cruisincountrygirl

I read that Carnival does not allow bottled or canned soda to be brought on-board, but I LOVE Diet Coke, and have to drink decaffeinated. Could I bring some cans of decaffeinated Diet Coke on with me?

 

Thanks all!

 

13 days and counting!!

 

 

Joy

Each person can bring on a 12 pack. We do this each cruise, even though we buy our kids each a soda card. It makes things easier on the budget, and we just move the ones in the room when we get there and store them in one of the cabinets, so the kids don't get confused.

Can my husband and I each purchase it so we both can use it at the same time?

Yes, you can both purchase it. I got the high speed package on our cruise the first week of November, as I needed to be able to connect occasionally to work. We had no problems using it, and it was very reliable.

I'm so glad they changed up the packages!

Oh! I totally forgot! They've changed up the internet package and you can now purchase an actual package for the entire cruise (rather than by the minute, like it used to be).

I needed to stay in touch with my office on the trip, and this was a nice compromise. The internet fastest speed package was $99 and covered the whole cruise. It wasn't as fast as what I have at home, but it was okay. For checking email and updating/chatting on Facebook, it was great. It helped me check in, do what I needed, and get back to having fun, and that was worth more than the price I paid.

Loved it!

......that my wife and I will be very sorry to have booked a Carnival Cruise. She said that Carnival will be filled with loud drunks, the food will suck and why didn't I take her advice and book with Celebrity.

 

Is there that big of a difference between Carnival and Celebrity?

 

 

 

Our hope is for a decent room, decent food, nice staff and enjoy our ports of Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. The major reason for booking with Carnival is it fit our holiday schedule the best.

I've been on several cruises now--only with Carnival, and I've encountered maybe half a dozen drunk people who were even remotely "in your face" about it and even then it wasn't bad. We like Carnival because we can have fun things to do, or we can relax. Our kids have great programs to attend, and the staff are really nice.

I've never been on Celebrity, but I probably won't for a while--Carnival is the best deal out there financially, and you get a LOT for your dollar.

Even if the steward was still cleaning the room going in for 30 seconds and putting 1-2 roll on bags in the closet doesn't make their job any harder

 

80% of the time were in a suite so are able to just drop them off But if we are in a Balcony we've always dropped them off right away with No problems or anyone stopping us at the doors etc

 

You can't hang out in the room but just dropping the bag so you don't have to lug it around while starting your party or walking around the ship shouldn't be a big deal at all

 

You'll still get people saying it makes the stewards job harder though lol 🙈🙈

We found the same thing on the Dream at the beginning of November. They weren't finished with our rooms, but they didn't mind at all if we dropped off our luggage. It takes up a HUGE amount of space on the lido deck and people block off chairs, etc., so I'd rather you be able to just drop by and drop it off and keep moving. I can appreciate from Carnival's perspective, though, it probably wouldn't stop with that--people would start lingering longer and longer, etc.

I'm a little late getting this out here, but I really enjoy reading about ships I'm about to sail, so I thought I should go ahead and put it up.

Let me preface a couple of things: my husband and I were traveling with two elderly parents and two teenagers, so some of my thoughts and opinions are influenced by those details. I'm going to make this just about the ship services without too much about the ports--you can probably read all you want everywhere about that, and I've found that the port visits are very subjective.

It was pouring when we arrived at the dock 11/1. If you're staying in the area, I would strongly suggest parking with New Orleans Parking (http://www.neworleansparking.com). They were VERY nice and helpful, I was able to purchase parking ahead of time and only had to show my e-mail when I got there, and they had a free shuttle to the port. It was all covered (although I selected to park on the roof which was $10 cheaper), and we were able to unload everything in a secure area without a lot of hassle. The guys took over and had everything unloaded, on the cart, and were ready to go in about five minutes. They went out of their way to help my parents, who both needed wheelchairs, and were especially kind to my kids (which is always big brownie points for me!).

Driving to the port was a bit more challenging. The port is laid out in a rather odd fashion, and it's not as easy to get in and out as you would expect. When we got there, there were huge groups of people blocking the entrances as they were trying to get out. Once we got into the building, though, it was a breeze to get through security and up to the check-in. I under-estimated how far I was going to have to walk pushing my dad's wheelchair, and it was a long climb, so if you're pushing someone like that please take the help they offer you. I was trying not to inconvenience them and it was quite the physical trial by the time we were on-board.

This is my one real complaint: we had two people in wheelchairs, and there was a Carnival employee stationed at each elevator bank to help direct people. They would not, however, hold an elevator or try to help us get on with the wheelchairs. People who were walking past us never even seemed to notice that we needed extra room in the elevator or that we might need more than a couple of seconds to get on the elevator. It was a very frustrating 20 minutes trying to catch two separate elevators to get to the lido deck. Beyond that, though, Carnival staff went above and beyond to try to help us any time we needed it.

We were able to get into our rooms earlier than I remember on any other cruise, and it was nice to relax and breathe before muster. Muster was done entirely inside (another first for me), and it was nice to sit in one of the dining rooms rather than braving the elements and standing outside for what feels like eternity. We were very pleased with both points.

Our dining staff was wonderful to us, and although the food was not quite as good as we've had on other cruises, it was fine. Honestly if you're going to let me sit at a table and serve me whatever I ask, I'm good with the quality not being 5 star.

