First “true” Carnival Cruise

[RoyalFan2011]

Back in 2013 I was on the Carnival Imagination for the Matchbox Twenty cruise.  I doubt another cruise will ever beat that experience, but it didn’t have any of the typical Carnival activities.  My daughter (20) and I are now booked on the Celebration for a cruise in June and I have lots of questions.  All my other cruises have been on Royal Caribbean so I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible.

 

• We have Your Time Dining.  Can we make an exact time booking online?  Or do we wait until we board or is it just go anytime and hope it’s not too busy?
• Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?
• We have never been to Amber Cove or Grand Turk.  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink?
• When can we buy tickets for the roller coaster on board?
• How difficult is it to buy a cabana for a day on the Celebration?  I know they are offered to certain suite guests first.  Will they go on sale on line, or do we wait until we board?
• Royal has “The Key”, does Carnival have anything similar that makes boarding, departure, etc easier for those not in suites?

 

Thanks in advance for your help and I’m sure I’ll have more questions along the way!

[Indiansbaseball]

 

• We have Your Time Dining.  Can we make an exact time booking online?  Or do we wait until we board or is it just go anytime and hope it’s not too busy?
•  
• ~ Carnival has an onboard APP ( Hub App) , you check in when you’re ready and it tells you when your table is ready. You can’t pick a specific time with YTD.
•  
• Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?
•  
• ~ Watch your booking page and emails, sometimes there are discounts. Not sure otherwise.
•  
• We have never been to Amber Cove or Grand Turk.  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink? 
• 
  ~ These are free pool and beach days right at the port. Shopping, food is extra but the pool at Amber Cove and the beach are free. 
•  
• When can we buy tickets for the roller coaster on board?
•  
• ~ Again, the APP lets you check in for the coaster.
•  
• How difficult is it to buy a cabana for a day on the Celebration?  I know they are offered to certain suite guests first.  Will they go on sale on line, or do we wait until we board?
•  
• ~ Sorry,  not sure on this one. 
•  
• Royal has “The Key”, does Carnival have anything similar that makes boarding, departure, etc easier for those not in suites?
•  
• ~ Carnival sometimes  sells Faster to the Fun, you check under excursions for boarding day. It allows a faster boarding. 
•  

Have fun !! We loved Celebration ! Did a B2B recently !

Edited February 17 by Indiansbaseball
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[shof515]

your time dinning reservations can only be made onboard the ship using the hub app or going to the restaurant

roller coaster tickets can only be made onboard the ship using the hub app

carnival does their own version of the key called faster to the fun that has priority boarding/debarkation . there is no included wifi/specially lunch like royal

[kwokpot]

Faster to Fun is Carnival's version of the Key. 

 

With Your Time Dining you cannot make advanced, whole cruise reservations. You can only make same evening reservations when the dining room is open by using the app. It will give you an estimated wait time, for example, about 20-30 mins wait or 40-50 minutes wait. You can then decide if you want to put in your reservation at that point or wait until later. On Dressup night it's ALWAYS a longer wait. The good thing is you can use the app anywhere you are, and then wait anywhere until the app notifies you that your table is ready.   

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

Back in 2013 I was on the Carnival Imagination for the Matchbox Twenty cruise.  I doubt another cruise will ever beat that experience, but it didn’t have any of the typical Carnival activities.  My daughter (20) and I are now booked on the Celebration for a cruise in June and I have lots of questions.  All my other cruises have been on Royal Caribbean so I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible.

 

• We have Your Time Dining.  Can we make an exact time booking online?  Or do we wait until we board or is it just go anytime and hope it’s not too busy?
• Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?
• We have never been to Amber Cove or Grand Turk.  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink?
• When can we buy tickets for the roller coaster on board?
• How difficult is it to buy a cabana for a day on the Celebration?  I know they are offered to certain suite guests first.  Will they go on sale on line, or do we wait until we board?
• Royal has “The Key”, does Carnival have anything similar that makes boarding, departure, etc easier for those not in suites?

 

Thanks in advance for your help and I’m sure I’ll have more questions along the way!

I love how anytime dining works on carnival (vs how it is terrible on royal).

 

I just pressed the button I wanted a table. Even when it said 20  minutes wait, it was 5 minutes or less. I couldnr press it in my cabin and get there before it went off every time. Carnival does a lot more anytime dining vs royal who needs to take lessons from carnival.. I say this as a D+ on royal. 

 

For brunch on sea days I usually click shared table. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click you want to share a table. Then press go. For dinner shared rarely works, just prepare to sit with your husband wife or whomever . . For during the day its a fast way to be seated with people to meet.

 

I love it on carnival. Hate it on royal. Prepare to like it.

 

FFTF faster to the fun can be purchased  if you want to board sooner,  no biggie to me. 

