mommyto3girls:)

Thank you!   We are taking a cruise out of this port in March and you answered a lot if our questions.  

Considering purchasing the cheers program on our upcoming cruise.  We have a few questions though.  I see the limit of 15 alcoholic drinks per day, but the nonalcoholic drinks like soda and specialty coffee is unlimited correct?  
I also see you have to wait at least 5 minutes between drinks.  Is that for all drinks or just alcohol?  Like if I get a specialty coffee can I also get a bottle of water?  Or if I order a martini can I also order a water at that same time?

thanks 

We have sailed with our girls on carnival-Glory, Ecstasy, and Elation. The kids liked all of them. They loved camp carnival. We are taking our first cruise with NCL this summer so I hope they like it as well.

We just booked a cruise on the jewel this summer. We have a 6 year old and I understand there are Nick characters on this ship. Anyone have experience with this ? Cost?

Prices may drop, or they may not. You definitely run the risk of not getting the price drop on the dates you are committed to.

 

Remember, most (but not all) cruise lines honor price drops up to final payment da few will compensate you for drops after final payment.

Yes we have taken advantage of price drops in the past. My luck I would book on the one cruise that is booked solid without a price drop.

Thanks Putterdude. I know this isn't a science but just wondering if there was any kind of pattern. We have been talking seriously about this for over a year so I started watching prices six months ago or so. I was hoping someone else had been watching for much longer:). We have been looking at a couple for 15 one on carnival and one on NCL and so far carnival is about the same but ncl went up. I was a little concerned about that. Now to decide if we want to book and watch and wait or wait until the dumping begins.

In General would you say early March for the drops to begin?

So when they have things that are an additional cost, like the Build a Bear, is there an alternate activity the kids can do? Or if you want to be at CC during that time, it's Build a Bear or nuthin'??

If I remember correctly there is not an alternative for build a bear. There are a few times that parent must be there or kid cannot go to camp( BAB was one of those)

In the 9-11 age group, my daughter loves the Scavenger Hunts. Your child has to be able to sign themselves in and out of camp to participate.

My 12year old also said scavenger hunts were her favorite.

Just to clarify right now I am seeing rooms for two over 2k to 3k and rooms for 4 close to4k. Again inside cabins. We had hoped to get both rooms between 5 and $5500. We don't care about which line but wanted round trip from seattle.

My family of five plus my dad are planning an Alaskan cruise next summer. My dad plus the kids in one cabin and my husband and I in a second. We haven't decided for sure but may drive from the Midwest and see yellowstone and glacier on the way out. We know this trip will be long and pricey. I get tons of hotel points so many of our rooms will be covered. Gas(or airfare) will be a major expense as well as tips food excursions and parking. We are struggling to find cruise rates that are remotely affordable. We have taken mostly Caribbean and we know Alaska is more but it's still more than I had expected. We do not do upgraded rooms. Have had outside and frankly it makes me seasick to have the curtain open so we just do inside rooms. I have no desire for a balcony. Cheap is my goal:o. I remember checking prices for summer 14 in the months leading up to summer and inside rooms were not that high. Is that typical? Do prices drop closer to summer or was that a fluke?

Thanks for any info that you can share.

We stayed at courtyard plantain and as mentioned above shuttles were included. However the shuttle service from the airport was very slow. Like over an hour waiting with our luggage. I believe they went to the wrong terminal. That was a while back so hopefully communication has improved. The hotel was fine but courtyards do not offer free breakfast and they do not upgrade you if you are elite like the full service hotels do. It was convenient to some shopping and restaraunts.

We plan to arrive around 6 or 7 pm. We had planned to go to Busch gardens after the cruise so probably would not want to spend the money twice especially for just a few hours. I will definitely look for the event at the zoo or the aquarium. Our zoo also does something similar that we typically go to but it would be a different experience- much warmer:)

Considering a cruise that leaves on November 1st out of Tampa. We would arrive the night before with our kids that are 12, 8, and 5. Wondering if there is anything family friendly and fun to do especially since they will miss out on typical trick or treating if we do this. Thanks.

We sailed on the freedom in Jan of 12. We had an inside cabin on deck 10 and it was fine. It was nice being so close to Lido and it did not seem rough at all. Of course the seas were pretty calm then anyway.

Tons of pictures!

mommyto3girls:)

 

The pins sold in the gift shop are not like the past guest pins that were

given away and the ones everyone is collecting. The new pins sold

in the gift shops are a different style funnel pin with the ship name

on it and are much larger. They cost $4.95 each. Hope this answers your

question.

 

JR

oh. thanks. I'm wondering why carnival doesn't make the other pins available for sale? I understand if they don't just give them away, but still. They are still making the other pins though? You just have to be a platinum guest and sail on that ship?

I was 1 year old when you took that cruise :D LOL.

 

On another note I talked to a rep at CCL headquarters this morning and she told me that CCL is no longer making past guest pins to be given away on the cruise ships and that the only pins that will be available are the ones for purchase in the gift shops. Hope she was mistaken!! :eek:

How much are the pins in the gift shop? Are they the same as the old past guest pins?

You can bring soda on some cruise lines, but if you are flying this may cost more for the extra bag than just buying a soda card. Lemonade, tea, water, juice and milk(at breakfast) is free.

We missed the drill on our first cruise. Unintentionally. We were on the deck drinking as were several other passengers. Noone came to tell us and we did not heat the announcement. The second one we were not able to avoid. I am able to locate my own muster station and follow written directions in the unlikely event of an emergency. I would have liked to have missed that one too. If they wanted to get people to willingly attend they could give out a free drink following the information.:)

Wow! I have only ate one, I could eat two but am a little self conscious to do that. Seven or nine would be out of the question unless I had not eaten for the entire cruise.