dogchopper

Thanks..I will bring some water on board then, that helps..

I'll have figure out what to do about internet. Don't need much but would like to keep in touch with family in case of emergencies.

It's gonna be a great cruise

My husband and I and my sister and her husband were booked on a carnival cruise for this coming April but we had to change the date. We has booked this cruise many months ago and had a great price.. since we had to change dates we noticed the prices have went way up so we stumbled on the latest sale on RC and got a great deal on a 7 day cruise on the Harmony. I've been on the freedom of the seas several years ago but we mostly cruise carnival.

I'd love some tips from seasoned RC cruisers.

I know they do not have 24 ice cream :(, that saddens me.. what are the hours it's open?

Is the internet package something you can get only on a few days or is it an all or nothing deal. Are there smaller packages ??

Formal nights? How formal are they. I usually like to dress up but my sister and her husband, not as much..

Water.. on carnival you cannot bring it onboard but they will sell it to you pretty cheap if you order it pre-cruise.. Does RC also do that?

Dining times and shows, I am a big fan of shows and want to go to all of them, so is the 5:30 dining time good for that?

Any info, pictures advice... bring it on.

We bought the photo package. There were five of us, so we had to pay extra for the fifth person. Up to four people can buy the packages with no extra charge. We got the photo only package (CD of photo's only, no printed photos or video) and with the fifth person charge it was $104. The pictures turned out great and the dolphins were amazing.

Thanks!! That helps alot!:)

And that is a better price than I was expecting

My husband an I are going on a cruise next month :D and are thinking of doing the dolphin swim in Nassau. I know you cannot take photos so you have to buy the photos if you want any pictures.

I am going with my sister and her husband also, so... my question is if we both book the excursion can we buy one photo package for all 4 of us or do we each have to buy them separately. I saw the full package is 177 bucks, which split between the 2 of us isn't terrible but each is not cool at all...

We just got off the same cruise. THREE of us sick with the same symptoms. Mine started on Tuesday. Stayed on the 8th deck. Starts out with a cold sweat, then the real "fun" begins. The common denominator for us was that we all ate at the deli. I noticed that the cabins weren't up to cleanliness standards either. For the entire week, our toilet had a black stains and what appeared to be black flecks floating around the bowl. Mirror in the washroom was never cleaned, and our (dirty) glasses were never replaced with fresh ones. As a matter of fact, there seemed to be an appalling lack of service everywhere. Housekeeping seemed short-staffed and overwhelmed. We didn't (or rather couldn't I should say) go on any excursions because of the need to be near the washroom at all times. It was THREE days before I started getting my appetite back.

 

This is why I dislike self-serve buffets in general. And yes, the muster drill was the most asinine thing I ever witnessed in 8 cruises. We literally sat there and did NOTHING. No demonstration on how to use a lifejacket, zilch. Most of us seated around the table merely stared around the room in wry amusement.

 

This was perhaps one of the most disappointing cruises I've been on...

I'm glad to hear I am not the only one who thought that muster drill was terrible. No words to describe it!!

I never ate at the deli, my husband did though and he got much sicker that I did.

I am working wondering if more of the staff was sick than we realized and that is why everything was in disarray.

We were on the 10th in a spa balcony.

Well I just think that regardless of if it was the flu or norovirus doesn't really matter. And I cannot believe people get so nasty about my wanting to let carnival know what happened.

Again I think they didn't follow proper protocol and that to not one mention it to anyone will not allow them to know they are doing something wrong. Or maybe not even 'wrong' but maybe they just need improvement. .

I have another cruise booked with them in May and will continue to book with them but loyalty doesn't mean you cannot suggest improvements if you see the need.

But like usual cruise critic while helpful can also be quite rude to people just wanting simple advice.

Some people say inform them, some say don't waste time time, that is the kind of advice I am looking for and I appreciate that advice from the people who gave it.

Snide remarks are not what someone who is miserable wants or needs to read.

Wonder if people rip their bosses a new one when they get sick because a fellow employee came to work sick, wonder if parents raise a ruckus with a principal when their kid gets sick because another student wasn't quarantined, wonder if people who go to concerts, sporting events, parades or any other group outing want an apology from the organizer if they get sick after the event.

