seventhwardhustler

We are booked there for Oct. We have 2 rooms and will be leaving the car there for 14 days. Not cheap. :eek:

 

We have water view rooms.

 

Yes. they will shuttle us to and back.

 

Patti

OMG 14 days????? yes, i have the water view also. thankfully, we're flying in. i'll reach out via email.

Hello, I'm coming in late but a long time ago I cancelled a Mexican Riviera cruise and had Maya booked. To book Maya with a decent cruise rate, you had to email directly.

I see it has been taken over by Hilton now and it's nearly $400 for March 2019. Does it still offer the free terminal shuttle? I forgot what the benefits of Maya are.

Wait! Splendor has Guy's??

This would be awesome but it wasn't listed when I booked it...inquiring minds need to know :confused::confused::confused::confused:

Just saw the answer; no wonder he wasn't impressed.

i have the same question as you! we'll be traveling with a 8-year old and are used to traveling on carnival but i wanted to do something new, a la princess.

i'm choosing carnival because of the splash pool and waterslide. the royal princess has neither. our daughter is not that fond of carnival camp now that she's getting older; she said they sat around on the wii and playstations and didn't mingle as much as when they were younger. my understanding is princess has a much better (educational/breadth of activities) camp; however, it seemed as though princess didn't have many kids to speak of (from watching videos and reading blogs). the splendor is not 2.0 yet which will be a downer for my husband as he is a guy's burger fanatic. however, with 3 sea days, we need something to do with our daughter and she loves to be in the water all day. we've decided to get the spa rooms and still came out cheaper than princess.

Also any walk-out charges/fees? Just trying to see if the promotion covers all basic room charges (room, taxes, and I think I heard about a resort fee).

Hi there We had booked an ocean view cain but got upgraded free to a balcony cabin because of a mix up with NCL. We sailed last month, so it was dark quite early at night, so didn't sit out on the balcony. It was nice to take pictures of the Nai Pali coast from it but you can do this from the deck of the ship too. We liked having fresh air coming into the cabin in the mornings but to be honest I wouldn't pay a grand to have one as we really didn't use it very much.

yes, on another post, someone said this particular cruise is different in that you just don't spend as much time in the room. we don't prop the door and there are no sea days so i think it's gonna be more psychological than anything. the person i mentioned must have sailed around the same time when it got dark early.

Also - there is no casino on board. That cruise though, is really not like a "normal" cruise. It is more like a place to sleep and eat breakfast and dinner, and shuttle you to the next place. No sea days, 2 overnight stays. We didn't even eat dinner on the ship the first night in Maui.

 

My opinion - if you want to see the Hawaiian islands in 7 days, perfect way to do it. Research yourself (The Revealed books are great for this , Maui Revealed, Kauai Reveled, etc., and book your own private excursion. (we rented a car at every island and did our own thing. It saved us TONS of money).

 

If you are looking for this to be a normal cruise, do not book it. It is not. Also, if you do book it, DO NOT make this cruise your example for NCL cruises. It is really not a good example.

thank you! the one thing i notice everyone agrees on is that a rental car is best and we'll just treat the ship like a motel.

As you can see from my signature I am a true Carnival fan althouh I have also cruised Disney several times. Once you are familiar with a cruise line and have status, the comfort level and perks are just hard to pass up. Until me and my BFF outraced hurricanes two years in a row in the Caribean on our annual September cruise. We can't change the date due to our work restrictions so we started expanding our research. The 7 day Hawaii cruise on the NCL Pride of America sounds really nice. At face value the cost of the cruise is much higher than we typically pay in a balcony on the Carnival ships and I am trying to figure out what is pay as you go and what is included on NCL that is different than Carnival. I really need help quick so we can lock in those extended cyber Monday airfares! Convince me we will be happy with this choice please!!!!

LOL I'm in the same boat as you! Just booked (well, it's on hold) Pride Oceanview cabin and I'm a Carnival Balcony cabin person. I'm struggling with this because I'm tired of the Caribbean so Hawaii and Alaska are up next. We can't spend two weeks on a ship to go anywhere else. I'll be interested in the responses because the reviews of this ship are kinda low.

Soooooo, I saw one heated discussion about this but can't seem to find it again. I'm a balcony lover but the difference between B and OV is a grand that can possibly be better spent on alcohol. My understanding is Hawaii (if you love to be off the ship, as I do) leaves very little time for chilling on the balcony. I usually use my balcony to view the water with my child and chill with my alcohol as the passengers rush on board and we sail away in the evening (sail-ins and -aways and watching the guys work the rope and ship are one of my favorite balcony past-times). We're also east coast, first-to-breakfast, first-off-the ship, first-to-dinner, first-to-bed type folk with a daughter who will be 8 at the time of sailing. The person saying you didn't need a balcony mentioned something about the ship sailing away from ports in the dark? They also mentioned one or two other points. I realize there aren't any sea days, which is like a blessing to me, but I'm wondering why everyone seems to so balcony-oriented on this journey. Please let me know. Thanks!

Ship - Magic

Deck - Main

Stateroom # - 2309

Stateroom Category – (Cove) Balcony

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Quiet, no noise from floor above

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Excellent water view with NO OBSTRUCTION from overhead lifeboats. Based on my observation, the cabins adjacent to this one have no obstruction, as well.

Balcony Size? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

Any other comments? - As commented around the board, there is a sewage smell on this floor but it did not affect this particular cabin, it was down the hall. I would check on rooms closer to the laundry room.

Just as with embarkation day, elevators are mostly occupied with staff and crew moving checked bags. Be prepared to carry your luggage up/down stairs, if you self-assist. Depending on the deck you are on, it can be easy, or a pain. My thought is that if I have that much luggage, I don't need to be attempting self-assist.

You do have to get your bags to the theater but we were able to use the elevators. It was early, elevators were available, and my five year old dragged hers. No problems. Get an early breakfast and get seated asap. I'm on my phone but I think I had my timeline in the original post.

Was it easy to carry your luggage out by yourself? We need to disembark early due to an early flight (12:11 p.m.) but I'm concerned about carrying our luggage out ourselves. Is there any stairs you have to go down?

No stairs while on the ship. However, once you get into the terminal, there is an escalator you have to go down. There are staff at the top who will help. I had my five year old and they brought her down because my hubby and I had our hands full. It was extremely easy if you have a piece to drag and a piece on your shoulder.

12:20 pm

Actually you don't need a driver's license unless you are afraid to take your passport off the ship while in a port. Then you will "sometimes" need an ID to get back on the pier. Not all ports check but some do. We just use our passports for ID.

two of our four ports checked id. use your maiden name if that's what's on your passport and license. please don't add more drama by booking with your soon to be married name and trying to bring a marriage license. it WILL be drama.

just got off the magic. i was never asked to complete any card and had twice a day service.

Just a few answers from my experience on the Magic (Eastern Carib route).

ARRIVAL TO PORT

The itinerary says the ship arrives back to port at 8 am. We actually pulled in at 6:30 am. The breakfast buffet was open earlier because we finished eating at 6:30.

ALCOHOL PICKUP

Alcohol is no longer delivered to your room. If you check your alcohol, you receive a sheet of paper advising you to pick it up at a designated area starting at 6 am that morning. Either the Fun Times or something else had 5:30 so my hubby and a few others were there at 5:30 am. He was number 4 in line. He said by 5:45 the line was quite long. Get it out of the way ASAP if you have an early flight.

EARLY FLIGHT VS. FTTF

The day before, I went to Guest Services to report my early flight. Not sure if this was necessary but he did swipe my card. The Fun Times mentioned that I should receive an "early flight luggage tag" in my stateroom but I actually received the regular zoned tag. A service rep said the early flight luggage tag was not necessary; just meet in the theater at 7 am. We were there at 7 am; 7:30 was their target time to start releasing us. FTTF people sat on the left side and early flight people sat on the right. FTTF people were released first (and she checked their cards to make sure they were FTTF); that went quickly. Early flight people were let out right after them, which was about 10 minutes later. By the time we were completely off the ship and out on the street, it was 7:55. NOTE: DO NOT CHECK (meaning allowing them to take your bags that night) ANY BAGS, NOT EVEN ONE. If you check even one bag, you are not eligible to leave early. They won't know, but you won't get that bag. The lines were orderly and customs was a breeze.

SHUTTLES

I had forgotten that my shuttle didn't pick up until 9 so we wound up waiting an hour and standing there wishing we'd done more research. I saw a bunch of Mears buses right there at the door. They were pulling out with folks on them. Not sure how expensive they are but they were well organized. Also saw Cocoa Beach Shuttles leaving early. Make sure you ask your shuttle provider how early they can be there if you happen to get off early. There is no place to sit if you have to wait on your shuttle and it gets hot fast. The shuttle ride was about 35 minutes or so.

Do you know what time you got into port on the way back? Wondering if 8 am arrival into PC is accurate of if you arrived earlier.

