Carnival cruise never cruised before need any info.

[mgb3]

Hi all my family and I are going to the pacific islands next March.

My children will 9,11&13 and we would love any and all info that

You could pass on to us.

 

 

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[pwkmpjm]

Check the Carnival Cruise Lines Australia web site & their social media page, plenty of useful info available there.

[pinknotes]

Hi mgb3 - is there anything in particluar you wanted to know?

I could write a whole essay otherwise!

 

We just got back from our first trip on Carnival Spirit in December, 5 of us travelled including my 3yo daughter.

 

Please let me know any specfic queries and I can try help.

 

We loved the cruise, it was fantastic and exceeded my expectations!

[willy1812]

Hello mgb3, we were on Carnival Spirit 18th January,2014 and enjoyed it.

Join the "Behind the Fun Tour", you must book on the first day as soon as you get on as it is limited to 16 persons over the age of 8 years, and takes place on the last sea day. A little bit hexy at $95 but I found well worth it. You tour the galley, engine control room, photo lab, stage (behind the scenes, dressing room etc) corridor 91 (full length of ship aft-forward) store rooms, HR office, crews quarters and mess. The bridge, meet and photos with the Captain, finish up at Nouveau Restaurant. It takes 3.5hrs and with snacks and goodies and 4 8x10 photos, it is good value, as well as seeing how the ship is run.

[mgb3]

Hi mgb3 - is there anything in particluar you wanted to know?

I could write a whole essay otherwise!

 

We just got back from our first trip on Carnival Spirit in December, 5 of us travelled including my 3yo daughter.

 

Please let me know any specfic queries and I can try help.

 

We loved the cruise, it was fantastic and exceeded my expectations!

 

 

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mgb3]

Hello mgb3, we were on Carnival Spirit 18th January,2014 and enjoyed it.

Join the "Behind the Fun Tour", you must book on the first day as soon as you get on as it is limited to 16 persons over the age of 8 years, and takes place on the last sea day. A little bit hexy at $95 but I found well worth it. You tour the galley, engine control room, photo lab, stage (behind the scenes, dressing room etc) corridor 91 (full length of ship aft-forward) store rooms, HR office, crews quarters and mess. The bridge, meet and photos with the Captain, finish up at Nouveau Restaurant. It takes 3.5hrs and with snacks and goodies and 4 8x10 photos, it is good value, as well as seeing how the ship is run.

 

 

Thanks willy that sounds great might have to look into that.

 

 

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[maxx]

s highly addictive Ust

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Hi and welcome.

It might be easier if you just ask what you need to know. There are so any helpful people here.

Start with your packing list...oh yes all the tips and tricks will be here.

Transport to the ship...where are you travelling from?

Tours...local or ship organised? What's your budget, what do you want to do?

Drinks....there is a bubbles package I think only offered on the first day, might be worth looking in to.

I'm sure others will continue with some great ideas.

Cruising is addictive and absolutely fantastic.

Happy cruising and happy enquiring.

[pinknotes]

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

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1. We caught a taxi from Syd airport, it cost around $70-80 from memory (lots of traffic), but was cheaper on the way home going to the airport.

The train is a good second option, but depending how much luggage you have by the time you but train tickets it might be worth a taxi.

At the baggage carousel you will see Carnival Reps holding signs, they offered bus transport for $25 each in Dec, but we got a (maxi) cab instead thinking it would be cheaper!

 

2. Only one PowerPoint in room so take an adaptor. Take lanyards to carry your sail&sign cards (which are also your room key, everyone will have one each). Rooms only have attached to the wall pumps of shower gel and shampoo only so take your own conditioner & shampoo! Soft drinks can be taken on board but no alcohol.

There's usually 1-2 elegant nights that most people dress up for, other theme nights not as many people dressed up

Sunscreen to purchase on ship is a pretty crap brand do take plenty if your own.

Take post-it's so you can leave each other notes as it's hard to communicate at times if you go off and do your own things!

 

3. We did our own tours on the islands - SO much cheaper than through the cruise. What islands are you stopping at?

When going to 'tender' islands make sure you line up and get your sticker first then go have breakfast, we got our sticker late and weren't off the ship until about 12!

 

4. We budgeted around $1500 for 2 adults and 1 3yo for 8 nights and ended up spending $2300! We did Nuevo once and sober maybe $500 in shops, the rest was alcohol and other 'charge to card' random things. Beer & wine is around $8 each, cocktails were $10.50 but great value as they were strong so you only needed a couple!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[2011CruisingFamilyof4]

FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU BOARD..............................

 

Put a $$$$ limit on your kids cards!!! You can put a total limit or daily limit if not, they can just spend up big time......I have heard horror stories about the video Arcade!!!!!!

 

Go to the Camp Carnival info session and get all the details, with your age children encourage them to go to the very first session as it is here they will first make friends instead of later and trying to "fit in" (does that make sense)

 

What are your thoughts on the drink package? For the kids it is $5 a day and you need to purchase it on the first day (from the atrium right near guest services). This enables endless soft drink and juice from any bar on the ship as well as the dining room.

