TheFlyingPreacher

Do people get checked in by staff when they arrive at the theater? Checking cruise cards for reservations? Or do you need to have your phone with you to show you made a reservation?

Thanks.

Thanks for the help. I called a few days ago and got it all taken care of. Now booked in the Seaside for 2018!

I can't even use the number when I try to book my cruise either. I enter my name and birth date on the reservation page to include my number but it says there is no account found. I guess I will have to call to find out. I don't want to reserve something if the status match isn't going to work.

Hello all,

I know, another status match question... A few months ago I submitted my request for status match and a few days later received an email saying I had been matched to the MSC Gold Level. The email included the card and the Voyagers Club number. I've been getting close to booking a cruise but my Voyagers Club number from the email is not working when I try to use it to log in. I even tried to say I forgot my password, entered my email address but it said no account was found. I have seen nothing that says that this number expires and everything I've read says that I just need to use it within 3 years to keep the status. Do I need to do status match again for this to work? Just curious if anyone else has had this problem before.

Thanks!

We will be in Athens next month for two days on the Carnival Vista and we have been considering renting a car one day and driving out to Corinth and other areas in that direction. I have done some research on car rentals near the port in Pireaus and have found Hertz and Asset. Of course, Hertz is a name I know from the US but the rate for Hertz has limited mileage. The extra rate on the mileage is not bad but when I look at the vehicles provided by Asset I see they have unlimited miles.

I have not been able to find any reviews on Asset to know whether they are a reliable company to rent from or not. They did reply to an email inquiry I had for them rather quickly regarding an IDP. Have anyone ever rented from Asset that can give a thumbs up or down about them? Or even Hertz in Pireaus as well for that matter.

Thanks.

Though, with the Vista doing port-intensive itineraries in Europe, it could be that they schedule tournaments on port days for those folks who stay on the ship. Enjoy.

At least for those of us who have assigned dining times, we can check out the horizons restaurant for the open seating breakfast. At least, I believe Horizons is used for the breakfasts.

If it is like any of the other Carnival ships, the mini golf is 9 holes. I believe most of them are on one level and then three or so up the stairs a bit. However, this is from my experience on the Breeze. I think holes 6-9 were on the top level and the 9th hole had a drop that brought the ball back down to the main level. Depending on the day, it won't take you very long to play the course. From what I can remember, Carnival schedules a few mini golf tournaments throughout the cruise as well, so there will be chances to win medals and plastics ships on sticks.

If anyone who has been on Vista can provide better evidence than this, please do. Otherwise, happy putting!

We're definitely getting off the ship. Am I a bit worried? Yes. But, we're touring with Carnival's excursion and I trust them to be on top of things and keep us safe. Lastly, we want to see Ephesus, as many people do. So, there's still a certain excitement to it all.

I'm glad they have more varieties coming out. I hope the Java Stout is available on our October sailing as it would be a nice touch to those cool autumn evenings.

We were going to stay at the Hotel Continental but they didn't have any balcony rooms available prior to our October 1st sailing. Maybe next time. Instead, we're staying closer to the airport at the Hotel FrontAir Congress. It has free airport shuttles, a shuttle to downtown and one to the pier. I haven't seen any bad reviews on it other than people saying that there are not many amenities. But, like I said, we aren't looking for amenities. We want a bed to sleep in and access to Barcelona during the day.

If you are doing one of the Barcelona to Athens (or reverse), you should definitely renew. Greece requires 6 months.

 

If you are on the Transatlantic from Barcelona, you'll probably be ok. Spain only requires 3 months left.

 

However, the State Department recommends any travel within 9 months of expiration should renew. Personally, I'd probably renew just in case. In fact, I had to do it early this year since I would have only had three months left on mine. Surprisingly, it only took two weeks to get it back.

Thanks for the information. We'll plan accordingly!

Our passports will be expiring in March of 2017, and sailing Vista in October. Thus, we'd be within the 6 months of expiration. I've heard that sometimes if passports are within six months of expiration that people have been denied boarding flights. Anyone have any experience with this or advice? Should we try to renew before going?

We also had interesting seating options with ours. Heading to BCN, we are on Delta for two flights and were able to pick our seats and I can go on Delta's website and change them to my hearts content, it seems. Our flight from CDG to BCN is on Air France and they didn't have a seat map. I checked on Air France's website and it says I can't get seats until check-in.

On the way back, flying ATH to LHR on British Airways, it says the same thing with no seat map. Then, we fly two flights on American and we were able to get seats over the phone through Carnival but I can't get into that reservation as it does say "Pending". We at least have seats for our trans-atlantic flights which is what I was most concerned about.

