cemebro

We just went in April. We were about a half hour early.  There was a line for people that were there during their check in time and a line for people that were either early or later than their check in time. Both lines were running smooth. We did not have to wait to check in.

I have done this to Everglades and the Miami tour with Carnival and both were dropped off at Ft. Lauderdale Airport.  It helped kill the time until our flight.  I would do it again.

18 hours ago, SunriseCoffee said:

When we turned platinum, it was on the second leg of a B2B. We received our platinum card when we boarded for the first cruise. We would told it was treated like it was a single cruise in the VIFP program. 

 

Enjoy your new privileges.  

Thank you!  This will be us in October.

I thought if someone passed on the ship that they would keep them in the ship morgue until they reached the home port.

Not to sound cold hearted, but I wouldn't find that scary unless it was someone I was traveling with.

If you want to squeeze 3 adults in a room I would find one with a sofa instead.

Great ship. Was on her twice last year. Would go again for sure. Chris the CD was awesome!

I was on the Dream twice last year. I did not like the water either time...I would not say it taste like dead fish. I would call it musty tasting. In the mdr I would try and hold my breath and just take a little sip. After the first night I ordered lemonade at least that covered up the musty taste. But anytime I am on I cruise it is all good. I can hydrate when I get home. lol

Love: Guy's Burgers, stuffed mushrooms and the hot soups.

Like: Blue Iquana, chocolate cookies from the deli.

Meh: Guy's BBQ, pizza and the gross coffee on lido. And most of the desserts look way better than they taste. They have no flavor or sweetness.

Love your reviews! And I had no idea there was a drawer under the sofa. Thanks for pointing that out.

Thank you for the pictures. We did the walk from Hilton Riverside in March. It was doable but the stairs were killer going back up after the cruise. We will be doing the same walk in December. This time we are taking the stairs slow and maybe 2 of us carrying one case down together then going back up to get the other one together. It would be really nice if Carnival would put in an elevator like NCL.

Out of consideration for your cabin steward I would not bring it.

It's the only cure!

I was wondering about this also for a 5 day cruise. My daughter is allergic to dairy, casein and whey. Do they just adjust your meal from the regular menu or is there a special menu to choose from?

Just ordered! Thanks for heads up!

I budget but with wiggle room. I live in a spreadsheet world, so of course I budget with a spreadsheet and then report actuals then use the data for the next cruise.

 

This year:

Fuel: $125.11

Lodging: $268.50

Taxi: $38.00

Food / Drink on land: $150.00

Food / Drink on ship: $105.00

Gift shop purchases: $100.00

Casino: $85.00

Photos: $40.00

Other: $100.00 (there's the wiggle room)

Excursions: $300.00

Tips: $259.00

 

DW thinks I'm crazy. I also have a packing spreadsheet for 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. She packs the morning of almost -- drives me nuts.

We do this also. Nothing is set in stone. If we go over fine if we go under what ever left is saved for the next cruise..We do this to get an idea of how much to save each paycheck. It works for us. We also have spread sheets we use for packing.

I use Ebates but have never thought to book a cruise from them. Thanks for the heads up. I will look into it next time.

Nadersmom. When you walk out of Erato St terminal there are steps leading up to the mall. If you are up to it and can carry your luggage up the steps you can walk to the hotel through the mall. We tipped the bellman for holding our luggage. They did not charge us a set fee.

You can take it to Hilton Riverside and the bell man can store it for you. We just did this after our Dream cruise in March. You do not have to stay at the hotel to use this service. After the cruise we walked to the hotel through the Riverwalk mall from the port terminal.

We were just on the Dream last week. Our cabin steward came around with a paper and ask if we wanted morning, evening or (which he said under his breath) both. We choose both and got it. We were on deck 1. We also hung the cruising sign on our door when we left the cabin. I don't know if that helps them much or not on cleaning times.

They were using it on March 5th.

There is a casino close to Curacao port. Easy walk from port. We won a couple of bucks there. :)

My husband wears a suit on elegant nights. A long sleeve dress shouldn't be any hotter that that.

I super coupon! Don't laugh! It's true! My best shopping week was $1700 in groceries for less than $400. By doing this and stocking up, I have reduced our regular grocery bill to less than $150 a month. All of that extra money goes for the nice things in life. :D

That is great! That is what I do also but I have never had a week like that:eek:

I have gotten away from couponing as much as I use to. But when I was really into it I would make a spreadsheet of my savings for the year. It was always over 3000.00 a year saved that went towards cruising.:cool:

Thank you so much for this thread. First time using Hotwire and I was nervous about it. But success! I got Hilton Riverside! Thank you Saint Greg!