groundloop

OH yeah, I forgot to mention that the Junior Suite I was in was on deck 14 on Elation. Right above those cabins is a wide open 'Sun Deck', and every morning at around 6:00 AM someone was up there moving chairs around while I was trying to sleep.

I tried a junior suite once when I found a good deal, in my most humble opinion the "perks" aren't really that big of a deal. The cabin is a bit larger than a regular balcony, but not by a lot. The bathroom had a double sink, which was kind of nice, but not a huge difference. (And as it turned out that was my cruise from hell. Priority boarding (this was pre-Covid) went out the window when the ship wasn't ready in time and everyone had to wait for over an hour in a cramped "lounge". The last night of the cruise we got into a huge storm with tropical storm force winds and 20 foot seas, the ship had to slow to a crawl for quite a while and we were several hours late getting into port so priority debarkation didn't happen.)

Nobody knows for sure except a handful of suits at the Carnival office. However, it's a big moneymaker for Carnival since it essentially costs them nothing, so you can bet they're going to bring it back as soon as possible. Probably the only thing holding them back is getting staffed up enough to ensure that the FTTF cabins can be made ready in time.

Very true, but even then many of them don't cool very well. And as far as bringing soda on the ship, yes, each guest is allowed to bring up to 12 cans or cartons of a non-alcoholic beverage (no bottles allowed).

We're flying from ATL to SFO in a couple of weeks for a cruise and are supposed to have a 1 hour layover in Houston (IAH). I'm beginning to question if that's enough of a safety margin and wonder if I should look into changing the second leg to a flight that leaves 2 hours later. The currently booked flight on United leaves ATL at approx. noon on a Tuesday, arrives at IAH at approximately 1:30 PM, and connecting flight departs IAH at approximately 2:30 PM. I'm considering changing the second leg to a flight that departs IAH at approximately 4:30 PM. Thoughts?

The date shown on that (Oct. 3, 2021) doesn't make sense because the topic number (2876998) is THIS thread.

We went on a Carnival excursion to Chichen Itza from the port at Progresso, after taking the ferry ride to the mainland from Cozumel into account that'll take about an hour less each way. And I'll say yes, it was definitely worth seeing (we had also visited Tulum several years ago).

Unless you're booked through a travel agent, in which case Carnival forces you to call the agent to change your dining time.

I'll look into that. Will we need reservations?

I'm honestly not looking to do this for the food, but rather the 'experience' and being able to see more of Hawaii while we're there. My wife mentioned wanting to go to a luau, which I'm not really into, and I see that this dinner cruise has a show so I'll count that as close enough.

Out of curiosity I looked up the dimensions of the Spirit class and Conquest class, the beam of the Spirit class is 106 feet and 116 feet for the Conquest class. Seeing as how Pride only had about 2 to 3 feet of clearance I'll go out on a limb and say that Conquest has to go through the new locks.

Here's the excursions Carnival offers at Colon. You can go to your planner where you select which cruise you want to book activities and at the bottom of the page is an option to look at offerings for all ships and destinations. https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions?q=:recommended:port:Colon+(Panama+Canal)%2C+Panama&sort=recommended&page=0

We did the Panama Canal cruise on Pride last November, it was one of my favorites. They bring a local guide/historian on board who talks about the history of building the canal and how the canal is operated, that was fascinating to hear. I wonder if another cruise line combines a trip through the locks with stops at Colon and/or Cartagena.

We did two cruises on Pride at the end of last year and have to say that I agree with you, I don't understand the negative comments. I liked Pride a lot.

You have to pay for excursions when you book them, and if you cancel you'll get a refund for excursions and wi-fi to whatever form of payment you used for booking them. I'm not positive about port fees, it sounds like you're past the final payment date and I don't have any experience with that.

Every time I've sailed out of Tampa on Carnival it's been Terminal 3, and we've never returned to a different terminal. Just for the heck of it I did a quick check of the cruise schedule from the Port of Tampa website and every single Carnival listing I saw was for Terminal 3. If anyone has problems walking you'll want to drop them off at the terminal at the same time you drop luggage since it's a bit of a walk from the parking garage (maybe the equivalent of 3 city blocks or so). Or else pay extra for valet parking.

Exactly. We were on Holland America in June and 1) they had a much better television in the cabins than that sorry little thing Carnival calls a TV and 2) their free offerings blew Carnival's out of the water. And yes, it's nice to be able to relax in the cabin and watch a movie in the evening. Are you reading this John Heald?

Carnival sent out a survey regarding TV service, on-demand movies, etc. a couple of months ago. I wonder if they're in the process of upgrading (which is badly needed, the in-cabin television offerings are a joke compared to other cruise lines).

We're thinking about the Atlantis Submarine excursion booked through Carnival, and also looking at a dinner cruise that evening on our own. Carnival's website shows the Atlantis Submarine excursion as taking 5 hours, which would have us getting back to the ship at about 4 PM. Check-in for the dinner cruise I'm looking at is at 4:45 PM, and appears to be a short walk from the cruise ship port. Can anyone who's done the Atlantis Submarine excursion give me an idea as to the likelihood of being delayed much beyond the scheduled return? (I've been on a handful of excursions over the years that got back a good bit late).

Typically at 1:30 PM.

EVERYBODY wants the earliest check-in times. That, coupled with the fact that actual boarding never begins on time, plus the large number of people who show up well before their appointment creates a big mess in the terminal. To be honest there will be plenty of time to wander around the ship even if you get a later check-in appointment. I've learned that it's easier to go with one of the later check-in times, you can walk right onto the ship with no crowds and go directly to your cabin without waiting on the crowded lido deck.

I just pulled up my boarding pass for the last time we sailed out of Tamp and final boarding time was 2:30 PM.

I've sailed out of Tampa a total of three times, twice since the restart. The earliest arrival appointments were 10:00 AM but boarding typically didn't start for another 30 or 45 minutes after that - which led to large crowds in the terminal exacerbated by folks who showed up way before their appointment. And I'll mention again here that I recently sailed on Holland America for the first time I really like their boarding procedure. You're assigned an arrival time by the cruise line and not allowed into the terminal until your appointment. Check-in goes quickly and then you get on the ship and have access to your cabin immediately, no sitting around on a crowded lido deck with all of your carry-ons.

You'll experience the absolute least motion on a lower deck and approximately 2/3 of the way from the front.

There's also a safety video for you to watch on your cabin television which will most likely be playing when you get there.