Uhfolks

I'm not into massages, so I asked and I could use it on products too. So I picked up two bottles of color-safe shampoo ($24 each) and then another time I got a jar of delicious smelling sugar scrub. I think I had to add in $10 for the jar of scrub, which to be honest, was extremely overpriced. I could get a jar at the drug store for under $10 alone. :p

Ohh, great idea. If you're not already planning on a massage or something, may as well pick up some free stuff! Even if the tag is overpriced, free is still free!

They're nice if you're already planning on doing something, but don't have a specific time slot you already reserved in advance!

Sounds like you may be on the Magic with us! Amber Cove is the only port we actually booked a Carnival excursion in. We did the Ocean World/dolphins thing, there were some all-inclusive resorts that looked pretty fun too. Every other place, we found local things to do.

True however the only problem with Cruise Cash is that it's not refundable and non-transferable. If you spend all of it on the ship, no problem. Having the GC's applied to your account once on board gives you the option of a refund (in GC's, of course) or cashing out via the casino if you have a credit balance at the end of the cruise.

How does the cashing out at the Casino thing work? I keep seeing mentions of this, but no actual details on how it's done.

Do not stay on the ship in San Juan. Get off the ship and walk down the pier. There will he vans lined up to take you on a city tour. It’s a beautiful city. It’s only like $15 pp and well worth it. We did his same itinerary for our 10 year anniversary and San Juan was one of my favorite ports. I am actually planning on flying back and staying a few days then doing the 7 day southern Caribbean. After he city tour they will drop you off and you can shop and eat. We went to Barrachina which claims to have invented the first pina coloada and it was amazing! Also you can get honeymoon cruise ship shirts made. You can order them off Etsy. We had 10 year shirts made and wore them the first day. Congrats and have a fabulous trip!!

Ahh, awesome advice, thank you! How long did the city tour take? We have to be back at the ship by 2:00 for some plans, but the ship arrives at 8:00. which would give us a solid 4 hours at the very least, with time built in for showering once we're back on board & any unexpected delays.

Play the Love and Marriage Game! Doing room service would be nice, too since it is no additional charge, except for a tip, maybe? I've never done it!

I definitely plan on showing up for that, no guarantee we'll be picked though. She has absolutely no filter, so it should make for an interesting time, haha. I've never used the room service either, but I'll have to try it out this cruise for sure.

in answer to you and others regarding the buffet, salad items were ok - I didn't expect 5 star dining but at least some quality food to enjoy which it was not. I made due with the other options - MDR, Blue Iguana - that was great (long lines), Guys Burgers (lines super, super long) and the pizza - that was really good but again looooooong lines!!. port days are great as there were no lines.

Did you ever get the chance to try out Mongolian Wok or Tandoor? Those are the two spots I've heard the most good things about. If everything else is terrible, I'm totally fine eating pizza all week too :')

Email the maitre'd about a week prior and ask for a table for 2 in the MDR. It makes for a much more romantic and private setting to enjoy - and doesn't cost a thing.

 

Maybe go through the fun shops and order a bottle of champagne and some chocolate covered strawberries to be waiting in the room when you board (starting about $50). It will make a very nice first impression.

https://www.carnival.com/FunShops/item/LA7/berry-bubbly-package

 

If you haven't already (and you can find and afford it) - get Faster To The Fun. The priority boarding, and early access to the room will also help.

 

Otherwise - sounds like you're doing great. Congratulations - hope you have an amazing life together.

I requested a table by the window for the dining room, didn't ask for a 2 seater though. I'd much prefer a table that has a view of the ocean & isn't in the middle of the dining room with waiters & guests constantly shuffling around us. We're pretty social & having other people at the table certainly wouldn't be a bad thing in our book!

She's not too big on champagne, but I did get a few special things for our cabin that will be waiting there. I got Faster to the Fun as well, before the most recent price increase too! Thanks for the wishes :)

I am sorry your cruise did not live up to your expectations. I have always found finding seats by the pool impossible. The buffet food is just that buffet food, seldom great. We have been on the Magic before as well as the Dream and did find the Dream class more crowded than then Conquest class, but only marginally so. I am pleased to hear how well embarkation and debarkation went. We sail on the Magic a week from today and while we don't expect everything to be perfect, we do expect to have a wonderful time. I do sincerely hope your next cruise is more to your liking.

