First time questions

[jtdl]

I've been reading as much as I can on these boards over the past couple of weeks and just want to be sure/verify some of what I think I've learned. Please bear with me, I've never cruised before.:o

 

Cabins - the least motion would be mid ship, the lower the deck the better? What is your opinion of the best location/deck either balcony or oceanview? The obstructed view rooms are usually at a cheaper rate?

 

Formal dinners - the buffet is always available for people who do not wish to go formal (my husband!)? Do you need specific sittings for the buffet or can you go whenever? Is the dress code at the buffet casual - dress pants and shirt for men?

 

Drinks - juice and ice tea is free? Milk or pop is not free even with dinner?

 

Please correct me on anything that is not true. Any other tips you can think of for a first-timer trying to convice DH to try a cruise would be appreciated ;)

[firefly333]

The buffet is available during the posted hours for the meal. Most ships that I have been on have free ice cream, soft serve, including FF yogurt 24 hours, free pizza 24 hours and a sandwich place which makes really huge good sandwiches to order 24 hours a day.

 

Juice is only available at breakfast free. I have heard children under a certain age can also order it or milk at dinner. Someone else said you can get juice from room service free, Im not sure about that. Iv never gotten room service.

 

Other meals besides iced tea, you can get fruit punch or lemonaide at the buffet free as well. I liked the lemonaide just fine.

 

Iv seen people wearing most anything at the buffet, Iv worn shorts. I do think some evenings folks seem to dress up a tad more than during the day. No bathing suits I think are allowed?

 

Personally I like the cabins far forward that you can see out and get at an inside rate sometimes that are obstructed or have port holes, but if you are afraid of being sea sick, yes they say get the lowest deck and mid ship. If money were no object, I prefer being as high as possible or on the deck with the buffet for less walking or elevators and time to get back and forth to the cabin. Iv heard the cabins right below the buffet area can be noisy, but the ones on the same deck arent bad. We actually were below the spa and heard the tread mill noise, but once we figured out what it was it became white noise, it was worth it to be in a cabin with a great view and less walking.

 

There will be as many opinions about this as there are posters. I do think there is a little bit of looking down your nose at lower decks, they are considered less prestigious. Someone said on a thread discussing this that its a throwback to the old "sailing in steerage" time. It costs more to get a higher deck usually because these are the cabins more desired. Cruiselines would not be able to charge more, put a higher category on higher decks if they could not get the extra money for them.

[catlady1971]

welcome jtdl.

 

buffet, you can sit anywhere you want. dress code for buffet is very casual, wear even bathing suits. if you eat in dining, it is shirt and pants.

you are right about the cabins. mid ship is the least motion. but pretty much, you can't feel much motion anywhere on the ship. obstructed views aren't really cheaper, it depends where you are on the ship. if i'm wrong, someone else will correct me. juice, coffee, tea and i think milk is free.

 

i know there is a wealth of info on these boards, so much. just have fun. when is your cruise and on what ship? where?

[Cotton]

Here's something I posted awhile back that might interest you:

 

Beverages included in the cost of your cruise:

 

Lido buffet area - Iced tea, hot water & tea bags, coffee, decaf, hot chocolate, juice varieties, water, lemonade, fruitpunch. On buffet, milk, skim milk, chocolate milk.

 

Dining room - Iced tea, hot tea, coffee, water, decaf, milk, chocolate milk, juices, espresso and cappuccino.

 

Room service - MOST of the beverages that are available on Lido, but not lemonade or fruitpunch.

 

Food included in the cost of your cruise:

 

All meals in the dining room, Lido buffet, as well as the pizzeria, deli, salad bars, ice cream and frozen yogurt machines, room service.

 

Pizzeria and room service available 24 hrs. a day.

 

Sometimes they have a MakeYourOwn Sundae bar on Lido Deck.

 

'Tea Time' on sea day afternoons has hot tea, coffee, tea sandwiches, scones, petite fours, etc.

