goobz

Just got back from liberty. Prepaid for surf and stream package for entire week for a family of 5. At no point could you actually stream. Internet was very slow the entire trip. Even just basic web surfing was difficult the vast majority of the time. Frequent disconnects. Very unhappy considering how much money was paid.

Unfortunately they are already full booked on the day I want to use them. Are there any other good alternatives in Barcelona that are similar?

Carnival in General is going to be cheapest line out of FL. MSC is a European line that does some Caribbean sailings. They use to have kids are free deal so I would check into that.

Off season cruises are much cheaper.

Last minute deals are pretty good as well but unfortunately I have to have my vacations set well in advance.

You can easily go on a cruise for 1/3 to 1/2 of what you paid for Disney. Of course they won't match Disney, but you have to give up something.

Carnival is a budget party type cruise. Think hairy chest contests and hundreds of people drinking and dancing to YMCA on the pool deck.

Going in February there will be very few kids on board. That will probably be a plus for you but a minus for them.

Neither ship have pools you can swim in, they are play pools. Swim/snorkel at your port excursions.

Personally I would pick RCI, but it depends what you are looking for.

I noticed that RCI allure is going to western med in 2015. We are planning a land sea trip next year. Family with kids want try one of the larger ships for the cruise portion of the trip. The other consideration is the NCL epic. Anyone been on both and have an opinion?

You need to be much much more clear as to what you're talking about.

 

You cancelled a cruise 10 months in advance,,,,,,OK

You were elegible for a full refund of any money paid (UNLESS you booked Early Saver) If you booked Early Saver, you should have received everything EXCEPT $50 per person cancellation fee and $200 per person would be put into an account for the booked person to be used within 2 years. Now, when you rebook another cruise, you have to pay full deposit,,,, then that $200 is applied to your balance.

 

Several thousand dollars??????? WTH!!

5 people times $250 deposit = $1250 What are the several thousand you're talking about?

You don't get a refund for insurance when you cancel a cruise. SOMETIMES,, if you cancel and immediately rebook they might transfer the insurance to the new booking.

It was early saver and they it was $400 per person not $200. Yes I am sure of this amount and yes Carnival confirmed the amount. When I rebooked for another cruise they did not apply the amount to my deposit. When I asked about it they told me no problem it will be on your sign and sail account. Except it wasn't and when I talked to the 3rd carnival rep they are the ones that brought up I have to file an insurance claim to receive this $2000. This was never brought up before with the other 2 reps.

No, never had an issue with a refund.

 

Often people get upset when people ask questions on the forum, rather than just calling a rep on the phone. It sounds like your issue is a prime reason to ask people who have on this site if they have gone through a similar situation, to get feedback on the exact procedure on getting a refund.

The reps dont intend to give bad info, they are often just clueless.

 

 

You got some bad advice initially, hopefully someone will be able to help you rectify the situation.

I never get insurance through the cruise line.

 

Hope it works out soon

So far I have talked to 3 carnival reps and they have given me 3 different answers? Well I suppose get talk to a 4th rep and hope they give me a better answer, but I was hoping to get other advice. And yes this will be the last time I will ever get insurance through a cruiseline.

I cancelled a cruise about 10 months in advance for 5 people because a change of plans. When I cancelled, I got a notice that part of my deposit was not refundable but could be used toward a future cruise as long as it was within 2 years. This was a substantial amount (several thousand dollars). So before the 2 years are up I take another cruise. When I contact Carnival they said "we will just add it to your sail and sign account and anything left over you will get a refund immediately.

So I went on my cruise. When I didn't get my refund, I called them again. Now they say what the first person told me was all wrong. I have to file a claim with Berkeley insurance since I bought insurance through them(via Carnival). These people basically are doing everything they can not to pay. After reading many online reviews of the Berkeley Insurance about 90% of them are negative and I have my doubts about whether I will ever get paid. So now it looks like I am stuck with Carnival not wanting to credit me (even though they took my money and provided nothing) and insurance company that doesn't want to pay out.

My observations if anyone cares-

Generally the action at the poker tables didn't start till after 9 pm. The busiest time seemed to be bewteen 10 pm and 1 am unless there was an early port the next day. Trying to find people playing at other times was rather rare even on sea days.

Player levels varied quite a bit. There were some experienced players that always seem to show up whenever a table was beginning to get crowded. These guys I had the toughest time with. A lot of people were half drunk or not very good. They generally lost all their money and didn't show up again.

I am not sure I am a big fan of no limit. Twice I lost my entire buy in on bad beats that went in all in against me. One guy opened up an all in bet in early position with a big stack when I had pocket aces. So I had to call him. A third guy called us with a trash hand. Of course the 3rd guy wins this huge pot pulling trips on the river. Another time a guy goes all in after the flop I guess trying to bluff. Everyone folds but I had trip 10s with an Ace kicker. So I call. He has trash and his only way to beat me is to draw 2 cards to a straight. Of course he that is exactly what he does :eek:

They shouldn't do major renovations during actual cruises. That's crazy and I would bail out. I am not paying a large amount of money for them to work on repairs and refurbishments to a major part of the entertainment on a ship while I am on vacation. Do it in port on your own time not mine.

The double whammy this is a transatlantic cruise. No ports and things to occupy your day. Even if you don't gamble, the casino usually is in the middle of the ship through a major walkway for entertainment and shops. It would be ugly, unsightly and not be a comfortable enviroment with maintence crew, machines and sounds which will affect the shops around it as well as any nearby cabins.

Actually it is perfect for kids. In the olden days this tour was a pretty heavy party boat, but after the renovation it is perfectly suited for the whole family. Yes there is a bar on board but the days of free rum punch are long gone. The kids will love the limbo and dance contests as well as their time on Honeymoon Beach.

Thx- sounds like I will keep the booking.

Is this party boat ok for kids aged 6-12? They state there is no minimum age, but I am wondering if I should book something different.

Ok thanks. I will probably start off play conservatively and see how loose and aggressive are the players. I am actually getting tired of playing without real money because there are a lot of people that make wild bets and usually will stay in the hand no matter what.

I have been on cruises before, but never have gambled. Recently I have been playing a lot of online poker (not for real money). I have never played poker in a casino. I have an upcoming cruise where I want to try my hand at some texas hold em. From what I understand the ship will be using electronic poker with no dealer. That is fine with me since that is what I am use to. A couple questions-

1. What is the level of play on cruise ships. Am I am going to be over my head? I have done pretty well online, but that wasn't for real money so people probably played a lot different.

2. My last cruise I didn't gamble but I did notice most of the time I walked by the poker table not very many people were playing (0-4). Is that typical?

3. Is carribean or 3 card poker worth playing? It seems like playing against the house is usually a losing proposition so I prefer to play against real people on equal footing

4. Are the texas holdem games all "no limit" or are there limit tables?

thx