Travel ’n With Linda News Tips
1st Time Cruisers
If you are first time cruisers I wanted to give you to you some Cruise and travel tips that I know will be very helpful to you. But don’t worry, 1st Time Cruising is one of my specialties! I am here for you 24/7 to walk you through every step from start to finish!
If you purchased Travel Protection, be sure to take your Travel Insurance plan and their phone number. The policy will be sent to you from me with a link to the information. If you don’t purchase Travel Insurance I must have a signed waiver on file from you.
As you can see in the picture, I am a “Take EVERYTHING I GOT” or “Try To” kind of person! My husband, as you can guess just loves this!
So before you go, when packing I make a list of EVERYTHING that goes into those Suitcases. A spreadsheet with Number of Items, Description, Label/Brand and Price that it cost. You ask WHY go to all that trouble, BECAUSE, if your luggage is somehow lost, you will need that info to turn into the Travel Protection Insurance you purchased. I ALSO hang things up on the doors or spread them out on the bed for a bunch of photos in my cell phone, that way there’s no question what you took and you will have it with you if it turns up missing.
Another tip I do is mark Luggage with Colored tape. 3M tape sticks best and that way you know that black bag, with the Red, and Yellow tape is MINE Or Yours! And I always try to sit on the Right side of the plane, as I can usually see the luggage being loaded on to the plane and can spot my luggage being loaded which is usually a big relief to know it made it on board!
ALSO l buy the colored Luggage belts HOT PINK and wrap them around the luggage. You never know when the zipper might break and I take extras with me.
A couple of IMPORTANT things you may not know about the leaving the ship:
The night before the ship returns to the port several important things will happen that you need to be prepared for:
All Luggage is placed outside the cabin to be picked up by Midnight for removal the next day to port.
UNLESS you plan to and can carry it off the ship yourself. So be prepared to return to your cabin EARLY that night before and prepare all Luggage to be placed outside your cabin by Midnight! I know…I hate it too! But that’s what has to be done to get all that luggage off the ship by a certain time.
ALSO for my piece of mind because of the above, I go buy the Luggage LOCKS. They MUST SAY “TSA APPROVED”, because TSA has a key to open them otherwise if the scanners find something TSA will have to call you back to open the luggage. When you see all the luggage at the dock all lined up you will be thankful you did this! Find your luggage and be ready to pull through Customs! Be prepared for lines and lots of people!
If you chose not to carry off your luggage and let them take off the ship, be sure to plan to keep a carry on bag to pack the items you will need the next morning.
Also you will have the option to pick your time you want to get off the ship. There are specific times you request, and most ships will put out color coded tickets with the times near the Customer Service Desk the night before arrival back to port. If you need to get off early be sure to start asking the Customer Service desk when you can pick up the time to leave the ship. AND GET THEM EARLY or you can lose your time frame you want to leave, which could cause you to miss your flight home.
And finally I wanted to mention most ships will have an App for your phone. You can do a “Chat” feature which is like email through the app. There is (last time I did it on Carnival) a $5 charge for the entire voyage to get the “Chat” feature through the App. Let your friends and family know if you plan to get the Chat Feature so they can get it too so all can communicate while on the ship
For those of want to connect on-line here is info from Carnival on the costs which may not be the same on others ships, but it will give you an idea of what to expect:
Carnival's Wi-Fi Service
To keep you connected while at sea, every one of our ships provides satellite Internet access facilitated through the HUB Internet Café and through the bow-to-stern ship-wide Wi-Fi network.
New Upgraded Plans
We have upgraded our communications technology to the latest, state of the art systems and guests now have access to much faster speeds at an affordable price! Want to share that awesome photo? Need to Skype home? Our ships now feature our awesome new internet plans. No other cruise line offers these speeds at these great prices!
We offer three different types of plans that can be purchased for either a 24 hour period or for the entire length of the cruise at a discount - price for voyage plans vary by length of cruise:
Social ($5 USD per day) – Access the most popular websites and applications. Includes: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Does not include access to other websites or apps.
Value ($16 USD per day) – Surf all your favorite sites, including e-mail, news, sports, weather, banking and finance. Note: Does not support Skype calling or music streaming (such as Spotify).
Premium ($25 USD per day) – From e-mail to Skype, our Premium plan promises the fastest possible connection, at speeds up to 3 times faster than our Value Plan. Supports Skype video calling, where coverage allows.
