Hawaiifrank

Question....if you bring two bottles of wine with you and you fly to the port, they have to be in your checked luggage correct? I thought I remebered flying past year after visiting a vineyard that they couldn't be in your carry on.

 

When you boat the shop, should they be in your carry on or checked luggage?

This will be the first time we are bringing wine, but through my reading here on CC I believe they must be in your carry on. Any wine or liquor in checked baggage will be disposed of and they just leave a note in your suitcase when delivered. No more being called to the "naughty room" I've heard.

Here ya go, the post about the cruiseline's ADA compliance regarding accessable cabins:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35115645

I recall a post in the Disabled Cruising sub-forum, I think, that mentioned a lawsuit against Carnival a few yrs ago relating to the number of accessable cabins and how they booked them. I'll post a link if I can find it.

The short of it was that Carnival must provide more cabins and must not offer nor accept bookings for these cabins until after final payment date, unless it's the last one in the catagory. It took affect within the last year or so.

What is the normal deposit on Carnival for a cruise? When I was checking on line, I can only see Early Saver but didn't go far enough into my mock booking to see the deposit amount. My understanding is that Early Saver requires a $150 nonrefundable deposit. Is that correct? So, if something happens and we can't go on this trip, Carnival will charge $50 and we will have $100 to go towards a future cruise. Do I have a choice of not doing Early Saver and booking a cruise with a refundable deposit? Would I want to? Or maybe I should be asking what the Pros and Cons of the Early Saver? Sorry, I'm a little confused on this and would appreciate your help.

There are usually several different fare types available. ES is usually the lowest price. Sometimes ES periodically has bonus offers for $50 deposit or OBC, not always though.

My thought is, if you are relatively sure you will go on that cruise, book ES for lowest cost. If you have doubts or medical issues pay a little more for the refundable fare and get trip insurance.

If the cruise is going to be a popular one, like a repositioning or some unique port or on a peek travel time, like a holiday, the price will just go up. It's very unlikely that you will get a fare reduction. If, OTOH, it's during a slack season, like the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can almost always count on a lower price for last minute bookings. With ES you can probably get a match to the lower price.

Edited to add: The normal deposit for a 7 day is $250. More for Suites, I believe. Less for shorter cruises.

I'm willing to bet a lot of these 4J cabins are booked with exactly this hope in mind. Unfortunately for those of us who require the accessible cabins this makes the whole cruise planning process much more difficult and have to spend hours on the phone with carnival hunting down cabins.

The 4J catagory does NOT mean it's an accessable cabin. With the CCL cabin types, a "4J" means that it has a window on the public walkway at the very front of the ship. A 4K is a cabin with a door that opens to a view of the side of the lifeboat.

An accessable cabin can be ANY catagory--it is accessable by virtue of the features available, ie wider door, no step up to the bathroom or shower, handholds, etc. Accessable cabins are available in many catagories, the same catagory designations as regular cabins.

As I mentioned above, accessable cabins are held back until final payment or until they are the last of the catagory, that's what I've read anyway. The one time I specifically ask for an accessable cabin for my invalid father-in-law cruising with us on NCL, I received it. I don't know if they bumped someone or if it was unreserved at that point, but we had no problems getting one. We did book about a year out though.

Accessible cabins should be for people who need them, but you can't expect the cruise line to leave them empty if no one needs them. At some point they have to offer them to anyone. They SAY they will bump the able-bodied to accommodate a mobility-challenged passenger. Call the cruiseline's special needs department not the general reservation number.

It's my understanding that Carnival is only allowed to book the accessable cabins to an able-bodied person after final payment date OR if it is the LAST cabin in that catagory. Obviously, if a ship is nearly sold out before final payment, most of the accessable rooms will be gone too.

I recently requested a 4J (inside with a window overlooking a public walkway) on the Carnival Freedom. Only one 4J cabin was offered, not the usual list of up to 10. It wasn't identified as an accessable cabin at that point. Only after I'd selected it and moved on to the deposit page did I find out it was an accessable cabin.

Even then, it didn't specifically say the cabin was "accessable". Instead the description listed the bathroom grab bars, level access to the shower, wider doors and a few other features that made me suspect the fact that it was an accessable cabin. Also, there was a check-box for me to mark that indicated that I would be willing to relenquish this cabin if it was needed by someone who required these features.

I would never request an accessable cabin just to get a roomier cabin. I did accept the cabin because it was offered as the only choice for the cabin type I was looking for. We are ready and willing to switch to an equivalent (there are no more 4J cabins available) or to a higher catagory cabin if someone with a need requests my cabin. I'll admit I like the idea of an upgrade if we do have to move, so go ahead and call. There may be an accessable cabin sold to an able-bodied passenger that is hoping to get an upgrade. :D

I just want to clarify the response I made earlier.....We only wear the card on a lanyard while onboard. It's just easier. We NEVER wear them ashore! I don't want to call attention to myself as a tourist any more than I have to for security/safety reasons.

