ahoughton

I suggest for frequent Carnival cruises to consider what I do. I always have several- past guest, random cruises booked, far off dates that I have booked on board. I have these booked with Carnival and NO agents.

 

Then it is simple to just call Carnival, and transfer the booking to a cruise I want- AND keep the book on board OBC. Up until 90 days after you book on board, you can transfer to any agent. I never use the F&F vouchers.

 

But, I suspect that the current deal is up for changes, to the lower OBC?

 

Yes, I do have to deposit all those random cruises, but, the money involved is insignificant to me. The OBC adjusts to the final cruise booked, not the random OBC initially booked, so perhaps for a lower deposit, book a couple, short cruises? (if the money is an issue?)

I do the same and usually have two or three always booked. I book three night cruises to get lowest deposit and book as far in advance as I can.

Does anyone know the procedure for handicap parking on a back to back cruise. I have sent e-mails and made calls to several numbers at the port and left messages with no response. I would hate to be required to move the car between cruises. It has never been a problem at any other port but have always had to pay and usually do either a stay and cruise package or off premises parking.

Your right the dry dock is about the 10th -24th of Jan.

We would like to spend a short time on a beach but don't want to spend more time traveling to and from than we spend on the beach. Are there any beaches within walking distance to the pier?

Are there any beaches in walking distance from the cruise dock? We want to spend a short time on the beach but not spend more time to get there than we spend on the beach.?

All rooms in Valor have mini-bars.

Dream normally docks at pier B.

I wouldn't worry. It is during hurricane season but we travel during that time almost every year. Some times they may have to change the itinerary.

Only one of the seven nights this year goes to Amber Cove (10/11). The others do the Nassau, Half Moon and Grand Turk. All the seven day cruises so far for 2016 are going to Amber Cove. Now if they get the prices down.

I think over all they might be higher but if you keep your eyes open you can find a good deal. I have seen some on Conquest out of Fll and on Magic and Freedom out of Galveston. I agree they are fluctuating faster. You just have to watch daily and pull the trigger when you find something. I lost several deals during the one day sale last month that sold out while I was booking.

And I think Little Stirrup Cay is now the former Coco Cay that the Fantasy is traveling to.......

 

 

Misslucy01

Carnival calls the island Little Stirrup Cay and puts a plywood sign over the Coco Cay sign of RCI. It has a huge water park and hammocks all over the island. A very nice private island.

This is the second most lawsuits on TV court shows behind shared cell phones. Both are no win situations.

I would think this close to the cruise that the cove balcony rooms are gone. There are not many and go quick. Most upgrades are not very good offers.

I know these have offered park and cruise rate with free shuttle to the cruise terminal in the past. I don't know about if you are flying in if it would be free or if a fee would be charged.

Hilton Gardens

Fairfield Airport

Courtyard (I-295 east beltway)

Springhill Suites

You might also keep an eye on September and October. Usually from September to spring break are some pretty good deals. Prices can change several times daily. Look for the different specials and when you find a deal, pull the trigger.

Any time we have booked a guarantee, it was an interior and not upper/lower. I don't think you need to worry about getting an upper/lower. When you book, it will show if it is interior or not.

Victory and Ecstasy both go to Key West out of Miami but not Bahamas. You might think about a b2b on Ecstasy hitting Key West on the 4 day and Nassau on the 3 day. Key West don't have as many ships coming in as they once did.

They have a putt putt course and water slides. There is a small game room. Besides the shows they usually have a family comedy show they might enjoy. If you get them to go meet new friends at some of the activity's they will stay busy. We see tables full of kids sitting together eating pizza out night laughing and having a good time. Plan ahead for activity you might want to do at port.

That would be a very long walk. You would probably need new wheels on your luggage after that walk. It's almost like a different terminal.

So…. If someone were to ask you to recommend CCL's BEST cruise(8 days or less) what would your response be? When I say "best" I mean as in best combination of ship, itinerary, crew, amenities, port of embarkation, and ports of call.

 

What do you think Carnival's BEST cruise is?

Someone earlier stated "The one I'm on". I would agree with that but what if you could arrange your cruise. As much as I like the smaller older ships, I would probably pick a Conquest class ship but then we have not cruised the Dream or Splendor class. It would have to have a Guy's burger joint and fish and chips. It would be hard to pick a crew because we have had some very good crew members. We would be between two maître d, the one now on Fascination and Joseph "your super charged maître d". Head waiter would be Ioan Koesis and waiter Marian Mihalcea, now on Ecstasy. It's hard to remember them all by name but we often mention different crew members that we would like to sail with. We keep in touch with some of them and try to sail with them again. We also have some of the entertainers we enjoyed that we would enjoy sailing with and it would be hard to pick a cruise director because we have had some good ones. We would probably go for the southern itinerary of the ones we have been on. The best embarkation would be Jacksonville. It is easiest in and out of any we have used. That about does it for my cruise.

I second the vote for Fascination out of Jacksonville. It is close to you in Georgia and is the easiest on and off of any port we have been to. We have sailed Fascination on two b2b cruises and have done six altogether. Just off on Thanksgiving day and got on Liberty the next day out of Port Canaveral. You usually see some pretty good deals. The only drawback is most just go to Nassau and Freeport. Some itinerary's visit Half Moon Cay or Little Stirrup Cay.

Makes no difference. I would recommend watching your cruise price for a reduction and possibly upgrading to an assigned cabin for very little.

In most cases we have been upgraded with a guarantee to a better room at no extra cost than the upgrade offers we received. Loyalty levels make no difference.

Has anyone heard anything about Carnival combining all CCL companies into one loyalty program? I have heard the rumor on the last cruises we have been on but nothing official. Probably just a rumor. It sure would be a bunch of diamonds.

Cruise Elegant is not what it once was. The dress code states that the following attire is not allowed in the restaurants: Jeans, men's sleeveless shirts, shorts, t-shirt's, sports wear, baseball hats, flip flops and bathing suit attire. On cruise casual nights you may wear shorts but not gym or basketball shorts or cut off jeans. I remember the day men had to wear long pants (no jeans) and a collared shirt on casual night. I wouldn't worry about boat shoes. It just says no flip flops. There hasn't been enforcement in a long time.

Your guarantee will only get an upgrade in the category you booked in, (interior, ocean view etc. You will not get an upgrade from an interior to an ocean view, just a higher in the category you booked. The best you can look forward too will be from 1A to 4H. The best room in 4 H is on Lido deck near everything. We were upgraded to 9292 on Glory and felt this was the best interior on the ship. We have received our room assignment a month out and have received our room assignment at the port (not typical). Good luck.