Smurphy

Definitely price out the cost of two cabins.  On our upcoming Oasis cruise, it is actually cheaper to book two cabins for 4 people!  We have a couple in our group with 1-year old twins.  It was less money to book one adult and one baby in the balcony room and the second adult and second baby in the inside across the hall than to book all four of them in the balcony room.  So now they will all stay in the balcony cabin and use the inside across the hall for strollers, luggage, etc.

On the day we will be at Coco Cay, there will be four ships in port.  I double checked the itineraries for all four ships on the RC website.  The four ships total about 16,000 passengers!

If there are no other factors, I would do the Breeze because it is bigger, newer, and nicer. I really liked the Breeze over the Valor (sister ship to the Freedom.) Of course, the Freedom has the 2.0 upgrades now that the Valor did not have when I sailed.

 

That being said, my cruise on the Freedom leaves next week!! This is an extended family cruise so we had to go with what worked best for everyone but I know I will have a wonderful time on whichever ship I sail!

In Galveston, if the previous cruise did not go to Belize, you are looking at 11:30 - 11:45 boarding time. If they did go to Belize, you are looking at a 12:15 - 12:30 boarding time. It could all change depending on what time the ship comes in and customs clearance.

 

Why the delay if the ship has been to Belize? Our cruise goes to Belize (from Galveston) but it will not be in Belize the trip before us :)

Check with the hotels in Galveston. We are negotiating a price right now with two different hotels to pick us up at the airport, shuttle us to the ship the next day, and return us to Houston Hobby after the cruise. We are looking at $500 for all of that for 22 people, which breaks down to $23pp.

Hi sailing on the breeze in April. Is there a link where i can go to get all the information on the internet packages and how it works. Would really like to know all about this before going on board. Thanks

 

http://carnival-news.com/2015/01/15/carnival-cruise-line-launches-new-shipboard-app-also-piloting-first-ever-social-media-internet-package-providing-access-to-facebook-twitter-and-other-sites-for-flat-fee/

 

Here is a link. My understanding is that the free Carnival app has a chat option for $5 per person for the week. Some have reported that since it is being beta tested it was free for them. It is for messaging with people onboard. The social media internet package is for FB, shapchat, iMessage, etc. and is $5/day $25/week per phone and you can message people back home. You can buy one package and share but only one phone can be logged in at time. You can also upgrade for faster speed and access to Skype, etc for (I believe) $60 or $99. I think I have it right :D. Someone please let me know if I am mistaken. Thanks!

I may need to be booking three cabins on a future cruise. Because I would be bringing 3 unrelated minors with me, I'll need to have them either right next door or immediately across the hall from me.

 

Because I travel with my mom, we book a balcony. So, these kids will either need one of the balconies next door or an inside across the hall.

 

I'm also taking by 2 kids so they have a cabin. If, when I am ready to book (when all of the parents agree on the trip) then I'll start looking. I guess I'm worried that if I can find 2 cabins for me and my kids, and either the ones next door or across the hall (depending on what parents decide I should book for the kids) is not free, I'm hoping that the line *might* be willing to see if someone would move for me. And if they find someone, that those people would be gracious about it.

 

Finding triples/quads is hard enough. Adding in someone who won't move to an identical cabin on the other side of the ship, especially after being offered $100 and a bottle of wine, is kind of sad.

 

Just a heads up that the non-related kids will need to be booked in a cabin with an adult 25 years or older. Only your children can be booked alone in a cabin nearby.

 

To the OP, move or don't move, it is certainly your choice as you paid to pick out your cabin. If it were me, and there was absolutely no difference, I would move if it was a family needing be near family issue. Now, if it was an issue of someone wanting my port side room or something like that, I probably wouldn't move.

Here is another thread that gives more information. It looks like you should be able to use iMessage and at the very least, Facebook Messenger, to chat with people back home.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2151487&page=2

They were beta testing this on our 12/28 Breeze cruise.

 

The package can be shared (logging out of device 1 and logging into device 2). The cost for the two packages was $60 for the slow package and $99 for the high speed. The chat was free for us (beta test) and worked just fine.

 

We are sailing on the Breeze in a few weeks! When you say chat was free (beta test) is that the feature on the new Carnival Hub? And does that mean it only works for texting each other on the ship? My kids are bringing friends, and I'm looking for the cheapest way for them to communicate with their parents back home. If I get the social meda package, does that include iMessage to email back home? Or do I need to go to the $60 package? Thanks for any suggestions.

I have found in the past that when we wanted to find our kids, there were really only a few places to look so we would find them fairly quickly. Never used text, walkie talkies, or even post-it notes! Another good tip . . . if your boyfriend tells you he is going to casino and then later decides to go elsewhere, he can just call the cabin phone and leave you a message instead of going back to the room to write a note :). Have a great cruise!!

How much is the package for a 7 day cruise? Or how much is it daily?

 

$4.50/per day for child ($31.50)

$6.00/per day for adult ($42.00)

 

plus 15% gratuity.

Thank you! If the kids decide to buy it, I'll be sure to purchase right away.

