stargate fan

I'm booked on a cruise in early 2015 under Early Saver, so I'm just curious as to how much everyone has received in price drops.

 

Guess it makes sense to ask how far in advance you were booked, cruise length/itinerary, & what category in addition to the total amount you were able to claim in price drops for your cruise.

We cruised seven days on Dream in April 2012. We were in a balcony cabin, Lido Deck, mid-ship. We booked over a year out, past guest rates, and got over $1,100 in price drops.

I know the line has been through the canal a good number of times so just have a few questions. Some are about recent things so if anyone who was on the Imagination one could help as well that would be excellent.

 

1. We are wondering about the age range on the ship.The roll call seems to be an older crowd but we were hoping that as its August there may be more people our age on board (late 20s) like there was on our summer Baltic sailing. Can anyone help with this?Its hard finding an answer as most canal sailings seem to be none summer.

Our bodies are in the mid-50's but our brains and our hearts are in our 20's.

 

2. Will Carnival doing anything special as its a centenary sailing and near the date of the canal's 1914 completion.

 

That would be pretty cool.

 

3.Did anyone ever do the Carnival Costa Rican sky walk tour? What was it like?

 

Can't help with that as we are booking a private tour.

 

4.What are the best Carnival Cayman excursions and is the snorkelling worth it?

 

Swimming with the stingrays was a lot of fun. We've done that twice in Grand Cayman. The first time booked was with Carnival (It was our first cruise and didn't know any better.) and the second we booked with Captain Marvin's. That was a much better, much less expensive, much more snorkeling sites tour.

 

5.It seems there are a lot of platinum/diamond cruisers on these types of sailings. Does FTTF ever become available?

 

We are platinum :D so we can't answer that. Sorry.

 

6.What inoculations did everyone get/were advised to get or did you not bother?

 

We are not planning on getting any inoculations.

 

 

Thankies :)

 

You're welcs.

We'll be on the cruise with you. We are very excited.

Seeking info?

 

thanks so much

Fax to 305 406 6102:

your name

reservation number

ship

sailing date

with proof of ownership of Carnival Corporation shares.

It's that easy.

EXACTLY! And before this whole "free cruise" deal went around, were you unhappy with the product that you've paid again and again for? So if you were happy to pay for it, why on earth be upset that the company wants to advertise this way to someone who wouldn't pay for it until they get a chance to experience it (again)? Bummed, disappointed, etc about not being chosen, sure! I get that. I feel the same every day when I watch Wheel of Fortune and my ID isn't picked to win $5000! But I don't get mad and boycott Wheel of Fortune because they didn't pick me to get the money! And that is worth even more than cruise fare!

I know-Wheel of Fortune NEVER picks my ID number. What's up with that? :eek:

We are very easy going cruisers. Give us tasty meals, a nice cabin (though it must have a balcony) and deck chairs in the sun and we are happy. Am I disappointed that others get lots of offers? I'm happy for them. Do I wish we'd get one? Hello, we're human so of course. Does it make us not sail Carnival anymore? Nah.

But, I also respect others' opinions and feelings. If someone is feeling upset or left out, that person does have the right to his/her emotions.

C'mon Kelly and Michael...pick my postcard!

I was reading several threads about the free cruise offer a number of Carnival Cruisers, but not all, received. To be honest, I really didn't have much of an opinion (Good for Them!, Not Fair, Why not me? etc.) UNTIL I got an email from a good friend today. She got one of the offers and is now booked to go in June as soon as school lets out (She's a teacher). The funny thing is I was the one that introduced her to cruising in 2011. Her first cruise, my first time on Carnival. Since that date she has sailed twice with Carnival with her husband, and I have sailed 3 times with mine. Neither one of us spends any money in the casino, and I know my on-board bill is always much higher than hers.

 

Anyway, happy for her, but now that someone I know got the offer and I didn't I have to admit that I am just a little bit annoyed with Carnival. Doesn't mean I will never sail with them again-Guess I'm just not feeling the love.

We've sailed Carnival 12 times, with #13 182 days away and #14 about to be booked. We've never received an upgrade offer, an upsell offer, nor any kind of offer.

