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osiebosie

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    Panama Canal Partial Transit passport question

    in Panama Canal

    Posted

    I have booked a cruise for April 2022 on the Carnival Pride which goes to the Panama Canal, a partial transit.  I have searched for a definite answer and cannot find out if an actual passport is required, or, in my case, if the passport card is acceptable.     We sail out of Tampa, hit Limon, Costa Rica, do a partial transit of the canal, and then Grand Cayman.  

     

    I have a feeling the complete passport is gonna be required; just a few months ago (before covid and before booking a cruise) I renewed my passport with the passport card.   I think that is gonna be $60 poorly spent.

     

    Does anyone know the exact answer?  

     

    Thanks,

     

    Sharon

     

    p.s. I haven't been on CC for years!   Nice to see it's still here, I can still log in, and to see the changes!

    Any Hub App Reviews?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    On the Valor, it worked about half of the time, as far as chatting goes. Which was why we got it.

     

    There were four of us in our group. Three phones. So $5 each for the whole cruise. Anyway, you just key in your people. It's like texting on your phone, just done through HUB. I had Alice as one contact, Dwayne as one contact, and Alice/Dwayne as one contact. When it worked, it was awesome!

     

    You have to keep checking to make sure your phone is in airplane mode and on wifi, but even though our phones were, it still was sporadic. :(

     

    It'll be great when they get the kinks worked out!

    $5 Chat using the HUB app

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Yes, previous poster is correct. It's $5 for the whole cruise.

     

    On the Valor, ours worked half of the time. We kept checking to make sure our phones were in airplane mode and on wifi, and they were. I don't know how new this app is, but if they get the kinks out, it'll be great! We'd all (four of us) be sitting at the table, chatting with each other and it wouldn't go through.

     

    You can also check your phone to see what's going on while on the ship.

    My cruise on the Valor, and info about cabin 2477 & 2481

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    First, let me say that I've not been active on CC for a long time. Mostly because we haven't cruised in quite a while for personal reasons. Anyway, I sure wish I'd visited here before my last cruise, just for information. We are very seasoned cruisers who were cruising with friends (known here as A (wife) and D (hubby)) who really never have cruised (only a four day), but I ran into some things that I wasn't really aware of.

     

    So.

     

    We sailed on the Valor, an eight day cruise, leaving on the 22nd of October and getting home just in time for Halloween. We loved the ship. I've been on that class before, so we knew our way around fairly well. There were some changes, such as the fish and chips is now bbq and macaroni and cheese. It was really hard to get away from the m/c. That stuff has opium in it. :) I wasn't too keen on the décor of the ship. It's probably at the bottom of my list as far as that goes.

     

    Since we are VIP, we headed to our cabin first off, just to set our stuff down. The four of us walked into the cabin, which was ready, and it was pretty warm in there. That was cabin 2477, which was ours. Our friends stayed two doors down in 2481, which wasn't ready yet. I should have known right then and there that we should just go see about another cabin, but we chalked off the warmness to the fact that the ship wasn't moving. Surely once it got going, it'd cool off.

     

    2477 and 2481 are totally aft on the ship. We have had many aft cabins before, and have never had a cooling problem. We've stayed all over cruise ships, and have never had a cooling problem.

     

    Well, we had one this time.

     

    I set off to the purser's desk to complain the following morning. They'd check on it for me. But by day's end, it wasn't any cooler. The control was set as cool/cold as possible, but there just wasn't any air flow coming out of the one and only vent. Obviously we were at the end of the (cooling) line, but, again, we've never had that problem.

     

    There's just something about going to bed on Carnival, snuggling under the covers in a perfectly cool room and sleeping like a baby on a rocking ship.

     

    We, however, were sprawled with no covers, just trying to cool off. Our friends were in the same boat. I complained again, but the temperature can be between 69 (that would have been sweet) and 74. Ours was 71.8 the first time they checked it, and nearly 73 the second time. A request for a fan went unanswered.

     

    2477 happens to be one of those large corner cabins, which is why we booked it. We've been in them before and loved them! This was an awesome cabin, also, except for the a/c. And one other oddity: the switch for the light in the bathroom is on the outside of the door, behind it. It took me about four days to teach my older brain to turn the light on first. Because once seated on the toilet, it wasn't gonna happen! Lol!

     

    The shower in the cabin was wonderful, as usual, with excellent pressure. Plenty of storage, again, as usual. And we love the size of the room.

     

    Before I go much further, let me say that my brain, on this cruise, was totally out of wack.

