loxley

I used to rent a car all the time. You could not get me to do it now if it was free.

I would advise sticking to an organized tour. Ship or private, but I would not do a diy tour in this day and age and I am not a not easily scared. To many people out there trying to scam people in one way or another.

You may have someone come in and say they always do it and never had a problem. That's possible, but if there is a problem, it we'll be a BIG problem.

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Just go and have fun. Sometimes knowing too much can be a downer. I think that is why you see so many disgruntled past cruisers.

When it is new, almost everything is great.

I think it is called chasing the dragon.

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It is amazing the stuff people can come up with that is totally untrue.

The water in the toilets is the same water that is coming out of all the taps onboard.

If push comes to shove, yes, you can drink it.

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I just got off a cruise (another line).... Took my 8 year old grandson .... Immigration employee was a jerk as well. My grandson has his mothers last name (son and childs mother not married/together)..... But I did get a notarized letter from son authorizing grandson to travel with us. Like OP...no problem with Airlines and Embarkation, At Customs.... Saw grandsons BC and immediately asked if we had a letter. Which I immediately provided. He then begins asking me my birth date and where I was born??? I am 62 and wife is 61.... Give me a break. I politely replied and he just stared at documents. He wasn't rude but sure took his time eyeing our documents..... 1st time in 20+ cruises I've even had to answer a question!! I expected to be asked for the letter because grandsons surname was different from ours...but my sons name is on BC so...it wasn't a problem. Suggest everyone get a notarized travel authorization letter if traveling with grandchildren and/or childs friends....

To the person that was doing all the talking about kidnapping. So kidnappers now take children in cruises and then bring them back?

I sincerely hope each of you that has had a problem are making a report of your experience because the jerks you encountered do not know their job.

The us has No requirement of any letter. In the Caribbean it is only Mexico that requires a letter and that is only if Mexico is your final destination common sense should tell these jerks they are doing Wrong but they are not hired for brains. Why would you need anything besides citizen ship papers to bring the child back to their own country?

I stand by that no letter notorized or not is needed to take children on a closed loop cruise.

I have mentioned it before, but a lady on here about 10 yr ago was given a warning for not having a passport. If you do a search you will find it with a picture of the official warning she received search for passport warning Galveston and the thread should come up.

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I am a single dad that adopted my two boys, my name is the only one on the Birth certificate.

I called carnival and they said to bring birth certificate, I am using the boys passport.

I leave tomorrow I will tell you all if they ask for it.

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Theoretically, having a passport for a minor child would be sufficient because in order to obtain a passport for a minor, each parent named on the BC must agree to the issuance of the passport, implying that travel outside of the US is granted by each parent. However, a parent could argue that their permission to travel is not world-wide, e.g. by agreeing to the passport, they are agreeing to have minor child travel to Country X but not Country Y.

 

Therefore, Mom should have additional documentation to back up her assertion that she can travel alone with the minor child.

 

1. If the BC names only one parent, that is sufficient proof and can be submitted in lieu of or in addition to the passport for a closed loop cruise. (If it is not a closed loop cruise, the BC and PPT must both be submitted.)

 

2. If the BC names 2 parents, then the parent taking the child must either: a) provide a notarized authorization from the non-traveling parent allowing the travel or b) provide a legal document showing that the traveling parent has sole custody of the child.

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Early Saver. I have not made final payment, just the deposits.

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Thanks for response but I don't think it was objective.

 

Your note of "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."... what the heck is that? I'm a IT Professional that works for a firm that designs Reservation Systems (Oracle) for Airlines. I don't live in a Glass House, actually Stucco.

 

'... manner in which you work your own computer'? I made the reservation on their website so what computer I use is kinda mute?

 

Your note of" You don't get charged for a reservation"... I noted that 'if you miss a reservation' and YES you are charged, at least that is what I was told by Carnival today.

 

Patience... yes your right, I probably need to be a little better in that area but when I am assured by someone in a company (Carnival Sr Cruise Consultant - as she noted) that I would hear back in 24 hours, 48 on the outside then told that they didn't even have the ability to verify the status of the reservation (even if it is in a separate system)... that to me does not make sense in Billion Dollar firm?