One thing I really liked on this ship was the casino. It felt larger than the other ships I've been on, and it was laid out pretty well. It was easy to find something to play and I did well enough each time I played to enjoy myself the entire cruise. My mother, a smoker, had the complaint of constantly being told she was sitting as a non-smoking machine (which I honestly didn't realize was possible). However, most of the time it wasn't a huge deal. For me, a non-smoker, it was nice to not have the casino quite so full of smoke.

As a mother of two, and an early riser, I'm not a "stay out past midnight" kind of person. The only thing about that is that many of the activities (including the piano bar) didn't start until 9 or later. The comedy shows that occurred before then were PG or PG-13 rated, and probably weren't as funny as the ones which weren't. We tried the piano bar and a couple of the comedy shows and frankly weren't too impressed. My husband felt that during sea days there weren't enough activities around the ship which we've seen on other ships (trivia, karaoke, etc.) That's okay though--just more time to spend in the casino!

One other thing that was different on this cruise is that there are only two movie channels in the staterooms now, and they each show a new movie each day, but only that movie all day long. They both start at the same time, as well, so if you watch movies when you go to bed (like I do), be prepared for that.

Super bonuses: You're gonna LOVE the poolside theater. Our entire family watched movies almost every night, and sometimes both movies (there is an early and a late movie). One of my sons loved hanging out in the pool and watching the movie from there.

The Carnival kid programs (specifically Club O2) was incredible this cruise. Both my kids were there practically the entire time, and that's never happened before. They made several friends on the cruise and even when there weren't activities, they would meet up at the pool or the game room.

I put $20 at a time on their SS card, so at least that kept them having to find us occasionally. :p

The ports were really good, and we had a good time in spite of it raining every day. I was not excited about Belize at all, since it was kind of dirty and run-down last time I was there, but I was really glad I had the opportunity to visit it again. It was much nicer this trip and we really enjoyed it.

A few notes about Carnival services: I hope you never have to have security or the health center help you on a cruise, but let me tell you that if you do you can expect some really great treatment. My dad fell in his bathroom and we couldn't get him up and had to call for help. I called the front desk and they had a security officer at the door in less than 5 minutes. They stayed with us and helped ensure we had the situation resolved and that my dad was comfortable. The health center staff followed up with me later to see if we needed anything. I was very impressed.

We've already booked our next cruise, and we can't wait to go and try another ship!

Thanks. Elderly parents will be in wheelchairs. Not chair-bound, but don't walk well and aren't interested in getting in the water. They want to get to hang out with the grandkids. My DH and I will push chairs over, so that's no problem.

Is snorkeling/swimming worth it? Should I find another place for the kiddos?

Part of why we chose this was proximity to the ship--glad to hear everyone else feels the same way.

Thanks for your input.

Traveling with two elderly parents and two kids in November. I loved Honduras last time I was there, but I don't think the parents are up to much running around, so we're looking at Mohogany Beach. Reading some conflicting info, so would like input from anyone who has been there around the same time we are going (first week of November).

1. Is there smoking allowed on the beach?

2. Is there a place to sit in the shade and just watch the world go by (the parents), while everyone else enjoys the area?

3. Is the snorkeling worth it? I'm reading conflicting things about how the water is murky and not much to see. I snorkeled on the other side of the island and loved it, but again we're probably not going to go that far this trip.

4. I'm reading the food available at Mohogany Beach is not Caribbean and is expensive ($15 burgers and $3 cokes to start).

I want everyone to have a good time, so I'm trying to find a happy medium. Will this place suit everyone?

Thanks in advance!

A friend of mine has suggested in Belize that we consider this trip. I'm only finding limited information on the destination, or how to get there, etc.

Has anyone been? How do you go? Did you like it? Tips/tricks. . .

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

I'm very interested in this, as we're traveling on the Dream in November with my parents (who both smoke) and since smoking has been restricted on the balconies I'm very concerned. They also neither one walk very well, so I don't want them to have a lot of issues with grabbing a smoke here and there.

Did you see a lot of people vape?

I was about to say....getting upset with you for exercising your free will is a good way to lose a client and get a lot of bad publicity.

I agree. I lost my PVP--she was apparently promoted, and the new person I've inherited is very nice, but I don't feel like she's working for me the way the old one did. I feel like I'm committing a crime, but I want to change PVPs or just start booking online. Funny how we feel so guilty over something which is just business on our end as much as it is on theirs.

Thanks for the input. I assumed it was just people that love to complain. But with so much of it i though id check. Any input on the Glory from recent travels? It really did have the best ports. And 1 more then ncl or royal because of halfmoon being in the mix.

It's been a few years since I was on Glory, but it's a great ship. I haven't had a bad Carnival experience yet. We love it. There's something for everyone. The food is good (sometimes fantastic), and there's always something to do from trivia in the morning, to casinos, to karaoke and dancing, to shows. Or sometimes we order in room service and just sit and relax on the deck or watch a movie. You're gonna love it.

That's interesting. I wrote to the Passport Department and ask the same questions. Their reply was "Why get it if you aren't going to use it. It's useless in a safe."

I agree. We've been told repeatedly that the original document is what would be needed if anything were to happen, and that it's a good idea to have a copy in case, but that you're better off using the original.

I have a specific bag I travel off the ship with and everyone in our family knows they all go in there. We've been on five cruises and visited probably 25 ports--never had an issue taking ours off.