angeleyez915

Also, the flight attendant from Georgia who then moved to Las Vegas. She wrote fantastic reviews. Then there's the gal (Pat?) who used to always sail with her parents and sometimes just her dad. She was a travel agent, as well. Her dad passed away a couple of years ago and it was just devastating. I haven't seen her since.

Actually I believe you are talking about Brianna, aka Bri - she has the chicken hat Pedro :) she has been super busy with her travel agent business among some other things, but she posts on FB a lot, I'm friends with her :) I got to go on a cruise with her just this past April actually! First time i got to meet her in person. Had a blast!! She is awesome

I am about to go on my 19th cruise. Never have I been on a perfect cruise, and some cruises we have had some "wrong" things happen, when those things happened it always gave us something to laugh about or joke about. We have made the most of it.

Some people complain about the attire of others in the MDR. We will dress nicely, but not nearly as nicely as we used to--tuxes and evening gowns. We've never worn shorts or casual items. Others do, and We don't care. We are with the people we want to be with, and what others do doesn't concern us. We go to other restaurants on land and people wear casual clothes. Do you really want something like that to ruin your vacation?

We have taken our children on 13 cruises, and now they are all adults, but we have some of the very best memories on the trips we have taken.

I am very happy to see the rest of the people who have responded positively to this rant. I would love to cruise with you! Life is what you make of it and so are cruises!

Awww thanks!! I would love to meet you too. I see that you are going on the Imagination soon... one of our waiters on my Triumph cruise back in April just started a tour on the imagination, he is awesome, fun, and a sweetie, you should ask for him and tell him Gloria said hello, his Name is Wayan Bagler !!

I respect your post but I don’t totally agree with it. I see nothing wrong with people expecting a certain level of service or a certain level of passenger decorum on their expensive vacations, and voicing their opinions when those expectations aren’t met. Everything in life is about perspective and this is a public forum about cruising, not life’s lessons.

 

I don’t intend for this post to be negative toward you, op. I just think the message might be a little unfair to those who are disappointed in cruise line changes and passenger behavior.

I dont totally disagree with you, yes I believe that we spend a lot of money and our expectations can be high because of that. I do agree that someone who finds that something is wrong should ask to have those things corrected within reason and do so respectfully. What is wrong with using patience, kindness, understanding, please, and thank you when asking for something to be fixed? When you are standing in line at guest services waiting to talk to them about an issue, dont get angry because the line is long. Wait for a better time to go, or even use it as an opportunity to be kind to others in line and brighten someone else's day by smiling at them, say hello, meet a new friend you would be surprised at how fast that 20 minutes in line will go when you are having a fun conversation with someone else. This post is about making the best out of any situation as much as humanly possible. It's about realizing that sometimes life is too short to be so unreasonably angry about something that is inconsequential. My last cruise wasnt perfect. I had an issue with my sail and sign not letting me in my room one night, had to change my card 3 times that night. But instead of being angry or irritated by it, I turned it into a funny joke and even laughed with the people at guest services... in will tell you that by me being understanding and patient with guest services that night, when I needed something else the next day, it was taken care of very fast.

Without a doubt the best thing I've read on CC in months.

 

You are someone who "Get's it"!

 

Life is short let's appreciate what we have!

Thank you! I'm really surprised at how much positive feedback I've gotten from this post. I braced myself because I was really expecting to be roasted by the naysayers about how we shouldn't settle and such, but I am prepared if I do get negative responses :)

What a lovely thread. I too chose to spend my hard earned money on as many trips as I could manage when my kids were little. During the 2008 recession I lost the high paying job I had excelled at for 13 years, had to sell my home, and eventually had to cash in my very nice retirement account to get by until I found my current job. Guess what? I lost a lot, but still had precious memories of the times spent with my kids on cruises and land vacations around the world.

 

My kids are now grown, but if I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing: spend my money creating memories, not buying a bigger house or a newer car. My daughter and I are joining my sister and niece for a cruise in 2 weeks, my 14 year niece's first one. Making more memories is our goal, and we're not so worried about what time we get to check into our cabin, or if there's a queue for the Lido, or chogs at the pool. It's a privilege to be able to travel, we make the most of every moment, and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

At the end of your life, possessions mean very little; experiences mean a lot.

I'm going to be on the Triumph in two weeks with my kiddos :)

So true. I hope you have many more vacations that you can create wonderful memories with your children.

Thank you ! So do I... Both my parents are in poor health, my dad was recently put on Hospice, I would give ANYTHING to have my parents be able to go on a cruise with me, I so envy all those out there who get to take their parents on a cruise with them. I spend as much time with both my parents as I possibly can right now especially knowing that my dad isnt going to be with us much longer. He has struggled for so long with his illness, and I know that each day he holds on is torture for him. I hate seeing how much he struggles just to walk a few steps, these things that we all take for granted, will all be gone in a flash. We need to learn to be more kind to each other, appreciate what we do have and understand that one day we wont have those things or people that we love so much. When those people are gone, what is left? Empty inanimate objects that are cold and uncaring. Things do not make us happy, not in the long run.