Still, the price was well below what the airlines are asking for so we had to try going through Carnival. I was shocked it was cheaper and even having the option to change the flights up to 60 days before sail date if fares are cheaper is something the airlines would never do if booked straight through them.

We ended up booking our flights through Carnival. I was surprised. It ended up being $1000 per person for us to fly out of Grand Rapids to Barcelona and then back from Athens. This was $100 per person more than what I could get out of Chicago on my own but it saves us a four hour drive and parking at O'hare, so I think we ended up coming out okay, if not a little ahead.

We were able to select our seats on the domestic carriers, Delta and American but our flights on Air France and British Airways, I was told we would have to get our seats upon checking in on the day of travel. It's not too terrible. I am glad that we were able to select our seats for the trans-atlantic portions of the trip so that we are comfortable on the long haul flights.

Overall, I was impressed with the airfare and plan to call back once a month or so to see if the fares have gone any lower. Carnival even encouraged that I do that.

I have been also checking airfare for the last 3 months Boston to Barcelona - the prices were anywhere from 850-1250 pp - just booked same flight on carnival fun to fly program and paid $795 each.

Before you book make sure you check with carnival. You do not have to pay until 90 days before sailing and if the price changes you are entitled to the lower price just like the cabins.

Does the price change policy pertain to both the restricted and flexible fares that carnival offers? Sounds like a flexible fare option to me (having not tried the fly2fun program yet, but interested)

I called Carnival a few days ago to get fare information because I have heard so many people say they have gotten cheaper fares through Carnival. I was skeptical but what they quoted me was actually $300 cheaper and from our small home airport too. However, the flights they had led to a 40 minute connection in Atlanta before switching airlines and flying to another connection in Paris. I'm not confident in a 40 minute connection in Atlanta nor am I confident in an airline switch getting our bags in the right place. We're planning on flying in a day early before the cruise but do you think Carnival would do anything if we or our luggage missed that connection?

Also, does anyone know if we happen to book through Carnival if we are able to pick our seats or add any frequent flyer account numbers to get credit for the flights?

We booked an interior on Lido back in January 2015. We paid 899 per person for the 10 day on October 1st. We got 200 OBC and since then have saved about 150 with price reductions.

We will be on the breeze 6 day later this month, can you email me the 6-day FT as well as the Camp Ocean schedule (even though I think you said it was for 8-day, I just want to see what we can sort of plan on for our 4yr old).

Mathew.Magera@gmail.com

Please and Thanks so much!

After just going on a tour with Beulah last week I can provide the following advice:

-Don't reserve the lunch special online. Just get off the ship and head toward the Rum Barrel Bar (easy to find) and look for her. She was holding a sign that said "Welcome Tours with Beulah". We made sure to be there around 11:20 before she left. And she leaves on-time. If you are late, you won't find her.

-She charged $10 for the lunch hour special and before you leave, she will offer you drinks for $1. It's the cheapest way to get a Carib Beer, the local brew, if you want one. We waited until we got back from the tour to get a drink. She goes into one of the shops and is able to get the drinks for cheap.

-Beulah is very energetic and outgoing. She uses a headset microphone in the van which makes her even louder. Don't sit near the front as the speaker is Velcro-ed right there and is extra loud.

-We toured the town and she taught us many different things about the culture and government as well as symbolism. She did it in a fun and informative way. We did tour Palm Court Gardens, a nice property on a hill that overlooks the harbor. There is a $1 entrance fee and it goes to the childrens foundation on the island. We also went to Timothy Hill where you can see where the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea "meet" with St. Kitts in the middle. It was a great view.

-The tour lasted about 2 hours, perhaps slightly longer and was very much worth the price.

I just read a thread that included a good review of Rodael and up to this point I had not heard of them. I sent them a message and hope to hear back from them soon.

Are there a lot of hidden charges? I've heard that while companies post rates around $50, you end up paying close to $100 with required extras.

My wife is a vegetarian, and I know I've heard there are vegetarian options on the menu, but does the steakhouse allow two people to be at a table but only one person dining? I think I've heard both yes and no to this.

My wife and I will be back to St. Maarten next month and we're considering renting a car for the day. I've researched online some of the various companies that are available at the port but I'm curious to know if it is better for us to reserve before we leave for our cruise or to walk up to someone the day we arrive?

The problem I'm running into is that none of the companies seem to publish their rates and I'm afraid to make a reservation without knowing what I will be charged.

Any news on how this new bridge is working with travel times between the airport and the cruise port in the afternoon? Has the bridge schedule been revised in any way since the new opening?

Has anyone taken this tour recently? The $12pp cost is awfully tempting, but I am curious what sights are seen in the 1.5 hours? I've heard good things about this particular tour and I've never been to St. Kitts.

What is on the tour? Is it worth paying $18pp more for one of the 2hr tours?

Thanks!