Carnival Secrets they Usually Don't Tell You About 2

[softlips]

Just visit the matri'd when you get on board and ask him ... they have always been great to deal with .. I just came off the Liberty and asked for open seating in the upper Silver dining rm .. and he was really great about it .. also asked if I perferred table for 2 but I told him it was not an issue .. ended up at the supper club one nite .. but the Victory does not have one of those ... When is you Anniversary .. which nite?

[mnice8]

It's probably already on this thread, but I didn't see it.. I always bring lots of wire hangers. The cruise lines give you like 4 in the closet, I bring my old ones, then leave them for the next people!

 

 

very nice of you. I think you can ask your cabin steward to bring more for you though.

[nealthedeal]

Im not telling mine!!! :rolleyes:

[Kaboochi]

Great tips. I read about people needing a credit card for the safe (I think I read it right) Are the safes free or do you need to pay? We're sailing Victory in Feb 09, Thank you

[greenboi]

The safes just use the magnetic strip to for the "key" instead of punching in a code on a keypad like the older ships. You could use one of your good credit cards, but I would be afraid to leave that information in the safe's memory. I tend to lock up my good credit cards and take an old library card to use as my "key". If I lose my library card, it's no big deal.

[callajl]

Safes do not cost to use, you just have to have something with a strip across the back of the card to open and close the safe. You can use any type card with a magnetic strip across the back. If you are staying in a hotel the night before, I would just use that card since you will never use it again and you already have it with you.

[dstephens0911]

From what I've read about the safes, you can use any card with a magnetic strip. But you have to use the exact same card to unlock the safe that you used when you locked it. Many people have recommended using a gift card like to Target or Walmart or Home Depot. They all have magnetic strips on the back. There was mixed reviews from some people who used credit cards saying the safe demagnatized their card. Others have used it without any problems. For me, I'll use an old gift card and just be "safe" about it. pun intended :p

[Drew B]

I always use a casino player's card. I've got dozens of them... :p

[KULPN]

From what I've read about the safes, you can use any card with a magnetic strip. But you have to use the exact same card to unlock the safe that you used when you locked it. Many people have recommended using a gift card like to Target or Walmart or Home Depot. They all have magnetic strips on the back. There was mixed reviews from some people who used credit cards saying the safe demagnatized their card. Others have used it without any problems. For me, I'll use an old gift card and just be "safe" about it. pun intended :p

We just took a gift card from WalMart (that wasn't used or money put on it) Worked like a charm. I suppose I technically stole some plastic from WalMart.

[Multi-Cruiser]

We just took a gift card from WalMart (that wasn't used or money put on it) Worked like a charm. I suppose I technically stole some plastic from WalMart.

 

That sounds like a confession to me. :D :D :D

 

Happy New Year

[sunnydd]

Just visit the matri'd when you get on board and ask him ... they have always been great to deal with .. I just came off the Liberty and asked for open seating in the upper Silver dining rm .. and he was really great about it .. also asked if I perferred table for 2 but I told him it was not an issue .. ended up at the supper club one nite .. but the Victory does not have one of those ... When is you Anniversary .. which nite?

 

December 29th 2009....we are going to be in Roatan that day so not particularly a dress up day, but also not a big deal...Thanks for the reply I have never tried to change tables but I would really like to have him all to myself...LOL...the hubby that is...

[sunnydd]

Hey, Sunnydd:

 

We just came home from our cruise last week...As always, we requested a table for 2...Upon arrival, we go directly to see the maitre'd to find out if we were in fact given a table for 2. If we have, super...If not, we politely ask for a change, and we've always been met with approval. In fact, whenever we look around the dining room, there always seems to be extra, empty tables...Actually, this time, we were seated at a table for 4, but without any tablemates. We also were celebrating an anniversary and wanted to have some quiet, "alone time" during dinner.

Good luck and happy anniversary!

 

 

Thank you .... and Thank you...:)

[Lady D.]

I'm pretty sure its the magnetic strip on your credit card that can be a problem. I was told using it on safes or keeping your cc strips close together can de-magnetize them. No problem for the safe, we ALWAYS use them, cashiers just may have to manually type in your cc # instead of using the swipe method.

[germanbini]

It may have been mentioned in there somewhere, but along the lines of an alarm clock i don't recomend bringing one of the ones that sets itself. we have one and we brought it. we plugged in in while we unpacked in NYC and after the 1st day it wasn't right once. not sure if it thought we were in another time zone or what but every time we fixed the damn thing it was wrong again by the next night.