Users may easily upgrade from one plan to another. Users may use one device at a time on each plan, including either their personal devices or one of our on-board computers. All plans exclude video streaming (such as Netflix or Hulu) and Snapchat. Cellular-network-dependent WiFi Calling and Facetime services are also not supported at this time. Printing is offered at no charge.
To access Wi-Fi, simply turn on your device's Wi-Fi feature and you will receive the information needed. You can do this anywhere onboard the ship.
Restrictions:
Please note that most ship services are carried via satellite; there are a few limitations compared to your home network.
Satellite internet speed may vary depending on location and time of day
Video streaming sites such as Hulu and Netflix are blocked
Access to certain sites such as mature or violent content is blocked
VPN connections are not supported - discuss your VPN limitations with your company’s IT department if you are planning to work while sailing. Ships are not able to change your settings onboard.
Tips to improve the experience:
Once you board, turn Airplane Mode ‘On’ and connect to the ship Wi-Fi. By using Airplane Mode, you avoid roaming fees charged by your carrier. Airplane Mode is typically found in your phone’s Settings.
To benefit from faster speeds, turn off background app data services and updates
Discuss VPN limitations with your company’s IT department if you are planning to work while sailing. We are not able to change your settings onboard.
Get the most from your cruise Internet time and your trip — make sure you are powered up and prepared before you board the ship with this handy pre-cruise checklist.
Here are a few things you want to remember to pack for your cruise:
Wi-Fi enabled laptop and mobile devices
Power supply for each of the devices you are bringing with you
Data cables to transfer pictures
Headphones
Public computers onboard:
All of our ships feature areas with publicly accessible computers, which are open twenty four hours a day. You may use your existing internet plan with them, if you have one. These are Microsoft Windows based PCs with standard internet browsers. They do not offer MS Office or other specific software. You may not install your own software on them. Printing is offered at no charge.
FINALLY:
A list from taken from Carnival Cruise Lines website that is similar on most ships:
If you purchased Travel Protection, be sure to take your Travel Insurance plan and their phone number. The policy will be sent to you from me with a link to the information. If you don’t purchase Travel Insurance I must have a signed waiver on file from you.
As you can see in the picture, I am a “Take EVERYTHING I GOT” or “Try To” kind of person! My husband, as you can guess just loves this!
So before you go, when packing I make a list of EVERYTHING that goes into those Suitcases. A spreadsheet with Number of Items, Description, Label/Brand and Price that it cost. You ask WHY go to all that trouble, BECAUSE, if your luggage is somehow lost, you will need that info to turn into the Travel Protection Insurance you purchased. I ALSO hang things up on the doors or spread them out on the bed for a bunch of photos in my cell phone, that way there’s no question what you took and you will have it with you if it turns up missing.
Another tip I do is mark Luggage with Colored tape. 3M tape sticks best and that way you know that black bag, with the Red, and Yellow tape is MINE Or Yours! And I always try to sit on the Right side of the plane, as I can usually see the luggage being loaded on to the plane and can spot my luggage being loaded which is usually a big relief to know it made it on board!
ALSO l buy the colored Luggage belts HOT PINK and wrap them around the luggage. You never know when the zipper might break and I take extras with me.
A couple of IMPORTANT things you may not know about the leaving the ship:
The night before the ship returns to the port several important things will happen that you need to be prepared for:
All Luggage is placed outside the cabin to be picked up by Midnight for removal the next day to port.
UNLESS you plan to and can carry it off the ship yourself. So be prepared to return to your cabin EARLY that night before and prepare all Luggage to be placed outside your cabin by Midnight! I know…I hate it too! But that’s what has to be done to get all that luggage off the ship by a certain time.
ALSO for my piece of mind because of the above, I go buy the Luggage LOCKS. They MUST SAY “TSA APPROVED”, because TSA has a key to open them otherwise if the scanners find something TSA will have to call you back to open the luggage. When you see all the luggage at the dock all lined up you will be thankful you did this! Find your luggage and be ready to pull through Customs! Be prepared for lines and lots of people!
If you chose not to carry off your luggage and let them take off the ship, be sure to plan to keep a carry on bag to pack the items you will need the next morning.