[mmtska]

1 hour ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

Back in 2013 I was on the Carnival Imagination for the Matchbox Twenty cruise.  I doubt another cruise will ever beat that experience, but it didn’t have any of the typical Carnival activities.  My daughter (20) and I are now booked on the Celebration for a cruise in June and I have lots of questions.  All my other cruises have been on Royal Caribbean so I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible.

 

• We have Your Time Dining.  Can we make an exact time booking online?  Or do we wait until we board or is it just go anytime and hope it’s not too busy?
• Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?
• We have never been to Amber Cove or Grand Turk.  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink?
• When can we buy tickets for the roller coaster on board?
• How difficult is it to buy a cabana for a day on the Celebration?  I know they are offered to certain suite guests first.  Will they go on sale on line, or do we wait until we board?
• Royal has “The Key”, does Carnival have anything similar that makes boarding, departure, etc easier for those not in suites?

 

Thanks in advance for your help and I’m sure I’ll have more questions along the way!

I love Your Time Dining on Carnival compared to Royal. You just have to go on the Hub app and put in that you're ready to eat. It'll let you know how long you have to wait, but you can wait anywhere. Elegant night is busy, but again, you can wait anywhere. When I found out what Royal did for Anytime dining I made sure we had early dining since I didn't want to have to try to make reservations ahead of time.

Sometimes they have specials in the spa on the first day, but you will probably get some sort of deal in your email before that.

We rented a golf cart in Grand Turk and just buzzed around the island and saw some Donkeys and such. Amber Cove there's a pool right by the port, but we did get an excursion so we could go to the Amber museum. We don't drink much either, but I did get a bunch of hot chocolate to bring home.

Bolt can be reserved once on board on the Hub app

The cabanas should be able to book ahead of time-they were when we went on Mardi Gras, but i don't remember much about them since we weren't interested.

Faster to the Fun is like the key with getting on and off of the ship, but no special lunch or wifi or anything like that, 

 

Enjoy! I haven't been on Celebration, but LOVED Mardi Gras!

[carol louise]

Be aware that there is a large meandering pool at Amber Cove, but no beach at the port area. Grand Turk has beach and the Margaritaville pool.

[Honolulu Blue]

13 hours ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

Back in 2013 I was on the Carnival Imagination for the Matchbox Twenty cruise.  I doubt another cruise will ever beat that experience, but it didn’t have any of the typical Carnival activities.  My daughter (20) and I are now booked on the Celebration for a cruise in June and I have lots of questions.  All my other cruises have been on Royal Caribbean so I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible.

 

• We have Your Time Dining.  Can we make an exact time booking online?  Or do we wait until we board or is it just go anytime and hope it’s not too busy?
• Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?
• We have never been to Amber Cove or Grand Turk.  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink?
• When can we buy tickets for the roller coaster on board?
• How difficult is it to buy a cabana for a day on the Celebration?  I know they are offered to certain suite guests first.  Will they go on sale on line, or do we wait until we board?
• Royal has “The Key”, does Carnival have anything similar that makes boarding, departure, etc easier for those not in suites?

 

Thanks in advance for your help and I’m sure I’ll have more questions along the way!

Forgive me, but I have questions on your Matchbox Twenty cruise.  How many times did they perform?  Did they perform anywhere besides the main theater?  Were there any other bands or artists besides them?  Do you remember the group that chartered the cruise (I'm assuming it's not one of those Carnival LIVE! concert experience they used to have several years ago)?  TIA!

 

In exchange, I'll answer some of your questions.  

 

• As others have mentioned, just check in on the app when you're ready and eventually you'll get a table.  In the past, it was even easier (IMHO) - just go to the dining room when you're ready and eventually you'll get seated.  No app necessary then.
• Amber Cove is on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, which is an interesting place to be (IMHO).  Check the excursion list for a list of interesting places to go.  I thought the dock area was interesting to explore for an hour or two.  My first and only visit here was about two years ago.  It wasn't on a Carnival cruise.

 

• Grand Turk isn't much more than a beach and water sports stop, but at least it has a dock.  It's pretty if you like that.
• Royal totally stole FTTF from Carnival and called it "The Key"

Enjoy your cruise!

[RoyalFan2011]

The MB20 cruise was organized by Rose Tours.  The Goo Goo Dolls was also on board with them.  The passengers were divided into two groups when we checked in, an A group and a B group.  Since the main theatre was not large enough for everyone, both bands played 4 times in the theatre, twice to each group.  Matchbox also did a Q&A on the Lido Deck along with another show for all the passengers.  It was the best 3 days ever and we made lifelong friends.  My daughter ended up on stage with Paul Doucette multiple times and went home with his guitar.  Still seems like a dream and wish they would do it again.

[mfs2k]

18 hours ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

Is it cheaper to buy massages pre cruise or once we get onboard?

