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2 hours ago, CarolynFH said:

You might try calling them, or send an email via the link on the CC website. When DH and I cruised on the Magic in January, we hadn’t cruised with DCL since 1998. He was recognized as Silver when we boarded, I was not, although months earlier when I had logged into the website I was. After the cruise, we didn’t receive an email copy of our folio, so I sent an email and received an email back asking me to call. It turned out that somehow the system had made several profiles for me, even though I used the same email address at all times, so she had to merge all the profiles into one. Then she checked DH’s email address, and he had more than one profile too! She said the system does that sometimes, and given issues with Disney’s IT in other areas, I’m not surprised. So again, you might contact them - maybe they’ve duplicated you too and can merge those other profiles back into your  Platinum profile. 

 
I’m actually not too concerned, just was posting my experience. Anyway, I wound up not booking. Found a better cruise on Royal. I was essentially priced out of Disney back when I made Platinum. Got a little excited when I thought I might be able to finally get back on. Fond memories though! 

On 2/2/2024 at 3:25 PM, Shmoo here said:

The speculation at this point is everyone is starting from 2023/24 in calculating.  So, even if it's been 17 years, and you book a cruise within the next 5 years, you will retain your status.

 

At least, so far, that's how it's working.

 

Of course, DCL can change the rules at any time.

Unfortunately for me it is not working that way. Perhaps if you had a cruise currently booked it retained your status. I was Platinum. Last cruise was May of 2016. Now I went in to book and I must rejoin. 

6 hours ago, KroozFoolz said:

Balcony is shown towards the end of the video:

 

Doesn’t seem any smaller than 9518 and should actually be a bit larger on the one side it shares with 8508 though you can’t tell in this video for sure. Thanks. Not sure if it’s worth the move. 

I am currently booked in 9518 cat 4D on Brilliance. I was in the same room last year on Radiance so I know I liked the room and location. I did find the balcony to be tight. But 8510/8010 are same category and looks like they have  a larger balcony in the pictures I have seen from the outside-can’t find any actual room pictures/videos. 8508/8008 definitely do but I’m not too sure about how I feel about the hull obstruction. All these rooms are available. 7604 on the hump also appears to have a decent sized balcony and could give me a straight line of sight down to the water (and yes this is something I consider of value) plus could save me money being a lower category, but not sure if it is a smaller balcony (I know 7606 is pea sized!) I have found reviews without pictures on both 8510 and 7604 that specifically state they are the smallest balconies the reviewer has ever had. I’m assuming they sailed in ships with larger regular balconies: Freedom class or higher like I previously had. Can anyone help me clarify? Any input at all is appreciated. I have a hold under my Moms name on 7604 as I already lost out the premium hump rooms of 7600/7602. 

10 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Unsure about table request. There is an elevator in the rear. The crew took us to the lower level.

Thank You! That will do too! 

Sailing Harmony in a month and I would like to use my extra OBC for Wonderland which isn’t really something the rest of my family is into. I’m fine doing it solo but my mom would like to join me as a break from the rest of the group (and reality!). She cannot do stairs anymore though. Can I make a request for a table on the upper level, when and how can I do so?

23 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

How?  Cheers is a set price no matter which ship or time of year you sail.  RCI's Dynamic Pricing policy fluctuates depending upon the ship you're on and the time of year you sail.  If you sail on one of their newer or larger ships, it's impossible to meet the price of Cheers, even if you stumble across a deep discount on Black Friday.

Reasons I prefer Royals drink package:

1) It is unlimited.
2) It includes fresh squeezed juice-can’t beat that in my morning mimosas.

3) I get 40% off a bottle of wine when I want to treat my table mates. 
4) I’m a sucker for the Coke freestyle machines. 
 

If you don’t care about any of those then yes, pricing does beat out on Carnival 

1 hour ago, Lane Hog said:
On the downside... Live entertainment wasn't nearly as good, the in-room TV was abysmal (no PPV or movie channels?), and there simply weren't any comfy places to just park away from the noise and read a book or watch the sea go by.  No outdoor movies by the pool on our ship, which is probably the biggest disappointment compared to our past adventures on Carnival.
 

I cruise many lines and I actually find Carnival to have the least places to sit comfortably and quietly to watch the sea go by. I’m a big fan of the outdoor promenade deck (quiet ones-not the busy ones on the Dream and Vista class) where I spend most of my cruise time on RCI. Though I do admit I love Serenity seating, it’s just not the same as seeing the water so close from the promenade level.  
I enjoy the drink package better on RCI. I don’t find one or the other line has better food. I prefer the layout of most RCI ships. I prefer the pool deck and Serenity on Carnival. I prefer the decor on RCI (mostly-some is questionable). I prefer the cabin design better on Carnival but the colors better on RCI. The staff have been exceptional on both lines in all of my interactions. 

I will choose whichever has the better option for the next time or itinerary I wish to sail. 
All that having been said, Disney is my favorite cruise line. But even they lack in some cases. The great thing is there is a cruise for every cruiser or every specific cruise vacation. 

Just now, Iamcruzin said:

 Now I'm confused. Did you and your Aunt each book solo to being with?  If so just add the guy to her booking.

No, booked together but I footed the entire cruise bill except her taxes and gratuities. I also paid any additional for each rebooking. Short story:  I bought the cruise, she was freeloading. Now her boyfriend will be paying for a new room and she will still be freeloading. No judgment needed, just stating the facts so you can understand I already paid for a solo room.

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

This sounds  too complicated for Royal Caribbean to figure out given all of the FCC's. Let the boyfriend pay the solo price since someone will have to in this situation. Tell him he will get double C&A points and will be well on his way to Pinnacle.  If they break up you will be right where you started from. 

I forgot about the double C&A for solo booked in double occupany cabins. That would work better for me but oh well, TOO COMPLICATED is right!!!!

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

this makes absolutely no sense.  You are traveling with a drunken aunt who you want in your cabin, but you want a balcony to yourself??

Not at all. Love my Aunt. She is not drunken just enjoys her evening nightcaps. I will never afford a balcony as a solo again, but this has been paid for already.

43 minutes ago, D4 said:

If they happen to break up before the cruise, you and your aunt are still booked in your cabin.

I hope not, probably my only chance to get a balcony to  myself as I am never waiting this long to cruise again!!!

Back story on this one is I booked a room for myself and Aunt to share back in 2019 for May 2020. I paid for the whole thing minus her taxes and gratuities. Through a few more cancellations and FCC we again booked for May of this year. Each rebooking I paid the slightly extra cost on top of our 125% credit-going from an inside room on the Liberty to deluxe balcony on Harmony. Aunt has since divorced her previous husband (he never travelled with her) and now has a new boyfriend who has decided he'd like to sail. Rather than loose my money that I've received with the extra 125% credit and initial payouts, I would like to keep her booked in my room and have her or her new boyfriend pay the extra cost of having a solo room. I would like it to be easy to see what the price is they truly owe. Thus keeping her listed in my room using our FCC and then booking him solo. Another thing would be the drink package. She definitely needs it as she doesn't stop drinking some nights. He isn't much of a drinker. I can break even on the package. If we bought the package for me and her as booked in the room together he would not need to buy it, but would they make him onboard? Would hers follow her?

I believe it would still be easy to change guests once onboard, I've done it several times. Never had the drink package in this situation. Unless anyone has any other suggestions as to how to go about this? Another thing is the cost of the cruise has gone up roughly 20% since I booked for my Aunt and I so I'd like to keep our rate. 

Yes I was shocked when I went to pay for our Beverage Package. 30% off today was $50 MORE than 30% off when I looked at beginning of November. Should have bought it then. I’m didn’t buy it today just out of the principle.  Even if prices on ship per drink are higher, I had to buy a specialty coffee and mimosa everyday to break even before and I can honestly skip those easily.  

I think if you really try hard it’ll be possible to get rooms today. So many holds are dropping. I had managed to snag a GTY inside but checked again last night and was able to move to an assigned balcony. Checked again this morning and was able to move to a better assigned balcony. This was not easy as I had to check repeatedly each time but it might be possible if you are really wanting this cruise. I will say I never thought we’d pay this much for a cruise but it’ll be worth it. 

