HerbertandB

8 hours ago, riffatsea said:

I just want to know when the dress code was changed?????

 

From what I can find, I'm guessing it was changed to add no T-shirts for cruise casual sometime in early 2016.

From the Carnival website:  https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/chefs-table

Attire

What do I wear?

When you’re on a Carnival cruise, should you dress up or dress down? The answer is: YES. While you can always wear what you want — most onboard spots are ‘come as you are’ — there will be certain opportunities for dressing up during your cruise. Some dining and nightlife spots always have light dress regulations (“Cruise Casual”), while on certain nights these spots ask that you go all-out (“Cruise Elegant”). So pack a little of everything when you’re getting ready to set sail.

What to wear, and when to wear it? Read on for details.

Does The Chef’s Table have specific attire requirements?

We know you want to look your best from head to toe, but when it comes to dining at The Chef’s Table, not all shoes are created equal! Please only wear closed-toe flat shoes that aren’t prone to slipping, since the experience involves a tour through the galley — a fully-functional, professional kitchen environment.

What’s Cruise Casual?

For the ladies — Casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, Capri pants, jeans (no cut-offs).

For the gentlemen — Sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), collared sport shirts.

If you're going to drink all of the extra stuff that comes with Cheers besides the alcohol then it's a probably good deal.  Will you?

Also if you drink higher end alcohols.

You said you've been to AI's.  What and how much do you normally drink there? That answer should help you decide if Cheers is the way to go.

3 minutes ago, Sersee said:

That’s my concern with the 4 port days. 

We did have some drinks in port too - but they were pretty cheap. (Of course, we're used to spending $15-$20 on cocktails in Las Vegas so YMMV)

Yes, you can order water from the Fun Shops.  There aren't any mini-bars any more, depending on the ship/room you should have a refrigerator you can use for the water.

We think of ourselves as drinkers but there was no way we would have broken even with buying cheers on our 7-day cruise with 4 port days.  We had our 2 bottles of wine and drank what we wanted when we felt like it and still only spent about a quarter of the cost of cheers.

19 hours ago, modes said:

They will not be looking at your feet.

Odd as it may be... I as a female,  always look at other females shoes.  🤷‍♀️

11 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

Yes, I  know the names of my medications and the dosages.  I get a printout from my pharmacy with all the pertinent information, including my doctor's contact information.  My travel partner knows that this list is in a folder with all my other papers for the trip.  I even peel off and attach to the list the sticker that my pharmacy attaches to each bottle with a description of the pills, for example, "This is a yellow oval pill with R467 stamped on one side." 

 

That's a great idea.  

I always take enough of my drugs for my travel days plus a couple more in the original container.  At this point in my life I only have one prescription, a  7-day container would take up more room than the bottle.  

Question for those of you who don't take your original container - Do you and your traveling partner know the name and dosage of all your meds?   

This is the one Herbert uses.  It's a Maxpedition Rollypolly backpack

https://www.amazon.com/Maxpedition-0230-Rollypoly-Backpack-Black/dp/B00158319I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

My favorite is my 20 oz Yeti.  I have the handle and magnetic slider lid for mine.  Loved being able to fill it up and then go back to the room to sit on our balcony.  It keeps coffee hot for a long time.  

We carried on and off for our cruise out of NOLA last year.  Both of us had 26" spinner suitcases which had to be less than 50lbs each since we flew.  Herbert had a backpack with our electronics and the 2 bottles of wine.  Like the poster above,  we arrived later (12:30ish for a 1:00 check-in).  There was a line but it moved pretty quick.  We did have to handle the luggage going up an escalator.  We've done that plenty of times on other vacations so that wasn't an issue.  The only problem we had was I was a weakling and had to have Herbert lift my suitcase on to the scanner belt.   Getting them up the "gangplank" wasn't an issue.  

Once on the ship, we made a stop at the excursion desk and then had to wait a few minutes before we could get an open elevator to get to our deck.  By then, it was after 1:30 so we went straight to our room.  

B

2) Also I will be on the Breeze...do you do anything with the European plug side to have more outlets( like an adapter)?

We used a plug adapter (had one from travel to Europe) in the European plug to charge our iPhones, charge the battery for a camera and for my dual-voltage hairdryer.   As long as your device is dual-voltage the European plug can be used.

