1. If you are talking price of excursion...then possibly. (The description will say if any alcohol is offered and how much it costs if any.) If you are talking price of the cruise...then no.
2. Carnival automatically puts the requested amount for tips on your sail and sign card when you check in. It works out to about $10 per day per person....for your room steward, your wait staff in the dining room, and an additional 75cents or something like that for those working the Lido Deck Restaurant. (You can also give additional to those you think deserve it at the end of the cruise, and sadly you can have them take the tips off your s&s card, too.)
3. Yes, there will be internet stations. I'm not sure of the cost.
4. Some of the excursions will be short and some will be long. You'll need to look at the time for each one. This serves a variety of people. There are those who don't want to be gone all day and those that do. Also the short excursions give people time to shop at the pier at their leisure.
5. You might want to check further here at C@ for information on each port and which companies are best to book by yourself. There are plenty of people who do that. Just remember to stay on ship's time and not the time of the place you are visiting. They want you back at the ship on time, otherwise you might have to find a way to get to your next port besides the ship.
Friends of ours just did this cruise in December and loved it. It is a busy cruise though, with no sea days. We did a similar cruise - one of the ports has changed - back in 04 and loved it, too! Dominica is beautiful, been there twice now. Make sure you pick up some brown sugar in Barbados!
