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3 hours ago, candydane said:

Have you cruised yet?  Please post how your Long Beach experience goes/went.

 

 

 

Not yet - Dec 30th is when we disembark and need to catch our flight...

18 hours ago, shannongirrrl said:

Will we only be able to participate in bubble tours instead of regular excursions?

I believe this is standard across cruise lines. We were recently on RCL and had the same issue with my 6 yr old - she was unvaccinated at the time and not able to go off the ship unless it was on a 'bubble' tour. We managed it by sending her with grandma for the tour, while the rest of the vaccinated group went to the same spot independently on a cab etc.  Those cruise excursions often have significant mark-ups that really start to add up with a group. 

Another requirement to keep in mind is mid-cruise testing requirement - I believe Carnival charges $150 for this mandatory extra test required for unvaccinated passengers.

**

Hi,

Taking my 6 yr old and my in-laws on a short cruise out of LGB after Christmas. I'm trying to do a bit of planning so they can get the most out of the short time they have on the ship.  This will be my 2nd cruise ever, and first one on Carnival - first one was on RC Symphony last month which we really enjoyed and hence trying to give my visiting in-laws a short cruise experience as part of their trip to California and AZ. 

On Royal Caribbean, show reservations were 'sold out' very early on the trip, and although we ended up getting access via waiting lists to pretty much all of them, it was still a bit of a hassle to show up early and not be sure if we would get in or not. Is it similar on Carnival?  What 'reservations' if any should I try and book early, and if so, when is a good time to do it - right away after boarding?

On RC, we were allowed to bring in couple of cases of bottled water per stateroom, also a bottle or 2 of wine/champagne per cabin - does Carnival do something similar? Where can I find information on what's allowed - quantity, bottle size for bottled water etc?

We have the "cloud 9 spa balcony" cabins, any suggestions/tips on this front - I read something about access to heated loungers - are these limited and do folks 'reserve' them early by throwing towels on them? 

In terms of weather - we are from the East coast and not too familiar with the weather - would it be too cold to expect to get into the pools and water slides? I'm asking this especially for my 6 yr old - she does a lot better if I prep her expectations ahead of time. She loved the slides and pools on the Symphony of the seas - for her going on a cruise is automatically associated with water slides. 

Is there any clarity on availability of the 'Seuss at Sea', kid's ocean camp etc - Month or so ago, it seemed like Carnival did not have these things available but expected to have them up and running by December.  

Calling Carnival customer service has been a disaster for the last couple of weeks - Kept getting disconnected and 'unavailable due to technical difficulties'.  And the Carnival website isn't great in terms of updated info.  

Thanks in advance.  Any and all advice/tips/info appreciated.

15 hours ago, TheSeagoer said:

75%

what are you basing this on?  I have asked Carnival directly and they dodge the question by saying they follow "CDC regulations" for this.  And after reading through a massive PDF, as of now I think the max allowed is 90%.  So essentially it boils down to whatever Carnival is able to sell for a given itinerary up to 90%.  

3 hours ago, 2fromaurora said:

I do NOT recommend taking the  emed home proctored BinaxNOW test.  While I  was helped immediately to take the test, I have been waiting online now for 4 hours for a proctor to return to confirm my results. I have also been on  hold on the phone for nearly 3 hours to try to get assistance.  If you  must do this, make sure you don't have meetings or actually have to work for the entire day.  SO STRESSFUL!!!!!!!!!!!

Another issue wiht the BinaxNow test - my F-I-L just used one of those tests on Sunday, and tested Positive, so we got him a PCR test by a nearby lab and isolated him.  He had zero symptoms btw, and the PCR test came back negative.  This makes me think that the Binax tests have a possibility of returning false positives.  If folks are just counting on this test alone before getting on the cruise, and don't have a backup plan to get tested somewhere else in case of this type of scenario, that can create the exact stress that they are trying to avoid by spending money on these tests to begin with.  

IN our case, we are traveling to California and are in hotels ahead of our cruise from Long Beach, which departs on 27th, so we're going to have to get the tests done on the 26th. I was planning on using these tests for the entire group even though most of us have insurance coverage, but now I'm back to scheduling appt for a nearby Pharmacy or lab.  

16 hours ago, Loopdan said:

Maybe a stupid question, but why are so many people buying these at home test kits (and often buying multiples per person due to quality control issues) when rapid tests are available at many pharmacies and cost nothing with your insurance?

 

Is this a regional thing where some pharmacies don't have these available or it's difficult to get an appointment?

We have family visiting from abroad as part of our  travel group for the cruise, and they will not have US insurance coverage.  I'm not sure what pharmacies in California charge for folks who do not have insurance coverage, for the tests - whether rapid antigen or the PCR ones.  So I was thinking these at-home tests might be a good cost-effective way to fulfill the testing requirements.  Everybody is fully vaccinated and I even arranged for my in-laws to to get the Pfizer booster now that they are here in the US.  

On 8/30/2021 at 8:37 AM, AF-1 said:

Hello all, Delta just notified me of a schedule change for my October cruise.  I now have a 10:15 flight out of LGB.  It should be possible to make; but do not know what Princess protocols will be for covid testing prior to leaving the ship.  If we just walk off at 7am clear customs and pick up bags, we can take taxi and be at airport by 8am.  I know it's a small airport so it shouldn't be that much of a problem.  Where is Scottca075, I know he always has good news.  Thanks

I'm in a similar situation for my December Cruise, with a tight deadline  - how did it go for you?

