Baxter1234

Can you stream Spotify or anything else with the Premium plan?  Or any plan? 

We are sailing on the Freedom on April 3 and wonder where about the experience of Canadians getting COVID tests pre-sailing.  I received a quote for $100+ for rapid tests at CVS and wonder if this is the norm.

Any advice you can provide is appreciated!

We always do assigned dining with my husband having allergies.  The waitstaff are excellent and he is always brought the next nights menu after dessert so he can preorder any dish made without the allergens.

15 hours ago, historyteacher41877 said:

I was just listening to the La Lido Loca vlog on youtube.  He just got off the Celebrity edge and said it was a 98% vaccinated ship.  They announced every covid case and by the end of the week, there were 7.  The ship sails with 2900 passengers at full capacity.  For arguments sake here, lets say they sailed with 1500.  Those 7 positives represent .4% of that of number. So 99.6% of passengers didnt get covid thanks to vaccines.  Now I know what some might be thinking and that how do you know they did not transmit it to others that will test positive this week.  So lets bring that number to 50.  Thats 3.3 %.  96.7% of the vaccinated passengers were fine if 50 people tested positive after the cruise.  Am I off with this thinking?  Shouldnt the cruise lines and the cdc be touting these numbers as proof?  I am no expert so curious what others think. 

Not to be a negative nelly, but I am far more interested in whether there were any cases from those who sailed for the 14 days after disembarkation, given the incubation period.  I’m not sure if those numbers get released.

13 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Now that is a looong drive!  How much time do you allow?  

We have done it in 2 days.  If we are in no hurry, will do it in 3.5 to 4 days.

Will have no issue driving to Galveston, staying in hotels, and eating in restaurants.  But coming from Canada we can’t do that until they open the border and remove the mandatory 14 day quarantine upon return.

Out of curiosity, were there any changes identified for August cruises?  Do we expect pools to be open?  Lido buffet to be operational?  Gyms and standard activities still operating.

We are thinking about a cruise when sailing begins but not sure what cruising will look like.

I think it is very much a preference thing.  I would take Carnival’s food and entertainment any day over NCL.  I found dinner in NCL’s dining room to be lacking and left thinking that if I sailed NCL again I would opt to pay for the additional restaurants each night.  But to each their own.

Kids have always loved Carnival cruises but they didn’t sail with me on NCL so I can’t compare from that perspective.

On 2/5/2020 at 2:27 PM, nissach said:

 

On 2/5/2020 at 1:04 PM, coevan said:

 

 

As I have said numerous times, you can book when you board, of course you will sit together like any other restaurant.

Can always take that risk if you’re not picky.  But we have had the experience of waiting to book on board and not being able to get a table at the time we wanted.  And we did try to book on embarkation day but there were not many times left.

We also used the Lido for any games...lots of others playing various board games too.  But always after 9pm to avoid the dining hours as best we could.

3 hours ago, nissach said:

Yes, of course that will work,  just grumbling.   First world problems, right?  Really nothing to complain about.

Just went through this the other day.  7 of us want to go to the steakhouse.  Called Carnival to see if there was a way to link reservations so we could be seated together, but everyone pay their own way.  The said not possible -- one person had to do the booking (and pay) for all.

It's not a deal breaker but you'd think there would be another way to do it.   

For those who have been, do you recall anyone set up for massages on the beach?

If I were to book a massage or similar service, would that give me access to the spa pool and loungers?  Or are those areas reserved for those with spa cabins and pass holders? 

While we haven’t done one on Carnival we have done a 3 night cruise on another line.  Won’t do that again.  It definitely did have the booze cruise feel..and it was everywhere.  Once and done...it wasn’t for us so we stick to 7 day or longer.

43 minutes ago, coevan said:

We loved it. You will get a note in your cabin of the day and time, nothing is formal anymore.

I’m just wondering if it was scheduled on the same night as “formal night” in the dining room...

If you have done the Chefs Table on the Magic in the last while, would love to hear about your experience.  Would also like to learn which day is was scheduled...port day? Sea day? Formal night?

Just want to echo the folks who have reported great care and customer service while on-board.  My mother had an accident the first night while starting a back-to-back.  The care was great, and the monitoring/follow-up was even better.  The environment may not have been pretty but that’s not why they went there.  

15 minutes ago, RWolver672 said:

 

That was a check in time.  Not a boarding time.  They have no idea from one cruise to the next, what time the ship will be ready for boarding.  You could get there at 12:30 and still sit there until 2 pm or later if the ship isn't ready for boarding.

Point taken.  The language on the boarding pass said “arrival appointment”.  I guess I lucked out.

50 minutes ago, RWolver672 said:

 

You aren't given a boarding time.  When you check in on line,  you pick a time to check in at the terminal.  Boarding will begin only after the ship has been cleared from the previous cruise.  It could be anywhere from 10:30 to noon or even later if the ship was late coming in to port.  

We were given a boarding time when I did the online checkin.  There were no options given to me.  It just said that my assigned checkin time was 1230-130.  I wasn’t being intentionally defiant...I just took the last shuttle from the hotel which got me there around 1045.  I was fully prepared to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

I am just off the Magic out of Miami.  I was give a 1230 boarding time and was on the ship by 11am.  If early access to the stateroom is important it may be worth it to you.  But it wasn’t to me...I was shocked I could just walk right on.

Can anyone confirm if lunch is still served in the Italian restaurant free of charge?

Much appreciated!

We sailed the Breeze and our kids loved it -- particularly the Thrill Theatre.  But, due to the winds, the ropes course was almost always closed and the waterslides were closed often.  So they played a lot of mini golf.  Still a great time...

I was shocked at the number of people who openly flossed their teeth in public spaces on our last cruise. I almost got used to it...almost...

Had spa access on the Breeze 2 weeks ago. None of the doors were locked, no special entry required. Turn your S&S card in at reception and head on in.

We were on the Breeze last month and there were lifeguards at the pools. We know they were lifeguards because one was ready in jump in after our boy...he thought he was in distress. We were sitting right along the pool and explained that he is just very good at staying under water for a long time. We all chuckled but it was nice to see. (Though I'm hoping it won't replace parental supervision by the pool...)