Questions to help a 1st time cruiser

[KKP2002]

My husband and I are going to the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Celebration out of Galveston in Sept to celebrate his birthday.

I have three questions......

1) How serious is the dress code for dinner? We're fairly casual people and I don't really want to buy clothes that will only be worn on this trip but I don't want to miss my husband's birthday bash or the Captain's Gala.

2) I've read that we need a passport but we were told by the travel agent that wasn't necessary - just birth certificate and photo ID. What is the rule now?

3) At what point will we find out our cabin assignment? I want to order a Birthday "cabin surprise" for my sweetie!

Any other info you think might be helpful (the reviews are great!) for a very naive first time cruiser would be appreciated also

[KKP2002]

My husband and I are going to the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Celebration out of Galveston in Sept to celebrate his birthday.

I have three questions......

1) How serious is the dress code for dinner? We're fairly casual people and I don't really want to buy clothes that will only be worn on this trip but I don't want to miss my husband's birthday bash or the Captain's Gala.

2) I've read that we need a passport but we were told by the travel agent that wasn't necessary - just birth certificate and photo ID. What is the rule now?

3) At what point will we find out our cabin assignment? I want to order a Birthday "cabin surprise" for my sweetie!

Any other info you think might be helpful (the reviews are great!) for a very naive first time cruiser would be appreciated also

[PEB]

To answer your first question. The dining room is not as strict as some portray it. On Casual nights nice pants and a nice shirt for men and women is all that is required. You will see some with jeans and t-shirts but they will be the minority. No shorts or swim suits for evening dinner. Formal night a suit for men and nice dress for women will be accepted or a sport coat and tie for men. There always will be somebody who will be upset if you are not in a tux or evening gown but nothing will be said.

A passport works best but a certified birth certificate with a raised seal is acceptable with some form of picture id. The passport always does work best however.

Your cabin assignment may not come until the last minute or when you get your docs. As long as you have your booking number you can still order a surprise for your cabin at anytime and the cruise line will have it in your cabin when you request. They will know the proper room number. Your TA should be able to help you with this if you have questions. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[peachcrek]

We were on celebration < I wore a nice pants suit I did not have formal wear to bring with us we did bring dressy dresses but it was to hot to wear. The men wore dinner jackets and a tie, the whole trip was rather casual, Dressing up is really mainly for photos, At dinner we didn't go to extreme with dressing up they do have a formal night where 80 percent were dressed to the nines, but no one really cared one way or another. have a great time and if you see an officer by the name of carmelo tell him sherry and mommy said hello he is on the celebration, and was a great friend we made while on board

[Maureen]

Identification:
GET a passport NOW! If you like to travel, get a passport, it will make your life so much easier. And I have it on 'semi-good' authority [gulp] that all travel will require a passport, in the very near future. So, you don't want to be caught on one of those LONG gov't lines....
My advice- get the passport!

Dress Code:
Most cruises aren't as 'formal' as they were in the "olden days". Jacket and tie for the gentleman and a nice pants outfit or dress for the ladies.... and you will do fine. But, yes, some folks have been shopping for months and will dress to the nines! Just people watch!

And.... get that passport!
Maureen

[KKP2002]

Thanks! You've relieved some stress about the dress code. Vacation time isn't formal - or so I've always thought.

Also, doesn't hurt to have that passport!

I really appreciate your answers/comments.

[Happy Cruiser]

In reply to the "new" required documentation for Carnival, they have the info posted on their website, but here it is in short:
- a passport, valid or expired for less than 10 years prior
- original birth certificate
- state issued copy of birth certificate
- US military ID
- original naturalization papers

In addition, anyone 16 years and over has to provide a Photo ID in addition to the above. There is also a link on their site about birth certificates.

In reply to the dress code, we have been on 2 Carnival cruises (Sensation, Destiny) and we have noticed that for the Captain's dinner, people usually dress up more than the 2nd formal night. On the Destiny, it seemed that the whole ship was dressed better than other cruises we have been on. On formal nights, Carnival was strictly enforcing the jacket & tie for men. It seemed that as long as women were dressed nicely, there wasn't a problem. Pants suit, or skirt and blouse or formal gown -- anything goes (just don't wear jeans and a t-shirt).

For casual nights, Carnival isn't that worried about how you dress. Our teenage son was with us on one cruise and he wore a t-shirt with a Hawaiian shirt over top and khaki cargo-style pants. The Hawaiian shirt was worn on quite a few nights and nothing was ever said as to how he was dressed. For formal night, however, he wore a dark suit and tie. A blazer and tie would work, too.

I know with my first cruise I was so worried about how to dress in the evening until I saw a friend's cruise photos. For formal night, she wore a 2-piece black pants suit with a white blouse and her husband wore a jacket, dress pants and tie. After that, I never worried again.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!