Kls721911

On 6/4/2019 at 11:02 AM, summersigh said:

We choose by checking Trip Advisor and the islands tourism office to find reputable companies and then email them with what we'd desire to see if they can fufill it.

Im planning my excursions for a Bermuda cruise and joined a group on Facebook called “Bermuda bound.” Full of locals and frequent visitors with tons of advice about hidden gem tours and activities! I’m sure this exists for other popular port locations! 

On 6/5/2019 at 7:20 PM, k.davis817 said:

I've started preparing my tips ahead of time--dollar bill origami.  It only takes a single one dollar tip for the bartenders to remember you and your cocktail of choice, when that dollar bill is folded to look like a dress, a wine glass or a fish.  It's fun for me to take an hour or so and fold some dollar bills while watching television, plus it adds to the excitement of preparing for the next trip, and I know it's something that will be appreciated. 

Omg this is the best idea ever! I agree, the bartenders will start remembering you very quickly!!!!

If your actually contemplating buying 2 packages, I’m going to assume you are are someone who likes to indulge (much like myself 😂) because drink packages are not cheap. I went on a cruise with family where I didn’t get the package and I spent like $350 for a 5 day cruise. I would say that I certainly had my fare share of drinks, but that amount was me being conscious about it. I drank less since I was with family as opposed to, say with a group of friends. 

When end I go with a group of friends, the drink package is not optional 🤷🏼‍♀️😂🛳

How early did you have to go to the comedy shows to get a seat in the limelight lounge? I heard that was one of the few issues with Sunshine and trying to plan in advance!

Sorry, I tend to be a bit wordy but hopefully these answers are helpful for you! 

Cheers! - Absolutely go with the Cheers package! The first time I contemplated purchasing an alcohol package, I kept going back and fourth. It was about $750 for the both of us (7 day cruise) and I kept thinking... "we probably COULD come out cheaper than that if we were REALLY thinking/trying to." However, we are both pretty casual vacation drinkers and even if we were being conscious about it, I was pretty sure we would still have at least a $500 alcohol bill. The extra couple hundred dollars up front was well worth not having to think about it and order whatever we wanted, plus we absolutely got our moneys worth when we added it up after the cruise. Make sure you check our Alchemy Bar - easily the best bang for your buck with the most unique drinks and top notch bartenders. And yes you can order water & alcohol at the same time!! We always had bottled water stocked up in our fridge. 

Sail Cards - They will traditionally just request 1 credit card be on file per room, which is then linked to all the sail cards tied to that cabin. However, they do track individual charges per sail card (charges your son makes will show up on the bill under his sail #, vs charges that the boyfriend makes being under his sail #). Before the cruise ends, just go to guest services and ask to pay all the stuff tied to your son's sail # and your good! You might be able to tie his sail # to your credit card at the beginning of the cruise through guest services, I'm not sure though as I've always just used the method I mentioned above. Long story short - Guest service will be able to help you out! I wouldn't worry about it when your boarding the cruise, it will just complicate things. 

Gratuities - This will always vary from person to person, however I (and many others) always plan on additional gratuities for servers and room stewards. I usually give the head waiter and room steward $15-20 to cover my husband and I (a few bucks per person). And then $5-10 to the assistant waiter. They really don't make that much and work so hard. You will be amazed at how much they remember about you from even your first interaction (name, requests, special dietary restrictions)! I also periodically tip additional to bartenders that I favor. Gratuity is included w/ Cheers, but an extra buck here and there really goes a long way! Trust me, you won't be disappointed when there's a huge crowd at the bar and you get serviced faster than everyone else. People that you do need to tip that are not included are people delivering room service, baggage handlers at the beginning of your cruise, and tour guides for excursions. 

Allergies- I would call Carnival beforehand to let them know your situation and then go to the maitre'd shortly after boarding just to confirm everything. They will make sure everything is taken care of for you. They take allergies very seriously, so never feel like your being a burden by telling anyone servicing you! 