I wear my lanyard under my shirt, pulling it out as necessary when I go ashore. I also have my D/L, a credit card and a few bucks for small purchases in the plastic pouch too. It's much easier (and safer from pickpockets) to find the cord and pull it out as needed. When under my shirt, it doesn't show and I know where it is at all times.

On the ship I may just stick it in my pocket for walking around or I may wear it if I'm going to the pool.

Hello and thanks! I'm thinking we might get hooked on cruising. LOL! It sounds very enjoyable!

It is! Our first cruise, like the post above, was on the Carnival Conquest from Galveston, except we started in 2008. We've done 18 since then and number 19, 20 and 21 (3 weeks in a row) will be on Carnival Freedom starting Nov 28.

Maybe we'll see you. Be sure to join the Roll Call thread for your ship and sailing date. Next Nov/Dec we'll be on the Breeze out of Galveston.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Cruising! :D

 

Whichever you pick, make sure it is for at least 7 days so you have time for a real cruise experience. :)

And there is another reason to pick a 7 day or longer. Short cruises, 3,4 and even 5 or 6 day sailings, have a different atmosphere and a different group of passengers.

These cruises almost always have younger crowd, with more kids too, especially during fall or spring breaks and the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The price will be much higher during school breaks and holidays so you had the right idea to look for lower cost weeks.

OP, you will not get a definitive answer from people here. I'm sure everyone feels strongly for one or two of their favorites and each line has their fans and detractors. I like Carnival and Royal. You might like NCL. It depends more on YOU and your likes and dislikes, than the cruiseline (among the main 3 or 4 lines, NCL, RCCL, CCL anyway.)

The truth is that everyone assigns different weights to their likes and dislikes, plus each sailing has many variables like: the crew, the itenarary, the ship, cabin location and type, cruise length, weather...you get the idea. I've said before, and I think many agree, that the experience might vary as much between different ships of the same line as between similar cruises on different lines.

Each line has a forum here on Cruise Critic with topics related to the specific line. Read up on the lines that interest you. Look at the loyalty programs. Is free booze or free laundry more important. Got kids? Each line and each ship has different water play areas and slides. Best kids program? Like to eat a variety of foods and venues? Specialty restaurants at extra cost are common, but there are free venues as well.

As another post said, try a couple of different cruises, different cruise lines and different ships till you find a combination you like.

Thanks so much for your reply! So on the front page of the carnival website where they are advertising Early saver rate, only $50 down if you book by Sept 30th, isnt a promotion? Do they offer this as a often as a rate category?

 

Also how much of a chance is there that the price of the cruise will go down after you book?

As the previous reply stated, Early Saver is a regular fare, always available until a certain number of months before the cruise. For a 7 day cruise, I think it normally ends 5 months before sail away.

The ES rate let's you select your cabin and is usually the cheapest fare and offers price protection that will let you match the lowest fare offered (there are exceptions) until 2 days before sailing. Sometimes Carnival offers a $50 reduced deposit, not always. Sometimes ES offers OBC, not always.

If you ask to match a fare offered that doesn't include the reduced deposit or OBC, and you booked during one of those promotions and received OBC or only paid the $50 deposit, you will loose the OBC and/or have to now pay the full deposit to get the lower fare.

For example, the fare for my Nov 28 cruise is $25 lower under the Autumn Fun fare, but I have $50 OBC from another promotion that would be lost if I tried to match this current promo price.

Does anyone know if there is any problem with playing poker out on a deck if you are using chips and not actual money.

I'm not sure about playing poker, but I had a Carnival officer tell me that we could not collect $5 pp as an entry fee (100% awarded as a prize) for our poker run. She saw us collecting the money and stopped us.

We did it anyway after she left, though we were more discreet than before. Does anyone know if this is a real policy? Or was this crew member just on a power trip and blowing smoke?

I received an upgrade offer to the walkway view room when we had a regular inside cabin. The offer was for $30 and we took it. I love these cabins and I have one booked for our Dec 12 cruise this year and a b2b in one next Nov. They're usually hard to get.

I think the money I can save on an inside will make the cruise more enjoyable. and then I can cruise more often. But I already know that my cruise to Alaska (hoping for 2017) I will definitely have a balcony so I can see the sites without being crowded into areas on the Lido...

If you can travel in May or September, you can save a bundle on the Alaska cruise. You take a chance on the weather, more chance of cool weather in spring or fall, but it CAN be cold even in July. I read somewhere that you can get snow ANY day of the year in Alaska, even in mid-summer (in the far north, I presume).

In 2009, we did a b2b from May 13 to 27, a week northbound followed by a week southbound. We were very fortunate to have great weather.

