First Time Cruiser With Some (Hopefully) Simple Questions

[Targus Targus]

We (me, husband, and 6 yo son) will be taking our first cruise this Thanksgiving week (7 days on Splendor from Long Beach to Mexican Riviera.) I have read a lot on here and answered most of my questions but I still have a few that should hopefully easy for those in the know to answer. I have checked in with out roll-call, but these questions are mostly general.

In no particular order...


1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic?

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time.

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink?

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her?

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated?

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR.

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people?

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore?

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off...

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce...


Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

[firefly333]

Originally Posted by Targus Targus

We (me, husband, and 6 yo son) will be taking our first cruise this Thanksgiving week (7 days on Splendor from Long Beach to Mexican Riviera.) I have read a lot on here and answered most of my questions but I still have a few that should hopefully easy for those in the know to answer. I have checked in with out roll-call, but these questions are mostly general.

In no particular order...


1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? Most PRE pay when they book but you can prepay anytime before your cruise.

Most people dont prepay and after you board automatic tips of $11.50 will be added to your onboard account.

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time.

I would say no to anything looking like a inner tube. Pools are teeny tiny on Carnival in particular. A vest should be ok, but the pools are not that deep and really not for swimming, they are for standing in the water and cooling off mostly

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink?

Yes, 24/7 ice and water and free lemonaide and iced tea

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her?

You might have to track down your cabin steward, some are friendlier than others.

I ask for the minifridge to be unlocked and move something out myself to make room rather than tipping and waiting for someone else to do it. Im more self reliant than most I guess?

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated?

power strips may or may not be confiscated. the only outlet is over the desk.

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR.

Most are only open for lunch, until 2:30 but the grill and pizza etc will be open

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people?

as long as you board together makes no dif

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore?

If you lose it you will be charged, so if you take it off the ship be careful

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off...

You will have to have everything out of your cabin around 9 am so if you lolly gag you will have your luggage with you in the buffet, but yes you can

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce...

yes they had turkey but its pressed and to me awful .. I think cranberry sauce.. the buffet is open for dinner and had carved turkey


Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

see above.

[sunlovingirl]

Yay to you on your first cruise! Congrats!! I'll answer the questions that i can in a different color below next to your question. You will have so much fun!!!

Originally Posted by Targus Targus

We (me, husband, and 6 yo son) will be taking our first cruise this Thanksgiving week (7 days on Splendor from Long Beach to Mexican Riviera.) I have read a lot on here and answered most of my questions but I still have a few that should hopefully easy for those in the know to answer. I have checked in with out roll-call, but these questions are mostly general.

In no particular order...


1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? I pre-paid our grats at the time we booked our cruise. You can always talk to your PVP or whomever. Our PVP didn't give us much of a choice, but I believe that's because we did any time dining. Otherwise, I believe you pay them onboard towards the end of the cruise.

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time. I don't know for sure, but I don't see why that would be a problem.

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink? There's usually a 24/7 drink station open near the pizza bar (in my experience). I've heard the tap water is fantastic, but I always bring my bottle that has a brita filter in it.

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her? You can ask him/her the first day. They are usually around, and they want to meet you and see if you need anything. I always take a couple of cards with me and leave them a note if there's something I need. I heard they clear the fridge for you; although I've never done this. I've also read that if you call room service they will bring you a bigger thing of ice, so you can chill things that way.

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated? I dont' know where it will be in your room. We brought one of those one plug to three plug things, and that was more than enough for us (and much smaller to pack).

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR. I don't know about this, sorry

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people? We always put all of ours in one bag, no one has said anything to us. I would hope they aren't that nit-picky!

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore? They are for both! You can usually rent towels up on the deck as well if you need a dry one. I just talked to our room steward on our last cruise, and he would swap them out for us when we got back from being on shore, so we had dry towels to sit on deck later with.

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off... I've only ever done the self-debarkation (you carry all your stuff off the ship). It's gone very smoothly. I don't know when the "last call off" is, but I am assuming they do eventually make people leave, because the cabins are always empty for us when we get there haha

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce... We did a Thanksgiving cruise about 10 years ago. It was wonderful. I still have the menu from that night in my memories box. They did a very fancy dinner, but we did the MDR. I assume they will have something similar in the buffet lines, but I don't like buffets as a rule, so I didn't check it out. Sorry.


Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

Have so much fun!!

[Mr305]

1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic?

Once you create your sign and sail account, if using a credit card, they will use this card and bill you for the gratuities around the second night of the trip. You can use the onboard kiosk to check if they have or haven't as well as any other charges to your account.


3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink?

There's water to drink on the Lido deck as well as lemonade, plus these stations have ice. So you can get a glass with ice and water and walk around.

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her?