 

You took the time to respond to my initial quote, and for that I thank you but this is the ninth issue that has arose with Carnival and all of them might push me to, as you call it 'the edge' but I also just found out also that my 100% refundable deposit was not so because they lower my price once by $100... I now only get credit and if I was to cancel because of these problems.... I would not want to come back so this kinda leaves me with... Try to Resolve or loose $1500.

 

One funny point... I was contacted by NCL Tuesday after their seeing another Post offering a great deal to switch to them on Escape. I wonder if the work like the Wireless firms do, i.e. pay you out of a contract?

 

Venting over, I guess with Carnival, planning is better left for on the ship than before.

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I traveled with my daughter all over Europe and I always took her passport, birth certificate and my divorce decree where it stated that I had "Sole physical custody" of this child. It also said my ex didn't get visitation (He was considered a flight risk because he was Jamaican and had family there) In all that time (10 years) no one ever asked. Then I tried to go to Canada. They read my ENTIRE divorce decree (part about custody was on page one) I finally said, I don't think the part about which car we each got was really important. Guy started laughing and let us in the country:)

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You will not need anything beyond their boarding papers. Birth certificate or passport and a photo I'd for the 16 to old if he doesn't have a passport.

The parental letter if it were needed, which it is not, is only for Mexico.

On a cruise you are in tranit. There fore no letter is needed.

You are probably going to get a few scare stories but in all my years here there had never been any report of anyone being denied boarding. On some cruise lines, they require the letter. Carnival does not.

And if it is not required, it is not required.

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high school picture id will not be accepted - it has to be a State Issued ID. When I called CBP (Customs and border protection) they said that its best to have a State Issued ID AND the birth certificate for any aged child. As for adults, the same applies - an adult does NOT have to have a passport on a closed loop trip - where you are returning to the same US port that you started from. However a state issued id or drivers license and certified birth certificate are needed. When i went on the first cruise i did not have a passport and I was required to show both my certified copy of my birth certificate as well as my license. when I took my kids, i was required to show both a state id and certified birth certificate (they will not take a photo copy, it has to have the raised seal for the birth cert.) My youngest son was 7 for that cruise and my oldest son 16

A school issues I'd IS a state issues I'd, as long as it is a state run school.

A photo copy of a birth certificate is fine as long as it is a state issued bc.

I can understand your confusion because the people that should know these things often don't.

Also those magic words best to have does not mean required. Required means required. Not having required documents will get you denied bordering. Not having suggested or best to have will not.

Each cruise line determines what they require, like one cruise line requires all single parents that are taking a child to have a passport. Right now, carnival does not.

Often you call official places and say do I need this thing to cruise, to make it easy on themselves they will usually say something along the lines of it would be good to have that, when there is no requirement to have it and it is only the required things that matter.

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They reserve the right to move you at anytime, but judging from what I have read on here for years, it only seems to happen when a price match is required. It you are at Max capacity in the rooms and you do not required price match, you should be fine.

If you do request price matching, I would make sure I told them I did not we want to change rooms, on the online form there is a place to check for no room change, and I would check to make sure I wasn't moved.

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How much weight can a camera be? Put it in your pocket.

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Gratuities are paid as part of our cruise fare, either before we cruise or billed later. WHY must we feel the need to add MORE gratuities?

 

Is it because Carnival has cut back so much that these guys are cleaning far more cabins than they legitimately can manage and we feel the need to give them extra because they have done all of that and still met our needs?

 

:evilsmile:Or, is it because what used to be a 3-man team in the dining room is now a 2-man team, handling MORE TABLES?

 

If we are ALREADY being charged gratuities, then WHY? :o

Guilt, pity, or simply because people on vacation spend money crazy.

I rarely tip extra because I don't feel I get special attention anymore I suspect mostly because of the things you have mentioned. They don't have time anymore.

Back in the day I used to tip quite a bit more esp when the kids were smaller. The waiter used to teach them magic tricks, folding napkins, scraping crumbs from the table cloth with special little scrapers. Usually the cabin steward had some little game going. They would often stop by for a little chat.

They basically do their job now because they don't seem to have time for the extra touches anymore.