     

    I forgot our passports. :eek:

     

    We were three hours from home, eating breakfast at good ole Cracker Barrell in Chattanooga when my brain kicked in. "I forgot our passports," I said. Of course no one believed me. But then they realized that I truly had forgotten them. Crap. I have never, ever done that before. And I had the passports out to do the paperwork online before we left. I am shaking my head as I type. I still don't know how I did that. Anyway, my wonderful daughter went to our house and got them, and fedexed them to us. Overnight. Just $40. They arrived at the FedEx in Merritt Island, FL the following morning at 10 sharp. We picked them up and went and boarded the ship.

     

    All was well, but I don't recommend forgetting your passports. Good thing my brain kicked in, cause if not, we would not have known till check-in.

     

    We play this particular card game, called hand and foot, with our friends. We brought all of the card playing paraphernalia and quickly found a table up in the old fish and chips area that was perfect. So we spent a lot of time up there playing the first two days at sea. We gambled some, and of course, ate a lot. Food was great! We played ping-pong and putt-putt. Laid out by the pool and got in. The water was warmer than it normally is. We slid down the water slide! DH and I even got an occasional nap in.

     

    Tuesday we arrived at Aruba. We had been there before, but our friends hadn't. D had booked a golfing excursion and was so excited to golf in Aruba. DH and I, along with A were just gonna shop around. That morning, D got a notice from the excursion desk saying his golf excursion was cancelled due to lack of participation. There were only four signed up, and they need six. They said they'd help him get in touch with the others golfers, but it didn't happen. So, the four of us grabbed our own taxi (for the four of us only) and dropped him off at the golf course. He had a blast, but golfed alone. The resort was pretty empty, he said, but the goats and owls kept him company on the course. He said he got a lot practice in.

     

    The remaining three of us got an awesome tour of the island before being dropped off for some shopping.

     

    The following day was a port day in Bonaire, and the four of us had excursion tickets which we had purchased long before the cruise to …I cannot remember the name of it, but it was an eco tour through mangroves. That morning, A told me she had diarrhea. She had no stomach problems, no cramping. She has IBS and has had her gallbladder removed, so this was common for her. I keep lots of medicine, but I had no Imodium, of course. Neither did she. So I went with her to the onboard clinic. DO NOT DO THIS!

     

    I should have known to walk her straight out of there when I saw the letters CDC on top of her form, but again, my brain…

     

    Sure enough, when she came out of the back exam room, she was crying. That’s what she does when she is beyond angry. They had quarantined her! 24 hours! The doc had given her four pills, told her to stay in her cabin and order food when she was hungry. So now she cannot go on the excursion. Neither could she do anything else on the ship that required her card, such as the casino. We also had dinner at the steakhouse that evening reserved, but that must be cancelled. We found out that our whole table at dinner was quarantined. Not even DH and I could go to dinner.

     

    Well, she took her pills, and, since there was nothing much we could do, the three of us took off for our excursion. Her ticket was reimbursed, but she had to prove she didn’t go by returning the ticket to the pursers desk. She was also told by the doctor that her “lost” day of the cruise would be reimbursed. Turns out that it was a bit under $100, and it is a future cruise credit, good for two years. After that, it is gone.

     

    Anyway, the excursion was really very nice. Normally, DH and I don’t do excursions. However, if you do wish to see these mangroves, you need to do the excursion. There is no other way to do it, as it’s run by the “national park” service. We were literally the only people there. It’s quiet and peaceful, and there can only be about 8 pax per excursion. And you see flamingos in the wild.

     

    A note about your food if you’re quarantined: A called for a meal, which she was told was beef broth. “Can I get chicken broth?” “No, we don’t have that.” “Okay, then. And I’ll have a Coke Zero, please.” (They had the coke cards for the cruise.) “No, ma’am, you cannot have dark liquid. It must be Sprite.” “I don’t like Sprite.” “You cannot have dark liquid, I’m sorry.” So they brought her dark broth, filled with peas, carrots, broccoli, and other veggies. :confused: Of course, there are no crackers on a ship.

     

    When we got back, D went and got her a Coke Zero.

     

    We survived the day, but rescheduled our steakhouse dinner for the Grand Turk evening.

