Miller_KC

We sailed out last year on the first day the Freedom docked in Galveston. The city was a mess. We took the Carnival transfers since the airports are so far away. They must of been putting new bus drives on the routes because they got lost in the trips both to and from the airport. Once the driver got off of the road parallel to the terminal he couldn't get back on it because of all the streets closed.

 

Once on board there were no problems. Had a great time but the Mardi Gras crowd in Galveston has to be taken into consideration.

One of the reviews on Carnival.com said they had 18 people and 2 infants. I would expect you will be fine. The lounge chairs out front are not included, but I believe they are free, so some of the 18 may be in the chairs or water part of the time. No one is really going to do a count except for making sure they bring out enough of everything for the paying guests.

The number of people included basically is how many sets of snorkels and how much refreshments are provided. You can have as many people as you want (within reason) you will just have a set number of snorkels, floats, and snacks. Adding children is not problem except you may run short on soft drinks. You can always buy more drinks from the bar.

Have a GREAT time!

 

HMC has a beautiful soft white sand beach and the water is almost more clear than you can imagine. The sun is going to be really strong in May so use a lot of sunscreen and put it on often.

That's 200 miles. I would be surprised to see a set service between the two ports. Might be a cheap flight from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale.

Still there, click on the rewards program.

So I was thinking of redecorating a spare bedroom to be just like a carnival ship cabin, complete with bathroom, possibly balcony. Am I nuts? My goal being to decorate about as close as possible but making everything by hand. I'm wondering if anyone else has done the same and if they'd post pictures. Only catch is that I'm thinking of going with spa deck colors.

 

Yes, but I thing is sounds like great fun.

 

You can go here and get the same bedding, robes, and towels used on the ships. I'd also get a couple of the blue towels from on board and leave them folded up in the room.

 

http://www.carnivalcomfortcollection.com/store/index.cfm

 

They used to sell the mattresses too, but I don't think there is anything special about them any more.

How much is the deposit if you book on the ship.

 

Generally the same as if you book on land. Someone posted about an additional onboard special but I haven't seen an offer like that myself.

 

Check to see what deals are available before you board and pick out the one you want. The Future Cruise Coordinator can take Verizon / AARP Carnival Gift Cards for the deposit. You can also get your booking moved to your PVP after the cruise if you want.

I have used the Carnival transfers a few times but I won't any more. There is a lot of waiting time and I have not been happy with most of our experiences. Once the bus driver even got lost and missed the road to the airport. It took her 20 minutes to find her way back.

Once arriving at the airport we had to wait for over an hour in the baggage claim area while flights landed with a few cruisers on each until there were enough to fill up a bus. We arrived at baggage claim by 9:00am, the ship was already boarding after 11:30am when we got into the terminal.

I am looking at interior cabins 2265 and 2269 on deck 6 of the Magic which are over the main showroom.

 

Thanks

 

 

Those 2 rooms are on Deck 2, below the showroom near the stairs to the entrance. Are the numbers you are looking at different from the numbers you typed? In the area you described the numbers should start with 62xx.

If any of your family are Star Wars fans the man that created Yoda and many other special effects in the first movies has a shop on St Ma Just across the bay from the ship and one street back from the boardwalk (19a Voorstaat, aka Front Street). You can look around his shop and, if he's there, meet him for free. If you buy something, or pay a small fee around $10 you can go through his movie museum. It's small but interesting. Listening to him tell stories about making movies in the '70s is the best part.

We had #10 also and it was great. We could not hear the music inside, but could out on the beach. My wife said to get #11 next time, it had more shade on it. There are hammock beside the cabanas but are not for the exclusive use of the cabana so grab one early if you want one.

 

You get priority to be on the first tender, but the tenders hold a lot of people so you could sit a while on it waiting. I thought the early morning time was the best, not as hot as the afternoon. I don't know if there is any priority once the first tender leaves.

In the past I have done it both ways. Usually at least one occupant of each cabin you book must be on the cruise with you to be able to book multiple cabins with the booking while on board credit. The people assigned to each cabin can be changed on board once you embark for that cruise. My wife and I booked our cabin and a cabin for our nieces with her in one and me in the other. You need full name and birthdate to book someone in a cabin that isn't there. A past guest number also helps.

 

On our last cruise we went to the Future Cruise desk right after the life boat drill and booked our cabin. We were still at the dock so we used our cell phone to call our friends and give them the information from the F&F certificate so they could book the cabin next to ours and send in for the booking on board credit.

Hmm I had always heard that Carnival ended up putting linked reservations together even with a guarantee. Has anyone had a guarantee with linked reservations that weren't put together?

 

Our first cruise in 2002 were GTY OV. Our two rooms were on the same floor but about 10 rooms apart. 2nd was GTY Balcony. There was 1 room in between our 2 rooms. That was a long time ago. I don't remember how early we booked.

With the GTY your 2 cabins may not be close, or even on the same floor. They may try if the reservations are linked but you will probably end up with some separation.

Can you still make a deposit with the Templers and withdraw your money when you get to your destination?

I Justus checked too. Still sold out on Verizon. I also want to hear more about those AARP cards...

 

 

Same exact vendor that does the Verizon cards, but for points you run up as a member of AARP. You can get a good number of points just by taking surveys and stuff. They have Carnival cards when Verizon does and run out the same time Verizon does. I believe you need to be 50 or over to join though.

Stand on one side of the ship then run over to the other side and see how much it lists. :rolleyes:

 

 

No seriously, great job on the 20lb loss! I usually eat better and get more exercise on a cruise so I generally loose weight. A previous poster is correct too. A lot of what is gained is fluid from all the extra salt and can go away pretty fast. Use the stairs and try to walk a lot in the ports. It will help balance out the richer foods you eat on the ship.

We took our nieces on the Sunshine in May and had a great time. We didn't see any maintenance issues or any place that was more crowded than any other Carnival ship.

 

It is true about the show rooms, they are smaller and multi-purposed, and about the YTD, you do check in a couple of decks above the dining room and are either immediately send down with your reservation or given a pager to wait in one of the several lounge areas around the check-in desk.

 

We really enjoyed the Havana café area on the aft of the Lido deck. We sat there the 2 times we used the Lido buffets. It has a small sampling of Havana dishes in there but it's also where the Mongolian Wok and Italian café is located. It was not crowed either time and the lines were fast.

 

It was hot on the sports deck when we checked it out but would probably be better while the ship is moving. There was also a hotdog stand up there. We didn't stay on the Serenity deck but the 2 tiered waterfall is nice.

 

I've also been on the Valor. It much like all of the other ships and I would happily sail on her again, but if you've been on a few Carnival ships, the Sunshine is different enough to be interesting.

It's not a stupid question. If you can comfortably manage your suitcase on ramps, escalators, and possibly stairs, you are good to carry it off in self debarkation.

FTTF does not come automatically with the suite. You get priority boarding, including the VIP check in and lounge but your room is not guaranteed to be ready unless to also buy FTTF.

 

I assume you board with the Diamonds and Platinums. I have never heard a separate announcement for the suites.

If you can bring 2 identical loyalty cards then both cabin mates will be able to open the save without leaving the card in the room.

Try using Chrome or Firefox. The Carnival website sometimes get mangled by Internet Explorer.

You're too young to understand. We'll tell you when you're older. :D

It's actually because of a death in immediate family. Scheduled to sail Sunday. Funeral us Monday. Could make it to Boston on Tuesday, first port of call. Would lose 100% of cost of cruise if I can't pick up in Boston. Thanks everyone for your input.

 

Sorry for your loss. Maybe you can get Carnival to be flexible. They were not with us under similar conditions but luckily we had insurance. I'm hoping for the best possible resolution for you.