Hdog76

We are 5 adults and 4 kids needing 2 nights pre cruise in Vancouver. Arriving to Vancouver at night (after 9pm). Anyone have a place they recommend?

Thanks everyone! It would be $125 because there are 5 on the policy and you can't just upgrade some of the family, you must upgrade all. This info was helpful so thank you!

I cannot find the giant thread that explained why Primary was important for medical coverage. My mom has Medicare and GHI as her secondary. If we buy a standard policy, is it necessary to upgrade to Primary? It would tack $125 onto the policy as each person has to upgrade. Thanks!

I am about to purchase a policy via Tripinsurancestore. We put down our deposit back in December and sadly didn't insure then. Are there any policies better than others at this point? Our final payment isn't due until April 26 for a July 10 cruise. I have a good quote from the aforementioned website, via Travel Insured WW. I plan to add the Primary coverage option for all of us. We are two families, my mom having medicare as her insurance but she also has a secondary insurance of GHI available. The lookback for this policy is 60 days. That works for my mom but my stepfather, this could potentially be an issue, but I know we are too late to have his pre existing condition covered. Anything I should look for regarding the policy, in general. The customer service there was great and helpful....just wasn't sure if I should check elsewhere.

I was just as confused as you. When booking, you choose the cruise and it says (for example) $559 per person....so I assumed that would be $559 for me and $559 for my husband...... and kids free, so would be under $2000 with taxes added. Nope...kept coming out to close to $3000. The original $559 pp means, kids sail free, so if we take the real cost of the 2 adults and divide by 4, we get $559. Totally deceiving!

Hi!! Here's a (hopefully new) question. We're going on our first cruise July 4, thanks to my mom and step-dad! They're treating us and our two boys and I'm SO excited!!

My question is-do they have fridges in the lower level rooms (i think we're in 2-something but I'm not sure. It's one of the cheapest interior rooms). My sons have medication that has to be refridgerated and I'm wondering if I'll have somewhere to store it or have to keep it on ice.

 

Second, to clarify the liquor question-I can purchase it in the airport duty-free, then shove it in my checked bag (I'm assuming we get our checked bags in San Juan and take them to the ship ourselves) and pray that it doesn't get confiscated? Are the duty free shops that much cheaper than going to my local grocery store and hiding it that way?

 

Thanks in advance, this is a great source of info for cruise virgins like me!!

As for the medication, carnival MUST, and DOES provide refrigeration for necessary medication

Hi!! Here's a (hopefully new) question. We're going on our first cruise July 4, thanks to my mom and step-dad! They're treating us and our two boys and I'm SO excited!!

My question is-do they have fridges in the lower level rooms (i think we're in 2-something but I'm not sure. It's one of the cheapest interior rooms). My sons have medication that has to be refridgerated and I'm wondering if I'll have somewhere to store it or have to keep it on ice.

 

Second, to clarify the liquor question-I can purchase it in the airport duty-free, then shove it in my checked bag (I'm assuming we get our checked bags in San Juan and take them to the ship ourselves) and pray that it doesn't get confiscated? Are the duty free shops that much cheaper than going to my local grocery store and hiding it that way?

 

Thanks in advance, this is a great source of info for cruise virgins like me!!

As for the liquor prices......we were on the 12/27-1/3 victory cruise. We bought our liquor that morning at a grocery store in san juan and shoved in our checked baggage. You hand your luggage BEFORE you fully enter the terminal, and the employees do not work for carnival and dont care what in ur bags liquor wise. I can tell u prices of what we bought. We bought bottles of Don Q (rum) and captain Morgan at 10.95 each. Normally by me in NJ they are over 20 bucks. Korbel was 14.95 and the pinot I got was 14.95.....the liquor (hard stuff) you DEF save huge on

Is there a midnight buffet or a chocolate buffet one night?

There was no chocolate buffet, and on New Years eve they had a late night buffet. There was a night where there were a ton of cakes out, but NOT like RCCL chocolate buffet

I am booked for March 7th - looking for info on a reasonably priced, clean hotel in old san juan...any ideas? tx!

