knagl

You do not need to watch any videos first, and you do not even need your Sail and Sign card. You can go directly to your muster station as soon as you board and they will demonstrate how to put on a life vest and will scan your paper boarding pass to get you checked in.

Once you have access to your cabin, there is a safety video on the television that is certainly a good idea to watch, but there isn't going to be a quiz on the contents of the video.

Are they removing the Pullman bed or something? I don't understand how it's no longer going to sleep four.

We had 6232 on the Spirit and loved the huge balcony. Unfortunately, as you know, it's classified the same as other extended balconies nearby (hence why there wasn't an additional charge for it from the get-go), so technically they don't owe you any compensation if they've moved you to another extended balcony room that sleeps four people. Good luck.

4 hours ago, restasured said:

You evidently got some bad information.

The post you replied to is two and a half months old, and at the time it was in fact accurate information. In October of 2022, Carnival did indeed remove the ability to purchase liquor for the staterooms. There was enough backlash that they brought it back as of December 1, 2022, with quantity limitations and higher prices.

Complimentary lobster is available only on the second elegant night of the cruise, and only on cruises of six days or more.

As to the "why" of it, cost savings is the likely reason. It eliminates it from shorter itineraries, and some folks tend to skip the second elegant night so that's fewer lobsters being eaten.

On 1/19/2023 at 11:48 AM, Indytraveler83 said:

You'll have to let me know what you think of the Spirit.  I'm seriously reconsidering our Spirit cruise. 

For whatever it's worth, we did a B2B on Spirit for a total of two weeks last month out of Miami, and it was excellent. We ate in the MDR every night and certainly some dishes were better than others, but the food was overall very good.

For music, there was a string trio, an acoustic guitar guy, a really good small band, and the piano bar.

Service was great, everyone was friendly, the ship was in very good condition (especially considering its age), and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on it again.

11 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

so now I can freak out thinking about this.

For what it's worth, we did two weeks on Spirit in early December, and while Nate's experience was very much on my mind, we had a great cruise and did not see any signs of unwanted guests. I would sail on the ship again in a heartbeat.

As best as I can tell, Nate's cabin was essentially right under the spa hot tub. I'm almost wondering if perhaps the damp environment there is potentially conducive to the issue he had.

5 hours ago, firstjourney said:

I have sailed before, just never out of Port of Miami. Will board Sunrise on January 23

Your cruise is scheduled to use terminal D.

Double check the electronic signs when entering the port in case of any unlikely last-minute changes.

That's incredibly generous compensation for something that is firmly beyond their control.

In addition to the OBC and future cruise credit, it seems likely that Carnival will be fined for violating the Passenger Vessel Services Act, with the Sunshine being a foreign-flagged ship and not making a port of call in a foreign country. Per this article, it sounds like they may be able to negotiate the fine down to a lesser amount than the standard $762 per person, but they'll still have to pay something.

6 hours ago, luv2trvlnow said:

I do not have a phone that I will be able to get cell phone service while in Europe.

I presume the hotel will have WiFi available for its guests, or you'll otherwise be able to find some place that offers WiFi in Rome. You could connect your phone to the WiFi and be able to check in for the second cruise.

You do not need to have a printed boarding pass for the second cruise, in our experience. You could always download a screenshot of the boarding pass to your phone if you wanted to have it just in case.

Here's a video I found of 4122, which lines up nicely with the gap between the lifeboats:

Bar 12 on the Carnival Spirit in December of 2022.

$5-$500 limit, double odds.

All Tall Small paid 30 for the small and tall, and 150 for all. $1 minimum for the bonus. I asked what the max was and was told $200, but that didn't seem right to me.

Overall I thought the rules and limits were pretty generous for a cruise ship with a captive audience.

We were on a B2B on the Spirit in December and had a great time. We had to change rooms between sailings, but scored a bowling alley balcony for the second half.

Bartenders Seti and I Made in the lobby/atrium bar mid-ship were great and were our go-to guys. Seti isn't there anymore - his contract ended and he's back home currently. I believe that I Made is still on though. Be aware that there's more than one I Made -- it was the lobby bar guy that we especially liked.

I did exactly this on my recent cruise. I had a credit card on my booking, but prior to the end of the cruise I used the self-service kiosk to deposit some cash to my account. That reduced the amount that was billed to my credit card at the end of the trip.

8 hours ago, medianeh said:

We plan on doing laundry at the start at the second leg, so it’s good to know that we have a bit of time before everyone gets on!

My recommendation would be to enjoy having the ship to yourself during the time that only the B2B folks are on board. Grab some Funfetti cheesecake from the lido buffet. Enjoy a hot tub to yourself. Take pictures around the ship with nobody else in your shots.

Laundry can wait until the first or second night of the new cruise -- you'll still have the laundry room to yourself as none of the new folks who just boarded will be doing laundry on the first or second night.

36 minutes ago, smears said:

You should definitely buy cheers.

OP should definitely do whatever they want to do. This didn't answer their question at all.

CC member @ashkir listed some of the discounted offers he was presented with at the pamper party in this post:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2878828-ashkirs-live-san-francisco-to-alaska-inside-passage-cruise-september-5-to-september-15-2022-on-the-carnival-miracle/page/3/#comment-63917982

On 11/28/2022 at 3:12 PM, mz-s said:

Can you convince Carnival they are really a no-show when they were just on the ship earlier that day for the first leg of the B2B?

I see your point, but even if they're B2B there's nothing going to stop them from disembarking with the rest of the crowd on the final day of the first cruise, right? I can't imagine they'll get flagged or be detained for trying to leave the ship. At that point, they can be a no-show for the second leg. If asked, an emergency came up and they had to leave.

15 hours ago, Stick93 said:

I don’t feel there are many diff between red and gold. 

As someone about to turn gold, I agree.

Interestingly, I have a B2B coming up and based on the number of days of each of the sailings I should be turning gold during the second cruise. My boarding pass for the first cruise shows gold, however, presumably since the two cruises are linked as B2B?

Pre-COVID we brought additional 12-pack cans of soft drinks back on board during a port stop and it wasn't a problem. Bottles might be an issue if they don't comply with Carnival's beverage policy.

On 11/23/2022 at 10:28 AM, notscb said:

in the Nassau/Atlantis example, a 5 minute ride over there doesn't significantly change the experience being sold IMHO.

I'd say it does. For the folks on the ship-sponsored tour they board a bus at the pier and have included, hassle-free transportation to the site. For folks who buy directly, they're on their own to arrange and pay for transportation to get there and back. It's not the same product, and transportation is not free.

Per Carnival's website for travel agents, neither of those cabins connect to another.

In fact, only four cabins are listed as being connecting on the 9th deck: 9196-9198, and 9197-9199.

10 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

Too bad they no longer have Crown on any ships.

Perhaps you missed this thread?

On 11/14/2022 at 1:55 PM, Therobielyn's said:

Our wait team of Michael, Margo and Joeven was the best we have ever had!!! Spectacular!!

Were you doing fixed-time dining or anytime?

Per @ashkir, the best prices for on-board services are offered during the "pamper party".

Details here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2879798-spa-discount-code/?do=findComment&comment=63921717

12 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

we were excited to be able to stay n the ship with what we had heard was a quick no hassle turn around. 🤨 Here’s your first hint about the downs.

This is the second recent review about the Spirit which has mentioned issues with how they've handled B2B cruisers. This concerns me as I'm doing my first-ever B2B on the Spirit in the near future.