angiegal

Two things I do, that haven't been mentioned here:

1. Try not to eat anything with your hands. Use a knife & fork.
   
2. Try to avoid the public restrooms; use the one in your cabin (Princess listed this tip in the daily paper).
   

 

I also get an extra set of utensils, so I can use the 2nd napkin as a place-mat, to put my utensils on, rather than on the naked, germy table. :eek:

I trust my own hand washing much more than the cleanliness of the utensils and napkins they were wrapped in. Do you know how many people touch each of those items!?

Looking forward to reading more :) We like five day cruises. We tend to take 2-3 days to drive there and back making frequent stops along the way to check out every state, visit roadside attractions, and see family.

I sat down in a chair shortly after I saw a Carnival employee remove a towel from it. After about half an hour, I got into use the restroom and left my towel and book behind. When I came back (seriously 5 minutes later), a man was sitting on my towel and my book was under the chair. When I told him he was in my chair, he started screaming at me about being a chair hog and how I hadn't been there all day. I wasn't going to argue so I asked for my items back and was more than happy to let him keep the chair. He refused and said I should consider it my "chair hog tax" and continued cursing and telling me how awful I was. My husband was at the pool with my daughter and he came over to see what was happening. The man got up from his chair, threw the towel in the air and stormed away ranting. It was awful! And I hadn't even done anything wrong! I can understand, to an extent, that he had probably seen a towel there all day and didn't know the employee had removed it so someone else could use the chair. But, I never just assume it's a chair hog and remove items myself because of this.

I tried to book an animal encounter with Blue Lagoon for our November trip on Carnival Pride. They told me that they could not accept my reservation because of there contract with Carnival. However, I don't see that Carnival has any excursions for Blue Lagoon. Is it possible to just book the day we arrive in port? Or will Carnival make this excursion available? We sail November 30th!

Right, you can "buy" them at those places, but no reason to, as you pay FULL price - the whole point of buying the gift cards is to get the 10% discount - which adds up! The only place to get the 10% off is Verizon, AARP and CitiEasyDeals. - And yes they are often sold out, but they bounce in and out of stock quite frequently, about every 15 days - so yes, check often, even multiple times per day. When you see em in stock, JUMP on them IMMEDIATELY or you will miss out.

 

I order a couple each time I notice they are available. I have the Carnival Mastercard too - so I actually "pay" for my S&S account balance (with all my excursions) using that to get double points ... and then "cash out" however many gift cards I need to cover that bill in the casino the last night of the cruise and then use that cash to pay the bill when it comes.

 

I use my carnival mastercard instead of my debit card for everything I buy every month, and then pay the bill in full with my debit card every month, racking up points pretty quick that way ... and I'm not stopping till I have enough points to get a FREE CRUISE. Should get a 7 day by spring 2017. Not bad for just using that card instead of my debit card :)

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude :)

Actually, if you buy them at grocery stores that offer various points you can earn a lot of free gas, turkeys, etc. depending on the promotions they are offering. We don't use Verizon and aren't AARP members but we definitely get perks from using the gift cards

I believe (if I'm wrong someone will correct me) that the Pride is switching to the new American Table at the end of November so current menus won't really help you out.

For travel (and in our 2nd car and even in grandma's car) we have a Safety1st Guide 65 Sport...lightweight and it's FAA approved. We got ours at WalMart...google online for exact product info.

 

We also have a GoGo Babyz travel cart (google) that the carseat snaps into...easy to travel when you have the right equipment.

 

Best of luck.

We also have the Guide65 sport as a second car seat. It's great for tight spaces like small sedans and its light and easily portable.

IMO they should not charge a fee for babies under 18 months. Unless I am not thinking of something what could they possibly cost Carnival other than Milk which most are still on mommy milk or formula which the parents bring. The parents bring baby food anyway. Maybe a small gratuity for laundry and a crib fee.

My son will be 18 months old on his first cruise in November. He eats three meals a day (small, but still, he eats) plus snacks. He also makes a mess (room stewards, waitress, etc. will clean up after him), he will use towels and linens that will need to be washed, he will also use water (hand washing, showers, etc) and will take part in some activities (playtime with a parent in the morning, Suess at Sea, etc). I have no problem paying for him to cruise. :)

We've brought back sand from most places, Cozumel included. I just put some in a zip lock bag and throw it in my bag. I've never even been questioned about it. Honestly, I didn't realize it was an issue.

Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone. I think I am over thinking it. Worst case scenario is we have to check in together ;)

I'll check Pat and Diane's. Thanks :)

How old is the daughter? Is she checking in with her father? Shouldn't be any issue, but to firm up the details- having the birth certificate will prove both parents are on board.

She is 17 and has a passport. And yes, we are both bio parents to both kids so that info is in her passport. I'll probably have the birth certificate just in case.