 

Can't understand why people think a cruise line can be any more effective in controlling health issues than any other entity dealing with people in close confines. Sheesh!

Ok, maybe it's because I'm not quite feeling well yet but usually I let snide remarks just go but dang,

I'm not complaining, I love carnival. I'm not trying to get anything from them I just think they need to know when they mess up on something important like this that can cause the company to lose money when the headlines of another norovirus spreads thru one of their ships.

So, being rude to me about asking what and if I should mention this to them is just plain wrong,

Got food poisoning on the Conquest, was also treated for free at medical. They were very nice and checked in via phone the next morning to see how I was doing. I missed Puerto Rico and didn't even get my port charges back. I didn't expect them and certainly didn't ask for any type of compensation although it was clearly their fault that I got food poisoning. I didn't eat or drink anything off the ship so there was no question where it came from.

 

I didn't feel the need to complain or escalate it any further. They were professional and that was that.

 

Chalk it up to ship happens and put it behind you.

I am glad they took care of you so well. I don't expect or even want anything from them but I do think they need to know what happened so they can learn from it. If they don't follow proper safety protocols when dealing with a virus that spreads so quickly they could have real problems on their hands in the near future.

I think that the muster drill was the worst I've ever had to endure. It started 30 mins late and then went on forever. It was just the worst one ever. None of them are fun but usually they start close to on time. They didn't even announce the start of it on time. They need to work on that some.

As far as the virus goes. It seems to me that they need to be more cautious on the viruses. If our waiters roommate had it of course the waiter either had it already or will have it shortly.

And they told my husband he was to quarantine himself but they did not tell my room steward. He would of just come in and done a basic cleaning if I had not stopped him. He didn't know my husband was even sick. I told him not to clean the room until we left because he was in bed sick.

And I wonder of they 'sanitized ' the room after we left or just did a basic job the too, which makes me think that the next group in my room will be getting good sick too.

I would think they would notify housekeeping of the people who are quarantined at the very least.

I think that again was very unorganized and not how to contain the spread over the virus.

I will definitely send an email and make a call. They need to know how things were dealt with.

My husband and i were on the Splendor last week. It was a great cruise for the most part.

The food was good, the people were nice.. it was good except for 2 things . #1. the muster drill was HORRIBLE. 45 mins long!! Very unorganized and a total waste of 45 minutes.

And #2. my husband got a stomach virus on about the 4th day, got real bad on the 5th day. He went to medical and they treated him for free, which was my first clue that they knew something was going on. Then I got it and our friends wife got it. We then heard that the waiters roommate had it, and a singer in the shows had it and a few other people on the cruise that we knew of got it.

I'm happy that they treated him but they quarantined him in his room but didn't quarantine me which made no sense..

I got home yesterday and had to work today and it was not plesant because my stomach is still cramping up.

I'm thinking I should call carnival and express my dissatisfaction with what happened but I'm not sure what to do?

I think I'm going to use Uber from Hotel in Ft Lauderdale to POM. Looks to be around $30 and can

Go at my convenience

 

 

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We were talking about using uber. I've never used it before so I know you get a discount on your first time so that may help..

Skip the train - it will cost you $27 to get to the MIA airport to catch the train (under $5 each) to FLL.

 

SAS, QLS, MJS, Go Airport and some other shuttles are suggested on this board almost daily - fares start at about $15 per person and the ride takes about 45+ minutes. Call the driver when you are leaving the ship with your cell - easy! :cool:

Tried SAS before. Had no complaints. Good news :)

 

 

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I've used SAS Transportation several times with good results and plan on using them again in January.

 

I would book a shuttle ahead of time and not count on just finding one when you get back. I've done that before, but the last time I debarked in MIA they would not take walk up fares. Independent (other than Carnival) shuttles are apparently not allowed to take walk-up fares at the port and they said they were being watched and could be fined if caught.

Oh, I didn't know that. I better book ahead

Check out MJS Transportation or SAS Transportation. We're going to use SAS for our cruise in a few weeks. It's $15 each. I haven't used them before but the reviews I found were good.

I will check them out, thanks

If you have an afternoon flight and aren't tight on time, look into the train that runs from MIA to FLL. It's very cheap and runs a couple times per hour.