 

As your children are older and may be allowed to wander at their will, each morning have a set plan, at such and such we will meet here. Show them the phones around the ship, they can use these to call the room and leave messages. Post it notes so they can leave msgs....mum, dad, have left the x and am now at the Green Thunder, see you at lunch etc.

 

Obviously I don't know you or your children, but remind them that the kids blocking the stairs by sitting on them, sitting in the elevators or running down the hallways knocking on all the doors are not the cool kids!!!!!!

 

Get involved in the daily activities and enjoy yourself!!!!! READ the fun times and highlight what you want to do different colour highlighter for everyone is what we did so we always knew who wanted to do what!

 

What else can we answer for you!

[jayne62]

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

We did our first cruise on Carnival Spirit last year and we loved it. We don't have kids but certainly there seemed to be plenty for them to do and the kids we met seemed to be having a great time.

 

my suggestions below

 

1. I would get a taxi from the airport much easier with the luggage and they'll take you right to the ships boarding area

 

• 2. take lanyards for everyone, they are needed to put your card in and they cost about $7 on the ship
  
• take reef shoes if you're going swimming or snorkelling, lots of areas where its easy to cut your feet or slip on the rocks. we bought them onboard for about $10, we just wore them each shore day after that
  
• take water bottles with a wide opening, you can refill these at the drink stations, we did this each time we went ashore
  
• take a small hand sanitiser pack and some small purse packs of tissues on shore, some of the toilets didn't have paper or soap
  
• take a handful of coins ashore, there will be kids and islanders singing and posing for photos with their pets and you give them each a coin, don't give notes though, a lady near me gave a $5 note and it started an argument.
  

3 we did the ship cruises and had a great time and was happy with the value for money. On one excursion we were late back by over an hour due to a transport problem, the islanders put on a lovely afternoon tea while we waited and we had a lovely time just chatting to them, we had no worries about the ship leaving without us so we could just enjoy the diversion.

 

 

 

4 We found it very inexpensive but we don't drink alcohol and soft drinks or use the spa. My husband used the gym each day but other than shore excursions we didn't spend much, probably more costs with children though :)

 

5. I think the kids would love Ekasup Cultural Village in Port Vila, it was really good! take sunscreen.The evening shows were great. Go to the information that Stu puts on, or check out the morning update on tv.

 

 

 

I think the right attitude is crucial, some passengers just whinge about everything but if you just go with the flow and don't sweat the small stuff you'll have fun and meet some great people.

 

 

have a great cruise!

[rkmw]

this may not bother some people but its good to know about the smoking area onboard....this was copied from the facebook site

 

the only designated smoking area is on open decks 9 & 10 forward, starboard side. Smoking is not permitted anywhere onboard on embarkation day until the ship sails

[Sundowners]

Hello mgb3,

I hope you have a really good & enjoyable time on your 1st cruise, but please don't judge "cruising" by your experiences aboard Carnival Spirit.

Although most are owned by Carnival, try some other cruise lines. After all....variety is the spice of life.

[aussielozzie18]

Bring your own snorkelling gear and reef shoes. Rashies are good if you're going to be snorkelling, waterproof camera is also a must. Pack a backpack or beach bag for taking your stuff on port days. You don;t need to bring beach towels. Cruise line supplies towels which you can take with you to the ports.

 

You don't have to buy the professional photos on the day they are taken, they are left on display for the entire cruise for you to buy.

 

If you think any of your family are likely to be seasick, go to the chemist and get meds and start taking them the day before the cruise.

 

If you see a t-shirt/jumper in the souvenir shop in the size you want just buy it. I left buying t-shirts until the last day and by that time there was only limited stock left and the sizes I wanted were not available. Watches & jewellery - wait until the sales.

 

Some islands will take AUD in small denominations.

 

You & the kids will have a great time. Be warned cruising is very addictive.

[Baxter5]

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

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1) taxi from airport to ship ($80) and train from ship to airport ($45??). Second child was free on the train.

 

2) Take a positive attitude and open mind. We'd read negative comments but experienced non of them. Also, take reef shoes and your own face masks and snorkels. Just get them cheap from Big W / Kmart. They're quite expensive onboard.

 

3) Mixture of both.

 

4) For 2A + 2 C we spent $1000 during the 11 days. This covered drinks, food, tours, shop purchases and games arcade. We didn't deny ourselves experiences but also weren't extravagant or ridiculous either (eg no spa treatments).

 

 

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[Tallinex]

Hey there,

 

I'm heading out to the Pacific with Carnival in April, it will be my first cruise and I find all the tips so helpful so I thought I'd share one of my own.

 

There is a company that operates in Sydney called Uber. They run a luxury car service throughout the city including the airport. Sounds expensive I know but they are actually about the same as a taxi and I just did a fair calculation from the airport to the OPT and it was only $69.

 

You also get $20 off your first trip if you use the promo code UberJedi. I used them on a recent trip to Sydney and can tell you that the service is way beyond a taxi. You will need to download the app to your phone but the app is super easy to use. I hope you all find this helpful :)

 

Link to Uber with $20 promo:

https://uber.com/invite/uberJedi

 

Link to Uber iPhone app:

https://appsto.re/au/4hz-v.i

 

 

Carnival Spirit - 30 April 2014

 

Twitter: @JedKnight_

Edited February 23, 2014 by Tallinex

[rabbit1971]

Hi pinknotes where do I start ?

1. How did you get from the airport to the harbour ?(taxi,train,bus)

2. Is their anything we should take on the boat or not take.

3. Did you take the cruise tours or did you do your own thing on the islands.

4. Did it cost more than you expected e.g drinks & tours.

Is their anything else you would recommend thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi,

We were a family of 6 ( 2 grandma's, myself and hubby a 10 yo boy and 15yo girl), and had a fabulous time.

One of the best pieces of advice i was giver ws to take a hanging bathroom organiser that hangs on the bathroom door, frees up heaps of space and when you have 4 in a cabin thats a great thing.

Grab youself some cheap snorkels and flippers to take as the snorkelling is fantastic, my hubby and daughter had never snorkelled before and hired at the islands for $20 each, which added up.

reef shoes are great also.

If the kids are interested in the kids clubs ( which even my fussy teen enjoyed) registration is on embarkation day at around 4pm.

We booked our own tours ( our 10yo is in a wheel chair) mainly so we knew we could get around, but we found that there were plenty of options on the warf to book if you hadn't organised a ships tour.

Drinks were moderatly priced, soft drink and friut drinks for the kids were around $2.50, beer and wine about what you would pay in a club/pub, cocktails varied from $7 to $10.

take a wide mouthed drink bottle as you can add ice at the ice station and then top up with water or squash.

we also took a smaller bottle to put apple juice in at breakfast time , from the lido deck as it was the only time it or orange juice was free, so it was a cheap drink for my son who loves his fruit juice.

Hope you have a great time. we had a ball.

Cheers maree

[mgb3]

Thanks to everyone that replied their are so many tips our heads are spinning.

When I read all your replies I get butter flys in the stomach with excitement

Can't wait !!

 

 

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[bazzaw]

Thanks to everyone that replied their are so many tips our heads are spinning.

When I read all your replies I get butter flys in the stomach with excitement

Can't wait !!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Don't overplan -- don't have any expectations at all (good or bad) -- don't listen to any personal opinions from anybody --

 

just go with an open mind and an open heart - and determine that you are going to enjoy yourselves in spite of anything :)

 

I can't see how you and/or your kids - on your first cruise - could not have a GREAT time. You could be living in a cave in Afghanistan!! :)

 

I wish I was coming too!! :)

 

Barry

[DreamTeam]

Hi thank you for all the tips,

My daughter has never cruised before and she has 3 children 2 ,6 and 8

We are going on carnival Legend and I have a few questions too if that is ok.

 

Do they have high chairs in the main dinning room?

 

I have booked them a quad inside cabin with 2 bunks and I can not seem to find any pictures of what that cabin looks like. Do they use the couch and have a pull down above that?

 

Can you take a stroller on the tenders?

Cheers Sue.

[willy1812]

Hi Sue,

Check carnival.com.au then our ships. In the photos there is one of outside QUAD cabin with 2 x single (double), lounge and drop down bunk from the ceiling, I envisage an inside would look the same. On our cruise on Carnival Spirit 18-1-14 some people had strollers which they took on tenders to the islands. Stairs going down to the tender pontoon are very steep, but the crew are very helpful and I'm sure they would assist.

Smooth Seas. Rob.:)

[Jamocall]

Two very important words my husband and I learned to love when we sailed on the Spirit from Honolulu to Sydney in Sydney - GREEN THUNDER. You'll love it, your husband will love it and your kids will love it. DONT MISS IT!! :D

[wallaby20]

The smoking policy on embarkation day seems a bit tough. We are boarding at midday. My husband will have steam coming out if his ears if he can't smoke till sailing. You sure this is correct?

[pwkmpjm]

The smoking policy on embarkation day seems a bit tough. We are boarding at midday. My husband will have steam coming out if his ears if he can't smoke till sailing. You sure this is correct?

 

This is from the Carnival Spirit FUNTIMES (daily program)

"During embarkation in Sydney, smoking is NOT permitted anywhere on board until sailing, due to bunkering of the ships fuel". You husband can always board at the latest boarding time.

[rkmw]

This is from the Carnival Spirit FUNTIMES (daily program)

"During embarkation in Sydney, smoking is NOT permitted anywhere on board until sailing, due to bunkering of the ships fuel". You husband can always board at the latest boarding time.

 

thats a load of garbage blaming the fuelling, every other cruise line would do the same but people can smoke in designated areas

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Have fun :D

Bottom line, you are on holidays. Even a dull day on the water beats cooking n cleaning at home ;)