Also you will have the option to pick your time you want to get off the ship. There are specific times you request, and most ships will put out color coded tickets with the times near the Customer Service Desk the night before arrival back to port. If you need to get off early be sure to start asking the Customer Service desk when you can pick up the time to leave the ship. AND GET THEM EARLY or you can lose your time frame you want to leave, which could cause you to miss your flight home.
And finally I wanted to mention most ships will have an App for your phone. You can do a “Chat” feature which is like email through the app. There is (last time I did it on Carnival) a $5 charge for the entire voyage to get the “Chat” feature through the App. Let your friends and family know if you plan to get the Chat Feature so they can get it too so all can communicate while on the ship
For those of want to connect on-line here is info from Carnival on the costs which may not be the same on others ships, but it will give you an idea of what to expect:
Carnival's Wi-Fi Service
To keep you connected while at sea, every one of our ships provides satellite Internet access facilitated through the HUB Internet Café and through the bow-to-stern ship-wide Wi-Fi network.
New Upgraded Plans
We have upgraded our communications technology to the latest, state of the art systems and guests now have access to much faster speeds at an affordable price! Want to share that awesome photo? Need to Skype home? Our ships now feature our awesome new internet plans. No other cruise line offers these speeds at these great prices!
We offer three different types of plans that can be purchased for either a 24 hour period or for the entire length of the cruise at a discount - price for voyage plans vary by length of cruise:
Social ($5 USD per day) – Access the most popular websites and applications. Includes: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Does not include access to other websites or apps.
Value ($16 USD per day) – Surf all your favorite sites, including e-mail, news, sports, weather, banking and finance. Note: Does not support Skype calling or music streaming (such as Spotify).
Premium ($25 USD per day) – From e-mail to Skype, our Premium plan promises the fastest possible connection, at speeds up to 3 times faster than our Value Plan. Supports Skype video calling, where coverage allows.
Users may easily upgrade from one plan to another. Users may use one device at a time on each plan, including either their personal devices or one of our on-board computers. All plans exclude video streaming (such as Netflix or Hulu) and Snapchat. Cellular-network-dependent WiFi Calling and Facetime services are also not supported at this time. Printing is offered at no charge.
To access Wi-Fi, simply turn on your device's Wi-Fi feature and you will receive the information needed. You can do this anywhere onboard the ship.
Restrictions:
Please note that most ship services are carried via satellite; there are a few limitations compared to your home network.
Satellite internet speed may vary depending on location and time of day
Video streaming sites such as Hulu and Netflix are blocked
Access to certain sites such as mature or violent content is blocked
VPN connections are not supported - discuss your VPN limitations with your company’s IT department if you are planning to work while sailing. Ships are not able to change your settings onboard.
Tips to improve the experience:
Once you board, turn Airplane Mode ‘On’ and connect to the ship Wi-Fi. By using Airplane Mode, you avoid roaming fees charged by your carrier. Airplane Mode is typically found in your phone’s Settings.
To benefit from faster speeds, turn off background app data services and updates
Discuss VPN limitations with your company’s IT department if you are planning to work while sailing. We are not able to change your settings onboard.
Get the most from your cruise Internet time and your trip — make sure you are powered up and prepared before you board the ship with this handy pre-cruise checklist.
Here are a few things you want to remember to pack for your cruise:
Wi-Fi enabled laptop and mobile devices
Power supply for each of the devices you are bringing with you
Data cables to transfer pictures
Headphones
Public computers onboard:
All of our ships feature areas with publicly accessible computers, which are open twenty four hours a day. You may use your existing internet plan with them, if you have one. These are Microsoft Windows based PCs with standard internet browsers. They do not offer MS Office or other specific software. You may not install your own software on them. Printing is offered at no charge.
FINALLY:
A list from taken from Carnival Cruise Lines website that is similar on most ships:
Carnival Cruise Line Additional Prohibited Items,
Exemptions and Other Considerations
In order to maintain a safe and secure environment, Carnival Cruise Line additionally prohibits the following items from being brought onboard.
Additionally, they reserve the right to confiscate or dispose of any articles that is their discretion are considered dangerous or pose a risk or inconvenience to the safety and security of the ship, or guests, and no compensation will be provided. In addition, please review Carnival Corporation Prohibited Items.
