jc4me

Great fun and thanks for sharing!  We're doing this same cruise in February...this gave me a little taste to help me pass the time 🙂

22 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

 

oh wow, we typically fly early in the morning so maybe that's why. In May from the time our Uber dropped us off at the airport until the time we were at our Southwest terminal took maybe 25 minutes. That was dropping our luggage at the skycap, going through security and making it to whichever terminal we were at. 

 

I do know my wife and I left a little later in the morning the time prior to that (maybe around 7 or 8?) and security wasn't too terrible. They were going pretty fast.

Our TSA line was all the way to the end of the airport and wrapped around the back wall before we even got into the maze.  It was crazy!  Glad that we got there early and we were even able to get a little breakfast before we left.  Is Southwest in terminal 1?  We were in Terminal 2.

We flew from RDU in May and booked through Carnival.  I would suggest getting their flexible plan so that you can cancel if you find a cheaper price.  I think ours was $775 for 2 people round-trip with Delta.  We were able to use our discounted gift cards to save 10%, so not bad at all.  Alaska was AMAZING!  

On 8/15/2019 at 12:02 PM, teknoge3k said:

 

RDU isn't one of those airports you need to be there super early. You can drop your luggage with the skycap, go through security and be at your gate in no time at all. Even our local airport, you can arrive at the airport 30 minutes prior to your flight and have a lot of extra time.

We cruised to SeaTac from RDU in May and it took us a good hour to get through security.  That was leaving Saturday morning at 7:30 AM.  The return flight wasn't quite as bad, but still long.

Just now, zeph918 said:

Awesome thank you. Is there any way that the waiter or waitress knows that I have prepaid gratuities? I know it sounds funny but I don't want to walk away from the table and the waiter or waitress resent me because I didn't leave a tip. You know what I'm saying? Is there a way for them to tell that it's already been taken care of?

Even if you did not pre-pay gratuities, they are posted to your shipboard account, so you would not typically leave money on the table like you would at a restaurant.  No need to be concerned 🙂  Have a fantastic cruise!

2 hours ago, Goplayball said:

I'm flying into Port Canaveral with only carry on. Therefore, I can't bring sunscreen due to the TSA security.  We will be transported to port by shuttle.  Is there a convenience store within walking distance from port to pick this up?  I know I can purchase once I'm on the ship.  TIA....3 days😎🚢 👙🍹

Is there someone on your cruise roll call that would be willing to bring some for you?  That might be an option.

One of the closets should have shelves if that helps.

You can also use the gift card to purchase a drink package prior to sailing...or anything else.

3 hours ago, riffatsea said:

When I do final payment for the cruise I send in the statement.

Carnival allows you to scan and email in addition to fax.

guestadmin@carnival.com

It comes through within 24hrs.

When I emailed my statement for our May cruise they told me it had to be faxed, that they could no longer accept them via email.  Don't know if that was just one person or if that is the new standard.  Would be interesting to see if others that have sailed recently were able to email their statement.

16 hours ago, CruisingViper said:

I've been gold for a year or so now. I'm just wondering how long it took others or what age they were when they got to platinum status, or even diamond. It seems so far away after the short distance between red and gold.

Our first cruise was 1994, but we didn't cruise again until 2003...our cruise in February 2020 will bring us up to platinum...unless they change the program before then.

16 hours ago, jdemps said:

Margaritaville sounds like Senor Frogs to me so is it authentic to the island or is it a cheesy tourist trap with bad food like the one in Vegas or the ones in Florida?

 

What are other options for fun beach bars with good authentic food if Jack's Shack is to busy?  Any options for grilled lobster or conch ceviche  or salad type items or is everything fried on the beach there?  

 

We are headed to Grand Turk since Cuba was cancelled in FEB 2020 so we didn't choose it and are just looking into it. 

 

Thanks for your help

I can't help you with your questions, but which cruise are you going on?  I think ours was originally scheduled to go to Cuba (Breeze, Feb 8th) but we didn't book until after Cuba cruises were shut down.  

