BND

32 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Wait until you go on a larger ship like allure or harmony. Lounge hours been 5 to 8. They might come in a tad early to serve but hours at 5 pm my last 10 or so cruises. 

We were just on Wonder in Jan for a b2b. Started around 430 and went til 8. We never go before 6.  On Jewel on our last 2 b2bs it was 430. We're currently on either 11 and 12th since restart alone or 13th and 14th. I'll have to count. It's 13th and 14th. My point was though it's always been around dining times to accommodate everyone.

It's always been based on dining times. Usually half hour to a hour before first seating to start of second. Currently on Vision lounge hh times are 430-8.

Absolutely beautiful weather today at CC. Last port on this leg.

And yes the drydock is a technical one. They have been doing other cosmetic work that is typical maintenance. FYI the port side glass elevator does not work and apparently hasn't for a while. I'm sure it's on the list for repair in drydock. It makes it a pain to go to the VCL.  We usually spend time there but not much this cruise.  Food has been good. 

On 4/7/2024 at 4:27 PM, zebra36 said:

Hope to board next Friday. ?  How was the boarding process for you, I will be cabbing it from the airport and just trying to time the trip there so as not to get to the terminal to early or run into a cluster of folks trying to board at the same time, does the terminal baggage drop-off area get very congested?

Thanks for any response.

From dropoff by family to boarding about 30 minutes.  But we arrived at 1. Too many arrived before noon and had to wait. Debarking was late for previous cruise due to tide issues and 55 buses had to be loaded.  When they said not to arrive early they meant it. This week will be different. Only one bus for b2bers but there will be a few shuttles from the parking garage.  And if they start debarkation on time it will help. We're b2b but they gave us 930 departure time since I didn't pick one cause we don't need one. We actually had to sit for a bit because the gangway got backed up. They scan your pass for boarding on the ship so that caused a backlog. I'm currently sitting by the oasis pool on cc.

On 4/5/2024 at 9:55 AM, OBX-Cruisers said:

RCL certainly seems to be taking advantage of this port change to Norfolk.  I looked at cabin availability and found that there are many unsold/available Veranda class cabins still available for the April 12th cruise and probably the others sched. in April as well.  However, the total cost is ridiculous (with "free gratuities") and  OVER $300 pp/pd  (>$5K for two people on a 7 day cruise??)!!!!

   We will pass so others can "enjoy" this ship with unspectacular reviews.

Veranda? You mean balcony? So far cruise has been great. Food has been better also. We are having a great time.

8 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

hope you have of had a good time. I think you are on the ship right now.

Vision might get to return to Baltimore by June 1st.

Yes we are onboard. Currently in Freeport. Great weather and seas so far. We're on next cruise also. We saw that about end of May 

We use it for pj's, t-shirts, underwear and socks.  Usually one bag per cruise even though we could use 2 if we wanted to.

55 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Vision coming in tomorrow is better than today given really bad weather 

I'm in the NN/Yorktown area and will be boarding tomorrow.  Weather has calmed way down, but yeah, lots of rain all up and down I-95 today. Very messy drive.

6 hours ago, SRF said:

Read the signs carefully.  The prohibition is against them on the APPROACHES.

 

It had to do with some underhanded things in the old days and protecting some businesses of some "friends" of the MD state government.

What are you talking about?  The signs state that hazardous materials are prohibited in the tunnels.

52 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Eek!  My September cruise was supposed to be out of Baltimore.  I wonder when Carnival will notify me? I feel bad for the businesses affected as well as the victims and their families.

September is almost 6 months from now.  They are notifying as they know and the port should be usable/accessible by then.

26 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The ship was anchored off shore. All of the tender boats were already secured, as well as the dock the tenders used to get passengers on the ship. The only way to get the passengers on the ship was the dick used by the harbor pilot, one of the most dangerous jobs due to the difficulty and risk of getting on and off ships in that manner.

And one of the passengers was an older woman who barely was able to get on the boat that tried to take them out. No way she could ever climb into the ship.

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I would be interested to know why, if the coast guard was willing to bring them out to the ship, the captain refused. I'm not judging the decision as I don't know the reasoning. However, I'd like to know the reasoning.

I'd say he didn't want to allow something once that others would expect later. They don't want people thinking they can show up late and expect to board in the future.  

4 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

It was also on the news here in the Tampa Bay area.

 

The complicated clearance of tons of debris from the water has to occur before the ship can be moved. It is going to be a long process.

 

The priority is to get a way to allow a limit amount of the economically important cargo to flow in and out of the port.

