klepton

I'll be cruising in a Haven suite later this month and I'm curious about my plans.

 

Because I'm travelling with our two kids (age 3 and 11) I'm thinking it would be better for all involved if we skipped lunch in the Haven restaurant. Other haven guests would probably appreciate a quiet(er) lunch without my 3 year old, and my kids will be excited to get to the pools/slides/ropes course/rock wall (and Daddy might be equally excited :D). I figure the best time to do this is as soon as we can, since we'll be one of the first to board we can avoid many of the crowds/lines.

 

For haven guests, do they escort you on, show you around the haven area, and then take you to the restaurant for lunch? Is it possible to skip out after the tour and skip lunch?

 

Are the slides, pools, ropes course, etc open right when guests start boarding? Or will they not open until later anyway on embarkation day?

 

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

I'm going to respectfully disagree with JinxyB. In Dec 2014 we went with a family group to both the Blue Hole and Dunns Falls with my then 2 year old.

 

We had 8 people climb the falls and I carried my son up most of it, but he enjoyed stopping and swimming in the holes, and he rode down the "water slide" on my lap. We had a great private guide for just our group. At the main area where they assemble tours I asked about a private guide. They told me no, so I just kept walking down towards the beach. On the way I saw a guide and asked him, "no problem mon!"

 

I wouldn't hesitate to take him again now, at age 3, and certainly would take him at 4. We also had our 9 year old daughter who did great and really enjoyed the climb.

 

Just FYI - Dunns is one of those places that you'll get a lot of differing opinions on. Some think it's a death trap just waiting to cause broken arms and cracked skulls, others will say the climb isn't bad at all and they felt very comfortable/safe. I fall into the latter camp. Our group was people ranging from age 2 to 66, and everyone had a great time. Obviously a lot depends on your comfort level and your own athletic ability climb with your kids. The good news is there are plenty of places to bail out on the way up.

 

Good luck deciding! Contrary to many Ocho Rios is one of our favorite ports.

I'm not sure where their logic is at --- why Carnival can't just simply issue a press release as opposed to having things dribble out through Facebook is beyond me.

 

If they're trying to build anticipation, it's not working for me...

 

Tom

 

I agree... two months of anticipation and build up to special pillows, coffee maker in one class of one ship, and a free bag of laundry? Hopefully there's a bombshell JH has yet to release, otherwise this turned into a huge dud!

I read with interest the prohibited list. No mention of water or soda being prohibited. Could this be a change?

 

Maybe I missed something, but where did you see these were not allowed? I hadn't heard Royal restricted them. Carnival has restricted anything in bottles, even bottled water and soda, but I hadn't heard Royal did.

Thanks so much for the report, sounds awesome and I can't wait for our sailing on Harmony next year. Sounds like the Genie is so much more than the butlers on NCL. With only 3 suites each they can afford to be.

I have a related question about this. Some have reported points hitting 6 days to weeks after your cruise. What if you attain a status level during the first lef of a B2B? Can you expect your new status to be recognized on the second leg?

Hmm... while I would applaud this move generally, it would stink that it happens right before my cruise in a star class suite where one of the perks is "complimentary minibar". :D

They are very similar. Both leave out of Miami on the same day. The Reflection sails to Cayman' date=' Cozumel, Falmouth, and Labadee. The Glory sails to Cayman, Belize, Mahogany Bay, and Cozumel. Both would give us plenty of opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, etc. at the ports.

Price-wise Reflection is a little more, and more of their dining locations cost extra. My balcony room on Reflection would be the same as the ocean suite on the Glory, with a concierge class room another $300. I can get a free drink package and $300 in stateroom credit on reflection, though (OR free internet), which is a savings. So I have to consider if Reflection has enough places to eat that don't cost extra. I have read their buffet is better than Carnivals.

I'm just at the mercy of others' opinions! Many of my FB friends have just been on Carnival cruises, but a colleague here at work who cruises often and has been on several lines likes Celebrity a lot better.[/quote']

 

well you know what they say about opinions... :D

 

I'm not going to knock Carnival, they have a great product and I have enjoyed every Carnival cruise I've been on. But I think you'll find X to be a level or two above. I'm basing this on talking to others, as I've never been on X. But given your options, I personally would pay for a suite on X.

 

I actually like the Glory itinerary better though. I love Labadee! But I think the combination of Belize/Mahogony Bay beats the combination of Labadee/Falmouth. Falmouth is really that bad... :D

 

Food is super subjective. I'm not a fan on Carnival's buffet, not for any meal. I don't like their new dining room menus either. But I *love* Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, and Fish & Chips on the Glory. Pizza is always solid as well.

