Robpuffdaddy

Had several of those on my last cruise.  They are great.

3 hours ago, kpwhalen830 said:

1. We had the fast pass or whatever it’s called and did arrive at our time. Other lines get you onboard a lot quicker. I also thought it was bizarre that I had to carry my boarding pass around to make purchases until my pass was ready at my room. It’s 2024 that should be handed to me while I walk onboard. 
2.yeah the water sucked the entire cruise, kind of weird.

3. All the other venues had crazy lines. I’m a seasoned cruiser and know where to go for short lines, they just didn’t exist here.Went to the BBQ place right when we walked on. They need to make stations at the Lido Buffett to break up the lines. 
4. I don’t mind a 2 hour dinner. Just take my drink order when I’m seated, 30 minutes is ridiculous. Especially when there are 3 children wanting more than an ice water. 
5. Other lines seem to manage their elevators better better. Typically long waits on day one and then it’s good. 

 

1.  The reason they do not give you your sail and sign card is now it is your cabin door key. This way you can not access your rooms till they are ready.  At least you can use that sheet of paper to start drinking.

7 minutes ago, RogBus101 said:

Charleston SC 10 day journey cruise December.

You will be fine to start enjoying your Cheers package as soon as you get on in Charleston.  Start early to utilize your 15 alcoholic daily drink limit on the first day you board.

I am disappointed that it appears that they do not have Mongolian Grill in the Lido area on the Mardi Gras.  I know that have the teppanyaki restaurant and already have our reservations for our cruise in June.  Really enjoying your live trip review.  Will continue to follow your posts.

Our cruise is not until June and I went and looked at the luggage tags and it does have the FTTF logo on them already.  So you do not have to wait till you check in 2 weeks prior to print your tags out and have them ready.

10 hours ago, GothOnAShip said:

Hi there People’s Republic of Cruise Critic! This is our first cruise with the Cheers! package (with the RU 4 code, not DOU, I don’t gamble) and I’m not sure if it’s of interest to anyone else but here’s what I drank today for the purposes of deciding if it’s worth it next time:

 

1 spicy chipotle martini.. $14

5, maybe 6 black cherry white claws in the Piano Bar… $7.75 each

3 cans of soda.. $3.25 each

2 small water.. $2.25 each

1 large water.. $4.95

1 soda “draft”… $3.25

1 lemonade (homemade blackberry syrup).. $9.25

 

I’m too drunk to math, but I think I broke even. Mr. goth on the other hand…

 

1 fountain soda… $3.12

1 small water.. $2.25

1 white claw.. $7.75

1 more fountain soda…$3.25

1 can soda… $3.25

 

We’re going for 1am pizza. Probably see you all tomorrow morning.. maybe early afternoon. 

You got your money's worth for the day, your husband did not.  He has to up his game tomorrow.  But. if you add your total and his together, it looks like your total together paid for it.

3 hours ago, AllgoodOnTheRoad said:

Yes, I tested this exact question at Terminal three March 8th to board the Liberty which is the same port and terminal as the Mardi Gras. Even though I had a 10:30 check in time, I got into the Priority line at 9am. We were let into the building at 9:30 and seated in the FTTF section and we started boarding the ship around 10:40. I recorded the process and the layout of terminal three if you would like to see it. Parking in Terminal 3 also opened up around 8am in case you saw the note on the site that it does not open until 10am. There will be a faster to the fun logo on your boarding pass and that is what the staff is looking for to allow you into the priority line. 

 

 

https://youtu.be/TaYJXaj2Iyk

Will the logo be on the luggage tag after we do the check in 2 weeks prior to the cruise? because we are still 2 months out and the tags do no show FTTF at this point?

I have FTTF for upcoming cruise on the Mardi Gras.  How will the people at the terminal know that I have FTTF? So I can arrive as early as possible to check in to be ready to board when it is time?  I know I still have to select an arrival time when I do my pre check  2 weeks prior to the cruise.  I also have heard that you do not need to wait if you have a later arrival time.  Just show up when I want and they will let me in.  I will then go to the waiting area and wait to board right after Platinum and Diamond and Suite guest. So what proof do I have to show when I arrive that I have FTTF?  Thanks

Anyone recently been on Mardi Gras and had FTTF? Does it show on your luggage tag that you have FTTF and have priority boarding?  How will they know you have FTTF? Were you able to arrive early to the port and check in even if you had a later arrival time?

I had a suite on my Freedom cruise in March.  All suites have priority boarding.  With a suite you will be able to go online 2 days earlier (16 days till your cruise) and check in and pick your arrival time.  So you can pick the earliest time available, usually 10 am.  I had that and actually arrived at the port at 9:30 am and was able to check in in 5 minutes.  We went to the waiting area till the ship was cleared to board, took about 30 minutes.  Just depends on how quick they get everyone off the previous cruise till you can get on.  They had the sections in the waiting area Diamond/Platinum. then suite guest, then FTTF.  When it was time to board they went in that order.  We were on board, went to the muster station to do the drill and then we were able to go right to our room.  Suites will be ready,   In that little box outside your cabin will be an envelope and your sail and sign cards will be in there.  Use that to get in your cabin and leave you stuff in there and then go to the lido deck to get your drink on and start the cruise.  The doors to the cabins might be closed, you just need to pen them to go to the hallway to your cabin. 