If you’re looking to save money and have good massages your best bet is to look online for reviews of smaller local spas in ports you are visiting. Nothing like a beach massage or jungle spa treatment for less than $100 while on vacation. 

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, RoyalFan2011 said:

The MB20 cruise was organized by Rose Tours.  The Goo Goo Dolls was also on board with them.  The passengers were divided into two groups when we checked in, an A group and a B group.  Since the main theatre was not large enough for everyone, both bands played 4 times in the theatre, twice to each group.  Matchbox also did a Q&A on the Lido Deck along with another show for all the passengers.  It was the best 3 days ever and we made lifelong friends.  My daughter ended up on stage with Paul Doucette multiple times and went home with his guitar.  Still seems like a dream and wish they would do it again.

Wow!  That does sound like a fun time!  Thanks for sharing.  I've done several charter cruises with lots of music, but none with a clear headliner like this one.  

[Shidah]

The cabanas will be available to book for the week for everyone about 4 weeks prior to the cruise.  For just a day, you have to do that onboard and hope they aren’t sold out.  I’m told during busy times like summer and spring break, they typically sell out.

[firefly333]

And when the app matches you with a table number you dont even have to be watching. The carnival ship horn goes off and when you open it up confetti is dropping. It's a loud ships horn sound.. you KNOW when you match. Much better than standing in line on royal.

 

And dont forget to look for that button to share a table lower down .. I use it for brunch for fast seating. 

[txcruiser1234]

On 2/17/2024 at 4:39 PM, RoyalFan2011 said:

We have never been to Amber Cove...  Any recommendations for people that don’t really drink?

Damajagua Waterfalls... we hardly ever do anything twice, but we've done these twice...

[HangryGrl]

27 Waterfalls of Damajagua - IGUANA MAMA SHORE EXCURSIONS

 

Second vote for the waterfalls in Amber Cove!  Definitely in the top 3 excursions we have ever done!

[hawkinsh]

On 2/17/2024 at 6:36 PM, mmtska said:

"We rented a golf cart in Grand Turk and just buzzed around the island and saw some Donkeys and such."

 

Where did you rent from?  Would you recommend to a friend?

 

On 2/17/2024 at 6:36 PM, mmtska said:

 

 

 

[hawkinsh]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:31 AM, mfs2k said:

If you’re looking to save money and have good massages your best bet is to look online for reviews of smaller local spas in ports you are visiting. Nothing like a beach massage or jungle spa treatment for less than $100 while on vacation. 

 

Tell me more.  We will be in Grand Turk, Amber Cove & Nassau.  Ideas or recommendations?  I have seen them on some beaches, but nobody wants to see me getting a massage on the beach.  People may think they need to come help roll the whale back into the water.  However, a private couples massage that does not break the bank sound intriguing.

[csoud68]

Good luck with roller coaster its been down for 3 weeks...irritated me we couldn't ride..

 

Amber cove is just a massive pool area. It's awesome..no massages there.

 

The ship is so close to the port id.schedule a port day massage..

 

You can do both and save money on the port day message 

[mfs2k]

1 hour ago, hawkinsh said:

 

Tell me more.  We will be in Grand Turk, Amber Cove & Nassau.  Ideas or recommendations?  I have seen them on some beaches, but nobody wants to see me getting a massage on the beach.  People may think they need to come help roll the whale back into the water.  However, a private couples massage that does not break the bank sound intriguing.

 

I dont know specifics for your ports.  Every port is different.  I usually look on Yelp or TripAdvisor for spa recommendations

[kwokpot]

What hasn't been mentioned that's very important to know is the potential places to eat dinner when you have Your Time Dining on Excel-Class ships. So here you go.

 

On the Celebration when you choose Your Time Dining you will have several places that you can have dinner. The MDR, Cucina Del Capitano Specialty Restaurant, and ChiBang Specialty Restaurant, and Guy's Pig and Anchor Smokehouse Specialty Restaurant. I call the three listed restaurants Specialty Lite Restaurants to differentiate them from the Steakhouse, Rudi's, Bonsai, and Emeril's. To make matter more confusing you are allowed one free dinner visit per cruise at Chibang and Cucina. Any additional dinners at either place will cost you an $8/pp cover charge. Pig and Anchor is unlimited visits with no Cover and no reservations are taken, it's first come first serve, so you don't use the app and just go to the restaurant desk. 

Cucina is Italian but on the Excel Class ships it's a different menu from the rest of the Carnival fleet, so if you're doing your online research only look at reviews from the Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee. 

Chibang is a combo Asian and Mexican. Funny thing is there are NO fusion dishes;there's Asian dishes and then there are Mexican dishes. 

The three specialty Lite restaurants are open for lunch and are complementary, and opening hours vary. 

Edited February 22 by kwokpot

[mmtska]

5 hours ago, hawkinsh said:

 

 

MaxKart rentals and yes, we really liked them.