bartleby112

Just off the Magic. I was thinking about this while i was on there......

So the magic lido deck, has from what i remember a very similar lido buffet, guys, iguana, pizza etc set up as Conquest class ships.  But it holds about 1k more in passengers compared to the conquest. 

Am I right in this assessment? I kinda felt like this cruise on the magic, it really showed that Carnival doesn't seem to do a good job with people movement/management on this ship.  It took almost 3 hours to get the passengers who wanted to go to Half Moon off the ship.  Lines at lido at all places to eat were pretty packed. 

Its been 3 years since I've been on the Conquest.  I don't remember it being this rough.  Perhaps time just numbed the waiting I might have experienced 3 years ago.

So do the conquest sized ships, and the breeze, magic ships have roughly the same number of dining options, buffet lines? or am I forgetting something. 

And on a side note, the folks cruising with us have done some of the mega ships on Royal. they said they don't Tender often because of the size, but when they do, they are very good and getting the people to shore quickly.

Just now, nycruise3 said:

Hub app usually does not work until you are onboard and on the ship wifi

well i mean yeah. but it also provides a countdown for your cruise.........  lol.  hence the post.... 

I have 2 cabins. my cabin, when i type in MY booking number, cannot find the cruise.  i go back and type in all my wifes information and her cabins booking number.  it works and provides the right information.

But when i click on anything in there, it takes me to Carnival's website and its alright. 

I was like "well let me log out and log back in". same wrong cruise.
 

When I tried to enter with booking number, it says my booking number is non existent.

59 minutes ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

You’re linked.  Am at a loss as I have always been able to check in for the other cabin.  Now here is what may be a stupid question — are you both the same VIFP level?  If you are platinum and she is not, you can’t check her in at the 16 day mark.  I thought this could be done, but was corrected.

nope. both gold. 

2 minutes ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

I hate to ask this, but are the booking numbers linked?  It may be as simple as that.  They should be, but maybe something got mixed up and the bookings aren’t linked.  If they are, then I am at a loss as to why this happened.

Define linked? I could go in and schedule a massage for my wife. book cheers.  purchase and assign excursions. 

Is there another level beyond that? Our last cruise was 3.5 years ago.  I honestly don't remember if we had to check in separately then too. 

IN the "before you go" section on the left side. it shows (2 staterooms, shows both booking numbers, mine is complete, hers still needs to be done) I have the option to print documents for both rooms.  i can print my boarding passes, but not hers.  I can print luggage tags for both rooms.

Last night at midnight was the time to check in.  So at midnight. i log in and begin check in.

About our set up. 2 cabins, wife and i in each, 2 kids with her, 1 kid with me.  I finish my cabin, go to check in hers (it tells me "ready to check in" for her cabin.).  When i click on it, it just takes me to my cabin which is complete and goes to the end.  Log out try again, keeps doing this. 

more about our booking.  Booked through a TA.  I can log into my carnival account and manage all aspects of our bookings.  my cabin, their cabin etc.  Set up dinning, book excursions etc.  So it was odd that it wasn't allowing me to check her in.  Friends in the SAME situation, 2 adults between 2 rooms with kids had zero issues checking in last night. 

Come this AM.  wife gets into work and i had to have her log in and create an account on carnival to check in her side of our 2 cabin booking.  So we are now checked in for both, which is great.  Glad i didn't have to call carnival. 

But my question, and perhaps to help a future cruiser doing the same with their family.  why did this happen?  everyone else on our Roll call that had 2 or more cabins in their family/group was able to check in all 3 cabins at one time by one person.  Even right now, i log into carnival, it stills shows her cabin as needing to check in, but she did it on her own account an hour ago. And when i click on documents. even though she checked in, i cannot print her boarding passes.  But i can print mine.

We do have 2 different booking numbers, is this the issue? do folks who book the 2 connecting cabins for their families normally get one booking number?  Is this an issue with our TA?  Should we have our TA contact carnival and give me full 100% control of it all? 

2 minutes ago, groundloop said:

That's a mighty big ask.

 

John Heald has mentioned several times that MaitreD's don't respond to email requests, but that you can go the the dining room on the first day of the cruise (typically from about 1:30 to 3:00) and make your request.  

 

Also worth a try would be posting your request to John Heald's facebook page.

Yeah. i really don't want to email someone ahead of time.  and I honestly think thats kind of a crap thing to do.  I think i'm more likely to just show up at 130 and ask for the favor. 

