Newbie questions again!!

[nickle831]

Okay I've got a couple of questions, yes I am a newbie.:) I read a post about how one lady hated her cruise. Are the lines to the buffet as bad as she made them sound? I hope not. Is the room service/food free and all you need to do is tip the delivery? Is there an area where you can iron your clothes yourself? My dh read somewhere that it is inappropriate to where jeans on the cruise. Is this true? That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for your input. Oh yeah, I am shipping out on the ectasy on Sept. 5th if it helps.

Nichole :D

[rangerdog]

The buffet lines are not that bad. We only waited no more than 5 minutes in line for any buffet. All the room service food is free; just tip a couple of dollars. The only time jeans are not appropriate is in the dining room for dinner at night. As far as the iron, I'm not sure because I never used one. I know there are self laundry facilities on board and maybe their are ironing boards in there. Let me know if you need any other info. I've included my links from the Ecstasy 2 weeks ago. You will love the ship!!!

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=12016

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=210025

[momof4boys]

Just one cruise under my belt...but how our group of 9 loved it. You can wear jeans except to dining room in the evening! In fact, our ship (The Elation) was cold so I put on pants and sweatshirt after dinner to go to the shows, etc!We never found the buffet line long. Not sure if we lucked out but on the Elation they run lines on two sides. The fruit/salad bar is in a different area as is dessert area! Even the line in the am for omelettes was not long at all!

 

Our ship had two self serve washer/dryer rooms with 2 ironing bords in each. I never had to wait to iron clothes but by 5 day, had to wait some to wash/dry towels.

 

Truely, our group of 9 (two sets of parents and 5 boys, ages 12, 15, 16, 19, 22) said it was the BEST vacation ever!! I cannot wait to book again! Have fun!

[daisysu64]

a cruise is what you make of it. If you go with the attitude that, "hey I am on vacation and being pampered" then you will have a great time. I was on a fully packed Triumph last year and only experianced one line once and that was at the hamburger place at high noon. If you are worried about lines try to skip the buffets at peek hours. Go to the lunch buffet at 12:30 not 12 p.m. etc.

There are several laundry rooms on the ship (at least the one I was on) with washers/dryers and an iron and ironing board. Again, if you want to press something to wear to dinner, don't try an hour before dinner, do it at off hours. Jeans are not allowed in the formal dinning room at dinner, but hey if he wants to wear them, there are alternative dinning places (buffet, room service etc)

Ahhhh room service, yes it is free, but you need to tip in cash. Nothing like a blt late in the afternoon when you have the late dinner seating. I am going on the Victory in Septemeber, it has been a year since my first cruise. We had the time of our lives. Best of luck!

[jcs56]

ditto on all of the above.....as for the buffet lines, you will notice which ones seem to be the favorite on your ship. I found last time on the Triumph that the hamburger line was always the longest, but hey have one sometime when you just want a couple bites of something with your foo foo drink, like 3 in the afternoon hehe The Chinese seemed to be a little long too, but they were not horrible by any means

[Z'Loth]

With a little pre-planning, some question asking, and a little sense of adventure, you will enjoy the cruise. I've met plenty of nice people on board ship.

Are the lines to the buffet as bad as she made them sound?

Not having read the review, all I can say is that it depends. You may have to wait 5-10 minutes, but on the Spirit, there are multiple stations.

Is the room service/food free and all you need to do is tip the delivery?

Yup. Tipping is customary, and you can have a "breakfast" order.

Is there an area where you can iron your clothes yourself?

Yes, I believe so.

My dh read somewhere that it is inappropriate to where jeans on the cruise. Is this true?

In the dining room, it is considered inappropriate to wear jeans (or shorts for that matter)... slacks are encouraged. Elsewhere, it isn't a problem.

[Cotton]

QUOTE=nickle831] I read a post about how one lady hated her cruise.

Cruising is not for everybody. Some folks can't be pleased no matter what, so put little credence into her posting.

 

Are the lines to the buffet as bad as she made them sound?

I have all three meals daily in the dining room. I like being pampered as opposed to standing in lines. Just me. However, when I've walked through the Lido Buffet area, I haven't noticed any horribly long lines...they seemed to be moving quickly.

 

Is the room service/food free and all you need to do is tip the delivery?

Everything on the room service menu is included in your cruise fare (with the exception of alcoholic beverages). There are some tasty items on there - the Roast Beef & Brie on baguette is wonderful! And yes, just tip the delivery person $1 or $2 each time.

 

Is there an area where you can iron your clothes yourself?

All Carnival ships have laundry rooms located on passenger decks. (Irons are not allowed in cabins - fire hazard)

 

My dh read somewhere that it is inappropriate to where jeans on the cruise. Is this true?

Jeans just aren't considered "tropical, resort casual" wear. He can wear them if he wants to, but not to the dining room in the evening. However, for b'fast and lunch, shorts/jeans are allowed in the dining room - just no swim suits or coverups.

 

Nichole - I hope you and DH have a fantastic voyage!:)