Maybe Carnival figured out that we keep sailing the line and doesn't have to entice us. :confused:

Hello KP and Kona. Quick question for Kona...was it quiet surrounding that cabin?

KP, I have read 2 VERY POSITIVE responses on Cabin#9293. If it were me, that is the one I would try to get, or #9294 which is on the other side. Moreover, there has been many positive responses about Liberty Lido. The one I would raise extreme caution about is #9276! If you do some research, there is a huge vent above that balcony and 1 CC member said it was like an airplane engine running above, and they could not sit on balcony:<( I'm amazed at the 80% positive feedback on Liberty. She sounds like a great ship in many categories. Let us know what you decide. ENJOY!!!

Also, you probably already know this, but you can call and request to speak to a PVP. They can see available cabins which do not show up on website.

That was me. (Cool! You read my post. Thanks. :D)

We are now looking to book Freedom for next February and you can bet that I will avoid that cabin and all the other Lido cabins aft of that one.

I'm booked in a Lido balcony and can get a free upgrade to an AFT balcony deck 7.

 

Question is............which would you choose and why?

 

We booked Lido because of location and never been. Not sure which is better. Please help.

 

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Stay where you are.

We loved all our Lido Deck balconies. We were always close to the pool, close to the food, close to our cabin for stuff we forgot or to use our own bathroom. It was great to grab some breakfast to eat on our own balcony.

We did have an aft wrap once. ONCE. Never again. It was always hot back there, hardly ever a breeze, and the cabin was pie-shaped so it was much smaller and harder to maneuver. The worst past was how far away we were from the pool and buffet. Every time we wanted to go back to the cabin, we'd have to walk all the way aft. It often felt like the hallway grew with every step we took. Picture a sci-fi or horror flick.

This was taken on Destiny, near the center bank of elevators. You can't even see how much further our cabin was.

Is there enough vertical clearance on the wall outlet that I can use a vertical outlet multiplier like the one I have attached to this post?

 

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That's the one we use on our cruises. You will need to twist the prongs so the unit is horizontal. (There's a button on the other side, right? Push it and twist the prongs.)

Our first cruise was on the Spirit and we were in cabin 8190 and it was extremely noise. We have never booked again on the deck below the Lido deck.

See if you can get a Lido deck cabin. It's one of our favorites.

Pride does not have cabins on the Lido Deck.

We always book Lido Deck as it's also our favorite' date=' but, alas, on the Spirit Class ships we book Veranda.[/color']

I am going on the Carnival Pride in May. This is only our 2nd cruise. We both have bad feet and knees(arthritis) and walking is harder for us now.

 

Which deck would be best for us? we will have interior cabin. the one planner said Deck 8. My husband smokes, unfortunately.

 

I have read it wouldn't be good to be under the dance floor. what decks do you all recommend? just need some good advice!!!

Our PVP told us that deck 7, Veranda Deck, is best on Spirit class ships. He told us not to book deck 8 because of all the public areas that would be overhead. He was right. We booked the same balcony cabin on all our Spirit class ships - 7220. (Well, Legend is coming up in August.) They were right near the elevators. We had cabins above and below so it was quiet.

As you stated, being under the dance floor is definitely not good.

Since you mentioned your husband, smoking is not allowed in any cabins on Carnival ships. (Wasn't sure if you knew that or not.)

Pride is a wonderful ship. We loved her. Hope you do too.

We would like to cruise on the Carnival Pride in May. We would get an interior room. Planner said he could upgrade us to deck 8. I know Lido deck would be above us. We would either be under the gym area or under the pool area. some people like deck 8. Has anyone ever been on deck 8 on the Pride? any noise, complaints?

Our PVP told us never to book deck 8 cabins on Spirit class ships. Hence we've had 7220 on both Miracle and Pride, and have it booked for our Legend cruise.

I would definitely not be under the gym as I've read that the staff uses the equipment all night. As for under the pool area, I've read that the deck chairs get set up very early.

Is deck 7 an option? You'd have cabins above and below.

We just booked 2 aft cabins on Liberty deck 8, side by side, I thought they would open the dividers, I had no idea they were fixed on aft cabins. This will be our first aft. we usually do mid ship balcony. What about movement back there? Oh BOY......

You know what it's like sitting in the back of a bus...?

Do we still fill out a medical questionnaire at embarkation?

I really don't remember doing so last year when sailing on the Pride, but am pretty sure I did it for RCI, and on an earlier Pride cruise. I believe I even had the form printed off at home and filled out before getting to the port. If this is still required does anyone have a link to the form?

No, but we were asked, upon checking in at the port, if anyone has had cold or intestinal issues in the past 48 hours.

We are looking for a western carribean cruise next January and are narrowing down to the Pride out of Tampa and the Glory out of Miami.

They have the same stops, the Pride is a Spirit class ship never been on one yet, the Glory is a Conquest class done this with the Liberty and then the Valor.

The Pride is about 50$ cheaper, flights to Tampa are not out yet but if i compare with Miami( in december) also cheaper , the same for hotels...

 

What are your toughts?:rolleyes:

Having sailed both ships, I vote for Pride. She is a wonderful, classy ship, smaller but less crowded than Glory, and the entire aft pool deck is wide open and is Serenity.

We are booked for a cruise in August, which will bump and my husband up to "Gold". We are wanting to book the Canada/New England cruise for October. Will we get any benefit from waiting to book it until we are officially "Gold" members, or is it best to just go ahead and book it now using the Early Saver? i realize that "Gold" isn't high or anything, but I'm just curious to see if there are any benefits when it comes to booking. Thanks!

 

Jaems

There are no different booking benefits based on level after the first cruise. If you wait to book the Canada/New England cruise ON your August cruise, you'll earn an on board credit. (OBC) The folks at the Future Cruise Desk will be able to help.

I am seeing many posts here referring to folks booking aft balcony. Any reason for that? I booked a midship Balcony on the Conquest on the Empress(7) deck. Did I do anything wrong?

We decided to try an aft once. We hated it. It was far from all the activities, it was very hot with hardly a breeze, there was soot on our deck chairs, workers scraped and painted above us so we could not use the balcony an entire day in port, and the light at the back of the ship was on all night.

We love Lido Deck cabins. That's where we'll stay.

Living near a beach we don't really want to spend our time on one so that aspect doesn't play into a decision. Do want snorkeling. Otherwise like to explore an island and see and do native excursions; bike, hike, tour, kayak etc.

Looking at Aruba, Curacao, G Turk itinerary. Are these best for those criteria or will others? San Juan, St M, St T being the other option. Have done Western and loved renting scooter on Cozumel and Cave tubing in Belize.

Thanks friends...

Not a San Juan fan here. Thought I would be but for me, eh not so good. The forts are cool but for us, that's about it. We aren't beachy either bc we have had a beach house since before I was born and I can't say I enjoy the beach BUT the water in parts of the Caribbean (HMC) is really an awesome experience. We've done eastern and it was nice we have western coming up so I can't really give you a choice of what we'd choose but wish you the best of luck!

Oh, I feel SO badly for you! :rolleyes: (Not. :D)

Our state has a whopping 18 miles of coastline. In the summer, our ocean temps reach an very exciting...64F.

San Juan is a favorite of ours. We love the history, the land, even the shopping. Have you considered a cruise that sails from San Juan?

On St. Maarten we booked a wonderful tour with Joyce Prince. (Google her.) She took us to places that tour buses cannot go. We learned so much about the two nations that share the island.

We've only been to Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas, but back in October we ventured over to St. John. So pretty there. I know you don't want a beach day, but Trunk Bay was the most beautiful piece of paradise we've ever seen. There must be other things to do than just beach there.

Good luck.

Hi Monica :)

 

My wife & I never get sea sick, however every now and then we

experience Mal De Debarquement after a voyage.

 

Mal De Debarquement info located at:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_de_debarquement

 

 

:)

 

I did experience this once, after our first 8-day cruise. (We had four sea days.) The day after we got home I was in a classroom and had to sit on a table because the room was rocking so badly. Thankfully the students didn't notice. It was the weirdest feeling. I never had that happen before nor since. But I do remember feeling quite green that day.

