Jamie: I cruised in January and will try to answer some of your questions. He can pay with cash. When he first gets on board, he'll need to go to the information desk and fund his Sail and Sign (S&S) card. This is basically a deposit against photos, drinks, gifts, or anything he charges on board to his S&S card. We plunked down cash our first day for what we thought we'd spend. On the last night of the cruise, any balance left on the S&S card is refunded to you by leaving a refund check in your room with a copy of your statement. He can take that check to the desk and cash it or bring it home. Either is fine. During his cruise, if the cash deposit he put up begins to dwindle close to zero, they will let him know. On some ships, he can check his available balance on the TV in his room. On all ships, he can simply ask at the information desk. I would caution you against pre-paid credit cards. Have heard/read of those not being accepted on board. Also, do not send a debit card to "fund" his S&S card. Just like with credit cards, they will have the bank authorize a pre-set amount of money. It may me for more than he actually spends, and Carnival will make it right at the end of the cruise by cancelling the pre-authorized charge to the debit card and issuing another charge for the actual amount. It's just that those things take a few days sometimes... It sounds like all of his food, soda, gratuities, and excursions are included in the $1k you've already paid. So yes, all he'll need is money for gifts, food, drink that he buys off the ship. The steakhouse is an additional charge of $30 pp. I've heard it is nice, but there will be TONS of food on board 24/7 that he has already "paid for" in the $1k, so I doubt it's anything he'll want to do. He can have free room service (free food!) 24/7, but it's always nice to tip the steward who brings it a couple of bucks. There may be something like a coffee house on board with fancy cakes, etc. Those are extra, but again---he'll have PLENTY to eat that's included in the price. Pack less clothes than you think he'll need. Unless there are extenuating circumstances (a CPAP machine or something), he should be able to fit all his clothes in a carry-on. He doesn't have to carry it on...just sayin' that is plenty of clothes if you're a good packer. One final thing. Carnival can give you an emergency number where he can be reached. However, you need to check with your cell phone company if he'll be using a cell phone to call or text. Most people don't purchase an international plan, and some fail to realize that your phone is often charged when it *dings* those foreign towers. If he takes it, he should probably turn it OFF as soon as he steps foot on board and not turn it back on again until he returns to the port to get off the ship.

Right for the kindle Fire that is a tablet not just the plain ereader like the regular kindles so you would definitely need wireless to be able to connect to the internet and surf and do all the stuff you do on the computer. The way Amazon does the account is that say her father would open an amazon account he MUST provide a credit card so that any purchases will be going on that card. Now if he gives the kindle fire to her it is set up on his account that he established for it. If she goes to the amazon store and picks out something she wants to buy and has the log on info for the account on the kindle fire she will be able to buy anything on amazon basically. There have been many complaints of this happening when people have bought one as a gift and they came set up with the amazon account of the person that bought it! I don't know how exactly he would have to handle that situation with her but know that it can and has been a problem for many there are pages of complaints dealing with it. Do the GS that she has seen with their kindle fire live with her? if so and they are using theirs then she should be able to also. The Dad should question someone about the wireless network in the house surely there is an adult that could say if it would be able to work. You can also contact Amazon support and actually speak to someone about setting up the account and how it can be handled in a situation like this. An example my brother in law bought his kindle and set up his account with amazon on his credit card. He bought my sister one and it is also set up on his account so anything she buys goes on his credit card but she can also share any of the books he has purchased that are in his amazon library at amazon. They gave their adult son a kindle also on the same account anything he buys goes on his Dad's credit card but he too can share all the books in their amazon library. So there are good things and bad things here. They can all share the books they buy in the one amazon library but any thing anyone purchases using that account gets charged to my brother in laws credit card that is on file for that account. I think amazon will now limit you to how many can be registered under one account.

Hi, Sue. I did google for info, and there are plenty to chose from. I was hoping for opinions from real peeps. Kathy, I had called MCI about adding minutes and got that message about the fee. Prices are going up everywhere so that isn't a real surprise. We don't have a Costco here so I think I will go ahead and buy more minutes with MCI. It is still a bargain compared to regular rates. Thanks to both of you for replying. Sue

I had one from Bosch and I have lots from other places. Once activated they work fine. We've used multiple cards to make a big purchase, have gone over the balance and paid the rest in cash or other cards. Some cards have a monthly fee so I'd just use it up as soon as possible.