sc4125

22 minutes ago, kathyemma said:

Oh I know - but she doesn't!!!  She is the one that hates leaving me.  But she does leave me to follow Harry Styles around the world and always survives.  I am really hoping the tamiflu works and she can get off the ship tomorrow.  I had the flu in 2002.  No tamiflu. It was horrible.

I know exactly what you mean - my daughter is 32 years old and recently married.  When she is really sick, she still wants her mom.  There's something about having your mother with you when you're really sick.  I am over 60 and lost my mom a few years ago - I always miss her, but if I'm sick, I really, really miss her.  I know you're not saying she can't do anything without you, she'd just love to have you there to "comfort" her.

Guess we should be thankful that our daughters still need us (lol).

On 12/30/2019 at 3:02 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

I'll never forget the story someone told on here about their suitcase that was missing for nearly the entire cruise. They did everything they could to track it down, to no avail. Long story short, come to find out, their suitcase had ended up in a cabin of 4 ladies cruising together. Somehow, someway, each of those ladies thought the mystery suitcase belonged to one of their roommates, so it got set aside and ignored (I think they said it was put in a wall locker). They didn't realize it until, I think, the second to the last night of the cruise. The owner finally got it back when the cruise was just about over.

 

With space so limited in a cabin, especially when FOUR people are staying in it, I don't know how they managed to set a strange suitcase aside, that went unopened the whole time they had it, without realizing something wasn't right within a day or two.

Yeah, I was that poster.  Thankfully it was the only time it happened to me and I've been on over 25 cruises.  I will say that on my last two cruises we received notices advising that someone's suitcase was misplaced and asking everyone to check their cabin, so it probably happens more than we realize.  They sent out the same type of notice when this happened to us, but 4 young women apparently don't read notices (lol).  We were told that it was actually their cabin steward that located the bag the day before the 7 day cruise ended.

We've started carrying on our own bags on shorter cruises (smaller bags) just because it's nice to get everything unpacked - and we are now platinum so we can drop the bags off as soon as we get on.  I would never want to lug around a large suitcase if my room wasn't available when I board - but, I see lots of luggage on Lido as passengers wait for cabins to be ready.

10 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

Poor kid.  This is why people don't go to medical.  I got a really bad cold last cruise, no flu.  I self medicated enough to make it.  But it was not my best cruise.  Sorry for your daughter, hopefully she will be better soon.

Are you saying that if you do have the flu you shouldn't go to medical because they will quarantine you?  

Thankfully I have gotten use to packing a Tervis-type cup which has it's own straw.  I am a slow drinker so if I'm by the pool and order a drink it gets watered down as the ice melts.  I also hate "sweating" glasses.  I love having my own cup - I pour my drink into it (sometimes the bartender will just mix it and pour it into my cup) - drink stays ice cold and my hands stay dry.

1 hour ago, Needs_A_Vacation said:

 

Yes, Hot Streak is the name of the offer.  So its split between the 2 of us and is just like a regular OBC?  So would I be able to cash it out at the casino and give it to my mom?  She's the big gambler and would like to give it all to her.  Like I said, I don't drink or gamble so other than gratuities, not sure what to spend it on.

If you don't gamble much and want your mom to use the $$ in the casino - you could download the $500 from your S&S OBC to a casino account on your card.  Then, let your mother use your card to play (when you're out & about and don't need the card).  After she plays $100 or so, you can then go to the casino cashier & cash out the balance and give it to her.  I don't think they would let you cash it out unless there is some activity of use in the casino.  

Not sure if this makes sense - after reading it over (lol), but your mother will probably get what I'm trying to say.  If she spends as much time as I do in the casino, she will understand the concept.

I've cruised in each season over the years.  Definitely more children during school breaks, but that doesn't mean those winter/spring cruises are necessarily less crowded.  CCL pretty much sells out each cruise - but there aren't as many 4 person cabins.  Probably as many (or a few more) adults, but less teenagers/children means a much more relaxed cruise.

I love cruising in November - great weather, not so hot & very few children - with the exception of Thanksgiving week.   

If I understand you correctly, my niece does this on each cruise.  She puts $500 in on the first day.  At the end of the day, if she has more than $500, she goes to the cashier and asks for whatever that amount is back in cash.  She limits herself (or tries to) to $100 per day, so on day one, she stops before reaching $400 and so on....

You can go to the cashier's desk and ask for any part of the money from your "Casino Bank" as many times as you like.  When I get a fairly large win, my sister always seems to find me (lol) and I will go to the cashier and take out $100 to give her, leaving the rest in the "bank".

Hope this helps.  Have a great cruise - love the Legend and glad she's back in Tampa.

5 hours ago, glentally said:

This topic brings up the unknown of how cruise lines divide the tips.  So if I do early or late does that tip I prepaid for get divided between just my staff?  Thrown into a big pool and EVERYONE gets some? 

 

I know I am going to rock the boat but I don't believe the cruise company doesn't skim some off for administrative fees etc.  No one here can prove me right or wrong, its all speculation including my own comments.

True, it's all speculation, but I'm sure if the cruise line was skimming, we would have heard so by now. 

I use to work on CCL ships years ago when passengers used (or more often, didn't use) the tip envelopes.  I can almost assure you that crew are receiving way more tips now than then - even with those people who choose to remove the tips at CS. 

I choose to believe that cruise lines aren't screwing their staff out of tips, you can choose to think they do.

1 minute ago, tonit964 said:

If you tell them at check in that she is not going, they could impose the 100% single supplement fare. Far better to just tell them she is checking in later.

But the single supplement fare wouldn't be more than the 2-person fare already paid, would it?  My PVP said that the only reason not to cancel before sailing is that they could charge a $50 fee (not sure for what) and that there would be no extra charge when I tell them that she won't be making the cruise when checking in - they will just credit my charge card for her taxes and port fees - but my PVP has been wrong in the past - lol.

I just hate to put the check in staff through making calls (and also don't want to deal with a call myself) when I know that she won't be making it.  

6 minutes ago, Bases5 said:

I get yea.   Have a great cruise.    The one thing you might check as I'm not sure of the answer.   If you buy a drink does it get charged to your bar cash first automatically.  I have never had both so I'm not sure how that would work.

 I think it should but I would want to make sure.

 

It does get charged automatically to the bar cash until it is gone.  Also, something I didn't know until I found myself with $100 left as the end of the cruise was quickly approaching - any tips you add to your bar bill will also come out of the bar cash.  One of the bar waitresses in the casino who was very nice got a great tip at the end of the cruise (lol).

I've cruised solo several times and booked as a solo.  My sister and I are booked on a cruise next month, but she will not be sailing (long, boring story).  My plan was to just advise the person checking me in that my sister will not be sailing.  Would this cause me any issues?

I've read several posts advising that you should just tell the check in staff that she should be checking in later - but, I really don't understand why I should do this.  Why have them call me and try to call her when I know that she won't be checking in?  Am I missing something?  

People buy cruise cash for different reasons. 

Sometimes family or friends of the cruiser purchase cruise cash as a gift - in which case there will be a card in the cabin giving the amount of cruise cash and who it was from.

Sometimes the cruiser purchases cruise cash him/herself.  I purchase it prior to some of my cruises - most of the time it's because I have a little extra cash that I would normally place in savings, and instead if I have a cruise coming up, I'll purchase cruise cash.  It just gives me a head start.  

The maximum amount of cruise cash that can be purchased is $500 per cabin.  It is non-refundable - you "lose" what you don't use.  However, many people will go to a slot machine, get money from their Sail and Sign, play a little and cash out the rest at the casino cashier.  I spend a lot of time in the casino and never have to worry about not using it all (lol).

Hope this helps.

First of all I have cruised solo - 3 or 4 times out of the 26 total cruises on CCL - my last time was probably 2 -3 years ago.  Interestingly - I will be sailing solo on the Paradise next month (a four day).

I am from a large family and normally sail with my sister or with a group of family members - last month there were 13 of us on the Paradise.  I'm not normally an introvert, but when I sail solo I love being alone (lol).  It's very relaxing - doing what I want, when I want.  I do spend a lot of time in the casino, so I don't typically go to shows (seen all of them many times) and I've never eaten in the MDR when solo.  I eat at the Lido - and sometimes (particularly at night) I make a plate and bring it back to my cabin for a relaxing meal.  I don't mind sitting by myself on the Lido, but I'm just weird about eating alone in a restaurant setting.

I've been on the Paradise 3 times this year alone.  Like you I use to sail on the larger ships.   The Breeze is my favorite ship and I've sailed on her 4 times.  I like the Paradise - it's smaller, but it has everything I need (Guys, the Deli, etc).  True, it doesn't have the Alchemy or movies on the Lido, but that's not a deal breaker for me.  The service has always been great - I think that you will be fine with the smaller ship.

I've never been to the singles meet and greets so I can't help you with that.  I will say that it's always easy to meet people if that's something you want to do.  Sit at one of the bars and you will typically strike up a conversation with someone.  Like I said, I use solo cruises to be by myself, but when I want company I'm always able to find people to talk to.

I was also nervous about cruising by myself and wasn't sure whether I would like it.  I'm not saying that I would want to cruise alone all the time - I like being with family members - but I've enjoyed my solo cruises.

1 hour ago, THL1313 said:

just checked with carnival rep, said all casino bars on all ships have a smoking side.  they may have made some tables near the casino bar non smoking, but smoking is allowed at the casino bar.

 

not sure what happened on Paradise

Maybe we'll hear from people who have cruised this month on another ship besides the Paradise.  As someone else mentioned, I too was on the ship in July when there was still smoking at the bar - but definitely not earlier this month.  Maybe CCL is allowing each ship to determine whether to keep a section of the bar for smokers??? 

1 hour ago, RWolver672 said:

I probably should stay out of this to keep my blood pressure down but here goes.  Every cruise that we have been on, when first boarding they are taking on fuel.  The crew monitors the smoking areas to make sure no one is smoking topside.  They advise the smokers that if they want to smoke, go to the casino bar where it is allowed.  Most people will buy a drink while they are there and sit at the machines which are not operating.  No one goes around and tells them they can't because they are still making money from the drinks.

 

What I can't figure out from the above conversations is if the casino is closed, why are non smokers going in to the casino?  It's closed.  You don't smoke.  No reason to be in there.  Use common sense.  

I totally agree with this.  The only time you really see the (very small) smoking area at the casino bar 3-4 deep is on embarkation day when you can't smoke outside.  Obviously there is an overflow and people begin sitting at slot machines in the closed casino because there is no where else to go if you want to smoke.

The only other indoor smoking area is in the nightclub - but now you can only smoke there during open hours.

And for those who are saying that every ship they have been on has a smoking area at the casino bar - I would have agreed last month - however, as I mentioned earlier, I was on the Paradise on November 14th and they no longer had a smoking section at the casino bar.  

Not sure if it's been implemented on all ships, but I was on the Paradise earlier this month and they were no longer allowing smoking at the casino bar.  They were allowing smoking in the casino itself when it was closed.  

Thanks for all of the replies & info, I obviously didn't read down far enough to see the list - and it does indeed include a birth certificate card.  I'll print that out & tell her that if she has the time to get a copy of her actual certificate she might want to just in case.

But, hey it's on her.  At least she will have something in writing that says a birth certificate card is acceptable.

Again, thanks for the info.

I hate to be the person in my family who is thought of as the "cruise specialist" but unfortunately I am.  I have a cousin who is going on a cruise with us on Thursday and today she told my sister that she doesn't have a birth certificate, she has a birth certificate card.  Her and her husband have only been on one other cruise and at that time they used passports (which have since expired).

I always thought that you had to have an official birth certificate and didn't think a bc card would work, but don't want to give incorrect information.  I tried checking on CCL FAQ's but it doesn't specify what is acceptable as proper documents (or at least I didn't see it).  She can go to the county seat to get an official b.c. if that's required, but she was told by "someone" at CCL that a b.c. card is sufficient.  I just don't want to see them turned away at the pier - this is a family cruise with 13 members sailing.

I reached my 25th cruise this past September.  I didn't know anything about the Milestone but luckily was reading a post where it was mentioned.  I checked and realized that the upcoming cruise would be my 25th. 

Unfortunately, it was less than 30 days before cruising (it was only 20 days), but I called the Milestone Desk and the young lady was very helpful.  She advised that she would put the request in and she thought it would be okay.  Long story short - I did get the OBC for that cruise.  So you don't necessarily have to give them a 30 day notice.  

BTW, my PVP did not give me a heads up, and had I not seen it mentioned in a post, I'm not sure if I would have ever received any notification.

You will be asked whether you want 2 twins or a king when you complete your online check-in.

We used it earlier this year on the Paradise, which is one of CCL's older ships.  It worked very well for the most part.  There was only one time that I didn't receive a text from my daughter.  There were 7 of us texting back and forth and that was the only time I had an issue.  Definitely worth the $5 - also, even if you don't use the chat feature, you can see what's going on and schedule what you want to do and it will alarm you, check your S&S account, etc.

15 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

I don't know you. I don't have to tell you of my decisions. If you are at the table and want to begin eating, tell the waiter you want to start ordering. 

This is why I no longer eat with strangers.  I know courtesy has lost it's appeal lately, but is it seriously that big of a deal to advise the waiter that you won't be there (if you know in advance) rather than making them take orders 2 or 3 times at the same table because people either come in late or don't come at all, and like you, don't think a heads up is a decent thing to do. 

It wouldn't be so bad if people didn't come meandering in 15 - 20 minutes after their scheduled dining time.  I personally wish they would close the doors 10 minutes after the dining time and not let people in.

I know how hard the waiters work and, for me, a little courtesy goes a long way.  

58 minutes ago, Doctorsbaby said:

NYC & Europe 

Thank you for the info.  

I love the Legend and am also happy she's back in Tampa.  I was looking to book a cruise for Sept. 2020, but it looks like she's "gone" from May until November.  Anyone know where she will be during those months?  I tried doing a search but didn't come up with anything.

I've been on several Premier cruises, the most recent was on the Breeze in September.  I have to say that on that cruise there were very few special games or drawings.  The drawings were actually pretty lousy - most for $200 or less in funplay.  Normally there are numerous drawings and they are normally for $500 or more.  In the past, there seemed to be a lot more games - this time, not so much.   

I would think that you would be offered funplay in some amount.  I agree with meatloafsfan - unless the funplay is close to or more than the difference in the cost, I would definitely not switch over.  Also, since you haven't been on a Premier, things you will encounter - long, long waits for drinks as the vast majority of the people in the casino have DOU and the waiters are super busy.  As you probably realize the casino will be more crowded than it is on normal cruises, but it is also more "lively".  Either way, have a great cruise & I hope you win big!!