If you purchase bottomless bubbles, does it include a souvenier cup? On Royal Caribbean, you receive a nice cup but I don't see anything mentioned about an included cup on Carnival. Can someone please confirm? Thanks.

Log into your Carnival.com account, click on Manage, then Cruise Details and it will show your rate, payments, balance (if any) and OBC. If your TA hasn't sent in your payment yet, you should be able to get a price adjustment off the final payment instead of OBC.

I agree -- keep looking for lower rates as you are eligible.

 

However, keep in mind that if you find a lower rate, you need to take that $30 OBC into account because when you switch to the lower rate, you will lose the $30 OBC that came with the current promotion.

For those that just bring carryons, how do you manage with toiletries? We can't bring more than a Ziploc-size bag and each container is limited to a 100 mL or less. When it comes to shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, etc. it seems like it would be a problem.

 

We always fly in the day before a cruise. I only pack my favorite toiletries for the flight (in the 3oz bottles.) When I book my hotel in Florida, I make sure there is a store (like Publix), liquor store, and restaurants within walking distance. Then on the way back from dinner we stop and grab what we need for the cruise, e.g., sunblock, water, soda, wine, etc. Works great!

We are staying at the Hyatt House Miami Airport in February. We stayed there before when it was under a different name. It has two bedrooms with doors, a pull out sofa, kitchenette, and at least two bathrooms.

As long as each passenger is assigned to a cabin and paid for, I see no issue if they want to have a "sleep over" in the one cabin. Just don't try to 'assign' them together in the same cabin. Also, remember that whoever is 'sleeping over' will not have access to that cabin with their S&S card, as they are assigned to a different cabin.

 

Hoping all works out and the 3 boys enjoy their sleep over. Have a great cruise ! :)

 

You can go to guest services and get a duplicate room key.

Subscribing . . .

Awesome! Thank you so much! They have Royal Caribbean cards too. I wonder if those work. We are debating which cruise to take. One is Carnival, one is Royal Caribbean.

 

My other card is a Royal Caribbean and I currently have 44,000 points (which equals $440 in OBC) but since I am going on a Carnival cruise they are no good to me this time. I changed to Barclay because you get double points so I would have $880 but most importantly, it can be used on ANY travel - any cruise line, hotels, airfare, car rentals, etc. So combined with the Verizon discount you really can save tons!

Has anyone used these for their initial deposit? Thank you.

 

Yes, I did that just that yesterday. Actually, my PVP is awesome. I called to book a cruise a week ago. When I told him I was waiting for my Barclay credit card to arrive so I could get double points, he said to book and use my current credit card (it was the last day for early saver rates) and when the Barclay arrived call him back and he would charge the new card and credit the old one. So I booked, and when my new card arrived, I bought the eCards from Verizon, which earned me double points and then called my PVP and he applied them to my booking as my initial deposit and then credited the original credit card!! Saved me $240 by using the eCards and earned me $48 worth of Barclay points. When I pay off the cruise with eCards I'll save another $490 by using the eCards and earn $98 worth of points for a total savings of $876 -- just by the payment method!! Also, the total cost of our cruise went up $120 once the early saver rates went away so I can sort of add $120 for a total savings of $996.

 

Just an FYI, I did notice when purchasing the eCards there is a short grace period to return them. So if they didn't work for some reason, I knew I could return them. Also, make sure you purchase the eCards and not the certificates -- I believe the certificates have more limitations!

 

Thanks, again, to the OP for turning us on to the Verizon Smart rewards and thanks to another poster I got the Barclay Arrival card for double points on ALL purchases throughout the year!!

I read that some say $95 for 4 plus $25 per hour and some that read $195 plus $40 per hour. Is it the number of people. What is the largest size they can accommodate in one van. I see all kinds of numbers.

 

$95/$25 is for a regular car. $195/$40 is for a 12-passenger van. Don't hesitate to book. We had a great day with Alberto.

We were in Cozumel last Thursday and used Hire a Driver for the Day. We booked through Eduardo and our driver was Alberto. I highly recommend Alberto. He was a wonderful driver and quide. Our first stop was a local market to purchase drinks and snacks for the day. Then we stopped at the local monuments downtown, drove through local neighborhoods while Alberto told us about some history and the way of life of the locals. Next he took us to the beautiful, scenic East side where we stopped at some beautiful beaches for pictures. We had lunch at a small local restaurant called Playa Bonita and it was fabulous! Next we wanted to snorkel and he took us to Playa Corona and the last stop was Mr. Sanchos. This was the best day of our cruise. If you are thinking of a tour -- don't hesitate -- book this one and ask for Alberto!

2 days to go!!!! Oasis, here we come!!:D:D:D:D

[quote name='nycqueen']Perfectly acceptable may be your opinion, totally classless is my opinion.[/quote]

So if I go to a bar for a pre-dinner drink (which I buy) and then carry it into the dining room, is that classless??

Last time I was on the Oasis, the bar service is the MDR was awful. After not being able to get our wine (or any drinks) on the first night, we would stop at the bar right near the main entrance to the MDR and buy our glasses of wine and carry them into the dining room. Would you consider me classless? How would you know if I bought it at a bar or if I smuggled it onboard and carried it from my room???:confused: