Just booked our first Elite cruise

[CruiseMomTX]

We haven't sailed on Carnival in a few years so excited we just booked and Elite on the Dream for 8/12/23 in a Spa Balcony,  may have also booked theJubilee for 1/6/24, in a Spa Cove Balcony, lol.  This will be our first Elite cruise, we have done Ultra, Premier & Getaway so will be fun to see the difference in an Elite.  Does anyone know what shore excursions might be offered for our free perk?  Our ports are Key West, Freeport, Half Moon Cay (new for us) & Nassau.  Also we will drive to Galveston does anyone know where the free parking perk they offer with the Elite is?  Thanks for any information or input!!

[VIFP1987]

They will send you a list of excursions to choose from a couple of weeks before your cruise. We chose the Sea Lion excursion at Blue Lagoon in Nassau. 
 

You may park your car at any of the lots at the port. You’ll need to take your receipt to the casino cashier for reimbursement. 

[CruiseMomTX]

Thank you!

We are cruising out of Galveston and with our Elite cruise we have drinks everywhere on the ship included are there any restrictions on the first day?  Will we be able to get free drinks from the time we board?

[weezal]

58 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thank you!

We are cruising out of Galveston and with our Elite cruise we have drinks everywhere on the ship included are there any restrictions on the first day?  Will we be able to get free drinks from the time we board?

https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1106
except for ships sailing from Texas and New York – activation will occur at 6:00am on the second day of the cruise
Due to Texas state law, our Drinks On Us! benefit is not available on embarkation day for sailings departing from Galveston, TX, but will be available at the start of day two.

Edited January 20, 2023 by weezal

[Colorado Beach Bum]

29 minutes ago, weezal said:

https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1106
except for ships sailing from Texas and New York – activation will occur at 6:00am on the second day of the cruise
Due to Texas state law, our Drinks On Us! benefit is not available on embarkation day for sailings departing from Galveston, TX, but will be available at the start of day two.

Not sure when/if this changed but we received free drinks in Dec ‘21 on day one out of Galveston. 

[CruiseMomTX]

3 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Not sure when/if this changed but we received free drinks in Dec ‘21 on day one out of Galveston. 

Was that on an Elite with drinks included or a regular booking & bought the cheers package?

[Colorado Beach Bum]

5 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Was that on an Elite with drinks included or a regular booking & bought the cheers package?

Elite.  Maybe it was once casino opened.  Either way, it was day 1, not next day like cheers. 

[CruiseMomTX]

9 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Elite.  Maybe it was once casino opened.  Either way, it was day 1, not next day like cheers. 

Thank you.  Now to figure out where to reserve parking I think I saw on another Elite post that you just show the casino your parking receipt and they reimburse you, can anyone verify this?  If so I'm looking at the port parking, does the Dream use terminal 25 or 28?  It looks like parking is available at SMP Garage & Express Lot.  We would like to be able to park and walk if possible (love the new Royal terminal parking even if it is more expensive than lots we used in the past it is so close and convenient).

[VIFP1987]

I recommend the SMP parking lot, located at 150 Rosenberg St. It’s directly across the street from the ship. 
 

I can verify that the parking reimbursement information I provided earlier is accurate. I’ve taken many Elite cruises out of Galveston and have always had my parking reimbursed at the cashier in the casino. You will receive an email from Carnival a couple of weeks before your cruise. The email will prompt you to choose your excursion, parking information and in room welcome beverages. 

[CruiseMomTX]

5 hours ago, VIFP1987 said:

I recommend the SMP parking lot, located at 150 Rosenberg St. It’s directly across the street from the ship. 
 

I can verify that the parking reimbursement information I provided earlier is accurate. I’ve taken many Elite cruises out of Galveston and have always had my parking reimbursed at the cashier in the casino. You will receive an email from Carnival a couple of weeks before your cruise. The email will prompt you to choose your excursion, parking information and in room welcome beverages. 

 

Thank you!  Have you ever used the express lot?  It looks like it could be a shorter walk to the cruise terminal.  This is our first Elite tell us what we need to know, lol.  I was trying to look for more video and picture reviews of Elite cruises but there isn't much out there. 

[lazydayz]

26 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

 

Thank you!  Have you ever used the express lot?  It looks like it could be a shorter walk to the cruise terminal.  This is our first Elite tell us what we need to know, lol.  I was trying to look for more video and picture reviews of Elite cruises but there isn't much out there. 

 

We love the Elite cruises.  Great benefits and treated royally.  Promptly respond to the email from the casino host - this is where you let them know your choice of alcohol for the room (never open mine on the ship as you have Free Drinks Everywhere; just bring the bottles home). whether you want the car service or will park at the port, and whether you plan to do one of the listed excursions or take the spa credit.  Usually you will have a card in the room asking you to come to the casino at the listed time on boarding day, and there you can pick up your lanyards, spa credit or excursion tickets (sometimes these were delivered later) and go to the casino cage (when it opens) to get any free play you may have. We usually receive gifts every day.  You really do feel like a VIP.  Enjoy! 

[CruiseMomTX]

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

 

We love the Elite cruises.  Great benefits and treated royally.  Promptly respond to the email from the casino host - this is where you let them know your choice of alcohol for the room (never open mine on the ship as you have Free Drinks Everywhere; just bring the bottles home). whether you want the car service or will park at the port, and whether you plan to do one of the listed excursions or take the spa credit.  Usually you will have a card in the room asking you to come to the casino at the listed time on boarding day, and there you can pick up your lanyards, spa credit or excursion tickets (sometimes these were delivered later) and go to the casino cage (when it opens) to get any free play you may have. We usually receive gifts every day.  You really do feel like a VIP.  Enjoy! 

Thanks and who doesn't enjoy feeling like a VIP! lol

If you were to choose between an Elite with no free play and an offer with $500-$1000 free play and both with drinks everywhere which would you choose?

Also is it better to get your free play for the slots or tables?  Can you split it?

[rellersi]

9 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thanks and who doesn't enjoy feeling like a VIP! lol

If you were to choose between an Elite with no free play and an offer with $500-$1000 free play and both with drinks everywhere which would you choose?

Also is it better to get your free play for the slots or tables?  Can you split it?

Free play or slots depends on what you play. I think you can split it but not sure. If I had free drinks everywhere for both myself and my wife, would probably take a different offer, but it would depend on the free play offer

[EngIceDave]

22 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

If you were to choose between an Elite with no free play and an offer with $500-$1000 free play and both with drinks everywhere which would you choose?

Also is it better to get your free play for the slots or tables?

What I usually do is take it in table play and then play 2:1 roulette, black or red only. Pick a color, red or black, and stick with it, wagering table minimum on that one color only. It's a long grind, but you can usually convert 50-75% to cash, if that's your FP thing, converting it to cash. 

That's what I usually do, and then stick back into slots anyway, but it's a great way to burn time, have some fun and convert it.

 

Do not change off the color, don't chase anything. Just pick one. You have ROUGHLY 50/50 to get it right (Yes, I know, '0').

 

I feel like I won something if I can convert it to cash before losing it

[weezal]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

What I usually do is take it in table play and then play 2:1 roulette, black or red only. Pick a color, red or black, and stick with it, wagering table minimum on that one color only. It's a long grind, but you can usually convert 50-75% to cash, if that's your FP thing, converting it to cash. 

That's what I usually do, and then stick back into slots anyway, but it's a great way to burn time, have some fun and convert it.

 

Do not change off the color, don't chase anything. Just pick one. You have ROUGHLY 50/50 to get it right (Yes, I know, '0').

 

I feel like I won something if I can convert it to cash before losing it

to lose the minimum on each roulette spin:

bet $17 on black, $17 on red, $2 split green (0/00)

[Colorado Beach Bum]

5 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thanks and who doesn't enjoy feeling like a VIP! lol

If you were to choose between an Elite with no free play and an offer with $500-$1000 free play and both with drinks everywhere which would you choose?

Also is it better to get your free play for the slots or tables?  Can you split it?

With $500 free play you could end up better off with elite perks - transportation, liquor in room, excursion, gifts.  With $1k, might be better off with free play.  MCO to port Canaveral is nice transportation perk as a black car could cost $200 each way.  

[CruiseMomTX]

I am enjoying all of the replies and information!!

Some of our offers are:

-Elite, drinks everywhere onboard, no free play

-$500 free play, drinks everywhere onboard

-$1000 free play, drinks everywhere onboard

 

We booked and Elite on the Dream 8/12/23 and the $1000 FP on the Jubilee 1/6/23 so far and are thinking of taking advantage while we have the offers still available to book more.  We can easily drive to Galveston so prefer to sail from there.  Can we get private transfers for a 2 1/2 hr drive, lol, we prefer to drive so would always take the free parking.

 

We board RCCL Allure on Sunday and with all the cruise talk are now thinking of driving down tomorrow and spending the night even though we don't really need to except its always fun to get the vacation started early!

 

[dgene84]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:04 PM, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Elite.  Maybe it was once casino opened.  Either way, it was day 1, not next day like cheers. 

So to help, the way it works is carnival says on the next day at 6:00 a.m. but they always start serving drinks 50 nautical miles away from port. That is when they enter international waters and are allowed to freely serve alcohol. This is in both Texas and New York. I live in Houston and sell out of Galveston quite often and this has been 100% the case. It has no jurisdictions on elite or not elite. It's for alcohol sales period. 

[dgene84]

7 hours ago, rellersi said:

Free play or slots depends on what you play. I think you can split it but not sure. If I had free drinks everywhere for both myself and my wife, would probably take a different offer, but it would depend on the free play offer

You can choose slots and table for the free play. When you go to the cage, you tell them how much you want for tables. i.e., your offer has $2000 in free play, they will ask you if you want tables or slots. You didn't tell them you want $1,500 for slots and $500 for tables or whatever combination you want. They will then give you $500 worth of chips and you will use your selling sign card in the slot machine to access the other $1500.

 

Also, to save you a little time of having to get in the line twice, stick your card in any slot machine before going to the cage. This simply activates your card on the boat. If you do not when you go to the cage, they're going to tell you to get out of the line and stick it into a machine. So save yourself some time. It takes 2 seconds to stick it in. You do not have to play. You only have to insert it and then it'll prompt on the screen that you've been rewarded free play. After you see that message, you're good to go to the cage and get whatever money combination you want.. 

[lazydayz]

As to your question as to whether to do Elite with little or no fun play or a non-Elite with lots of free play, I find myself in the same position.  Generally, I would take the Elite offer as the perks more than outweigh what I would actually win from the fun play.  But there was a really interesting repositioning cruise from Tampa to Baltimore, where I could have a free balcony, drinks everywhere for two, and 1,000 in fun play, or be part of the Premier group and pay an extra $1,000 for the same balcony and have 500 in fun play.  I took the first offer.