falkcor

while i've never had an inside (that whole once you go balcony you never go back thing), if it were a question of inside and doing what i want, or balcony and being restricted, i'd go for the inside.

when onboard i like to do / buy whatever i want at that moment - it is vacation after all. i think i'd be frustrated with self-imposed restrictions on spending. as it is i typically end up spending about as much as the cruise fare on purchases onboard.

as others mentioned, i would consider the upgrade from interior to oceanview. you said it was a 7 day cruise so chances are it's not a fantasy class ship - on sunshine / triumph / conquest / splendor / dream / vista class ships the OVs are approx 220 sq ft compared to the 185, have a couch and of course a window. they seem much larger than the interiors and if the upgrade difference is nominal, i think that may be the first thing i buy just because i wanted to with your more substantial budget for spending :)

I will also be doing coverage of my time there in a different format as well on my website.

nice summary review - I'll be looking to your website for more details

This seemed to be more of an issue the places I went in Greece and Italy. Some other people I knew were mentioning too.

at least it's not like some places i've been, where even toilet paper was not the norm :eek:

...I suspect that the casino folks just turn them off in rough seas....although OTOH, it's not like you're gonna win a huge prize on them. A 50-cent casino hat here, a couple of quarters dropping there, maybe a free drink there.....

i figure they shut them down... but if in fact there were real rough seas (i'm talking like sailing up and down the us atlantic coast rough) i can see all the potential proceeds adding up pretty quickly...

When the seas get rough they shut them down, even if people are playing them, they will stop them from playing and shut them down. When we are on the Holiday, we ran into a big storm and it tossed it around good. They shut those babies down quick. They pulled the players off and told them sorry, they would open them back up when the seas settled. If they would have left them open even 3 or 4 more minutes those guys would have cleaned up lol

that's about what i figured, exactly what you described lol. i will keep this in mind my next sailing with rough seas and try to beat them there :D

i've also seen them but haven't been on Magic so can't say for sure.

i always wondered what happens with them in rough seas haha.

Hmm- have you sailed on Vista and can confirm pools are saltwater? I'm pretty sure I remember John Heald saying they were freshwater on his fb page. I only ask for clarification as I have a 6 and 3 yo who will want to know if their goggles are needed in the pool too.

that information i posted is directly from carnival.

no, i have not. i wish i have! but the next two posts from people i assume have corroborate the same.

plan on them being salt water pools. goggles ready!

Pretty sure that Vista has freshwater pools.

that is not correct. they are saltwater pools.

Beach Pool

Salt water pool: 30' x 16' / depth 4'6"

Tides Pool and Tides Bar

Saltwater pool: 21' x 16' / depth 4'6"

What I was told, that's all I can go off, also why I didn't say definitely no.

 

Might be too hard to read for some.

i was clarifying for op. what you were told was incorrect. no malice or snark intended, but it is incorrect. i know from experience, as would anybody else in the op's situation. again, not meant to question you and the 'might be too hard to read for some' comment aside, the thought was incorrect. op will be gold when they board and will receive a gold card.

Don't think so.

that is incorrect.

yes, you will. you are whatever level you achieve by the end of the cruise on the day you board the ship. so if you will be gold with your points by the end, you will receive a gold card when you board.

if you look at your booking documents, etc. it will confirm this.

you have a nice, big, semi-private balcony steps from your room. most people will never know it exists so you will rarely see people there. great for sail away.

it can be windy when under way. the doors may slam and you may hear them, but again, few people go out there. you have to close your curtains at night to not interfere with navigation, and you might want to when you want 'privacy' although you really have to try, to see through them when you're out there, depending on lighting conditions.

'best' is a question of preference, but I'll tell you what mine would be...

vista would be my first choice. latest and greatest and the most to do for kids, and adults alike...

breeze would be my next choice. magic is same class and has the ropes course as well. dream is the same class but doesn't have the ropes course...

sunshine is actually not 'new' but got a major refurb that warranted a (perhaps ill advised) name change... sunshine now has some of the 'latest greatest' features as well such as the ropes course and upgraded waterworks areas.

after that it's more subjective.

splendor is actually newest after dream class, but not as upgraded as sunshine, and doesn't have some of the upgraded 2.0 venues / activities, etc.

spirit class ships are something special, small ship feel, seem less crowded, etc. but wouldn't necessarily be my first choice if you're looking for 'latest greatest' although they are receiving 2.0 upgrades - pride has the new food venues etc. and the 'green thunder slide', which is unique to spirit and pride. and really, there's only pride on east coast and miracle on west coast here full time.

after that some of the conquest class ships are still doing 7 day itineraries. they're pretty big, are getting the 2.0 upgrades, but wouldn't be my first pick over some of the newer ships like vista, breeze / dream class or even sunshine.

fantasy class ships for the most part don't do 7 day cruises, with exception of fascination out of san juan and ecstasy out of charleston, etc. so for the most part wouldn't be a good option since you want a 7 day cruise. that, and they're definitely not 'latest/greatest' and don't have as much to do for kids (but would still be a good cruise - you have experience with them).

so, in short, my picks would be 1) vista, 2) breeze, 3) magic, 4) sunshine, then the rest. hope that helps lol.

i believe carnival stopped that program a while ago, it did used to be available. however, a recent change is that the specialty coffee drinks are included with the cheers program.

i've never seen one, and i believe any time this question has been asked the general consensus has been that no, there is not (which i agree with).

whereas the piano bar entertainers tend to have contracts that last several months on the same ship, i believe the comics schedules are far more volatile. i don't believe their contracts are as long, they're only on the ships for 2-3 days or so (or less) before they go to another (since there are often 4 comics total per 7 day ish cruise), and i'm not sure that they stay exclusively with the 2 or 3 ships, changing at port calls. that's mostly speculation on my part but why i believe it would be logistically challenging to convey their schedules as they do with PBEs.

lol yup that's it. it just killed this thread for me too, i can't see past your last post kcpumkin. you have a deadly signature lol. at least i know what does it now.

