nbsjcruiser

Looks like it's Coxen Hole now. That's the second time we were supposed to go to Mahogany Bay and ended up at that hole. Never again will I rely on Princess to get me to Mahogany Bay. This is the first Western we've booked in probably 10 years. Back to eastern's from now on.

I get that itineraries change and I accept it. But to book me in a port that they had no intention on visiting is unacceptable. This really grinds my gears.

Got a strange email for our upcoming cruise on the Sky. It mentioned our excursion was incomplete. We had booked a beach day at Mahogany Bay. Looking at the itinerary (screenshot attached) it now says undefined. I know there's a huge Carnival ship in the same day we are. They've known for months that these two ships would be in the same time. I know they cancelled this port on the Regal not too long ago and to be honest, if they substitute a day at sea I'll be pizzed. I never would book this itinerary with 3 days at sea - not the Western. I'll make the best of it of course but it won't go down easy.

Thoughts? Anyone get note that there cruise changed?

We were on the Caribbean Princess in Nov - here's my review:

I'd go back on the ship for sure.

We're on the Sky on February 3. Hoping the old app will still be in use then. I'd prefer for the rest of you guys to be the test bed not me 😁

10 hours ago, annmarz said:

Many years ago, my husband, son, and I went to the upper level of the theater for a show. There were about 5 people in the whole level. There were tons of empty seats.  I had placed my evening bag on the empty seat next to me.  A couple entered the room, and in a huff the woman came right next to me and sat on top of my bag, saying  "You are not supposed to save seats!"  To this day I do not know how I restrained myself.

Hilarious and reminds me of a trip the local gym one night when there was literally nobody there. I picked a locker near the wall, in the corner and along comes the only other guy in the gym, puts his bag down on the bench where my bag is and moves my bag. I couldn't help myself - "are you kidding me? 100 empty lockers and 10 empty benches and you have to pick the one right beside me?".

People.

10 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Are you suggesting that Kinkade's works are not hideous or maybe that they are worse than hideous.  For me it is the latter.

 

DON

My wife likes to tell the story of a show she saw on TV once about an art dealer who was telling the story of a couple who broke up and were fighting over the multiple pieces of art work they bought on cruises over the years. They spent thousands of dollars on these pieces and in many cases he evaluated the frames higher than the art work itself. They're basically worthless for the most part. Mind you, I've seen a few I liked and I'd hang them up in my house but I'd suffer under no illusions regarding their worth.

9 hours ago, 1412p0oi said:

I’m a bit susceptible to the idea of a “great deal” and I know that, so I should just stay away before regretting a purchase that has no value to me. Besides, I’m bringing one small suitcase that I had to sit on to close so don’t think I can fit even more air in there! 

Smart to stay away then. We once went on a cruise with my sister who was as thin as a rail in those days. She went to one of those "free" body analysis things. She came back with 2 more appointments (not free of course) so he could help her reduce her body fat. If she had any body fat it was hidden somewhere I couldn't see.

The other thing to note is that in some cases these people do not work for the cruise line, especially in the spa. Why does that matter? Well, oftentimes you'll hear about people going for things like acupuncture. If they mess up (and they have in the past) the cruise line is going to shrug and tell you that they don't work for the cruise line and that you'll have to take it up with them.

Cruising is one of the best things there is, I love it but you have to remember, they're goal is to make money. Just have a bit of skepticism when you're on the ship. That will help you enjoy a wonderful vacation to its fullest.

8 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I pride myself in keeping my final bill under the $10 mark. 

Well done. We budget ourselves for the entire cruise and put what we deem appropriate on as OBC and leave the cruise with $0 owing on the bill.

You will learn that cruise ships are experts at the upsell and enticing you with great deals that require you to buy something first. So to answer your question, yes it is an upsell event. They don't give you anything for free. If you're not careful you'll nickel and dime yourself to death on a cruise ship.

On 1/11/2024 at 11:08 AM, Tonye60 said:

I take great pleasure in moving peoples stuff, disappointed sometime when there are free chairs 

You know what's even more fun? Take said items off their chair, leave it on the deck and move the chair far enough that they dont know who took it if they return yet close enough to watch the fun should they return. The confusion is worth it.

So I was just watching a video on cruising and in it the person mentioned that it is illegal to vape or smoke in public in Cozumel. How strict are they about the vaping? My wife has successfully used vaping to quit smoking. Are they that strict that she should leave it on the ship?

1 minute ago, Tonsoffun44 said:

Same cruise - I keep checking our schedule for such changes. IF they happen I hope we see it before boarding. Not that we can do anything about it. 

That would be a disappointment for sure. Its the beach day we're looking forward to.

hmmm, we're in on the Sky Princess on Feb 6 along with the Carnival Jubilee. That's 10K people all together. From what I've read, Mahogany Bay can take 8000 people. Now I'm wondering if they're not going to pull the same stunt that day and claim "port congestion" and skip it. I hope not.

We'll be in on the sky Princess the same day the Carnival Jubilee will be in port. We have a clamshell reserved for a relaxing beach day but I'm wondering if they over-book the clamshells? We lost out on one at Princess Cay last year even though we had it booked months ahead of time. Total passengers for the day will be over 10000 and I've read Mahogany Bay can accommodate 8000. The Jubilee is in at 8 and we are in at 9. My thought was to be off the Sky the minute the doors open and hustle over to get a clamshell before the big rush.

Any experience what its like with two large ships in at the same time? Overcrowded? Do they overbook clamshells?

tks in advance

10 hours ago, sparky321 said:

I have been following this blog, my new app seems to work well most of the time but still logs out once in a while when I try to open dining. 