The balcony on Carnival Spirit was under $600 pp each week and included some OBC. I used the balcony more on that cruise than any other time we've gotten a balcony, 3 or 4 times out of 18 cruises. We usually get an inside catagory so we can cruise more often.

There is another use for the hold that I did not see mentioned--booking b2b cruises and trying to get the same cabin on both or trying to book adjacent cabins on the same cruise.

I haven't used the hold option much and probably won't miss it. It's usually easier to call and book on the phone for these type of bookings because the cruiseline's agent can see so many more cabins than you can in an online booking.

going on the Indy next month and I've been reading the compasses that I could find. One poster included a sheet for each day that was titled "Offers of the day" It showed all the drink specials and what venue and time for each day. Like the OP mentioned there was a 2 for 1 drink special every afternoon and many wonderful sounding $7 drink specials between 9:30 and midnight different drinks in different Venus. I too am lucky to be diamond and so between these specials and my voucher drinks I don't feel I would get any value out of a package. If I want a frozen drink by the pool I will buy a virgin piña colada as I am not a big drinker.

I was on Indy for the TA from England in Nov last yr. Bolaros had Margaritas for BOGO special several nights and other specials on different nights. On our cruise in February we has Cupid shots for $3. They were so good. I had 16 of them throughout the day (they were small, in a shot glass, I never even felt tipsy).

I definitely like the drink specials. I've only bought the drink package once (on Carnival, never on Royal). I just can't drink enough to get full value EVERY day, especially on port days.

With early saver, if someone does cancel, there is only a $50 cancellation fee with the option to rebook writhing 18 months. Of course, they won't get their money refunded to them. There are other ways to books but then you don't get the price drop guarantee.

I thought it was 24 months to rebook to use the remaining deposit, after the $50 fee per person for cancellation? If you cruise Carnival with any regularity, the 2 yr (or maybe 18 mos) time limit shouldn't be a problem. Of course, the money is tied up for that time too. I believe a GS has a larger deposit too.

If the catagory is sold out, there won't be any price reductions. The fewer cabins in a catagory, the faster it sells out, usually.

Airport is a long way from the cruise terminals - you might want to look into a rental car that has dropoffs in town. Most companies have a lot of local offices.

Depends on your definition of "a long way". I lived on Oahu for 33 years. We left in 2008. You will probably find the airport location cheaper than the Waikiki/hotel locations.

The airport is 5.2 miles straight down Nimitz Highway. Traffic can be a problem, but unless you go at rush hour (7 to 9 am and 3 to 6 pm), it should not take more than 20 min or so in a cab to get back to Aloha Tower from the airport.

I was back there on Carnival Spirit September, 2012. Traffic was worse but not gridlocked yet. We had a friend pick us up for the ride to the airport to get the car and had the car for 3 weeks. We also used Alamo. The rental location is right there on Nimitz (actually a service road parallel to Nimitz).

On the map it's called State Rt. 92, but everyone uses the name rather than the number. I didn't even know there was a number till I looked at Google Maps. Nimitz runs under the elevated H-1 freeway for a ways there by the airport.

I would drop off the bags first about mid-day or earlier and let all but the driver browse the Aloha Tower Marketplace. You'll be back within an hour or so.

We did this with on Carnival Magic last March. I booked balcony with daughters fiancee and my wife booked with daughter and grandkids. We didn't do it because of age though. My wife and I both had Future Cruise Certificates to use and only one per cabin.

In our case, we didn't bother getting extra keys, everyone was of age (except grandkids) and after we switched rooms, my wife could check on grandkids and daughter could access my balcony with fiancee when we weren't there. Wife and I were usually together so her not having a key to our cabin was seldom a problem.

I too think it'd be better for you and daughter to book together and Mom and BFF to book together. I believe you can also just get an extra key for each room with no name or credit card Info. You'd want to get an extra key for balcony and give to Mom. The extra inside cabin key is for daughter. Now DD can access the balcony if mom and dad aren't there and you have a key for the kids cabin if you need to check on them.

I've often been tempted to try the meat upgrade, but I never have. I've always found something on the menu that I could eat without spending the $20. I'm one of those who come back to the ship for lunch before the buffet closes, too. Call me cheap or call me frugal, I don't like to pay again for my dinner.

We ate in a specialty (French) venue as guests of another couple one time on an NCL cruise. Never on Carnival, never on Royal Caribbean. I'm thinking that I may try the Steakhouse on my upcoming b3b on Carnival in November and on RCCL in Feb.

I was impressed that time on NCL, especially the French Onion Soup. It's a favorite of mine. Hearing you folks talk about the appetizers, the deserts and the huge lobster has my mouth watering. I have read that Carnival has the best steakhouse and the free wine on the first night has my "Spidy-bargain sense" tingling.