We are vacationing with my Parents and some family friends.  We would like to sit with just my Parents, but be near the family friends. 

I've seen in the past, a long while ago that you can email the Maitre D beforehand and make requests such as private tables etc. 

But for something like this. would it be best to stop by the dining room as soon as we get onboard? or reach out ahead of time. 

My parents and our family is a group of 7, and the other family is 5.

8 hours ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

Are your bookings linked?  If so, your parents may be able to choose a boarding time for you when they check-in.  Please note I may be incorrect about this.  
 

after boarding, meet up with your parents and put things in their room so you don’t have to carry them around.  Yes, you will have to move them later, but you will have the freedom of not toting your luggage while getting lunch and muster drill.

 

If you want to be off the ship early, put that you have an early flight (I know you are driving, but early flights get off the ship in the first round).  No one checks into these things, they are trusting people will put down proper departure info.

Will have to look into this.  Would be interesting if they could pick our times. But i doubt it works. Just seems like a sneak around to avoid buying FTTF. 

3 minutes ago, hillbillycruisers said:

We cruised Carnival Vista last November without FTTF...and Carnival Dream last month with FTTF. I'll compare our experiences...boarding wasn't as quick without, but since we had an early time it wasn't a big deal. What was a big deal was having to drag our carry-ons and backpacks all over the ship without FTTF...especially since all the elevators are horribly busy and taking stairs with luggage is very tough. Our cabin wasn't available until right at 1:30. With FTTF, we boarded early, and was at our cabin at 10:45 dropping off our stuff. Our cabin attendant was cleaning our cabin, and he told us if we wanted full access to our room, he would be finished by 11 am. On the Vista, I had to wait once at the service desk almost 20 minutes...on the Dream...with FTTF, I had priority service at the service desk, and skipped the long line. And, our self assist debarkation was horrible on the Vista without FTTF. We had to wait on the floor above the gangway until they called our turn...then we had to drag everything down stairs...with a throng of pushy people ( getting an elevator was impossible).it was HORRIBLE!!....with FTTF on the Dream, we were allowed to wait on the gangway floor with the priority people...and debarkation was super easy and fast. We have used FTTF six times...have it booked again for our next cruise in November...and we love it.

yikes. thats def a night and day difference! 

9 hours ago, Drazil65 said:

On our December MG cruise we were in a suite and platinum, we self debark as we have a 8.50 hr road trip home.  We had earliest debark,  we were in one waiting room (suites) and FTTF were in another room (they had staff directing and showing you where to go).  We left the ship and were in our car (parked at port) on the road by a few mins after 7 AM.  FTTF cruisers definitely went before the self debark that didn't have it.  If you have younger children with you it would be worth it to be able to drop off your carryons and be hands free (except for the kids of course!) until your room is ready.  

yeah. i think that would be worth while. since i posted this, the FTTF sold out! it was sold out earlier, then reappeared, but has sold out again.  we will probably only have back packs.  parents are platinum and the room next to us.  so now that i'm thinking about it. i can drop our stuff off in there room!!!

21 minutes ago, asalligo said:

That all really depends on what check in time you are able to snag. If you got a 10am check in time, you realistically are probably never more than half an hour behind your parents boarding the ship. They will get to pick check in time at 16 days until the cruise and you at 14 days. With FTTF you can show up with them at any time and will board right behind them. Last cruise our friends were platinum and we were not, but we did have FTTF, we actually passed them while boarding the ship as they stopped to take a picture. 

 

Off the ship is a little more of a difference sometimes. Platinum and FTTF will be invited to a location to wait for priority debark and it will even have snacks. Then they will be guided off the ship all at once. without FTTF or priority status, you will debark by your assigned number they call unless you use self debark and carry all your own luggage off the ship. 

 

 

So even the self disembark where we carry our own luggage is not as fast as platinum or FTTF?

I know there are a few questions already out there about FTTF.  But I'm curious what to actually expect about early boarding and debarking. 
Parents are platinum, (hold your applause please LOL JK) so I'm wondering if we arrive at the port the same time, and I don't get FTTF, how much longer we will have to wait till its our turn (assuming we are up at 12am to check in).

I can see the perks of being able to drop off of bags at the room, especially with little ones.

And I guess I'm also wondering how much faster we can get off the ship when we are done assuming we take our own bags to make it faster.  Got a 14 hour drive home and wife wants to be home so we can do Easter stuff the next am.

