jazm2011

It's been a few years, so I don't recall exact details. We paid in USD and only remember it was cheap. My memory recalls ~45-60 minute bus trip.

Thank you! :)

If they end up running a black Friday special, how do I find it? Will it be on the carnival.com website? Can someone tell me, specifically, where to look and what i'm looking for?

Thanks!

Thanks for looking, we really appreciate it. DM found a great video from one of our favorite contributors Sheri of cruise tips tv. Sheri provides incredible videos and insight. That coupled with cruise critics is a win win!:)

I had a couple pictures I tried to post, but apparently they were too large (or something!) that wouldn't allow them to upload. I'm a total novice at posting pictures. So if anyone can help, i'm happy to try again.

We stayed in U243, which is next door. (U243 was wheelchair accessible, and we will definitely NOT stay in one of those again)!

Other than all the reasons we disliked the wheelchair accessible features, everything else seemed pretty much the same as any other OV cabin we've stayed. But being completely aft, I personally, probably wouldn't choose that location again. But that's just my own personal 0.02.

You must have overlooked it. I see it here:

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/aboutbarclaycardus/prodsresource_products.html#rewards

Following a cruise out of Port Canaveral (back in 2008), we booked Cocoa Beach Shuttle from the port to Disney. I was pleased with the price and service and would book them again.

Honestly, your dining room experience sounds an awful lot like the dining room experience we just had on our last 8 day cruise on the Breeze.

Our head waiter seemed like a newbie. Our service was unorganized, slow, and just not very good. It did get slightly better by the end of our 8 days, but never to the level we've grown accustomed to. Simple things, like changing out the silverware to the proper pieces, didn't always happen. One of our tablemates on more than one occasion, ended up never receiving a spoon for his soup. We'd ask for things multiple times (water, tea, spoons) and it would take forever to receive, if received at all.

One of the (who I assumed was an assistant waiter) was fabulous. But then I noticed on some days she seemed to be a headwaiter for the smaller tables around us. So not sure what was going on. But it was certainly chaotic and unpredictable and not our best experience.

We've only ever booked a too-close-for-comfort flight once and won't ever do it again. It only takes one stressful situation to knock some sense into me. (It was a 10:30 flight). And not only did I stress just trying to get on the plane on time. But they told us there were no guarantees our luggage would arrive with us. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal. However, this particular time DH put our house keys in his luggage! :eek: My stomach was in knots the entire trip home. Lucky for us, it all worked out.

But whatever you decide - let me throw an additional option on the table just in case you haven't already considered it, and in which we did on our last cruise into/out of Miami but in reverse.

Have you looked at the flight options out of Fort Lauderdale? You can book a shuttle for $15pp from POM to FLL. Depending upon date and time, I think the travel time is ~30-45 minutes. It might open up some additional times that will work better for you and the flights are usually cheaper from FLL to PHX than MIA to PHX.

Traveling w/friends in January, but as a solo pax & trying to make a decision about Cheers. I've read that bar prices have gone up since my last cruise, and I've seen some of them posted, but I'm just not sure how current they are now, or will be when we sail. The only thing I drink on a cruise other than the occasional diet soda or Pineapple Chipotle martini (if the ship has an Alchemy bar, which the Breeze does not) is Patron Silver. On my last several cruises, it's been $9.95/shot - which obviously makes Cheers worth it (at 5 shots over the course of a day), but only IF the prices have NOT gone up. I would hate to purchase Cheers online prior to my cruise only to find out that my beloved Patron is now over $10.00/shot, especially since I can't cancel it once I board. It would be super great if Carnival could attach bar menus/drink prices, but I realize this may be challenging given the number of bars on each ship which each have specialty drinks at different prices.

Perhaps I'll wait until a few days prior to our cruise to see if anyone posts current drink prices...

On the Breeze - you can get the Pineapple Chipotle martini in the Plaza Bar (right next to Red Frog). Plaza bar is one of the locations they held martini tasting every night and in which I learned the Pineapple Chipotle is my new FAVE drink!! We went there several nights prior to dinner to enjoy one.

You can't use a gift card?? Is that also true for Bottomless Bubbles? I purchased gift cards specifically because I read it can be used for any on board expenses. :confused:

You can use gift cards for onboard expenses, just NOT in the Fun shop :(

Lame, I know.

Once you are onboard you can either go to a kiosk to apply your gift card to your S&S account, or guest services can do it for you also.

Cruise loyalty desk guy told me on our July Paradise cruise that it is indeed happening. It's just not announced yet. I didn't ask why they were still waiting to announce.

Awesome!! Thx for posting.

Just an add'l fyi to weigh...

When we cruised out of Miami, we actually flew into Fort Lauderdale because it was quite a bit cheaper. We also stayed overnight in Fort Lauderdale then booked a shuttle (SAS) to take us from hotel to port of Miami for only $15pp.

I'm disappointed I didn't receive this survey. I'm platinum and I guess they figure I am sold on their cruise line so my views don't matter quite as much. Similarly, I have never gotten a past-guest survey, and I would have liked to have commented on some excellent cruises and some less so.

 

And yes, Carnival knows my e-mail address.

I assume it's totally random. (I'm gold). I've only ever gotten the past guest survey once. Have been on 10 Carnival cruises, although early on they were still using the paper survey's the morning of debarkation.

