mpcaruth

I booked cabin 3136 for our Sunrise cruise a few months ago for my family of 4.  This cabin is located in a completely new cabin section off the Lobby on the soon-to-be renovated ship.  We have stayed in a similar cabin on the Sunshine before and loved it, both for price and for convenient location.  I checked the Carnival website last week hoping to find a price drop, but instead found that the cabin is now listed at max 2 person capacity.  UGGHH.  Coincidentally, I received my first upgrade offer ever (in 9 Carnival cruises) to upgrade to an OV for a few hundred $ more.  I declined the upgrade for two reasons:  1) I much prefer the cabin in which I reserved with a $1600 deposit over the OV "upgrade", and 2) shame on Carnival for switching the cabin occupancy and then trying to get me to pay for it.

I have contemplated contacting my TA to see what my options are, but for now have decided to wait to see what Carnival does... perhaps I can snag a balcony cabin???  Has anyone else experience something similar?  If so, what was the end result?

There is usually a wooden bench located on the secret decks outside of the 4J cabins.

13 hours ago, Karilc said:

MtnMommy23:  We are Pop Up campers too.  And have done 5 in a room.  It's easy, cozy and lots of fun!!!  Two adults, 3 teenagers.  You will not only 'survive' you'll have so many laughs - especially at night setting in.  Enjoy!

I agree!  We have cruised over 15 times, and have always had a quad cabin. It's not that big of a deal and can be comical at times.  We also camp together, and we stayed in Amtrak sleeper cabins 3 nights earlier this summer.  Now THAT is cramped quarters!  I am tight with paying for my cabins, but I splurge on shore excursions to create wonderful adventurous vacations.

BTW, if you have ever tent camped with a family, the 5-person Carnival cabin is totally luxurious.   

Verizon has a Travel Pass add on for international travel which you can use in port. Basically, for a $10/24 hour fee (or only $5 in Mexico), your service is activated under your existing Verizon plan. https://www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/. You sign up for the program on-line. It is only activated when/if you turn off airplane mode in port.

We have used it in Bermuda and Mexico. I received unlimited text and talk, and the data was subtracted from my monthly allowance. I was able to use gps maps and data to navigate a boat we rented in Bermuda. I turned on my Hotspot, and the whole family was able to use their phones to check in with social media.

The Travel Pass service is not available on the ship, but you can save longer phone calls for port days.

We love the 4J cabins (Interior with picture window) on the Sunshine located on Deck 3. In fact, we have this category cabin booked for our Sunrise cruise next summer.

I wrote a detailed review of our Sunshine cruise a few years back, and included photos and lots of details regarding the 4J cabin and the deck outside the window. See specific posts:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45650642&postcount=10

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45650642&postcount=11

These cabins are an excellent deal.

We have a June cruise booked. I am excited of the potential of big changes! I am not remotely mad that they "hid" the booking and details for 3 days...

and yes, they have my $ for a deposit of 4 people. So, if they had told me big changes were coming, would I have canceled my booking 3 days ago? Nope. I don't really understand why so many are very upset. Any company or agency needs to make sure that announcements are handle accurately and to minimize confusion. Had Carnival said, "we will be making changes to the cruise over the next few days, if you want to cancel now..." would that have made any difference?

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Since I never have more than a few drinks per day, I do not purchase an unlimited drink package on any cruise line. In that case, the Carnival cruises are almost always cheaper. You see, one actually does pay for the "free" drink package on NCL with a higher cabin rate, and since we don't drink much, it makes the NCL more expensive.

I did a mock booking of the Norwegian Escape: IX category cabins (unassigned rooms) do not offer free beverage package. For $200 more per cabin, you can get the lowest class cabin choice, and you get "free" drinks for $249 for "promo service charge" (aka pre-paid beverage tip). So, for my frugal family, I would sail in IX for $449 cheaper than the "free" package. We would not possibly drink $449 in individual drink purchases.

I have sailed on 2 NCL cruises with unlimited drinks (when the tips were included and you didn't have to pay the service charge) and never drank more than 3 drinks in a single day, and many days I did not even have one drink. Active port days can be exhausting and all drinking will do is make me sleep my vacation away. I often need coffee so that I don't miss anything.

Glad to see this thread and the posts above; which make me hopeful that my June 2019 cruise will not be cancelled. My son picked this cruise for his high school graduation present. I was afraid that I would find out bad news like the Triumph was moving to Australia or Singapore. Well, fingers crossed that our cruise will not be cancelled.

Now, I'm really interested to find out what upgrades they are planning for the dry dock.

We have sailed out of Charleston a couple of times. The parking lot opened at 11:00 if I recall correctly. We queued up on the street near the parking entrance waiting for it to open.

 

They collect the parking fee for the week, and then direct the cars to drive inside a warehouse, where they are parked.

 

We collected our bags and walked to the outside of the warehouse where a trolley waited to take us to the check-in. It was a very painless experience.

You didn't have to drop off your luggage before parking? I have read other posts where there was a step in the process to drop off luggage. Or did you skip this steps and take all your luggage with you to the trolley?

The far front of the ship will experience more motion. This will especially be noticed during rough seas. Also, you will get to fully experience the noisy ship anchor being dropped in port. This is not a big deal, unless you are a late sleeper. We have had a port hole cabin numerous times, and enjoy the window and often larger cabin (at least the quad cabins) for a much cheaper price than the OV.

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I think the key is bed configuration. We have sailed this type of cabin twice. The first time we had the main bed set up as a king. Awful! Everyone bumped their head numerous times. The second time we requested two twins. Each bunk is over a twin and allows for an aisle space in the middle. We also arranged pillows to make the lower twins feel and function like a day bed for day time seating. Much better!

Two set up options:

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Other tips:

There is plenty of storage space in the cabin (even for a family of 4). We each bring a full size suitcase, and we each have a backpack for boarding day and for taking into the ports. We keep the port day/pool accessories (sunscreen, sunglasses, books, snacks, etc.) packed in the backpacks all the time. We always empty our luggage and utilize the dressers and cabinets. All of our luggage will fit neatly under beds. We leave one suitcase easily accessible so that we all throw our dirty clothes into it. We keep extra shoes slid neatly under the bed to free up the small aisle space.

Showers: Are usually not a problem, however, if we get in a crunch, my husband and son will take theirs at the spa. Another key is the flexibility of Your Time Dining. No mad rush to be ready for dinner at a specific time. You merely go when everyone is ready. (This definitely alleviates most of the stress that can come from teens fighting over the bathroom).

We prefer the larger 220 square foot OV cabins on the other class ships and really have no problems in these cabins that have a separate couch seating area. However, when budget and/or ship only allows for the small 185 sq ft cabins, we manage. But hey, we also have an RV and are used to tight family vacation quarters. Think of it as bonding time, and lesson on compromise.

Can anyone provide an estimation of the time saved to board the ship by purchasing FTTF? We are scheduled for a 12:00 check-in, and plan to arrive and park at the port shortly before 11:30 (the published parking lot opening time). Is there much time savings in purchasing the FTTF if we are already signed up for the easiest check-in time? Would there be any benefit (FTTF or not) in arriving at the port at 11:00?

 

Thanks in advanced!

Was hoping someone could help answer my question...

The 4j cabins typically require an occupancy booking of 4. I have seen that they will open up to double occupancy around 30 days before sail. If you do a mock booking for 4, you will get your answer.

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I have seen far more unruly drunk adults than misbehaving kids on our past cruises.

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...Thanks I and my wife have different opinions on size.

Giggle giggle... common argument!

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We are sailing out of Charleston next month and our online check-in process also stated "no porters after 2:00". And "Guests selecting an arrival appointment time after 2:00 pm will be responsible for taking their own luggage on board."

The Port of Charleston's website states, "Carry-on luggage should be no larger than 22’ x 14’ x 9’ (approximately). Luggage size limits are similar to those for airline travel. In accordance with U.S. Coast Guard and SC Port regulations, any luggage larger than the size noted above is considered checked-through luggage and cannot be carried on the vessel. It will be collected at the luggage collection tent site and delivered to your cabin."

This is conflicting information between Carnival and the Port. Regardless, I cannot imagine any passenger being expected to take their own luggage onboard. If the instructions are taken literally, then if you arrive after 2:00, you may only take small carry on luggage with you on the cruise. Not! Fortunately I do not have to worry about this as our check-in time is at 12:00.

Can anyone provide an estimation of the time saved to board the ship by purchasing FTTF? We are scheduled for a 12:00 check-in, and plan to arrive and park at the port shortly before 11:30 (the published parking lot opening time). Is there much time savings in purchasing the FTTF if we are already signed up for the easiest check-in time? Would there be any benefit (FTTF or not) in arriving at the port at 11:00?

Thanks in advanced!

 

Are the cabins being held for larger families than just the two of us?

 

Some experts on this board, and there are a lot, would you please explain it to me? If there is hope of one of those cabin types opening it, I will check Carnival and other sites Daily.

We are a family of four all I have booked a 4J deck 3 cabin on the Sunshine twice. In both cases, all of the 4Js were held for a quad occupancy... until about 3-4 weeks before sailing if they haven't sold out - and they go quickly. My brother wanted to book his family of 3 adjacent to our cabin. At the advice of the travel agent, he ended up booking for 4 (and paying the deposit for 4) and then later cancelled the 4th passenger right before final payment.

As

We bring pre-packaged food onto the ship everytime (nuts, crackers, granola bars, and Pringles). We take the food onshore at the port of calls. I have a daughter that needs to eat every 3 hours, and bringing our own food saves time and money in port.

