BettyBurrito

12 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

 

 

Well, as you said BettyBurrito, when my travel agent called MSC today they said this was no more.  I told my TA I would wait a few days, but then I got to kind of stewing on it and decided to call and cancel when I got home from work.  Just got off the phone with my TA. Took almost an hour, but I am cancelled.  I am both said and relieved.  Still have our flights and no way to refund them, so I would love to think maybe I could rebook down the road, but too much uncertainty.  Told my TA if they would shorten the window to even 45 days I would have let them hold onto everything and waited to cancel, but with current travel restrictions I just couldn't risk it.

 

But weird thing - my TA was told to ask me why I was cancelling (um, duh?) and when I said basically the coronavirus, TA was told she had to be transferred to another department .  Then she was told I was "allowed" to cancel (yeah, I am over 100 days out from my cruise!); but then they transferred her and put her on hold again and in the end it is cancelled, but they are saying 1 to 2 billing cycles to get reimbursed. 

 

 

Sorry to hear. MSC could have done a great thing with extending the cancellation period. Looks like we're in the same boat.

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Thanks for sharing. I understood that for new bookings if they pay additionally 50 Euro, they will be able to cancel up to 21 days before cruise date. 
it is also a lot of bla, bla, but not really concrete advise for those cruisers booked to sail on the next months.

For the U.S. this 21 day in advance cancellation policy was in effect for 24 hours. MSC then decided to rescind that offer and not honor. We were on a sailing leaving May 31 out of Venice. We were told of the 21 day cancellation offer and asked for it in writing. The crisis team said they couldn't do that yet but to call back in a few days. We called back on Friday of last week and were told that offer was taken off the table. 

Yesterday was the day for final payment and we decided to cancel. We would not have cancelled if the 21 day cancellation policy held. The crisis team agent was very nice but he had no explanation as to why this offer was rescinded. 

Seems like things are changing on a daily basis. 

Thanks for the review and info; I'm glad all worked out with the tropical storm!

 

We have booked this parking lot. We have an emailed receipt. How does it work when you arrive? Do they have people checking the receipt or is it automated somehow?

 

Thanks!

We printed out the confirmation and had it ready for them. I do think I remember them having a printout of all those coming in. We were then directed to a parking space. They had larger golf carts to take you to the port even though it's very walkable, it saves you from hauling luggage over some uneven pavement. The ride is complementary and tip is appreciated.

We are taking a Western Caribbean cruise that visits Belize, Honduras, and Cozumel the first week in October. In the event that a hurricane detours us to another Port what ports would or could they possibly be? Want to do a little backup research as far as options since we have a four-year-old up to a sixteen-year-old traveling with us and need great Excursion opportunities to entertain everyone. TIA

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

We were on the Breeze last week on the same itinerary when tropical storm Franklin was going through. It was hitting Cozumel on Tuesday, the day were were supposed to dock. The captain changed up the itinerary so Tuesday was a sea day and we went south to north (Roatan, Belize and then Cozumel on Friday). All port days were beautiful and we had one cloudy, rocky day on Tuesday but not too bad since he was staying a certain distance away from the storm.

Also, we didn't know anything until the captain announced the changes on Monday.

Hope this helps.

BB

What does carnival do about your excursions if a port is move to another day or skipped?

On the cruise I was on last week where we had an excursion booked through Carnival on a port day that was moved from Wednesday to Thursday. Carnival simply moved everything over. We even were able to use the same excursion tickets. Very easy.

For the other 2 days that were moved, we had excursions booked outside of Carnival. We had to contact those companies while on board to get the reservations moved.

BB

Did you pre-reserve with Mr. Sancho's online? There were many people when we got there last March.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise,

Yes, we made reservations online. They looked full on the day we were there. Service didn't suffer, though.

You shouldn't worry about it. I just got off the Breeze on Sunday. We were on the same itinerary as you when tropical storm Franklin was crossing the area. The captain reversed our itinerary and moved our second sea day from the end to the beginning. We had beautiful weather in all ports. The captain announced we would stay about 200 nautical miles away from the storm. We had one cloudy and choppy sea day. No big deal.

But...we didn't hear anything until the day before we were to dock in Cozumel. They won't announce anything until the last minute.

Enjoy your cruise!

My husband and 13 year old son were on this cruise and we've cruised quite a bit in the past. I was surprised to notice we haven't been on Carnival since 2009. That was a Western Caribbean cruise on the Conquest and we were so bored on that trip, there didn't seem to be much going on during the day except for the sales pitches for skin treatments, white teeth and such. We've been away for a while, mostly because itineraries on other lines were what we wanted but a little bit because it was such a disappointing experience.

Fast forward to 2017 on the Breeze. Wow...what a difference! We had such a great time, I'm ready to book another Carnival cruise next year. So here is a breakdown:

Parking:

We chose Park and Cruise. Very convenient location meant not having to get on a shuttle. It's walking distance to the port and is inside a parking garage.