I got the Hotel Mirimar in San Juan, 4 minutes to OSJ for 75 bucks from Priceline

I'm sure this was asked already but I couldn't find the answers quick enough. What is the earliest time for boarding. Is it 12:00 pm? The person who did the planning for our group cruise told everyone 2:30. Also, what exactly do I need to have with me to board the ship. Just the fun pass or the whole e-doc. I don't want to print out all this paper if I don't need it. Thanks.

You only need the funpass and your passport and a credit card for your sail and sign account (if thats your method of payment). We got to pier at 11:30am. There were about 15 people/groups ahead of us. I wouldn't get there before 11. We did have to wait till I think 1:30 before they let us onto the ship, and I think 2:30 before our rooms were ready.

Thanks for sharing torontomale, repetrillo & Hdog!:)

What was your favorite island?

Did any of you tour with Woody in Dominica?

I toured with Woody in Dominica........I'm VERY torn about leaving a review........He is a SUPER nice guy......He meets you outside the terminal near the bank, and was very easy to find. It really depends on what your looking for out of a tour. His vehicle is cool, its like an old school range rover, but actually we had to get it checked out at the shop b4 we left, there was a rattling noise......we were on our way after about 25 minutes. We spent A LOT of time in the car.......which wasnt my preference........we did get to see a HUGE part of the island......and he knew a lot......BUT, I cant say it was really worth the $220. We did NOT stop at some of the places I thought we would......we did not go to any sulphur springs.....we went to one off the beaten path beach but got out only for a few minutes for photos...and then spent about 45 minutes at another impossible to get to beach, but the water was rough and there was not sand to relax on as the water rushed all the way up to the tree line. I guess I feel like if it was GREAT, we would remember what we did, where we stoppped, but I remember only bits and peices. I know that we drove A LOT, but also passed the touristy spots as his tour does not go where its crowded or well known. It was very personal since it was just us.....and it was long, lasted 10:30 to 5 ish, but a huge part was spent driving. Again, it really is about what your looking for out of a tour. Im not sure what I expected and i want hugely upset but I wasnt thrilled. Again, i feel bad cause hes great, but i think for the right person. I will go home and review my photos and notes and describe more of what we did/saw

I also was on the 12/27-1/3 cruise. The non US citizens and those who had boarded in barbados got off on Deck 3 and all US citizens got off at ZERO. We did NOT leave our luggage out the night b4....we carry ours off. So, although we had number 2 (we had a 11am flight home) we waited at the stairs on deck one (elevators no longer work below deck one on the disembark day)...we were able to walk off at 8am, and didnt even wait in a line......we got to where the lugage was stored , walked straight to customs, they asked if we bought jewelry and we were on our way. It literally took all of not even 5 minutes. Even the airport was a breeze. We went right to the USDA, had our bags scanned and checked in.....they were terrible though cause they never took my liquids from my carry ons and i had a huge thing of aloe and lotion.

I know alot of people talk about the piano bar so I know that's popular.

Where do they play the music you dance too? I want to know ahead of time to tell my roll call friends.

We'll meet there after a long day for a drink.:)

Thanks

 

Ps. I hope the tax & duty free store starts selling lots of liquor again! They don't want to lose their jobs of filling luggage on wheels.:D

The duty free shops in the airport, in the cruise terminal and on the ship sell TONS of alcohol! I never knew they had stopped?????

I"m sailing on Victory on Feb 7. Staying at Mariott Stellaris.

Wondering in light of the new duty free liquor developments, where would be a good place to buy a bottle of Jameson so I can put in checked bag. Thanks in advance:D

We stayed at the Hotel Mirimar and asked the bartender where there was a liquor store. Every supermarket sells liquor, so you can just ask where the closest supermarket is

you seem so proud of this so called accomplishment . . . And why?

Not quite sure the purpose of your question/statement. All of us on CC know there are those people who are very against the smuggling of liquor.....therefore there really was no need for your question or comment, as you wasted a second of your time. If you browse the boards you will find that TONS of people ask for ways to accomplish getting it on board, so I was not boasting about my accomplishment, I was trying to help out fellow smugglers

I am not sure, as we had no wine or champagne in our carry on....I didnt want to take a chance

