Any deck with balcony cabins except the Verandah Deck. That's where the bridge is. Go all the way forward in the hallway until you reach the end. If on the port side go left. If on the starboard side go right. Go out both sets of doors and there you'll find the observation deck.
In the casino, they'll give you a lanyard, as well as punch a hole in your S&S card for you. In the dining room, ask for espresso after dinner - not usually listed on the menu, but I have either espresso or cappuccino every night at no extra charge.Hint: Read your Capers carefully, as some things are in small print. (Take a highlighter.) For instance, "tea time" is not announced in a big separate area, just in the listing of day's activities. I thoroughly enjoy that!
The pizza place also makes a very good Ceaser salad to order, 24/7.
It seems that Carnival has different polices on all their ships. I was on the Spirit this past March, and non-carbonated soft drinks, Espresso & Cappuccino were FREE in the main dining room.Additionally, the non-carbonated soft drinks, coffee, tea, hot chocolate AND soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt were FREE & AVAILABLE 24/7!
If you are going on an excurtion the next day that does not include lunch...order sandwichs the night before from room service and put them in the frig overnight.
but I had forgotten to pack my toothpaste on my first cruise and asked the room steward if she had any sample sizes. She came back to my cabin with handfulls of sample size toothpaste to use for the week. I'm assuming if you ask your steward, you will get it. (within reason of course).
Casino tip:If you play blackjack, one secret to keep in mind is the Fun21 table - there are NO QUEENS in the decks - They will tell you this IF YOU ASK but what they won't tell you, and 98% of the players do not realize, is that this forces a change in the way you play.. check out wizardofodds.com and read about SPANISH21 !
morning for breakfast they have those tiny little individual boxes of cereal. There's Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, and lots of other name brand cereals. We always grab a few for snacks for us and the kids. The authorities will not confiscate anything that is in a sealed container. And I think it applies to all ports. Though we have taken sandwiches and cookies with us off of the ship with no problem. We never put them in a cooler with our drinks or any other place that would be obvious. Our children have backpacks with a few beach toys in them. We stick our sandwiches and cookies in amongst the toys in the backpacks.
I have heard of people with coolers full of food being stopped. I have also heard of lunch sacks being examined. But a couple snacks in our kids backpacks where the toys are have never been a problem.But if you are a little afraid of getting something confiscated, then go for the foods that are completely sealed and unopened like the cereal. There are other things that are sealed that you can get on the ship. Or you can bring a few of your own snacks as long as they are in a brand new package and unopened. The cookies they have on the buffets and at dinner are not in a package.
If you don't have a fridge in your room and want to take sandwiches ashore for your day excursion, try making them at breakfast. There is always bread available that is used for toast. There is also usually ham and/or turkey lunchmeat that many people put on bagels, etc...for breakfast. That's all you need for a simple sandwich!
Another tip......The Purser's Office will carry stamps of the different countries that you are going to. I like to buy my stamps ahead of time so I don't have to find a post office in each port. Makes it much easier to send the postcards home from the different ports.
Another sneaky pictrure option, ask the person in line behind you to take a photo of you with your perosnal camera at the same time the phtographer is....we have done this a lot and the pictures come out very nice!
If we have a fridge, we freeze damp washcloths the night before going ashore. Pack the frozen washcloths on ice in a zip lock bag and use them to cool off with while walking around.
If you want orange juice any time remember the exact place you got it during breakfast time. All they do is take off the label orange Juice making you think there is no OJ.
How about a FREE FACIAL?After getting settled in your cabin, go up to the salon - spa area and let someone at the desk know you are willing to be a volunteer for whatever during the spa tour later that day... I haven't missed a free facial yet, and it's kinda fun to be the model and listen to all the questions people ask!Also, check out the INTERNET CAFE for a drawing for free internet minutes (day one only)... check the CAPERS waiting in your cabin.
Order your coffee and danish the night before so when you wake up, you won't have to wait for that first cup of coffee. (even 10 minutes feels like forever......I love my first cup of java)Make sure you check your daily charges so if there's a dispute, you can deal with it right away. Sometimes we forget from days before!
I too use the ziploc bag idea. Another idea for packing your lunch that morning is to go to the breakfast buffet. They always have bread available for toast. They also usually have turkey and ham available for those that want to make bagel sandwiches, etc....Voila - you have lunch! I have found room service to be slow on the mornings in port so this is quicker for us. I've never had any problem getting off the ship with my lunches either. Now of course I don't have them sitting on top of my purse in plain sight, but I've never been stopped. Something else we've done is to order room service the night before with chips and cookies. We make fresh sandwiches in the a.m., but the chips and cookies from the night before are fine if you put in baggies and now you have an even better lunch!
When the lights start to dim in the dining room this means Entertainment is coming. Make sure you have your camera ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you need post cards, go to the pursers desk... they have those with the picture of the ship for free!
First things first on a cruise
take pictures for review and blog
have drink of the day
Register the kids for their perceptive carnival clubs
find out out about being a model for spa treatments
see where dinner is in which Main Dining room
do sign and sail account
eat lunch in Lido deck
go see room
go to pursers desk and see about free playing cards
attend shore/ shopping talk
sign up for cooking demo
have sail and sign cards punched
explore the ship
order cheese dessert tray for balcony to have with wine
don't forget about these events: Meet & Greet - 1/2 hour after Muster Drill on the Aft/Port Corner Lido Deck Bar (no name on deck plans just Bar)
Cocktail Party - 1st Sea Day, August 29 @ 1:30 PM (TBD, we need 20 people)Supper Club - 2nd Sea Day, August 31 @ 6:00 PM
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163633&d=1280228929
more to come
Don’t sit in the balcony when attending shore/shopping talks, they give stuff away and it rarely makes it past first 15 rows of main area.
My daughter is a vegetarian and they brought stuff for her not on the menu (cheese pizza, grilled cheese, and pasta) and alter some things on the menu to make it vegetarian.
Kids can order Shirley Temples, Roy Rogers, cherry coke & cherry sprite with their drink Cards.
If booking more than 8 cabins call the Carnival Group department- worth it
If the port is not a tender port and you are there for most of the day you can come back on board, freshen up, drop off packages, grab a bite to eat (it's already paid for) and go back out.
Book Shore excursion on your own in MOST cases- we saved over $500 by doing this last year and got to see & do more. Check these boards for suggestions- they were all pretty accurate. Ask lots of questions.
We do room service in morning for our teenage kids so they can sleep in a little later
If it is not on the menu ask. My wife & I were not feeling good on Key lime pie night and asked the next night for it and they delivered.
Like the chocolates on your people? The room steward will give you more for free if you ask. One time they gave my kids a large bag of them.
On my suitcases, I tie bright ribbons or whatever I can find at home so I can find my bags quicker once I get to "Suitcase Island".
Don't overplan your day. It's very easy to plan something for every minute you're awake. But you won't make it to everything, and the sun will sap your energy. Plan the things you REALLY want to do, and keep others in mind. If you have been lookin gforward to the galley tour for the whole trip, you don't want to be too tired to enjoy it.
Back a change of clothes in your carry on baggage. Sometimes it may take some time to get your baggage.
Pack your own bottled water, or at least an empty bottle. Fill it up before going ashore. It's much cheaper than buying it from the ship.
Pack your own bottled water, or at least an empty bottle. Fill it up before going ashore. It's much cheaper than buying it from the ship.
We had Motorola walkie talkies we brought from home. Spent a few minutes finding a channel no one else was using, but they worked fine. We tried to keep the use of them to a minimum in consideration of our fellow cruisers, but it was great to have them on a couple of occasions.
We have used the washers/dryers on both of our previous cruises..I would advise you to use them first thing in the morning however, as that seemed to be the time they were being used the least.
Here's a water tip. we always get more than one bucket of ice, 1 we let melt and use for drinking. ice makers usually have filters on them and the water tastes better for drinking. we also refill water bottles this way to take ashore with us. we always end up buying more water to drink on shore, but its a start.
- Always use the porters at the ports. Hand them a $20, and all your bags, and they'll work wonders for you.
- Learn and use the crew member's names, and smile. They're doing the same for you most of the time, and a little kindness can go MILES. You'll be surprised at the service you can get. "Please" and "thank you" can work miracles.
- Send yourself a Bon Voyage gift of champagne and snacks. Carnival does a FANTASTIC job of having it set up in your cabin all ready for you when you board the ship. (wish Princess was as good at this)
- Make photo copies of your passport (inside page with your photo/ID#/date of issue/exp), credit cards, and air tickets - if they're not e-tickets - and put them in the safe, another set of copies keep in your luggage under the bed [also carry one of the sets with you-not in your luggage in case it goes missing on your flight].
- Be VERY CAREFUL of cotton or cotton-blend swimsuits in the jacuzzis - these are SALT WATER, and hot salt water will BLEACH your suit - trust me on this one.
- Take advantage of the steam rooms in the spa. mmmmmmmm
- When having any service in the spa - tell them up front you already use and have MOST of the Elemis products, and order off the web. They won't try to SELL you to death.
- SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN (Bull Frog 36 waterproof spray rocks)
- HAT HAT HAT
- Learn and use the crew member's names, and smile. They're doing the same for you most of the time, and a little kindness can go MILES. You'll be surprised at the service you can get. "Please" and "thank you" can work miracles.
- Send yourself a Bon Voyage gift of champagne and snacks. Carnival does a FANTASTIC job of having it set up in your cabin all ready for you when you board the ship. (wish Princess was as good at this)
- Make photo copies of your passport (inside page with your photo/ID#/date of issue/exp), credit cards, and air tickets - if they're not e-tickets - and put them in the safe, another set of copies keep in your luggage under the bed [also carry one of the sets with you-not in your luggage in case it goes missing on your flight].
- Be VERY CAREFUL of cotton or cotton-blend swimsuits in the jacuzzis - these are SALT WATER, and hot salt water will BLEACH your suit - trust me on this one.
- Take advantage of the steam rooms in the spa. mmmmmmmm
- When having any service in the spa - tell them up front you already use and have MOST of the Elemis products, and order off the web. They won't try to SELL you to death.
- SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN (Bull Frog 36 waterproof spray rocks)
- HAT HAT HAT
I noticed several comments about not ordering the drinks of the day in the big plastic hurricane cup because "it's a waste of money." What I guess a lot of people don't realize is if you hold on to that plastic cup, the next time you need a refill, it is only $4.95 compared to the original $6.95. If you order the drink of the day in the small glass, I believe you also pay $4.95, but it doesn't hold as much as the hurricane cup.
- Never pack all of a persons clothes in the same bag. Seperate everything equally amoungst the bags even if it makes unpack a bear.
- Get your luggage outside the door early on the last night.
- Pack lots of undergarmets in your carry-on.
- Go with a good sense of humor and a sense of adventure - you never know when you're going to need both.
you can also get ice cream in the dinning room every night in any flavor. I love chocolate and sherbet so I would have both flavors of icecream and a dessert or two off of the menu every night. I can hardly move after dinner!
Also, I am super picky. On my first cruise, I ordered a steak or something and I didn't like the fancy sauces they like to put on it. My waiter would see that I wasn't eating my dinner (I figured I'll eat something else later) and he would ask if I wanted something else and I felt bad about asking for something else. Now, I order two right off the bat when I think I might not like something. I think I ordered everything that I possibly would have liked one night and I didn't like any of it so my waiter asked if I wanted chicken or steak even though it wasn't on the menu. I think fish is another option that you can always choose, whether it's on the menu or not.
My suggestion when it comes to the dinning room, if there is anything you want, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Also, they cook meat closer to what rare actually is. I always ask for rare in restuarants and I get what I really want, medium rare. On a cruise ship I usually ask for medium rare and I actually get it.
Also, I am super picky. On my first cruise, I ordered a steak or something and I didn't like the fancy sauces they like to put on it. My waiter would see that I wasn't eating my dinner (I figured I'll eat something else later) and he would ask if I wanted something else and I felt bad about asking for something else. Now, I order two right off the bat when I think I might not like something. I think I ordered everything that I possibly would have liked one night and I didn't like any of it so my waiter asked if I wanted chicken or steak even though it wasn't on the menu. I think fish is another option that you can always choose, whether it's on the menu or not.
My suggestion when it comes to the dinning room, if there is anything you want, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Also, they cook meat closer to what rare actually is. I always ask for rare in restuarants and I get what I really want, medium rare. On a cruise ship I usually ask for medium rare and I actually get it.
Bring some binoculars. It's fun to see what that blip on the horizon is... Heyyy, how'd THEY get ahead of us?? Leave them out on the balcony in a zip lock bag. If you keep them in the cool dry cabin, then whenever you take them outside they'll fog.
-Buy a nice straw hat for $15 before the cruise or you'll pay three times as much for the exact brand.
-Buy a nice straw hat for $15 before the cruise or you'll pay three times as much for the exact brand.
- If you don’t like what is offered on the main menu, you can ask the waiter for either a steak or grilled chicken.
- Any pasta item on the main menu CAN be ordered as an appetizer. Just ask.
- Post cards, foreign postage stamps and playing cards are available at the pursars desk.
- Get a FREE lanyard at the Casino. Pursars desk will punch a whole in it for you.
- 24 hour pizza place also serves Calzones and Caesar salads. If you want a special topping and they have it they will make you that pizza.
- Go to tea-time they have different snacks and its a nice place to relax
- Ask the steward if you forget something ie toothpaste...they often have samples
- Bring baggies of assorted sizes. For saving snacks for excursions and wet clothes.
- Take the tour of the galley
- Bring on own bottles of water, and soda and save $$$
- Bring a reusable cup with lid...less trips to get a drink
- Ask for your drink in a plastic cup (not the fancy one ) saves $$$
- You may be able to eat free lunch at the places they charge for dinner
- Orange juice is available at the same place all day they just remove the label
- You may get a free facial if you call the spa and ask to be a volunteer.
- Tie a bright ribbon/scarf to your luggage for easy spotting. Also can work on cabin door
- When the regular hot tub is too full, use the spa one.
- Use of the sauna/steam room is free
- Use the spa shower if multiple people need to shower at same time
- Ask for children’s dessert menu (banana splits)
- Bring Duct tape
- Bring a highlighter
- Bring post it notes
- Sit close at the port talks sometimes they toss out free stuff
- You can ask for extra pillow chocolates
- bring an extension cord/power strip
- Early and extra tips for stewards = more perks for you
- You can order free drinks from the bar in the room at Captains dinner as opposed to those on the tray.
- Bring travel hooks to hang stuff in your room
- Bring a few paper funnels to make filling the water bottle easier.
- Bring towels from home to avoid fearing losing one
- Take a hand towel with you to the beach it will help remove sand and is handy for lots of other things too
- Baby powder helps remove sand
- Use a magnet to trick the balcony door into thinking its closed to keep the air on
- Most ships have a secret door...find it
- you can also print cards to take with you on the layout of the ship...simply use a word document...format in normal 8pt bold: Times New Roman: 8pt and divide into for equal columns.
- Self disembarkation is FASTER
- It is possible to ‘smuggle’ alcohol on board
- Make sure to stock up on "snacks" before debarkation. The wait can be pretty long and everything is closed during this time. Except for the coffee shop which takes cash
- Cards become demagnetized don’t use your credit card for the room safe
- If the safe will not open call the desk they will send someone to open it
- use your telephone for leaving each other messages in the cabins
- Did you know you can call Carnival's Bon voyage department and pre-order alcohol to be delivered to your cabin? You can order bottles of hard liquor so that you can make your own drinks. You can't order online. You must call to set this up. It is a little pricey but worth it and cheaper than buying by the drink.
- Do walk the entire ship on your first day
- You can also ask your Room Steward for the book that is in your cabin
- Bring a night light/ alarm clock
- bring water shoes
- The ship uses two types of toilet paper. Both are made by the same company. The sandpaper they call "envision" you will not want to subject your bottom to for 8 days. Ask your room steward to make sure that your stateroom is stocked with the "preference" paper instead.
- Bring a sweater the dining room can be cold
Don't forget extra batteries!!
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