candigirl41

The last time we sailed on Carnival, my friend had his rum runner in his shoe in his checked luggage.  It was taken out of the suitcase and there was a note stating they had taken it.  I think the baggage scanners are getting more sophisticated.  He gets them through on NCL every time and also Princess.  He isn't cheap but likes to have the vodka in the room when we are relaxing and watching TV.  We always get the beverage package so we aren't taking anything away from the cruise line.

Candi

When you board you should be able to go straight to your room and your cards will be in the mailbox outside your room.  When this program first started many people had concerns such as yours, but no one has had a problem that I have read about.  If you can't get your cards immediately you can use your boarding pass to charge drinks.   If you notice your cards are missing go to guest services immediately to let them know so they can issue you new cards.  Most people have said this process works very well and makes check in smoother.  You picture also pops up when you purchase something.  I would think that alone would deter people from taking others cards.

Candi

Yes.  There were people on our cruise last March that had a single bottle of soda and were made to drink it before boarding or throw it out.

Candi

11 minutes ago, CardFanDubG said:

Day 2 was a sea day. 

Thanks I just figured that out.  I missed it somehow.  Great information.  I will check your drink menu as well.  This really helped me.

Candi

15 hours ago, CardFanDubG said:

The dailies for the entire week are available in Post #2 above. Enjoy the Pub Crawl. You may be interested in a list of beverages that I put together for a Meet & Greet, It is attached here.

 

NCL_Beverage_List.pdf 5.85 MB · 5 downloads

Thanks for the information.  I don't think I can use the dailies as you didn't appear to have a sea day and I need to know opening times on sea days.

Thanks again

Candi

Do you have a copy of a sea day Freestyle Daily which shows what time the bars open?  I am trying to figure out a pub crawl.

Thanks in advance.

Candi

Thanks so much for that very entertaining review.  Lee is my favorite cruise director.  I met him the first night of the cruise and he said hi to me by name every time he saw me.  I wish he was on my Panorama cruise in February.  I have read all your reviews and also agree you should check into doing videos on youtube.  You have a great writing style. 

Thanks again.

Candi

Can't wait to read more.

Candi

Thanks for the review and pictures.  I will never be able to do this kind of cruise unless I win the lottery, so I am happy to go along and enjoy it from your perspective.  I read your Royal Princess review as well, because I am going on that cruise in November of 2020.  That was a lot of great information.

Candi

I don't have my reservation details, my friend has that.  We are staying at the Best Western Plus Uptown Hotel.  Not sure when you are travelling but I think he paid around 130.00-145.00 per night.  When we were looking it was listed in Canadian dollars.  

Candi

The only time I went to the excursion desk upon boarding, it was already open.  I was platinum and we wanted to do the behind the fun tour.  So we went straight there.

Candi

After reading this I went and checked and they wanted to offer me an upgrade from interior on deck 6 to oceanview on deck 1 for $232.00.  I declined.  That to me is a downgrade.

Candi

4 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Tipping anywhere should be based on the level of service the waiter/waitress provides (not the food quality).  I have personally left anywhere from 0% for terrible service up to 50% for exceptional service.

 

In the U.S., minimum wage laws only require the employer to pay service workers who are commonly tipped $2.13/hr but are required to make up the difference when tips do not.  So I’ve softened my approach to at least tip $2-3 for marginal service assuming waiter/waitress is just having a bad day.

This is not true in all states.  We live in California and my daughter and her boyfriend are both servers and they make $13.00 plus tips.  In California they are required to pay everyone minimum wage in restaurants.

Candi

I try to take an afternoon nap every day.  If I don't I am done around 9:00 pm.  I usually only sleep an hour but it makes a huge difference.  I also try to drink a lot of water.

Candi

I actually got an upgrade on my November 2017 Miracle cruise.  We were in our hotel room the morning of the cruise when my friends phone rang.  He asked me where is 305 area code.  I told him Florida.  We went from an inside to a Balcony no charge.  Neither of us had sailed with Carnival for a long time so I don't know if that had anything to do with the upgrade.  We are both platinum and have been for awhile.  It was a really nice mid ship balcony.  We ran into two other people who also got that phone call the morning of the cruise.  One guy even got a handicap balcony cabin, he said it was huge.  

Candi

The shampoo will be a shampoo/conditioner combination.  I always take my own.  The stuff they provide isn't very good in my opinion.  My hair is also medium-long very thick and naturally wavy, but not wavy enough to wear that way.  I either straighten my hair or put it up.  I will wash it, let it dry and then straighten it later.  

Candi

8 minutes ago, deladane said:

Update to the 3 links limit in my signature... I published a Google Docs page with links to all of my old reviews and inserted that link into my signature.  Can someone try it out and let me know if it works??  This is the first time I've done something like that so I don't know if I did it right.  It's working for me, but I don't know if that's because I have access to the document or because I did it right! haha  Thanks!

Just wanted to let you know it worked for me.  

Candi

Can't wait to read more.  Great review.

Candi

Princess had a program like this one time when I sailed.  Not sure if it is still available.

Candi

Carnival also asks how you want the beds.  I wish NCL would have this option.

Candi

On 3/18/2019 at 11:24 AM, meatloafsfan said:

Tuna Sandwich

Caesar Salad

Chocolate cake

 

The English muffin for the tuna sandwich is usually perfectly soft.

 

I've had the BLT and found the bread is usually lightly toasted (which I understand - overly crispy bread is probably received as a complaint more frequently than when the bread is under-toasted).

I loved that tuna on the english muffin.  They didn't have it on my last cruise on the Miracle, I was disappointed.  Tuna in the deli was okay, bread was white and way too soft sandwich fell apart.

Candi

I always use dollars.  If I am supposed to get change back I ask if I can get U.S. dollars change, if they say yes I go ahead with the transaction if they say no, I walk away to the next place that has the same merchandise.  I have never had a problem doing this.

Candi

9 minutes ago, Relax Cruiser said:

How bad is it? Booked an OceanView OK GTY Cabin and got assigned Deck 4 OF (Porthole rather than Picture Window). I called NCL to try and change it and they said that it’s an upgrade from OK! I read some reviews that said the cabins were near the gangway so wondering how it actually was?

We had one last year and we loved it.  The only problem we had was people thinking we were trying to cut the line to get off the ship when we were trying to go to or from our cabin to or from public areas

candi

On 2/17/2019 at 1:07 PM, Saint Greg said:

This morning Harry Porter and I visited Avery Island where the wonderful Tabasco sauce for my sea day bloody Mary’s is made. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was there in 2010.  That was on of the best things we did on a 6 week long vacation

Candi

For the convenience of our guests, Camp Ocean offer Night Owls for children 6 months to 11 years, allowing parents time to enjoy the nightlife without having to worry about their little ones.

When?

• Night Owls is available each evening from 10:00pm-1:00am.
• Night Owls is not available during the hours that Camp Ocean is closed or during their scheduled activities, which typicallyrun from 10:00am-1:00pm, 2:00pm-5:00pm and 7:00pm-10:00pm.

How much?

• $6.75 per hour plus a 18% gratuity, per child
• No discount for additional children
• Fees are due upon pick-up and paid via Sail & Sign Card directly to the Youth Staff on duty. Cash is not an acceptable form of payment.
• Any child left past 1:00am will be charged double (for the time period beyond 1:00am) and will forfeit Night Owls privileges for the remainder of the cruise, if the policy is abused.

There is more information on the website.  I did a search and found it easily.  Unfortunately you can only use the service for your baby in that 3 hour period.

Candi