Yeah, seating by the pool is highly contested, I've always avoided it all-together. I much prefer the quieter decks away from the crowd. As far as food goes, if you book a budget cruise line & expect 5 star dining for every meal, it's not going to live up to your expectations. As long as it's edible, that's all I really expect out of a buffet.

Bring a small portable speaker so you can listen to music in your room.

 

I would also check with Carnival again on last minute upgrade opportunities.

 

If you are overnighting at the port city the night before the cruise, definitely let it slip that it's your honeymoon when checking into your hotel. We did that and they upgraded our room to the Concierge level so we had Club access, complimentary drinks and a free meal at the restaurant!

 

You also have the option to request a table for two in the main dining room if you want to dine alone (kind of...the other tables are very close by). Just check with the Maitre'd when you board the ship.

 

Happy Honeymooning!

We probably won't pack an actual speaker, our phones have stereo speakers that should do the job just fine in a small room, haha. I'll go ahead & call Carnival today, but I doubt there will be any sort of upgrade offers. The ship is almost totally sold out- all balcony & spa rooms are gone. The only upgrade I'd consider leaving our spa room for is a suite & I highly doubt the difference between an interior spa & a suite is small enough for us to afford.

If money is no problem do a B2B....

We're a younger couple that doesn't have a ton of extra money unfortunately. Saved pretty much since I proposed for this trip & we aren't even having an actual "wedding", just family at the courthouse. We'll definitely be doing something like this again for an anniversary if she enjoys it though!

What I did to make a honeymoon cruise special....

 

When my son got married he said that they (man and woman..) wanted to cruise for their honeymoon. They picked the date, ship etc. and chose Carnival Legend 9 day from NY (2006). They had been on one cruise each and were not fussy. I told them I'd take care of it as part of a wedding gift and had about 8 months to plan.

 

I booked them a balcony and used the time I had to plan to make everything an experience leading up to the cruise...

 

Paid for them to get passports.

Bought them luggage that Christmas

Gave them gift cards to different stores to buy "cruise clothes.'

Paid for the limo to the port.

Did a "package" case with travel size things that I know they liked

Bought $500 OBC for them to spend and gave them cash for tips and other stuff.

 

There were probably a few other things too but it's been 12 years...so I forget...LOL

 

They loved every minute...:D:D

That's awesome!! My parents paid for all of our excursions as their wedding gift which was a massive help. The rest is on us, but we've been saving for it for over a year. This was a nice, last minute surprise that helped a ton, I'm sure your son & his fiancee appreciated it too!

I'm sailing on the Magic September 8th, so ping me the day before to remind me to check!

I would make a Happy Honeymoon door decoration in addition to the decorations from the Fun Shops. Make sure it is not flammable.

Already in the works!

Since she wants to relax, it might be nice to keep one of those port days unplanned so that the day is open if you are feeling like staying onboard. It is kind of nice to be onboard without all the people.

We actually have 2 of 4 "unplanned". In Grand Turk, we're going to wander over to Jack's Shack for the jerk chicken, because she's a massive Jamaican food fan. The rest of the day, we'll either just roam around on the beach, or head back to the ship. In San Juan, we'll almost definitely be staying on-board all day, unless for some reason, we're just sick of the ship at that point, haha.

Realistically, you could print a sign that simply said, "We're still here, just getting more food. Please don't clear our table :)"

There's nothing you can (or should) do to prevent other cruisers from simply taking the table since it's not occupied if both of you are up. But at least the sign may prevent staff from clearing the table. I've had that happen to me a couple of times & it's mildly frustrating. But the way I see it, I can just go back & get fresh food/drinks if mine are cleared away.

I definitely can’t argue with your logic for booking an inside room. Don’t recall if you mentioned it before, but Magic is my favorite Carnival ship. No doubt you will have a great time on your cruise. I had a cruise booked on Vista earlier this year but after sailing on Vista last year, I cancelled the cruise on Vista and booked a cruise on Magic instead.

Glad to hear it sounds like I made the right choice! I did a lot of research before booking this particular ship & itinerary. 15 days away now!!

When you actually book online and are going through payment info it should give you the option to book it as a surprise so it won’t show up on the booking! It let me do it with flowers and chocolate strawberries last night.