When I post I learned to uncheck the box "show your signature".

When I made that thread I forgot to uncheck it... ;)

while i think they oughta figure out how whatever you did in your signature causes this problem, why not just delete it? and maybe copy / paste to a text document for future reference.

i'm glad that now there is an explanation though. i started noticing it shortly after a chrome upgrade, and while that made no sense to me, the timing was coincidental enough i wondered. :confused:

I knew Heald would find away to hack this board ;)

brilliant. lol. :D

i think its a board feature where you have to be logged in to see the actual post .

nope. happens when i'm logged in. actually i'm pretty much always logged in while on this site and i've seen it several times, in random threads (like one out of the first page of posts random).

Has anyone purchased and had any experience with the CHEERS program to include their sodas and liquor?

Thank you for your curt and seemingly condescending reply. Most people would have just ignored something that irritated them and moved on.

 

I have been through the website and apparently didn't formulate my question in an acceptable fashion. I was more interested in the HOW of the program. Is it a sticker, a wristband or coded into the card. The soda program is outlined in the website but I did not find the same information on the CHEERS program.

Thankfully - some other posters were able to help. Have a great day !

it was an honest response / question. look at your original post. i answered the question that yes it includes soda and liquor, added that soda doesn't count toward the 15-day limit, offered a link to the program and asked for clarification of what you were asking about. i even specifically said i don't mean to sound short (or curt and condescending as you read it)... i apologize if you took it that way but it was not my intent to be rude. the question was unclear.

it is coded to your card. when you purchase the program, they will put a sticker on your card but you do not actually need the sticker, it is coded to your card and can be used without the sticker. in fact, i have had to replace a card once, and when given the replacement they did not put a sticker on it, and it didn't matter at all. also since you're asking about the logistics, the photo they take of you when you board the ship is also coded to your card. when a bartender rings up a purchase, they can view the photo to ensure that the person using the card is in fact you.

you have a great day, too! ;)

you're not the only one - i can't either. and i've noticed this on some other threads too - can't scroll down past in that case the first post, sometimes it's like the third. other posts are fine and i can read all the responses. i don't know what's going on either.

tom-n-cheryl, i hope you're well. i saw the track was coming right toward port canaveral / cocoa beach.. better yet i hope you booked a cruise and got out of there :)

If people don't like Carnival, then why are they on the Carnival page???

that's a great question. i see it more pointed toward those that are posting on this board curently, than tom-n-cheryl who have been sailing carnival for years, however.

In terms of specialty coffee, my wife LOVES Starbucks frappicinos. Do they make those on the ship, specifically the inspiration, and if so are they included in the cheers? I've read the site but I don't know what exactly they are referring to or even what the available options are.

yes. she will be able to get basically whatever she gets at starbucks on the ship.

this is the menu that i can find at the moment (i'm not a pro or anything):

https://www.carnival.com/onboard/cruise-food/~/media/CCLUS/Images/pdf/JavaBlueCafeMenupdf.ashx

that's not for inspiration though, but looks a heck of a lot of what i've seen on other ships too.

i bet she could get whatever she wants from the coffee bar. and CHEERS it will be included in cheers pricing lol

Thank you for saying what I always want to. 99% of most questions, on these threads could be answered simply by going to the Carnival website. :rolleyes:

it was an honest question. i figure some people actually don't know or haven't bothered to look at the carnival policies / faq whatever else. but you're welcome ;)

Or scrolling through the page.....or searching the page. Just like the 500 gift card threads asking the same exact questions over and over and.......over.

i don't know why we still do it. where's the fist bump emoji on cc... jersey strong ;) lol

The latest update shows the storm passing us off shore, maybe making landfall to the north, perhaps around Cape Canaveral.

 

Winds keep picking up, of course, but I would say still tropical storm force for now.

 

This will probably be my last update tonight....I'm going to try to sleep, at least for a bit. And I fully expect we will not have power when I wake up.

 

Thank you all for the well wishes! Over and out.

i've actually been thinking of you, because yesterday you said (and i read) you were in melbourne (and news has been saying it was headed DIRECTLY at melbourne). so my thoughts are with you.

i was just listening to someone from NASA kennedy space center and he said it looked like the storm 'wobbled' and may be 20 miles from them.

best of luck and best wishes.

what do you need clarification regarding, beyond what is explicated here:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1106/~/cheers!-beverage-program

yes, it covers alcohol and soda. and soda doesn't count against the 15-day limit.

i don't mean to sound short, but it's pretty clearly explained on their website ^^ there.