DOes anyone order from the funshops prior to embarkation?

[bury me at sea]

I have ordered cabin decoratiins once for birthday cruise for twin adult daughters. They were fun and the included door decoration was especially nice.

 

I have ordered the tote bag that includes champagne, glasses, t-shirts, bar credit, etc. several times. It has always been appreciated.

 

I have never been disappointed.

[pbsteve]

water for sure. at 3.99 a case its a no brainer to always have a bottle handy.

 

 

Also, since I began talking up cruising, many of my employees go on cruises, so when they submit their vacation time, I make it a point to find out where they're going, if it's carnival, or another cruise line, I typically order them either the bucket of beer, or some other gift with a "thank you for all you do at work" note.

[riclop]

DOes anyone consistently order anything prior to embarkation? IF so, what's good?

 

Only you can decide that.

[maggie0057]

I ordered a bottle of bubbly a plate of chocolate strawberries and cabin decorations for our cruise next February and am planning on ordering the cooler with beer for DH birthday in a few weeks.

[ccruisequeen]

Bottled water

I once ordered chocolate covered strawberries. They were great

 

 

 

I no longer see carnival from my condo front porch :(

Edited April 11, 2016 by ccruisequeen

[Pyrate13]

I always order a bottle of Crown with the six of Diet Coke as a package (saves $5 on the Coke). Used to get a bottle of Bailey's too but last trip it was no longer offered. We order a 12 pack of water each trip as well.

 

We have also ordered the cakes and chocolate covered strawberries a couple of times, they were quite good.

[dmdiver]

We always order a case of water.

[zaclies]

I'll admit that I didn't even know that this was possible. Where do you order stuff from? And some posters mentioned things being on sale. Do you just search for items, and just see if they're on sale, or do they list specific specials?

[b8nkr]

You go under manage my cruise, then select "the fun shops".

[Librarian365]

I'll admit that I didn't even know that this was possible. Where do you order stuff from? And some posters mentioned things being on sale. Do you just search for items, and just see if they're on sale, or do they list specific specials?

 

I do not believe things are listed 'on sale', but on another thread I noticed someone talking about a price drop on items I was interested in so I jumped on it. The family beach pack is WELL worth $10 for a duffel, cap, fan, and beach toys, and I think flip flops are $3. I think someone mentioned that the ornaments were cheaper than usual. Search the forum - the thread was fairly recent.

[Librarian365]

Here is the thread I was talking about:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2334432&highlight=fun+shops

[hunter14]

They have a new contract so they are currently getting rid of the old. I ordered the flip-flops for $3. Teen package $10- I heard it was previously $28 ( not sure) and the family beach package for $10 ($35 originally, again not 100% positive of original price) and the ornaments 2/$6 I know I paid $12 for one this New Years on sensation.

[maggie0057]

I just ordered the ornaments too they were so cheap I couldn't resist

[cpshaye]

I ordered the Bon Voyage decorations and cake to surprise my mom and mother-in-law (I'm taking them both on their first cruise!) Fingers crossed it is worth it!

 

And some water, of course! :cool:

[Warm Breezes]

For our cruise in May I have ordered 2-12 packs of water $5.98, Family Game Time Package $18 (for DS), Teen Package $10 (for DD), Sail Away Package $96 (for DH and Myself), and Cruise Cash ($250 from our TA).

[Kanyon71]

Last cruise we ordered 2 cases of water, ordered a dozen cookies (wife and daughter loved them) and we ordered decorations and a cake for another cabin for their anniversary. Next cruise we will order the water again and probably some sort of snack for the little one.

[BB Huey]

Friends of ours' were going on a cruise so we had their room decorated. Only problem was Carnival forgot the card. They had no idea who decorated their cabin. Their son liked them so much he brought them home.

[loretta5ue]

So far just water because of the reasonable price.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Athankfulheart]

We ordered a cake on our first carnival cruise so it became a little tradition.... chocolate cake on the balcony at sail away- just the two of us. This last cruise we got cookies instead and they were good, but it wasn't the same. Next time we will go back to cake ;)

 

We have ordered water, Tshirts, toys and other various souvenirs for our kids. One thing I like about that is that my husband and I don't even need to THINK about kid souvenirs because they were thought about ahead of time and waiting in our cabin upon our arrival. We have never ordered beverages other than the water. As far as the cakes go, we have only had plates and utensils delivered with our cake on ONE occasion. We have made it a habit to breeze by the lido for a few milks and plates/utensils on our way to our cabin on embarkation day :)

 

Had the kids on the Magic with us this past December. This was the only time EVER that a fun shops purchase was really important. We ordered a package for my son who was turning 9 on embarkation day. We boarded and found a note addressed to HIM saying that they ran our of XYZ and to come to the shop for a refund :( I did not have a plan B for a birthday gift. We wound up taking him to the shop and he chose something else, but the shop did not have anything even remotely like the items we chose from home. My advice would be that you don't depend on a funshop gift. The one time that I did, was the one time something went wrong.

[Cr2zCr8zy]

water for sure. at 3.99 a case its a no brainer to always have a bottle handy.

 

 

Also, since I began talking up cruising, many of my employees go on cruises, so when they submit their vacation time, I make it a point to find out where they're going, if it's carnival, or another cruise line, I typically order them either the bucket of beer, or some other gift with a "thank you for all you do at work" note.

 

pbsteve,

 

Can I come work for you?? :D

[tandemcruzr]

DOes anyone consistently order anything prior to embarkation? IF so, what's good?

 

Water, wine and vodka. :D

[cruisinsly]

On our next one, we will definitely order water.

 

In the past, we have ordered a gift for our son. It was ok. It had some of the sand toys in it. Not sure if they still have it. It was nice because we didnt need to pack anything for him to use for the beach. He was a lot younger then. Dont know if we are going to order anything other than water for the next one.

[islandatsea]

DOes anyone consistently order anything prior to embarkation? IF so, what's good?

 

We always get water, Rum and Coke from the Fun Shops.

[craycruzerlady]

water for sure. at 3.99 a case its a no brainer to always have a bottle handy.

 

 

Also, since I began talking up cruising, many of my employees go on cruises, so when they submit their vacation time, I make it a point to find out where they're going, if it's carnival, or another cruise line, I typically order them either the bucket of beer, or some other gift with a "thank you for all you do at work" note.

 

What a great boss!!! Kudos! There's nothing better than finding a surprise in your room :)

[cruisinez]

Just came off the Pride sailing last Sunday and we pre-ordered water several months before the cruise. The weather was going to be cooler than I expected when we set sail so I found a zip-up hoodie at a great price in the fun shops and ordered it the day before our sail date. Both items were waiting for me in my cabin when we boarded. Didn't find anything like the sweatshirt I ordered in the shops and the ones that they had were a lot more than what I paid when I pre-ordered. :)