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For a brief time period, Carnival restricted the TA's from providing booking perks. It did not go over well with the TA's and Carnival rescinded. I have always booked my cruises through a TA to get the bonus $50 - $100 OBC that a PVP cannot provide. And, on other cruise lines (like NCL), the TAs have provided us with a lower rate than booking through the cruiseline by booking one of the TA's blocked group rate cabins. I have never had issues with using a TA, and they have assisted me with taking advantage of price reductions every time.

I will say, I did use a PVP to book my parents cruise for them. My mom is handicap and required special medical and mobility accommodations. I felt that dealing directly with Carnival would be the best to ensure my parents received what they needed.

In my opinion a spa is not innovative. I do the spa rooms as well, only those. But I believe other lines have something similar to if not identical to the T pools and the heater lounges. All lines offer some sort of spa and spa like amenities.

 

I am talking about the iFly, more specialty dining, walking the plank, surf simulator, better "broadway" shows and that ball Royal has that lifts high above the ship. But yes like the rock wall etc.

We ventured away from Carnival the last two years, as we got great deals on both the Anthem of the Seas and Norwegian's Getaway. We (family of 4 with two teens) wanted to experience those innovations you point out above. The innovations come at a cost: most need reservations BEFORE you sail, with specific reservations times your cruise is not freestyle and it seems everything was planned around a reservation such as the iFly and the NorthStar (ball). Ditto for dining venue and show reservations. Other things like the plank and bumper cars were fun, BUT there was a lot of time spent waiting in long lines. Since we did not book one of the cruises months in advanced, all the good reservation slots were taken, and many activities were full... means waiting in line over an hour on embarkation day to grab the few reserved-for-onship reservation time slots. I will say that the entertainment on both ships ROCKED! But, only my daughter and myself really enjoy the shows, as the guys merely endure it for us. In summary, the innovations were nice, but the restricted schedules, lack of good reservation time slots made the vacation seem less relaxing and more rigid. Sometimes less is better.

For our cruise out of Norfolk, we were not able select check-in time until after we had paid final payment. I watched it a few times a week, and decided to pay the final payment a few weeks early, and voila! I was then able to select our time. Others cruising with us had the same experience.

I suspect the timing for reserving check-in time has to do with the port you are sailing out of. It seems the procedures are all over the place, based on this post and others on CruiseCritic. Norfolk could be an anomaly, as it does not offer FTTF either.

During the conversion of the Sunshine from the Destiny, the "new" constructed cabins were provided with mini fridges. Many original cabins only received make-overs and no mini fridges were installed.

Here is a link the thread that contains a list of all the cabins that have a fridge:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2199257

We are Carnival fans and have sailed 10 Carnival cruises, 3Royal Caribbean cruises, and 2 Norwegian. My family all agree thatNorwegian is our least favorite line. Their freestyle cruising, was notfreestyle at all for us. We sailed the Getaway (Escape's sister ship)last year and here is a summary of the pros & cons of the Getaway:

· Balcony is perhaps the smallest (narrowest) than any majorcruiseline.

· Main theater entertainment was way better than Carnival

· Comedy club was inferior to Carnival’s

· Buffet food was better than Carnival’s

· Main dining food not as good as Carnival’s

· We HATED having to make reservations for shows (Illusionnaire,comedy, main theater, etc). No freestyle here! You had to make reservations wayin advanced of the cruise, or risk not getting a spot. (There is a stand byline).

· The Getaway was loaded with outdoor activities to do (comparableto Dream class ship lido deck)

· The Water Front was a great place to walk and hang out.

· The iConcierge App is available to make reservations, see dailyschedule, see billings, and to use as onboard texting.

· If I recall correctly, there seemed to be more restrictions forOBC: I know on Carnival I used OBC topay gratuities and to upload to my casino account, but could not do these onNorwegian.

· We don’t pay for specialty dinning, and Norwegian pushes this. Ifelt there were less free dining options on the Getaway than on most Carnivalships.

· We enjoyed the sports bar (O’Sheehans) for complimentary meals.

· Room service was not free.

· In my opinion, it is obvious that there are distinct levels ofcruisers. One can cruise on the baselineprice, but there are other cruisers who pay premium for Haven amenities and specialtydining, etc. And it did seem like NCL was nickel and diming more than the othercruislines.

· Also, only on Norwegian have we gone to attend a scheduledcruise activity on a ship and found out they canceled, due to lack ofinterest. This happened on both NCLships. (For example, youth family art activity, cake decorating (twice), and canceledSlime Time Live because there were only 140 kids on the ship). All of those cancelled activities were on thetop to do list for my daughter (14 now), and she says she never wants to cruiseNorwegian again.

My very detailed, and picture laden, cruise review canbe found here:

Norwegian Getaway toGreat Stirrup Cay, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Cozumel http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

The Carnival website indicates that snacks are available and the the cost is "included": https://www.carnival.com/fun-activities/redfrog-pub

If I recall correctly, on our last Carnival cruise there was a charge for food in the Pub. Does anyone have more information on the food available here, including time of day availability and cost? In particular, for the Sunshine?