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Food is not very consistent from ship to ship..  On Indy in 2021, the food was delicious but on Liberty a couple of months later it was horrible. Didn't matter if it was the MDR, Windjammer or the specialty restaurants.  In 2022, we did a B2B transpacific and NZ cruise on Ovation.  On the transpacific leg, the food was delicious in the MDR and in the specialty restaurants.  My wife and I were pleasantly surprised.  On the NZ leg, the food quality changed and the MDR was not the same as the transpacific.  It was as if we got on another ship.  We asked a few of the staff and their comment was the chef had changed for the MDR.  According to our waiter that is not uncommon since each chef has their own touch on the recipes.  I don't know how much truth there is in that, but I do know something changed.

Thought I would provide an update for those who may look at this later.  Went to the Special Needs form on the web for both of the cruises.  Didn't hear anything back, but I wrote on social media and they will have a fridge and sharps container ready when I board the ship.

Thanks everyone for all of the responses!

10 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

We cruised this past December with needles, syringes and tubing.  We had contacted the Celebrity Special Needs department, sent back the appropriate forms but we also requested a letter from DH's doctors - just in case.  When we boarded, first thing  we did was ask our cabin attendant for a sharps container - no problem at all.  We were visited later in the day by one of the staff from medical team on board.  They were just checking the situation but it was not an issue.  We did show him the paperwork that we had obtained from the doctor, too.

I'll contact the Special needs department for Royal.  There is a form I found online to fill out.  Did you have to refrigerate your IG?  I'm assuming the refrigerator in the room will be sufficient.

16 hours ago, travelbug11 said:

I have IVIG as well.  I have no problem taking my weekly Hizentra as well as the supplies and Freedom 60.

 

Just ask your cabin steward for a sharps container.

 

Traveled to South America in December, no paperwork, no problems.

Thank you very much.  I'm on Gamunex-C and use the Freedom 60 pump too.

One question:  Did you dispose of your syringe and tubing in the trash or in the sharps container?  Reason I ask is a long time ago one of the nurses who trained me to use Hyqvia said that the tubing, Hyqvia bottle and needles were biowaste and should be disposed of in the sharps container.  That is a lot of stuff to put in there!

Hello everyone!

I have an immune deficiency that is controlled by weekly infusions of an Immunoglobulin product via 4 needles.  My wife and I are scheduled this fall to be on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas for 30 nights for a bucket list cruise.  All of our cruises have been 7 days or shorter so I haven't had to worry about infusing on board in the past.

Does anyone have any tips related to:

• Infusing while on board, disposing of needles, syringes, tubing, etc.
• Flying to a port (Honolulu) to board a ship with meds
• Traveling international (Australia, New Zealnad, Tahiti, Moorea) with meds.
• Any documentation that I should take?

Thanks!

26 minutes ago, clover18 said:

That's a total bummer. Sorry to hear it!

Thanks!  No worries though.  Since they gave us enough time we just adjusted our plans.  We were going to drive to Waimea Canyon on the first day and then take a sunset dinner cruise in the afternoon so we could see the NaPali even closer.  Now, the longer second day allows us to do more hiking up around Waimea Canyon and see more of the overlooks!  The first day we can go explore the island in the morning instead.  🙂

Just got an email from NCL and will be receiving $100 per cabin as a good will gesture.  Here is a portion of the email.  

"To complete required maintenance, we must spend additional time in port. As such, Pride of America's departure time from Nawiliwili has been changed from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Unfortunately, this means that we will be unable to sail the Na Pali coast as previously scheduled."

I read on another website that the Pride of America is having to undergo maintenance in Kauai and as a result the ship must stay in port longer and for past 3 weeks did not sail by the NaPali coast.  Can anyone tell me if this is true?

I wrote NCL and was told that this was not correct; however, people who are on board are saying that they were given $100 per room on board credit.  Was hoping to get more experiences from those who sailed.

I got the webpage to enter my information today for the new website.....now can't access my reservation. We don't leave until April 9th, but still it it frustrating.

We did the Behind the Fun tour on the Freedom in October 2016. My wife and I signed up the day before the tour. The first tour was full but the second tour only had 4 people. It made it very nice as you could ask lots of questions. Highly recommend doing this tour!

We were picked up just outside the ship at Nawiliwili Harbor. It's been a few years since we went but my memory is the drive to the airport was 10 minutes or less. My wife booked our trip outside of NCL since it was cheaper.