I have worked in some sort of a customer support / service capacity for over 20 years. You would be really surprised at how above and beyond someone like me will go for those who come to me with kindness, understanding, and patience over someone who immediately starts with attitude and anger. We do understand that you are calling in because something is broken or you arent happy with something for some reason, thats why we are here, thats our job, but it is not me specifically who caused the issue to happen. I am here to help try to make it right for you, so give me that opportunity without judgement and I promise you i will do everything in my power to find the solution that will help you. Its the same with our cruises, if you have something that is wrong and have to go to guest services or your room steward or even the cruise director. Go to them with patience, smile and say please and thank you, let them know that you understand that its not specifically their fault that something is wrong, explain the issues with facts rather than emotion. Tell them, hey, when you get a chance can you please take a look at this issue and see what can be done to fix it.. i promise you that 99% of the time they will get on it immediately when you come to them with apparent patience. And when it does get fixed, say thank you, show appreciation!

You know, losing someone special in your life who you used to share all that with always puts things in a different perspective, or at least in most cases it does. Or even being a single mom who struggles daily. A vacation is what you make of it, no matter where you are. You yourself can be the only one to make the choice to be happy being alive and appreciate what you do have, or to complain about the inconsequential materialistic things that so many people have come to feel entitled to. Yes we pay a lot of money to go on these vacations so we expect things to be perfect. But perfection, as is beauty, is in the eye of a beholder. I am a single mother who lives paycheck to paycheck. I struggle, save, cut back, all just so that I can make sure that I can take my children on vacations and give them experiences that they will remember for the rest of their lives. "things" that are given as gifts for birthdays and holidays, those items while appreciated briefly at the time that they are given, tend to soon be forgotten, and in most cases people forget who even gave them those things or they get lost or broken and again just forgotten. But experiences like cruises or going to other destinations that you don't typically go to on a daily basis... those are priceless and unforgettable. Look at the face of a child or loved one as you drive up to the port, walk onto the ship, do things in port, etc.. tell me that excitement and joy that you see on the faces of those loved ones does not far outweigh the materialistic things that are complained about when they are not as perfect as we want them to be, and I will show you a cold hearted person who is never happy no matter what you do. For me I live to see the joy and excitement on the faces of everyone around me as opposed to being worried about how long a line is to get some food, or someone left a plate of food out in the hallway outside their door, or there is no longer table cloths on the tables every night in MDR, who cares!! Pay attention to the things that should matter, enjoy those around you, make things better for yourself by choosing to be happy with what you have rather than being so angry about what you dont have.

We cruise in less thank 2 weeks for the first time! I have a few questions about the S&S cards...

Do they require everyone in your family to have one? We have two daughters ages 11 and 9 who will be with us the majority of the time, except for a tiny bit of time in kids club...they will not be on their own on the ship.

We plan on putting $1000 cash on our S&S cards in total...is it true that gratuities will be taken out of this during the cruise or I think I read I can prepay those? Can we adjust the amount when prepaying and then also tip cash onboard? I don't want to have gratuities taken out of our cash while sailing as I want there to be enough for spending and dont want to scramble to cover that kid of stuff.

Other question....I saw the long thread on lanyards. I guess its easiest to get one and wear it. I was thinking of just bringing a small bag with our towels and having it with us on loungers but if we get up to do water slides etc as a family...I dont want to leave the bag to be stolen and/or have to carry that around. Are bags generally safe left alone? Thanks for any help you can offer this newby! We are excited.

yes each person child and adult will have a S&S card, you can ask guest services to either completely block or add a daily charge limit to a childs S&S if you are concerned about having any charges made purposely or accidentally to their cards.

Yes - automatic gratuities are taken out on the 2nd or 3rd day of your cruise in one lump sum if you have not already prepaid the gratuities in advance. You cannot adjust the amount during prepay. However if you do not prepay you can go to guest services as soon as it is charged to your account and ask to have the adjustments made or full refund of the gratuities so that you can distribute as you wish

I was planning on my husband wearing his Dress Blues (Army) and myself wearing a ball gown. I keep reading that people are wearing jeans/sundresses/etc. Will we be the only ones dressed up??? He just bought a new pair of his uniform shoes (that he'll need for the ball in December anyways...) because I said he had to bring it, LOL. I'd LIKE to dress up like this...but if no one else will be...

you will not be out of place there are a LOT of people who dress way up - i've even seen men in tuxes. I always wear a floor length formal gown for at least one night of elegant night - if there is more than one elegant night like on the 7 night cruises, i will typically wear a formal gown for one night then wear dress pants and a dressy blouse for the 2nd one

Do you actually foresee a point where assigned dining might disappear?

