centrevillemom

Thank you so much! Did the ecard for $500 for my up coming cruise this month.

I'll take a free $50 any day! :)

Thank you so much!!!

Thank you so much! Not leaving until end of June, so there's plenty of time to plan.

I will be subscribing to your review, thanks for writing it!

If anyone has them for this itinerary, or planning on going soon, could you please post them.

Thanks so much in advance!

Is there a limit on how many you can have? Can the drinks be bought anywhere on the ship?

And how much is the match play for?

Thanks in advance.

What do you normally tip the waitstaff? It'll be just 2 of us eating there.

Thanks.

I have exchanged emails with Martin (1 of 2 executive hosts with Carnival) and he explained that the drink card is automatically given if you reached 5,000 points on your previous sailing. The other 2 ways that I am aware of getting the drink card are (1) earning the 1,500 points during a 7 day cruise or (2) booking a Premier Casino Cruise. If you just book a normal cruise through the casino group but one of the three options above do not apply, I do not think they will give you a drink card. There is an option for a junket or land based tour company providing the drink cards, but that would be offer specific in my mind. I know that NCL gives the drink cards with the comp cruises, but I can say for sure that Carnival doesn't do it that way, as I only got mine after communication with Martin where he explained the rules.

Thanks for your response. Sounds like I'm not getting a drink card.

I did call the players club, to see if I or my DH qualified for any other perks. Answer was no, since our cruise was already comped, that was basically enough, lol.

No they gave it to me at the Casino on the first night

 

 

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Did you get the card because you earned 1500 points that first day? Or from your last cruise? Or because you booked through the players club?

Thanks for your responses.

I know I didn't make 1500 points my last cruise, nor my husband, so no drink card for us.

This is different on NCL, it doesn't matter how many points you accrue prior (we didn't make the points with them either), as long as CAS books your cruise, you will automatically get drink cards, that are waiting for you in your cabin when you arrive. I was hoping Carnival would be the same, but unfortunately its not. Would love my free drinks in the casino. I'll never play that much to get 1500 in one cruise.

Was the card waiting in your room when you boarded?

For NCL, it was a separate card, that you gave to the waiters in the casino when you placed your drink order. Is it something similar? Ours was there in our room once we boarded.

Thanks

Does Carnival give their players free drink cards automatically in the casino if you book a cruise through their players club? Even if its a free cruise offer? I only ask because I know NCL does for their players.

Thanks in advance.

We headed down to deck 7 at 850, and out of the port by 930 walking out with our own luggage. This was with a delay for about 10-15mins due to a back up in the terminal being too crowed.

When we got to deck 7, there wasn't that big of a line, maybe 30-40 ahead of us, and it moved really quick once we got moving.

Thank you so much for taking time to respond to my questions, greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to go!

Thanks for the videos!

Did you like BL as much as the prior times?

Did you go with the ship or on your own?

Were you able to catch the 4pm ferry back?

How was the water? Able to still get in?

We sail next week.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Thanks for the pics! And the video.

Can't wait to hear the rest of your review (and your BL experience).

Thank you for your response and review!

Centrevillemom,

 

We are leaving on this cruise on Sunday and this will be our third visit to Blue Lagoon Beach day, so let me try to answer your questions, realizing that we last took this excursion 18 months ago. I'll post another review after we return Nov 24 and let you know how it was.

 

You meet off the ship and walk about 10 mins to a small boat that takes you all the way to BL island. The ride takes about an hour, so expect to get here about 11am-11:30. The ride is great as you get to go past the amazing yachts and mansions along paradise island.

 

We love the island beach day as we have three young girls who love the beach. It's sheltered and has unlimited use of inflatables in the water and float mats etc. The lunch is good but not great. Our favorite is after we are done with the beach, we love to go watch the dolphins get fed near the end of the day. My girls really enjoy that.

 

There is a small gift shop on the island. We typically take the 4pm ferry back, as we have to be back on board by 5:30pm for a 6pm sailing.

 

We've never been in November so not sure about water temp, but from what I read on the Bahamas forum the water is cool but swim able. It was in March certainly.

 

Hope that helps. Different people have different views. We think it is a great value for families.

Lime,

Thank you so much for your response and your tips! You answered a lot of my questions. Can't wait to hear your experience when you return.

One more question, do you wait to purchase the excursion when you're on the ship, or beforehand? Debating on buying it now, only because I'm afraid the weather might be bad when we go. But not sure if there's limited space, and it will sell out if we don't buy it beforehand.

Thanks again.

I'm on the BA in early December, and was thinking of doing the Blue Lagoon Beach day also. Can you tell me a little more about the process? When did you actually arrive on the island? Which ferry did you take to head back to the ship? Was taking the 4pm ferry even an option? Which is what I would like to do. How long did the whole process take to get back? Do you think I'll have enough time, if we did choose the 4pm ferry. Were you able to get in the water at all, or was it too cold?

Thanks in advance. I have little ones, so having a small beach/lagoon is ok with me.

What hours are you in port? Keep in mind that the ferry ride is a good 30 minutes. If your ship leaves at 5, that wouldn't give you enough time.

 

 

 

It depends on where your ship docks. If you're at the end, it's a bit of a trek, especially since you then have to walk all the way through Festival Place. But even if you're at the end, it's not a mile. Maybe half a mile, at worst.

In port from 8-6pm. Do you that'll be enough time to get back? Will NCL force me to get back on the 2pm ferry? Especially if I buy this through them?

Half a mile isn't too bad. I'm traveling with a 7&9 yo, didn't want them to complain about the walking.

Thanks!

I'm thinking of doing this also, when I'm on the BA in December. Reading the reviews on NCL's website, it says that you return on the 2pm ferry back, if you're booked through NCL. Would we be able to stay until the 4pm ferry? Or are we obligated to go back at 2? Would prefer to stay as long as possible.

Is the walk on the pier really 1/2-1 mile long?

Thanks in advance.

Have you tried an upgrade vs OBC? They might be more willing to do that instead.

We were able to upgrade from an inside to a family balcony for only $200 more on the Breakaway, because the kids free dropped the prices so much, this was after final payment.

Despite the fact we were on a cruise offer with CAS, the prices were still that much cheaper.

Good luck!

Hi there. Let's start with the kids club. My kids love it! We have never been on a ship that they have not thoroughly loved the staff. And because we cruise frequently with them they ask about their favorites on each cruise. I would try to engage the staff on the first day. Finchy and Eggo are very visible and friendly. And my kids loved spider pig. I think the staff really do a fantastic job.

 

I would guess that you will have upwards of 500 kids on your sailing. I spoke for a long time to the crew and they said that is about the fewest they ever have on any given week. So, I would expect a lot of kids. And, I would "sell" this as a positive. With so many kids making friends will be easy.

 

The circus training is very fun. And survivor night is my kids favorite. Late night (which we have never done on any other ship) was a highlight. they also liked the face painting. The giant light up dance floor is very fun too.

 

My advice is to take them as soon as you can in the afternoon of your first day. And absolutely take them on the first night.

 

Ok, for CAS this ship is great for many many things. The casino isnt necessarily one of them. The CAS staff is less friendly than we've had on other ships. I'm sure it's a product of being so big. It's the trade off for the big ship. Perks? Not many. But, we did have a good time.

 

In port Canaveral. We went to coco beach. I think the cab ride was about $15. We had great weather, so a beautiful day. The current there is strong, so if your kids are not strong swimmers, I would keep them close to shore. In Nassau, we went to Junkanoo Beach. It was fine for a very uncomplicated day. We walked to and from the beach. It's about 10 minutes from where you dock. It's not the best beach, but then again the beach at Atlantis wasn't my favorite either. We just wanted a low key day and this delivered perfectly. We bought some basic sand toys in Walgreens in coco beach. And we found some local kids to leave them with when we were leaving Nassau. My kids enjoyed that.

 

I hope I have helped. I'm sure you will have a great time. Remember that you deserve some alone time with your hubby too. The kids crew will help! Just get to know them. If your kids are shy or nervous just let them know and they will help with the transition. 1 good night at the kids club and they won't want to leave. Good luck!

Thank you so much for answering my questions! We will definitely have them go the first night, even if it's for a little bit. Thanks for the tips regarding the staff, will engage them for sure.

I'm actually staying on the 12th deck, hopefully it won't be to bad with the lines checking in :(

We did Junkanoo last time, I think we are going to try the beach day at Blue Lagoon Island. Just hoping the water will be warm enough for us to get in.

Really hoping that GSC won't get skipped, really looking forward to going there.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi,

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind, my dds are 7&9, and haven't been a huge fan of NCL's kids' club (Dawn and Epic, granted both were during spring break, so they were super crowded). They said it was "boring", and really didn't ask to go back.

How did your kids like it? Did they go other times besides late night? Were they asking to go? Were there certain activities that they recommend, as a not to miss? Would love to enjoy a dinner with the hubby a couple of nights alone without the kiddos. We do plan to drop them off to watch ROA, for one of the nights. Hoping that since we're sailing in early Dec, the ship won't be too full of kids. Then again, kids sail free is offered on my sailing, so who knows. I want them to go the first night, at least for a little bit, so they can meet everyone off the bat, and hopefully make new friends.

Besides the drink card and check in, any other perks from CAS? Its our first "free" cruise as CAS guests.

Did you and your family like Cable beach? How long did it take to get there? Any tips/suggestions on where to eat, etc? Not sure what to do in Orlando.

Glad to hear about the rocking situation on the ship. It was strange, because Epic being so big, I actually experienced a little seasickness on that cruise, more so than on the Dawn. My brother felt the same way too.

Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions and your review. Really appreciate your help and insight.

Thank you. Is there a certain person/dept?

 

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Not sure who he spoke to directly, but she had to call him the next day after she got her managers approval.

 

If you're traveling with kids, the kids sail free ended on the 8th, I think, so might not get such great rates if you did a mock booking today vs yesterday.

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Good luck!