cheermomof2girls

Our first cruise was on the Triumph in August 2015. It got us hooked on cruising, but I would seek out the Triumph again, the a/c didn't work well and there was an off smell. We sailed on the Liberty last October and prefer the LIberty over the Triumph. We have not been able to do longer cruises yet due to schedules, so we don't have much to compare too, which is probably good though, keeps us happy with what we have!

We have taken a 4 night and a 5 night and neither were what i would consider booze cruises. Our kids were with us on the 4 day and no issues. We are leaving over Easter Weekend for a 4 day and I think it will be fine.

In my experience, it means up to 3 year 11 months, or just shy of 4.

We are sailing on the Valor in April and I'm getting excited. Thought reading through some of the fun times might help pass the times. :) Would love kids club info if you have it!

Thank you!! I tried searching, but wasn't having much luck, I think I was too vague.

On the Vision of the seas. We have been on 2, will be 3 by the time we sail, Carnival cruises. This is just a short 4 night on the Vision of the Seas.

Can you tell me what to expect different from Carnival? We love the Alchemy bar on Carnival, is there anything similar on Royal Caribbean?

no trivia or games shows? sat through the music of various lounges?

how old are the kids? participated in the camps?

No triva or game shows. We didn't sit through the music either.

Sounds like we missed out on a lot of fun, lol.

The kids will be 5 and 10 for our April cruise. Last time, the younger loved the kids club, the older did not. But they both went about 3-4 times each.

The CD is the one for the programs

 

Some CDs are hands on today and will run some of that program instead of the "staff"

 

when was your last cruise? did you not participate in any shows etc onboard?

Last cruise was in October. No, we didn't participate in any shows. We watched one on the last night, was not too impressed. We do hope to get more involved with the shows this time.

Our first cruise, the kids were younger, so couldn't have sat through the shows. This time, I think they will love the music and dancing.

We have been on two cruises, and barely noticed the CD on the second and I have no idea who it was on the first. What activities do you do on a cruise and how does the CD play into this? I see people concerned about who the CD is going to be, and was just wondering if we are missing out on something!

We don't go to the pool, hang out on the serenity deck a little, and in both cruises only saw one show and one comedy show. Our first cruise we literally didn't do much except relax and walk around with the kids. The second was without kids, and we mostly hung out in the casino and the alchemy bar.

We have another booked with the kids and our parents, so we do want to try to be more active and show them all the fun that can be had on the ship! So, give me ideas of things to do!

We sailed on the Triumph last August and loved it. The ship was very easy to get around in, and great. It did get very hot in our room, especially the last night, but that was our only complaint.

That was our first cruise, so we had nothing to compare it to, but we were very happy with it. We have now cruised on the Liberty and I think the Triumph was easier to navigate.

We are the opposite, booked on Liberty, changed to Valor. I'm disappointed because I just wanted the Liberty again. But my PVP said our rooms would not be changing. We booked next door to inlaws and have a kid in each, so I wanted to be sure we were still next door. AND, we picked our rooms exactly what we wanted. :)

I'm a little disappointed, because we love the Liberty. Re-booked on her intentionally, but a cruise is a cruise!! We were hoping to have the same bartenders at the Alchemy bar. LOVED them!!

However, we booked next to my inlaws, and were particular about our room, I hope the rooms transfer over the same.

Does anyone know about the Valor steakhouse? We loved it on the Liberty. Wondering if it is the same.

We book through a PVP. I do the research ahead of time and know what booking I want, what room, etc and then call her to book. She use to call when I went on the website, but I just let her know that I look ALL the time, and I'll call or email her when I am ready to book.

I book through her and not myself for a couple of reasons. One being this way she gets paid on something I was going to book anyway- cost is the same to me. And she's super fast to handle any price drops, answers my random questions, etc. Even if my price drop is only $10, she handles it with the same speed as if it were a huge price drop.

We never ate at the buffet, so I only had the free coffee from the MDR, and I thought it was good. Better than the late' from there that I would have paid extra for had I not had cheers. At home, I drink coffee with creamer only, and in the MDR just put cream in it and it was very good.

The coffee bar has good coffee, and compared to starbucks, are very inexpensive. I think 3.50 for the flavored, specialty drinks.

We did have cheers, as we knew that we would take advantage of the coffee bar in addition to the alcohol. We stopped at the coffee bar less than I expected since I did like the coffee in the MDR.

I did not ever try the tea or lemonade but I thought the water was fine. We also ordered the case of water to have in our room.

We booked on priceline for both our upcoming trip and our trip last year out of Galveston. Last year, I had booked a hotel with expedia, but when we got there, it was nasty. So we did priceline, 4 star hotel for around 129 a night and were at the Hotel Galvez. Worth every penny. This year we are staying at the San Luis; we did the same thing, just picked 4 star and the price.

Both hotels have free parking, and shuttle to the port. So it saves us even more.

As long as the two smaller dimensions are under 16"x24", you're fine. The third dimension does not matter. That's large enough to accommodate about any suitcase, not just airline sized carryons.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1373

 

Carry-On Luggage

Guests are encouraged to limit their luggage to two suitcases per guest.For those guests who wish to carry on luggage, it must fit through the security screening machine. When laying flat, it must not exceed 16 inches high x 24 inches wide (40.64cm x 60.96cm); the length of the bag is not a factor. Anything larger, must be checked-in with a curbside porter. We suggest that all luggage be unlocked and have a Carnival luggage tag attached listing the guest's name and stateroom number.

Thank you!!

I'm thinking we might just carry our luggage on, since we have FTTF. We don't have huge bags, but each have a carry on suitcase and a rolling garment bag

We purchased some at Kroger with 4x fuel points- used those to pay off our cruise balance and saved a ton on fuel. We have also purchased a few $500 ones from AARP to get the 10% off.

I figure, it's money we would be spending anyway, but this way we either get savings from the gift card amount or from the fuel points.

Last year, we had an ocean view and were upgraded to a suite. There were four of us in the room, and the upgrade was 500. We took it, and LOVED the suite. But now we are convinced we have to have a balcony every time, so it was a good move on Carnival's part! :)

I am looking at the map of the terminal and there appears to be a parking garage with walkway to the terminal. Does anyone know what this place is called, and is it available for parking during the duration of your cruise or is it for terminal employees?

Any other recommendations? I would like to park somewhere where the car would be protected in case of a storm.

If we have passports, is there any reason to need to take our birth certificates?

We have only cruised once, and had it. We are booked on another cruise and it's not available yet. I've been checking constantly, and will buy it if it becomes available, but no, it won't make me cancel if I can't get it. :) I just want it. :)

Thanks for the head's up on this. I've seen threads in the past, but thought you had to be an AARP member. We ordered the 500 yesterday.

Do you tip extra for room service?

Linda

We tipped a couple dollars an order. If it was a large order we tipped 4-5, otherwise just 2-3.

I prefer to book by calling my PVP. If you con't have one, I can give you mine. She's very nice, and answers my questions super quick. It's nice to have a contact for any questions/issues. And, they get paid this way. So, even though her price was the same as online, I would rather book through her.