On 6/29/2019 at 12:50 PM, sunonfire said:

Did you notice if the Legend had Happy Hour - usually on embarkation and port days?

Sorry, we don't drink...so didn't notice.

I have cancelled a cruise that I paid for with gift cards and got the refund sent to me in the form of a gift card.

22 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

Chocolate covered strawberries? Did not get them on our last cruise. For 2 platinum cruisers we got a plate of 2 chocolate balls,2 squares of something,and two small sugar cookies. Have always gotten strawberries in the past.

 

I do think that the web site calls it Chocolate Delight, so that makes sense.

Great review!  Please go on another cruise ASAP so we can read your review while waiting for our cruise....Thank you for sharing.

4 hours ago, evandbob said:

We first used the laundry service when they had $15 or $19 specials.  Now that we've been platinum and now Diamond, we always use the laundry perk for tees, briefs, shorts and sox.

 

Early on, we were told that our clothes were placed in a mesh bag and then went into the washer.  Now I find little coded color strips on the waistbands or shirt tags so I guess they are cleaning them without the bag and sorting by the color code afterwards.

 

And I don't mind using a "community" washer that handles a huge load.  It's probably cleaner than the public machines and there's no waiting.  I do enough laundry and cooking and cleaning at home, part of the cruise mystique for me is not doing any of these things on the ship.

Totally agree.  I would be using the launderette on the ship anyway, so I presume that this is no less sanitary than using public machines.  

6 hours ago, jdoc2007 said:

 

I know the feeling.  I have a 16 day Transatlantic Oct 2020 coming up and I had to book 2 more 7 days before then so I could hit Platinum for the Transatlantic cruise.

Wow!  I would have come on the Transatlantic cruise with you and done your laundry for you if you would book me two cruises - LOL!

22 hours ago, bolt said:

I know I wanted to book an 8 day. Now just hoping to get my husband to take me on another cruise for the free laundry 😊

Happy to see I'm not the only one!

23 hours ago, bolt said:

Can't wait to be platinum. I have a 7 day cruise booked then only need 1 more day !

 

That's how we were after our last cruise....needed 2 more days!  

On 6/21/2019 at 9:33 AM, Micah's Grandad said:

We are Diamond on Carnival and overall find the loyalty benefits less than overwhelming. Laundry allows us to only take one large suitcase for the two of us.

We are happy get what they provide since it is above and beyond what we have paid for.  We are nowhere close to getting any benefits from other cruise lines, so Carnival it is for us!

On 6/21/2019 at 8:39 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Just my opinion, but I don’t think it is that great of a benefit. But that it because both my wife and I won’t use it for the majority of clothes we wear during a cruise because everything is washed in hot water.  But apparently others aren’t worried about that, which makes the benefit more appealing. 

I will have to keep in mind the hot water wash when I pack!

On 6/21/2019 at 8:10 AM, Micah's Grandad said:

Probably the best benefit for plat and diamonds

I'm looking forward to checking it out!

21 hours ago, Bases5 said:

Just to add to maryred post.  If both travelers are platinum you can double the amount of bags.  It's per person not per room.

We love it.  It has cut our packing in half.

Thank you!

21 hours ago, Bases5 said:

Just to add to maryred post.  If both travelers are platinum you can double the amount of bags.  It's per person not per room.

We love it.  It has cut our packing in half.

Thank you!

21 hours ago, maryred said:

Depending on the length of your cruise you get X number of bags per Platinum passenger; 2 bags on 3 – 6 day cruises, 
3 bags on 7-12 day cruises, 5 bags on a 12+ day cruises. So we usually have a bag for light colored clothing and another for dark clothing. Since they wash and dry using industrial machines in very, very hot water and air, nothing that has not been washed (to avoid dye leaks) or has a risk of being shrunk goes in the bags.  Another thing to keep in mind is they do not pre-treat stains, so having your own stain stick or pre-wash is a must because the hot water alone will set the stain. As another poster stated we use the service more or less to have clean clothing to return home with rather than use it to reduce the initial amount needing to be packed.

Thank you!