MBP1

So then if they are from Ebay you know the are 100% legit? I heard about a lot of fakes going around.

I'd say fakes are the ones people bought from third party sellers, there are sold directly by Ebay.

$100 Carnival gift cards (email delvery) for $85 from Ebay right now. Sold directly by ebay so it is legit, not a third party seller.

Limit 3 (not sure if that is per order or per person)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Get-a-100-Carnival-Cruise-Gift-Card-for-only-85-Email-delivery/263655069833?hash=item3d63111889%3Ag%3AHCEAAOSwHdVa6jl7&afepn=5337259887&rmvSB=true

any one can use the havanna pool and hot tub after 7:00PM

Yes, after 7pm it is open to any passenger, not sure if the 12+ rule still applies after 7pm.

We've booked an Aft Balcony on the Vista for this summer, it was a no brainer. With only about 150 having access to the Havana deck during the day it will be way better than sharing the main pools on a 4000 passenger ship. For us the 12+ rule is also nice, I'm a teacher and want to minimize the number of children I'm around on vacation.

posted in #13 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=52305820&postcount=13

 

i am sure some of that stuff has changed

It looks like those links are no longer active.

Has anyone ever seen good bourbon at duty free shops in the Carribean? I've heard rumors of Blanton's SFTB & Gold in Grand Cayman.

Cloud services are not a simple answer. The ship would really need to wait to get into port to upload photos. Satellite is just not a good answer for that. It will also take lots of bandwidth to do that. Not to mention, the cost of maintaining servers. Then there's the question of server security.

 

As well as the thing they may be getting stuck on now, which is having a human available to review photo sets to make sure the facial recognition didn't botch something and put the wrong pictures in with the wrong Folio #.

A cloud service is a very simple answer. Photos would not need to be uploaded constantly, there nothing wrong with waiting until you get into port or the end of the cruise. Cloud storage is not expensive (I can get 1TB of storage for $10/month), I'm sure Carnival could negotiate great rates with a company. The photos do not have to be stored forever either, Carnival can give people a window like 3 or 6 months to purchase online. Carnival could then eliminate the Pixel area on the ship and turn it into some other revenue generating area. Maintaining printers on the ship can't be cheap, plus the profits from selling a file vs. a printed photo will probably be better. When it comes to security I wouldn't be too worried, they can work with a cloud provider to make sure stuff is encrypted. Not sure how photo identification works on ships, do they scan you S&S card before/after taking your picture or do they really have facial recognition?

They should do away with prints entirely. It is 2018, they need to move to a cloud-based photo service where people can just pay to download the photos when they get home. They can offer unlimited packages or people can pay per picture, folks can then do whatever they want with the photos; get prints, put them on shirts, make a calendar etc.

As a side note Carnival needs to get a better PR person than John Heald, he's obnoxious and a bad face for the company. He may have been popular in days past, but for someone who is younger and new to cruising I find him off-putting.

We booked a Havana room to avoid crowds and fighting for a chair. I pretty much ignore any reviews from March due to spring breakers, I was one of those once and we caused havoc on the ship. I agree that upset people tend to be very vocal online, but I think many people go into cruises with unrealistic expectations.

How did you score a free room?

 

 

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Gamble a lot

Is Guys Burger place really that good? I see people rave about it on here. Can you compare it to a burger chain in the U.S ?

I just need to convince the rest of the group that they are worth the extra $$$. I'm sold but it's going to take some work to sell others within the next 24 hours!

Just show them some pictures of the regular pool decks on a sea day and the amenities of the Havana Deck, that should be enough to convince them.

Having 4 adults in an OV can be crowded, I'd say do it, it will be a nice surprise and having the extra room will be really nice.

Bought $700 in cards this morning, had the codes in my inbox less than a minute later.

I booked a few weeks ago and it has gone up $700 since

Looks like the only thing AARP has right now is $100 cards by mail, how often do they restock email and $500 cards?

Thanks so much for your reply. It is sold out. Ugh...does anyone know if this is likely to,open up. We sail mid-July. Just booked on Friday and our travel agent never mentioned this.

 

Thanks again, and have a great day!

If you are sailing this summer it was already sold out before you booked. Only thing you can do is keep checking, if anyone cancels their cruise or decides they don't want FTTF anymore slots will open up.

You book FTTF in the excursion area on the site, it's $89.95 per cabin. If your cruise is very far out it may not be available yet, it sells out pretty quick once it goes on sale.

Awesome - thanks for clarifying. I have now requested a quote on a deck 5 patio room. The deck 6 aft balconies were more than I wanted to spend but they look really nice.

From the cruises I've looked at Cabanas on deck 5 cost more than aft balcony Havana cabins.

Thanks for responding!

 

If the rooms my travel agent gave pricing for are aft rooms on deck 6, they wouldn't be the patio ones that exit out onto the pool deck? Those are the ones I'm most interested in but now I'm thinking they may be sold out.

That is correct, if staying in a balcony on Deck 6 it would be just one flight of stairs down and you are on the Havana Deck. If you want the patio tell your TA you want a Cabana room, just know there is a glass wall on Deck 5 so it is not exactly a clear view to the ocean.

Havana Cabins come in a few variations: Interior, Premium Balcony, Extended Aft Balcony, Premium Vista Balcony, Cabana (patio) and Cabana Suite (patio).

The Cabana rooms on deck 5 have a patio area which you can exit and walk out to the pool deck, you get special access cards to enter your room and the pool deck. All Havana rooms come with wristbands you must wear to access the Havana Deck before 7pm.

Balconies are on decks 6, 7, 8 & 9.

All guests must be over 12 to stay in the Havana cabins, you get exclusive access to the Havana pool deck until 7pm.

Sailing into Ocho Rios this summer on the Vista. How reliable are taxis in Ocho Rios? We are on the fence about hiring a driver but don't feel like we need one for the whole day. We'd just like to go to Dunn's River Falls and Scotchies for lunch. I've read taxis are plentiful at the falls, but how easy would it be to get one from Scotchies back to the port area? How much do you think a trip like that would cost?

Someone recently posted drink menus from the Breeze and they had Blanton's onboard. I would assume ships out of Galveston will have better bourbon selections than others since TX gets some of the best allocations. Sailing on the Vista in July out of Miami and I'd love to see something besides BT and Woodford (nothing wrong with them), Eagle Rare is my go-to for Old Fashioned so fingers crossed for that one.

It's an extended balcony which will look down on the Havana Deck. Only complaint I've heard about the is the balconies have little cover and can get very hot when in direct sunlight. I'm staying on deck 7 in one of the Havana rooms below you in July.

All the info is readily available on the Carnival site, but here it is:

CHEERS (alcohol, soda, specialty coffee, etc.): $51.95/day pre-cruise, $56.95/day onboard.

Bottomless Bubbles (soda, juice, etc): Adults: $7.50/day Kids: $4.95/day

15% gratuity is added to both packages.