bsp

I'll have to take the opposite view. We've never traveled DCL with kids (well, under 18 anyway), and love every minute of it.

So nice to hear from someone who has cruised DCL without kids. I'm trying to talk hubby into going on a Disney cruise, but he thinks it's for kids and can't see paying the extra. We've never had a bad cruise and love the variety. Even though the cost is quite cheaper than it was 20 some years ago, I see a lot of things cut down (and understandably). But, I'd like to try a different cruise line and know that will be at a cost. Can you tell me what there is for adults and I see you've been on Carnival and other lines, the differences Disney offers? Thanks so much for your insight. Bonnie :cool:

It will be interesting to see how the program operates. We could start a sticky where people can post after they receive the offer & compete the deal. They could let us know what cabin class they were in and what class they were offered, the price and their CC level (if they cared to divulge). We would quickly get an idea of how it was working.

 

I'm in the camp that will guess that it is not be based on CC level but on the open cabins a level above you. I'd doubt a person in a regular veranda cabin is offered a suite - more likely offer a suite to Aqua or Concierge and the balcony gets offered a move to the Aqua or Concierge. Just my humble guess. :D It will be fun to watch! :D

I originally booked a verandah guarantee on the Constellation and was assigned cabin 6068 not long after booking. I received the upgrade email and was able to move to any concierge cabin for $100 (I chose 7206 - the very back of the ship). A sky suite would have been an additional $550. We got to keep our perks that we originally booked with and the only other charge was the difference in amount of tips (I think about $5 more). Happy Cruising and good luck on upgrades. Bonnie

I'm planning our cruise for the end of April, this will be our 3rd. They have all been on Carnival. What is your favorite departure port and why? Closeness to a port is irrelevant as we live in MN. We've only departed from Miami.

 

Thanks!

We had a late flight coming home once from Tampa. We liked that port because they kept our luggage for us; we walked to the aquarium that was right next door. There was also a movie theater, shops and places to eat right there by the port. We also liked New Orleans as others have said and Norfolk (because we can drive there in 40 minutes). Happy Cruising! Bonnie

Everyone I don't know what to do. I am just way to excited! I wake up looking at cruise / vacation stuff and go to bed looking at cruise / vacation stuff. Every time my soon to be husband calls from work, all I want to talk about is the c!ruise/ vacation. I am constantly searching looking at pictures and reviews and posts! My 2 year old daughter is even starting to talk about the cruise lol. And I don't really want help lol. I want people to post their favorite cruise pics and stories! I wonder if anyone else on here has honeymooned on a cruise? Tell me if u have!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Congratulations on your wedding and honeymoon cruise! I've been married 30 years and we couldn't afford a cruise back in those days. Our first cruise was our 10th anniversary and we've been hooked ever since. It was better than I'd hoped for; I still remember driving up to the ship and the bus driver saying "this will be your home for the next 4 days" - ah, it takes me back :). I talk about it all the time like you do and my hubby gets tired of hearing about it - but he's glad that I do all of the research. Glad to know there are others that get as excited as I do; to me it makes the vacation way longer. Enjoy your cruise :D

Carnival gift cards are on the list of redeemable items offered thru my banks credit card rewards program.:):)

I see that my Credit Card company offers Carnival Gift Cards also. Do you know if they can be used to buy cruise cash, towards Sail and Sign, etc. or is it only for payment of the cruise? I have already paid for the cruise and would love to be able to get them for cruise cash. Thanks for your help and happy cruising. Bonnie

Myself and my 2 children (12 and 7) are booked through Carnival in March for this excursion...after reading so many mixed reviews I have just a couple questions:

 

1) Sounds like the food and drinks are extremely expensive---Can we pack some of our own snacks/drinks/lunch in our bags? Or will they not allow us to eat something that wasn't purchased there?

2) Where do you keep your bags/purse while doing the actual Dolphin Encounter?

3) Do they have additional boats to take us back to Nassau early or is it just one for drop-off and one for pickup at designated time?

 

Any additional information would be appreciated! Thanks :)

So sorry, stupid me didn't see your date. If you did it, hope you enjoyed!

:D

Myself and my 2 children (12 and 7) are booked through Carnival in March for this excursion...after reading so many mixed reviews I have just a couple questions:

 

1) Sounds like the food and drinks are extremely expensive---Can we pack some of our own snacks/drinks/lunch in our bags? Or will they not allow us to eat something that wasn't purchased there?

2) Where do you keep your bags/purse while doing the actual Dolphin Encounter?

3) Do they have additional boats to take us back to Nassau early or is it just one for drop-off and one for pickup at designated time?

 

Any additional information would be appreciated! Thanks :)

Me and my husband just got back yesterday from our cruise. We booked this excursion the morning of and there was availability. We liked it very much, lots of time in the water with dolphins and trainer. Each group had 10 people. The only thing we didn't like - they were taking pictures and said you couldn't buy just one, must get the whole cd ($69.99). Well, on ship looking at pictures the next day, there were pictures of the dolphin encounter - we could have just gotten one of those pictures! You can't come back early from the island, ferry leaves @ 2:30 I believe. They told us on the ferry that you could buy drinks, beer, etc on the ferry and take it on the island (and way cheaper). I don't see why you couldn't take food/snacks in your bag. While doing the encounter, your possessions are in a building that has cubby holes. Same building where you get your life jackets and instructions. Only folks doing the dolphin activities are allowed on that side of the island. I believe Carnival must own a piece of this island because you use your sail and sign card for everything there. We didn't eat because it was very expensive, bought one beer each. They have a nice beach w/chairs and umbrellas, sitting areas that are covered and a pool. Hope you enjoy your cruise and excursion. Bonnie

We just got off the Pride today. We always do the relaxed debarkation process and put our bags outside our stateroom the night before. (We have 2 kids under 5 so no way can we do self assist.) This was our 5th about cruise and have never had any issues. However, after clearing customs today, my suitcase was nowhere to be found. Carnival employees in the terminal were absolutely no help. We waited around, hoping that someone realized they had taken the wrong bag. But no luck. We filled out a lost luggage form, but honestly, no one cares and carnival said they only had 24 hours to find it. I'm fairly upset because it had the photos we had purchased, all my jewelry, and $400 worth of shoes! Oh, and it was locked. Any hope for me? Has this happened to anyone else?