 

That would be a pretty drastic change.

I was considering a Norwegian cruise and they dont do assigned dining at all, so if Carnival starts going more by industry standards, i can see it happening

On here you can tell which ships are in port. If one is in port one day and the other is in port the next day, they're going to pass that night.

 

http://crew-center.com/new-orleans-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

Perfect Thank you so much for this info Greg!!

awesome info everyone!! thank you

Someone told me that there is a site where you can find the schedule of when ships will be passing each other as you are coming / going from the NOLA port. Does anyone know where that site is? The person that told me cant remember where it was and didnt save the site.

thanks for the reply...is the bracelet removable so that you don't have to wear it all the time? i am hoping thats the case but hubby says probably not because they wouldn't be able to control passengers lending it to non spa cabin guests. sure would like to be right about this ;)

yes its a plastic bracelet and you only have to wear it when you are going to the spa area

HI there, this may be a stupid question, especially since I've been sailing for years but for some reason I didn't think of this before. How do our baggage tags not get torn off accidentally? With them just being cheap computer paper? I heard last week with all the rain, some of the ink wore off or was smeared off. Are we allowed to laminate the tags? I mean, do they (the baggage handlers) write on tags? We will also have our airline tags on the baggage and plan on labeling on inside too. We leave in 6 short hours so I'm hoping someone will know the answer or tells me their solution.

I used to use clear packing tape, fold them as you should then cover each side with the tape, use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top of the tag then use string to attach to my bags.

This last cruise, I went to amazon and found luggage tag holders and card holders with lanyards all in package deal. they came with wire connectors that work perfectly. the ziplock on them are pretty tough to get apart which is good and bad, its good because no one will take the time to mess with them that way but its a pain to mess with for yourself as well when trying to put the tags in. But all in all I would definitely recommend them

Carnival cruise Line Cheers program? Why won't they make it unlimited like RCCL, NCL? they think 15 drinks over a 24 hour period is enough? not even close and they wont let you buy drinks after you hit 15.

there is a way around the limit as far as not being permitted to purchase after the 15 drinks has been met... Most of the bartenders (because they like the tips of course and want to keep you happy) if you ask them in advance to warn you, will tell you when you are at the 14th drink. You can then tell them that you dont want to use your package for your drinks and that you prefer to just purchase drinks separately. Then when you are ready for your last drink on your package you can have them use it then

Disconnect your on vacation.

When you have kids and need to keep track of where they are going to be, this app is helpful. We tried the walkie talkies and they just werent very dependable for the connection especially if one of the kids or myself was inside where the other was outside. So its not always a matter of "disconnecting" there are many other needs for this that helps families and friends keep track of where each other is and needs to meet up next.

Our local grocery store is running a promotion on Carnival gift cards. For every $50.00 increment you get 20 cents off a gallon of gas. The store sells the cards in increments of 50 100 500...

 

My question is.. Has anyone been successful applying multiple cards to the payment and also using a credit card to the balance?

 

 

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Sounds like Giant Eagle :) thats where i go and they have that promotion frequently. I have purchased gift cards to pay for the cruise as well as purchase items like the cruise package, cruise cash, and cabin decorations using gift cards. I also use the gift cards for cash account when checking in to the ship and throughout the cruise by going to guest services. Most recently i purchased 3 gift cards to pay my balance off in full so each card was 500.00 then what was left on one of the cards i used to go toward purchasing the drink package. For the Breeze cruise a couple of years ago i used a total of 6 at 500.00 each to pay for the cruise (not all at once - i was buying them every few weeks and then going on line to make the payment toward my cruise balance) then i had about 400.00 in two different cards that i took on the ship and applied as cash account.

for the last cruise i was in this past april i used gift cards to have a total of 450.00 cash account but when i checked in it seemed there was a limit to how much could be applied at one time in a 24 hour period but was able to go to guest services the next day to have them apply the rest toward my cash account.

How do I use a gift card on the ship? Do I redeem it when I check in (at the same time as giving my credit card info)? Or do I see Guest Services once on board?

there seems to be a limit as to how much their system allows you to add on from a gift card at one time. On the Triumph this past April i was able to initially add the money from the gift cards at check in. i had one gift card that had 300.00 and another that had 100.00 The one for 100 was credited to my account, and then 150 of the other. I had to wait until the next day then go to guest services on the ship to get the remaining 150 added that had been left on the card that originally had 300.00.

I was on the Breeze a couple of years ago and when i told them that i wanted to use the gift cards for my cash account when i was checking in they said that I would have to do it on the ship at guest services.

So i guess it may depend on the ship or maybe things changed from a couple of years ago to now.