I'll be sure to post how it was when I get back. Oh, we'll be on the Carnival Freedom Nov 28 for 3 weeks. Any tips? I heard on another thread that one line even has up- charge meat cuts in the Specialty venues. Is that Carnival?

I just read a review of the Independence OTS and the OP mentioned the noise on the Prominade. Here's a link.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46447069

Watch the video. Yes, they do have several parades or parties on the Prominade, but the cabins are pretty well insulated from the sound and the noise is usually over by 10:30 or 11 pm at latest. Deck 6 would be the loudest, of course.

One of the pictures shows the golden, hanging bowl, or whatever it is, that blocks the view of the Prominade from the PR cabins nearest the forward elevators.

John is right, the bed is really close to the vanity and walking around the bed to the window is a squeeze. To me it's worth a couple of bucks per day more to have that window on the world overlooking the Prominade.

I also like the inside cabins with the window on the walkway at the front of the ship. I can't recall if Royal has any of those, but I have a couple booked on Carnival.

Royal used to offer discount "certificates" that you could print out and present. They were on a Special Offers for C&A members Web page you had to login to see.

A year or so ago they changed that and now I'm not sure how they present the discounted cruises. The site is down at the moment (RCCL site says they're "on vacation"). :confused:

I believe there is a list released each Tuesday with special C&A prices for certain voyages. Isn't there also a "Going, Going, Gone" list somewhere in the C&A pages too, for last minute deals? My wife says no more looking or shopping since I have 9 weeks already booked in the next 17 mos. :D

We've had a PR cabin on many of our RCCL cruises. No noise worth mentioning, though I don't think we've been on deck 6 before. The windows on the deck 8 PR cabins slope outward at the top making it easier to see down. On Independence OTS we had a deck 8 cabin near the forward elevators. There is a large hanging sculpture (a wok with fish, I think) that blocks the view of the Prominade directly below the cabin. Next time, I'd pick a location more midship.

Thanks for the responses.

 

It would be a balcony room. So that last picture is what we would be getting.

 

I'm leaning toward the 2 adjoining rooms. But hubby may say differently. Right now that's about a $400 difference.

Our very first cruise in 2008 was in an inside with 4 people. My wife and I are not small people, full size and then some, and our daughter and her BFF, 17 and 18 are regular size teenage girls. We hardly saw the floor for the girls clothes everywhere.

With a balcony you have some more space and the bunks are positioned better if you have the configuration in the bottom picture. We had no real issues with the available space as long as everyone takes turns and no one gets freeky if someone sees them in their undies. I closed my eyes a lot with the BFF. :eek:

If you're going to hole up in the cabin for the week, it'll be tight, but typically you'll be out and about-- eating, using the pool and hot tubs, playing trivia or scrapbook class, eating, watching the belly flop contest, eating, attending the art auction, eating, drinking...

You'll have to leave notes for where to meet to find each other. You will have the balcony space too if someone needs quiet time. The couch-bed may be made up into a couch in the daytime and the upper berth should be put up into the ceiling. That helps make the cabin feel more roomy.

The 4 of us had no problems getting by in the close quareters. Of course, the 4 of us had been traveling the pervious 2 months in an RV, with my FIL, my other daughter and her 2 kids. After 8 in an RV for 2 months, 4 in an inside cabin for a week was a breeze.

That's good to hear...my husband is one of those people who will show up an hour before the show to get a good seat if he thinks it's gonna be pretty full. LOL

The larger ships, Oasis, Allure, Quantum, have show reservations. I've not been on Liberty OTS, but I haven't seen any thing like that on the other ships in the fleet. It is a good idea to arrive 20 to 30 minutes early for the show to get a favorite seat, but you can usually find 2 together somewhere right up till curtain time.

As a previous poster mentioned, Royal's loyalty perks are better. We just made Diamond (80 nights) and now get $250 off a balcony or up plus a free cocktail party every night from 5 to 8 pm. I'll make Platinum on my next Carnival cruise (75 nights) and I will get 3 free bags of laundry each cruise.

The average age may be a few years older on Royal, but I've seen people of all ages on both lines. The decor is is different and the mood music is different, that probably has some influence on the "feel" or atmosphere of the ship. Carnival is flash and mirrors, Royal is wood and indirect lighting. Carnival plays Hotel California at dinner, Royal has a string ensemble. You get the idea, I think.

I don't care for formal nights and I dress up as little as possible. On Carnival I'm comfortable in a Polo shirt even on "formal" night. On Royal, I have gone without a tie on Elegant Night, as they call it, but I did feel under-dressed. A tie won't kill me and I'll probably take one on our next Royal cruise on Oasis OTS next Feb.

In the meantime, we have a back-to-back-to-back coming up on Carnival Freedom on November 28 through Dec 19. I'm not taking a tie with me on that cruise.