sailor_jimc

On the Dream class ships (up through the Breeze) there are no cigar bars but they do allow cigar smoking outside at the red frog pub area. (The Dream does not have a RFP hence the reason for the Lani area being designated for that purpose. Having sailed on the Magic and the Breeze I have found this area comfortable for having a cigar.. though I would like there to be an indoor area for when it's hot.

Thank you so much for the explanation. I am an Electrical Engineer so I knew the differences between the breaker and the surge protector.. but your reasoning for why they don't want a surge protector makes it perfectly clear. I knew there probably was a valid reason, I just didn't know what it was.

I'm just curious as to what the surge suppressor has to do with it. I would think they would be more concerned with the number of outlets on the power strip. Chaining 6 or 8 outlets off of one seems obviously dangerous to overloading. Not that most people will plug more that a couple of phone/camera chargers into their but the possibility exists to plug too many devices into the outlet (try a hair dryer and a straight iron...and then the laptop power block etc...)

If anything I would think they would want a power strip WITH a built in circuit breaker....

I always do ES bookings and have never been forced to buy the insurance. I buy my insurance from an outside vendor. Might just be a Carnival trick to include it so you buy it without thinking about it. You are fine without it, but I would suggest going and purchasing it on your own as with ES if something does happen you can't cancel without loosing your deposit.

Bring a short extension cord that has one of those multiple outlet ends on it. I'm not talking about the full sized 3 prong extension cords but one that is lamp cord with the 2 prongs no ground end on it. That will plug into the standard AC outlet in (singular) that they have in most ships. The Breeze is one I can think of that has 2 of these outlets the Sunshine may also but only in the newly added cabins.

Aside from that one outlet , right next to it is a European 2 pronged outlet. It is 220 AC not 110. So make sure if you use and adapter that what you plug into it has a universal power supply (most cell phone and laptop and camera charges will handle 110-220 50/60 hz) IF you bring 2 extension cords that gives you 6 charger outlets... that should be more than enough.

You should be able to. I have never done it. But for shore excursions just take the cards with money left on them with you and have them applied to your account (at Guest Services or at a Kiosk) Then the gift money will offset the cost of the excursion once its applied to your S&S account.

So if you have FTTF why would you be worried about "avoiding the lines" That is the whole point of FTTF.. you show up, check in the special FTTF check in area and go right on the ship (assuming its boarding) .. doesn't matter what time you show up.

Been to Galveston many times (its our home/closest port) Can't remember a recent cruise that they have not started boarding by 11:15. One cruise it was like 10:45.. we were up on lido waiting for guys burgers to open!

Go as early or as late as you want to and don't worry about the lines... But if you were not planning on going early to get on the ship as quickly as possible.. why the heck would you purchase FTTF?

The AFT Wraps sit outside corners of the comedy club (on the edges) so while they are over it, they are not directly over the loudest parts. And the noise is restricted time wise to the evening and at worst case till midnight or so. Whereas other places on deck 6 you could be over the casino, the night club, the piano bar etc.. so for deck 6 these are probably the cabins least affected by noise. And having an aft wrap is as nice as you would think it is.. HUGE balcony.

We had both the wrap and the last cabin on the end and opened the divider so we could walk around the entire back corner of the ship... that was an awesome cruise.

We did ATD on Breeze for an 8 day cruise. We typically went about 6:00 to 6:15 sometimes a little later. At most we had to wait for 2 tables to be seated in front of us. Never had to wait long. One night we finished up about 8 and saw a bunch of people waiting so if you stick to your 6ish time frame you should be fine.

Note that if you like your servers you can ask for them each night (or change each night if you wish)

Been to Grand Turk 3 times... all the beaches are free to use. Not sure what an "all inclusive" beach tour would be. Depending on the cost, you could probably go hang out as Jack's Shack or Margaretta ville for less money.

I agree with vmt514.. We did a spa balcony on the Breeze in early June.. not worth the extra money. We just didn't use the "extra" spa stuff that much. We could have used the spas on the serenity deck and been just as happy. And the rain shower in the spa didn't work.... from the other post apparently they knew it was broken too... yet they talked up how great it was during our tour... then there was the walk.. we were on deck 12.. EVERYTHING seemed like it was a mile away.

nope.. not worth the money to us. It was nice once to say we did it...but that is about all it was worth.

Yes. Only one though.. Every Carnival ship casino I have been in has had 1 craps table.

