another question about past guest party

[shanenstac]

hi. i will be on the glory on 5/14. can someone please tell me when and where the past guest party is? is it correct that you can take a guest? for instance, my husband and i are past guests of carnival but this is my parents first cruise. could my husband take my mom and i take my dad as our guests? one more thing, what all does this party entail and how long does it last? what is the dress? thanks in advance for any info! ONLY 17 DAYS TO GO!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CruisegirlKim]

I am a 8 time past cruiser and I haven't gone to any of them before..... but I think this time I will go to find out too! I heard free drinks so WHY NOT!

[Dorothy]

I do not believe you can take a guest, but perhaps someone else has another experience. My dh, who was NOT a repeat cruiser, didn't want to go anyway, so my son and I (repeat cruisers) went without him. I honestly can't remember which night, we just received our invitations in our stateroom one night along with our pins.

dorothy

[astros fan]

What is the dress like???

[kimmiegirl]

Dear Shanenstec,

To be honest, if our experience of our past guest party on the Victory last Nov/Dec was anything to go by, I wouldn't waste your time. This was the third Carnival cruise and hence our second past guest cruise party, but this one ws mediocre.

Yes, you are supposed to served free drinks but they are like searching for a needle in a haystack. Our party of 6, all past cruisers, NEVER got offered one drink and we had to go to the bar to order if we needed one. The same with the hor d'ouvres, just walked straight past you.

I think they have become expected by many past cruisers and therefore, seem to have lost their sparkle. I do remember the one on the Inspiration back in 1998 as being very welcoming and enjoyable but this last one was abysmal by comparison.

Also, I think it is also a great chance for the CD to sell, sell, sell again and tell you how lucky you are to be on holiday. there are a few prizes given out etc but don't go expecting a great deal, just a drink and if you are lucky and in sight of one of the few waiters or waitresses there that evening, a small snack before dinner.

I also noticed that some people dressed up but others who many now know the score didn't bother for this.

Hope this helps and that you are lucky to have a good pst cruise guest party on your particular ship.

REgards,
KG

The past guest party is usually held in one of the lounges, even the large show lounge if there are a lot of past guests traveling on that particular cruise....it usually lasts 45 minutes....you have to be quick to attract the eyes of the waiters/waitresses walking around with the free cocktails....they seem to go to the same group again and again....there are also people walking around with hot hors d'oeuvres who you have to flag down also....usually if you are a past guest and someone is sharing your room that is not a past guest, the invitation will be for both guests. If your parents are in another room, they will not receive an invitation and yours will be for two guests only.

[shanenstac]

thanks for all the info guys! i didn't want my parents to be left out, so now if they can't go i won't feel like i'm missing out on too much! thanks again for all the help!

And the past guest party is only for cruises of 5 days or longer.

sls

[CruisinDenise]

I went with a previous Carnival cruiser on my first cruise, and the invitation was for both of us.

We traveled with cruise "newbies" that, of course, weren't invited to the past guest party. No big deal. Adults are old enough to understand that if they aren't invited, that's that. And, although we always go because we like the free drinks and food; the rest of the "party" isn't so great.

[SUSAN CURTIS]

I love the past guest parties. There is a live band, dancing, I've never had a problem being served all the drinks I wanted. When I didn't care for the Blue Margarita she was right there with a rum punch. We turned down several offers of ho r d'ouvres since our dinner was directly afterwards. We only had one invitation for the two of us. It was the day after the first formal night. So free drinks capt. party that night, free drinks past quest next night. Thursday was an invitation for Margarita maddness from CVC and Friday was a CVC member night party "free drinks again" I drank more on this cruise than I have on the last 8 totaled.

We were just on the Conquest Ship from April 3-10. This was our second cruise. We were invited to the party, so we checked it out. Ours was in the aft lounge and lasted 45 minutes long. They had live music, which was really good and the dress was casual. Our drinks were NEVER empty. We would not even be done with our first drink, and they had a second one waiting right there for us!!! Needless to say, we downed ALOT of free drinks within the 45 minutes. Also, the hordorves (sp?) were plentiful and kept coming by and asking if they noticed your plate was empty. I enjoyed it. They did have a presentation, which was not too long, about how Carnival got started and a little bit of "facts" about their fleet of ships. Kinda interesting. They did also talk about some credit card points thing? I think it was anyway, but did not really listen too much as I was not interested. They did not talk to long on this subject and for the most part of the time, it was the live band performing. Also, they did give away to 1 couple a free dining experience in the "point" restaurant, which is $50.00 a couple to go and dine at. So that was nice Hope this helps

Sunnymom02

Carnival Conquest 4/3/2005
Carnival Sensation 2/8/2003