kctwinmommy

I have a comparisons of the 2 lines in a review I wrote up. I put it in my signature to make it easy to find again! I just compared the Pros & Cons we found between the two. I think that will give you some insight as to what we saw. And you sound like us, we're not overly concerned about most things. We just go with the flow!

You use Carnival towels in port.

We've used Cocoa Beach shuttle for many years and they've been great.

I'm not seeing anything in this... But I agree that you need to call your Carnival wedding coordinator and ask them.

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/CCLUS/Images/pdf/Weddingspricelist

Doesn't surprise me, but that's good to hear. My parents go there in November, and their condo owner said he's totally ready for them. It really sounded like the damage was minimal. I think some of their problems are just the limited options for getting supplies to that part. Since the middle/upper Keys had more damage, so the roads are harder to use. Have a great time!

Yeah, my parents rent a condo down there in November and the owner contacted them last week saying everything was good. Yes, there are going to be things to fix and clean up, but they are still set to go. As they said, they'll be more than willing to help boost the local economy!

Home port is not an issue. We are coming from Toronto so it doesn't make much difference to us. We will be cruising while school is in so I know there will be less kids onboard no matter which cruise we choose.

We pull our kid out of school, so we can cruise during less busy times as well. But there's still usually enough kids for him to hang out with. There are plenty of people who do homeschooling, so they can travel whenever they want. And some areas have a different school schedule.

We have a son who falls into that 12-14 range, and that's the only time he's cruised, so he's been in that club for 4 cruises now (one was RCI though). He LOVES cruising because of the teen club. It's definitely more relaxed than the younger one (according to our friends who cruise a lot), but he likes that. They have a schedule and they will do some of the things on there. But, depending on the group, they sometimes change things. He always goes on the first night, meets kids, and that's who he hangs with. They do a lot of video gaming, other games, watching movies, etc...

It just happened that the only Carnival ships that were empty were positioned well north and east of the Caribbean to ride out Irma, while RCI and NCL had empty ships in the western Caribbean, so they were utilized first. When a Carnival ship returned to San Juan, they had cancelled the following cruise, so they were going to load supplies at that time.

That's what I read too. They were able to do supply runs later, but they weren't in any position to get people, like some of the other lines were. They are all doing different things. It's extremely important for the lines to have ports to go to again, so I'm sure they want to do anything they can to help these islands.

Whenever it seems like it's close to breaking even, I also then realize I'll get more sodas to make it worth it. For example, if I'm sitting out on the deck, and my soda gets watered down, I have no problem getting another one. And I don't feel bad ordered 2 at dinner. My teenager likes the pineapple juice, and he'll drink like 2-3 at every dinner! LOL! I think you'll make it worth it at the end of the day.

We were on the 9/2 sailing as well. We left the ship Wednesday morning in Miami. Had we not lived in SWFL we totally would of stayed on but really needed to get home to assess the damage. We were very lucky and it was minimal.

 

Glad to hear that some of the crew got to relax. They all seemed a little more tired than usual on this cruise.

Glad to hear that you had minimal damage.

That is awesome and beautiful! I'm so glad you guys were able to keep your senses about the situation. So many people want to give up, but you didn't!! You both looked amazing! And yes, your bride was beautiful, but I have to say, I love your tie! LOL! I always buy funky ties for my husband, and my dad when he was still working, and now my son. I know it's not really "funky," but purple is my favorite color and I like the bright purple & green! Congrats to you both, best wishes for many years to come!

agree, my options were almost nil but you are right, so much was fun to observe and be a part of. If only the crew were able to be themselves all the time. Kind of sad when you think about it. I was chatting with my room steward and he said that most of them feel as if they are looked down upon by the passengers.

That's sad, but I can see it. If the way their treated is similar to some of the entitled attitudes I read from people here, I get it. We always talk to our stewards and our waitstaff. We ask about them, if they ever get out to see things and what they saw if they did, etc... They all work so hard, they deserve a little time to relax too!

Sounds like you made the best of the situation! I know you said the financial impact on you, being self-employed, may hurt you in the end, but there also weren't many other options. I'm sure the things you saw, from the crew, would be kind of fun to see. They are always so "on point" for the most part, it's good that they were able to relax a bit too. You know they were going to be super busy again soon enough!

Interesting! I commented on this thread, quoting someone else, and both of those posts are gone!?!

Check on the Florida departure boards, you'll probably find more info there. We've never used a hotel that had their own MCO shuttle. We just booked our own through Cocoa Beach Shuttle.