Not sure about the mini-bar, don't remember one in my cruise. But anything else related to the room you can call or see them walking around the hallway at times. Our steward came by several times a day to make sure we were ok, not sure if this is the norm.


5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated?

I remember one outlet and it's by the vanity, across from the bed. You'll be able to charge your favorite electronics there. Not sure about the power strip, others might be able to help with that one.


6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR.

There are restaurants on the Lido, such as the ones you list, that are open for dinner but not all day. I remember pizza being available all night. My recommendation to you is, eat in the MDR as much as possible, food there is usually the best. The MDR closes for lunch when you are in port. Otherwise, the buffet is your standard food for lunch.


8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore?

The towels will be in your room, just don't lose them. You can ask for more if needed and I believe also in the pool area. Yes, you can take them to shore but again, don't lose them.


9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off...


You'll be given a zone or group, once your group is called you can leave or wait until the last group is called. Things start to close so don't think you'll be able to eat and walk around until the very end, not much to do and you'll encounter lots of folks with luggage/carry-on bags walking around.

[Lovelylady226]

1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? These go onto your sign and sail card unless you asked for them to be added to your original balance.

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time. I have seen many children wearing these items, but am not sure on the official rules.

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink? Ice and water are available 24 hours a day on the Lido.

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her? Your steward should come to your room almost immediately after you go to your room (I have NEVER gone to my room and not had them come within 10 minutes of me going to my room-but I have always been really lucky). When you see them, tell them you want your ice filled continuously and they will generally fill the bucket twice a day. There is usually an extra pillow in the closet, but if not, you can call the room steward (there is a button on your phone) and you can get it from them.

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated? It is usually near the mirrors. If you bring an extension cord, it is best to bring one that is power surge protected, just for safety

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR. I don't know!

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people? We have been questioned once when the wine was in the same bag (only once out of 8 cruises) but it might be worth it to be safe.

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore? Both But don't lose them, they'll charge you!

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off... If you carry off your own bags you can leave whenever. However, depending on your steward, they may ask you to remove your luggage from your room early, meaning you will be lugging it around (has happened on a few cruises)

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce...
My friend did a cruise last thanksgiving and was not impressed with the menu. Not sure about elegant night. But, they are usually pre-determined.


Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

[paper1122]

Everyone has already covered the basics. I took a Thanksgiving cruise last year. They do have a special turkey dish available, but I don't think anyone at our table ordered it. Other than that I don't think they made a big deal about it. My wife did enjoy calling her family from the ship, sort of to rub it in that she was on a cruise ship. I honestly can't remember if it was a formal night or not. That being said, formal for Carnival isn't very formal. I don't even bother taking a suit anymore, I just bring a tie and wear a button down shirt and dockers.

[glorialagos]

Originally Posted by Lovelylady226

1)
9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off... If you carry off your own bags you can leave whenever. However, depending on your steward, they may ask you to remove your luggage from your room early, meaning you will be lugging it around (has happened on a few cruises)
!

We just did this and we could not leave "whenever". We had to wait until our deck was called (for self disembarking which was different from the zones being called) and we were last. We had wanted to leave much earlier but we followed the rules (many didn't which made our wait even longer). We were told we had to be out of the room by 8:30 am - everyone was told this whether carrying their own bags or waiting for zones to be called
.

[firefly333]

1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? I pre-paid our grats at the time we booked our cruise. You can always talk to your PVP or whomever. Our PVP didn't give us much of a choice, but I believe that's because we did any time dining. Otherwise, I believe you pay them onboard towards the end of the cruise.

from post #3 above... (there are a few odd answers above, so wanted to clarify).

prepaying grats has NOTHING to do with if you are anytime dining on carnival (though it does on RCL).

Its a choice.. sorry you felt your PVP talked you into it .. but its a choice. Now that you know this, hopefully next time you can make your own choice and not feel like you have to prepay.

[Targus Targus]

Thanks for all the responces. They really help. I just want to be as prepared as possible since it's new to us.

[SadieN]

Sailed last Thanksgiving on the Spirit.

The turkey in the MDR seems to be minimally processed--rolled boneless breast of turkey. There will be other options on the menu. On the buffet they were carving whole turkeys. I got dark meat. The only nasty thing was a walnut ball (looked like a meatball) floating in the soup. No pumpkin pie. In my experience the turkey meal is better in the buffet. Don't remember cranberry sauce! You could aways bring some. We bring odd things from home- ice cream sprinkles and Pringles.
**Ask on your rollcall, they have sailed many years together and someone will rememer if there was cranberry sauce last year. I sailed with them last year. Our schedule didn't mesh this year.

Dress in the MDR--
Every night my DH wears Dockers and short sleeve shirts, similar to Guayaberas or Hawaiian. He was a touch underdressed for CE nights but was clean and presentable. There were others similarly dressed.