48 minutes ago, Sheffie said:

We bring our own. I had not read that it wasn’t legal.  We had no problems at all, and they were not hidden by us.  

On Carnival,  you can bring power strips and extension cords as long as they aren't surge protected.

For a 7 day cruise with 4 port days about $200 for the 2 of us.  8-10 drinks each.  We also had our allotted 2 bottles of wine and had a few cocktails in port a couple of days.  I expected to spend more but we didn't drink near as much as I thought we would.

4 hours ago, erby2283 said:

I like the idea of a smaller backpack (mostly bc I usually carry a backpack in general on cruises) but am just thinking out loud....we are doing a lot of excursions in vans and would have to hold the bag in my lap the whole time when sitting whereas a cross body is something that would just lay there. Same thing if we stop to eat somewhere. I couldn't sit back in the chair and eat and even though it has the strap to attach to a chair, not sure how comfortable I would feel about that.

 

Thoughts anyone?

 I'm not a fan of the backpack.   You need to take it off to be comfortable to sit and if you need to get something out of it; and you always need to be careful not to hit others with it when wearing it.   Plus a backpack is ripe for pickpocketing.  

I bought my first crossbody handbag for going to Paris in 2012 and haven't gone back to a regular handbag since then.  I like begin "hands free"  especially when traveling when I need both hands for luggage, documents etc.  Also in crowded situations,  I make sure it's in front of me (never behind) and I'll rest my hand on my bag for a little extra protection/piece of mind.

I have a couple of Bagalinni crossbody handbags.  For travel, I prefer one that has a zipper plus a flap.  Similar to this one:  https://www.ebags.com/product/baggallini/flip-zip-crossbody/356671?productid=10628273

TJ Maxx usually has a selection of Bagalinni's.

15 hours ago, cloudninecat said:

We had a bathroom break halfway in to ours. 

We got a bathroom break too.   Also they had 3 different groups of 15-20 people on our cruise.   Our group started first, the second group about 15 minutes after ours and then the last group.

4 minutes ago, BBigfoot613 said:

 

I don't understand what there is to coordinate? It's two adults and 2 teens with 2 bags each. I'll assume that all 4 people are mature enough to be responsible to carry 2 bags to and from cars or planes. How much of a hassle would that be? I have a 16 year old daughter and a 13 year old son (who is on the petite side) and they already know they are responsible for their own bags or they cruise naked lol. Sure I'll double check to make sure they have their bags but it really won't be a big deal... I'd rather spend the $100? elsewhere...

I'd rather spend the $100 elsewhere too.  I hate paying to check a bag but sometimes spending a little extra money makes life easier.   Just something for the OP to think about besides the money side of things.

12 minutes ago, BBigfoot613 said:

I love how we live in a society where someone asks for TIPS and they get "I'm glad I live close to not worry about it" or "I'd just pay the $$" and "Don't be cheap" type responses. I thought this was a message board to HELP people? When did we become a society that just bashes people constantly instead of giving the requested help or if not having any advice just scrolling on? Are we really that miserable of a society that we have to bash people constantly? MAYBE the OP doesn't want to pay the fee...but MAYBE the OP just doesn't want to worry about lost luggage from a connection or MAYBE there is a different reason all together. As members on this board we are here to gather info and if inclined to help others with our knowledge. I'll climb down from the soap box but hope that those that post crappy comments never find the info they desire..

MAYBE the OP hasn't thought about how he/she is going to coordinate carrying all the pieces of luggage from the house, to the car, to the airport etc.   I just pointed out that it could end up being a bigger hassle then expected and spending a little extra money may be worth not having to carefully figure out what to pack and making sure nobody left  one of the 8 bag behind.   

Personally I'd pay the extra $100(?) to check two suite cases.  Trying to deal with 8 small bags between 4 people sounds like a bigger hassle than it's worth.

One burger on a 7-day cruise.

Carrying on is easy as long as you don't have too much luggage and you'll need to be able to lift it on to the scanner belt.   We each had a 26" spinner and a backpack.  Once on the ship, you'll probably have a wait for an elevator but as long as you have some patience it's not a big deal.

Ha, my local blood center deferred me for a year after I said I'd been to Honduras, Belize and Mexico on a cruise. (I'm not sure which country actually deferred me) But it hasn't stopped them from calling me wanting me to donate plasma.

We carried on our 26" spinners with no problem. You just need to be able to lift it on and off the conveyor belt.