On 10/9/2023 at 6:07 PM, Earthworm Jim said:

The most important difference between Priority and FTTF is free vs. $60 to $100+.

Well actually it is not free for a suite guest, it is included in your higher rate to cruise in a suite cabin.  I had a suite for my honeymoon cruise and it was well worth the cost for the cabin.  Perks were nice, but you pay for them.  Just like FTTF, you pay for them and in my opinion it is worth it, but that is my opinion.

16 hours ago, stobe1 said:

 

And a damn good one. It is 100% pure profit and costs Carnival exactly $0 to have it. Whoever thought of that idea was hopefully promoted and awared a nice bonus. It is a great revenue stream for Carnival. For us Plats/Diamonds, it does dilute our priority a bit.

It does not dilute your priority at all, you still get to board before FTTF, you still have your priority line at guest services.  So how does it dilute it?

On 4/12/2023 at 8:41 AM, Bostwick girl said:

Just off April 6th. Nice ship, good size. Even tho it was right in the middle of spring break, the kids were very well behaved and most must have participated in the camp carnival programs.  Food in the MDR was good with great service from our wait staff. The casino was busy and bar service was good. Only complaint I had about casino was most of the slots I like to play are in the smoking section. Even then the smoke wasn’t too bad. Our cabin steward Viktor on deck 7 forward was the best ever! Didn’t do any shows or outdoor activities, have seen most of the shows several times. Anything specific you want to know, ask and I’ll try to answer. We’re going on her again in May.

 

We had Viktor few weeks before you.  He is the best cabin steward we had ever had.  

Like they said, if you are in a suite you will be able to check in 16 days prior to your cruise.  Like the previous post said, when you do go online at midnight, you can skip ahead all the steps to get your boarding time and select the 1000-1030 time.  You can then stop and go to bed or it actually only took me like 15 minutes to go through all the steps and add your passport info and credit card info and answer all the questions.  Piece of cake...

This will be my first cruise using the Cheers package.  If I go to customer service on the last day will they be able to provide with with a total of all the beverages that I ordered on the cruise? I want to see if I got my money's worth for future reference.  I really do not want to try to keep a tab myself or a record on my phone but I will if I need too.  I can safely say I will get my money's worth, but just curious.  Thanks

I went like 8 years ago,  went thru a local tour company cheaper.  Yes I know your not protected by Carnival and if something happens the ship could leave you if you were on a non Carnival tour, but the ship is right there.  Will not happen.  I can not recommend anyone specific, but Grand Turk is one the best places to snorkel.  The water is crystal clear and the highlight is the "Wall"  the area where they take you.  your in like 20 feet of water or shallower and then all of a sudden there is a wall the edge of the earth and it drops to pitch darkness.  It is incredible.  Lots of fish to see!!!

3 hours ago, gone_cruisin said:

We received the first email on February 16th saying that we would be allowed into our staterooms.  When I printed my boarding pass that day, they did not have the foot note about the staterooms.  Just checked this evening and now it's been added. 

 

Guess the February 16th email is old news now.

 

 

So there is a difference between a suite guest and a diamond and platinum.  Suite guest can go to there rooms and stay.  I bet that it is because that the cabin stewards can clean the suites first and get them ready, but they might not be able to know which of the rest of the cabins will have a diamond or platinum guest in them.

I have one specific question on Cheers and it relates to the morning we get off the ship.  Will I be able to go to to the Java Blue coffee shop on the morning before we leave the ship and get our coffee and be covered by Cheers?  I am not looking for any alcoholic drinks that morning, just my coffee.  What are your recent experiences with Cheers and the coffee bar?

Got this email yesterday for my cruise on the Freedom in 2 weeks.  We have a suite and it clearly states that we will have access to our cabin when we board the ship.

I got this email yesterday for my cruise in 2 weeks, says suite guest have access to rooms as soon as we board

I was able to check in for my upcoming cruise on Saturday at Midnight.  I received this email Saturday afternoon, like 12 hours after I checked in.  I think Carnival should send this email a day or two earlier to remind their guest when you will be able to check in not after the time opened up. I am in a suite and I knew that I was able to do the check in 16 days priors, but the one thing I kept seeing post and questions about was when will suite guest have access to their  cabins.  I've seen post that  people say that everyone has to wait till like 1:30, others say that you can go to your cabin, open the bulkhead doors that lead to the cabin hallway and go to your room and drop off your stuff and come back.  But, according to this email I got it clearly states that "Once onboard you will have access to your cabin"

So there it is in black and white.  Well, let's see what happens in 2 weeks. 

What have other's recent experiences like?

2 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Suite Amenities and Perks (goccl.com)

 

THANK YOU

I know that the perks for FTTF and Suite Guest are basically the same.  I know Suite guest get on the ship right before FTTF, but with FTTF those guest have access to their cabins earlier.  Do Suite guest have that same perk or do they have to wait till after 1 PM like the rest of the ship?

Do they have Marlboro Silver Shorts on the cruise?

Is there free wifi available at amber cove? If so where?