MikeMA

Thank you, I sailed on RCCL in 2013 and Princess in 2011, but Carnival it's been a looooong time :) The ships didn't have the kiosks back then and honestly I don't even remember if the Tips were automatically charged to your account. It may have still been the old envelope procedure.

Looking forward to sailing with them again as now I have a family and I think they have a very good kid's program.

Thanks again for the info

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've sailed Carnival and I had a quick ques. Are the tips put right onto your sign and sail account? I happened to buy a few of the Verizon gift cards and was wondering if I could just use these to put towards the cost of gratuity or if there was a separate charge somewhere There will be 3 of us so our gratuities alone will be $252.

Thank you for any help

I'd suggest puddle jumper or arm floaties for the young children. It will ease your mind for water works/pool areas and let the kids feel more comfortable. Also don't know if the child sleeps with a sound machine or anything but that is something to be considered. If you have a smartphone there are free apps for that.

This is sad news. I remember when NCL did this and I swore I wouldn't book with them again, and I haven't.

My grandparents have over 50 cruises under there belt in the past 25 years and they won't sail NCL either because of this.

If Carnival goes this route on longer cruises I will do the same with them. The lobster night is my favorite night and people suggesting paying an upcharge to still get it are doing EXACTLY what the beards at Carnival want. Paying more money for something that has always been included.

I feel the Original Poster's pain. Although I do not think 200 is necessarily a huge group, there are concerns. I had to reschedule my Jan cruise because of a group of 600+.

It is a fact that pools and lounges get pretty much taken over by the groups and in some cases you can feel like an outsider.

One cruise was drag queen themed and some parents with young Children certainly had some awkward conversation with their children when 200-300 of them were walking around the ship etc. Although I found it humorous and keep an open mind many were not pleased at all.

I learned a valuable lesson and that is to research the cruise sailing date thoroughly using google. Usually large group outings will pop up if one is scheduled. With that said, a courtesy heads up for groups of say 500 or more would sure be nice of Carnival, or any cruise line for that matter.

Just a heads up we have a 3 year old and had the same question last year. We brought the seat but quickly found most taxis (all but one) are not equipped to handle car seats. No Latch system or no lap seat belts. Same with buses.

The standards in other countries in the Caribbean are far less than the US. The car seat ended up being put i the trunk and child can either sit on a lap or on the seat. It was a little concerning to us but that's the Country's standards and we had to deal. Big reason why many excursions have age restrictions too I've read(liability with transportation).

We are not bringing one for our 3 year old this time around(not because we think it's safe, but because we lugged it around for no reason).

Should I bring her car seat on the ship? What about port of call taxis or transportation?

I was very concerned about this too. I saw the post on the Funville Forum and went back to previous threads. In all I found about 4 posts with people claiming the A/C in their rooms were down. One person said a cabin steward told him their were fans in about 10 rooms and it was an ongoing problem.

Also if you look at the post "Just off the Magic" it is mentioned there that the A/C is still spotty :(

I'm guessing they are having problems, but not on the entire ship. With that said I'm praying I don't get one of the lucky cabins as I sail on Jan 10th a few weeks before dry dock. I certainly can not sleep well(or much at all) in a hot cabin.

I agree the program needs to be revamped. Not so much with the limit of 15 but with requiring anyone in the cabin purchasing the program. My wife does not drink much at all, maybe a glass of wine at dinner and one at a show. She might also have 1 by the pool during the day. Just a shame unlike other cruise lines she would be forced to buy the program.

Next, what if a woman is breastfeeding and not drinking at all, or possibly only 1 drink at night? What if a woman is pregnant? OR just simply someone who doesn't drink?

Yes, I know some will say don't buy the program etc etc But If I drink 10-15 drinks on sea days, and 10 or so on port days it would be really nice for Carnival to allow just me to take advantage of a package.

Hi all,

On the Carnival Forums I have read a few posts about the lack of Air Conditioning on the ship. I noticed it was said that it was still spotty by the original poster. Did you all notice the same thing. Although I love warm weather eating and sleeping when its too warm just isn't fun. In fact, I really can't sleep if it's above about 76/77 in our home. Did the cabins at least get down below that?

Thank you so much for any help/info.

Hi all,

Just an update. We switched our booking to the Carnival Magic leaving a day later.

I had to work my way up the guest services ladder in order to do so without penalties as we were booked on the Early Saver fare and Carnival was trying to charge us administrative fees to do so.

At the 3rd level up(2nd supervisor) I finally got someone with compassion and good guest service skills. She sympathized with our situation and allowed the change.

The only downside was that the price of the Magic was up about $62 PP than when we initially booked. We were deciding between the Freedom and Magic so I have all the pricing still from the Winter months. Overall the price from the Freedom to the Magic was about $160 more for cruise and $110 more for air, but for the piece of mind of enjoying our vacation I did it anyway.

Thank you all for your opinions/suggestions.

