Linda the Book Lover

WillCruiseForMoney, Wow I came upon this when I was just sitting and reading to give myself a break from "reading a book" (I know I am still reading..LOL) and boy am I impressed! Thank you so much for putting this together!

I would love the no testing! As soon as there is a third booster I am running to get the latest one. Sure you can still get whatever you are getting vaccinated for but at least it will not be as bad.

We have been on three cruises in less than a year and each one we have gone and gotten tested. One time the place closed down to testing so off I went in search of another testing facility. It is true many are tired of this procedure but I feel it will sadly remine at least a few months more.

Great news for myself, daughter and granddaughter our bid for SJ cabin on Pride of America was accepted. We bid $600/$1200 total. We originally booked B1 an aft facing cabin. We are going to love the extra space. We sail on Sunday, June 18th.

Thanks it does help and I appreciate you sharing. It is interesting to see what others have bid. I do think the winning bid amount also has to do with the amount of people who are bidding as well as price. Maybe next time.

We paid $39.60 for the dinner service charge for the "2 free specialty meals" and they gave us $50. Not a refund of what we paid so basically we received $10.50. Since there is three of us, and I still have two platinum dinners and will make reservations to enjoy one night at each of the specialty dining venues in Cagney's and Jefferson's Bistro and use the 2 free for the third person each time. We enjoyed POA before and Cadillac Diner was a favorite.

We loved the Wind and sailed her twice, before and after stretch. One time was Hawaii and it was a wonderful time. I was sorry she no longer sails.

Glad to hear the Steakhouse wa great. We ate at the Steakhouse on the Miracle which was excellent and the Radiance which was a huge miss. They had to send for another chef because Bless the one trying to do the steaks it was a catastrophe. We were told the chef was very new. Of course we will eat at the Steakhouse once again! Carnival always does it best at least in my opinion to ensure you have a great time.

We sailed on the Miracle last November and the Radiance in March so we are really looking forward to our sailings this year on the Panorama. I agree I so love the new muster, so easy and quick as well. We do not sail the first time on the Panorama until July so I am hoping more food options will be available. Did your parents and husband enjoy the sky ride?

I think you are right the staff stairs may be the stairs direct to the Havana area. I will definitely ask for a lounger, as I have been known to ask even on a small balconies. 😃

Sorry

Counting down the days and wondered if anyone has stayed in this cabin. I heard there is a back staircase from Deck 7 to the Havana area. Thanks for your help.

Let us know when we check in if you get the surprise of a new cabin.

We are going to try and get the reservations as soon as we board. Once they are taken care of we will grab a bite to eat while we wait for the cabin to be ready. Since we sailed on her and would have enjoyed pool/ocean days at the hotel pre-cruise we can stand in line before doing anything else.

Huge thanks once again!

I am also platinum but I personally have not had good luck with the concierge service except of course in the Haven. I am going to take Markkw07’s advice.

Thanks! We will do exactly this. Could you also book Skyline as well?

I received the email this morning advising our restaurant reservations are canceled and we need to rebook on the ship. Will we get the same days and times, most likely not but we will survive. This will be our second time on POA and my granddaughter is so excited to sail on her once again. We recently laughed and talked about the pretzel rolls and the Cadillac Diner we will enjoy. I guess we may enjoy them more this trip. We actually booked two ship excursions this time around instead of the private ones from last time, which is also something else to look forward to this upcoming trip. The ship's restaurant issue is a non-issue for us as between pre and post time spent at the Hale Koa and 12 days in Hawaii - for us it doesn't get better than this. I am curious from those who recently sailed if earlier times for restaurants were harder to get once you booked onboard?

Whew! Thanks for the information. Both of my bids say pending so I will wait for the processing word since it will be another 20 days until we sail. It is early yet but this is my first time bidding.

I bid for this cabin as well. I am hoping my "poor bid" actually gets a win.

As we are getting closer I would like to read an update since we have not sailed POA for a couple of years.

The last time in Hawaii pre-COVID, we booked all of our excursions through local channels and also from recommendations from others doing the same,.We had a great time! We only had one huge miss on a day tour through Viator and they took care of it to our satisfaction. We loved the small groups of 6-8 people. On Maui we walked to the bus station and took the bus to the aquarium for a behind the scenes tour (traveling with my granddaughter but I think I loved it more). We found locals to be very friendly and happy to give us directions. We also book local companies on other cruises as well though the last three post-COVID restrictions in back to sailing, we booked through the ship except Catalina.

Just received notice our Kona excursions was canceled. Was there any available when you sailed?

I love your positive opinion. We are sailing mid-June and what will be will be. I have sailed three times since November, not as many people sailing and not fully staffed on MSC and Carnival. Everyone just had a good time and figured nothing will be the same for a little while. We have reservations at La Cucina, Cagney's, and Skyline (free dining) but we are ready to just go with the flow if adjustments need to be made. My daughter, granddaughter and I are excited about returning to Hawaii and spending time in Honolulu at the Hale Kai pre and post cruise. We love the islands and what will be will be on the ship.

We have always taken towels off of the ship and then brought them back to our cabin when we returned.