GMRPHRN

Love the Thala pool and thermal suite. Can't wait to return to it on the Breeze in Feb. I've already booked it!

I hope this means things have improved since my 2017 Christmas cruise. We arrived after 12, waited in a line to be dropped of by the shuttle, then waited outside for over an hour to enter the building. Check-in went smoothly after that, however. By the time we got on the ship it was after 2pm and we dropped our carry-ons off at our rooms. We were eating (long lines for food, too.) when they started calling the muster drill. I hope to have an early experience this year by arriving to the port by 11am.

3 hours ago, ChattTenn said:

We are Gold members and our cruise on the Breeze 12/8 - 12/15.  This is how Carnival did for Pt. Canaveral and on our sailing. 

• We got Boarding Pass  time of 11:30 - 12:00 (MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR BOARDING PASS WITH YOU).  They will not let you inside WITHOUT the pass.
• Arrived to the pier around 11:00 and received a Boarding Zone 9.
• Inside the pier, they told you to sit with your boarding zone number (the place is not big enough for everyone they let in).
• There is a room set aside for Diamond/Platinum members (they would be the first to board).
• After 12PM they started to announce the boarding.  After Diamond/Platinum, wedding parties, handicapped etc.. groups, our zone did not board after 12:30 PM

It was a new procedure for us but did not realize the debarkation was as bad or worse (after 8 cruises the Carnival even on the same time last year on the Magic).

 

Happy cruising.

Hello, I am sailing the same ship and port on Feb 9. I have a 11:30 check-in also. I think this is the earliest they give for regular people. If I am reading this correctly, you were there before 11:30 but you were still allowed in the building?  You skipped the step where you go to the check-in counter and do all the check-in stuff (picture, credit card, show id, etc). Were you able to do all that before your 11:30 appt, or were you told to wait?

22 hours ago, mkcurran said:

I see a spot, but nothing in there....

Same with my Feb 9, Breeze cruise

Thanks for your review. I am sailing on the Breeze solo in a couple of months.

I agree that there should be some other option. Maybe a higher price with the same limit and the allowance to "share". There are many scenarios when the other adult in the cabin doesn't drink but they require both adults or neither to buy the package.  There are no exceptions to this (even pregnancy). 

Having said that.

I am trying cheers for the first time on my Feb 2019 cruise. I am not a heavy drinker. However, I am looking forward to trying many different drinks without a worry if I don't finish it and stepping out of my comfort zone. I do not anticipate reaching the 15 drink limit every day because of ports. I will report afterward whether this was a good decision

I am a definite list maker. It makes me happy and helps me feel more secure. I love the satisfaction of crossing items of my list.

For years, when taking domestic trips my hubby would always lament my stress about packing. "There is always a Wal-Mart, he would say." When you cruise this is a much different scenario.

If the honeymooner (of a previous popular thread) had been a listmaker she would not have left for the port without her birth certificate. 

I have not started packing for my Feb 2019 cruise but you better believe I have started making my lists.

On 12/4/2018 at 3:03 PM, awreaper said:

To always fly in at least 1 day prior to the cruise.  We were due to leave out of Tampa.  A hurricane was coming up around the southern tip of Florida up the west coast of Florida.  About the time we landed in Tampa they closed Miami airport.  They closed Tampa a couple of hours later.  The boat went to the east coast of Florida and they took us by bus from Tampa where we met the boat.  My wife was watching the weather as we had to go to Chicago and then down to Tampa.  She was afraid they would close the Tampa airport before we got there.  I am a pilot and looked closely at the weather sources and told her we should have a couple of hour window to get in to Tampa.  It was stressful.  Really stressful for her.  From that point on we always go the day before.

Yep! I tried this once, too. I was a nervous wreck until we checked in at the port. Never again.

4) Don't tell yourself that you can get along with the family "for just a week". If they drive you crazy on land you definitely don't want to be trapped at sea with them. 

Been there - done that. Great vacation. Nobody was talking to anybody else by the end.

On 11/28/2018 at 9:21 AM, MommytoAsquared said:

 

And along with this - The busiest the buffet will ever be is embarkation day lunch.

That is what I always say to people. You only notice how crowded thee ship is on embarkation day.

On 11/28/2018 at 7:37 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Why did I wait so long to book a cruise?  That was the biggest thing I learned on my first cruise (Paradise out of Tampa). 

Yes!  I never considered a cruise before because I have motion sickness and was too afraid.  I do have to use some medication but it is not like I feared. I wasted a decade I could have been cruising instead of going to Disney.

On 11/6/2018 at 3:47 PM, HMY624 said:

We are booked on the Paradise in March. We have 6 in our family and had to book two 3-person cabins because they would not allow us to book 2 people in any cabin that had room for more. I am constantly checking to see if any 2-person cabins open up but right now the only thing available is on the Riviera deck (not my preference) and no where near an available 4-person cabin. Does anyone have any insight into when (if ever) Carnival either opens up more cabins for a sailing, or allows cabins with the capability of holding more than 2 to be booked as only double-occupancy? I've NEVER had a problem booking a 2 person cabin! TIA

I am confused. Are you saying you couldn't book 3 cabins because you only had 6 people? I've never run into that. I know balcony cabins will hold 3 but we always just have 2 in each. Maybe because it is March?  But then if they put 3 in every cabin that holds 3 wouldn't they run into problems with the max number of pax in the sailing?  Hope you are able to get what you want after final payment.

I thought I was crazy when I booked May of 2020.

2 hours ago, DaisyGirl55 said:

 

I always pack a fan.  Even if the room is cool enough, it gets stuffy at times.  A small fan will at least keep the air moving. 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lasko-air-stik-personal-fan-gray/3141476.p?skuId=3141476&ref=06&loc=01&msclkid=2cb5c11853331bd282039d1078c147bc&gclid=CMDMxoS7id8CFVfsDQodBb4IdA&gclsrc=ds

Thanks for this. I can't believe this one weighs only 1.5lbs.  I am definitely buying a fan form my next cruise.

I am getting Cheers for the first time and I am making a list!

Thank you so much for this review, I know it took you a while to complete it and I appreciate you sticking with it. I sailed the Conquest a few years ago and they didn't have Serenity or BBQ so I guess that was before dry dock. 

1) Wonderful review of HMC - the one time I managed an itinerary that included that port, weather forced us to skip it hasn't worked out since

2) Thanks for that info on Amber Cove. On my Dec 2017 cruise, my cruise mates ditched me (long story) and I walked around looking for something to do. I almost walked all the way to the highway but turned back. Now I know there are options. I will be in AC in Feb 2019.

3) Thanks for the food porn. Getting hungry just reading your posts.

4) You were on my ideal cruise, nap, drink, sleep, eat, beach, repeat.

Thanks

I believe the signing up process is about getting the minimum number to have the event. I find it hard to believe if you show up and aren't on the list you will be turned away.

17 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

If you want someone in the service industry to get you something extra, slipping them the $20  is how that works.

Yes. Thank you for clarifying my point.

I can't give advice about the 5-year-old but I have cruised several times single with teens.  Decide if you feel comfortable letting your teen roam the ship alone. Set some rules. Set a curfew like at home (maybe a little more generous). Insist on eating dinner together every night. Set up some type of communication plan. 

I don't know if anyone else has posted these two.  I found them on the boards years ago before my first cruise:

1) If you have an inside cabin, leave the t.v. on at night tuned to the outside camera.   The room will gradually lighten in the morning and give the simulation of the sun rising.

2) Every night before bed, I take a picture of the next day's Fun Times. This works as a good division of the pictures from each day.

Thanks to all the helpful replies to this post.

Be aware they will offer some specials on board.

I drink unsweetened tea out of preference. I find the tea on the lido just tolerable. I prefer water. Sometimes even in the MDR it is unacceptable but I keep trying. I had not thought of trying the tea bag thing. I may do that on my next cruise.

Just wanted to share my personal experience. I shared a table with someone on a Legend cruise that had a gluten allergy. The wait staff came to him every night after dinner with the next night's menu to help plan his dinner. They seemed to be very accommodating.

Nope. I believe in tipping hard work and extraordinary service. Tipping up front feels too much too me like a bribe. As in "slipping someone a $20" to get something extra.