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Carnival Secrets they usually don't tell you about

Cinderellie

By Cinderellie,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Chowder_17

Chowder_17

Posted
Posted
Friend thing- true

Whistle thing - :eek:

and what mixes best with fruit juice... rum/ vodka/ gin???

 

 

I've heard that mixing the lemonade with raspberry vodka is great! An alcoholic raspberry lemonade! :p

 

I plan on bring vodka and rum and using the soda card.

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ooomwizard

ooomwizard

Posted
Posted

My favorite anytime boating is Captain Morgan and cola. "Let the Captain do the driving!" I always say.

 

It's your preference when mixing with the juices. 24/7 drinks I remember seeing are: (one or more)

OJ

fruit punch

grapefruit

lemonade

cranberry punch

tea (I love rum & tea)

coffee (w/whiskey or Kalhua or Baileys)

 

Vodka and Rum pretty much mix with anything. I perfer rum as all the cruises I go on are Carribean. (Christopher Columbus took sugar cane to the Caribbean, rest is history.)

 

Beginning of cruise, tip your cabin steward and tell him/her you like ice refilled in your room constantly. You'll have plenty. I also put one of my "beer buckets" in the cabin and have that one filled too.

 

There is about 15 drinks in a liter of alcohol. It's about $5 a mixed drink (or beer.) I bring a 1.75 liter just for myself (usually Capt,. Morgan.) That's 26 drinks or at least $130 worth of drinks for a $35 dollar bottle. Don't forget the mandatory 15% gratuity added to each drink order.

 

Kewl cruise related website. LOTS of info:

http://cruiseclues.com/[url=http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/carnivalglory.htm][/url]

 

Just booked another cruise for APR 2010 with friends coming! Woot! :D

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jfulcher

jfulcher

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5. If you gamble, avoid the ship's slots and electronic card games. The payouts on slots are significantly lower than ANY other place. Las Vegas is regulated and must payout 97%. A ship in international waters is regulated based on where it is registered which may not have any gaming laws. Payouts for ship slots are estimated to be around 85%. The odds for craps, blackjack, roulette, etc are the same as other locations.

 

Vegas is NOT regulated to 97%. They aren't allowed to change the payout % on the fly or anything like that though - that's regulated. However they can take the machine out of service and increase/decrease in Vegas. However in Vegas there is a lot of competition between casinos so they tend to keep their slots in the 90-97% range. However nothing requires them to.

 

The casino on a ship is horrible because they have no other competition when they are open usually.

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MaiTaiMary

MaiTaiMary

Posted
Posted
Can you go to the past guest party even if you are a first timer? Do they check it somehow if u have been there before?

 

You used to be able to. I've only been on one Carnival Cruise and I've been to the past guest party. :D

 

In the past, when you filled out your paperwork, there was a box to check if you've ever sailed on Carnival before. Our Travel Agent told us to check "yes". So we did. We received invitations in our cabin to the party.:D

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highbridge5

highbridge5

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What about walkie talkies? Are they permitted?

 

We brought walkie talkies and we used them. As did others.

Reception gets limited however when you are on an upper deck forward (like deck 8) and the lower decks aft (like the MDR). Seemed to work very well when one was on deck 8 and the other on the Lido deck (9) regardless of forward or aft.

 

Flashlight, no. Battery powered nightlight yes. I got these LED things at WalMart made for a closet or something - a small disk about 2 1/2" round and 1/2 high. Push on/push off. Nicer than having to leave a room light on to find the bathroom at night. Almost a new moon on our sailing so not much moonlight.

 

I was glad to have a bedside alarm clock and glad that I had a post-it notepad to leave notes for room steward etc.

 

I did not need binder clips for the shower curtain.

 

Carnival will not punch your kid's S&S cards and give you a lanyard for them in the casino. Adults (casino players) yes. Not kids. You can't get them at Camp Carnival either. You want a lanyard for your kids' S&S cards, you need to go to the "Fun Shop" and buy them for 4.50 each.

 

I did get decks of cards at customer service.

 

There is no extension for the shore excursion desk - you have to go there in person.

 

Fun shop closes 1 hour before arrival in a port. So, if you need something like a hat or sunscreen for being on shore, don't wait until the last minute.

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mlzangel78

mlzangel78

Posted
Posted
Okay...so I'm about to print this thread...I need to read it tonight at home! It dates back to 2004...so are all of those tips still good too?

 

youre going to print all 141 pages of it?? god bless you and your printer LOL

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China_Doll

China_Doll

Posted
Posted
youre going to print all 141 pages of it?? god bless you and your printer LOL

 

 

I know right!!! LOL!!! But I don't have time to read it all and I don't want to miss anything! I have 2 hours to cram 8 hours of work in...and I leave for Galveston tomorrow!!!

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mlzangel78

mlzangel78

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I know right!!! LOL!!! But I don't have time to read it all and I don't want to miss anything! I have 2 hours to cram 8 hours of work in...and I leave for Galveston tomorrow!!!

 

well between your drink credits and this you should be good to go! LOL have a blast enjoy your cruise.. and just think after this one,, you will be full of lots more knowledge for the next one!

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China_Doll

China_Doll

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well between your drink credits and this you should be good to go! LOL have a blast enjoy your cruise.. and just think after this one,, you will be full of lots more knowledge for the next one!

 

Right!!! I'm super excited!!!! Now I need to go back to that packing list and print it too!!! Already packed clothes & shoes...now need to pack the other stuff...