I was originally going to put the liquor in my carry on, and chose not to. Once in San Juan, We bought 4 bottles of rum, one bottle of wine and one bottle of champagne. We packed it in our CHECKED baggage. When we got to the port, the first thing you do is give your luggage to the scanner people. They DO NOT work for carnival and could care less what liquor is in your bag. We tipped them 5 bucks, and they were SO happy. We then went up to check in for the cruise. Yes, the liquor store people tell you you can carry TWO bottle of ONLY WINE/CHAMPAGNE....they did not mention hard liquor. Once we checked in, we went through another scan done by carnival..where they check/scan your carry ons....I had bought a 5 pack of mini absolute bottles in the terminal liquor store, and was worried. It went through scanner and the guy on the other end pulled my bag andw alked me outside to a "table" where they put these red plastic tie wraps on your luggage. The guy sifted through my carry on to see the liquor and i got LUCKY bc it was in a gift box and then in a bag and he didnt see it...I told him I had eye drops, maybe thats what came up on the scanner. If you DO get caught, they dont take it away at that table. Once you get across the gangway, there is the collection table. BRING A SCISSOR, and you can cut the red tag off before you get to the collection table, but I recommend putting it in your checked bag. Once we got to our room, our checked bags with liquor arrived safely. We then unpacked our 2 carry ons, and went to old san juan. We filled the carry ons with 2 cases of soda and 2 cases of beer....wrapped in towels. We entered the port again, went over to the FIRST scanner for checked bags, gave the guy a 5 dollar bill, a wink and said PLEASE take care of our luggage...it was SUPER heavy. He took the 5, thanked us, and it arrived at our door like 2 hours later. Again, if you want to carry it in yoru carry on, you NEED to bring a scissor to cut the tag they mark your bag with B4 you get to the colelction table. Again, I recommend putting it in your checked bags, because once the non carnival scanners take it, nobody goes through it. We wound up with only a 250 dollar bill at the end, for some casino slots, bingo, and a drink at the bar here and there

Well, after reading so much my eyes hurt, I figured I'd chime in. :D Did anyone go to Coki beach while in St. Thomas? If so, any pics?

OMG can you PLEASE share with me how you got the dog licking your page thingy????

I can't imagine that ALL Victory questions have been asked/answered??? Here's one........I heard someone mention putting money ono your SS card BEFORE the cruise???????????? Is that possible???

We just returned from the Victory. The aft balconies are incredible. You can't beat the view and we had more breeze than our friends on the side. We had 8428 (the aft wrap). It was wonderful. We spent no time on the Lido deck but enjoyed sail-away every evening on the balcony and woke up every mornig to incredible views. It was so worth the money and now I am very spoiled and will always be asking for an aft balcony. The extra perk was that I could always find my room and considering my terrible sense of direction that was definitely a big plus!!!

My previous post was for this poster....just figured out how to reply to a particular post :)

I am now SUPER excited, we chose the 9B side cabin next to the aft wrap, portside. How was the noise from above, and the movement/vibration in the back of the ship?

I am interested in Carnival's land and sea soufriere tour, and upon researching, I could not find one from a private tour operator. Cosol does not do the catamaran part, and serenity was like 450 dollars! I was wondering if there is an OPEN van tour with sea part. I am hesitant sitting in a closed van for 4 hours!!! Anyone have any ideas or reviews from this tour via carnival. Was the van comfortable to be in for so long? I'd hate to be inside a van if It's a gorgeous day! Maybe do you stop so much that it breaks up the 4 hours?

Duh...sirens bar, not schooner

My cruise over New Years is well booked up, with some availabiity. I check every day. I am currently empress deck, midship, balcony. I just saw today an opening in the side 9A balconies, I know they renamed them, but they are the ones in the back side, the shaded grey ones. NOT the wraps, or the aft, but the "side premium balcony? The prob is they are on deck 8 and one is under schooner bar, the other is on other side under pool area i think.... 8422 and 8427. Im not sure or layout, or if it would be worth the move from my midship location. I also heard being on the even numbered side is better on this itinerary for views......as I am on the odd numbered side in 7345 currently. We are only 2 people so the aft wrap which also is open now, is NOT necessary for us. But the side ones might be. Anyone have any thoughts?

I posted this earlier with no response. We are still trying to see which island we could rent a scooter from to explore the island ourselves....safely!

We were interested in renting a scooter on one of the islands on our southern caribbean cruise. We really just want to explore ourselves and stop at a few beaches. Any idea which island would be most condusive for this? Definitely not dominica, we have that planned. Thanks!!!!