Dinner - I've never seen anyone turned away in the dining room for dress code. Your son will be fine in cargo's and a polo/button up, I think they are more lenient with kids! I will say that dressing up for formal night is FUN! It's so rare we get the opportunity to dress nicely, take advantage of the excuse to look a little snazzier than usual. Also they have tons of people everywhere to take your picture! I tend to dress up for all dinners. If that really isn't your thing though, the clothes you mentioned above will be fine as well. You most likely won't be the only one 🙂 

-Excursions - Sorry, not an expert on these ports. I did look at doing that itinerary and actually Puerto Rico was where I was going to spend my excursion money between all the different stops. I tend to look for my own privately ran excursions (not sold through carnival) and they are always cheaper, full of local history, and less crowded. I would look on the boards dedicated to those specific ports and see if anyone has a recommendation for you. I know you can use US dollars in PR, and i'm pretty sure that you can use US dollars at all the other ports as well. 

Following! I was just trying to dig up these questions as well. Somebody here said that you were not allowed to bring food/water but that you snuck them in. Do they look inside your bags and whatnot?

I've just done a dummy booking for beginning of December for 2 people and its come out at $308 for one night

Don't try to book it through the comfort inn website. Use a 3rd party website like booking.com - the difference in room rates when I compared for my purchase were in the $100s. I was able to get my rate down to $370 for 4 adults, which equaled out to about $90 a person! Much better than the $150 cost of a day pass!

I’ve booked the comfort inn for this purpose. $125 includes 4 bands for Atlantis. There is a bit of wasted time this way, and i don’t believe the passes got us access to everything so weigh the pros and cons. Worked great for us.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

May I ask what you felt you didn't get access to with the Comfort Inn passes? That is how I booked and will want to inquire before going :)

You can only book 4 to a room.

Cool thanks, so if I book a room for 4 adults, I'll get 4 adult voutures for Atlantis then? Have you had any issues with check in times and things to with that nature? We would clearly only be booking the room for the voutures. So if I showed up at say 9AM for a room that has a check in of say 3PM, will they still give me the voutures when I arrived or make me wait? Hopefully that question makes sense.

Check out the price for a room at the Comfort Suites (next door to Atlantis and you get full privlages at Atlantis including the water park. Also if you are a Marriott member you can redeem points for a free night at Atlantis.

Do you know how many free access voutures you get with a room purchase? I looked online but couldn't quite track that down

Could I stay on her for 10 days? Probably so, actually. I would have said no before the dry dock. We are doing a 7 day in October on her, so check back with me after that but after my 5 day last month I was left wanting more!

Did the ecstasy change over to the "American table" menu after dry dock, or was it still similar to their old menu? Also, I read there's no longer free lobster on cruises less than 6 days, was that true for you last month? Thanks for any help you can provide!

If you truly feel that tipping extra is unnecessary, then don't. Cruise wait staff are used to it and won't bat an eye. However, don't get mad when I'm sitting next to you getting my drinks faster and fuller because I felt their time and demeanor was worth an extra dollar or so.

Carnival has a size limit of 12 x 12 in for coolers. I pack mine in the suitcase with it expanded and I pack things inside it like my makeup and things that may need extra protection inside the suitcase.

You're allowed to take that off the ship too, correct?

Looking at the AARP website right now and they have Royal Caribbean gift cards available now... do they usually switch between the two? Hoping they didn't make a perma-change right after I found out about the discounted GCs!

I have only gotten a drink package on a RC cruise. With that drink package, you paid the normal "per day" price and then you were also charged an 18% gratuity per drink that hot added to your sail card. Is that not the case with cheers? You only pay the 15% of the total package?

Can anyone talk to her question about it going on sale? I know Royal Carribean offered 20% off drink packages a few weeks before sailing. Anyone seen this on carnival? Booking through Expedia.

We are going there in October. Out of curiosity, was there any type of server or staff personnel assigned to your bungalow? I'm thinking about renting one... But there's actually 10 of us. Obviously we wouldn't all be in there, I'm mainly interested in your point of being able to have somewhere to keep/lock our stuff. However, I see that it technically has a "maximum of 4" person limit. Is that something you feel is enforced strictly? They can't really stop people from bringing extra chairs over.

Ok that makes sense that it's 1.5-2 hours that you're actually there. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the information

Did you ever follow up here? Also looking at Pete Tour's for blue hole and porting out of falmouth.

There's only 2 of us- so I doubt many private tour companies would really book us.