Etchdreams

Has anyone else had problems with Barclay?  We made a onetime payment to Carnival and Barclays double billed the same amount on the same day.    We contacted Barclays about the problem and was told that Carnival received the payments...We were told by  Frank that it had happened to others who were making a payment to "other" companies... We called Carnival and they show no payment received. Carnival has gone out of their way to help. We even had a 3 way call with them and Barclays, and Carnival told Barclays they have not received any payment from them on our behalf. Carnival asked for a tracking number, and Barclays was not able to supply one.  We call and talk to someone and get their name, and call back and ask for them, and nobody knows who the are. We are told hey must be on a "different shift"  but the hours of this department are 9 to 5. I ask to speak to a manager or supervisor, and I'm told no. This has been going on for a month.    Let me again say that Carnival is not the problem. So has anyone else had a problem with Barclays or should I say Barclies......

On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 6:16 AM, RussNJodi said:

Thanks for the info

 

They do charge $75.00 a year for their card BUT when you consider the free bags and what that would cost if you had to pay for them, and the discount.... it is a great deal....We got the card for the same reason others have said....for an Alaska trip, and my wife already wants to go again...

Will be visiting again, this time with friends that have never been. Can anyone give me some information about a taxi to the Curacao factory and how much it may cost for four people? Are there stores around the port area that sell Curacao, or the glacial products?

Thanks for all the information....

Have seen lots of post about the cards being in the mailbox, but my question is, what is the process from arriving till the time you board the ship. I assume you still have to check in at the counters? Will be traveling with a couple new to cruising.

Thanks, Jim

My wife and I along with another couple decided to fly in to Anchorage in May of 2018 and spend a week in the area. I have been able to reach out to "Glaciers" and others who have been helpful with any questions that I have had. These post along with all if the other information will make our trip to Alaska unforgettable, so with that said, just wanted to say "Thanks" to all of those that have helped with our planning

Thanks for all the good ideas. Yes we will have a car while we are there, and will have a kitchen, so that may be an idea also...Again thanks to everyone for the information.

Wife and I and another couple will be flying into Anchorage Mid May and staying for a week to see some of the sights. I was wondering where to find some good Sea Food. I know people have different opinions on what "Good" is. Looking for some Crab and Halibut. What would be some of the different types of Crabs to try....

Thanks for any help

I have gotten gluten free pizza, on a couple of ships. just went up on told them what I needed took about 15 minutes. They also have some gluten free bread, its so so. I have gotten gluten free buns from Red Robin ( which are pretty good for gluten free buns, and are sealed individually) and taken them with me. that way I can make my own ham and cheese, ect.

We have always e-mailed a week before we cruised. We were told that is when they start the seating plan for the next cruise. Have never had a problem. If you wait till you get on the ship, you could run into some problems. When you are allowed to board, how many others may be ahead of you with the same idea etc. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

That's what they did for some friends of our that had separate cards, that also had a 50 dollar credit

Sounds to me that you are going to stay with them if need be. They will have the excitement that all first times have and you will be able to enjoy it with them. Sit back, relax, and enjoy, you all on vacation together. That is the most important, but you already know that.....LOL

Thanks for all of the replys

Thanks for that information, more then I received from people in the know....LOL

Wife and I took a cruise out of Tampa last year and had to pick a time to check-in. We have another one booked for Sept. of this year with other couples. No one is seeing the pick your time for the staggered check-in Any one else having this problem? Called Carnival was told by one person everyone needs to get Faster to the Fun, had to laugh. Have not been able to get a straight answer from any of the different departments we have talked to.

This worked for me;

mcmaitred@carnival.com

We turned platinum last year, and 2 days before we cruised we got a call for an upgrade. We took it and never received the perks, even the free water was no in the room waiting for us...lol.. We think the people that got our old room got all the free stuff.. Just hope it was not a first cruise for them and think you receive it all the time....LOL not upset, we went for a great cruise, and that is what we got...

I took your advice just a few minutes ago and e mailed the maître d on the Breeze, within minutes he e mailed me back that he would take care of it!!! :D

 

Thank you!!! :)

You are very welcome. For what it's worth; We were told to e-mail the week before you sail, that is when they start working on the next sailing seating, anything before that could get lost and forgotten about....Don't know for a fact, but it has worked for us. Have a great time.