My wife and I did a Blue Hawaiian tour of Kauai. Definitely one of the most memorable things I have done in my life. The pilot did an incredible job of describing the sights. Helicopter was equipped with 4 cameras (front, left, right, and cabin) that recorded the flight. When you landed, you had the option to purchase a BluRay disk of your flight. I still watch that movie every few months. In Kauai, the helicopter flight is definitely the way to see the island as you can fly over private property and to areas that don't have roads.

The POA in 2014 was the first cruise for my wife and I. It was incredible and a great way to see the Hawaii for the first time. The POA was basically a floating hotel for us where we traveled at night and enjoyed excursions during the day. Each day was a new adventure in an extremely beautiful place. Food was OK but nothing special and the food on the Caribbean cruises we've been on is better.

If there was a drawback for us making Hawaii our first cruise is we have a tendency to compare other ports of call to the ports we visited in Hawaii. Of course, it hasn't stopped us from having fun! :D

My wife and I went on the POA in 2014 for our 20th. Booked Blue Hawaiian tour through their website and they picked us up at the ship. Absolutely INCREDIBLE! Definitely the way to see Kauai. Tons of waterfalls, gorgeous scenery, and a good commentary from the pilot. Music appeared to be sync'd with the trip. On our flight there was a couple that had been married 40 years, my wife and I 20 yrs, and a young couple that were on their honeymoon. It was pretty neat.

The helicopter has 3 outside cameras and one inside camera that the pilot cycles through. After the tour, you can buy a video (BlueRay or SD) of your trip. We bought the BlueRay version and I watch it frequently. Words can't describe how beautiful the island is. It was the highlight of our trip.

Does anyone know if you get to see the brig? I was on a cruise many years ago and one of the crew members mentioned that they had to detain a passenger until the police could take him into custody.

We got to see the door to the brig but were not allowed to look inside.

Do they have a script for this?

Sure sounds like it! :)

My wife and I did the tour on the Freedom earlier this month and absolutely enjoyed it! I'm a dorky engineer and could have spent all day talking to the guys in the engine control room. You didn't get to see the engines but you could see them on a monitor in the control room. The amount of power being generated to drive the boat was HUGE!

The most incredible thing to my wife and I is all of the unseen hard work that everyone does behind the scenes that you never see. We saw behind the stage in the theater, one of the store rooms, the kitchen, the environmental areas, crew break areas, crew dining room, the bridge, the engine control room, and more but I have forgotten it all. Everyone we met was smiling and seemed to be happy. The ship really is a floating city and they do a great job of keeping all of the balls in the air! We'll definitely keep that in mind on future cruises when things have a little hiccup and don't go perfect.

The price was $95 If I remember right and took about 3.5 or 4 hours. Lots of walking and some stairs.

We recently went on the Freedom and were waitlisted for YTD. When we got on the ship our cards said we were assigned early dining. They suggested we go to the MDR after we board and talk to the Maitre 'd about it. He said they would try to move us and we would find out the next day. The next day, we got a letter in our cabin that they were unable to accommodate our change.

That night we went to our assigned dining and were placed at a table for 10. That made us a little nervous. Turned out we met some incredibly nice folks and had wonderful discussions every night.

I am a Mtn. Dew addict. Last December they tore open every 12 pack and took out several cans to inspect. We ended up putting the cans in our carry-ons since the boxes were pretty unusable after that.

Has anybody out there tried to use AT&T Wifi calling/texting while onboard this ship? Of course you will have to pay for internet access. My understanding is if you call/text domestic (US) numbers there is no additional charge but if you call/text an international number then you pay international rates.

Any experiences that ya'll could share?

Well thanks to this post I went looking and noticed an JS that opened up on Lido and upgraded myself. $140 total with a $50obc included so $90 after that is figured in. That is what I get for reading here lol

I've never upgraded before. How do you do that on the Carnival website?

Just a quick question...when did you book FTTF? Booked in April and have been checking daily since then and it was and still is sold out. Forums

My wife and I are on the 10/8 cruise on the Freedom. The FTTF showed to be sold out so I wrote Carnival and was told that usually if it is sold out then there typically won't be any other spots. Also told me that it depends on the number of Platinum/Diamond folks that were on board. I kept checking and about 3 or 4 days later over 40 spots for FTTF showed up. Of course, we grabbed one. :)

We plan to arrive and 10:30am.