Newbie with questions

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kataryan

Guest
We are planning a 4 day cruise with Carnival on the Paradise and I was wondering about the price of dining. Is all dining included with the price of the cruise? How much extra cash should we have on hand? I'm sure that this has all been covered before, I just want everything to be perfect.
 
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joeycox

Guest
All the dining you can stand will be included. Some ships do offer reservation only dining in seperate dining rooms and that is usually extra. I never do this as the regular dining is wonderful and there is food available 24 hours a day all included in your fare. When you ask how much money to carry.... well that depends on how much you plan to do. I would go to Carnival.com and view the excursions.
My wife and I usually spend more than our initial cruise so keep that in mind. Also alcholic drinks are NOT included in your fare and neither are sodas, although you can buy a soda card that will allow you unlimited sodas. Price of this card varies on the length of the cruise. Usually between$20 and $40.
Hope this helps
 
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serene56

Guest
Paradie ha no extra price dining except the cafe bar to order pastries and coffee. All the food on this ship is now free except there. Pizza- buger place- deli - room service dining rooms buffet area-- all for free

When ordering room service please tip the server a buck or two in cash--coz you might not see the person again.
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Tips wil be taken out the first day-- 4 day cruise will be 40 .-- each person for tips for the cabin steward who will make up your cabin twice a day-- your dining room team of waiter and asst waiter.

You will need cash for the casino.

Photos onbaord are 7.95 embarkation photo and 19.95 for formal photos. there is no obligationa t all for buying photos nor is there someone pushing you to buy--youpick the photos you want at your liesure.


You can also carry on a 12 pack of soda each to get away with buying a can of soda for 1.50 plus 15% gratuity. Free drinsk onboard--coffee, tea, hot tea, icetea lemonade, fruti punch and at breakfast is orange juice, apple juice. Tomato juice from room service.
 
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Richsap

Guest
To be on the safe side, plan on a minimum of $100 per person per day. This would buy you several drinks, a photo (or two), one of the less expensive excursions and gratuity coverage. On a four day cruise for two, about $800 would be a comfortable number.

I'm going on a 7 day cruise on the Conquest on October 9th, and including shipboard credit I'll be packing about $1,400 for the two of us. After tips, that leaves us a little over a $1,200 for 7 days, with a credit card watching our back. NO gambling, only a few photos and no more than 3 excursions (one per stop).

It is possible to make it on $30 per person per day, which leaves you with $20 to spend after tip, but that's pretty much 'bread and water'. As others have said, pack a six pack of soda each, a bottle of wine or hard stuff to mix along the way and wait until the end of the cruise to pick one or maybe two of your favorite photos.
 
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kataryan

Guest
We are bringing our 17 year old daughter so I'm sure we will be buying all the extras. Just the ' bread and water' will never do. Why does everyone say to bring our own water. How much does a bottle of water run on a ship?
 
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lizardstew

Guest
Bottled water is pretty expensive onboard....like $3.95 for a 20oz bottle. But....you can also get it in port and bring it on if you like. Also, the water onboard the ship is totally drinkable if you aren't terribly picky. I'd never dring the tap water at home, but I'm fine with the water on the ship.
 
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kataryan

Guest
What about airfare, is it cheaper and easier to purchase airfare through the cruise line or by itself.
 
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lizardstew

Guest
It's almost always to purchase it by yourself. I've never done it through the cruise line because when I've asked for quotes, they've been outrageous. If you do it on your own, you do not have any protection from the cruiseline if the flight is cancelled or if the plane or ship is late, but from what I've read, the cruiselines do very little to assist in these areas anyway. :)
 
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serene56

Guest
Is this the 17 year olds first cruise???

Please lether know that it costs anywhere from 6.99 to 9.99 a minute to use the cabins phone and phone cards do not work...lol

Read too many horror stories of a teen calling a loved one back home not realizing how much it costs..
 
