askimdog

3 cruises under the belt, last 2:

7 days with Carnival, looked for deal on cruise and flights and we ended up paying about 2000-2500.00 total

This was cruise, taxes, flights, tad of spending money etc.. We spend nothing on the ship and yes, we tip.

We look for the 279-333per person price, always booking an inside, always during Dec-March.

We live 5 hours from the airport in Minneapolis/St. Paul, every cruise starts with a 5 hour drive to the flight. UGhhh

My wife doesn't drink so I get mine and hers when we cruise. I have taken it with me to the buffet and library and deck and never been charged, but suppose ya could, if that was the case, I'd just put it away. Heck, my first bottle is popped about 15minutes after boarding, celebration time!!! I find a quiet spot on a deck away from the crazy Lido, pop it and enjoy the cruise right off.

The boarding lunch is always ugly, very crowded and crazy, some folks dragging luggage etc.. Get a good brunch before getting on board, always a safe bet.

First 2 cruises we requested table for 3 at early seating and always got it. Never was a problem. (We cruise with a 7-10 year old, late dining is too late). Last cruise we went anytime, since we now a days prefer buffet and only hit the MDR once or twice a 7 day cruise. Family just can't take the crowded room and long long long dinners anymore.

We have done Coz with young kids twice, both times same plan. Get a taxi, haggle to cheap, have him stop at his favorite street vendor and get a bag lunch, have him drop us off on the wild East side, and tell him to pick us up 3 hours later or so, wander the wild side, check out the surf, search for cool beach stuff, eat lunch, see only a few folks ( not counting cars) and get picked up at same place. easy fun, family time, no crowds

Yes, quiet, dark and rarely in the room. We are out of the room early, myself by 5 or 6 and wife and daughter by 7. We "Might" visited once during the day, if we swim, which is rare. Often we are out till after dinner. With a 10 year old we often are back in the room with her for her 8-9 bedtime, and often we'll crash with her or stick up reading another hour. So being out in Port or running around the ship 7AM-8PM is pretty common, would never have time to use a balcony if we could afford one. (we often do not change for dinner since we do not to the MDR)

We stick to free food, don't buy pix or souvenirs etc.. Last 3 cruises are combined S&S Bill for our family of 3 usually runs about 0-20 bucks not counting tips.

My daughter never cared for Camp Carnival, she is now 11. We last cruised in 2012 (hoping to have funds in 2016 for another). We also disliked Camp, loud, kids running amuk, pushing extra pay after hour parties (sorry, but don't tempt the kid with a 8PM bedtime to stay up PLEASE), a previous cruise she was told to build a bear or to do something else it was more $$$, just constant nickel and diming.

Our kid always hung with us, trivia she liked, pool she loved when not crowded, and wandering ports, seeing museums, Parks, visiting schools, orphanages etc..always trying to make it educational for her.

On the other hand, my sisters kid loves Camp C. to each their own.

Every case is different, like every school. My daughters school only has 34 students and her class is 4,5 and 6th grade combined, about 12 kids (she is one of three 4th graders). Taking her out is easy, they simply put together her work for the week and she does it on board. With our jobs we can only cruise Dec-Feb and not over holidays, so we have little choice but to take her out.

Plus every cruise we do we add educational stops, every museum, nature hikes looking for specimens etc. and avoid shopping, swimming with creatures, ziplines etc.

On our last 7 day cruise we received only 3 towel critters all week, about one every other night. Should have seen my wife and I whip up a lame snake just to amuse our daughter who kept looking for one. LOL...

The last two cruise they wanted to see the bottle and the label, so ya might want to keep it handy and visible. We check nothing on the airlines of with porters ( saves money and never a fear of losing stuff), so we have carry-ons with us, usually a small rolling suitcase and a backpack each for the 3 of us. We carry our wine bottles in one of the backpacks. This is also handy since upon boarding it's celebrate vacation time and one gets opened within minutes.

