lazydayz

On our most recent cruise, someone cancelled last minute and we went from a regular balcony to a grand suite for around $300. I know they cancelled last minute because all their purchase confirmations were in the room.  It was great and well worth the upgrade cost. 

9 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I'm surprised I thought all the new ships had them.

Unfortunately not.  I guess they figured we were not smart enough to know how to use the smart ones.  lol 

We needed about 20 rooms for our daughter’s wedding.  Went through a travel agent who had good group rates. I booked the ones I was paying for.  I had a great casino offer so was not officially part of the group.  I gave all the others the travel agent’s info and they booked directly with the travel agent.  The ones in the group got OBC and wine. It worked well.

i agree with the other posters here. Have a PCP or travel agent handle the bookings, unless you are gifting the cruise to them.  Even then, I would not do this myself.  Luckily, I have a great PVP who handles most of my bookings now. 

58 minutes ago, LDL1220 said:

What about at Princess Cays where the Cheers package can not be utilized?  Do you know? That will definitely factor into our decision on whether to purchase Cheers since we are only on a 5 day Bahamas cruise.

No idea. 

4. The Free Drinks in the Casino do count against the 15 limit. There are very rare exceptions to the 15 drink limit, like drinks at cocktail parties or lunches where your card is not requested, or you poured it yourself (wine from embarkation, alcohol delivered to your cabin).  

And you can no longer buy additional alcoholic drinks from any bar if that puts you over 15. 

Once you start getting close (I think at 10 but could be wrong), the receipt indicates what number you are on.  

Hope you and your family have a great cruise. 

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. 

27 minutes ago, bowen9475 said:

It’s still actually all hypothetical at this point. We are considering booking for 4 of us but may find my husband is not able to come. 

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. 

23 hours ago, kwokpot said:

OK resolved getting my Guys now. Rumor Issue was changing out gangway for tomorrow's Firenze cruise.

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.  

3 hours ago, tha sista said:

did you find this excursion very crowded?

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!

37 minutes ago, pe4all said:

If you have not been to Amber Cove it is nice taking that long walk (or short bike jitney) to the port area and walking around a bit.  They have some stores, a pharmacy, a restaurant, and it is fun to watch the zip-liners flying overhead.  The pool is also nice, with a dj and some dances/games - kinda like Margaritaville. We get off for an hour or so, then back on the ship to enjoy the quiet and get to do things when things aren't crowded.

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

34 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Would be cheaper and probably better for them to build a new cruise terminal outside of the bridge's path than it would be to build a new bridge.

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. 

26 minutes ago, BrentD said:

Thanks. That was only part of the question, though. If I want to pay it down with another card (debit, credit, etc…) that is NOT on file, can I do that as well?

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.