The train... never thought of that. We have the time so that may be an option. Thanks

We are leaving Sunday for our cruise and we have transportation to the cruise terminal in Miami but haven't secured transportation back to the air port in fort Lauderdale after the cruise.

I was just planning on finding a shuttle at the cruise port once we get off the ship.

Hubby isn't thrilled with this plan.. so...

Any ideas on how much it will cost us to find a shuttle back to the airport. (rough estimate)

We researched Uber and for 4 people it looks like it will be about 80 bucks. That seems high .. I am hoping to find a shuttle cheaper.. am I crazy?

Thanks, that makes sense. Doesn't seem too bad .

I guess the only draw back is for carnival because when you get on the ship there are tables all over for things they are selling like drink packages and all.. no point in having that around now.

We just got off Splendor yesterday and had no issues with the new process. Because we had completed online check-in, we were able to walk straight from security to the ship (they had already called our boarding zone). We didn't even have to go to the check-in desk.

 

My mother-in-law had not done her online check-in so they sent her to the desk once we got upstairs, but she walked right up with no wait.

 

Getting through the terminal and onboard was much easier and the terminal was EMPTY - no mass of people waiting at the desks.

 

Once onboard we had time for one drink before our rooms were ready, and the bartender used our boarding pass to look up our information. My photo popped up and the bartender confirmed that it was me before making the purchase.

 

I was interested to see how bad the lines were at Guest Services, but I honestly didn't see any difference from any other embarkation day.

 

To me, this definitely seems like a way to improve your check-in experience and I think it worked. It was so nice to be able to get upstairs and walk straight to the ship!

 

 

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Ok, so if you do the online check in you walk right on the ship instead of going to the desk. How do they get your photos? I have a passport, did they change something in the online checkin? I did mine a while ago but there was no uploading of a photo. My husband doesn't have a passport so... humm.

Also, what time did you get on the ship and when we're your cards in your mailbox?

What area code are they calling from?

 

 

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305 area code. We ALWAYS answer calls from that area code:D

We got the same phone call, for the same cruise, but our upsell would be from Ocean View to suite, also for $500 extra. We turned it down. If it had only been $200 I think I would have taken it, but it wasn't worth $500 to us. We're happy with the cabin we chose.

 

I'm thinking that the Splendor on Dec 4 will be a very full ship!

Yeah it looks pretty full. I would if loved a suite but I'm planning another cruise in May and that 500 bucks will pay for more than half of it.

We only booked a balcony because are the time we booked they were only about 20 bucks more than the interior cabins. :)

We will both have a great time!!:D

Keep in mind this 'suite' is not really a suite at all but just a balcony room with a few square feet add and I think one extra chair. Ninety square feet doesn't increase my comfort level.

Yeah I don't think the balcony is much bigger and the whirlpool tub isn't all that exciting, especially when I can go to the spa anytime I want.

The priority boarding would be nice but not worth 500 bucks.

Like I said, 300 bucks and I'd take it but I can do a lot with 500 bucks.

I've used Allianz travel insurance. We had to cancel a cruise with few years ago and they were great. Paid our claim with no problem and quickly. And the price was great.

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That is a good deal!!! It's about time they offered you something

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I did send him an email and tell him that if no one else takes him up on the offer and they lower the price to say 300 bucks I would jump at it :) . I don't expect to hear back from him on that offer ..

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Well I turned it down.. I feel good about it. My friends were ok with it too

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I never really understand why people feel the need to correct people about that.

 

 

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Some people are just very picky I guess. I'm an easy going person and do the let things bother me ;)

Until recently, I have only cruised in a suite... is it nice? Yes. Could you better spend that money elsewhere? Probably. Is there something else you would want to do with that money? That's a few nice excursions, drinks package, etc... The suite is nice, but honestly, on Carnival the suites aren't anything to write home about. The extra space with a kid is nice. You get priority boarding, the VIP line in the check in process, and a tub, but that's really about it. The suite perks suck for Carnival, hence why I save the extra grand and book a regular balcony in a location I prefer.

Ironically my husband said we can upgrade it. I called and couldn't get a hold of the guy but after I've slept on it I think I want to pass now... problem is I left him a message saying we would take it and our friends are on board too. I am not sure it's worth the money. . Heck we dont usually get balconies, let alone a spa balcony. So this it's a big enough treat for me. But now I have this break it to my friends :eek: