Carnival spirit how to save onboard

After paying for a family of five, i was looking to save money and still enjoy my cruise.

Firstly, alcohol is not cheap despite duty free. I'm not a big drinker and thought $7.50 for a small can of beer excessive. But I still enjoyed wine with dinner and the occasional liqueur.

Secondly, take a camera. Take and print yr own photos. You will save heaps of cash.

Thirdly, organise yr own excursions at each port. This saved at least 50% on ship excursion prices. Noumea for example get on the hop on hop off bus. $15.00 per person. Noumea is not cheap.

Some observations.

Many people have different expectations re food and service.

I enjoyed the food, all I can say is very, very nice. Breakfast buffet, eggs benedict, French toast, omelette made to order, full English breakfast and my favourite Earl Grey tea.

I could not afford the Noveau Rest as I was paying for 5.

I the Empire Rest I could have a filet mignon for an extra $20.00 --- boy was it worth it. You could cut yr steak with a butter knife.

The wastage of food was embarrassing to see. I just can't comment further on it.

The service was excellent our waitress Eva could not do n

Enough for us. She put a little blanket on our 4 yr old when he fell asleep. She advised my wife how to fix her sea sick problems and they worked. Thank you Eva yr the BEST !

Dress and behaviour,

Can u believe at the entrance to the Empire restaurant was a large sign, please do not wear thongs or a swimsuit to dinner. Thongs, thongs as far as the eye can see. After spending all that money, a quick visit to Target for a cheap pair of sports shoes or Lowes for a sports shirt with collar. And that gentleman in the Buffett with a blue work singlet ! I hope I'm not pedantic.

Enough for know will send more later.

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We will be going to Noumea in December. We are interested in the HOHO bus to go to the Lemon Bay and Aquarium. Are there more than one company that run the HOHO bus? And how often is their schedule?

We will be going to Noumea in December. We are interested in the HOHO bus to go to the Lemon Bay and Aquarium. Are there more than one company that run the HOHO bus? And how often is their schedule?

I only know of one company that runs the bus and the last time we TRIED to use it, it was an hourly service. If too many people are waiting compared with the spare seats, you just miss out.

If you only want to go to Lemon Bay and the Aquarium it would be cheaper and faster if you went by local bus. You would need local currency. Check at the visitor information desk for details of where to catch the bus and the cost of the fare. You might need to exchange money to coins to pay the exact fare.

Dress and behaviour,

Can u believe at the entrance to the Empire restaurant was a large sign, please do not wear thongs or a swimsuit to dinner. Thongs, thongs as far as the eye can see. After spending all that money, a quick visit to Target for a cheap pair of sports shoes or Lowes for a sports shirt with collar. And that gentleman in the Buffett with a blue work singlet ! I hope I'm not pedantic.

Enough for know will send more later.

 

 

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We just had the same issue on our recent Radiance cruise. I couldn't believe how many people wore shorts & thongs to dinner even though there was a sign at the door stating these weren't allowed. And people say P&O is a floating RSL:rolleyes:

From what I have seen and heard I WOULD'NT use any other shore excursion other that a Carnival endorsed !

You may save some $$ but if there is a breakdown/emergency/takes longer than it should , if the boat doesn't know where you are there and your not a local hospital/police station they will leave you behind. Flying home from Noumea is a lot more than what you saved !!

If you want to drink alcohol - drink cocktails soooo cheap and yummy and Strong !! Like10-12$ beer is pricey cause of its weights - palates of beer adds to weight + fuel usage = $$$

From what I have seen and heard I WOULD'NT use any other shore excursion other that a Carnival endorsed !

 

You may save some $$ but if there is a breakdown/emergency/takes longer than it should , if the boat doesn't know where you are there and your not a local hospital/police station they will leave you behind. Flying home from Noumea is a lot more than what you saved !!

 

If you want to drink alcohol - drink cocktails soooo cheap and yummy and Strong !! Like10-12$ beer is pricey cause of its weights - palates of beer adds to weight + fuel usage = $$$

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Cruise ships receive a lot of their income from commissions on shore excursions, alcohol sales, photographs etc. the ship knows that you are on the island doing your own thing. Why cause they scan yr card and every member of yr family when u leave the ship and again when u return. Any person with a reasonable I.Q. and some commonsense can organise their own excursions without missing the ships departure. Subject closed ! !

Gratuities or tips.

Carnival ships that operate from areas other than Oz add a gratuity on to yr card on the 2nd day of the cruise. On 8th of October it was 12% of the ticket price. I have never been on one of these ships but that is my understanding.

Ozzies do not have a tipping 'culture', as do the yanks. Briefly, the crew that work the ship come from countries like the Phillippines and Indonesia. It would be fair to say that the bulk of their salary is sent home to support their extended families. Do they work hard and for long hours ? You betcha they do, Do they appreciate yr tips at the end of the cruise ? I'm sure they do !!

Before I left home I took cash with me and 6 small envelopes. My family had 2 staterooms, so I worked out what I thought was a reasonable tip. I did it like this .......

The first nite, I put half the tip in an envelope and gave it to the crew member concerned, I thanked them for all their hard work and assured them they would receive another envelope on the last nite of the cruise. Why, cause the crew knew firstly that they would receive a tip and secondly how much they would receive ! Many passengers don't give a stuff about the crew or how hard they work. Well, my system worked for me ! The next cruse, I will do the same. Some may not agree.... It's an individual thing.

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Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the cruise and saved some money as well.:D

Cruise ships receive a lot of their income from commissions on shore excursions, alcohol sales, photographs etc. the ship knows that you are on the island doing your own thing. Why cause they scan yr card and every member of yr family when u leave the ship and again when u return. Any person with a reasonable I.Q. and some commonsense can organise their own excursions without missing the ships departure. Subject closed ! !

Gratuities or tips.

Carnival ships that operate from areas other than Oz add a gratuity on to yr card on the 2nd day of the cruise. On 8th of October it was 12% of the ticket price. I have never been on one of these ships but that is my understanding.

Ozzies do not have a tipping 'culture', as do the yanks. Briefly, the crew that work the ship come from countries like the Phillippines and Indonesia. It would be fair to say that the bulk of their salary is sent home to support their extended families. Do they work hard and for long hours ? You betcha they do, Do they appreciate yr tips at the end of the cruise ? I'm sure they do !!

Before I left home I took cash with me and 6 small envelopes. My family had 2 staterooms, so I worked out what I thought was a reasonable tip. I did it like this .......

The first nite, I put half the tip in an envelope and gave it to the crew member concerned, I thanked them for all their hard work and assured them they would receive another envelope on the last nite of the cruise. Why, cause the crew knew firstly that they would receive a tip and secondly how much they would receive ! Many passengers don't give a stuff about the crew or how hard they work. Well, my system worked for me ! The next cruse, I will do the same. Some may not agree.... It's an individual thing.

 

 

 

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Ok fair comment -

say your an 2 hours out of noumea - the bus breaks down/flat tyre/has an accident. And your held up for a few hours waiting for repairs etc. Carnival have strict port times and need to leave or will cost them a fortune - your not in local police or hospital - the ship leaves

Your bus gets fixed returns to noumea and the spirit is gone !

All the a reasonable I.Q. and some commonsense in the world hasn't helped you at all ......... All to save a few $$

If booked through Carnival - the tour operator radios to ship that you've had an unexpected event - the spirit waits for you and charges the tour operator the extra harbour fees - you get onboard and enjoy dinner.

I try to be sensible with ships tours vs your own tour. For instance we were in Vanuatu, had an all day ships tour booked, good thing we did because that day Port Vila's version of their Parliament was sitting and there was a big inter island soccer match on. Major traffic jams getting back to the ship, our driver had to radio ahead and tell them we would possibly be late. Made it by the skin of our teeth, they were literally waiting for the stragglers and pulled the gang plank up after us.

On the other hand we were recently in Melbourne, did our own thing as we knew there were plenty of alternatives to get back to the ship on time. Also

been on islands that if you broke down you could almost walk back, so did our own thing.

Bottom line, look at where you are, length of tour, the conditions and liklihood of corruption (friends of ours got halfway around on a personal tour, the vehicle stopped and would not move again unless everyone paid an extra fee, which was considerable).

We just had the same issue on our recent Radiance cruise. I couldn't believe how many people wore shorts & thongs to dinner even though there was a sign at the door stating these weren't allowed. And people say P&O is a floating RSL:rolleyes:

Are you all talking about the dining room, or the buffet area ?

Are you all talking about the dining room, or the buffet area ?

I have seen this in all dining areas. On a recent cruise on Rhapsody we went to dinner at Chops with friends. There was one guy who had shorts on and an "area" of his backside was showing :eek: We complained to the head waiter and he was removed.

Geez, I hope it is the exception & not the norm, if it just a bozo here and there who likes to defy rules, can live with that, you always get a few idiots in a group, wont be happy if it is a lot of people in the main dining room doing this, especially for breakfast or dinner.

Why not reject them from main dining room and restaurants on attempted entry.

Our cruise on solstice had me thinking we were in pretty good company, generally.

We just had the same issue on our recent Radiance cruise. I couldn't believe how many people wore shorts & thongs to dinner even though there was a sign at the door stating these weren't allowed. And people say P&O is a floating RSL:rolleyes:

I know RSLs that wouldn't let you in for diner dressed like that.

Yes, most clubs would not let anyone in in any state of dress they like, have not been to an RSL for some time, but when I used to go to them there was strict dress rules and you did not get in if not dressed to min level.

Do RSLs now let any dress state in ?

We just had the same issue on our recent Radiance cruise. I couldn't believe how many people wore shorts & thongs to dinner even though there was a sign at the door stating these weren't allowed. And people say P&O is a floating RSL:rolleyes:

I think wearing thongs to the restaurant is terrible :eek: I'm all for people relaxing when on holidays but if you want to wear thongs go to the buffet or order room service!

Have to say I'm not entirely against wearing shorts though, I don't see a problem there so long as you are dressed nicely with the shorts and wearing proper shoes, pants are too uncomfortable for vacations ,especially when you have to wear them every day for work, a break might be nice for people :p. You are on vacation after all so a little bit of freedom/relaxing can't go astray ;)

I guess I like both sides of the spectrum, dressing comfortably most nights and then getting really dressed up for the formal night :D

My favourite thought on formal nights - just because you have a sparkle or two on your rubber thongs doesn't make it formal attire. On recent Radiance 99.9 wore nice clothing on formal nights although not necessarily suits or jackets. There were still some in singlets/short shorts (girls and men) on formal night but not in the dining room. Overheard one saying "clothing doesn't make a man" - no doubt but hairy armpits aren't nice in the evenings or for sharing a dining/buffet table.