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KCMarie

KCMarie

Posted
Posted
I finally made it through this whole thread. I think I have been trying since 2005 and never have gotten through it all! Thanks for all the tips. My only tip is you really don't need to pack all the outfits you think...I never wore half of what I took the first cruise and cut way back for the second and still had unworn clothes at the end. Have a great cruise!!! :D

 

Hi Lisa

I am from KC area too, I noticed your sig line says Elation maybe Jan 15, 2011. There is a group from KCK area contemplating the same ship and date. Last count there was about 16 of us.

 

Do you by any chance work in the Education field?

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jaw7373

jaw7373

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Don't know if these are secrets as much as "little known facts":

 

1. Book early and deal with a reputable travel agent. Make sure you have an agreement with your TA that any price adjustments to the fare will be passed along to you. Carnival ( and alll cruise lines) frequently change the fair for market conditions. Watch these boards for fare decreases. Carnival lowered the fair on our cruise and offered a room upgrade AND and onboard credit. We declined the upgrade (see number 2) in favor of a larger credit. My family started out our 1 week cruise with and onboard credit of over $1,000.

2. Upgrades are not what they are cracked up to be, unless it is to a balcony or an outside room. All other cabins are exactly alike. You will pay about $80-100pp to move up each floor. I've done both the higher and lower floors and the lower floors get the same service, same amenities, same everything, just at a lower price. Consider how many Pina Coladas the extra $100 will buy you. Book a lower floor and save you money of if you are offered an upgrade, take the on board credits.

3. Cruising in not an "all-inclusive" vacation. Plan on spending about 20-25% of your cruise cost onboard. About 22% of Carnival's revenue comes form cruisers buying drinks, photos, gambling, playing bingo, shopping, etc.

4. Do not book shore excursions through the cruise line. Do a little homework before you go and book your excursions directly. you will save 25-30% by doing this. The excursion companies pay a hefty commission to the cruise line which is passed on to your through higher prices. Cruise critic boards are an exellent source of infomation and many excursion companies live or die based on cruise critic reviews. We booked a helicopter tour directly in hawaii and saved over $250 from the cruise excursion price. Ther is a risk of doing this, but in all of my years of cruising, we have NEVER had a bad experience.

5. If you gamble, avoid the ship's slots and electronic card games. The payouts on slots are significantly lower than ANY other place. Las Vegas is regulated and must payout 97%. A ship in international waters is regulated based on where it is registered which may not have any gaming laws. Payouts for ship slots are estimated to be around 85%. The odds for craps, blackjack, roulette, etc are the same as other locations.

6. When you board, go directly to the casino (it will be closed) and get the free lanyards that are in the slot machines. Sometime during the cruise go to the pursers office and have your sign and sail cards hole punched and attach them to the free lanyard.

7. Carnival puts the fear in everyone about lost beach towels. They say you are issued 1 and you must return it or be charged for it. Every cruise, Carnival looses about 100 beach towels and very few cruisers are charged. Why? the room stewards pick the beach towels in your room and replace them with clean ones. Get to know your room steward. tip him a few dollars during the week for the good job he is doing and a little something extra at the end. Do you think he will risk making you mad tracking beach towels and collecting $22 from you for Carnival or keeping you happy to get a big tip? Worked for us (we lost at least 2 beach towels on our last trip and never had to pay)

8. Drink cards: not such a good deal for adults, unless you are a big soda drinker. Drink cards for adults are $38 and $28 for kids. The card allows you to get a glass of coke, which is about 2/3 can . A can of coke costs $1.50 for the whole can. That is about 30 cokes over a 7 day cruise (not including the time you are off the ship) or 4-5 per day. Alternatively consider getting one card and using it to "buy" sodas for your significant other (you must be descreet about this). As you move through the ship, order one soda at one bar and another soda at the next bar. That way, you only have to drink 2 per day to break even.

9. the books in the cabins are free, if you ask your room steward.

10. there are free post card available at the pursers desk.

 

that is all for now

 

 

Soda cards were over 50.00 on the Splendor in Oct. of 2009.

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nurse who loves to cruise

nurse who loves to cruise

Posted
Posted
What?!! No deli??? I keep hearing folks rave about the rueben sandwiches, and I thought on the Sensation. Man, I had the whole family worked up and ready for ruebens. I would swear I have read about them in some reviews. Was I just hallucinating cornbeef?[/quotei sailed the sensation this past summer and they did have a deli it was at the back of the ship where the buffet is . It is the back of the lido deck buffet
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highbridge5

highbridge5

Posted
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Deli is also on the Dream at the very back of the Lido. The Tandoor is there, and a bar. I expect that most ships have the deli as it is usually very popular.

 

Did you ask someone?

 

On the Pride, Reubens were available at one of the Lido deck buffet stations (there were 6 main stations/corners). Just find the guy making sandwiches to order.

 

I have to warn you though, we got 2 Ruebens from the same place and neither reuben had sauerkraut (which I think turns it into just a hot corned beef (or pastrami) and swiss sandwich...). I can't remember which kind of meat was on the reubens. I'm inclined to guess that it was corned beef. My hubby thought they were good even without the kraut.

 

At the same place, I had some sandwich with tomatoes and roasted peppers and mozz cheese with some kind of basil mayo that was heavenly.

 

I believe the reubens are available on the room service menu as well.

 

hb5

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