Food--
These seem to be the usual times, of course things can change or my memory is wrong. But generally.........
-Many places are for set hours.
-Some places do double duty--Omelette Bar in the morning and then switches to a burrito bar for lunch.
-Tandoori & Mongolian are for lunch.
-Buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Remember to go up the stairs behind the cereal/dessert station to the rotissierre. Most stations are usually closed an hour or so between meals.
-Grill is usually open from noon to 6p
-Deli is open 11am-11pm
-Pizza only closes at debarkation.
-Room Service is 24 hours (free but tip a buck or two)

Pool--
The discourage water toys, floats, balls tubes. Safety devices are usually OK. A vest is probably the safest.

Outlets--
There will be three outlets. A very underpowered one for shavers in the bathroom.
On the vanity there will be one American 110V and one European 220v. We sometimes bring a plug adapter for our dual voltage appliances.

Parking--
You didn't ask but.........
Parking in Long Beach is now $17/day ($119 week). If you go over any 24 hour period you will be charged the hourly rate.
Keep your receipt when you leave the structure because you will be asked for it before leaving the lot.

[serene56]

in each cabin is a card. (something along the lines of a do not disturb kinda thing)
but its made for carnival'

one side says snoozin and the other side says cruisin.

when you leave the room put the cruisin sign out the door. The steward will make your room up twice. you should get ice each time.

If you need ice between that time-- call room service.

Cabin stewards are supposed to be off duty between 1pm and 5pm.

(we prepay our tips with final payment

[serene56]

mongolian grill and tandori station are opened from 11:30 -2:30

mongolian grill gets very crowded as the week goes on as mo people find it.
go early in the week for less of a wait.

in your funtimes if you look on the back it will list dining and the places you can go and at what time.

the buffet opens for dinner between 5:30_6:00

on port days you will be hard pressed for food .
buffet closes about 2:30 your options are pizza, grill or deli. room service will have a long wait time

[Ehpride]

Originally Posted by Targus Targus

We (me, husband, and 6 yo son) will be taking our first cruise this Thanksgiving week (7 days on Splendor from Long Beach to Mexican Riviera.) I have read a lot on here and answered most of my questions but I still have a few that should hopefully easy for those in the know to answer. I have checked in with out roll-call, but these questions are mostly general.

In no particular order...


1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? They will automatically put them on your S&S account if you don't prepay pre-cruise.

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time.

Technically, this isn't allowed and the pools aren't really that big.

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink?

I haven't tried the cabin tap water but there should always be some on lido or through room service.

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her?

The room steward should find you the first day. They will have to unlock the mini bar and you can ask them to empty it. They may just tell you to keep it somewhere in the cabin.

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated?

It's by the desk but not that far from the beds. I bring a small battery operated alarm clock because the electricity can be interesting.

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR.

I'm not sure about Mongolian Wok. You should have some options.

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people?

They can all be in one carryon.

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore?

There will be towels in the cabin to use on shore and then you can check out towels on lido deck.

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off...

You could always request a late zone at the purser's desk.

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce...

I've never cruised over Thanksgiving so I can't help here.

Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

See above.

[Mom2JJandJ]

To clarify: Tips are $11.50, per person, per day.

[RWolver672]

Originally Posted by SadieN

Don't remember cranberry sauce! You could aways bring some. We bring odd things from home- ice cream sprinkles and Pringles.

That reminded me of when DW flew to SC to visit our son. While down there, she picked up some cranberry sauce because for some reason, they couldn't get any here in Michigan. When she went through the airport security to fly home with her carry-on, they confiscated it. I guess they thought she was going to drown the pilot in cranberry sauce.

If you bring it from home, put it in your checked-in luggage if you're flying.

[YadaYadaJodi]

Helpful hint on the large beach towels - when you leave the pool area - go by the towel stand and trade out your dirty towel for a clean one. It helps keep up with the one you are "assigned" and is easier in the room especially with multiple people in one cabin. After reading about being charged for a beach towel if you lost it, I panicked when our steward took the one we left dirty on the bathroom floor and didn't replace it. Fortunately when I asked he brought me back one with no question. After that I just got my clean one by the pool and it worked out better that way in the cabin anyway.

[okgirl]

Originally Posted by YadaYadaJodi

Helpful hint on the large beach towels - when you leave the pool area - go by the towel stand and trade out your dirty towel for a clean one. It helps keep up with the one you are "assigned" and is easier in the room especially with multiple people in one cabin. After reading about being charged for a beach towel if you lost it, I panicked when our steward took the one we left dirty on the bathroom floor and didn't replace it. Fortunately when I asked he brought me back one with no question. After that I just got my clean one by the pool and it worked out better that way in the cabin anyway.

