BullDawg91

Yes. You need to install the Hub app before you leave. Without paying anything, you can use it for the Funtimes.

To be able to chat, each person will have have the app and pay $5 for the length of the cruise. You can then locate each other and save the contact in the Hub app. You can even assign a picture.

It was well worth $5. (Although I think Carnival should just raise cruise fare and make it free.)

How do you purchase the Internet on board? Do you go somewhere to buy it or buy through your phone?

You buy it through your phone. The Hub app is key, so be sure to have it installed on any devices you want use.

Is the refrigerator used as a mini bar? If yes, will the steward empty the refrigerator upon request?

Yes, it is a mini bar. We asked on our first day for it to be emptied, but it never was. It wasn't a problem for us. We didn't really need the fridge space.

Why would Carnival refund their fare? I understand why they did, but why open the door to being expected to refund every cruise fare where a medical emergency cuts a cruise short or keeps a person off a ship in the first place?

I'm so jealous ! I really want to do a transatlantic, but I guess I'll have to wait until my kids are grown! Many years to go!

I wish our school system would give you so many freebie days off!

I really liked the mattress. It was quite firm but not uncomfortably hard. I really liked that it didn't transfer motion (if my husband moved, I didn't feel it).

I am thinking of ordering pillows. I am super picky about pillows and I loved Carnival's.

FWIW, my husband was disappointed in the spa on the Breeze. The thalassotherapy pool was a glorified hot tub. The spa locker rooms were very small and had no extras like razors or cotton swabs. He said it was $189 he wouldn't spend again. Be sure you check it out thoroughly before jumping on the pass.

Apparently someone in the know, perhaps the mother, commented on the Facebook post where my wife first saw this story. They have passports, but only the Passport Card. This is one reason why I think the passport card is worthless document, especially for a cruise. It serves the same purpose as a birth certificate and ID. Why pay money for the Passport Card when you can use the BC for free.

 

It also begs the question, why buy travel insurance when you can just start a funding campaign?

Excellent points.

I am waiting for someone to say that Carnival should help them financially.

Complain all you want about healthcare in the US, but no hospital would hold up an emergency surgery for $3000.

This situation is exactly why we all need travel insurance and passports.

We won 2 ships on a stick on our last cruise on music trivia on the Breeze. We didn't even sit in on Star Trek and super hero trivia. There was no hope on those!

The group trivia was fun. It was one side of the room against the other.

We checked our own answers.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/category/~/dining-and-beverages/~/beverage-options/c/469

 

 

 

Only two packages:

 

CHEERS! Beverage Program

 

Using the CHEER S! beverage program, guests can enjoy a wide variety of wine, beer and spirits (including cocktails and frozen drinks), along with sodas and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails throughout...

 

Bottomless Bubbles

 

Carnival Cruise Lines will offer all guests the option to purchase a Bottomless Bubbles unlimited soda program which will allow the guest unlimited soft drinks and juices for the duration

 

 

 

Disney had a coffee card, buy x number get one free. I don't think carnival even has that.

Carnival does have a coffee card as of last week on the Breeze. It is also buy x get one free.

So, if you get the social internet package, there really is no reason to get the $5 text feature, right? Because you can just use facebook messenger or another social network messaging app?

 

Did anyone notice a different in speed compared with using the hub app text vs using messaging via the social internet package?

 

I recall a post from awhile ago saying the speed of getting messages was slow, making it hard to use when trying to communicate instantly...that there was a bit of a lag.

Everyone you wanted to text on the ship would also have to have the Internet package and be logged in in order for you to use the Social package to communicate. That would be expensive for a family -$25 per person.

The Hub chat function would only be $5 per person and worked seamlessly for us. We all had iPhones but I heard some people had trouble with other operating systems. We never notice a lag between messages.

You need to install the Hub app while you have Internet or wifi access before you cruise. If you do it before your cruise and put in a sail date, it will show a countdown. Basically the entire Funtimes is available once you're onboard. We used it a lot. It is free up to this point.

The $5 per person is for the chat feature of the Hub app for the length of the cruise. You get it by folio number. I don't think you can just look up other people so no one will know your child's ID for chatting unless the child gives it to someone. It apparently works better on iPhone instead of Android phones. We had iPhones and it was fantastic. Some people with other phones said it was not as reliable.

When you select favorite activities in the app, it will show you if any of your contacts (other people with your chat ID) also have the same activities selected.

The Social Internet package is totally separate. It is $5 per day or $25 for the length of the cruise. Theoretically, you could buy it for everyone in your party and use some other app to chat with your party on the ship, but that would be way more expensive.

You buy the internet package by folio and you can log into it on any device that has the Hub app. Only one device can be active at a time. My daughter and I both used it and just kicked each other off when we wanted to be connected.

With the Social package, if you have iPhones, you can just text people off ship with iPhones as usual and it will go as an iMessage. I'm not sure we ever got pictures to send in texts, but we could put them on Facebook or Instagram. We could not use FB Messenger voice or video. You might be able to with a more heavy duty package.

Passports or birth certificates. Make sure you lay hands on them asap if you "think" you know where they are.

We were told to bring our own extension cord on Carnival. My husband uses regular tap water all the time in his machine.

We packed the surge protector from our television for my spouse's CPAP on Carnival last week. They never questioned it. He put it in the bag with his machine as we went through security. The steward in our cabin said it was fine when we asked.

We had to run it across the room because the only 2 plugs were at the desk. We asked about the plug behind the bed, but the steward said it was a different voltage (?) so we didn't fool with trying to move the bed to access it.

