journey2002

We're on the same ship and can echo that Carnival had done a great job so far trying to keep things upbeat and helpful. We've scheduled massages for this morning and are just planning to go with the flow.

Some lessons learned so far:

* As my daughter said, Faster to the Fun is a lot funnier than we thought and could not be more worth the cost. I'm know there's often much debate about how FTTF is an unnecessary cost because you can just arrive a little later, but moments like this make it worth it. We arrived around 5:00 last night and the line was snaked at least a quarter of a mile. We showed our FTTF and skipped the entire line and went straight to our cabins. My family was officially in love with me!

* Don't be afraid to ask questions. The crew have been so very helpful and willing to go out of their way when you ask. But they aren't mind readers.

* Pack patience!!! And, like always - Attitude is everything. Carnival cannot control the weather so there is no need to take out your frustration on them or each other!

Were the new menus in the MDR?

 

 

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I don't believe so. I haven't really seen the new ones, but I remember seeing these named menus before.

Can I ask for the Lamanai and the New River Safari did your mom go? We are cruising for the first time at the end of July with my husband and me in one room and mom and daughter in the connecting room (just like you!). My mom is pretty active, I'm not too worried about the walking (we'll make sure we just don't over do it and stop if we need to). In general that's a long day for anyone, I think she would enjoy it though. Did you book through Royal Caribbean? How did you get off the ship?

 

Sorry for all the questions...first timer and I want to know as much as possible!

Thank you!

No worries about the questions! That's how I always find out things too - lots of questions!

My mom didn't go on this excursion; it's the one she chose to miss. But I'd say if your mom is fairly active she would be fine. The total walking at the site is about 1 mile. We carried a backpack that my husband and I took turns with, which held a small water bottle for each of us and one large water bottle to refill from. It was definitely hot and humid on the walk and the water helped. One of the hardest parts though was the climb to the top of the ruin. I'm not totally sure I'd recommend her doing that, but you know her activity level best.

We always book excursions through Royal Caribbean. I know you can get them cheaper off the ship sometimes, but I personally like the peace of mind that comes with knowing the ship will be held if something happens. For our trip, the ship was late letting people off, so we knew we'd be pushing it to get back in time. But I was still able to enjoy the day because I knew the ship wouldn't leave a Royal Caribbean excursion.

We took a tender that day after meeting in studio B that morning. The tickets we received on the ship told us where to go. (This was another benefit to booking with the ship - as mentioned, they were late docking and letting us off and some other people we met lost their paid for excursion because they booked it off ship and they did not make it to the meeting spot in time.)

Hope this helps!

We have these same 2 rooms for our April 2016 cruise!!! Do you happen to have any photos of them or their views (how does the hump impact it!) or can you tell me the bed placement in them?

 

Thanks for the review!!

I'll see if I can figure out a way to load a picture or two. The views were gorgeous and the hump had no negative effect at all. In fact, I really liked how the view was because of it. The bed was closest to the window/door (we had the king arrangement) and the adjoining door was closer to the side of the bed nearest the cabin door (not sure if that makes sense). We loved having the connecting door and the ability to open and close when needed. The attendant also opened the balcony slider for us too so our balcony seemed even bigger bid we were cruising ok that ship again tomorrow, I'd definitely pick those two rooms again!

Is it still if you are self carrying. You go to the top level of the mdr or theater as your waiting area. Last year if you got their early they placed your luggage to hold your place in line so you could sit in the theater until it was time to disembark. I think I remember them letting people clear the ship about 7:30.

We started in the lower level of the MDR. Then, around 7:30, they started lining people up by exiting the dining room, going out the port side and towards the front of the ship, make a U- halfway down the side, go back through the main hall and past the MDR, out the other side, down towards the back, make a U and go by the main center entrance towards the back, into the sun to make another U before finally being able to head towards the scanners to disembark.

Crazy round about!

Howdy!

Howdy right back atcha!

As they mentioned, there was no sign of the the Freestyle machines. We're not huge Coke drinkers though so I never had a chance to ask about future plans.

We're just off the 4th of July Liberty of the Seas cruise. There seem to be many reviews lately with lots of detail and pictures, so I chose to focus on just some of the key areas. But if you want to know about something else, please ask! Is be glad to answer if I can.

Embarkation-

Though we've cruised from Galveston before, this was the first time we have had to drive and park. I pre purchased the week at Lighthouse covered parking. The service was fast and friendly and got us to the terminal in great time. Due to some craziness, we did not get to the parking spot until almost 1:00 (about 2 hours after we planned!) But the timing could not have been better. My husband and I are Gold members but my daughter and mother are not. The staff was wonderful and they sent all four of us through the priority line. We checked in and went straight to our stateroom. From parking to being in the room was literally 30 minutes.