1 minute ago, Brkintx said:

OP, take a moment to google and read up on Southwest’s Flat Tire Policy. May make the stress and question moot. 
 

(And PS…. Many airlines let you SDC without re-faring - Southwest’s ‘no change fee’ advertisement/puffery didn't help you here.)

"TIL".

thanks for the info!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time in providing input & guidance.  

I will definitely call Carnival and let them know ahead of time that I have a flight at 9:30 to catch (maybe I'll tell them its 9 😉.

And request if I can be in the 'priority group' for disembarking, whatever that is.  

If there's a 'propulsion' issue or weather issue, I'm definitely going to be unlikely to catch the 930 - but given that this ship was given a major makeover, and should have a few short cruises done already before my trip, I guess I may have a half-decent shot at making this work.  

I'll see how it goes, and once its all done with, I'll come back and post an update!

1 minute ago, BossyKat said:

Our Ship didn't dock till 9.

I would not do this!  We waited 40 minutes at the port for a cab.  Got to the airport at 11, then it took 45 minutes to go thru security.  They had 3 people working and 1 left to take a break.

 

I had a 1pm flight and didn't think I was going to make it.  Not very enjoyable. 

That is scary!  I guess I just extrapolated from my recent experience with Royal Caribbean at Miami - we were scheduled to dock at 7, ship arrived at 5 - we could have left at 6 if we wanted.  Once we left our cabin, it took us 10 minutes to get off the ship, and 5, maybe 7 minutes to walk out of the Cruise terminal and into a cab.  

How are you guys seeing these lower rates, are these offered to customers who've repeated a lot with Carnival? 

6 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

No way. I did platinum debarkation from Panorama on 10/30. We docked at 8 and started debarkation at 9. I was outside at 9:12. I got in my lyft at 9:40.

 

I just checked on that itinerary - it was scheduled to arrive at Long Beach at 9 am to begin with.  If I can match your timings, I think it will be fine.  If I'm in a cab by 7.45 am or even closer to 8 am, I think I can make it.  Doesn't leave much room for further snafus however, that's for sure.  

I guess its more than a bit of an optimistic gamble.  My wife is already grumbling about having to get up early and have a deadline in the morning - but given our travel plans - it would save us a lot of time and exertion compared to driving 10+ hours etc.  

I'm going to rolll with it and hope for the best.  Worst case scenario there are later flights by Southwest that I can switch to, without any change fees, just fare difference, and I'll pay the price if it comes to that I guess.  

4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

No way. I did platinum debarkation from Panorama on 10/30. We docked at 8 and started debarkation at 9. I was outside at 9:12. I got in my lyft at 9:40.

 

Ouch. That does not bode well for me at all.

17 minutes ago, skrufy said:

Even though the ship arrives on time its no guarantee what time customs will begin. saying that I would not take the chance unless you have a rock solid backup plan.

not rock solid, but Southwest doesn't do change fees in this scenario, it would cost me a lot more since later flights are a lot more, and it would be 5 of us.  

My recent experience in Miami with customs was a breeze, maybe I'm being optimistic.  I guess its a bit of a gamble.  Let's see how it goes.

The flight is to Phoenix, and my other alternative was to just rent a car and drive there.  That was costing me more than the flights, and then add to that the extra hours of driving with a 6 yr old and senior citizens, extra tiredness before the next 4 day part to of our trip.  

Hello,

I am on the Radiance for a short cruise late Dec, and the itinerary shows that it returns to Long Beach port at 7 am.  The Long Beach airport is about 15 minutes away from there, I was told add 10 min max for traffic, if there's any.   I was also told by another friend that often these cruise ships return to port earlier than the scheduled time, and usually its possible to disembark even before that posted time, but you can safely assume that you can disembark at or close to the time posted on the itinerary - provided you are ready to go, and hold on to your bags.  Obviously, if the weather doesn't allow the boat to dock etc that's not controllable.  

Encouraged by this, I have booked an outbound flight at 9.30 am from Long Beach airport, but I just wanted to check with folks here who may be more familiar with this particular port and itinerary if this is too risky? 

I posted in tripadvisor and was told that this particular airport hardly ever has any sort od security check delays etc - its not a busy airport and it should be OK for the most part...

Hello,  Sorry if this question has already been asked - I did scroll through the thread looking for it and didn't see it.  

My question is - I am able to get the Abbott BinaxNow tests from my work - Does Carnival require that we buy them from Optum? Is there any specific validation that's required apart from whats included in that box?

I have not used the BinaxNow tests so far, for my trip with RC, I just got it done by a local lab, but for my next Carnival cruise I will be away from home and my in-laws are flying in from abroad, so they do not have the pharmacy option.  Since I have these for free, I would like to just use them for all of us, but how do I confirm that these will be accepted by Carnival?  

I'm a newbie to the board as well as to cruises - just took a 7 night trip with RC - that was my first cruise, and my wife and daughter loved it.  Thanks to all on this forum for what seems to be a great active community and so much useful info.