 

The Captain's Cocktail party has hors d'oeuvres, as well as cocktails.

 

No extra charge for any of the above.:)

[jtdl]

 

i know there is a wealth of info on these boards, so much. just have fun. when is your cruise and on what ship? where?

 

I haven't booked anything yet. Trying to convince DH and DD16! DS 6 is all for it cause I told him there was a slide in the pool. DH got a sparkle in his eye when I told him he could rent a Harley in St. Maarten for the day! DD wants to bring a friend, but I'm a little weary on that. I'm working on trying to convince them;) I'm looking at either over New Years or March break next year. If I could decide which one I would prefer (can get a balcony in March for price of OV in December) I would probably book now, but am concerned about getting cheap airfare between now and then. I'd think some deals would come up over an entire year, am I thinking right?

[sjohnson529]

My husband is the same way, doesn't like to dress up so we eat most dinners in the buffet. I bring his "big boy pants" and sometimes I can talk him into 1 or 2 dinners in the dining room. The buffet is fine and you can wear pretty much whatever you want. The pizza is good, and room service is also a favorite of ours. Enjoy!

[caribbean dreams]

free pizza 24 hours and a sandwich place 24 hours a day.

Juice is only available at breakfast free.

 

Iv seen people wearing most anything at the buffet, No bathing suits I think are allowed?

 

. Iv heard the cabins right below the buffet area can be noisy,

 

There will be as many opinions about this as there are posters. I do think there is a little bit of looking down your nose at lower decks,

 

~Only the Pizza place is 24 hours. You can also call roomservice 24 hours a day.

~Juice is available all day for free. alsong with eveything else in the Lidao.

~You can even wear your bathing suit in the buffet, many people walk straight in from the pool area to grab a bite to eat.

~It's not the cabins below the buffet that are really noisy, it's more aft Lido, below the pool & pizza party, there is no carpeting and you can here the chairs scapping across the floor.

~I don't care where your cabin is located, infact the only time it has ever even been discused was with our tablemates and i don't see anyone else bring snobs to people on lower decks.

[Guienevere_Arianette]

Someone else said you can get juice from room service free, Im not sure about that. Iv never gotten room service..

 

It's true; order from room service, but be specific about how many serving you want; they are small, 6 oz or so servings. They have orange, grapefruit, apple, and something else, I think...

[Wennfred]

Cabins - the least motion would be mid ship, the lower the deck the better? What is your opinion of the best location/deck either balcony or oceanview? The obstructed view rooms are usually at a cheaper rate?

 

Mid ship is your best bet but unless its highseas you wont feel much anywhere else on the ship

 

Formal dinners - the buffet is always available for people who do not wish to go formal (my husband!)? Do you need specific sittings for the buffet or can you go whenever? Is the dress code at the buffet casual - dress pants and shirt for men?

 

He can wear shorts and T-shirts up on Lido Deck for the buffet, even at night.

 

I'm looking at either over New Years or March break next year.

 

You got 2 problems here, First the weather during New Years is the worst, especially from up north, Cold Icy weather can cause lots of Air Cancellations, so if you are willing to fly at least 2 days ahead from Canada you will be ok. Flying in on the same day could cause you to miss the boat.

 

Second. If you want to fly in during Spring Break (March) you will need to start booking your airfare now as they book fast. During this time frame there are no Standbys either. I still would prefer to go in March rather then deal with the Weather of Dec, Jan.

 

The obstructed view rooms are usually at a cheaper rate?

 

Obstructed view rooms are not the cheapest, The cheapest are Cat. 4a inside cabins.

 

 

 

Fred

[MikeNKim]

Pick March break on Glory. We are going....DD will be 15... It is western Caribbean however, out of Port Canaveral.

 

You can get flights out of Buffalo to Orlando pretty cheap.

 

If you book directly with Carnival and the price goes down they will honour it or at least my PVP does.

 

Pick March break.....:D

 

Kim

[firefly333]

Only the Pizza place is 24 hours. You can also call roomservice 24 hours a day.

~Juice is available all day for free. alsong with eveything else in the Lidao

.

 

 

Im thinking it must differ from ship to ship then? When I was on the Estacsy, we also got free ice cream 24 hours a day but juice was not available 24 hours a day on the buffet.

 

I enjoyed going to get a small cone several times a day or before the show :) So Im glad my ship did have the free 24 hours ice cream.

[vacationfool]

I don't care what cabin I get, as long as I am going cruising! lol I just haven't convienced myself to pay some of the high prices that the cruise lines want for a balcony...(Please do not take this wrong to those of you who prefer the balcony for your own reasons- IF I found a good deal I would take it!) I just want to go...!!!! so I book the best deals I personally can afford. We do not spend much time at all in our cabin. We love to be outside on the deck or at the shows,etc.

[Zipliner 1968]

... If you want to fly in during Spring Break (March) you will need to start booking your airfare now as they book fast. During this time frame there are no Standbys either... Fred

 

Well okay now, Fred has been on many more cruises than I have so he probably knows what he's talking about - but I do need to say that I booked my March 26th cruise in early February and there were plenty of flights out. It's just my husband and myself, but I'm sure you could have gotten four tix, no problem. As far as standby goes, I spoke with an AA rep (LOOOOONG story) and she said we would be able to return standby if we missed our return flight. Now who knows if she was just blowing smoke, but still, she did say it. Sorry Fred. :D

 

And waaaaay back on my first cruise in *gulp* '91, they offered guava juice at dinner and it was AWESOME. I remember asking for two glasses each time because as someone has already mentioned, the glasses are small. This is another thumbs up for your hubby if he likes to eat - - you can order as many entrees in the dining room as you want. For free. In other words, if the choices are steak, lobster, and fish and hubby wants the steak - he can ask for two of them. It's the bomb, it really is. :p

 

This comment is for those ladies whose hubbies won't put on pants for dinner: C'MON.... How hard is it to put on a pair of khakis? For pete's sake! My hubby doesn't wear anything but jeans and a t-shirt, but the boy owns a pair of khakis. C'mon fellas! Be adventurous, put on a pair of pants and take your wives to the dining room! :D (For those of you sayin' "Lay off my man - who cares." I can only say back, ... um.... well I can't think of anything. Ha!)

[jtdl]

Pick March break on Glory. We are going....DD will be 15... It is western Caribbean however, out of Port Canaveral.

You can get flights out of Buffalo to Orlando pretty cheap.

If you book directly with Carnival and the price goes down they will honour it or at least my PVP does.

Pick March break.....:D

 

Kim

 

Are you booked on Glory sail date March 8? That's another one that I have printed out as a maybe! My two favs for March are Triumph (Eastern) Mar 8 and Glory (Western) Mar 8. I like Triumph because of the day spent at Half Moon Cay. I like Glory because it departs from Port Canaveral and I would like to go to the space center. But neither of those goes to St Maarten where my DH could rent a Harley - I think that would be a big convincing point for him - since he'd be itching to get back on his by then after the winter without! Another way I could get him to go would be to make it a surprise and give it to them all for Christmas!

[jtdl]

Well okay now, Fred has been on many more cruises than I have so he probably knows what he's talking about - but I do need to say that I booked my March 26th cruise in early February and there were plenty of flights out. It's just my husband and myself, but I'm sure you could have gotten four tix, no problem. As far as standby goes, I spoke with an AA rep (LOOOOONG story) and she said we would be able to return standby if we missed our return flight. Now who knows if she was just blowing smoke, but still, she did say it. Sorry Fred. :D

 

 

This comment is for those ladies whose hubbies won't put on pants for dinner: C'MON.... How hard is it to put on a pair of khakis? For pete's sake! My hubby doesn't wear anything but jeans and a t-shirt, but the boy owns a pair of khakis. C'mon fellas! Be adventurous, put on a pair of pants and take your wives to the dining room! :D (For those of you sayin' "Lay off my man - who cares." I can only say back, ... um.... well I can't think of anything. Ha!)

 

I tried to check airfare for March 2008 on expedia but it wouldn't let me check further than February 2008. I'll check the airline sites.

 

My DH would put on a pair of khakis or dress pants, but just not the formal wear - he doesn't even own a suit! I'm sure the enticement of two steaks would be enough to get him into those pants:D

[MikeNKim]

Yes I am booked on March 8, 2008......can't wait.

 

The one reason I like to cruise out of Port Canaveral is the direct flights from Buffalo....they will be 1/2 of what you will pay out of Toronto. Not sure where in Ontario you are however, but just to give you a idea DD and I are heading to Disney in May and we are paying $271 US return for the 2 of us. Non stop flights. Now March break will be more but not much more.

 

Glory also has a dedicated teens lounge and disco, I am not sure if Truimph has that. Glory however I believe is a much newer ship built in 2003.

 

Have I convinced you yet. Also maybe our DD's could chat a bit before the cruise and would have each other to hang with on the cruise.

 

Kim

[MikeNKim]

I tried to check airfare for March 2008 on expedia but it wouldn't let me check further than February 2008. I'll check the airline sites.

 

My DH would put on a pair of khakis or dress pants, but just not the formal wear - he doesn't even own a suit! I'm sure the enticement of two steaks would be enough to get him into those pants:D

 

If you book Southwest...you will have to wait till later in the year for flights.

 

Not only steak but lobster as well....yippeeeeee

 

Kim

[gtalum]

I tried to check airfare for March 2008 on expedia but it wouldn't let me check further than February 2008. I'll check the airline sites.

 

 

You can only book airfare 330 days in advance. On Southwest and maybe a few others it's more like 3-6 months.

[jtdl]

Yes I am booked on March 8, 2008......can't wait.

 

The one reason I like to cruise out of Port Canaveral is the direct flights from Buffalo....they will be 1/2 of what you will pay out of Toronto. Not sure where in Ontario you are however, but just to give you a idea DD and I are heading to Disney in May and we are paying $271 US return for the 2 of us. Non stop flights. Now March break will be more but not much more.

 

Glory also has a dedicated teens lounge and disco, I am not sure if Truimph has that. Glory however I believe is a much newer ship built in 2003.

 

Have I convinced you yet. Also maybe our DD's could chat a bit before the cruise and would have each other to hang with on the cruise.

 

Kim

 

We're near Sarnia, so would probably fly out of Detroit or Flint. That's an awesome price you got for May! I had priced flights for December and cheapest I could find Detroit to Fort Lauderdale was $221 US each and that was with a 3 hour stop-over.

 

Well, I think I'm convinced, if I can convince everyone else and we do go on that ship, most certainly we will have to get our DD's chatting first. Mine's always on MSN!!!

[MikeNKim]

I think with Detriot you will have more options, Northwest, Air Tran. We are just north of Toronto.

 

I hope you book on Glory. It will be nice to have some fellow Canadians on board and since our DD's are the same age that is a bonus.

 

My DD lives on MSN.

 

Kim

[cruiselover57]

I've been reading as much as I can on these boards over the past couple of weeks and just want to be sure/verify some of what I think I've learned. Please bear with me, I've never cruised before.:o

 

Cabins - the least motion would be mid ship, the lower the deck the better? What is your opinion of the best location/deck either balcony or oceanview? The obstructed view rooms are usually at a cheaper rate?

 

Formal dinners - the buffet is always available for people who do not wish to go formal (my husband!)? Do you need specific sittings for the buffet or can you go whenever? Is the dress code at the buffet casual - dress pants and shirt for men?

 

Drinks - juice and ice tea is free? Milk or pop is not free even with dinner?

 

Please correct me on anything that is not true. Any other tips you can think of for a first-timer trying to convice DH to try a cruise would be appreciated ;)

 

 

Hi there,

 

Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth here! Looks like all your questions were answered and I agree with most of the responses. If RCI still follows the same rules as before, I believe sodas may still be free in the dining room at dinner (not sure about lunch - there may be a charge). I don't drink sodas but have heard that on other cruises. Milk will always be free and should be readily available during breakfast, lunch and dinner - might not always been available in the 24-hour self-serve area - there will probably be tea, hot chocolate and possibly some juices (not on all ships though).

 

I've sailed in cabins down below, way up top, forward, aft, etc. While many prefer the mid-ship cabins, I tend to like the ones that are either more forward or aft because you get less "foot traffic" and they're a lot quieter. Never had a problem with more motion either way - I sleep good no matter where they put me! Remember too, just because you're on the bottom deck, doesn't mean you're paying the cheapest rate - those outside cabins cost more than the inside ones maybe 5-6 decks up. I'll be on the Splendour of the Seas next month on Deck 7 (inside cabin) but if they were to upgrade me to an outside on Deck 2, you bet I'll take it! Not worth it to pay for an outside when I can take my chances on an upgrade being a Diamond member but if I had a traveling companion, the rate was only $50 more a person and I would pay that - otherwise, they want to charge me $500 more - that's like double the cruise and I'd rather have more spending $$.

 

Good luck!

 

Laurie

[Cotton]

Obstructed view rooms are not the cheapest, The cheapest are Cat. 4a inside cabins.Fred

 

The least expensive cabins are category 1A.

[Cotton]

.

 

Im thinking it must differ from ship to ship then? When I was on the Estacsy, we also got free ice cream 24 hours a day.

 

Whoever said that is incorrect. The softserve ice cream and frozen yogurt machines are available 24 hrs. a day, as well as the Pizzeria and room service. All Carnival ships do the same.:)

[firefly333]

Whoever said that is incorrect. The softserve ice cream and frozen yogurt machines are available 24 hrs. a day, as well as the Pizzeria and room service. All Carnival ships do the same.:)

 

HUH??? You just agreed with me. I said the same thing.

 

If you said the same thing I said....how can I be incorrect?? Reread my post you quoted....we both agree Pizza and soft serve are 24 hours.

 

Maybe you are disagreeing with some other poster and incorrectly quoted me???? They did not mention the soft serve...but my post you quoted clearly says the exact same thing you said back and then claimed I was incorrect....I say HUH???

 

I think what you missed was I was trying to be nice and give the other poster the benefit of the doubt when they did not mention the 24 ice cream and I said that maybe there are some Carnival ships that dont do it. I was being nice, not saying it as a fact..you just misunderstood my post!!!! yes, I knew that other Carnival ships have the soft serve...thats what I get for trying to be polite....I get someone jumping on me :(

[Carolinamamasita]

This is also my first cruise ever. And I have looked through the search option for several things regarding Carnival . I am sailing on the Fantasy this April 30, 2007.

With my two kids - my son is 14, and my daughter is 10.

We booked an inside Cabin Guaranteed. And was wondering what the normal room for 3 people would inlcude bedwise. The price per person was supposed to be $289 each, and when they were finished they came more like $329 per person. They had has take guaranteed, because they noted the 3rd person in the cabins left would actually cost more $.

 

Does this make sense?

 

Now is there a BUFFET in the Lido deck for the Fantasy ship?

 

Are we allowed to take our own sodas onboard , or is that something we should hide? I saw people had mentioned bringing sodas on board , but wasnt sure if this was allowed or not.

 

now for my kids : cookies are free & included as well as other desserts from room service and Lido Deck ?

 

Thank you for all your help

and sorry if any of this is repetitive ,

Carolina