gone_cruisin

3 minutes ago, TBone2K said:

Considering the unlimited dining package for our next cruise. Saw it was 35% off, but couldn't select it for some reason. Then it was 25% off.

Question is does it get any better than 35%?

I got one for 45% off during their Black Friday sale - but I have not seen it any higher than 35% off otherwise.

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have sen medevac there twice, the land right on the pier 

And then take the injured/sick person where?  A hospital in Haiti?

I get that RCL can isolate it's customers to the secured area (for the most part).  But what happens if someone gets really sick and needs immediate hospitalization?  Now the nearest hospital is no longer an option - would have to be something in the DR.

41 minutes ago, CSHS1979 said:

Hope they don't cancel swimming with pugs. Those pugs need to eat.

Wait!  What?  Where is this swimming with the pugs!?!?!?!?

Sign me up!

Fairly new to Royal Caribbean and considering buying the ultimate dining package. 

Asking for frequent cruises to convince me that the UDP is worth the stress and anxiety.

I’m not particularly impressed with the process of how to get reservations.  I don’t like rushing to get on the ship with the crowds.  Will be choosing the last boarding to avoid as much of the chaos as possible.  Late boarding a priority for us.  However, late boarding is put us at a disadvantage for getting these reservations.  Plus, running around the ship to get these reservations just seems counterproductive of a relaxing vacation.  I just want grab a drink and relax for a bit.

We typically do a majority speciality dining as we feel like.  Understanding that reservations fill up quickly for prime time, we usually have zero issue getting the 5pm or 9pm ones on other cruiselines (typically grab the 9pm).  

We also plan to do lunch each sea day in each restaurant (are these easier to get last minute?).

Paying full price isn’t an issue either.  I like saving money, but I’d rather have dinner the night that I want and plan it around the show times if we want see the shows.  

Because it’s too early to know what the show times and dates might be, it makes it difficult to buy a la carte dinner reservations in advance (though we’re not opposed to it either if the likelihood of getting day of reservations is too slim).

I guess this is where you guys come in with advice.

Are reservations all booked up by the first night with other UDPers?  

Do they set aside reservations for those us willing to pay full price?

Is buying a la crate now a better option and hoping we don’t overlap with a show we want to see?

Or is UDP the only way to go and I’m gonna have suck up boarding with the crowds and fight to get to the restaurant stand ASAP?

Which is the best/least stressful option for us?

I’m not in a suite, so I don’t have the concierge option.  

I feel stressed out just typing this.  All I wanna do is relax, and not chase dinner or show times.

Thanks I’m advance everyone!

Hi everyone!

We're hopping over to Celebrity to The Retreat after recently cruising the Star Suites on RCL.  Absolutely loved it (and the Genie).  Booked this back in Sept of 2022 for a December of 2024 cruise on the Reflection in a Sunset Sky Suite.  

I don't frequent the boards very much, so I am just now discovering the butler removal from SS.  Clearly I am very disappointed as I booked this suite specifically for the amenities listed from Sept 2022.  

I am now second guessing the December cruise if the butler situation does not resolve itself before final payment.  For the price I am paying for this "suite", I cannot justify the cost if I am going to be getting a room steward that is overworked trying to assist.  I would rather just pay for a balcony at that point.

I hope people continue to update this thread to let everyone know if/when the butlers return.

On 2/19/2023 at 7:45 AM, Viajera7 said:

 

Carnival is charging for popcorn,

Blasphemy!   Seriously!!!!!

No more free popcorn for the poolside movies. 

Those b@s#&ds!  I enjoyed the popcorn - it was a nice touch.

43 minutes ago, Robpuffdaddy said:

So there is a difference between a suite guest and a diamond and platinum.  Suite guest can go to there rooms and stay.  I bet that it is because that the cabin stewards can clean the suites first and get them ready, but they might not be able to know which of the rest of the cabins will have a diamond or platinum guest in them.

Guess so?

Carnival clearly changed their room admittance policy for platinum/diamond sometime after February 16th.

$149 Balcony 7 day Western Carib on the Dream.  Not a casino or interline rate.  Booked 2 weeks out.  Random offer we saw and grabbed it.

17 hours ago, Robpuffdaddy said:

Got this email yesterday for my cruise on the Freedom in 2 weeks.  We have a suite and it clearly states that we will have access to our cabin when we board the ship.

 

 

SUITE UPDATE AND ONLINE CHECK-IN INVITATION

Dear Valued Suite Guest, As you get ready for your cruise, we want to make you aware of an important update regarding some of your suite priority benefits.   Suite guests will be given 48 hours advance access to select their preferred Arrival Appointment. Please visit My Cruise Manager on Carnival.com starting at 16 days prior to sailing to complete your Online Check-In and select the Arrival Appointment that works best with your plans. We will not be able to accommodate guests who show up outside their Arrival Appointment. Upon arrival to the terminal, look for the Priority line to check-in. Once on board, you will be able to access your stateroom.   Priority luggage delivery is available for checked-bags. Priority debark and water shuttle debark is available at the home port and ports of call. Thank you for your business.  Our great staff and crew can’t wait to welcome you on board! Sincerely,

Christine Duffy President, Carnival Cruise Line

We received the first email on February 16th saying that we would be allowed into our staterooms.  When I printed my boarding pass that day, they did not have the foot note about the staterooms.  Just checked this evening and now it's been added. 