     

    The next day, Thursday, A and I had booked massages. 75 whole minutes!! We were so excited. So we hiked up to the front of the ship and did our paperwork. We both decided on hot stones with an additional head, neck and scalp massage. Off she went with her masseuse and I went off with mine. The massage was awesome! I never get massages except when I cruise, and even then, not every time. It’s just hard for me to pay nearly $200 (with tip) for some pampering. However, I do love the hot stones, so I splurged. My masseuse finally got to the final section, my head, and I was in heaven! It was the best part of the massage. When she was done, she went off and got me some water, which I had seen sitting outside in the iced containers. One was orange water and the other was lemon water. She offered me the glass of water, and I asked her if it was lemon. She said yes, and I told her I don’t like lemon water, but I reached for it anyway. I was going to sip on it. But she pulled it out of my reach and set it on a table and said to me, “I will drink the water.” And that was that on the discussion of water drinkage. I was off and running for the rest of the day.

     

    That night I thought I was going to die. My head was in a massive vice grip, and I had a horrible fever. My poor DH was up getting me medicine and fretting over me. I truly thought I had an aneurism or brain tumor. But the next morning, I felt somewhat better, and A told me she had had a horrible headache overnight with a fever!! Me, too!! She said, “you know what it was, don’t you? The massage.” Well, no, I did not know that, but it made sense. I went and googled it, and yes, that can happen, especially if you don’t get enough aqua down. Normally, at home, I am a water drinker, but on a ship I turn into an iced tea drinker. Well, I was eeennhh the whole day, and had a fever again that night. During our dinner at Scarlett’s. I just couldn’t eat. Luckily, my three tablemates somehow ingested my wonderful food rather than it going to waste!

     

    Oh no, our last day, and it was a sea day. It rained all day long. But that was okay, since we played cards most of the day. Btw, the women absolutely butchered the guys during the trip!! I must say, though, I have heard enough of Garth Brooks’ song, the Dance, and then three songs later someone else sing the Dance. They play the same track which is about 2-3 hours long over and over on the whole cruise. It never changes. When you are on the food-o deck, that is all you hear. Over and over. I just can’t figure out why they cannot add more music to their tracks.

     

    I do recommend getting the computer package if you need to keep in touch or whatever social media you do. I wanted to be able to email with my father, but could not, because to get signed in to my yahoo email account, yahoo needed to text me a code. But my cell phone would not work. Long story, but in the end, I was out of touch for the whole cruise. Since my parents are in their 80’s, that was not a good thing.

     

    The Carnival Hub, Carnival’s onboard communication system between passengers and Carnival, worked part of the time. You have to be in airplane mode and wifi, and even though we were, it only worked sporadically. But it’s $5 for the whole cruise, so I guess it’s worth it.

     

    Also irritating was trying to watch football. We were able to see some in the sports bar, full of cigarette smoke, and some on our cabin tvs. As you walked past a couple of sections, Carnival had a “ticker” type sign advertising Thursday night football, the Titans vs. the Jaguars, Thursday night at 8 PM, or whatever the time was, on NFL!! But, …they don’t have the NFL channel. So, no Thursday night football. And being from Tennessee, that was extremely disappointing. Come to find out later, we won! :D

     

    All in all, it was a good cruise. I did learn some lessons that I probably should have known as a seasoned cruiser. A trip to the doctor may mean quarantine. We all totally understand why that happened, but it was frustrating anyway, especially since she didn’t have norovirus. I will, in the future, bring along Imodium, an oral thermometer, and a room thermometer. Just saying. I won’t ever forget my passports again.

     

    Sorry this was so long. I hope you get something you can use out of it.

    Carnival's Steakhouse - Worth the price?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Mikayla's Mom,

     

    We don't book the spec restaurant on formal nights. Alot of the booking time depends on the ship's itinerary. For example, if we are in Coz, we may choose that night for the spec rest because we've been to Cozumel so many times and it's not a problem to be back early. Or, another port may have you back on the ship at 4p.m., so that may be a good night to go. It also depends on how many days your cruise is.

     

    You may want to keep your reservation, but when you arrive on the ship you can check on times and menus and change your reservation if you wish.

     

    Shay

    Carnival Pride Unexpected Disappointment

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    OP,

     

    The best thing you can do here on Cruise Critic is keep coming back and answering some of the questions/comments.

     

    I am sorry you had a bad cruise. Our friends got a room under the gym once, and we all learned a lesson then. So now we always make sure about the cabin location when booking.

     

    They've just decided to do that with bacon; as others said, just ask for more. Try the MDR for b'fast. We do that and always ask for crisp bacon and get it.

     

    Shay

    On loud "music"

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    J,

     

    You know, it's not something I've ever thought about until I read your post. So apparently it doesn't bother me. If I want peace and quiet, there are places on the ship to find it, and there's always the cabin.

     

    I like the music out by the pool area; it adds to the ambiance of being tropical.

     

    Shay

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