Our family of 3 can swing a cruise about every 16-18 months, January 2012 was our last one. We look for 3 tickets for a 7 day cruise for 1000.00 max. We try to find a Dec/ Jan cruise for 250-333 pp. and we do. Our s&s has gratuities only, once I bought a beer. no gambling

3 of us in the family, we have been on 3 cruises. I bought a beer once to taste the Red Frog ale. Otherwise, we have never seen a need to spend a dime. We take what we need so fun shops are never visited. Food is everywhere, so no need for special foods, we don't gamble and we bring our own wine on board and buy more booze In Port.

Our S&S has only had the one beer besides gratuities added.

Every Port is treated the same:

What they are known for is researched.

What's a unique item, place or food.

What is Local food and where to get it.

Museum

Culture and people.

We avoid ziplines, beaches, atvs, bars and shops.

I also have never been on a ship with one. Don't think I would either, don't have TV at home, don't want it on a ship. I admit, I may go watch sports in a sports lounge a bit, but overall it seems silly to have that thing loud enough for others who care less for that sort of thing. I got rid of the cable bill and the TV 13 years ago....life has been better.

I use to love live bands on deck....now...

ice carving, hairy chest shows, too loud canned music, kids packed in hot tubs, overcrowded pools, never a place to sit and very aggressive pushy bartenders....we avoid lido deck at all costs.

Love Carnival and always find a nice quiet place to sit and read, or play trivia or walk the ship, but the whole Lido deck is horrible these days. I think the last 7 day cruise I wandered across the Lido deck to the buffet area once.

quiet, stable, easy on and off..the best

3 cruises so far for our family of three, besides tips, our combined s&s bill has been 0....0...and 6 dollars, had one drink on our 3rd cruise. In port, we spend 40-140 a day for meals and transport. We mostly walk, eat local foods, geocache, museums etc. We avoid shops, beaches and bars, but hit a local grocery store for a six pack.

WE now do buffet almost exclusively. We had enough 2-3 hour meals, cold food, waiters who had poor language skills, waiting and waiting for asked condiments, dancing waiters and crowded sitting on anothers lap dining rooms.

We find much the mdr menu is at the buffet, less crowded, more quiet and I don't have to pack any long pants ;)

Our routine the last 2 cruises has been:

We hit a big brunch with friends we stay with prior to embarking, this way we avoid the crowded buffet and Lido deck.

We go to a lounge and sit near a window, it is usually football season so I sit with our bags ( we check none at the airport or with a porter) and watch football, after first opening one of our carry-on wines. My wife and daughter go explore the ship. Eventually we get to our room, I watch more game, the girls head to the buffet for evening meal, bring me back a plate. First day we are bushed, so we turn in early. At times the wife will go out late, but I always stay with the kiddo as she sleeps.

pretty sure ya gotta put something down. My 9 year olds card lives in my wallet, at 9 she has no need for it and is with me 24/7...money is still down on it. My card has money down on it and on a total of 3 cruises, I used it once for a single drink, only charge I ever had so far besides tips.

Not using card on the ship is pretty easy spending wise.

It is not a perfect world, there are many things I would do without, but others love and the ship should have it. That being said, I'd love to see prices cut a bit so my family could afford a cruise every year. Then again, they are low prices for what you get, not my fault my income is low compared to many.

Pools are always overcrowded, so I never use them.

Lido deck too loud, crowded and drink pushers annoying, so I avoid that.

We only use the mdr once or twice in 7 day

never use the casino

hate djs

only got towel animals half the time on our last 7 day cruise

so for me, all those could be cut... but then, I might be the only one on the ship. It seems fine right now, have not seen too many cuts that affect me. Now, I have not done a ship with a big outside screen or one with a Guys burger thingy, so no comment on that yet.

I agree with big names being left out, not sure who the Lopez guy is, but I don't think Guy needs Carnivals money.

Turned 50 today and am about to pull the trigger for January 2015 cruise... might be a great day if a deal is found!!!

3 cruises, 2 with Carnival, never have seen a survey after a cruise yet?

We have not done Disney, and likely never will. It takes 12-18 months to save up enough for our family of 3 to do Carnival for a week in an inside cabin. But...the last couple cruises we did we had a chance to do Disneyland and Disneyworld for a day before the cruise. That left no taste for us to try the cruiseline..we found the theme parks filthy, expensive and crowded, if any of that transfers to their ships...no thanks