I'm back from the Breeze. We only purchased the Value package which was $5 per day or $25 for the length of cruise. There are two other packages with the most being $99 for length of cruise. I didn't think I need that much access or we'd all be on our phones and iPads too much.

The Value package allows you to use Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, and some other social media sites. It does not let you use Facetime or Facebook Messenger voice or video calling. You also cannot access sites via Facebook to read stories on your news feed.

What I was very pleasantly surprised at was that we could text via iMessage to folks at home because all of our family uses iPhones. I had prepped my mother to look out for FB Messenger messages from me, but instead I just texted her each evening.

I'm sure you can buy separate packages using a different folio number, but my daughter and just shared the plan. Only one person can be logged in at a time but you could log in on any device with the Carnival FunHub app.

This is totally separate from the FunHub chat function. That is $5 per device/folio and you can sign up a child now. It recognized that my daughter was 12 and required me to put in my folio and accept a terms and conditions page that it didn't show when I set myself up. You have to share the chat ID so there is little danger of a stranger texting your child unless she gives out her ID. It worked perfectly for texting between passengers.

Alright, I'm back from my Breeze cruise. I purchased just the Value package ($5 per day or $25 for length of cruise).

You can access Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat and some other social media sites. This also lets you use Facebook Messenger for text only. Voice and video didn't work.

In Facebook, you can post and read your newsfeed but you can't access websites that show in your feed - such as a story posted by the New York Times or your local newspaper. That was a little annoying but it kept me spending too much time on there. I'm sure I could have upgraded for that access. It does not allow you to check email.

The best part was that iMessage worked. We are an Apple family - everyone has an iPhone. When you are logged in to the package, you can text other iPhone users just like at home. I checked in at home each evening just to make sure my mother (and cat) were fine.

This is independent of the Fun Hub app. You pay $5 per person for the chat function for the entire length of the cruise. You can then text other users. It was flawless for us. I heard non-iPhone users had some trouble. We never did. Just be sure to download the Fun Hub app before you sail away while you have internet service.

To follow up on this, Carnival did not enforce the check in times. We arrived about 10:30 and there was no waiting to check in. We did have to wait to board for a little while, but it was very reasonable. The terminal was pretty full when we arrived too.

We were on this cruise too. We really liked Dr. E. This is the only cruise where a cruise director made an impression. My kids really enjoyed him and promptly downloaded his Good Morning song when we got back on land.

We never had a problem with the forward elevators once they were changed. It was chaotic when people were coming back from port, but I would think it would be under any circumstance. I should add that our cabin was aft so we didn't deal with the forward elevators too much.

We also liked the food and found it way more interesting than on Disney. We never missed dinner because there was always something interesting. We did often have multiple appetizers because they were interesting so the uncomplicated entree worked after two apps. We thought the lido deck food was quite good as well. The things we tried and didn't like were few and far between. The lasagna in Cuchina (for lunch) was awesome.

Our servers were quite good and we never waited a long time for anything. I particularly liked that they would begin taking orders just after a party sat down whether everyone was present or not. We had a team of 3 for a 12 top table (3 parties of 4). They were very organized and kept things moving. I wish they would do away with most of the shows in the dining room. If you want a somewhat formal dining experience, do you really want your servers being made to sing and dance while you wait on your dessert? It looked like the crowd enjoyed the shows, but I felt kind of sorry for the servers.

The ship does desperately need more and better organized drink stations. The cups provided are also ridiculously small. I broke down and bought a tumbler to use. I do wish they had fountain soft drinks instead of cans somewhere on the ship.

We were impressed by the limited trash produced around the food areas - cloth napkins everywhere, no paper plates, few paper cups.

I was surprised that such a new ship had a sewage odor problem. We smelled it in various places around the ship, but not in our cabin, thank goodness.

I think the person who posted that you could pick the time you wanted to board was talking about Disney Cruiseline.

That is correct. I was saying DCL has you pick a time and they generally enforce the time. Generally you don't get to board early if you arrive earlier than you are scheduled for.

Carnival seems to have assigned times arbitrarily. To boot, my boarding pass has a different time than my email.

Thank you. My biggest concern is my husband. He is not a sit by the pool kind of guy.

 

 

 

Should we go for the Cast Away Cay and Orlando cruise, or St. Maarten and Tortola and Puerto Rico (until our flight) and have to fly home from PR.

You'll have to decide that. If it's a first cruise, I say WDW and Castaway Cay. That sounds exotic enough.

1. There is plenty to do with all those sea days. Movies to see, shows to see, spa treatments to enjoy, food to eat. That is my kind of cruise.

2. The stops at Port Canaveral do include a 1 day Park Hopper for WDW and transportation to WDW. See USA Today's article about it. I didn't see on DCL's site yet.

The ship is part of the experience. You're not in a floating Motel 6 where there is nothing to do between stops. For a first cruise with DCL, I wouldn't want too many port days. You will be missing some of the experience. If you are primarily interested in ports, you can choose a different cruise line for much less money.

Depends on what you are interested in.

I wouldn't book any excursions. I'd kick back in a chair with a book and maybe do the slides at Pelican Plunge a few times. And eat.

This is an issue CCL could easily fix by implementing a system like Disney. Your online check in date varies by your status with the line. If you are Platinum, you get to check in online and choose a Port Arrival Time at 120 days out. A Silver member can check in at 90 days. Concierge at any level (even new cruisers) board in the first group and don't have to worry about a Port Arrival Time.

You can arrive early, but it won't necessarily get you on the ship any earlier unless boarding is moving fast. You get assigned a boarding group based on your assigned Port Arrival Time. So if they let you check in at the port at 10:30 when your PAT was 12:00, you still get a boarding group number tied to 12:00. So, no incentive to be so early.