am on the ship to buy the Cheers program or anything else we want to buy extra? In putting it on the SS card is that what Cruise Cash is? Also can you use the GC to prepay for excursions? But they are not just pre-paid debit cards right so you cannot use them to say book an excursion that is not with Carnival for example?

I originally saw one for $100 and one for $500, now I only see 2 for $100.

1. Do they randomly offer the $500 ones?

2. I purchased a $100 one and wanted to do the email digital option but it only let me choose Mail. Is that random also?

3. Are these gift cards just like a generic prepaid gift card as in you can use them anywhere or are you limited to only using them to pay Carnival?

Yes Carnival Dream

Is there a board just for Carnival Dream posts? if so can you link it?