Additional Prohibited Items:
Clothing irons and steamers (All Carnival ships offer laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards. Fleet-wide valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.) Electrical and household appliances, such as a coffee maker, hot plate, toaster, humidifier, etc. (see Exemptions below):
Exemptions:
Heating Pads
Hookahs
Alcohol (hard liquor) and Beer
Wine or champagne (sealed, unopened bottles brought on at embarkation) beyond the allowable limit of one 750 ml bottle per adult (21 years of age or older)
Non-alcoholic beverages in containers other than a can or carton; excessive quantities per person (over 12 cans/cartons per person); excessive size per can/carton (over 12 ounces each)
THIS MEANS NO WATER IN BOTTLE PACKAGES (On Carnival, this may be different on other Ships, be sure to check)
Large coolers
Handcuffs
Candles and Incense
Knives with blades longer than four (4) inches (Recreational dive knives are allowed but must be held in the custody of the Guest Services Manager or Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for dive excursions during the cruise.)
Scissors with blades longer than four (4) inches (Large scissors of the type used by scrapbook and quilting enthusiasts are at times permitted with prior notification from the Security Services Department, but are held onboard in the same manner as dive knives.)
Bicycles (this includes travel bicycles that can be folded up)
Surfboards, boats and canoes
Scooters (only permitted if used for mobility – must be stored in guest’s stateroom)
Inflatable Kiddie Pool
Any footwear with wheels, such as, Heely’s type shoes
Kava
Fish of any kind; if fish are caught during an excursion, they must be shipped home.
Exemptions
Personal grooming devices such as hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons and shavers are allowed on board when used with proper caution. However, if such devices are determined to pose a hazard, they will be removed and returned the last day of the cruise prior to debark.
Electronics such as laptops, cameras, cellular phones, etc. are allowed on board when used with proper caution. Please review: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone - Precautions.
Electrical devices such as fans, power strips, multi plug box outlets/adaptors, and extension cords (without surge protectors) are allowed on board when used with proper caution. However, if such devices are determined to pose a hazard, they will be removed and returned the last day of the cruise prior to debark.
Medical gas bottles/oxygen cylinders are allowed in connection with a certified medical condition but cannot be packed in baggage. Oxygen cylinders must be delivered to Guest Services and stored in a designated safe area.
If you use a CPAP machine, please note you will need to pack your machine with your carry-on luggage. Should you wish to bring your own distilled water with you to use with your CPAP machine, it must be hand carried along with your CPAP machine. For your convenience, distilled water is sold on board for $3.00 USD per gallon by contacting Room Service.
Coolers: Small, personal-sized coolers no larger than 12” x 12” x 12” for the purpose of housing small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages and/or medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.
Live Animals: Only qualified service animals once approved by Guest Access Services at time of booking.
Flowers and Plants: Only permitted on board if ordered through Carnival’s Fun Shops or delivered by a florist in the port of embarkation but are not permitted to be taken off the ship in the United States, per the U.S Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Agricultural Division.
Musical Instruments: We will allow musical instruments on board, however, if a noise complaint is received, the instrument will be confiscated by shipboard security and returned to the guest on the last day of the cruise prior to debark.
Radios/Boom Boxes: For the comfort of all our guests, radios and boom boxes can be used with headphones or earpieces when used in public areas.
Ham Radios/Amateur Radio Equipment: Permitted to be used on board.
Google Glasses are permitted on board in public areas but cannot be worn at any gangway operation
Floatation Devices: For the comfort of all our guests, rafts, tubes and floatation devices other than those used as life preservers (water wings) cannot be used in the swimming pools on board.
Wrapped Gifts: Guests may bring wrapped gifts on board; however, due to heightened security, the gift may have to be unwrapped, upon request.
Digital Cameras/Camcorders, DVDs/VCRs, USB sticks, iPods, Nintendo/X-Box Play Units cannot be used with the TV in the guest's stateroom or suite as the connection ports are disabled.
Food Items must be pre-packaged and unopened; homemade items or pre-cooked foods will not be permitted onboard. Limitations on permitted food items are directly related to concerns for food safety and contamination prevention. We are unable to provide food preparation, refrigeration or storage for personal food or beverage items.
Seashells may be brought onboard from the ports visited if they appear to be clean and sanitized and do not have the odor of a living organism.
Sunny Regards!
Linda Douglas
Your Romance Destination
& Dream Vacations Specialist
816-702-0018
