M2LR

I also think that people can drink more when it is just a few days. Once you start talking about a whole week it starts to get hard to keep up the pace (or maybe that is just me getting old). I would have to guess Carnival looked at the average number of drinks and found it to be higher on those shorter cruises so they increased it to cover themselves and make them equally profitable (or at least closer).

19 minutes ago, bm6pm5 said:

The aquarium is a good place to spend some time. Also a butterfly museum walking distance from there. World War 2 museum might be of interest to them also. 

There also is the zoo and I think Mardi Gras World to see the floats would be fun too. But I agree with PPs that everything just is speculation at this point. You can look at pictures and make guesses but it isn't the same as actually being assessed onsite by a structural engineer.  If it was me I'd be working on refundable backup plans now but still keeping the hope alive for some Christmas magic (I am admittedly an eternal optimist).

53 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

the movies on the big screen lido pool area is different then the imax movies on the vista and horizon 

Oh I know I just meant that shows there isn't a ban from Disney on showing their movies on Carnival ships. The IMAX is more first run whereas the Lido is several months delay at least. I am hoping to catch the new Star Wars movie poolside this summer.

44 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

John Heald posts the IMAX movies on his FB page Thursday or Friday before the weekend. They can change week to week.

Since Disney owns Star Wars, I would doubt it will be shown on the Carnival ships.

We saw The Last Jedi on the Liberty in June 2018 so at least then they didn't ban them and Disney already owed Star Wars then. Assuming you meant Dec 21 not Sept 21 is it possible. 

We do shorter cruises because my youngest (5) isn't really into the kids club yet and too short to do some of the really cool activities on the newer ships so I think we might get bored.  Right now we do a short cruise and have time to pair it with other stuff.  Last time we did it with Disney, this time we'll do a 5 day out of Galveston and have time in Houston for the zoo, space center and Natural History Museum.  Once they are older I'd love to do a full week on a ship like the new Mardi gras but right now the shorter cruises fit us better 

I took my kids (4 and 7) on it the summer before last and had fun. I am sure there were lots of people partying but we stuck to the pools and had fun and weren't bothered by anyone.  I think the cruise is what you make it.

If you live in the Midwest area I do best with Meijer mperk deals on them. 

Thanks from another Michigander here. I browse the AMEX offers from time to time but I don't know if I would have realized that World's Leading Cruise Lines was the parent company of Carnival. 

Maybe I am a weirdo but I would love our apps and main entrees at the same time. The kids don't get an appetizer and generally don't like ours so having that extra course just feels awkward and makes dinner take longer. Maybe I should ask for them at the same time if that's a thing being done. 

We are booked on a cove (though not under the gallery). I actually got an offer to upgrade to a regular balcony and decided against it since I like the idea of shade and being close to the water. 

I think you'll find cruising is one of the easiest ways to travel with a picky eater. Granted I would say my kids are more run of the mill picky than super picky but there are so many different options for food, it is a lot easier than on a normal vacation when your options might be more limited at times. Also I have found my kids to try new foods much more willing since the cruise is a low pressure situation. They can pick up one new food a meal, try a bite but know they had a plate of traditional foods to fall back on so I get less push back from them (and don't end up wasting a ton of money on food they don't end up eating). Last cruise I got them eating beef which was hugely exciting. Good luck!    

On a normal day you'll be fine but no one can possibly predict random circumstances (mechanical issues, problem with a passenger, etc) that could delay your debarkation. I would look into the airlines policies for if you do arrive late and miss your flight. Some airlines are a lot more forgiving then others, if you have a lot of points I am assuming you have a higher status and maybe that will help to. Personally I'd figure out worst case scenario and see if I could live with that on the slim chance you have an issue.  

Looking through sample fun times as well as the kids club schedules there are so many activities and I wish I knew more about what each one entailed. I feel like we didn't really take full advantage of all the activities on our first cruise as a family since I didn't really know what I was looking at and got overwhelmed. Is there a good breakdown anywhere with more details, especially the kids club ones since my 5 year old is hesitant so I'd like to pick and choose for when he'd have the most fun. 

Per Carnival's website it says all rooms and lists the Liberty https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2349/~/non-stocked-mini-bar-unit

Not sure which ship you are on but according to Carnival,  yes, https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/list/search/1/kw/booster%20seats/suggested/1 .   That being said my newly 4 year old didn't have any issues on the Liberty and he is somewhere around the 6th percentile height wise and he was fine in the MDR without any boost.

