KJENN

We were not pleased with the Magic either. It was a noticable difference in the quality of food and the immense crowds (in Spring). We have been on a good number of Carnival cruises and know what to expect, but Magic was lacking. Extremely long lines for everything and the food reminded me of the mid-level all inclusives in Mexico...bland and just blah. We are not foodies or picky by any means.

I'm starting to wonder if its a scam by Carnival. I had the same thing happen last week on Magic. I was obsessive about making sure our towels were logged and returned (to the point i'd watch them write or enter the number and wait for them to tell me I was all good), made sure we had the towels in our room when we left and STILL got charged for 3 towels. It didnt' show up at all on the HUB app either so they must have charged it on the last day. I was really pissed to have to call and deal with that. There is NO WAY we didn't return 3 towels...no way at all. They refunded the charge.

We were on the same cruise and there is definitely an issue with the stabilizers.. the seas weren't too rough at all and the boat had a ton of motion and rolling. It wasn't normal for a boat that size. I take Bonine and have never gotten sick but it was tough to walk at some points. I also agree about the long lines- the Wok was ridiculous... 45 mins for lunch. The YTD in Northern Lights took FOREVER- the staff was spread way too thin with too many tables. I also thought the food quality had declined as well in the MDR.

I like the smaller ships for shorter cruises. We went on fantasy after cruising on Oasis and Freedom class ships and it's different but was very nice. The kids had fun, and my notoriously picky aunts really were surprised by the food. They normally cruise Holland America and Celebrity and had nothing but good things to say about the ship

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I tipped $1 per drink last cruise with cheers ( even on soda) and feel like I got no recognition at all or any preferential treatment at all... it was really odd. We would still have to flag down waiters on the deck- you would think if they knew they'd get extra tips they'd go to those people first lol- at least I did when I bartended many years ago!!

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I don't remember about the boat time but wanted to say we have booked twice directly and had no problems at all. Great day. Also look for discount codes. I can't remember where we found it but I think we got 20% off

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We did that when we had connecting cabins, I bought cheers and dh just paid for his drinks a la carte. He's not a big drinker so it was nice that I could get it. It he didn't have to. Not the reason we booked 2 cabins though, we just wanted the extra bathroom:)

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We leave on Magic in about 3 weeks!

I have a question- do they do the laundry bag special and if so do you remember what day? Thanks!!

That's odd. CC's usually give a reason for the denial in a letter. What did yours say?

They said i'd get a letter with the reason. Very odd.

Dh and I both applied for the Carnival MC for the $100 bonus they're offering and I got denied and he got the pending more info message...both of us have excellent credit (750+ for me, he is over 800), low cc usage %, and good income. I usually get approved right away so i'm a bit shocked that they denied me lol.

Just wondering if this happened to anyone else? DH's is still pending, but he normally gets approved right away also.

Both are great, but I'd do Oasis if prices were similar. DS loves the carousel at that age

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Following this. Which hotel did you use for park and cruise? Thanks!!

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Exactly my thoughts! With Mobile opening again, I can leave my driveway at 8am and be at the port of Mobile by noon! [emoji3] For the right price, I can definitely overlook that she's a 26 year old Fantasy class ship.

We did Fantasy out of Charleston aboit a year ago and really loved it. My aunts and uncle who normally cruise celebrity/holland America but wanted to join us for my moms 60th were impressed with it as well, they enjoyed the food and thought the ship was very nice. We booked it for the same reason, 3.5 hrs from home.

We usually bring a bunch of singles and tip $1 with each order when we get Cheers.

Is it better to tip in cash? If you tip on S&s card, does it go to a shared pot or directly to the server? Not sure if anyone knows this or not.

We've done blue lagoon twice and it's been great. Very shallow lagoon with no waves that is perfect for young kids. Also you can watch or participate in dolphin and sea lion things. It's fun to just even watch the Dolphins from afar.

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Hi, this will be our first time with Cheers and wondering what everyone does in regards to leaving extra tips on drinks. Do you tip additional for each drink? If so how much on average? Most likely I'll be grabbing drinks here and there vs sitting at a bar for several drinks since my kids will be on the go. Just curious what the expectations are. Thanks!

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My aunt and uncle were upgraded to the owners suite on the Fantasy last year. It was awesome, and great for a group as we could all hang out there together.

Loving this! We will be on sunshine in 2 wks with our 4 and 6 yr olds...i'm nervous bc this is the first cruise they won't be in the same age group for camp carnival. Its so helpful to see the activities!

Sometimes, I have heard, so this is unsubstantiated, that if you are injured in a slip and fall or something that can be related to a ship related injury, there will be no bill.

 

However, if sick or whatever and need treatment,,, you pay the bill, then file for reimbursement

My 5 yo fell on fantasy in the waterworks area and cut his chin open-- my mom is a nurse and said he needed it stiched/glued...we went down, and they were able to glue it and we weren't charged anything. We did have to fill out an incident report, my only "issue" with it was that the last line asked "what could you have done to avoid the accident" LOL- I wrote nothing.

I agree! Royal is nice, but I don't see the big difference and am equally happy going on either. My grandparents (who have cruised over 80 times and usually prefer Celebrity) and my aunt (who has cruised probably 20+ times and usually goes on Holland America/Celebrity) were very impressed with the food on the Carnival Fantasy with our family and really enjoyed the entire cruise.

...and a few more...we are thinking of bringing our City Mini to use most of the time but also bringing our Peg Perego Aria (side by side double stroller which is lightweight and folds small to use for embarkation and also for the ports (DS @ 3.5 can be a bit wild and tends to run off so i'd want him contained). Did you see any side by side strollers in use?

awesome advice, thank you!! We will be going on freedom with our 17 m. old and 3.5 year old on September 1st and this is all so helpful.

A few questions...

- What did you do for sleeping arrangements, and what type of cabin did you have?

- Do the kids sleep in Adventure ocean when they're there late?

- What time did you do dining, and did you do MTD or regular set hours?

- Did your kids nap- so worried about how to get them to nap in the cabin at the same time!

- Did you do any of the shows with the kids- did they like them?

Thanks in advance!!

Thank you so much! Now my OCD self can get started with planning :)

Also, bringing a rashguard was very helpful- the sun is so strong, and we didn't have to worry about applying sunscreen/missing spots on his arms/chest/back. A wide brimmed sunhat as well. We got a few longsleeved ones at the end of the year from One Step Ahead (sunsmarties).

Another thing was we brought a pack of bendy straws so that we didn't have to tote sippy cups around the ship. We'd hold the glass and just let him drink out of it. A bendy straw made it so much easier.

We did the nursery a few nights too- it was so nice to get out with DH alone- like a mini vacation for us. We wouldn't go until 8 or so, he was usually asleep by then and we didn't feel like we were missing anything with him. We also got him dressed up a few nights and the pictures we have from the photographers on formal night are so cute! That's really the only souveniers that we buy.

We took DS on a cruise at 16 months and had a blast! We are taking DS (now 3.5, and DD who will be 17 months) in September again. Cruising iwth a toddler is different, but still enjoyable!

My tips..

We packed lots of snacks, and took cereal boxes as well. We also did My Time Dining so that we wouldn't be running around like crazy trying to hit a 5:30 dining time, or waiting for a 7:30. We usually did 6 or 6:30 which was plenty of time to take a good nap. Thankfully DH doesnt mind staying in the room, he's not a big pool fan, so i'd go out each afternoon and lay out/read/have a drink while they napped- it was great!

DS was completely freaked out by having to shower, so maybe try and acclimate beforehand, or bring a small portable blow up tub. We also brought a sturdy stroller with a deep recline and sun shade (Britax Blink)- we would take DS to the shows or wherever after dinner and usually he'd fall asleep in the stroller, so we' d be able to stay out a bit later. We also really liked staying onboard during port days...the ship was nearly empty and we'd have the pool to ourselves. We didn't bring a carseat, and didn't want to risk taxis with DS. Still figuring out how we're going to do things this time.

Tons of sunscreen, and more diapers than you think you'll need. We also brought his fave stuffed animal from home, and also borrowed some toys from the kids club. We brought a portable dvd player with a couple of movies too so taht if we were relaxing in the room he could watch something and we could as well. This time I think i'll download a few movies to the Kindle instead.

For sleeping, our room steward had a great idea instead of having a big pack and play taking up the entire room, he suggested turning the couch around so that it faced the wall. He made it up like a bed each night and it worked perfectly.

GL!

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