I have a bad Gluten problem so we try to get a table for 2. We have always e-mailed the Maitre-D one week before we sailed and have been lucky enough to have a table for two. Each ship has a different email set up for the Maitre-D

It was something more like this emailing the maitre d' :

xxmaitred(at)carnival.com replacing the first 2 letters with the correct letters for your ship)

CQ Conquest

DE Destiny

DR Dream

EC Ecstacy

FA Fantasy

FS Fascination

FD Freedom

GL Glory

IM Imagination

IS Inspiration

LE Legend

LI Liberty

MI Miracle

PA Paradise

SE Sensation

SP Spirit

SL Splendor

TI Triumph

VA Valor

VI Victory

Hope this helps

They have 2 different movies that are free that run thru out the day and change each day, and these you have to catch at the start. I did not pay attention to others. Will be there in Nov. and can look if you are not going before.......

Thanks, for the information.

I assume there is a place in port that you are able to by amber, or do you have to go into town?

This is one of our ports on November 12 magic sailing

We arrive around 2 I think

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

My wife and I will be on that cruise also.

Hi, it was my perception that the wristbands denote that someone is in a cabana, say with a certain color. I walked from the cabana to the water activities booth and they recognized that I was in a cabana and didn't ask for additional payment. We didn't zipline while we were there so I don't know if we could have just walked on with the wristband I had. I'm assuming we could have.

 

The wristbands are made to fit your wrist so it may be difficult to take off and put back on.

Thanks for the information

We rented an Ocean Cabana at Amber Cove during our 4/24/16 week Carnival Conquest sailing. In short, it was a terrific experience and we will absolutely rent one if we port in Amber Cove again. We have rented cabanas in several ports and in waterparks and the ocean cabanas rank high.

 

Pictures

Here is a link to 15 Ocean Cabana pictures (outside AND inside). Click on the 1st picture and then use the right/left arrows to move through the pics. I wrote descriptions with more information for each pic. Enjoy! :)

 

http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/janetcole72/library/Amber%20Cove%20Ocean%20Cabana

 

Pier Transportation Carts

When we left the ship we choose to use the bicycle/cart transportation to the end of the pier. It was a hot day and it was so worth it for us. The sign says something like "no fees, but tips appreciated." We tipped $10 each way. Probably could have given less, but we were wicked happy with the service. It would have been a long walk, certainly doable though, for someone with no mobility issues. If you have an older person, or someone with even the slightest mobility issue, I recommend these carts. You can definitely fit 2 people, possibly 3 if the 3rd is a small adult or child.

 

Walk to the Ocean Cabanas

At the end of the pier, you walk to the left to go to the shops, or to the right to head to the pool, restaurant, zipline, and all the cabanas. After turning right, you first hit the pool area on the left, which is AMAZING. Big, clean, but somewhat loud with the music. If you get a poolside cabana, just know it will be in a congested, loud area (my opinion), but close to all action. Pros and cons there.

 

Past the pool on the right hand side is the Water Activities booth. This is where we turned in our ocean cabana excursion ticket and the nice staff there checked us in. We both received wrist bracelets and one of the employees walked us to our cabana. We could not select our cabana, it was already assigned to us, which was completely fine. On the 2 minute walk to the cabana pier, we were asked if we wanted water noodles (no charge). Yes, please! We were then shown hammocks (no charge) we could use (although, I think anyone could use them) and then the restroom right by the cabana pier. The restrooms here (one male, one female) were very clean and monitored by an attendant. No lines here. :)

 

Once on the cabana pier, there is a relatively big covered bar area that is used to service only the cabanas, manned at times by 1 or 2 bartenders. I think pool guests could come over and use the bar if they wanted, but they had a bar area that was closer so no one seemed to come over except for cabana guests. The bartenders were great. I was disappointed they didn't have amaretto for amaretto sours, but I quickly recovered. ;) I did find out later the bartender talked to the 'big boss' who said she would bring down a bottle, but it never happened. They kept apologizing, but I told them it was all good...

 

After the cabana bar, there is a roped off entryway, manned by a security person (only employee we encountered that didn't know English), where the 7 ocean cabanas are. There 3 regular cabanas to the left, the grand cabana in the middle, and then 3 more regular cabanas to the right, all in a row. We were in B-5, so basically the 5th one in line. Loved this location! All cabanas were being used, except for the Grand Cabana. B-5 was next to the Grand Cabana.

 

Inside the Cabana!!

In reading past reviews, there hasn't been a lot of details given, so here goes:

1. there is a front door that can be locked with a key (in case you want to zipline, kayak, etc,). You can leave the door opened or closed.

2. the furniture inside the cabana is all very comfortable, cushioned and sturdy. One long couch, 2 single chairs, and a pretty big coffee table. The couch is big enough to lay down on for a nap...just saying.

3. there is a refrigerator (includes the 5 bottled waters, single Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta Orange, Dr. Pepper and 2 local sodas.) There is a freezer section, but nothing was in there.

4. the coffee table had a basket of local goodies on it: 3 bags of different types of chips, lollipop-like candy, cookies, and some type of white pastry, and a nut bar. Just tried the cookies and they were good, similar to a butter or sugar cookie.

5. there is a safe directly above the refrigerator, at least the same size as the ship cabin safe. There is a separate key to lock/unlock the safe. You need to get the key from the water activities booth. We didn't use the key.

6. There is a large mirror on the wall - used this to check out my hair situation from time to time. ;)

7. Small flat screen TV up in the corner with a posted list of channels. Didn't try this.

8. There was a ceiling fan and a wall air conditioner. We used both. In the afternoon when it got hotter we closed the 5 shutter windows to keep the cold air in. Truth be told, though, we probably would have been just fine with only the ceiling fan.

9. Everything was so CLEAN and in good repair. Loved the inside!

10. Behind the refrigerator there is a pair of available electrical outlets: 2 USA compatible, 2 USB ports and I'm not sure what the other was. We charged our phones/tablets here.

11. The front cabana view was of the water activities booth with their stock of kayaks, standup paddle boards (fun!) and some type of covered pontoon boat. The back view was of the ocean, the ships that are docked and of the gorgeous mountains. A very nice, relaxing view, for sure.

 

Outside the Cabana!!

1. At the back of each cabana is a two tiered deck. The main deck has two cushioned lounge chairs, each with an end table. The chair backs were adjustable and could be moved. We moved them in/out of the sun. The double doors leading from the inside to the back deck could be opened or closed, too.

2. Above the lounge chairs there are several 'misting' holes where water comes out. An employee came around to show us how to use it...it was great.

3. On the side of the deck, there is a ladder that moves with you as you go down into the water. I asked how deep the water was and they said 6.5 feet. The water was a murky greenish blue, but not gross. You couldn't see anything...no sea life or plants, etc. That was OK with me. The swimming area was a good size and roped off.

4. You could also take a step down or two onto a lower deck, where you could sit down and put your feet into the water. We only had two people in our group, but if you had more it would be nice to have this extra room.

5. The cabanas were staggered so if you looked out your window, you saw the cabana next to you, but not straight on, giving some privacy. I liked that.

6. I did the stand up paddle boarding (included) for the 1st time. The water activities booth will help you with this. They gave me a 1 minute lesson, had me sign a waver, and I was on my way. All the equipment was clean and in good condition. Note: if you are in the last cabana in the row (closest to the docked ships) you will get all the kayakers and paddle boarders close by your cabana. There isn't a lot of traffic, but just heads up if you are looking for privacy, this specific cabana may not be for you. Having said that, though, if this was the only cabana that was still available on my next trip I wouldn't hesitate to book it. :)

7. There is an outside shower on the back deck. Didn't try it, but liked that it was there.

 

Service

1. The service was simply awesome. We had one main server, Isaiah, who was so friendly and helpful. He brought a huge menu that we could order from and he would bring the food and drinks right to us. I have pics of the menu in the link above. We tipped him $20 at the end of the day and he was super appreciative. He stopped by several times to check on us.

2. Wifi: A port employee stopped by and asked if we could connect to the Wifi (included). I didn't have a problem connecting, but my sister did so he successfully helped her with that. We each had our own logon code. Truthfully, the wifi was spotty for the several hours we were there. Sometimes it was good for an hour, then go down, and we would have to reconnect. Not a biggee, but good to be aware of.

3. Food: We ordered chicken quesadillas, fries, and a cheeseburger. All yummy.

 

All in all, it was a great time! Very relaxing for us (just my sister and I this time). If a larger party reserved a cabana it would be a GREAT home base, allowing you to do all the activities the cabana offers (water sports, food, relaxation, zipline, air conditioning), plus go to the pool and shop if you wanted.

 

Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer then. :D

We will be there in Sept. and I have a question on the wrist bands? Are they to have access to the cabana, or the zip lines or both. We will be there with other's that have small children, and I was wondering If I could let them use the zip line, since I'm not going to? Thanks, Jim