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I stopped getting any milk onboard...very rarely is it cold enough for me in the buffet lines. Hubby and I both agree it's lukewarm at best. And the yogurt is the same way... I have NOT tried it via room service...maybe this next cruise I'll give it a shot.

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It wasn't listed anymore on the door hanger for breakfast room service. I just wrote it in and put a quantity and they would always bring it.

 

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If the ops 10 yr old has to have it, I would have a contingency plan just in case.

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Not excusing Carnival in any way but,,,,, welcome to the real world.

The same thing has happened to most of us in some form or fashion. Just didn't have a social media site to go vent to. At least you got something.

It will all work out.

Sorry you had to experience this.

The website should work flawlessly, but that ain't ever gonna happen. Esp if dealing with money, if any error shows up, call. You are not trying to add an egg timer to your Amazon cart after all.

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I love the mango whatever juice in the mornings and would like to fill up a cut to save and have throughout the day. Is it ok to bring my Yeti? Also, I have bottomless bubbles. Will they fill it up with soda or will I only get one at a time still?

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yup, cash. That way you know it’s going directly to the bartender :)

I remember on John's blog, a dinner had given his favorite waiter a cash tip, was thanked for it and saw the waiter walk straight over and hand it to the Head waiter who put it in his pocket. The dinner was upset by this and asked John it this was standards practice. John said that it was not required by carnival, but many of the wait teams have understandings in place and it was their choice.

So by tipping your favorite person may or may not result in that person alone keeping the tip. However, once you have given it to them, what they do with it is up to them.

To answer the ops question, if you are wanting to tip extra to what you are already being charged, I don't think it matters how you do it, so do what is easiest for you.

I personally just add it to the check if I have been really delighted with my server. Otherwise the standard tip is all I pay. I have never felt slighted or over looked if I wanted to order something contrary to what I read on here all the time. However I am not a frequent drink orderer.

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If we choose not to prepay gratuities when booking our cabin, do we get charged later into the cruise or would we just be able to tip in cash as we go without having to remove the gratuity charges later?

Just make it easy on yourself. Leave your tips on your account in place and if you are just blown away with a couple of people you come in contact with, you can always hands them a few extra dollars, however, by leaving the tips on your account, you have fully fulfilled your need to tip anyone so just enjoy your cruise without having to carry around extra cash.

All drink purchases will have a 15 percent tip added to it. If you purchase cheers or the soda package, you will pay the tip upfront also. Then there would be no added tip to your drink. At that point, you can add a dollar or so if you are extremely happy with your server, but nothing is required or expected past what you already paid.

Also, if your room steward is the pits, you can also go to customer service desk and adjust tips or if you are happy with his work, you can give him a few bucks or just leave them in the room when you leave. Again, if you have left your tips on your account, no other tip is needed.

One last thing, room service should be given a buck or two if you order that. Not mandatory to do so, but they are not included in the tipping scheme otherwise.

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We went back later for dessert we did not have time for earlier.

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I have been waiting 20 years for them to start a program like that. I don't drink soda and I rarely drink alcohol but I could go for the rest. I would gladly pay $25 a day (plus tips of course).

Now I stick to the free drinks so I think it would be a money maker.

If they had it so one person could get that while the other person got cheers we could do that. Now nobody gets anything because as I said, I rarely drink alcohol so my partner can't get cheers.

I would probably spring for it for the grands when they go too. Nobody in my family really do sodas. So no drink packages for us at all no matter who goes.

I can't believe how short sighed they have been in this area. You have the choice between a soda package or an alcohol package which both of us would have to buy it. So far our alcohol consumption has been no where near what both of us having to get it would cost

But one and one, yeah, they would have us even if we only broke even. Sounds like a win win for carnival to me.

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It will have to go thru your ta.

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Sorry but this is NOT good advice. We sailed with our granddaughters and have been asked for a letter three times.

 

Once when we checked in on Disney, once on a Royal and once by Customs as we were getting off.

 

You are supposed to have a letter. Be prudent and obtain all of the documents you need!!!

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Yes you should have a letter if they leave the country. My parents took my kids to Canada and immigration detained them because they didn't have a letter. They called us and we had to prove that we okayed the trip and that we were their parents.

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