Check out the Splendor sailing 12/10/16. ;) :)

Thanks for pointing that one out, I overlooked it. But...

I'm really looking for full transit, and preferable east to west :)

Hoping all the rumor about Miracle & Splendor switching places, works out!!

Yep, just got one today. Already completed it as well. The ports they listed that are currently not an option now would be a wonderful addition. (of course they couldn't add all of them but just adding a few would push me to book a cruise since I've been to most ports they sail to now)

When I reflected back on all the ports I'd been to, I actually surprised myself!! I'm definitely all about the ports. So adding new ones to the mix would definitely entice me.

And I definitely took advantage of noting several comments about Panama Canal being on my bucket list lol.

I received it by email about an hour ago.

Did anyone else receive this survey? I just completed it. It had a large list of ports of call and for each it wanted to know if I had heard of it and been there, heard of it and not been there, never heard of it. Then it asked my interest in visiting: highly, slightly, not at all (or maybe there were 4 options, but you get the drift).

Then it went on to ask if I could pick only 5 to visit, which would they be. Then for each it asked a series of questions about it.

Then finally, it asked which ports I'd be interested in an overnight stop (and it had the entire list to choose from).

In closing it asked how many cruises I'd been on, which lines, age, income.

I kind of like that I was asked. :)

Nice job on the review, and I'm sorry about what happened on the original thread, sheesh.

I liked Splendor better than Valor. But we typically cruise for itinerary first, ship second.

We like to fly Southwest. Usually some of the best rates and bags fly free. Plus, if fares go down, you can ask for the credit.

For us, our favorite is Southern or Eastern.

Once you decide on your itinerary, visit the Port of call forums to find excursion ideas based on the preferences of your family.

There is usually always somewhere nearby to purchase soda before embarkation. We have always found a drugstore or gas station mini mart within walking distance of our hotel. (We always fly in a day early).

I'm sure whatever you decide, you'll have an awesome trip!

I have used this card for four years and have cashed in over 300,000 points, so I hope I can clear some things up for everyone. The above post is accurate, however, there are much better ways to redeem your points for at least 1% cash back, rather than the 0.7% in the example above.

 

First of all, on normal purchases, you get 1 point for every dollar spent on the card. This would include everything from gas, groceries, your power bill, cable bill, restaurants, or whatever else you purchase. Any purchases directly through Carnival, e.g. your cruise fare, excursions or on board sail and sign account gives you 2 points for every dollar. It's that simple. At any time, you can go to your account web-site and see how many points you have in your account to redeem. I currently have a little over 35,000 points waiting to redeem and it goes up every day with every purchase.

 

When you click on the "Manage Rewards" tab, it gives you four options to do so. They are: "Pay with FunPoints" "Onboard Gifts" "Gift Cards/Gift Certificates" and "Merchandise." At this point, I would highly recommend only using the "Pay with FunPoints" tab because you actually get more cash back than with any other. The other categories allow you to purchase onboard credit, gift cards to various retail stores/restaurants, etc., however, you don't get 1%, you get about 0.7% instead. If you choose "Pay with FunPoints" you will see any Carnival purchases that you have made in the last 180 days and will be able to get at least 1%, if not 1.5% cash credited to your account for those purchases. You can also pay for other travel, like recent hotel stays, etc., however, again, you will get less than 1% cash back for those.

 

Below, I will list out the options I have right now when I select the $4,000+ cruise fare that I paid in May:

 

Cash Back Points to redeem

 

$500.00 33,333

$450.00 30,000

$400.00 26,667

 

As you can see, I am getting 1.5% cash back for the points I am redeeming which is much better than the 0.7% cash back if I chose to purchase onboard credit in advance. Also, if you think about it, since I already got 2 points for every dollar spent with Carnival, I could get up to 3% cash back total (2% x 1.5 = 3%).

 

Since the interest rate is a whopping 22.9% APR on this card, the key is to never carry a balance. I have never been charged a single penny in interest because I pay this card off multiple times per month. If you like to carry a balance, then this is NOT THE CARD FOR YOU!

 

I know it seems a little confusing and I would be happy to answer any questions about this. These are real numbers folks and you can take that to the bank!

 

Good luck!

 

Brad

Excellent post.

Hmm, and interesting that the interest rates are all over the map. Your comment made me want to check mine out. Not that it really matters since I also pay my balance in full every month. But was surprised to see a completely different rate than the 2 of you who mentioned it. 16.24% and that's with an 800+ FICO. Hmm.

We occasionally pre-book private excursions if something is really pulling us in that direction. But the majority of the time, we opt to wing-it!

Sometimes we'll hop into a taxi to check things out. Sometimes, we'll walk down the pier and look for a private excursion. But any Carnival excursion we've ever taken (which is ~50% of the time), we book the night before that specific port day. We've only run into a sell-out once and it ended up working out in our favor in the end. (We booked for choice B and asked to be put on a waiting list for choice A. Early the next morning, tickets arrived for choice A and they happily refunded our money on our choice B tickets.)

Wing-it and don't stress.

You can do everything yourself.

Woot! You guys rock!!

Just ordered 10 x$100 and can pay off our cruise :)