Been on both ships many times. If I had to pick it would be the Freedom. The Freedom has a serenity deck and a Red Frog pub...and it's larger and has a Steakhouse... It's just better.

You boyfriend is going to have a terrible time no matter what. He has already stated as such.

I love it when someone who has NEVER sailed Carnival takes the experience of someone else that had an awful time and makes that THE expected experience from Carnival. RCI and CCL produts are more alike than most people are willing to admit. The biggest differences being the amenities you find on the ships. But not everyone is willing to pay more for a rock wall or ice rink that that are most likely not going to use. I've sailed both lines and others. You can have a bad cruise on any of them. But go into the cruise with your mind set on the cruise is going to be bad and I guarantee it will be. You will find SOMETHING to make it so no matter how slight the issue.

As far as your 4A. I will warn you that during porting (which is normally in the morning) you are most likely going to really feel the vibration from the thrusters while docking... While this is normal, it can be unnerving to some. And you are vey correct in that if you HAD gotten your GTY cabin.. You may have very well ended up there anyway. Because the GTY cabins are the ones people may shy away from booking.

How did you book? did you get the Early Saver guarantee? If so, watch the sales and you may be able to get a price reduction (and in many cases that reduction can get you a better cabin for the same costs) Good luck!

We love the 4Js.. Deck 7 is high enough that you won't have the noise you had on the lower deck. And if you are prone to seasickness then there really are no "safe" places on the ship unless you can be dead center bottom and even then you are going to feel some movement if the seas are rough.

benefits of a 4J- cost, quiet.. being in the front of the ship you hardly get anyone walking past your cabin. If you do it's most likely you neighbors. And then you have the outside deck right there which is almost as good as a balcony.

Your chances depend on how far out the booking is for. And the cruise. If for the summer when lots of families cruise than there are more people wanting early dinning. Just keep checking your cruise booking.. We were wait listed for a cruise we booked mid June for a July 9th cruise.. our booking changed to "confirmed" a couple of days ago...

You said you didn't want YTD.. I say give it a shot.. you can still go at 6PM (in fact it is that time you normally don't have to wait for a table so it works well) And you can ask for the same wait staff every night too... Basically no difference from that standpoint. We were firm "set time" dinners but now prefer YTD

Yup.. you are close enough to just look at your boarding pass... if it is labeled "Priority" then you are good to go. just head to the VIP check in line and lounge.. Have a great cruise.

Just grabbed a couple.

Depends on where you plan on beaching it. Many of the beaches we have done "on our own" have rental equipment available. I'd still bring my own snorkel. But to answer your question, non of the Carnival ships offer full on equipment rental

Someone posted very recently (not sure it was on here though) that they stayed in the Tremont and paid for parking and were able to park at he Gal-vez hotel for the cruise for free. (They supposedly are sister hotels....)

I'm not sure on that. But I did read that.

Can anyone clarify for sure if ON the 25th cruise you can get the OBC applied to THAT cruise?

My next cruise will be my 25th and my wife's 24th.. but its just a 4 day cruise and I don't wish to waste the 25% on that. But then the next cruise (which would be in the 18 month timeframe everyone is talking about) would be her 25th.. So if her credit is active for her 25th then we BOTH could use it and get the full 25% OBC.

Not a huge deal if it doesn't work out that way.. because then we get 25% of one fare on 2 different cruise.. but having them usable on the same one would be nice.

So I guess we're NOT talking about a new swim up Asian-themed snack bar on the Lido deck.... :rolleyes:

Oh COME On! Am I the only one that thought this was a funny comment?

Yes, there are several. You can just go to a hotel booking website and they will include it in the hotel's amenities. But many offer free cruise duration parking and a shuttle service to the port type of package. There are also a couple that charge a fee for the service...

I'm at the same point you are.. 24 cruises with the 25h booked. From what I have been told, you need to complete the 25th before you get the 25% benefit. And it is given in form of 25% of the cost of YOUR portion of the cruise (not everyone's unless they all have 25 cruises) in an OBC. You choose when to take the credit. Personally I plan on waiting until I book a pricey cruise to use it :-)

Do you have to order the water pre-cruise? I am alittle confused

Easiest to order before you cruise.. Just go to Carnival's website and order from their Bon Voyage department.

But you should also be able to order it (or order more if you need it) while on board for the same prices. I have never ordered from Bon Voyage while on the ship but I know it can be done.