Moongal,

I would suggest as Sadie said, use google. Type in the cruise ship, date, port etc every few weeks. Also when I did call Carnival the rep I spoke with did confirm my finding. I don't know if they all would be so forthcoming or if he just knew I had already found out. But bottom line is I just learned the situation is very frustrating.

Where I stand now is to switch to the Magic instead. But it's already $170 more for the trip on a less preferable deck.(not to mention airfare is $200 more). I'm going to call Carnival and open a complaint and strive to have them offer an inboard credit for the difference. I don't know if I'll get anywhere, but if I don't Carnival will have to blow me away before I'll ever book with them again. In my previous 10 cruises (2 w Carnival) I never have experienced a major issue like this.

I'll keep everyone posted on what happens.

Since carnival doesn't have a notification policy in place to notify people that any particular cruise will be "themed" does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to go about checking to see if a potential booking will be a themed one? Or how to monitor and check for a "theme/group" that might have taken over the already booked cruise?

 

I've only been on one cruise and am contemplating another but would be extremely upset if my trip were taken over by any particular theme/group especially since vacations are very rare for me. The next cruise I am considering will likely be my last for several years and would hate for it to be not as anticipated due to the ship being overrun with a specialty group. Seems like it would only be fun if you were in the specialty group. Everyone else not so much.

Many great points!!

I have been on 10 cruises. With the exception of a repeat cruisers party or wine tasting event etc I have never not been allowed to attend events. This theme is selling tickets to music/entertainment shows on the ship etc. I read on a Forum that last years cruise they didn't have a comedian(something I enjoy) but instead had a few singers.(ticket entry) to know that our cruise ship areas will be restricted is a HUGE turnoff.

I am just really disappointed. After reading countless reviews and researching the Freedom I now will prob have to cancel as the price for both cruise and airfare the week before are Much higher. So much as I may just choose a different cruise line.

Shame on Carnival for not notifying their customers. Imagine if I didn't come across this on my own...

Personally I don't care what the theme might be....Tejano, Soul, 80's girl band, Martian etc.... I don't think it's right for the cruise line to not make it clear to anyone booking a cruise that a themed event will be taking place. If an entire group wants to take over a cruise after so many people have booked I think everyone who has booked already should immediately be made aware that they will now be on a themed cruise. This person had to find out in a roundabout way via word of mouth and Facebook.

 

I personally wouldn't really want to be on a themed cruise unless it was my own particular group. Otherwise I would just feel like an outsider.

 

It doesn't sound like fun to have any particular theme in your face an entire cruise unless of course it is your group/theme that you are a member/adherent of.

Thank you all for your responses. I work the midnight shift and was asleep for most of the late afternoon/ evening.

I found out about this event by dumb luck. A coworker mentioned that he found a Facebook group for people going on his cruise and since the Roll Call thread on here is small and quiet I figured I'd search Facebook for the heck of it. Then I saw the Tejano cruise. As I researched more and more I realized this was bigger than an average them cruise as they have entertainers etc (MANY).

I tried going back to read reviews on this site from previous years with this cruise but found none. From the Facebook page it certainly looks like the ship (dance areas, entertainment venues, and pool areas were all geared towards the group).

I called Carnival this afternoon and they confirmed what I discovered but could not tell me exactly how many tickets had been sold. The agent did say he would typically expect at least 500 from the group sales.

I don't want to sound rude so I'm trying to use my words wisely. My family respects all cultures and backgrounds. With that said a cruise filled with a majority of events and entertainment geared towards the Latin Tex Mex culture would not be as fun for us. I'm sure these people are a fun group just trying to enjoy a vacation like us, but it's just not what we had in mind when we booked.

Now comes the annoying part of trying to find another similar cruise, similar price. We got a GREAT rate on this cruise by booking so far in advance. I had not cruised with Carnival in 10 years and figured with my daughter being 3 I would give them another shot due to the great kids program. Now with this I'm starting to have a bad taste in my mouth. How on earth they let people book without informing them of this group is beyond me.

I'm going to look at the Magic out of Galveston instead. Problem is we only have a 2 1/2week window to work with(Jan 1st -19th). And we prefer Galveston as my brother and sister in law live near Dallas and booked the same cruise with us. Very Frustrated!

Hi all,

We are booked on the Freedom for Jan. 9th out of Galveston, TX. I just discovered that this cruise is a "Tejano Legends" Cruise.

My question is do any of you have experience from past Legends cruises or similar types? Will the ship be overrun with this entertainment? Don't get me wrong I enjoy different cultures/music etc, and expected a little country type atmosphere departing from Galveston. I guess I'm just concerned that it will be much more than the usual demographic influence.

Part of our fave experience in cruising is the Caribbean influence etc. and I'm just nervous this will have more of a Latin/Mexican environment. Are the menus/buffets affected? Shows affected? Is it more of just theme?

Any info is appreciated. We booked this cruise a year in advance and I am not sure I would have if this event had been announced or made known.

Thank you for the help,

Mike

Thanks so much for the response. I decided to email LFK and ask about the children 3 and under. I got an email today from a rep named Larissa and she assured me they were free of charge.

With that said I am fairly certain we will be giving it a try in January.

Cannot wait for our cruise!!

You're welcome! I could definitely see taking small kids there. The water was clear, without waves, shallow and no drop offs in the water. They would also enjoy the zoo area with monkeys, birds, etc. We bought the mid level package because it included food and drinks. You could always do the base package for the kids and just purchase whatever they wanted to eat at the time. I think that deal was about $55 per person. I don't know if they discount for kids. You can also snorkel with them or go horseback riding right there in the water. Most of the pics I posted are from one small area of the island, put favorite part, but there are several other areas.

 

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I still cant find anything more than the informational page. I even logged into my account but every time I get to the excursion page and click on the faster to the fun link for galveston it just takes me to the informational page with reviews.

Sort of frustrating actually. Is there a trick or something I am missing?

Thanks for any help

First off thank you for the detailed review and pics.

We booked the Freedom for January 9th. My wife and daughter (3 1/2 at the time of sailing) are meeting up with my brother and sister in law and their children(2 1/2 and 5 yrs old) who moved to the Dallas area last year.

They are picking us up in Houston and we are driving don to Galveston.

I am VERY interested in LFK as an excursion but I am reading different reviews online. Most say it is fine or young kids, but I'd say 25 percent say no.

I've read on some sites Children under 12 are 1/2 off and children under 3 and under free. Do you know if this is correct? I checked the LFK website but it doesn't say anything about the toddlers.

Obviously they won't be eating or drinking on the island so I'm hoping they don't expect us to pay $44 each for a 2 and 3 yr old. Otherwise the excursion prob won't happen.

Did you see it as a place young children could enjoy? I am trying not to be selfish because it looks beautiful after seeing all of your pics.

We are trying to decide on an excursion for either here or Belize (again factoring in the children) I've been to Cozumel before and we will use that for beaches and shopping.

Thanks for any help and again for the great review.

I love it, a person asks a legit question and he gets people questioning his parenting choices...

Feel free to utilize the Camp on port days if you are comfortable with it. Would I go on an all day excursion and leave them on the ship no, but am I going to judge you if you decide you are comfortable doing so, absolutely not!

The Camp is professionally run and its probably safer than making your toddler walk around shopping in the heat/sun for hours.

To the original poster, please forgive the parenting police as they sometimes can't resist...

Hi All,

I posted on the Carnival thread but afew members suggested I post here.

I just booked my airfare for our Jan9th cruise on the Freedom out of Galveston. My return flight leaves out of Houston Hobby at 12:55PM on Sat 16th. Although this is my 10th cruise, it is my 1st out of Galveston and I am not sure if this will give us enough time.

It is my family and brother and sister in laws. Total of 4 adults and 3 children. I called Carnival and the agent said for Hobby Airport we were probably ok but that they recommend flights for 1:30pm and after. He said that Hobby airport is about 30 min closer than G. Bush so it "should" be fine.

I read through some reviews but they are all a few years old and am trying to get advice from those of you who have traveled more recently. (possibly on the Freedom)

As a side note we will have our own transportation from Galveston as my sister in law lives in Texas and will be driving us from the Port after we all get off the ship.

Thanks for any help, always appreciated!

We will have private transportation from the port to Hobby airport as only my family is flying(brother and sister live in Texas and are taking us to the airport from their personal vehicle. I was more concerned with 7 of us getting off the ship by say 9:30/10 the latest.

I can change the flight with no problem as Southwest has another flight leaving at 2:30 I believe and there are no change flight fees.

I called them and the agent said as long as we check in at airport by 11:30/11:45 we would be ok.

If it's only 40 minutes from the port I can't see us not making it unless we have Fog or the ship is notorious for disembarking late.

Any recent cruisers on the Freedom have input?

Hi All,

I just booked my airfare for our Jan9th cruise on the Freedom out of Galveston. My return flight leaves out if Houston Hobby at 12:55PM. Although this is my 10th cruise, it is my 1st out of Galveston and I am not sure if this will give us enough time.

It is my family and brother and sister's family. Total of 4 adults and 3 children. I called Carnival and the agent said for Hobby Airport we were probably ok but that they recommend 1:30pm and on.

I read through some reviews but they are all a few years old and am trying to get advice from those of you who have traveled more recently.

Thanks for any help !

Hi All,

I just booked my airfare for our Jan9th cruise on the Freedom out of Galveston. My return flight leaves out if Houston Hobby at 12:55PM. Although this is my 10th cruise, it is my 1st out of Galveston and I am not sure if this will give us enough time.

It is my family and brother and sister in laws. Total of 4 adults and 3 children. I called Carnival and the agent said for Hobby Airport we were probably ok but that they recommend 1:30pm and on.

I read through some reviews but they are all a few years old and am trying to get advice from those of you who have traveled more recently.

Thanks for any help !