Ohhh, good to know, thanks! Now I'm back to trying to decide between the 2 options, haha.

For what it's worth, spa appointments on port days are already significantly discounted if you buy in advance as opposed to sea days. Spa appointments are further discounted in the morning hours, etc. I don't know how much more of a discount would be available on board, or if discounts are available for all services so that you would know for sure it was worth it to wait specifically for a discounted couple's massage. If you do book ahead, at least you can pinpoint your date and time and know you will have exactly what you want. To see the built in discounts for various dates and times, just go through the process of booking online. A page will come up with various dates, times, and costs for you to take a look at.

I've looked at that & it looks like it's discounted from $299 to $239, so not massive, but enough to make a difference. My biggest issue I see now with booking in advance is that it will show up in our booking info. Since I'm wanting this to be a surprise, looks like waiting is going to be the right way to go regardless of discounts!

I'm not much into telling anyone else what they will enjoy because all cruisers value different things about cruising.

 

Personally I've sailed in many balcony cabins, and in a spa interior on the Breeze. I can't recall whether you have specified which ship you will be on, but on the Dream, Magic and Breeze I prefer an interior spa to a balcony.

 

The Cloud 9 spas on those Dream class ships are amazing. Moving from the heated loungers to the T-pool is incredible. Your cabin gives you unlimited access, no reservations required.

 

If you're sailing on any other ship totally disregard this. They don't have a Cloud 9 spa.

Yep, we'll be on the Magic. For us, the spa interior cabin was the way to go without a question! Massive price difference & much more perks than just having a balcony & a bit more space.

I was thinking the same thing. I"m on the MAGIC next March and too have a spa cabin.

I do know you get 20% on 1 spa treatment and 30 & 40% 2nd and 3rd during sea days. I want to say it's more at port. But you have EXPERTS here that knows everything about Carnival.

We're on the Magic as well, I'll post some sort of update afterward of how our Spa cabin was!

This is just my opinion, but I would skip the spa and put the money towards a balcony. From reading your other thread, you have a great cruise planned for your honeymoon. But I think you are missing a significant chance to enjoy your cruise even more by not having a balcony. A balcony is something you can enjoy 24 hours a day every day of the cruise. It sounds to me like you are focusing on creating a once in a lifetime trip for your honeymoon, which is awesome, but getting a balcony would be my number one priority over the spa, excursions, etc.

 

I would wait until you are on the ship before making a spa reservation. They always offer better deals on the ship, especially on port days like you mentioned. Of course how good the deals will be is directly related to how much open time is available in the spa. Obviously the fewer the reservations, the better the incentives will be.

I really don't really get people's fixation on balcony cabins. I've had one before & choosing between just having a balcony & nothing else vs an interior room + excursions + spa access + massages + multiple nights of steakhouse & Italian + extra money left for drinks/souvenirs/pictures was a pretty easy choice for me. It's more of a slightly nice bonus rather than an actual experience. We'll only be in the room to change & at night, so as long as there's a bed, I'm happy with it.

I figured that would be the case for the spa reservations, thanks for the advice! The time we do it isn't that important, so I'm fine waiting to save some money to spend on other things.

I'm planning on booking a couples massage during one of our port days. I keep reading about deals that will come to your cabin on port days, but I wasn't sure how common that is. Is it pretty much a guaranteed thing, or hit & miss? I'm fine keeping a flexible schedule that day to save $50 to use somewhere else. But I don't want to risk everything being booked either!

Also, we've got a spa cabin which comes with "priority spa reservations". Anyone have an idea of what that actually means?

Based on his posts on this thread, I would be stunned if he had anything less than a balcony cabin.

 

The only recommendation I would add is make sure you eat in the MDR on elegant night(s). The menu is definitely better on those nights.

We actually did a Spa interior room. We considered doing a balcony, but it would have nearly doubled the price for very little actual gain. I've had a balcony room before & while it was obviously nicer than an interior room, it wasn't remotely worth the price. Especially when it's the difference between being able to pay everything down in cash vs. taking out $1,000- or more if we did a spa balcony- in credit card debt. /

She's been out of work for a few months & just had heart surgery to fix everything, so money was a big factor in planning things. I figured I could either blow all of our money on a slightly bigger room with a window, or I could use it all on actual experiences like excursions, specialty dining, massages, etc.

