TNcruising02

47 minutes ago, JP350 said:

 I don't want to sound like a newbie, but is a free cabin special an upgrade or a free cabin. Also how did you cruise for $38 plus taxes and port fees.

I got a promo for a free cruise on specific cruises.  I chose the Mardi Gras.  It was for a free inside cabin on a lower deck.  I called and changed to a cabin on the lido deck and it was only $19 per person to change.  I haven't seen any free cruise promos lately though. For awhile Carnival was running some really amazing deals so that they could get vaccinated people to fill up the ships.

33 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Thats awesome. I sm looking at the Celebration for oct 23 and the havana inside cabins cost more than that. Congrats. You did good 😊 

I had a promo show up in the list of promos when I logged into my account and I only saw that cheap rate for that one particular cruise.

I know that Carnival has been running a lot of specials for quite awhile.  We cruised on the Mardi Gras this year with a free cabin special.  We upgraded to the lido deck and only paid $38 for the two of us, plus taxes and fees.

We are cruising at the end of January 2023.  I had been going over deals from time to time and ran across an amazing deal for an ocean suite.  We are paying $592.50 per person for an ocean suite on deck 15 on the Celebration January 29th cruise.  The total, including taxes and fees, is $1,477.72.  We also have a $98 credit and will apply for the stockholder's credit.  We are so excited and have never cruised in a suite.  We don't spend much time in our cabin, but this deal was too good to pass up.

What is your amazing deal?

I agree that people should only take a cruise if they can accept the limitations and restrictions.  It really goes beyond the cruise industry.  Even when we go out to eat, sometimes the service will take longer because they are short staffed.

We went on a cruise earlier this year.  Other than wearing the required masks for part of the cruise, everything else was wonderful.  The service at the deli was sometimes slow because they had one employee working very hard to get the sandwiches out.  He was amazing.  Our cabin was always clean, although the cabin steward said he would clean at some point each day.  Fine with us.   Anyway, we just rolled with everything and had a great time.  

The crew members worked very hard.  We never pay much attention to what other cruisers do.

I went on the Mardi Gras in February and had the 10 to 10:30 check-in time and boarding group A02.  I arrived at 9:30.  There was a short line in the 10 to 10:30 area upstairs.  However, since I reached platinum that cruise I was able to go through the priority line.  I would definitely try to get the earliest check-in time, even if I couldn't go through priority, and know that people will start lining up at least 1/2 hour before that check-in time.

7 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Exactly! Yikes! After reading all the whining going on in the Princess sub forums, I'm not sure why anyone would be taking these longer cruises. Even b2b's are risky if they want to retest you in between. Seems like a terrible gamble and the odds are not in your favor. Even if you can take some OTC congestion/headache meds and power through, there seems to be no shortage of folks who can't wait to run to medical for any/every sniffle to demand testing and have their vacations ruined and/or get some covid cruise credit and "free" quarantine time. I'd stick to 6-8 day cruises, less chance of having your trip ruined, as the trip will be over before drama can establish and fester. Most people have minor symptoms or are asymptomatic. Not really sure how there are so many people ending up on roll counts but once they do, it makes having a regular cruise much more difficult.  

I agree.  It sounds like taking a longer cruise is a risk for tight restrictions. That's not something I would want to do.

I have never seen a person being disrespectful to a person just because they were wearing a mask.   Maybe the people who wear masks are fearful that they will be treated as the people who chose not to wear masks were sometimes treated, but that won't be the case.  I think the majority of people prefer personal freedom and don't demand that other people do as they do.

I have a high risk relative who is vaccinated, boosted, and got covid.  He doesn't wear masks anymore.  He is just more careful about close contact.  But if he did choose to wear a mask, I would be supportive of his choice.

This is great news.  I hope it stays this way.  And even though I understand the need for testing, I hope that goes away too so we can get back to normal.

I hope you have a great adventure!

We've cruised many times with insides and also balconies.  Since we rarely use the balconies, we only book them when we can get a great price.  The only advantage to me is that I can tell when it's day or night.  When I am in an inside, we don't get natural light.  We do bring a back-lit battery operated clock and set it on the shelf.  That helps, because I often wake up during the night.

We would probably booked OV cabins if they weren't on the lower decks.  We like the lido deck, or the deck  just above or below it.