Booked a 4K (4141 with more somewhat of a view) for Hawaii 2024. The savings over a regular ocean view isn’t huge but enough to cover my drinks for at least half the cruise 😉 

Since it’s so far out I could budget the 6A but I won’t be in the room a lot. My concern on the 4K is noise or crew being on the deck as I like to have my drapes open-especially during daylight. Light from outside bothers me at night too so I usually sleep with closed drapes if at a hotel in the city but on a cruise if I have a balcony or window I leave drapes open to let me awake with sunrise so another concern is lights at night. 
Should I upgrade? I feel the answer is yes but I like reinforcement 🙂 

9 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

To be honest, that sounds very non-Carnival-like in wording.  Did you book through a TA or 3rd party site?

 

Or maybe it is just Carnival's generic language for FCC for "normal times" when you cancel but can transfer payments to a future cruise.  But all of the generic "cancel and get FCC" verbiage I can find on the Carnival site says this, 12 months to book, nothing about how far out the cruise must sail:

 

• Guests must book within 12 months from the date of the cancellation.

It did probably fall under "normal time" processes. This is just a deposit amount in funds as we chose to cancel one day before final payment ourselves because we knew the cruise would be cancelled but didn't want Carnival holding our money too long as we already had Royal Caribbean holding a lot!!! 

Here is the exact wording. I will have time to call tomorrow, just wanted to know earlier 😉

The future cruise credit must be redeemed within 24 months from the date of cancellation, for bookings available
under the same currency, and can only be applied to your cruise fare. The future cruise credit is non-refundable, non
-transferable, and any unused portion will be forfeited.

Please note, should your new reservation cancel at any time, applicable cancellation penalties will be assessed and
the offer will be forfeited.

Cant seem to find answers with a search. Does the redeem by date mean the sailing needs to sail by that date or does the credit only need to be applied by then? Can the sailing be a year after redeeming credit? And should we change mind on the sailing can the credit be moved? Nabbed an aft balcony for Hawaii 2024 but the redeem by date for FCC is 1/04/23 and if circumstances allow would like to sail in 2023.

6 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2346822-help-me-pick-anthem-room-8212-or-8270/?tab=comments#comment-50504553

Thank You!!! I spent a solid hour searching myself but I was trying to be specific with Harmony. This is perfect in its explanation! 

If anyone knows, do the ocean balcony rooms alternate every other cabin beds by entry door and then beds by balcony door? Wanting to book my sister with the beds by the balcony door as that’s the way she strongly prefers. I’m the opposite! And if so if anyone might possibly know how the beds in any of the rooms between 8530 and 8560 are arranged then I could figure out where in there to book.

Any suggestions on how to find the information might be nice too. Thanks!!!!

1 minute ago, cruiser101_1 said:

Cruise departs at 7pm on Sun Sep, 12th - from Orlando 

If you are flying in I’d definitely make the antigen reservation at MCO. That’s pretty close so things should be about the same, but we all know it changes quickly. 

When are you cruising? My sister and her immediately family are on Allure right now. Their tests were taken at 9am Thursday and they boarded at 1:30 pm Sunday-so 3 days not literal 24hts was allowed. One did not have results back (PCR)so the back up plan for all had been the rapid antigen at MCO $65 each. The ones that already had results were able to cancel their appointments at MCO for no charge and the one that needed it was able to walk right up (they were the first tests of the day) and be out with the result in ten minutes. Things may still change. I too was to be on the ship with my immediate family but with the testing, our schedules, and some pet illnesses we chose cruise with confidence and moved to Harmony  next May.  

Found the answer about not needing snorkeling gear. Search didn’t bring it up at first but after a while of scrolling and distracted reading on other posts got it, with a title just like mine and what I entered as a search-go figure! Sorry for the post clutter.

Can I do the stingray visit without being in snorkeling gear? I did it years ago before I could no longer wear contacts for more than an hour or two, but I can’t remember anyone not snorkeling. I have a high prescription and cannot see to walk across a room without my glasses. Also to get new contacts would add a minimum of $300 on to pay for a $50 excursion and I’ll never wear them again. Or do they offer prescription masks on most of the excursions? I know I could try to find out by calling but I also know how those answers should be taken with a grain of salt.