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Cruising in November. Few questions


CrissyfromMissouri
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Hi, my hubby 14 year old son and myself are cruising out of Galveston on November 3rd on the Carnival Valor. I've cruised one other time but it's been a few years so still a little apprehensive about making sure I know everything I'm doing LOL. If I remember from my last Cruise you get some kind of little itinerary every morning under the door. Is there anywhere to find these prior to the cruise?

 

The last time we cruise we were with friends who refused to do the main dining room. So therefore we only went one night which was our last night and regretted that we weren't there earlier in the week. So this trip we plan on making the majority of our dining in the main dining room and just doing the buffets around lunch. So my question is how formal is the main dining room on formal night. It is a 5-day Cruise so I think we'll only have one formal night so I know I can do business casual the rest. I'm more excited than the hubby and Son about dressing up I can't wait to get some good pictures.

 

Also my son is 14 which puts him right at the ending age for one of the camp and he is wondering if there's any way he could go to the older one for the high schoolers.

 

Has anyone had any luck using the shore Excursion guarantee? I feel more comfortable I think booking my Excursion through Carnival but I found the same one deeply discounted through a different party.

 

One of the events will be celebrating while on the cruise is my 15 year wedding anniversary is there any advantage to letting Carnival know this?

 

I started as a final question but I'm sure I'll have more as it gets closer but for now final question we are debating whether we park at Cruise parking or whether we stay at a hotel the night before that provides Cruise parking. I would really appreciate the pros and cons of both. I originally planned on using Hotel points staying at the Quality Inn they do allow you to leave your car there all week but they don't shuttle you. Hotel for the weekend were starting off it's been a little difficult as I guess there's some big motorcycle rally going on in Galveston the same weekend.

 

Thank you again I'm super excited and looking forward to the cruise.

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On Carnival elegant night is not very formal, pants for the men and a shirt with a collar. For ladies you can get away with a sun dress, or fancy top with capris. You will be assigned a dining time, and you will sit at the same table with the same table mates every night. UNLESS of course you have signed up for My Time Dining.

 

I think Carnival is mildly flexible with the age groups for the clubs, but be sure to ask at the camp registration on the first night.

 

The Fun Times (daily paper) will be delivered to your cabin each night during your turn down service. Be sure to ask for the cabin steward to do a twice daily service. For finding out in advance you should go to the Carnival board under Cruise Lines A-O and ask over there. Someone might have posted them. Just be sure to realize that things can change on a cruise by cruise basis so not everything will be the same.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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On Carnival elegant night is not very formal, pants for the men and a shirt with a collar. For ladies you can get away with a sun dress, or fancy top with capris. You will be assigned a dining time, and you will sit at the same table with the same table mates every night. UNLESS of course you have signed up for My Time Dining.

 

I think Carnival is mildly flexible with the age groups for the clubs, but be sure to ask at the camp registration on the first night.

 

The Fun Times (daily paper) will be delivered to your cabin each night during your turn down service. Be sure to ask for the cabin steward to do a twice daily service. For finding out in advance you should go to the Carnival board under Cruise Lines A-O and ask over there. Someone might have posted them. Just be sure to realize that things can change on a cruise by cruise basis so not everything will be the same.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thank you. I appreciate the advice on twice daily service.

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You may want to post this on the Carnival board. There are plenty of copies of Fun Times circulating out there so you can see what to expect.

 

Carnival has their "dress code" on their web site.

 

We sailed on our 25th anniversary last year and I noted this on my reservation when it asked if it was a special occasion. My room steward gave us a $50 gift card.

 

You will have a wonderful time!

 

I'm attaching a document I found helpful many years ago that you may like too.

Tips For New Cruisers.pdf

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My answers below:

 

Hi, my hubby 14 year old son and myself are cruising out of Galveston on November 3rd on the Carnival Valor. I've cruised one other time but it's been a few years so still a little apprehensive about making sure I know everything I'm doing LOL. If I remember from my last Cruise you get some kind of little itinerary every morning under the door. Is there anywhere to find these prior to the cruise?