 

Best of luck, I think you'll have an awesome time regardless of which you choose!

Is all else equal between the two sailings? I mean would you be just as happy with the price, itinerary, etc on the Reflection as the Glory? I've never been on Reflection, but I'd choose that in a heartbeat if all else was equal.

 

Nothing against the Glory, it's a nice ship, but X might be more your style.

 

As for the suite upgrade, on Carnival I'd say it's not worth it. I'd hold out for FTTF if priority embarkation is important. X offers more amenities for suites so you'd need to weigh whether or not it offers enough value to you.

The social package is probably your best bet for on the ship. We left our kids with grandparents for two weeks in Feb. I got the premium internet plan and it was useless for skype, and facetime was blocked. The social plan will at least enable to you send pictures via the social apps.

 

We made a point to find wifi in every port and facetime from there. Some ports that's easier than others, but it helps to do a little research before you go. Also ask the crew, they will usually know the way to the best free wifi spots. The trick is finding somewhere quiet. Many bars will offer free wifi, but blaring music and crowds will make it difficult to converse.

 

I joked with my wife about how we weren't really "getting away" from the kids if she was going to obsess about finding wifi to call them, but there was no talking her down. Our kids are older though... I can definitely see you wanting to see your baby's face.

 

Good luck!

[quote name='jv_nyc']Yes, and it's not Loopt, the app with the geolocation that someone mentioned earlier. It's a mobile friendly website with simple chat functionality. We're onboard, so I tried it out, and it works great![/QUOTE]

Thanks for reporting! I'll be interested in hearing more about how this ends up working.

[quote name='clarea']I'd go with the cabana, something you would have for the whole day and enjoy with up to 6 people.[/QUOTE]

It wasn't necessarily an either/or, with $1600 OBC we can mix it up a bit. :) I was just trying to think of ways/experiences where we could spend it, things that weren't included in the star class amenities.

Another one, the Behind the Scenes tour.

I saw some others mentioning TAs and OBC. I also get a fair percentage back from my TA in OBC, and because of what I'm paying for my star class Sky Loft, it's a pretty sizable sum. The thing is, star class includes pretty much anything we'd normally spend money on. :)

What will you guys do with your OBC? A few ideas I had:

Cabana in Labadee
Private/Group Flowrider session
Spa day for DW (And maybe nails for DD)

I'm guessing the OBC will be refundable, so could also cash it out at 5% and use at the casino or for gratuities for Genie.

Until recently my countdown has actually been counting the days from my last cruise, I think it got up (down) to -61 days before it switched over to my Dec cruise. It's unreliable at best, if you want a cruise countdown I'd go with one of the other services.

If you got your "Early Booking" email today, but others got their Early Booking email yesterday, that would seem totally unfair....yours therefore is not a 'early as someone else's' ability......does it go by C&A category level? Any ideas?

 

I suspect that all bulk marketing emails going into a queuing system, and then there's a separate higher priority queue for transactional emails (register for an account, payment confirmation, forgot password, etc). Depending on the number of marketing emails going out the queue likely gets backed up on occasion, causing some emails to not send for hours/days after scheduled. That's why many people got theirs yesterday, and some are still flowing in this morning. Just a guess, working in IT I've seen setups like this.

 

It's a well known fact not to wait for emails from Royal if you truly want to be early. Many itineraries were available for booking via phone on Tuesday night, and most were loaded to the website overnight (and supposedly only available to C&A members yesterday).

I did the band thing in Disney World. It had it's positives and negatives. Sometimes I had to take the band off to pay for things. For me the biggest convenience was being able to go straight to the parks and not have to check in or activate the band. Obviously this isn't something you can do on a cruise ship.

 

I have a whole box-full of magic bands sitting in my office, probably 50 of them. :D I love them at Disney, I think I've only ever had one that I had to remove from my wrist to get it to read. After doing Disney so much, I think bands on ships are a pretty natural fit.

 

The disadvantage (to me) is that darn tan line... :cool:

OK, so received an email from RCI this morning notifying me all 2017 sailings are bookable...with a discount :)

 

Onto website to find that even with discount :confused:prices are much higher than current year and many cabins are already sold out!

 

I am booked on Anthem for April 2017 but considering moving that back 12 months......again I find on the UK site that many cabins are not available and price has increased by 4 figures from 2017. Can this be correct? IT glitch or deliberate policy by RCI?

 

I received my C&A "Early Booking" email this morning as well. :rolleyes:

 

I don't think it's an IT glitch, I think they're just gauging demand with higher prices. I had cruises booked for summer 2017 and spring 2018 that I was looking for alternatives, but seeing the prices I decided to keep both of my current bookings.

Anthem itineraries are on the website for next summer fall, possibly other ships too, I didn't look.

 

But all I can say is :eek::eek::eek: $40k for a 9 night in the Royal Loft! Insides start at $1550pp for the date I was looking at. Guess I'm sticking with the Adventure B2B I already had booked.

 

Is it bad of me to root for a market crash so we can get back to 2009-2010 prices? :D

Just booked 2 bedroom Aqua Theater Suite on Harmony for May 6, 2017. Cannot find a roll call. Although I have posted before I have never started a roll call and do not have the skill set to do all the organizing, spreadsheets etc that the starters always seem to end up doing. Anyone here going on that cruise and might be interested in starting roll call? Looking forward to this new ship. Love the Allure. The Harmony looks like it is even better!

 

You don't necessarily need to manage everything if you start the group. I have started many, and only really managed the group once. Usually there are others more than willing to jump in and take control. I'd go ahead and start a group.

 

Congrats on snagging the 2 room Aqua Theater Suite, those were all sold out over 18 months in advance for my Harmony cruise.

Wouldn't that be the same as just using your Amazon Store Card and saving 5% by buying the Carnival Gift Cards through Amazon? I like the fact that they take the 5% off the statement. But if you don't have the Store Card (which is super easy to get) then that makes sense.

 

Of course I like the other deals better like eBay but it's better than paying full price.

 

Depends on how you redeem the points. Chase UR points can be transferred to travel partners, so I can convert them to other points (like United or Hyatt) and get closer to a 1.8 cents average valuation out of them. Makes the total "savings" closer to 9%.

 

Still not as good as combining it with 4x Fuel Points from Kroger as I stated above, but at least this redemption is available year round.

Chase Ink+, a chase business card.

 

I think most people that get this card consider "selling stuff on ebay" a business and get approved for the card. Chase doesn't seem to care.

 

Correct, any of the Chase Ink varieties. I have the Chase Ink Classic, which is the no annual fee version, but I don't know for sure that it's still available. I rack up hundreds

 

I have a legit business though the record... not selling through ebay. :cool:

If anyone has an Amazon GC balance or Amazon GC you can now use them to buy a carnival GC (or any GC they sell) on Amazon

 

Really? That's good news! I can buy amazon gift cards at office supply stores and get 5x points on my credit card, then buy Carnival gift cards with those on Amazon.

You will be surprised how easy it is to navigate. Some long walks, but not a complicated layout at all.

 

This is 100% true. Very easy to navigate and very intuitive design. Mostly straight lines and not many winding passageways. You'll end up memorizing which deck the main neighborhoods are on (promenade, boardwalk, central park, etc) early on in your cruise. It's very easy to navigate, just takes a while to walk from the front to back, or walking from some spots to the other side of the ship. For example, if you were traveling with others and you each had a aquatheater suite on different sides of the ship, there's be a long walk to get back and forth between them.

 

If there isn't one place that you want to be close to, I'd book mid-ship. CP balcony or oceanview balcony between the two stairwells. It will give you the opportunity to get to each set of stairs/elevators fairly quickly, and keep you from the extreme edges of the ship unless that's where you're going to.

 

If I were booking today for my family, I'd go the more forward hump on deck 12.

Glad you mentioned the kids, as that would be the first question I'd ask. On Allure we had rooms very close to aft, and it was a loooong walk to the kids club. :D Not a huge deal except when picking up DS later at night after he'd fallen asleep, it was a long way to carry him.

 

It's hard to really explain how big Oasis class ships are... If there is someplace you think you'll frequent, or want easy access to, it is definitely best to get a room close to there. For us it would be near the kids club, which would also be close to the solarium. For others it might be somewhere else. Just remember that the up and down isn't so bad, it's the length of the ship that's so long.

This is very much YMMV, I can only give you my experience.

 

On POA last November we stayed in 12006 (top suite on the ship), my brother and his family stayed in a penthouse suite. My parents stayed in a regular balcony room, as did my other brother and his wife. All in all, 8 people staying in suites (4 adults, 4 kids), and 4 adults not in suites.

 

I was told by pre-concierge that anyone not in a suite could not board with us, so we didn't try.

 

Once on board the butler came to show us the suite (awesome suite by the way, would book it again in a heartbeat!). Anyway, I asked him about eating with our whole family in Cagneys for breakfast/lunch. He said he'd let me know. About two hours later he came back and said he spoke to the manager in Cagneys and we were all set. As long as someone from a suite was there we could have my parents and non-suite brother/wife eat with us for breakfast or lunch. Sure enough, we did this multiple times with no issue whatsoever.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!