Thanks!

So i've never been on the dream class ships.  What is the Ocean Plaza comparable to the conquest style ships?  Looks like just a large lounge thats kind of on the main decks. 

5 minutes ago, Pyrate13 said:

Never seen beer at the pizza place but haven't been on every ship either. Nor do I go to the pizza place much. 

yeah. same here. i've never once seen someone walk up and grab a beer.  The video perhaps was hinting that after all the bars close, but pizza is still open (which might not be the case any more since i think they close now) they had beer there for people.  I'm not 23 any more and staying up till 5am drinking and eating pizza lol

So I was bored, watching vidoes on youtube about cheers etc.  One of the tips was "go to the pizza place to get pizza and beer. they don't open the can or bottle".  They were saying you can take the beer and bring it back to save it for later.  take to shore etc. 

So is that true? they have beer after hours at the Pizza place on carnival?

We are going to be in GT at Margaritaville on the same day as another carnival ship.  we arrive 4 hours after them.  We booked a cabana.  Was wondering if anyone has ever had issues being the second ship to arrive, and having to wait till almost the time the first ship leave before being allowed in your cabana?

We are worried that although our cabana booking starts at 1130, the Mardi gras doesn't leave till 230 we will have to wait to get in. 

So i guess has anyone had to wait well past the time you arrived at the port to get into their cabana that was booked through carnival?

so last year we did a land based trip over spring break. i googled  something to the likes of "list of college spring breaks".  It was odd because our school gave the kids off the week before Easter.  It turned out that maybe less than a few dozen schools had spring break that week.  go the week before or week after it was hundreds if not thousands. 

But most schools do it late march or right around easter.  i assume you'll be fine

essentially what the title states.  Is the family harbor worth the extra costs on Mardi Gras

We pushed forward a cruise by 8 months because our youngest will be over 5 and able to partake in camp ocean.  No more connecting cabins on this newer sailing.  So we are wondering if the family harbor suite in the family harbor area is worth the extra few hundred dollars.

I like the 2nd bathroom in the room. and the snack area seems like a nice little perk.  I guess also having Camp ocean right there is also a perk.  but I was wondering if its rough being in the area with all the other kids.

1 hour ago, x lindsay x said:

Can confirm. Have been on two cruises in the past 8 months with a 4 year old, no dice on the kids club. No ETA on when it will re-open. Them allowing unvaccinated kids in older than 5 is a step in the right direction for those under 5 but I am guessing that staffing shortages they are experiencing might be the reason for not returning to their prior programming. 

thanks! yeah. its not something we will roll the dice on.  I'm going to call our agent and shift the cruise to next spring when she is 5.  so that she doesn't miss out. 

Just think its crappy that carnival keeps on their main page about kids activities that kids 2 to 12 are  part of Camp, but you have to then go to the COVID page to find out that its actually just 5 to 12. 

42 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

It had been like this since the restart.

I knew that when they restarted last year some things were limited and I knew kids stuff came back. didn't know the cut off was 5 and older though.  Oh well.  Might just shift the booking to next spring when the youngest is 5. 

5 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

This is very true and listed as such on the Carnival website.

After i posted. i went to the site.  Showed "youth programs 2 to 12" then I saw the notice for COVID stuff and saw it says different in there.  Well darn. Guess we will rebook to a later date perhaps. 

I was just listening to a youtube video about kids programs changes recently.  Just heard kids under 5 cannot go.  (the video said that kids 5 and older regardless of vax status can now come).

But he said that its closed still for 3 and 4  year olds.  Just wondering how true this is? We might cancel.

i just called an enterprise outside of hte port area and was told that they stopped picking people up from the cruise port.  Just FYI.

So we normally drive to all our vacations.  But this time we are hoping to fly to Miami so we aren't spending 3 days in a car.  I'm not sure I want to pack 2 huge car seats and a booster seat onto the plane.  So the plan is  this......

Fly to Miami,  take a shuttle from airport to hotel (probably a bus, so no car seats anyway)

Shuttle from hotel to port (same as above)

Get off the ship, rent a car and hang out for a few days in florida.  So we would like to rent a car close to the port of Miami and then go visiting.  Have any of the families on this board rented cars in florida and gotten 2 car seats?  Were they terrible?  Did you have to call in advance?  i've looked online and haven't noticed anything about them.  Also what was the approx cost?