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jeffdal

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Posts posted by jeffdal

    Did I do OK? Analyze my booking...

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    If you are happy with the booking, then I say do you did great!

     

    I am not going to look up the deck maps, but my guess is deck 8 is sandwiched between two other all-cabin decks so it should be a quiet room and centrally located.

     

    Personally, I do not like that booking. I need a Cloud 9 Spa balcony (which limits the ships and jacks up the price) or I don't cruise ;)

     

    Love the sound of that.. Cloud 9 Spa balcony.

    Did I do OK? Analyze my booking...

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by jeffdal

    Hey everyone! I always like some feedback. Did I do Ok with my booking? Booked earlier this week. :) The pic of the direct mail my roommate got is below. I never look at cruise mail because the deals never apply to me but the half off deposits caught my eye... and price protection.

     

    April 23 5 day sailing out of Galveston on Liberty.

    *Budget conscience, last minute trip and needed to spread cruise cost a couple payments up to final payment on Feb 23... plus pay deposit.

    *Driving down to Galveston from Dallas.

    *Will transfer booking to friend who is TA for the final payment. I like to do the initial research and pay several times online. After I transfer he usually can find a better location, add OBC and always sends a gift to the stateroom for the cruise. And I get pretty good travel insurance from him.

     

    Here's the deal... and screen shot of it below.

    --Booked Early Saver Exclusive VIFP Deal with price protection, 50% PP deposit (came out to $150) free upgrades, up to $150 OBC (ours was $50), choice of stateroom and sale ends Feb 15. (This deal only worked with my travel companion's VIFP sailing number on four times Carnival, me just two)

    --8C, stateroom 8254, $599.00 per person not including taxes, fees, port expenses, transfers and trip protection.

     

    2ez05z4.jpg

     

     

    34xs3gy.jpg

    Anyone else like Carnival because of Adult Only areas?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    The last two cruises were during school breaks and it was overwhelming but we managed. Met lots of great families. The second cruise wasn't during the spring break for most the states near the port but it was break somewhere!

     

    Hoping that my next cruise on April 23 will not have that many.. I checked the internets for breaks. And hopefully not that many people take their kids out of school for cruises. But that would be awesome if you were a kiddo. :D

    Book with an agent or Carnival directly?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I book myself then transfer within 90 days to my TA. I only do that because she gives us an OBC equal to about 8 to 10% of our cruise price. If you are using a TA and not getting some OBC, you should shop around for a better deal.

     

     

    I do the same. I research and book and before final payment I transfer to a friend who is a TA. He usually gets us better location, a little but more in OBC (we book super cheap deals anyway.) I also like the insurance he sells and it's cheaper and better than the cruise line. He usually sends us a gift to our stateroom too.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

    Just booked! Now what... What do you do?

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    I love the trip table idea and certainly will look for price drops.

     

    Do you look for price drops on a regular interval? Or everything other day?

     

    I was surprised to see just two posts in the roll call for my 4/23 sailing. Where are the Facebook rollcalls?

     

     

    I love the excitement of the anticipation of my cruise!! 23 days till my next one!!! Booked several months ago. While on this cruise, I will book one for 10/2016 and 9/2017.

     

    When waiting for my cruise ... as others have said ...

     

    1. I look on this site DAILY, both on the cruise line page as well as the port pages for every port I'm going to.

     

    2. Research the ports and typically book my excursions NOT thru the cruise line, as they are much more expensive, I will find my own online. I have had great experiences booking my own excursions. Most of these tour operators know what time your ship leaves and they will deliver you back on time, don't worry.

     

    3. I have an 8' "trip table" in my basement and I start gathering stuff for my cruise WAAAYYYY in advance. For example, I bring energy drinks, so I get them early, plus all my cords/adapters for my electronics, toiletries, I also plan out my clothes and shoes in advance (organized by day) and arrange them on the table too. The suitcases are kept under the table. Anything I "KNOW" I need to bring but can't store on that table (because I'm using it) gets written on a post-it and stuck to the outside of the suitcase, one item per post-it. Then as I'm packing, when I pack each post it item, I put the post it on the item as it goes in the suitcase so I know I packed it. (Yes, I remove the post-its right before I close the suitcase, lol).

     

    4. Check for price drops daily on Carnival.com as I typically book early saver.

     

    5. get involved in "Roll calls" for my specific sailing both on this site as well as on facebook.

     

    6. find "park and ride" options and research the port if I'm staying overnight and find a cool place for dinner the night before.

     

    Of course ... once the cruise gets close like the one I have in a few weeks, all that's left to do is BE EXCITED and look at Cruise Critic every day since I've planned so well already.

     

    Enjoy your cruise!!!!

     

    Cheers,

     

    Jeff aka Recovery Dude :)

    Just booked! Now what... What do you do?

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    The Liberty is still my favorite ship. We've cruised on her twice. If there was a way to add the Waterworks, like Carnival has on the Dream class ships, I think I could sail on the Liberty over and over again. :) If you haven't gotten your e-mail confirmation by now, call Carnival and let them know. Hope you have perfect weather and a great cruise!

     

    Liberty does look quite cool. I was impressed when I checked out pictures online.

    Just booked! Now what... What do you do?

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    Yup, I sailed a couple cruises but it's been awhile since on Carnival. I am curious to know what are things you do after right after booking to prepare for your cruise. Would love any ideas and tips.

     

    I'll be on the 5 day April 23rd sailing on the Liberty out of Galveston. Most likely driving down from Dallas, staying night before in or around Houston and then driving to one of the parking places nearby the port in Galveston.

    Reduced deposit $99

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I had two offers. 50% off deposit or $99 deposit. I did the 50% .. it was the same price and just $50 bucks more but we get a whopping 50 bucks OBC.

     

    I actually booked because of the 50% off deposit (it works great for my budgeting) and saw it in a direct mail piece... which I never look at until this last month and had it sitting on my desk to check out.

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