I was on the Triumph this past April and it was great. Yes, the ship needs some updates here and there but there is nothing that caused the experience to be called bad by any means. All the staff were wonderful, we had Jess from the US as our cruise director and her attention to detail, her personality, was top notch. She remembered my name after speaking to me only briefly for about 2 minutes, and not only did she remember my name, she remembered the conversation that we had enough that a couple of days later when she sent me complimentary chocolate covered strawberries as a bday surprise she even mentioned part of our conversation on the card that she sent. There was a day that I had where something bad did happen but it had nothing to do with the staff or the ship and was a personal issue. One of the Alchemy Bar bartenders noticed my distress and was very compassionate and kind, chatted with me and cheered me up, someone who took the time out to recognize that there was someone in need of a sympathetic ear and went out of his way to show sympathy and kindness to a perfect stranger, it not only made my day, but made the rest of the cruise for me as well. Even though neither that bartender or Jess will be on the ship in October I will be going back on the Triumph again in October and look forward to it!.

I cruised the Triumph last year out of New Orleans for a 5 day and I had a balcony room on the Empress Deck. My Husband and I had so much fun we are going back again next year on the Triumph.

If you are going to go on the Triumph again you will want to do so soon - after the Feb 25th 2019 sailing she is going into drydock for a major overhaul that is so extensive that they are changing the name on her from Triumph to Sunrise, just like they did with the Destiny when they changed her to Sunshine.

Leaving on the Triumph in a few weeks. I understand there is no Serenity Deck aboard which is our usual hangout. Is there a quiet(er) breezy area to enjoy the sun other than a balcony? Are there showers nearby to cool off in rather than heading to the pool?

Deck 3 is usually pretty quiet but no showers, pool, or hot tub on that deck, but it is quiet and you get a good breeze to keep you cool

good question! Food i have purchased in port has never made it that far.

 

When we went through customs last month, the man asked did you buy anything in a foreign country and i said, nothing that did not go into my belly.

hahahahahahahah :'):'):'):'):'):')

You seem to be all confused.

 

A school issues I'd IS a state issues I'd, as long as it is a state run school.

 

A photo copy of a birth certificate is fine as long as it is a state issued bc.

 

I can understand your confusion because the people that should know these things often don't.

 

Also those magic words best to have does not mean required. Required means required. Not having required documents will get you denied bordering. Not having suggested or best to have will not.

 

Each cruise line determines what they require, like one cruise line requires all single parents that are taking a child to have a passport. Right now, carnival does not.

 

Often you call official places and say do I need this thing to cruise, to make it easy on themselves they will usually say something along the lines of it would be good to have that, when there is no requirement to have it and it is only the required things that matter.

 

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no I'm not confused. I didnt talk to Carnival i specifically called CBP and asked those questions because the last thing i wanted was to get to the port and be turned away because i didnt have proper identification. I believe you are the one who is quite confused, especially about the school id. School ID's are not accepted as a form of identification acceptable for passage per the CBP. State issued id's or drivers licenses that are issued by the Department/Bureau of Motor vehicles are accepted. A photo copy that does not have the certified raised seal is also not accepted - again this is according to the CBP not per Carnival. I did do my research! So listen to someone who did make several phone calls (i learned long ago that asking 5 different people will get you 5 different answers) and i did get the same answers every time i called CBP. So if you want to question it be safe and call CBP as they have the final word and authority over Carnival or any other cruise line. If CBP doesnt want you to travel you wont be travelling.

I am the one that organized 6 families to come on a cruise with us with ages ranging from 7 to 50’s. I want to send a group email out that includes Carnival’s link to their Passport requirements. A few families made it clear early on that they do not want to spend the $400+ for passports for families of 4-5 people, so I get that. So I am trying to make it simple for them to understand what they will need, so please correct, or add, to anything wrong listed below. I know Passports are ideal, but I cannotforce that on them:

 

• Adults:Pictured Driver’s license and birth certificate
  

 

• 16 +:Government pictured ID and birth certificate. (trying to find out if high school student picture ID will do) If not, we may have to get pictures and ID at Department of Motor Vehicle or just get the passport card at the post office.
  

15 -:It appears just a birth certificate will do, but if you have a student pictureID, I would bring it as well.

• For thekids, if you do not want to get the passports, I strongly recommend the PassportCard.
  

high school picture id will not be accepted - it has to be a State Issued ID. When I called CBP (Customs and border protection) they said that its best to have a State Issued ID AND the birth certificate for any aged child. As for adults, the same applies - an adult does NOT have to have a passport on a closed loop trip - where you are returning to the same US port that you started from. However a state issued id or drivers license and certified birth certificate are needed. When i went on the first cruise i did not have a passport and I was required to show both my certified copy of my birth certificate as well as my license. when I took my kids, i was required to show both a state id and certified birth certificate (they will not take a photo copy, it has to have the raised seal for the birth cert.) My youngest son was 7 for that cruise and my oldest son 16