I've been traveling with my son as a single parent since he was a toddler. The ship DOES matter as someone else mentioned and I wouldn't even take my son on a Conquest-class shop now at almost 6 (only one slide, no waterworks, etc). My son has been on 10+cruises and I look for activities he will enjoy. For Carnival, the Dream class ships with waterworks and the mini water slides are awesome. Some of the older Fantasy- class ships have them, too. Mini- golf is a must for us. Kids clubs were hit or miss for him at that age. Our favorite ships for kids activities have been the Breeze/Dream, Royal Caribbean Oasis/Allure, NCL Getaway, and Disney Dream.

 

My kid never naps so I book an inside room usually... Balcony if I get a good deal. I cruise a lot so the more money I can save, the more trips I can go on! Can you share what resorts give a discount for one adult and a child? Thanks!

a 6 year old is a bit different because they have had more experiences. we were on a smaller ship. the camp had plenty of activities for her (parades, crafts, and other play stuff) and that was the center of her experience. she did like to sit out at the pool and watch folk pass by but she begged for it once and never did so after since it was full of grown folks and not other kids. now that my child is 5, she has lots of water park experience so that same ship would be kinda boring for her but at a young age, i can see why ship size would not be such a big deal, especially if you're on a budget.

Camp Carnival dinner is your FRIEND.

Use it.

Use it every day.

She will love it.

But for you it will be transformational.

lol!!! my daughter was 2 for her first cruise and she ate with the camp. she ate REALLY GOOD according to them and didn't want to eat with us. it comes in handy because service in the MDR takes FOREVER. she'd have never sat that long.

use the camp a lot (they have fun and the people are phenomenal) but stick to her current schedule, meaning she should take naps at the same time as at home. our daughter had a ball. she wore us out instead of vice versa because she loved to take a stroll around the ship every night (her face would be painted and people would oohh and ahhh) and listen to the live band. she slept well and on schedule so she was never really cranky.

OP, take the money and take the cruise by yourself. And maybe drop a hint or two to the suitor she is trying to connect with......he needs to know what he's getting himself into.

this is what i would do. i know you're going through a lot of emotional feelings but the cruise is paid for. TAKE IT and take her $1500 for spending money and putting you through this mess. i guarantee you will feel better about this once you get on that ship!!!!

TAKE THE TRIP!!

TAKE THE TRIP!!

Which ports are you visiting? Puerto Rico and St Thomas are considered the US for AT&T. You can do everything as normal no International Plan needed and no roaming charges.

i'm on the magic and those are two of the ports. i really didn't even think about that. thanks!!

 

We run, my wife is a avid half-marathoner and here's our experience after 27 sailings.

 

The jogging track is on the deck behind the jumbo screen. It's busy after about 8-8:30am every morning. The bad news is walkers, three abreast hae no clue about moving over or even which direction to go even with clearly marked signs.

 

Also, sea days are windy and it's an inconsistent environment to run in so we head to the gym. The treadmills are Life Fitness, and are in good to average shape. Even on the newer ships the belts are worn some.

 

The hours on all 9 ships we've been on are 6:00am to 10:00pm every day.

The late hours find the gym empty and early mornings are most always crowded. Things get slower after 9-10am.

 

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i love going up super early (dark) and watching us get closer to the next port. the twinkling of the island lights are magical. kinda windy but i don't seem to notice after a while. nobody's up there at that time.

We were in 2309 on the Dream and there was a lifeboat directly over us. It worked great for us...no noise, minimal spray (if any) and very quiet neighbors.

aww crap. i know they do have slight differences so it just goes to show i need to stop doing my "scientific" calculations/research and relax and enjoy whatever happens! the sun would sometimes run us inside on the empress deck so i do welcome the shade. this will be my first cove and my daughter is five now so i know she'll love it.

Those are the rules when you accept the early saver rate. If you wanted your deposit to be completely refunded, then you should have chosen a different rate. It pays to read the fine print. I'm guessing your TA didn't tell you what would happen if you had to cancel.

i book early saver and only do so during deposit sales ($50 pp). i would never book early saver with a regular deposit.

We were in 2309. Loved it. Not much spray except for one day. Steward wiped balcony down every day so it wasn't sticky. Occasionally we had to sit on a bath towel. In between lifeboats so we got a bit more light but not much direct sun. No noise from upstairs. You'll love it

i'm 2309 on the magic. i looked at an actual picture of the ship and then counted back my room using the ship's plan. i realize the ship's plan had an incorrect number of lifeboats so it looks like i'll have the right amount of sun for me.