The Fun Times will be delivered to your cabin at either morning cleaning or evening turndown. There is also the Hub App which you can download to your mobile device. Before your cruise it serves as a countdown then once on board you can view menus, daily activities, account balances, etc. The basic features are free and you can also add the chat feature for $5 per folio number (can only be used on one device at a time per user). The $5 is for the length of the cruise, not per day so it would be $10 if you had it for one of you and your son (my hubby and I are almost always together so no need for us both to have it). Chat is only between others on the ship with the chat feature and not for off ship communication.

 

The last time we cruise we were with friends who refused to do the main dining room. So therefore we only went one night which was our last night and regretted that we weren't there earlier in the week. So this trip we plan on making the majority of our dining in the main dining room and just doing the buffets around lunch. So my question is how formal is the main dining room on formal night. It is a 5-day Cruise so I think we'll only have one formal night so I know I can do business casual the rest. I'm more excited than the hubby and Son about dressing up I can't wait to get some good pictures.

Formal night is as elegant as you would like it to be, and as relaxed as business casual (long pants, collared shirt, no jeans for men). My husband wore a polo shirt with dockers for formal and polo shirt with cargo shorts on casual evenings - he was not underdressed at all (although many were dressed more formal too). I was a little dressier, but not full formal either.

Also my son is 14 which puts him right at the ending age for one of the camp and he is wondering if there's any way he could go to the older one for the high schoolers.

 

Has anyone had any luck using the shore Excursion guarantee? I feel more comfortable I think booking my Excursion through Carnival but I found the same one deeply discounted through a different party.

I have read that the excursion must match exactly for the guarantee, but that it has been done. If timing is tight I would lean towards a ship excursion, but if you have some wiggle room I would try the private excursion since it will likely be a smaller/more personalized tour.

 

One of the events will be celebrating while on the cruise is my 15 year wedding anniversary is there any advantage to letting Carnival know this?

Congratulations:hearteyes: We celebrated our 23rd and received a $50 spa gift card from our steward (can only be used port days) and singing plus a small cake at the MDR. The cake was after we already ordered dessert, but we could take it back to the room. Some people have also received strawberries or sparkling wine in cabin.

 

I started as a final question but I'm sure I'll have more as it gets closer but for now final question we are debating whether we park at Cruise parking or whether we stay at a hotel the night before that provides Cruise parking. I would really appreciate the pros and cons of both. I originally planned on using Hotel points staying at the Quality Inn they do allow you to leave your car there all week but they don't shuttle you. Hotel for the weekend were starting off it's been a little difficult as I guess there's some big motorcycle rally going on in Galveston the same weekend.

Hotel pro: peace of mind arriving sooner if bad roads (probably not an issue for TX),vacation mode starts a night sooner, sometimes can access port sooner (port dependent), dropped right at the door

Hotel con: probably slightly added cost, waiting for a full shuttle, have to get back to the hotel before heading home - we are usually ready to just get right on the road

Thank you again I'm super excited and looking forward to the cruise.

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Just a little heads up for you in regards to the hotel. If you are thinking of getting a hotel on the island keep in mind that the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally is that weekend starting on that Thursday the 1st so hotel rooms are going to hard to find and probably double or triple the price. If you've not started looking to book I'd do it sooner rather that later.

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Just a little heads up for you in regards to the hotel. If you are thinking of getting a hotel on the island keep in mind that the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally is that weekend starting on that Thursday the 1st so hotel rooms are going to hard to find and probably double or triple the price. If you've not started looking to book I'd do it sooner rather that later.

 

Thank you, I did find that out about the motorcycle group the hard way. So I didn't get the hotel I was planning on but I did find one and because we have Hotel points even though the price went up the number of points did not so I have gone ahead and booked it because I'm afraid there won't be any of those left

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