 

I have a question about dining booked at the specialty restraunts, if you book and pay for say the Crown Grill and then cancel at a later date do you hat you money returned?

I haven't done this but if you cancel on board you will get your money back I'm sure. In the app? Not sure but I bet if you cancel before boarding you will but it may take time to get back to you.

Noticed a bit of funkyness with the old app - I deleted the new one and won't use it until I have no choice. I tried to purchase internet for our upcoming cruise on Feb 3. When I got to the payment screen it stated that since I had not set up a cc in the app yet to provide one now to pay for the internet. Huh? I set that up weeks ago. So I exited and checked the payments section - yep there it is. Back to the internet section, tried to purchase, same message. Well, guess I'll re-enter my cc info. After about 5 mins waiting while it thought spun its wheels, it fails. "Please add a valid card". WTH? I go back, check the payments screen again, yep there's my card. Try the purchase again and it immediately works.

I wonder if they actually test these things before rolling them out or do they just wing it?

15 hours ago, DHP1 said:

I have read that a credit card on file under the old App was transfer over to the new App and was also added to Shoreside Transaction  Post #484.

Yep, it was - very inappropriate IMO. I removed it when I saw it but maybe that shoreside company already has it? If so, good luck with it because it is no longer valid. I switched credit cards a few weeks ago.

17 hours ago, DHP1 said:

We will have to wait and see this Thursday as one member will report back to us on this Shoreside process. I’m surprise no one else has commented on this process who just came back from a cruise. The simplest solution is to make it optional, but they won’t. It’s been in place now over a year and hasn’t been changed. 

The Shoreside thing was there on our cruise in November. I didn't put my CC on it then and I won't on the upcoming cruise next month so I think it is optional. I guess if you really want your Medallion before you cruise it isn't optional but for us, waiting an extra 10-15 mins before being allowed in to the terminal because we don't have our medallion isn't an issue. We still board according to our loyalty level, so meh, whatever.

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Princess said you can use it until Feb 1st.  However, who knows if that will be the case. It may go later.

 

Are your OM being mailed to you?  If you get them, you should be in the Green lane.  Screenshot the page with the green lane. Take your OM and you’re set.  
 

Leave your old App on your phone and maybe download the new one if you have to after Feb 1st.  Keep both on your phone.  JMO
 

We're picking ours up at the port.

Do we know for sure when the old app expires? We cruise on February 3 and if I have the choice I'd presfer to use the old app until they get this Radiqal Gaming/Shoreside nonsense figured out.

15 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Just curious since most can't get to Green Lane without entering a CC in the Shoreside thing.

 

My experience on my last 2 cruises (both in Europe) was that no one cared what color my app had. All they seemed to care about was did I have a medallion, which I did and that took us to a different line.

Our experience in FLL was a little different in November. Before the doors opened they formed two lines outside the terminal. Those with and without Medallions. Those with were allowed to enter first. Still, since we were Platinum, we waited upstairs and boarded immediately after the Elites so the only people who showed up with Medallions that boarded before us were Elites.

1 hour ago, kamelia said:

From experience, there may be a wrinkle other than being in the Blue Lane when choosing to withhold your credit card information from Shoreside Transactions section to be aware of.  We did not find out until after disembarking that choosing to uncheck the box for Radiqal meant our onboard accounts were not linked.  Even though each account was settled to the same credit card we had registered when we checked in at the pier, because they were not linked, the non-refundable OBC in DH's account was not applied to offset my charges.  We did finally get resolution over a year later, but it was a nuisance, and ever since I have gone to Guest Services to be sure that the accounts were linked.  Just thought worth mentioning if it helps someone else avoid the same pitfall. 

Very interesting - we ran into a similar instance the last night of our cruise in November. I noticed I had a OBC still left on my account but my wife had a balance owing. I thought they'd just cancel it out but for whatever reason, on the last night I popped up to check. They linked the accounts then and all was well. Looking back on it, I didn't check the shoreside account in the app either. That must be why, as you point out. I'll be sure to make sure they're linked on our upcoming cruise in Feb on the Sky.

16 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

Because it’s a mandatory field what should we do?  Not provide are cc information in the App. At Port, are they going to make it mandatory and then what?  

You stay in the Blue Lane if you don't fill it out. No big deal.

23 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Oh.. why they are a TRUSTED partner of PCL!  Why ever should we mere guests question such things?  What could possibly go wrong?  

LOL. Just for kicks I did a little research on Radiqal LLC. They're a company supposedly from a town in PA however, when you dig deeper you discover they are from India. All their development is done out of India. No doubt, the company in PA is nothing more than a shell company for the real location, India, where s/w developers work for a fraction of what they'd get in the US. I work in the IT industry and have for over 25 years, my experience is that you get what you pay for when it comes to IT.

The company website is amateurish to say the least and the "Meet the Team" section consists of 3 people all from India with their pictures not shown, just an icon. I did a cursory check on LinkedIN and discovered very little about this company. I can only find 3 employees, all from India. There must be more, but I can't find them.

As for what this company does for Carnival - they provide Casino and Accounting Management. Why would they need my info?

Regarding the information they get from you if you use their services - you can get this from their site: Payment Intent token, name on your CC, ship you are sailing on, your photo, email, phone number birth-date, preferences, reviews and feedback. What could possibly go wrong handing all that over to a company in India?

So I find myself asking a question: If my information gets stolen because of this company, what's the chances that Carnival Corp will step up and take ownership? I think we all know the answer to that one.

So yeah, think I'll pass on sending all that info over to this company. I'll do what I always do when I step off a ship - cash is king.

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