Guess the February 16th email is old news now.

Cruising this Saturday and this was just added to our boarding pass.

When I printed them 2 weeks ago, we did not have the red "priority" in the upper left hand corner.  The also added the foot note about stateroom access after 1:30pm for everyone.  Friend also just off the exact same cruise and confirmed that they are not letting anyone but suites get into their room - and even he could not access his suite right away.

On 2/16/2023 at 1:56 PM, mz-s said:

 

No more port of call themed nights in the dining room.

 

 

Really?  I enjoyed this.  😞  In fact, I enjoyed the MDR menu having a special dish specifically for the port.  Please say they still do this?!?!?!

Can anyone give any details about not arriving during your appointment time?  Cruising out of Galveston and I have a 12:00-12:30pm arrival, but I am actually considering staying on the pier a little longer to let all the mob get on board first.  Maybe grabbing lunch at one of the restaurants by Harbor House?

Anyone have any experience with arriving late - even if it was by accident.  Any issues?  Carnival give you a hard time?

Is Carnival still doing the free bottle of wine on the first cruise night at the steakhouse.  Also, we are cruising out of Galveston and I know they have funky alcohol rule - is that impacted by it?

Its been 5 years since I've been on Carnival and I am not sure what has changed and what has stayed the same.

30 minutes ago, maluhia87 said:

Just sailed on the Freedom last week.  Boarding passes said platium and we never sat down after we arrived until on the ship.  We arrived about 20 minutes after our window and easily went through the boarding process, other than the slow down for the drug sniffing dog.  

Thank you for the info.

2 hours ago, groundloop said:

 

Yep, I'd love for my boarding pass to SCREAM privilege!!!!  🤣

 

I turned Platinum for my Christmas cruise, my boarding pass was just the same as everyone else's in that they said "Platinum" at the upper right but nothing else indicated that I had priority boarding.  

 

Every single employee we encountered at Port Canaveral who was directing us looked at the boarding pass and sent us to the appropriate "Platinum" line, waiting area, etc.  They apparently have been told what to look for on the boarding passes.

That’s good to know.  Thank you.

7 minutes ago, shof515 said:

sailing next week and i have same problem too. hopefully the workers know that platinum = priority

I wonder if it’s port specific?  Are you going out of PC?

I worry that the dock worker is going to be so focused in on looking for the priority labels that we get kicked to general boarding…..which we cannot do because our elderly parents are joining us.  They can’t stand or walk for long periods.  They have FTTF.

I guess I’ll be calling carnival today to find out how they plan to fix our boarding passes.

Carnivals FAQs shows that I should at least have the red priority in the upper left hand corner.  
 

plus I noticed I was given a boarding group.  Thought priority didn’t have a boarding group, only an assigned check in time.

it’s weird because our luggage has priority.

Long time Platinum cruiser - though it has been 4 years since we've cruised with Carnival.

Just checked in for our January cruise and our boarding pass does not have the red priority in the upper left hand corner.  Our luggage tags say priority.  Anyone know why the hiccup?  

We are traveling with Gold family members and they are linked to our reservation, so I will need to check them in two days from now.  Are they holding us back on getting the "priority" label?  

21 minutes ago, nycruise1 said:

I got this message too yesterday, kind of scary it still is a problem. I have some time so I am waiting a bit before trying again

Our final payment is due in 10 days and we do not intend to sail under these new policies.  Also stuck with a non-refundable Early Saver booking - so this should be a fun conversation.

Anyone else trying to get a hold of Carnival to make changes/cancel their cruise and getting this automated answer from the recording?  I sat on hold for an hour around 3pm, but Carnival ended up hanging up on me.  Figured I would try calling again later tonight - but now not able to get through at all.

As of this morning, we now have zero cruises in our profiles.  So it appears the process is starting. 

Thanks everyone!

Maybe I am off, but from what I am reading, it appears those that are cancelling on their own and are not within penalty are getting their refunds before those who RCCL canceled their cruises?

So here is where we stand.....

May 3rd Oasis of the Seas

We had to wait until the second round of announcements on March 24th to request the refund.  As soon as RCCL announced the extended cancellations on Facebook, I immediately called RCCL directly to cancel.  Had not received the email yet where you could fill out the form.  Was told on that phone call it would be 7-10 days for the refund.

April 18th, we received our cruise documents via email.  This prompted me to login into RCCL website and noticed that the sailing was still showing under my upcoming cruises.  Confused, I immediately called RCCL to verify if our cancellation request had even been processed.  It took a lot of back and forth between the agent and her supervisor to verify it.  At first, she believed that we had called before RCCL made it official and we were within the penalty phase.  But ultimately after that call, she noted that the request to cancel was still on file and that now it could take up to 60 days to get a refund.

After getting off the phone, I went to RCCL email where they offered requesting the refund via a form.  I submitted the form, but I received a pop up informing me that my reservation had already received a cancelation request.

To date....the cruise is still showing in our profile as an upcoming cruise and I am still receiving emails as if this cruise is sailing.

Anyone else having similar issues?

Loving this thread!

Done the New England cruise before - only 5 days though. Looking forward to the 7 day next year.

By chance, did you get to see any fall color changes?

Loved the Sunshine. Have sailed her twice and looking forward to number 3 in 2017 also.

Some complain about it being crowded, but I have never had a problem finding a quiet place to get away from the crowds. The serenity deck is large that there is almost some place to sit.