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kataryan

Guest
Good to know. We also let her know that her cell phone will not work. Do they have an internet cafe or something that she can use to stay in touch with her friends? I may just tell her that the cabin phones only work to call inside the ship. HA HA HA.
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
kataryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good to know. We also let her know that her cell
> phone will not work. Do they have an internet
> cafe or something that she can use to stay in
> touch with her friends? I may just tell her that
> the cabin phones only work to call inside the
> ship. HA HA HA.


Don't do that, at 17 she is likely to try it herself anyway. As for the Internet ...

The Blue Riband Library houses books and ocean liner artifacts in gleaming brass-fitted cases. Bring your laptop to use the wireless Internet access (for a fee).
 
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kataryan

Guest
You are probably right, she always has to try it for herself. Thanks for the info on the library. I have been looking around on the carnival website and was wondering what a duty free shop is. Can anyone answer this for me?
 
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Cruizer

Guest
I believe it means you do not have to pay a tax on it when you bring it back into the USA.
 
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izzybugs

Guest
Hi..I'm a newbie myself. My husband and I are booked on the Conquest for the 9th of October out of Galveston. I was wondering about how complicated/expensive it is to connect to the internet on board? Also, do they have computers with email access? We'd like to touch base with our 2 grown sons at least once or twice during the 7 day cruise. They are babysitting their 15 year old brother. They all have email accounts through their colleges & check those daily. Any info. is greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Cindy
 
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Cruizer

Guest
I do not recall the price. Internet access is through either the computers on board (ask Carnival for an e-mail account) and you pay by the minute (or you can buy a block of time) or via your own computer (again, you pay by the minute or by a block of time).
 
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de912

Guest
Internet was quite expensive. You can choose 30 minutes for something like $24 or pay by the minute...believe me (as I tried it and paid by the minute)--the $24 is the bargain. The connection was EXTREMELY slow...don't expect too much for your money in this instance!!!
 
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BlueChef

Guest
Kat - Most of your questions have been answered. I'll add a little more. The water on the ship is very drinkable - actually better than some bottled water I've tried. There will be a liter-sized bottle in the cabin, for which you'll be charged $3.75 on your S&S account. Also - remind your daughter that the Cokes/Sprites in the cabin are NOT complimentary - $2.50 each. And yes, your best bet would be to take your own soft drinks - Carnival allows a 'reasonable amount' to be brought on board at embarkation.
Also a coupla bottles of wine. Hard liquor and beer are not allowed, and will be confiscated if found.

There are a lot of beverage choices at no charge. On Lido Deck, there are self-serve machines with various juices, lemonade, and fruitpunch, coffee, decaf, iced or hot tea - all day. At breakfast, also hot chocolate, chocolate milk, and regular milk. From room service (no charge for any food or beverages except for alcoholic beverages), there's also a good variety. As Serene said, tip the delivery person $1 or $2 each time.

Your first cruise - SUCH fun! I bet it won't be your last!

**Edited to add:
Duty-free means NO tax.
Basically everything on the ship will be charged to your Sail & Sign account. Very little cash is needed on the ship. Anything you purchase (souveniers, photos, alcoholic or soft drinks) will be charged to your account. The first thing you'll notice on your account is the $10 per person, per day automatic gratiutities....this covers:
$3.50 per person per day to your cabin steward
$5.50 per person per day to your dining room waiter & assistant
$1.00 per person per day to the Lido Deck dining personnel

***Edited again (sorry) to say:
If you go to the art auctions, you'll receive complimentary champagne. And don't miss the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party, which everyone is invited to. LOTS of comp drinks of every kind and hot and cold hors d'oeuvres!
 
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kataryan

Guest
That is great!! Thanks for the info, I see on your post you have been on 18 cruises! That is amazing. During our cruise we have 25 family members meeting us for a small reunion, I hope it will not be the last. That all depends on how much weight I gain on board. It seems like there is just about anything you could ever want on the ship and I don't know how much willpower I have. The dinners sound like so much fun. I am getting more excited everyday!!! I had better calm down because we have a long time to wait. Next I want to go on an Alaskan cruise and go whale watching. I haven't even went yet and I think I am addicted!! HAHA
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
Kataryan -

You want to lose weight while on the cruise. No problem. Just drink the water in Ensenada ... :puke
 
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