silentbob007

If you wait too late, not only will you be outside but you’ll start getting crazy 2-way traffic as people arrive for the next cruise.

Yup you have to do the legwork. Most of the “sales” seen the same but I sometimes find a savings.

I believe you get set sail passes for individuals and not the group as a whole. The arriving guests could be completed.

Make MTD reservations now if they are available. They will fill up. You don’t have to make reservations for MTD but the wait to eat will depend on how the ship is handling it and how many people are in line at that time. This is not something RCI does well for some reason. The others all have to be done onboard. Lots of other people in same boat and they hold spaces for booking onboard.

Park cafe has pressed cheese paninis. Will not be an evening option.

The standalone Starbucks is never included in any type of promo or package.

Unfortunately the lounge is not convenient to the sun deck. It is very convenient however to your cabin. The lounge and Coastal Kitchen are off the aft elevator lobby on 18 and then access to the lofts are behind key-access doors.

You lose all of the deposit if you cancel. You lose $100/pp if you move it to another sailing.

The solarium is in the front of the ship and the crown lofts are closer to aft. You would have to go down and cut across the ship to get to the solarium.

Best price I ever got was my honeymoon in a GS on Harmony during hurricane season in 2018 for $2800 total for the both of us. My wife is new to cruising (that was her second cruise) and now we chase suites. We booked a balcony on Allure this past April for a great price for peak spring break (going with family first timers) and my wife swore never again. We are booked in a suite GTY for Harmony in January for a little above $4000 for the three of us. Will miss CK but hoping the JS we inevitably get will be sufficient. Currently about $3000 more for a full suite.

On Allure it was only during hours when the kids club was open. We got shooed out on The guest day because they were closing up for the afternoon.

If you put in the ship the operator should know where you will be, especially for Oasis class.

There are show spots available when you board and standby lines if you don’t even want to do that. Too big of ship with too many people to not make a conscious effort to space out the crowds a little bit.

Been on both many years ago. Haven’t been on newer Carnival ships but liked the design of the Spirit class more than others. Really like the Radiance class but Radiance had such a long stretch of plumbing issues my family still calls it the poop ship (though not in Carnival’s league with that moniker). Granted that was many years ago and hopefully things have been fixed. I would lean Royal for status perks, but it would really come down to price.

The prices fluctuate a bit and they are also different per ship and sailing. On my next booked cruise it is $80/pp/pd plus gratuity.

I think they run set hours in the first day so may not be open other than during the open house times. We just registered during that time.

There are show slots available when you board. Use the app once you are connected to ship WiFi to try to book or look at the planner for where you can go book in person. My Time Dining has two lines: one with a reservation and one without. You can always get in the no reservation line though on our sailing MTD didn’t open until 6. Also in the planner is an open house for the nursery services (babies and tots). If you want to leave your child with them it costs $6 an hour and reservations are definitely recommended as they can only watch so many kids. You have to schedule with them in person or maybe with a phone call after you initially register. Inside the kids area there is also a playroom with a mat, toys, and play houses if you just want to take the kid up to play a bit while you watch them. We did that with our son a bit each day.

Put in a request with special needs via their email. I think they want a month lead time. I did about a week out and had a gallon of water and extension cord waiting in my cabin on embarkation.

Not to speak ill of Allure but she desperately needs it. I took family in her in April for their first cruise and they had a great time but noticed done of the rough edges (besides Central Park of course). Of course, I say that and saw Carnival Glory (a ship I’ve sailed twice, once on her maiden voyage) in Cozumel and her appearance gave a new meaning to the word rough.

Used to be 2. Now one per legal aged adult.

Only once in the many many guarantees I’ve booked have I been upgraded to a different category. If you honestly don’t care where you end up and are happy with the worst cabin in that category, it is a good way to save money. If you absolutely have to be midship or near an elevator it is better to just pick your own room.

I missed the twice-a-day with 3 in a standard balcony with regards to the pull-out sofa and the trash situation with a toddler still in diapers. I asked the attendant a few times to empty the trash or provide some other extra service though I did just throw the bed back into the couch each morning on my own.

My TA was able to get me a price drop today of about $100 with the current "sale" and kickers.

I once called to book airport transfers and couldn’t even get those for myself.

I’ve only cruised once out of Galveston with a Sunday arrival and departure. Upon arriving there seemed to be a large number of people unable to get shared rides or cabs. I’m not sure I’d trust availability though a late flight might make things less stressful.