lazydayz

Likely just out the $30. That is a risk worth taking to keep your original room. Have the potential third person pay for herself. Then you are not out anything.

It's not just the wristband, but the wristband and who shows up as occupying the Havana room on the computer. You might get away with it, but I would not have the non-Havana occupying guest order a drink from the outside bar or the servers.

Then book him as the 4th guest if all in the same room. You could also get the cancel for any reason coverage from Carnival to limit your losses if he needs to cancel. But if his fare is just $100, not sure it is worth it. Hope you all get to cruise.

Correct. But call Carnival and ask them the question as a hypothetical. If you are comfortable with the answer, you say ok, we need to cancel one person. The earlier you do the cancellation, the less the penalty will be. And yes, the rest of you who don’t cancel can still cruise, likely in the same cabin as originally booked. Good luck.

It depends. How long until your cruise?

I always visit the host on the last day. While all the specialty dinners might be gone, I might get some wine or $$$ for Cherry on Top. The Celebration host asked me if I had grandkids, then how many. Told him three so he gave me $150 to spend on the grands. What a fun shopping spree.

Pretty sure I am going to book it. Free balcony and free DOUE for two. While it appears you may have get one bottle of alcohol vs. two with Elite, no free parking, and no shore excursion, I like the idea of something new. Plus what a great way to watch the Super Bowl.

I would be very interested. Royal’s world cruise was a little too long. But this might be the spark I need to actually retire.

Are you doing a live this cruise? Is it an Elite?

I would join the premier group if it is close in price.

My advice is to wait until onboard. Go to the Ladies Pamper Party, then talk to the manager and book. This is how I find the best deals and get my questions answered. And I am fairly certain the answer is yes, they will massage a pregnant woman.

Not at all. Since it was the "Deluxe", I think Carnival capped it at 12 or so people.

Cabo is one of my favorite all time ports. The water was clear and warm. We did the deluxe catamaran cruise from Carnival. The boat was wonderful, the crew was nice, the food was great. Highly recommend it.

No experience with Georgia, but Lee is one of the best. He is everywhere!

Agree with all of these comments, but can also recommend the Classic Cars excursion offered through Carnival. It was a great day!

Probably but that is Tampa's only access to the Gulf of Mexico. So it would have to be in another county. At one time, Tampa offered St. Pete a swap. Tampa would get the Rays and St. Pete could do a cruise terminal. That didn't go very far.

Here are the things I love about my Carnival cruises that sail from Tampa. Carnival has the fun ships, so there are a lot of activities if you want to participate. There will be live music around the ship, in addition to the piano bar. Comedy shows nearly every night (usually two different comedians). The pizza is really good. The new Emeril's selections each night in the MDR. Delicious. You get to sail under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Valet parking is offered at a reasonable price (cheaper if you book online in advance). In addition to the many hours of driving saved, it's a less stressful trip to the Port. Downtown Tampa is not nearly as chaotic as Miami.

You could take the group to Emeril's for an anniversary dinner. It is amazingly good and inexpensive. It is much less crowded than the MDR, and the atmosphere is fun.

Yes

We have cruised on the Mardi Gras five times and the Celebration twice. There are so many positives to the Excel class, I think you should book it and decide for yourself. We loved all of the dining and bar offerings, you literally could eat at a different place every day and still likely miss something. There are a ton of activities, and the ships are high energy. The Serenity area on both ships are beautiful and spacious. The staterooms are more modern. Some complain about the size of the bathrooms, but most rave about the generous size of the showers. Our recommendation is to go with the extended balcony category. The shows and talent are so much better than on the older ships. Because at times we are laid back cruisers and sometimes just want to chill, we are now alternating between the smaller ships sailing from our home port (Tampa) and the Excel class.

Thanks for a fun trip report. So glad it went well for you and your family. We board the Paradise tomorrow for a spring break cruise. What were we thinking? Since the grands elected not to go, it will just be hubby and me in our Grand Suite.

We were happy to be upsold today for a nice upgrade. Went from a Jr, Suite under a public deck to a midship grand suite with cabins above and below for $320. Five night spring break cruise leaving Saturday.

Good choice!

A family prank?

We went to the piano bar on one cruise and I nearly fell asleep. Our friends went every night and loved it. Go figure. To each her own, but I am pretty sure I am not a piano bar person. Comedy is much more to my liking.