We reached platinum during our last cruise.  We were able to check in 16 days before the cruise and received all of the current platinum benefits, including free laundry.  Our sign and sail cards were platinum.

4 hours ago, BabyJacks17 said:

On our last cruise our family chose the AM time - which at first I was against because I loved the thought of coming to a turned down bed in the evening following dinner and activities. 

 

However, my families thought process was that they'd rather have a fresh cabin from morning til evening as opposed to a unmade cabin from morning til night - where we barely got to enjoy the freshness of it all, lol. 

 

In the end, they were right with the choice for us - I don't think coming back from a day in port to a messy cabin would have had the same relaxation effect as it does knowing your cabin is done up & refreshed. 

That's us.  We would prefer to enjoy a clean cabin all day long instead of right before we go to bed.

2 minutes ago, icft said:

Sounds like he was an old style steward and just kept an eye out for people's patterns and cleaned when he expected them to be out.

Yes, and it actually worked.

Even though we stay up late for the comedy shows, we are usually up before 9 am.  Once we leave for breakfast, we are out of the cabin for awhile doing other things so we choose morning cleanings.  However, on our last cruise, the cabin steward said that he would clean the cabin when he had time.  LOL. We told him that was fine with us.  Somehow, that actually worked just fine.

I'm glad to see the priority line is back in place like usual and also there Verifly is now working for the Mardi Gras.  When I cruised earlier this year, Verifly was just in the testing stage.  We reached platinum that cruise and were able to going through the priority line too.

Nice!  I hope you have a great cruise.

We sent out three bags of laundry during our cruise and everything was fine.  We got the first bag back the same day, but the other two took a day each.  We reached platinum that cruise, so it was free.

53 minutes ago, Bgcruising said:

You were just getting started, ready to give up already?

Ha!  Well, my hope is that the masks will go away for good.  I do have a cruise

booked in January and got a heck of a deal for a suite on the Celebration, so I have a dog in this fight.🤣

We did have a great cruise on the Mardi Gras, but one of the most ridiculous things I have done in my life was remove my mask to take a sip and then put it back on my face.  Wash, rinse, and repeat every time I ordered a drink and watched a comedy show.  That it is until the mandate went away mid-cruise.  Anyway, I don't want to put myself back in the position of doing something so utterly ridiculous.

 I will hope that sanity will prevail and mask mandates will be gone for good as far as cruising.

Masks are the most ridiculous thing ever in dealing with the virus.  Cruise lines are already more strict than pretty much any other place in existence because they require vaccinations and testing.  That should be good enough.  

I don't fault the cruise lines, they have to do what they have to do. It's the CDC that makes ridiculous requirements and endless hoops.  My husband and I will never cruise again with mask mandates when we have other options to vacation while breathing freely.  Florida has been our saving grace during this pandemic.

Great review!  Traveling with such a large group sounds like a lot of fun.

I know how exciting that is.  When we cruised last month after a two year break, it felt good.  I hope your children love cruising as much as you do.

Out of all of my Carnival cruises, I've only seen them strict with the 18 age limit about three times.  One time they caught people at the door and the other two times they went around the room asking to see something, I am not sure if it was ID or the sign and sail cards.  All of the other times they just made the announcement and went on with the show.

Since the Love and Marriage show is usually in the theater, it would be easier to 17 year olds to blend in.

7 minutes ago, clginal said:

I think my main concern is just getting off the ship to the 8:15 shuttle.   I've never done early debarkation.....or self debarkation (sorry, not sure what it's called).  

Make me feel better seeing some of the answers.

THANKS

We do that every cruise.  Before we reached platinum and when we had an early flight, we would go to guest services to find the special place to meet for early flights.  As long as things go smoothly, you should be off of the ship very early.  

Let guest services know you have an early flight out.  We have found that there is a special location to meet for people who have early flights. Other things that speed up getting to the airport are taking a shuttle or private transportation, having pre check, and traveling with carryon bags only.  However, I think noon is a safe time to book even if you don't do all of those things.

My husband and I are platinum and we sent out three bags of laundry, each on different days, for free.  This was on the Mardi Gras.  When we met our room steward, we let him know that we would be sending out laundry throughout the week and he made sure we had extra bags in the cabin.