Embarkation:

We did FTTF and thought it was well worth it just for the fact that we were able to immediately get on the ship. Embarkation was delayed a bit so we had to wait about 1/2 hour for them to begin boarding. But no problem, vacation had officially begun!

Cabin:

We had balcony cabin 8363. Loved that we were between 2 floors of cabins. The only noise was that of a family across the hall that had 3-4 cabins and they'd congregate in the hall a lot. I didn't care, everything was pretty quiet after 10pm anyway. The cabin had plenty of storage. We did forget some clothing that we put in the drawers under the couch. If you use those drawers, make a mental note to remember them on the last night.

Our cabin steward presented us with a card when we got there that asked whether we wanted 1x per day or 2x per day cleanings. We chose twice per day and he did a lovely job.

Food:

I thought the food was pretty darned good. We had dinner most nights in the Sapphire formal dining room. And yes, Bitter and Blanc was on the menu! For lunch, it was either Blue Iguana (I loved the breakfast burritos in the morning, too), Pizza or Guy Fieri's burgers. All 3 options were just fine for us. I did try the Mongolian grill on day and I wasn't too thrilled. One odd thing is there is no rice there, only noodles. Swirls was always a great choice for a sweet treat. Mmmm.

Entertainment:

There was always something to do. Mike Patch, the current cruise director was amazing. He made music trivia shows a major fun time. He's a hilarious guy and we enjoyed him very much.

We went to the family comedy shows each night they were offered. There were always 2 family shows and 2 to 3 adult shows per night. The theater would be completely cleared in between shows to accommodate those who were standing in line. We always went to the first family show and never had a problem getting seats. We would arrive about 20 minutes prior to showtime.

We skipped the production shows but listened to some of the bands and really enjoyed them.

Ports:

Roatan - we went to Little French Key. We had been there a couple of years ago and I wanted to take our son. It's a great way to spend the day but it felt more crowded this time. When we were there before, the owner hadn't yet built some of the restaurants and guest suites. It felt more like sharing his private island. This time, it seems much more commercial. Still, it's a beautiful place and my son jumped off the platform into the water for about 6 hours straight.

Belize - We did cave tubing through Carnival. Yes, you must carry your own tubes (they were pretty light) and there is no headrest on the tube (this didn't seem to be an issue) and the tubes were tied together, no holding of feet. The path was even but rocky on the 15 minute walk to the river. The water was cool and refreshing. We all liked the experience but I think once is enough for me. We chose the excursion without lunch. This gave us more options when lunchtime arrived as we were with the people who paid for lunch. They had a buffet style lunch set up. We ordered tacos and nachos from an independent vendor on site. They were pretty good.

Cozumel - We went to Mr. Sanchos and loved it. I think another reviewer said the water was dirty. I don't think it was dirty, it just wasn't clear water like we had in Roatan but I think no matter which beach you were at, the water might have been the same in the general vicinity. I will definitely be back. The service was outstanding and the food and drinks pretty good. The mixed drinks weren't strong but I'm good with that since I usually don't drink during the day anyway. And of course, my son really loved the inflatables. He ended the day tired, sore and happy.

Debarkation:

Since we did FTTF, we were off the ship by about 7:50 and home by noon. Yay!

Tropical Storm Franklin:

I have to give a shout out to the Captain and Carnival. We were heading south to Cozumel just as Franklin was heading west. We were scheduled to be in Cozumel on Tuesday, right when Franklin was passing through. The captain announced on Monday that instead of going to Cozumel on Tuesday, we'd have another sea day and visit Cozumel on Friday. He then reversed the order of Roatan and Belize so we went south to north.

This change in schedule meant we only had one day of clouds and semi-rough seas (9ft, I think). All of our port days were sunny and beautiful.

And a shout out to Mr. Sanchos. We emailed them on Monday to change our reservation to Friday. They got back to us within a half an hour. Really great service!

We are rerouting. Tomorrow a sea day instead of Cozumel. Roatan first on Wed, Belize and then Cozumel on Friday. Captain has slowed down to stay a certain distance from the storm. We were supposed to go Cozumel, Belize and then Roatan. Seas still calm.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Wondering if anyone knows of ships rerouting this week?

I'm on the Breeze right now and haven't heard anything yet. We're due to be in Cozumel tomorrow. Hopefully the Captain will let us know today.

Currently, seas are calm and its mostly sunny.

Evelyn

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We were on a cruise out of Taiwan and missed all of our ports due to a typhoon hovering over Japan. LOL We had fun on the ship none the less! A day on a ship is better than any day in the office!!!

So true!

What ports are you going to? We are supposed to go to Cozumel and Costa Maya. Right in the storms possible path. LOL

Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. This is the first cruise ever where we've had to contend with weather.

I'm nervous about this, too. We're leaving Sunday on the Breeze. I'm not too concerned about missing a port but it's my son's first cruise since he was 2 and he gets a bit of motion sickness in cars. This was the, hey-let's-see-if-he-can-handle-a-cruise, cruise. Of course this storm is brewing. Ugh.

Wow...it's been a while since I've been on Carnival. Thanks for the info.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

What is FTTF?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums