Questions from a new cruiser

[HollyfromSC]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am going on the 11/26/2006 Carnival Valor cruise out of Miami with a very large group of friends/family. Most of us are not seasoned cruisers---and I have some questions. If anyone can give us some advice---please throw it my way!!

 

1) We are driving down from SC and want to stay in Miami near the port. We would like an inexpensive (but clean) hotel for the night. We would also like to either leave our car at the hotel and take a shuttle, or find a cheaper parking lot to leave our car while we cruise. Any suggestions?

 

2) Some people have asked if we can bring our own alcohol and soda on board. Is that allowed? Any restrictions?

 

3) Our cruise goes to Roatan Honduras, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, and Belize. We are thinking of booking our excursions before---but I wanted to know if anyone could recommend some excursions and who to book them through?

 

Thanks so much!!!!

 

Holly :D

[vesw01]

Hotels in Miami - I have read several great reviews of the Holiday Inn at the Port Miami (usually runs around $110-$140/night) you may be able to call direct and get a discount depending on how many rooms you would need...we decided to go through Priceline and book through them - we got the Radisson for $65/nt, but you can only request a limited # rooms (not sure how many you would need).

 

You can bring soda on board - no suggested limit - just has to be a normal amount for the # of people (think a 12 pack or so pp - usually you don't get hassled for this). Please even just bring large coolers on board (wheel them right up the gang plank) and have their room steward fill them with ice.

 

Alchohol - the only thing you are allowed to bring on board is wine (I think champagne is ok) and they will charge you a corking fee, b/c they have to open it. There are tons of threads about smuggling on alchohol - lots of people have opinions both ways. I will leave that to your discretion.

 

As for the ports, go to the Ports of Call boards and you can find info on each location. I found out about great options that were non-Carnival related. Lots of reviews and you can post questions for each port. Even locals will respond with answers.

[brew62]

They have laundry rooms on board also. You might want to bring a small bottle of laundry detergent with you. The detergent available on the ship is $1 a box for 1 load.

[LABecca]

"Alchohol - the only thing you are allowed to bring on board is wine (I think champagne is ok) and they will charge you a corking fee, b/c they have to open it. There are tons of threads about smuggling on alchohol - lots of people have opinions both ways. I will leave that to your discretion."

 

The corkage fee only applies to wine consumed in the dining room.(I've never been charged this fee and I always bring my own wine, several bottles in fact) The corkage fee does not apply to wine consumed in your stateroom.

[HollyfromSC]

Thank you everyone for the information. We have 14 cabins booked so far---but not everyone is going to stay in Miami the night before the cruise. We may only need 2-3 rooms for the night. Sounds like we should book on priceline if you got a room for $65.00!!

 

I have a question--what does DH mean? I see a lot of people use that in their posts, and I am sure I should know what it means--but I don't.

 

Thanks!!

 

Holly :)

[donnavb5]

Darling Husband?

Dorky Husband?

Dear Husband?

Dumpy Husband?

Or fill in the blank. You choose.

[Luckysll]

DH = Dear Husband or Darling Husband. DW = Dear/Darling Wife, DS = Son; DD = daughter, etc.

[donnavb5]

DH = Dear Husband or Darling Husband. DW = Dear/Darling Wife, DS = Son; DD = daughter, etc.

 

 

Your so nice!

[Mysticks1]

Thank you everyone for the information. We have 14 cabins booked so far---but not everyone is going to stay in Miami the night before the cruise. We may only need 2-3 rooms for the night. Sounds like we should book on priceline if you got a room for $65.00!!

 

I have a question--what does DH mean? I see a lot of people use that in their posts, and I am sure I should know what it means--but I don't.

 

Thanks!!

 

Holly :)

DH = Dear Husband although some could say "Darling" or even "Dumb" :D . It also works with daughter (DD) Son (DS) Mother in Law (MIL), etc.

One tip is to bring along a few clothes pins to hang from the bottom of the shower curtain to help hold it in place and the cabins can be dark at night so a nightlight can be helpful as well as an air freshener for the bathroom.

[HollyfromSC]

LOL!! I figured it had something to do with husband---but had no idea what the D would stand for.....LOL!!! I was thinking Designated??? :rolleyes: TOO FUNNY! Thanks for the info again...

[donnavb5]

Designated? Does that mean it could change from day to day? Or who designates? I kinda like this idea from time to time.

[HollyfromSC]

Yeah--- a DH in baseball is a designated hitter, so I figured why not a designated husband. LOL! :D

[pcvtmom]

If you think you would like snorkeling, you may want to choose a Stingray City tour for Grand Cayman. They are awesome! My family also did the Shark and Ray Alley tour in Belize. We loved it! Great meal, super nice people directing the tour, and great snorkeling.

[HollyfromSC]

Thanks! I think we are going to do the Stingray City in Grand Cayman and the Cave Tubing in Belize.

 

One more question---are their safes in the rooms for our valuables??

[always_tarty]

Holly, were are you in SC? I'm in Beaufort. We are booked for Oct. 1st on the Miracle out of Tampa. Have a great time on your cruise!!

[HollyfromSC]

We live in Greenville, SC. Are you going to be driving to Tampa or flying? We are going to drive down for the cruise because there is about 8-10 of us going. Have a great time on your cruise too!

 

Holly :D

[cruising forever]

Guess we have the three main areas of our Palmetto State covered now :)

Enjoy your cruise. Sorry we're not much help; haven't sailed from Miami in quite some time and last time we parked the car at a hotel in Ft. Pierce and caught the www.cruise-connection.com shuttle bus. No hassles, no crazy Miami driving..ahhhhhhhhhh sure made it easy!

[Butterfinger1954]

Holly, any chance you are a JW group? If so email me privately. I have some info on a good tour guide for you in Belize.

 

Kathy in Maine

Butterfinger1954@yahoo.com

[Allston29]

Hey,

 

Thats quite a few people! You will have a great time. I am just back from my first cruise and loved it!!

 

Do the stingray tour in grand cayman....its such a great and unique experience (skip the island tour though, it sounds great to combine them all but really not worth it).

 

My tip as a first timer would be don't miss the sail away from the deck watching the land vanish....especially if its at sunset! And also late at night when the deck is quite and moon reflects on the ocean.....spectacular!

 

oh and there is a safe in your room which you use your "sail and sign" card to open and close (its like a hotel door key card....good for your door and spending as much as you want on board ;-)

[bubbles1209]

Holly, were are you in SC? I'm in Beaufort. We are booked for Oct. 1st on the Miracle out of Tampa. Have a great time on your cruise!!

We are not in SC, but we are right outside of Augusta GA. (close neighbors, anyway). We are going on our first cruise also, hope you guys have a wonderful time!:)

[HollyfromSC]

Thanks again for everyone's help!!! We have all got so many answers and it is really going to help us plan a fantastic trip!! As we say here in the south.....Y'all are the best! :)

 

Holly

[always_tarty]

Holly, we are driving to Tampa. It's about a 7 hour drive....not too bad. Have fun.

[AGCruiser]

I am a new cruiser and I have a couple of questions myself if anybody can help. Thanks

 

1. Does anyone know if there is a laundry service on board, we are on the Elation that leaves this Sunday, 4/30. My husband has a few polo shirts that are going to need to be pressed only - not cleaned and I did not know if there was a service that would do this for us (so we don't have to spend every morning at the ironing board)

 

2. Our ship leaves port at 4:00 pm, what time can we start boarding?

 

3. If you buy a drink card, how much do they cost and is that unlimited soft drinks or is there a limit?

 

4. Is there a limit to how many suitcases you can bring on board? My husband has one, I have one and then we have one that has our extra stuff (beach towels, beach bag,etc...)

 

5. We filled out the Fun Pass on line for faster boarding? Is there a special line for this? And, other than the fun pass and passport is there anything that we are going to need to board the ship?

 

I think that is all for now - this board is great! I would be so lost without it :) :) :)

[RWolver672]

oh and there is a safe in your room which you use your "sail and sign" card to open and close (its like a hotel door key card....good for your door and spending as much as you want on board ;-)

You are advised to never use you room key for the safe combination. Use a credit card or a grocery store card. The magnetic strips on the S&S cards are not very strong according to another post. Hide the card that you use somewhere in the cabin so that anybody in your cabin has access to it. You don't want to have to run back to the cabin if you have the card on you and your spouse/room mate wants to get into the safe.

[AGCruiser]

This may be a stupid question, but when using the room safe you say any card with a magnetic strip will open the safe? Does the safe memorize the card you are using or something? I mean to me, it would not be much of a safe if any card with a magnetic strip will open it.

 

Thanks :confused: