Goin' on a Carnival Cruise to the western Carribean

[pmoa]

I am going on a cruise in december to the carribean and was just wondering if there is anything I should know about other than the occassional pirate and/or hurricane?

*UPDATE*

After reading through some of the suggestions and researching the web. I came across several tips worth noting. This is for the cruise ship Carnival Liberty

Stats on the ship:

110,000 ton ship
can accomodate up to 3700 passengers
It sails the mediterranean as well
Largest staterooms in the industry

Research:

Using the web was extremely helpful, but everyone is different on how they plan vacations. I don't like it to be extremely quiet and I stay out all through the night. So some activity while at sea is great. Also, if you think you are going to be staying in your room (sucker) then you should get an interior room. these are much cheaper and still really nice. Pick a cruise line that you think you will cruise with again. They will provide many discounts for frequent cruisers or return cruisers.

The flight to the port of call was the expensive part. This time I allowed the cruise line to book my flight so that I won't have to get there a day early and get a hotel for the night. Next time I will plan a little further in advance. This trip is in December, but more time for plannaing would have saved me hundreds.

1. Bring cash to tip the waiters and maiter d. But use the room's safe with keycard.

2. Gorge on food because there is plenty of it.

3. If you want a lounge chair by the pool they are typically taken by 7 AM called flip floppers. Don't know why they are called that, but it is what it is.

4. The fish and chips stand on the 2nd level of the buffet is worth noting.

 

[iamwiz82]

Drink yourself silly and gorge yourself on food. Just don't fall off of the ship.

 

[Injury]

Clothing is optional on these cruises. Pack lightly as it'll be a waste to pack extra clothes when you join the party.

 

[blackdogdeek]

what is your itinerary? when i cruised the western caribbean with carnival we did:

cozumel, mexico
ocho rios, jamaica
grand cayman, cayman islands

in cozumel, we rented a jeep and drove out to a secluded bar on the beach and relaxed then later rented jet skis. that evening we went to a bar downtown called carlos and charlie's for a ridiculous drinking fest.

in grand cayman we snorkeled with and fed the sting rays

in ocho rios, we climbed dunns river falls.

have fun!

 

[underlineman]

Hurricane season ends nov. 30th but theres always a chance haha

 

[kgokal]

Dang, im going to eastern carribean on Nov 11th. Tips needed too!

 

[TXHokie]

Those midnight buffet rocks. I gained 5 lbs after the cruise

 

[Xavier434]

Make absolutely certain that all of your valuables are safely tucked away while you enter the ship, in your cabin, and while exiting. Carnival doesn't higher the best people and the staff can and will steal from you. It happened to my mother and her friends. Don't leave electronics, jewelery, or money unsecured in your cabin. You don't have to be paranoid though. Just buy some of those baggage locks and keep the key on you.

 

[MikeyLSU]

Tip #1, you will overpack if this is your first cruise.
Tip #2, get as much of whatever you want at dinner. You can get 2 steaks if your heart desires, and they will be happy to bring it to you.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: TXHokie
Those midnight buffet rocks. I gained 5 lbs after the cruise

The easy way to combat that is to take the stairs always.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

 

[Fraggable]

What are your ports of call?

I went to:

Georgetown, Grand Caymans - Very nice little port with plenty to do, most buildings are brand new due to hurricane Ivan that wiped out 90% of the structures there 5 years ago. I did a shore excursion where we rode jetskis along 7 Mile Beach, then snorkeled around for an hour, then played around farther out in the ocean, then returned to the dock. It was a blast, riding the waves on those jetskis is a lot of fun.

Costa Maya, Mexico - I took a ATV tour booked through the cruise line. They shuttled us 45 mins into the mainland to a little village. THe ride itself was really cool, we got to see the way those people really live - poured concrete huts with palm leaf roofs. They gave us a little training and helmets and put us on a nearly brand new ATV. There was a guided tour, about 2.5 hours into the jungle during which we made 2 stops to get off and take a short trail into the jungle and the guide pointed out Mayan ruins, pepper trees, cacti, etc. Overall very cool and ATVs are always fun. Plenty of shopping right at the port and in nice facilities, don't forget that they expect you to haggle prices down to at least 50% of the original price.

Cozumel, Mexico - Rented motor scooters and drove 15 miles up the coast. When we stopped for lunch my friend managed to rip his big toenail completely off and required immediate medical attention to avoid bleeding to death and passing out from pain, so I didn't actually get to see a lot of this port. Forgetting the bad experience, this was my least favorite port. There are salespeople trying desperately to sell you scuba tours, scooters, you name it. They are extremely obnoxious and don't give up until you give them a kick somewhere sensitive. My advice is to get off the ferry and walk straight ahead until you hit the main plaza right begind the strip mall at the dock (grabbing a map of the island along the way), then stop and figure out what you want to do.

 

[blackdogdeek]

iirc, carnival usually has a 24-hour pizza bar and 24-hour room service for those late night after partying munchies.

at some point you will need cash to tip the following people:

your waiter (you have the same guy for all the 7 days in the dining room)
the maitre'd
your room attendant
the head room attendant guy ( i think, i can't remember for sure)
and possibly other that i don't recall

you will be provided with guidelines on what is expected. if this is your first cruise you will probably be surprised at what they recommend.

food and drink are free on the boat except for alcohol and possibly one or two nice restaurants.

 

[RossMAN]

tagged

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

If you have any interest in history check out the Chacchoben mayan ruins when in Costa Maya. I forget the name of our tour company, but the guy who led it grew up on the ruins as his grandfather owned the land, so he has a really intimate knowledge of the area.

Plus they are pretty cool lookin'

I found the tour company: http://www.chacchobenruins.com/wst_page10.html

David was our guide and was very well educated and very intelligent.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

Dude that's almost exactly what I did, except it was 7 days and we hit Georgetown first. New Orleans port is a pain.

I went with Royal Carinbbean on the Grandeur of the Seas, and I never once felt insecure about things being stolen. Of course I kept my money and valuables in the safe in the room, but my macbook didn't fit, so I kept it in a drawer next to my bed. I still have it. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, I'd definitely go with RCI again. AAA wouldn't even book me with Carnival due to the number of complaints they have with them.

1 more thing, if you haven't booked already, look at www.cruisecompete.com. It's a cool site where travel agents compete for your business, and you're pretty much guaranteed at least a $100 onboard credit per room + better rates than travelocity or priceline will give.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Fraggable

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

Dude that's almost exactly what I did, except it was 7 days and we hit Georgetown first. New Orleans port is a pain.

After Katrina, the Port of New Orleans posted a website with every car left in their parking garage along with the damage. The website also said "If your car is not listed here it has been stolen". Keep in mind that it's a parking garage, so there was no water damage to any of the cars listed, they were just all broken into :shocked:

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Fraggable

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

Dude that's almost exactly what I did, except it was 7 days and we hit Georgetown first. New Orleans port is a pain.

After Katrina, the Port of New Orleans posted a website with every car left in their parking garage along with the damage. The website also said "If your car is not listed here it has been stolen". Keep in mind that it's a parking garage, so there was no water damage to any of the cars listed, they were just all broken into :shocked:

Yikes.

I was there in April and the garage looked in good shape. It appeared well guarded and it should have been for the $95/week they charged. My car wasn't touched for the 7 days it was there.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
After Katrina, the Port of New Orleans posted a website with every car left in their parking garage along with the damage. The website also said "If your car is not listed here it has been stolen". Keep in mind that it's a parking garage, so there was no water damage to any of the cars listed, they were just all broken into :shocked:

I'm not surprised. I've visited New Orleans before Katrina several times. There are a TON of shady people there. There is a huge ghetto just outside of the prime tourist area. My buddies car go broken into when we visited once. We parked it in some place where the parking was free. It wasn't in the ghetto, but it wasn't far either. Still, it seemed safe. We spoke to a cop after it was broken into and he didn't do crap except tell us that we were dumb for parking there even though we were just tourists. Just goes to show how common it is and obviously the city doesn't care enough to do anything about it.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Fraggable

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Fraggable

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
I am going on a 5-day cruise to the Western Caribbean in 1 week. From New Orleans to Costa Maya, then to Cozumel, then back to New Orleans. My sister talked me into it.

I'm still hoping to sneak on booze but I don't know if I will try. I doubt I will need alcohol to have fun.

Dude that's almost exactly what I did, except it was 7 days and we hit Georgetown first. New Orleans port is a pain.

After Katrina, the Port of New Orleans posted a website with every car left in their parking garage along with the damage. The website also said "If your car is not listed here it has been stolen". Keep in mind that it's a parking garage, so there was no water damage to any of the cars listed, they were just all broken into :shocked:

Yikes.

I was there in April and the garage looked in good shape. It appeared well guarded and it should have been for the $95/week they charged. My car wasn't touched for the 7 days it was there.

Here is the web archive of it.

One garage's list

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Well I don't plan to be eating a lot of bad food. They supposedly have a nice little gym. I plan to run on the treadmills every morning if at all possible and not gain a lb if I can help it.
I'm looking forward to drunken karaoke the most.
All the "clubs" on the boat are teen clubs. 15-18. I'll probably spend most of the day on the mainland snorkeling, and collecting shells.
I don't know if I am allowed to bring them aboard but I hope so.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem

I don't know if I am allowed to bring them aboard but I hope so.

No you're not, but I did it and didn't have a problem. Well I had a problem, they stank really bad even after being washed twice. Make sure they're in some kind of bag that has ventilation or they will stagnate really bad.

 

[OutHouse]

I really want to go on a crusie but im not sure about getting sea sick. I am prone to motion sickness and being green all of the trip would suck.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Citrix
I really want to go on a crusie but im not sure about getting sea sick. I am prone to motion sickness and being green all of the trip would suck.

Bottom line: don't worry about it. There are 10 different ways to avoid it. Dramamine, Bonine (better, not-drowsy) or you can talk to your doctor and get these patches that go behind your ear, from what I've heard they work for everyone.

Get at least a outside room w/window, or a balcony room if you can afford it. Being inside while rocking around is enough to make someone who's not prone to it to feel funny. I've never had motion sickness and enjoyed it, but you may not

 

[pmoa]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
what is your itinerary? when i cruised the western caribbean with carnival we did:

cozumel, mexico
ocho rios, jamaica
grand cayman, cayman islands

in cozumel, we rented a jeep and drove out to a secluded bar on the beach and relaxed then later rented jet skis. that evening we went to a bar downtown called carlos and charlie's for a ridiculous drinking fest.

in grand cayman we snorkeled with and fed the sting rays

in ocho rios, we climbed dunns river falls.

have fun!

key west, ocho rios, grand cayman islands