We booked FTTF on our November cruise on the Pride mainly so we can get into our cabin early on embarkation day. We are bringing our 18 month old son along and bringing a toddler means carrying on more than we are used to so being able to drop stuff in our cabin when we board is worth the $60 to me. Anyway.... We have two cabins but one FTTF. We had to book one parent and one child in each cabin but when we board, DD will be in one room and toddler will be with DH and I. When we board, the toddler and I will have FTTF but DH and DD will not. Will we need to have letters of authorization for our children to travel without a parent? We won't be checking in together but we will be getting on the same ship and our bookings are together. I asked the PVP when we booked and he said it won't be an issue but the closer we get to the date, the more I worry (I'm a worrier lol). Has anyone had any experience with this?

We have only done five day cruises in the past because of the way our work schedules and cruise schedules work out. If I take a week vacation from work, I can spend 1-2 days traveling, take a 4-5 day cruise, then 1-2 days to travel home. It works well for a lot of families with kids. I'm a SAHM now so we will be looking at longer cruises, but the shorter cruises were the only way we were able to cruise in the past. We were on the Fantasy just a few years ago and it is time for upgrades. I'm looking forward to the changes :)

We are sailing November 30th. Can't wait to read more of your review :)

Interesting. I am Diamond and on our last 3 cruises the room was not ready and the luggage was not delivered until after sailing. Who is going to refund me the thousands it took to get to this level?[/QUOT

 

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I thought the room being ready was just FTTF not a platnium or diamonds perk?

We are there next week on the Pride, so the same times. Our family of 5 has booked the 3 hour snorkel with Pat & Diane's. It is well reviewed, well priced and fits in our time frame. I'll try to report back after we return.

A report back would be great! I love to snorkel!

We are actually looking at a princess cruise through AAA that includes a week on land and a week at Sea. Any experience with Princess and toddlers? LOL!

I was so disappointed to read your review of Paradise Cove! We were there a few years ago and loved it! There wasnt a lot to see on the shallow side of Deadman's Reef but once we got to the drop off... Wow! We say a small Ray, a nurse shark, tons of fish, even a Lionfish. I absolutely loved that reef! And swimming through and seeing the drop off was breath taking! We didn't have the nasty staff either! I'm so sad to hear its gone downhill! We were planning to go back there in November but I may have to rethink it now. Thank you so much for sharing your review!!! They are always so entertaining!

Junkanoo Beach in Nassau is a great public beach. I haven't heard anyone say anything good about junkanoo beach club in freeport. The two get confused frequently, I think.

How is the beach for swimming? Any chance of snorkeling? We almost never book through the ship but we are only in Freeport from 730-130. Too short of a time for me to be comfortable booking on my own!! I'm glad you reported back :)

I snagged a FTTF today for our November sailing but only because we are bringing our toddler. Being able to drop off his stuff and have as place for a quick nap if he needs it is well worth $60 to me!

I am loving you're review and pictures! We are looking at Princess and HAL for Alaska in 2017 and reviews like this are so helpful!!!

I know people ask all the time, but we were looking at 2017 as our Alaska year :) Our youngest will be 3 then. We've only been on Carnival to date, but we are open to anything. We have nearly 2 years to pay it off, so we aren't super concerned with price. If you've ever done Alaska with a little one, please share your experience, good or bad.

Add: originally we thought 2017 would be our first Oceania cruise (without kids) but we had a surprise baby and when I spoke to someone at O she told me no kids programs and kids were far and few between (and not always well received by other passengers) so they are out.

Thank you for your clarity. You are absolutely correct. The person who went down before our grandson got stalled midway, which slowed him down. That's why he was still in the "exit" trough.

The crew member at the top of this slide has NO clear sight of the exit area due to the twists of the yellow slide and the "bowl" of the orange slide. That's why he has a walkie talkie in his hand and is supposedly waiting for an all-clear signal from the spotter at the bottom.

 

To clarify further, the other person involved, the man my grandson hit, gave a statement to Carnival security that there was no spotter at the bottom when he got down there and that it was "gross negligence."

This was no "accident" as it definitely could have and should have been prevented.

I just hope it never happens to anyone else.

Not being a jerk, but maybe playing devil's advocate a bit... Just because the guy stuck at the bottom says it was gross negligence doesn't mean it was. And if you knew that there wasn't a spotter at the bottom, why let grandson use the slide? As far as ruining the trip, you could have used the vacation guarantee and gotten off the ship. Quite honestly, if it were my child, that's exactly what I would have done! I wouldn't wait a week for him to see an orthopaedic specialist.

Again, I agree that the customer service was lacking, to put it lightly, but if there aren't any out of pocket costs, what do you expect Carnival to do?