We'll be sure to eat in the MDR on those nights! We got her some really nice dresses last week to wear those nights & a... some fancy word for "after the ceremony" dress. I think we'll be eating there for the first night for sure & the 2 elegant nights. We'll be in the Steakhouse 2 nights & Italian 1. We'll decide what do do for that last night when we get to it.

 

Advertise as much as you can that it's a honeymoon cruise (congrats!!) because you just never know how the perks will come, maybe even a little something from Guest Services.

 

I would defo add Italian just for a different/extra experience from the Steakhouse. Depends on the ship how good an Italian dinner may be but so does the steakhouse.

We'll definitely do that, haha. I'm planning on putting together some door decorations too.

One other thing you may not know. If you are booking the steakhouse a couple of night, why not make one of them the first night. The reason being, that on the first night they give you a bottle of free wine your choice white/red (this is if your not getting Cheers already). Now with that said, I have heard the free wines are not that good, but also have heard for free it is not that bad (I do not drink wine so have no idea). In addition, if you do not like your free choices you can get ANY bottle they have at 50% off the cost. In fact, I read a review on here were a couple went and he bragged about how they got a $300 bottle of wine for $150. He said and I quote "This wine was so good, well worth the money".

 

Another thing to do is, go to karaoke and fine your wedding song and sing it to her, very romantic...LoL

I considered this, but I wanted to use the Steakhouse as a "break" from the MDR. Plus, we're doing a set dining time, so I didn't want to miss the first night of meeting who we'll be with for servers & other guests at the table.

We've already made each other promise we'll do karaoke at least once, haha. Neither of us have evevr done it before.

I think your plans are perfect. I could see changing one of the steak house visits to Italian or, better yet, adding the Italian to your existing plans. Have a wonderful time and congratulations!

I may actually end up adding the Italian, rather than substituting it. I didn't realize it was so much cheaper than the Steakhouse.

It sounds as though your plans are right on the money!

 

You might try to get to the comedy club and/or the piano bar.

 

And take pictures. You pay for only what you buy.

 

Congratulations and best wishes for a great honeymoon and an even greater marriage.

Definitely will be making to both the comedy club & the piano bar!! These were my 2 favorite parts of my previous cruises. She's never been on one before, so she has no idea what to expect.

I normally avoid the photographers like the plague, but I do think taking lots of pictures is on the agenda this time around!

Thanks, we're both looking forward to it :D. We decided instead of having an elaborate wedding where we paid thousands of dollars on a few hours, we were just going to do something super small with immediate family & take all the money we saved to go on an awesome honeymoon.

What's "secret deck"?

It's not as special as it sounds, but it's kinda neat if you're looking for somewhere to get away from the noise & crowds. Someone else can chime in on the exact floor(s) for your ship, but there are some decks that have a door at the end of the cabin hallways that goes out onto a small deck on the front of the ship. There are usually a couple of benches & that's about it. It's very windy, as there's nothing to block the ocean wind in front of you.

I'm getting married in a couple of weeks & I've been the one planning the honeymoon. As far as my fiancée knows, all we have planned for the cruise are excursions at St. Thomas (SCUBA diving) & Amber Cove (Dolphin encounter/ocean world). I've also got us spa passes, have a couple nights reserved in the Steak House, & have a couples aroma stone massage planned as surprises.

Anyone have some good ideas on what to do in addition to all of this? Should I change one of the steak house nights to the Italian restaurant? I considered doing the Chef's table too, but by the looks of it, neither of our pallets are nearly that...refined :'). Any thoughts on the aroma stone massage vs the other types? She's wanting the cruise to be mostly relaxing, which is why I went lighter on the excursions & heavier on the food/spa stuff.

As far as the Spa tours go, I keep reading about specials during the tour. Anyone have experience with that? Is it worth waiting, or if I know I'm going to be doing something, should I just book ahead of time to reserve a spot?

We have a spa cabin too (honeymoon :D), & I've read about discounts for those as well. I didn't see anywhere to specify you're in a spa cabin during pre-booking though, so I wasn't sure if it worked like that.

If they've been activated (used for the excursions), it's expressly against the TOS to transfer them.

 

The ones they sent us are unused/unactivated. They sent them as a reimbursement for overpayment, since our total was now cheaper. They aren't the original cards we used to pay for them, we just got these in the mail.