Cabins - We booked adjoining balcony rooms on Deck 7 and absolutely loved them. The location could not have been better. We were two floors above the promenade so waiting for the elevator wasn't always necessary but we were close to the elevators if we needed them. Our cabin steward was friendly and prompt. He quickly realized the needs and interests of our group and always met them. We were in 7650 and 7652.

Food - This was our first time to cruise with our daughter who has some pretty unique food allergies. So, our food choices were a little more limited this time. We ate in the MDR each night and ordered Room Service for breakfast most mornings. (Room service was also made aware of her allergies so helped her order). The service in the MDR was excellent, though it did take them two full days (and the involvement of the head waiter) for them to really help us out. Once they figured everything out, they went above and beyond to take care of her which I loved. The food was good most nights in the dining room. As with most things, some meals were more liked than others. My husband and I thought the food wasn't as good as in the past, but my mom and daughter (who had nothing to compare it to) enjoyed it. She could also eat the pizza in Sorentos so we snacked there some as well.

Drinks - Hubby and I had the Ultimate drink package. For us, it was well worth it. The package gave me the ability to try the different drinks of the day and not feel bad if I didn't like it and/or finish it. I also drink a lot of water and loved the ability to get bottles whenever I wanted without watching the cost. On the first day, my mom purchased the Replenish pack for herself and my daughter. They also loved having it and she felt it was a great deal.

Activities - As is often the case, we stayed busy and I still feel like we didn't even scratch the surface on the activities. (Guess we'll have to go back soon!). My daughter and husband had Flowrider lessons on the first evening and I'm so glad we did that; they were really able to enjoy it the rest of the cruise whenever it was open. The water slides were a little slow, but if you arch your back a little and move from side to side, it speeds you up. We all loved, loved the Tidal Wave; excellent ride, the line moved pretty quickly, lots of fun! We also played Bingo (where my mom won $300!), went to the spa a few times, took advantage of the open ice skating sessions, and hung out by the pool which was crowded but never to the point we didn't want to go. We did the Family Scavenger Hunt and the Harry Potter Trivia. In the evenings, my husband and I typically hung out with the karaoke crowd and had a great time.

Spa - As mentioned, we visited the spa several times. My mother had 3 massages and I had two, one with her and one with my daughter. They had a Teen Mother/Daughter heavenly massage so she and I went together for her first ever massage. The therapists were great and really listened. At the beginning of each session I politely told them I only wanted to relax and had no intention of purchasing any product; trying to make a sale at the end would effect their additional tip. Never once did I feel pressure to buy anything which was great!

Ports - Our first port was Roatan, Honduras. We wanted to snorkel and relax some so we did the Tabyana Beach break. It was a great excursion. The price included the beach, chairs, and lunch. We paid for the snorkels there because not everyone wanted to snorkel. We also paid for the inflatables while we were there too. Our second port was Belize City, Belize and our daughter wanted to see the Mayan Ruins. So we did Lamanai and the New River Safari. The mix of the bus ride and speed boat ride really broke things up and made for fun travel to the ruins. Then, in Cozumel, she wanted to see the dolphins so we did the Dolphin Push, Pull, and Swim and Manatee interaction which was great. You do have to pay extra to order the pictures though, so know that going in.

Voom - we purchased the basic boom package for one device in each cabin. This worked great as a way to communicate with family back home if needed (through iMessage or FB). It was a little slow when sending pictures and a couple of times I had to send twice. We didn't do any posting on FB but were able to refresh our feeds often.

Disembarkation - This was a little interesting to say the least. The crew's method of getting us off the ship was a very long and windy path in the heat. We chose to carry our own bags off and it just seemed long and odd. Once we were in the new terminal though, we found a porter and were through the line and customs area in under 5 minutes.

Overall this was a fabulous cruise and we can't wait to go again! If you have any questions, please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

If you do a google search for carnival cove balcony photos - you can get an idea of what they look like!

I had seen a couple of the pictures online, just still wasn't sure about them. The cabins seem to get lots of great reviews.

What do you like about them?

I hadn't thought too much about the cove balconies. Do you feel enclosed or like you're in a cave when you're on the balcony?

While it might be fun to do some people watching from Deck 6 while looking down at the Promenade deck, I'd be more inclined to select the adjoining cabins on Deck 9. You'll feel less like you're sitting in a fish bowl than you would on Deck 6.

That's kinda what I was thinking. I was just unsure of the noise. We've never stayed under the pool deck.

We're about to book a New Years Eve cruise on the Carnival Breeze and are so excited. We just came back from the Liberty of the Seas (RCCL) and can't wait to be back on the water!

But, I'm struggling with making a cabin choice and I'd love some thoughts. I've searched through the threads and found some info, but not a lot. Here are the parameters: I need (A) two balcony cabins, and (B) they must be adjoining. Right now my choices are Deck 6 (which I'd normally love, but after reading, found out about the Promenade deck) and Deck 9 (under the Lido deck).

These are the two cabin sets we're considering:

6282/6284

9415/9419

Thoughts?

A quick update - we had no problems with embarkation. They barely even looked at the passports, so the date wasn't an issue. We were through the embarkation line and on the ship in under 20 minutes around 1:00 pm.

Thanks again to each of you for the answers (and the laughs). I'm very much the control freak of the group, because I'm the one tasked as the family TA, so really worried about it.

Thank you all! I'm going to go with it and just hope we're okay. Kinda too late to do anything else anyways.

She got it 10 years ago and probably misplaced it. No time to get another.

That's exactly how she got it. She had a copy but since my father passed away, can't find where he kept it. I've already ordered her a new one, but it won't be here in time.

I ran into a little bit of a situation last night and now I'm a little worried. We are cruising tomorrow with DH, DD, and my mom (65). Earlier in the year, we applied for my daughter's passport and renewed ours. I tried to get my mom to go with us, but she said hers was still valid until the end of the year (December 17th to be exact). She was wrong. I realized last night that hers expires July 17, 2016 (7 days after the cruise ends)!! She does not have a copy of her birth certificate.

Now, I realize passports are not required, but that is all we were planning to bring - DL and Passport for the three adults.

My question is, will she have any trouble boarding? I'm having nightmares all of the sudden that she can't even get on the ship because her passport expires 7 days after the cruise ends.

We have been in cabin 1356 for 5 cruises, cabin 1360 for 1 cruise and cabin 1660 for 3 cruises - love, love the location. Have not felt any additional movement! Not only will you have much more room, put these cabins have a large walkin closet and a bathtub/shower combination. We feel that the JS offers the best configuration of all the suites. If the price is right, go for it!!

 

Carla

Thank you for the insight into the cabins! I think we're going to do it!

If it's not rough, you won't notice a difference in deck level! i would MUCH rather have 2 JS's than 2 standard cabins! The space is so comfortable! And you won't be in the cabins most of the day...you'll be out and about....usually on the pool deck, which is above ALL the cabins!

Definitely a good point! I didn't think much about the space at first. Very helpful!!

Motion can have as much to do with the motion of the ocean so if it's rough it will move the ship. Try Meds like Bonine[emoji12]

He used the bracelets and they work great!

There will generally be more motion felt on deck 10 than deck 7. However, it's not possible to predict if it will be too much motion for your group.

I realize it's impossible to predict; I'd certainly never ask anyone to attempt that. I've just never stayed that high before so I'm curious if it's a fairly significant amount of more motion or marginal (and know that's not quantifiable).

Currently, I have two adjoining rooms on the Liberty - 7650 and 7652 (balcony cabins). I have the opportunity to upgrade at a price I'm comfortable with to two adjoining junior suites (1660 and 1656).

I originally picked the two balconies because it's central; my husband has a slight tendency to have motion sickness and my daughter will be cruising for the first time. I thought this middle deck, mid ship would be a good location. Of course, I'd love to upgrade to a JS. However, I don't want to upgrade if it will be too much motion and they won't enjoy it.

So, for those with more experience or who have cruised any of these rooms before - thoughts?

Hot tea is included as part of your basic cruise fare, no packages needed. The varieties you listed are usually available, but not 100% of the time.

Thanks! You just saved us a package price. She only drinks water (with a very rare frozen drink - not really worth a package) and is allergic to lemons. So, I wanted to make sure she could have a treat with the tea!

Does anyone know about the types of hot tea available and whether it is free or will need to be purchased? My daughter drinks a lot of hot tea, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Chamomile are her favorites, but I wasn't sure if they were included or even available.

Thanks

You only see the cost of the package when you purchase it.

Thanks, Bob. That's what I was thinking and hoping, but I learned awhile ago not to assume!

If I purchase a beverage package for my Mom through her cruise planner (I'm the one who booked and accesses the planner; she'll never see it) will she see the amount of it when she boards? I know somewhere on the pass it may have a sticker that says Unlimited Package, or when they slide the card through a reader, but will she know the cost? I want it to be a gift for her and if she knows the cost, she won't enjoy it.

Thank you all! I went ahead and logged in tonight and made payment and then will call in the morning to verify. And thanks for the clarification on price changes and final payment!