skudy

Depends on if you are talking about a martini of a foo foo drink served in a martini glass.

Brilliant.

I'm sailing in a little over 2 weeks and am eager to try the pineapple chipotle martini.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2592262&highlight=sunshine

We are on the cruise beginning Mar 16.

Do you have a website? We are 5 (3 kids aged 11, 11 and 14 and 2 adults). Just want to do a bit of due diligence first.

A couple weeks back, someone posted all the menus and fun times from their cruise back in January.... I think. If you look around, you might be able to find it. If i find it, I'll post the link here.

... For instance, night time room service is no longer included ...

No conditioner! Really?

We're doing Anytime Dining for that very reason. We don't want to be rushed to make it to dinner on time. Plus most of my family is usually 20 minutes late to everything.

Glad it worked out for you. Hope everyone is ok.

Can I grab snacks, like a couple pieces of fruit or some cookies, and take it off the ship when visiting a port? Or is this a no-no?

When you say "on line", are you talking about what is shown when you go to "Manage My Account", or what is shown on the statement you get in your email(s) from Carnival? Check your emails. The information there should be correct. When it comes time to do your on line check-in and print out your documents, go ahead and print out the most current up-to-date statement you've received via email from Carnival. Assuming all of your OBC is on there, take that email with you. On the first evening of your cruise, check your on board account statement on your cabin's TV. Your OBC should listed on there. If not, take your printed email statement to Guest Services and they'll fix it for you.

When I say "online", I am referring to my account under Carnival.com. The email statement I received shows the correct amount.

As others have suggested, I'll bring a print out of the email in case there is a problem. Thanks all!

I saw a lower price, so Carnival adjusted my rate and gave me a $50 onboard credit. I was able to see the price adjustment and credit online without any problems.

I then found an even lower price and called carnival. They agreed to give me an additional $150 credit for a total of $200 in onboard credits. I have an email showing the $200 credit, but when I check online, it only shows that I have a $50 credit.

I called Carnival and they said not to work about the online amount being out of sync. They said that their system shows the $200 credit and that's what I'll receive.

Should I be worried about this? I don't want to have to fight with the service desk on the cruise for my extra $150.

I already did the research you are doing. We are a party of 5, and we chose Cortans for all the obvious reasons: the reviews are much more favourable. For an extra $5 per person ($25 for the 5 of us), it was worth our piece of mind.

I haven't travelled yet so I can't tell you how my experience was. What I can say is that their communication so far has been excellent. I have a high degree of confidence in them.

Note, they don't stop at every hotel. Make sure yours is on the list.

I agree with others. Drop them off first. I do that with my family and find it easier all around.

@Bob, thanks for the Uber suggestion. As you said, it's only $8, so if it's going to be a while, just buck up and catch an Uber.

I'd say South Beach is a must see. I love the art deco architecture there. it's like going back in time. My #1 thing to see in Miami.

Big fan of Priceline and Hotwire when you don't need a specific hotel or brand. There is a thread on CruiseCritic that lists winning bids, so it'll help you figure out what hotel you're going to get. Also use sites like HotelDealsRevealed to see list of known Hotwire/Priceline hotels. A few things to note: you cannot cancel or change your reservation, even if your plans change. And of course, you can't change your hotel either... you get what you get. It's not for everyone, but the savings are usually pretty decent.

We are Canadian and booked through Carnival's website. I had no problems doing it. In fact, I live their website. Easy to navigate, check my account, and so on. +1 for booking directly.

March 16 for 8 days!

We have had several conversations about gratuity lately. Trying to assess our take on it. I have no firm position, however, as a family of 4, it is very difficult to spend $500 for gratuities on a 9 day cruise PLUS all of the other gratuity for drinks, bags, etc. For the last cruise, we only ate in the dining room a handful of times during lunch or breakfast. Our kids are older and we keep our room tidy. I definitely feel that we should tip the full $120 for my husband and I, but I feel that $500 for the whole family is a little steep. With that said, I care very much about the people that work on the cruise. I just think that the cruiselines have things a bit "out of balance" when it comes to gratuities.

I saw that you got roasted over this, but I'm with you. The tipping scheme doesn't reflect larger party sizes. We squeeze all 5 of us into a single room, and I have a hard time justifying $65/day.

I've heard that St. Kitts doesn't have the best snorkeling. In Grand Turk, Gibbs Cay is nice but you need a boat to take you there. It will cost between $60 and $90 per person.

On Carnival ships (Sunshine in particular), is it possible to order a drink with alcohol, say a margarita, but have the alcohol on the side and not blended into the drink?

This way I can share the virgin drink with my kids should they ask for a sip (which they will), and I can sip on the tequila (which I enjoy doing). Ordering a margarita with the tequila on the side seems like a win-win.

From a menu I found online, I see that you can upgrade the tequila when ordering a margarita. Thus, I assume they are not pre-mixed drinks and therefore it should be technically possible to do it, but will they?

Thanks!

I'd love some insights on the teen clubs. How do your kids like them? Is it easy to make friends? What activities have they been up to?

I'm cruising in March 2018 and decided not to purchase FTTF. Here are some reasons why:

1. There are 5 of us, so 5x the cost.

2. None of our ports require tendering. Thus, per my understanding, there is no real benefit with FTTF.

Side note: FTTF is sold out for my cruise. I'm wondering what I'm missing.

SITUATION: We cruise out on a Friday at 4pm but arrive at MCO Thursday pm (late). We will be staying at a hotel near the airport and then need to get our way to Port Canaveral for our Carnival Sunshine Cruise on a Friday. We are a family of 5 and are looking for transportation.

OPTIONS: I've done a bit of research and have come up with the following options:

1. Shuttle: Most shuttles depart from the airport. Few (if any) pick up at the hotel. Given there are 5 of us, this does not seem like a convenient or affordable option. Cost somewhere around $25 x 5 = 125.

2. Rental car: Probably cost effective for 5 of us. Cost estimated to be $70 for a day rental from MCO to Port Canaveral. However, I need to get 5 of us from hotel to car rental pickup location, which is slow and cumbersome.

3. Uber XL: Uber picks us up directly from the hotel at a time that is convenient to us and we go directly to the cruise terminal. Estimated cost $100.

ADVICE: I'm thinking Uber XL is probably the best option for us. While not the cheapest, it's convenient for a family of 5 to have direct pickup at our hotel and take is straight to the cruise port. Other options may be cheaper (but not by much) and are a lot more inconvenient. What do you think we should do?

I don't get it. So you book your cruise and you know your departure port but not the ports of call? That sounds fun. Do you save $ on your cruise? I'm wondering why anyone would do this otherwise?