We are taking our 11th cruise with our three kids - 18,16,14 - Historically, on both CCL and RCCL, we didn't allow our kids to have charging privileges on their sign and sail. It was never a problem - if they wanted something extra, they asked and we gave. We didn't have to stress about their mistaken charges, etc. that way.

 

Last cruise was on RCCL and we did two things: a) as we had before, they did NOT have charging privileges to our master account but b) the kids were able to stand in line at the Purser's and load (say $50) on their SPECIFIC card as a cash balance for things they wanted. That was the total of what each of them spent.

 

This was nice for us since it was truly their issue as to budgeting, etc. and we didn't have to worry about it.

 

This next cruise will be different: each of our kids is bringing a friend - so we'll have three cabins with 6 teenagers (only 3 ours). We WANT to do the same thing we did on RCCL (above) - the 6 kids won't have real charging privileges on their sign and sail cards but will, if they want, be able to put cash on THEIR SPECIFIC card with the Purser. Can they do it on CCL? We've just never tried it. It will make our (adult) lives much simpler as I'll have one couple who will want to go to steakhouse, one will want foo foo drinks, etc. - and I just don't want to deal with it/worrying about monitoring 6 additional sign and sail activities.

 

Anyone done it/sure we can??

Sure you can.

Since each person has his/her own S&S account, any cash amount can be put on any account.

I need some help from my friends on Cruise Critic.

 

My wife and I (both 54) are trying to make a decision between 2 cruises. They both leave the same day, and go to the same ports (just in a different order).

 

One leaves from Miami - The Conquest

 

One leaves from Tampa - The Legend

 

We live in Orlando so the drive would be a little shorter to Tampa.

 

Does anyone have any opinions either way on these 2 different ships and/or departure ports.

 

Thanks

Since Legend is heading to Australia on August 30, now is the time to book her.

I love the Spirit class. (Spirit, Pride, Legend, and Miracle) We've sailed Miracle and Pride so far and have Legend booked. The layout was wonderful. The ships, though smaller, never felt crowded. The entire aft pool deck was Serenity (21 and over only) and there was no big screen TV.

I know on Conquest the adult pool is recessed into the ship and the area was not enjoyable. (We've sailed her sisters-Liberty and Glory, and Destiny, which was similar but actually a class of her own.)

Reading these boards you see the mention of people who get seasick... I never have, not even in the roughest of water.

 

So my question to you all... In NORMAL weather, do you get seasick?

 

[Note: We are not talking about super storms where they bring out the upchuck bags. I'm talking about just regular sailings.]

Never.

We've sailed in a superstorm once. Think Gilligan's Island, where the professor thought the island was sinking and the castaways had to practice eating and sleeping on the fake rocking boat. Glasses and plates fell off our tables, everyone bumped into walls while walking. We were fine. Most of the other passengers were not so lucky.

I'll be on the Breeze on April 26 and after reading several comments, I wonder if I made a good choice. I want to say is - this rather a boat for families? is there room for adults? Thank you.

DH and I sailed Breeze back in October. We are both in our early 50's. There was lots for us to see and do on the ship.

Though it was not vacation week, we did see many children of all ages. But we never encountered any issues.

Has anyone taken this tour? We are really interested in this and wanted to know if the route to Xunantunich takes you through Belize City? We would love to take pictures of Belize city on the way.

We did. In one word-AMAZING!

Don't remember if we went through Belize City. The bus ride was two hours, in both directions, and we never stopped until we got to the ruins. Our two tour guides talked about everything Belize on the way. We learned so much. (It was so much fun but so exhausting that everyone slept on the way back.)

Good thing we booked the excursion through Carnival, which is something we hardly ever do. Our bus was late getting back to the tender port, by almost an hour. The ship waited for us.

Happy to answer any questions.

Favorite - Miracle. Loved her decor, her layout, the aft deck being Serenity and having a pool, and the lack of the big movie screen.

Least favorite - Liberty. (It looks like I'm in the minority.) Didn't like her tiered Lido deck, her recessed adult-only pool, her layout, her big movie screen, her decor.

We are spoiled by sailing out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, where we always get port-view hotel rooms. We care more about a spectacular view of the port and the ships than free shuttles, which we don't need.

Are there any hotels in the Tampa area that have a view of the cruise port?

Thanks.