I'll add to the rumor mill here. It seems Key West is relatively OK. The middle and upper keys were hit harder. http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172503266.html

That's what I've been reading as well. Obviously, the route to get to KW is going to be difficult as it's 1 highway to get there basically. Of course, they can fly planes in too, and I did hear the airport damage was minimal, mostly water related. Our relatives live on Summerland Key during the winter, they rent a house there, and they already said from what they know, they most likely won't be going down there this winter. My parents stay in a condo every November and the owner isn't there right now (he was out of the country for the past month), so they don't know what their situation will be yet either.

It's definitely a difficult recovery and repair effort. My friend who works with emergency management in Colorado said their team had to be shifted from going to the Keys, and were sent to Miami. They said it would take too long to even get them to the Keys. :(

Be aware that *only* covers trip interruption and trip cancellation. It will also cover rental car collisions. It will not cover anything else. For example any medical costs, medical evacuation, lost luggage, stolen items, missing a connection, delayed flights, etc.

Not sure what card you have, but I've read our Costco benefits, it covers many of those things. They have medical and emergency assistance, delayed/lost baggage, flight issues, weather/terrorist issues, etc...

I've noticed that after other cruise lines announced what they were doing people here and on social media were very critical of Carnival. I think what people fail to realize is one should not just react when a disaster occurs. You need to find out what the needs of the communities are. For example other cruise lines are showing up with supplies. If everybody were to show up with water and food, that's great, but what about people that need clothes, ply wood, etc. I actually think waiting to see what the needs of those effected is the best decision.

Yes!! I knew they would help too, they just couldn't stand by and not. But, there is going to be long-term, lengthy help needed, so no reason for everyone to jump in there immediately. It's great that RCI and Norwegian were able to go over and help house people on their ships. It's no different than what just happened in TX (which seems to have quickly faded from everyone's minds). There were all these people asking in my FB groups about where they could donate clothes and toys, etc... But when you start to read things, they had no room for all this "stuff." They needed specific things, yes, mostly medical supplies, essential items, etc... Several police departments actually created Amazon wishlists with just those things on it, that way people could purchase them and have it delivered directly there. There just isn't space to store all that other stuff. It's just the reality of things. And right now, these little island countries have even less space than Houston.

Anyway.... I know there's going to be a lot of help needed for months and years to come. So there will be plenty of it to go around.

We had a port change on our cruise 2 years ago, had to skip St. Thomas due to a tropical storm heading that way. So we were switched to Amber Cove, DR instead. That is a Carnival port, and there were still finishing things up, so not all things were open even. I can't remember how early we found out, but pretty sure it was about 24-48 hours in advance, at the most. They still had several options for excursions, but they weren't dealing with any hurricane damage. That may be your only problem.

In my signature I have a post I did with the Pros & Cons for both lines. We'd done several Carnival and did our first RCI this summer. But it's hard to compare some things since we did a European cruise, vs. the Caribbean ones we've done (so food is different, IMO). We enjoyed our time, not sure I would definitely pick RCI over Carnival in the future, we didn't feel there was anything super WOW and great to make me pick it, as they are more expensive. But if they had a cruise going to a place we wanted to go, we'd pick them again.

Oh I also have a review of our trip, in my signature

We were on her last November and loved it! It was an 8-night S. Caribbean cruise. We had a great time, although it was certainly the most crowded feeling I've had. But only when it came to the pool decks. Too much chair hogging, IMO. I mean, one day I couldn't even find ONE chair for just myself. Wasn't looking for my husband, our friends, etc...

A few photos of the ship...

Carnival slides by Cindy, on Flickr

Dance party by Cindy, on Flickr

Docked in Grand Turk, from Margaritaville, I can only imagine what it looks like now! :(

Margaritaville & Carnival by Cindy, on Flickr

Also. Several Credit Cards have travel insurance as well. Some of them include Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase JP Morgan Reserve, Citi Prestige Card. Check with your Credit Card company for specifics.

Yep! Our Costco card has it, so that's what we've had in case we needed it. Thankfully (knock on wood), we never have.

That's great to hear! I know someone was live reporting from one of the Carnival ships (don't remember which one), and they stated some of the same things you did. At a certain point, you just have to let it go and realize your inconvenience is nothing compared to what many others are going through. You were safe, you were entertained, and you had fun with what you had. Sounds like you made the best out of what was a serious and scary situation. It really puts so many of these other "complaints" into perspective.