We had that happen when we were in New Orleans. We went to the luggage area, found one bag, other bag no where to be found. An employee came over, gave us a form and had us fill it out. I told her what bag looked like - I have even put in big letters my husbands initials! She said I saw that bag on a cart a porter was taking. Needless to say, not found that day. We were late getting off due to customs, so somebody in a hurry probably picked ours up. Bag showed up at our house about 4 days later. Nothing appeared to be missing. Hopefully you will have everything when you get yours.

:p

Huevos Rancheros. It's basically a chicken quesadilla with an egg and salsa on top. It is by no means "authentic", but I still like it.

 

Bob

Bob,

Great job on your singing! I enjoyed watching the video and looks like you all were enjoying yourselves and letting loose (which is what you're supposed to do on a cruise). Me and hubby are contemplating a last minute cruise out of Jacksonville (9/8), which we can drive up the night before and I've been reading the boards and am really, really wanting to go! Haven't been on Carnival since they added the brunch. The prices are great, so hoping hubby will decide tomorrow, would hate to see deals gone. Bonnie

:eek:

I don't normally visit the Carnival boards, so forgive me if this has been mentioned before.

 

Two nights ago, I visit the Carnival site to get a price on a cruise. Yesterday, i get a call from Carnival to follow up on my visit to their site. And then last night, an I get a follow-up email. Both the call and the email are from my personal vacation planner - Joe.

 

I dont' know if Joe is real or some kind of computer robot :D

 

Does this happen to everybody, or am I just lucky?

 

I visit websites for many cruiselines and no other line stalks me like this.

 

Am I really special to Carnival or are they just desperate for my business? Some might see this as good customer management, ... I see it as stalking.

Same thing has happened to me. I had a PVP call and say she was my vacation planner. I told her I didn't ever remember talking to her, I had used **** in the past, she said, oh yes you have (and she proceeded to tell me about a cruise I'd been on that she helped me with; but all she had to do was look up my history), she said when a PVP leaves, their contacts are distributed. I said, I think you are calling because you can see that I went on the website. Of course she said no. I told her that we were looking at a particular date but it was going to be very last minute. She said I'll call you in a few days and I said no, I will call you. She has since called me 3 times and left a message. Anyway, if I decide to go "she" will not be the one I use. I will go with my original person who sends me emails, but doesn't stalk me. Anyway, sorry for the rambling and happy cruising. Bonnie

Hi y'all,

We will be in FLL May 30th and looking for hotel suggestions for that date (Pre cruise). We have stayed at Embassy Suites several times, but wanted something closer to the inter coastal for the water taxi…. Was looking at Pier 66, but read some negative things on TripAdvisor. Anyone have any experience staying there? Any other suggestions?

TIA

The Gallery One Doubletree has good reviews and has been recommended by lots of folks. We are staying there before our cruise in March. It is right by a mall, the water taxi stops there, is not too far from the beach and I think all rooms are suites. Have never stayed in Fort Lauderdale before, but looking forward to it. Good luck in finding the right place and happy cruising. Bonnie

Try John's Car Service, Larry's Limos, or QLS. If you just decide to go by taxi, call 954-777-7777 and it will cost about $20 per taxi.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I will research and see what works best for us. So ready for some sun and fun.

I like the area around the Doubletree much better, as there are nice stores and restaurants, the intracoastal waterway, water taxi, and beach.

Thanks so much for your reviews - we decided to stay at Gallery One post cruise in March. It will be 4 of us and would like to know of a company that provides transportation to Port Everglades. Thanks in advance for recommendations. Bonnie

Yes, 6143 and 6144 are a bit larger than the standard CC cabin. The balconies are a lot larger. And have loungers. Same comments apply to 6135 and 6136. I've sailed several times in 6143 and loved it. Good splurge for your 30th anniversary.

Thanks Linda for the good information. Hoping hubby will let me book it pretty quickly before those rooms are gone. We have only been on Celebrity once and enjoyed it.

The cabins are all the same size. It really comes down to location. Then its some of the C1, C2 have bigger balconies on the humps.

Thanks all for info! Hoping to go on the Constellation in March 2013. In looking at the diagram of the cabins, there are a few C1 rooms that look way bigger - cabin 6143 and 6144. Has anyone had these cabins and what can you tell me about it. Thanks in advance for you help. Celebrating our 30th anniversary. Happy cruising :cool:

what a great picture! makes me wish i was on a ship right now! october can't come soon enough.

Thanks so much for the picture, we are directly one floor above in exactly 6 weeks from today - ahhh, we'll be setting out on our deck sailing away right about now. It's nice to have a pre-vacation before the vacation. That's what I tell hubby - he lets me do all of the investigating, looking and reading and I am telling him about it for months!! That's part of the excitement. Bonnie :D