You don't need to take the towel from your room to use on the ship. Just go to the towel hut and get one. The only time I use the towel in the cabin is if I want to take one off the ship. But up on the Lido I just use theirs.

To the OP.......I hope you have researched all the pitfalls of using your Iphone or any data device on the ship.......I always travel with a small travel alarm, so my Iphone gets turned off and put in the safe......but at the very least it should be placed in the airplane mode the entire time to avoid any automatic data downloads (which can cost hundreds to thousands!!!!!!!)

Plus, you can schedule a wakeup call on your incabin phone.....

[kmc500]

Originally Posted by RWolver672

That reminded me of when DW flew to SC to visit our son. While down there, she picked up some cranberry sauce because for some reason, they couldn't get any here in Michigan. When she went through the airport security to fly home with her carry-on, they confiscated it. I guess they thought she was going to drown the pilot in cranberry sauce.

That one had me laughing out loud!

It is also pretty sad to think of what we have done to ourselves in order to derive a false sense of security while flying. Our TSA at work.

Kevin C

[bythehex]

Originally Posted by YadaYadaJodi

Helpful hint on the large beach towels - when you leave the pool area - go by the towel stand and trade out your dirty towel for a clean one. It helps keep up with the one you are "assigned" and is easier in the room especially with multiple people in one cabin. After reading about being charged for a beach towel if you lost it, I panicked when our steward took the one we left dirty on the bathroom floor and didn't replace it. Fortunately when I asked he brought me back one with no question. After that I just got my clean one by the pool and it worked out better that way in the cabin anyway.

That's what we did. Either when we came back from port or just had wet towels from being at the pool, before we returned to the room we exchanged them for dry towels. I then used the dry towel as a bath towel after my shower, which was nicer because they're larger than the bath towels in the cabins. Then left the wet towel on the floor, as they ask you to do, for the cabin steward to replace. This worked out perfectly for us.

[Anthomaniac]

Originally Posted by Targus Targus

We (me, husband, and 6 yo son) will be taking our first cruise this Thanksgiving week (7 days on Splendor from Long Beach to Mexican Riviera.) I have read a lot on here and answered most of my questions but I still have a few that should hopefully easy for those in the know to answer. I have checked in with out roll-call, but these questions are mostly general.

In no particular order...


1) When do you pre-pay the gratuities? At the port? Do you need to tell them to do it or is it automatic? You can call carnival and pre-pay or you can let them charge it to your S&S card onboard.

2) Can my son use a very small inner tube, always around his waist, to make him more comfortable swimming in the pools? Or a swim vest? I think they say water wings are ok, and this is not much bigger. He's still learning to swim, and yes we would be there with him the whole time. The pools are barely waist deep, and SMALL. Also since they are salt water he will be much more bouyant.

3) Can you get ice and water at the buffet or on lido somewhere 24 hours a day? I always carry a bottle of ice water with me. Is the tap water from the rooms acceptable to drink? Yes and I wouldn't drink from the bathroom tap in the room

4) How and when do you ask the steward for ice, to clear out the mini bar (or do we do it?) or possibly for an extra pillow? Will we definitely see him/her? If you don't see them right away, leave a note or call the room steward number on the phone in your stateroom - I would recommend asking for things like pillows right away, they run out of them.

5) Where in the room is the outlet (just one, right?) Is it near the bed or across the room? I just want to know because I have something I might want plugged in near the bed (ipod charger for clock/alarm...) I plan to bring a power strip, but will I have my extension cord confiscated?

6) Are the food places like Mongolian Wok, Tandoori, Deli... open for dinner as well as lunch? For some reason I only see them mentioned as lunch, but we plan to probably eat most nights not in the MDR.

7) For carry-on beverages, we (two adults) plan to bring two bottle of wine and at least 12 sodas, do we each need to carry our personal limit in separate carry-ons, or can we have them all in one heavy carry-on and explain it's for two people? You can put them all in one carryon - no problem.

8) I hear Carnival provides beach towels? Is that for the pool, or to take on shore? both - if you fail to turn it back in you will be charged for it

9) We are driving from the port, so will be in no hurry to disembark. Can we "self-disembark" at any time? Or will we be called to leave at a certain time and expected to do so? I really just want to get as much as we can out of the buffet before we leave on our long drive home... When will they kick us off... You can disembark anytime after your zone # is called - self-disembark is where you haul all your own luggage

10) Any one familiar with Thanksgiving on a Carnival ship? Do they do anything special? I fear it might be "elegant night" which my husband wants nothing to do with (so he does not need to pack "slacks") so would they also do something at the buffet? My son will be mostly concerned about whether or not they will have cranberry sauce...


Thank you so much to anyone who can help with any of this. I'm sure I'll have other petty questions come up as well... It's less than one month away and I'm getting nervous and excited!

Happy Sailing!