 

This happened to us also, from what I remember it has something to do with the alternating current used for electricity on the ship being a little different than land? Our plug in clock was always wrong. (Someone technical please confirm about the electricity). A wind up alarm clock might be a better choice.

 

My contributions:

 

If you leave your glasses or sunglasses lying around in the cabin, they might find their way onto a towel animal!

 

To protect against germs, besides washing your hands before eating, use your own unused utensils to get food from the buffet line... who knows how many other (possibly unwashed) hands have used the buffet serving utensils in the food? :|

[roddee]

"Attack Dog;9753364

 

This next one may not be true for all ships. If you don't make up your own personal voicemail message for your cabin then you will have the old voicemail message that someone left from a previous cruise. When my in laws called my cabin when I wasn't present an old man with a raspy voice would say, "We're busy right now. Leave a message." When I called their cabin and they didn't answer I found a voice mail to a different couple."

****

 

 

I don't want my family even trying to call me while I am on vacation!!!

 

Dee

[SassySasa]

First time cruiser here, we leave in one week! Carnival Glory-Western Carrib. i've spent all morning reading ALL 26 pages and have found them to be so incredibly helpful! thanks so much for all the good advice and i look forward to posting tips of my own when we return! :)

[MonaCK]

"Attack Dog;9753364

 

This next one may not be true for all ships. If you don't make up your own personal voicemail message for your cabin then you will have the old voicemail message that someone left from a previous cruise. When my in laws called my cabin when I wasn't present an old man with a raspy voice would say, "We're busy right now. Leave a message." When I called their cabin and they didn't answer I found a voice mail to a different couple."

****

 

 

I don't want my family even trying to call me while I am on vacation!!!

 

Dee

 

OMG... when we were on the Miracle in May, we had to call a bunch of cabins because we were part of a large group, and there was a mistake in time for one of the events. Some of the messages that were left on the voice mail were HYSTERICAL.... and DEFINITELY not the folks currently in the cabin.

[Attack Dog]

Forgive me it I mentioned this on a previous posting. Some of you new cruisers might want to start a tradition of buying on cruise ship christmas ornimate everytime you sail. This has a weird effect when you look at the Christmas tree. Not only do the traditional decorations remind you of "christmas past" but the cruise ship decorations will bring back memories from past vacations. After a while some of you may need a second tree.

[claycrazymom]

I am just going on my second cruise in 4 MORE SLEEPS, but for the newbies, it wasn't until my last night on the Pride that I realized they had the deck number right on the floor by the stairs! When you get going up and down, sometimes you lose track.

[RizzoLee]

 

To protect against germs, besides washing your hands before eating, use your own unused utensils to get food from the buffet line... who knows how many other (possibly unwashed) hands have used the buffet serving utensils in the food? :|

 

I definitely see your point behind this one, but then you'd have to be trusting people not to mix food - if you accidentally spear too many potatoes with your fork that was just touching roast beef, there would be transference between food.

 

Just wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.

[germanbini]

Has anyone caught up to the end (so far) of this thread and has a new cut and paste version of these helpful hints so far? :) Please post or email it to me if you would! germanbini @ gmail.com thanks!

[craftykitty]

I don't know if this will help a lot of people, but if it helps one person, than I'll be happy!

On the Pride a few years back, a woman was frantically knocking on all the doors along the corridor; her husband's blood sugar meter had dead batteries and they didn't bring spares because they were certain they could buy them on board. Problem was, the shops were closed. Because I'm psychotically over-prepared, I had brought extra batteries for my husbands MP3 player, so she was in luck.

I never forgot this. So, if you have anything that important that needs batteries, bring spares!!

 

Or as we do, use rechargeables and bring a charger. We always have a set of batteries on charge when we are traveling while the other set is in use.

[TMWTim]

Not about to read 27 pages from a 2 year old thread but for anyone on a Conquest class ship a bungie cord it a must if you have a balcony. It will keep your heavy balcony door open when you want it. A 2 foot cord will do the trick. One of the best tips I recieved on our first cruise.

[MrPete]

Not all aft cabin partitions on the Spirit class ships are opened upon request.

[Evy82]

Thanks Elaine. Great tips. First time cruiser so nothing to compare it too other than what I read on these reviews and conversations with friends.

 

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