 

Read between the lines: cruise ships are not the top of the list and, when compared to the economic impact of the cargo port not being open, doesn't make that big of a blip.

They opened a very shallow channel to allow smaller traffic and some barges in, but deeper draft ships will have to wait.  

44 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Who announced this?  Carnival?  People doing the clearing of the debris?  Thx!

Um, since I live in the DC area, it's local news for us.  The US Coast Guard and DOD have news conferences everyday and they said it. 

19 hours ago, PA Dutchman said:

I hope so, but it doesn't look good

They've already announced it's more complicated than they thought.

2 hours ago, SRF said:

They are a lot nicer than CC.  They are giving $100 OBC per CABIN, not difference in level for the April 15 TA.

 

But surprised RCI is not offering bus transport to/from Baltimore, like CC is.

 

Hmm, they have to cancel a stop due to time and distance, when the cruise leaves from a place 8 - 10 hours down stream from Baltimore and returns to the same place.

The cancelling a stop really doesn't have anything to do with time and distance perse. There is a large NATO parade on April 20 that goes right by the terminal. I'm betting Norfolk told RCI that they couldn't debark passengers and that the road would be closed on the 20th.

13 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Us Virginia people have to stick together, but you have to step up your game some. Beat you by about 10 minutes posting the picture and web site. lol  🤣 🤣

You posted the photo.   I posted the link and where it came from, but whatever. I forgot it was a contest sheesh

7 minutes ago, TPKeller said:

 

Is this a public webcam?

 

Theron

I just posted this photo on you post on the Carnival Board. The pic is from the WAVY10 weather cam.  Norfolk local news channel.  https://www.wavy.com/weather/norfolk-virginia-beach-cameras-live/

From the WAVY 10 weather camera

8 hours ago, elsiedd said:

I agree. They are slow in communicating to us passengers. They did finally send an email about the port change. But their original statement I found online. And we have no updates from them about where to park, etc.  It’s very frustrating. I’ve read some things online but I would like to hear from them. Where to park, will they shuttle us to the ship? 

Norfolk.gov has the parking and other info about Vision.    https://www.norfolk.gov/6030/Cruises

9 hours ago, elsiedd said:

I asked this morning and they said there will be no shuttles going from Baltimore to Norfolk. But they will reimburse you for mileage, whatever that means. The person I talked to thought maybe gas receipts but he wasn’t sure. So that means my drive is 4 1/2 hours longer than I planned one way. Airline tickets were too expensive. 

The email that went out had a link on it where you submit receipts.

1 hour ago, Skydome1 said:

Has anyone received a new arrival time for the Norfolk Cruise. The letter says boarding is between 1230 and 1530 but I have yet to see any new specific times. My original time is 1100-1130. Is it just going to be a free for all? I have watched some videos and the lines at the port are very large. Without a specific boarding time it will most definitely be a cluster.

The ship that I've seen videos for is Carnival Magic which holds 4400 so basically twice the capacity of Vision.  Crowds shouldn't be as bad, especially as there have been some cancellations also.  Our arrival time is also 1100 and we have lunch reservations in a specialty for 1230. We plan to be there between 1130 and 1200. We are being dropped off by family

The few times we've seen pier runners, they have been either carrying shopping bags or weaving as they "walked".  The two port we've seen this the most is Cozumel and Nassau.  We haven't actually seen anyone left but have heard rumors a couple of times. The only time we've been up against boarding time was a couple of ship sponsored excursions in Canada. Otherwise, we are always back to the ship at least an hour or two before all aboard.

5 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Yes, the City of Norfolk is doing a really great job compared to Royal.

What difference does it make if the info is available?  Does everyone need to be spoonfed?

19 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I really want to make this cruise. I almost have my fabulous partner into the mood. I do not expect transportation or OBC.

 

I need to know that Royal owns this situation and starts to communicate what is happening in a fashion that makes me feel confident about a successful cruise experience.

 

Norfolk is saying, "We are open for business." Let us know where the parking is, when to arrive, here are the shuttles, let me know what I have to do to make this successful.

 

I need this from Royal, not from all of you loyal CC posters.Not from Norfolk City services which have been really great. I think Norfolk is owning this much more than Royal.

 

Royal is not communicating directly to me except for the minimum amount of information.

 

I have paid for the cruise and I am trying to make it work.

 

"Need Input." (Short Circuit, 1986)

Your choice whether you take the Norfolk.gov info or not.  The cruise port doesn't own or manage parking there.    I, personally prefer to be proactive and do my own research.  There is parking for Royal and for Carnival.  Both are on the Norfolk.gov site.  We don't need or enjoy the drama that some seen to require.  You seem to love drawing this out.