I guess I am just a different style of cruiser. I live in the Midwest too but I prefer a shorter cruise and to combo it with stuff on land. Our next cruise is a 5 day out of Galveston and 4 nights on land in Houston so that we can do the zoo, space center, boardwalk, etc. Maybe part of it is there is less of the sad feeling your cruise is ending when you know you have a whole other vacation to look forward to afterwards. I've done a few 7 nights and enjoyed them but it is hard to get away from my job so I can't really do more than a couple days on land to go with that. 

36 minutes ago, trummy said:

One of my favorite things about sit down dinners is the conversations. This is a great way to bond with children. I would never bring devices to dinner. We never allowed coloring at the table at restaurants. We wanted our children present. Unfortunately, conversation is becoming a lost art.

That is great for you but plenty of people skip MDR altogether or send their kids to Kids Club so they can enjoy a nice relaxing dinner, we do what works for our family. If your kids can sit through a hour and 45 minute dinner that is impressive. Mine are young and still working their way up to it. Rather than forgoing the experience altogether we make them go, entertain them with devices until the food arrives then they get put away to enjoy food and conversation. Hopefully we won't need that crutch in a few years. Trust me conversation is not a lost art, my 5 year old talks basically from the moment he wakes up until the moment he crashes. 

22 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

these are usually wild booze cruises, instead of family friendly cruises.

I saw some HAL cruises starting on Wednesdays and MSC cruises starting on Fridays. Some RCL cruises also start on Fridays....

That may be the reputation but that was not my experience. Granted we did the 3 night on the Liberty not the 4 night but I didn't have any problems with drunk or obnoxious people and we went in June 2017. I had a 7 year old and a 3 year old who didn't want to go to the kids club so maybe it was because we didn't go into any of the bars but it was totally family friendly for us. 

What about the Carnival Liberty? They have a 4 night cruise that does the Nassau and Princess Cays Departing on Monday Dec 23 Returning Friday December 27th out of Port Canaveral. You could plan on heading up to Orlando afterwards and either just spend a couple days relaxing at a hotel or maybe do a theme park on Sunday or Monday before heading home. The cruise portion for a balcony with gratuities would be $2200. We did something similar a couple years ago (3 nights on Liberty) since I wanted to test out how our young kids would like cruising, now they are hooked and want another cruise. 

This post hit me in the feels since I have 2 still relatively little boys. Is there a sports deck on the cruise? Ping pong, shuffleboard, mini golf, giant chess, even basketball might be fun to play as a family. My husband and his brother always love being competitive with each other so that is something I could see them enjoying. 

Make sure you bring stuff to entertain them if you are doing the MDR. I made the mistake last cruise and our dinner took forever. By dinner #2 we'd adjusted and brought their kindles to dinner and skipped appetizers to bring dinner down to a normal amount of time and it went much smoother. Our youngest didn't like Camp Ocean (granted he was 4 and promptly took a nap when he got there so I don't know what he didn't like about it). This cruise he'll be 6 so I am hoping he gets more into it, especially being into an older age group.   

3 minutes ago, Bookster99 said:

How does that work? I have Kroger, and have bought gift cards from them. They never offered my 6-10% off. Just gas points.

I am just estimating the savings. Meijer is 10% off since you get $5 off your next grocery purchase when you buy $50 carnival gift cards when they are running a gift card promo (using mperks up to $500 per promo). Kroger is harder to gauge. I watch for when they offer 4X the fuel points on the category that includes carnival. So a $250 gift card would get you 1000 fuel points which  is equal to $1 off per gallon. If I get 15 gallons of gas that is $15 which is equal to 6% ----- assuming I didn't screw up the math here. Technically not cash back but gas and groceries are staples so in my mind as good as getting cash off. 

I recently waited for a half off sale. For me the logic was I like to book my airfare at the same time as I get the cruise booked. Airfare for 4 is $1600 add that to a $600 cruise deposit and you are outlaying basically a huge portion of the vacation cost months and months away. Yeah sure another $300 bucks wouldn't break me but if I can just pay $300 now and pay off the rest as I acquire good gift card deals then that is my preference.  

I recently signed up for the card myself. It comes with a $200 sign up bonus I can use on my cruise plus 10% off shore excursions which was a sweet enough deal for me. I probably won't use it to pay for the rest of the cruise since I do better buying gift cards at Meijer and Kroger which net me more in the 6-10% off range when I use their loyalty programs.