westview1

I wouldn't take this offer either, but I can tell you that it's considered an upsell because the PT category is an Inside cabin.  So, technically it is a better room in Carnival's point of view.  That being said, we love the PT cabins (even with the noise during rough seas).

8 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

Will they make you some Indian food if you request ahead? I have done this on RC before in the dining room. This is our first Carnival cruise and we were so looking forward to Tandoor.

They will make you Indian meals in the main dining room.  If you ask at the desk in front of the MDR, they will get you the menu.  My DH ordered it one night on the Miracle and he said it was very good.  You can order with or without meat.  

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You're thinking of the Carnival steakhouses.

Thank you, but I was definitely thinking of NCL, I'm diamond on Carnival and I'm aware of the perks. :)

That is not true. If you have the UBP perk, you will receive 20% off wine bottles.

Thanks! I was thinking that it wasn't true, but wanted confirmation.

Hi Everyone!

We have reservations to dine at Cagney's on embarkation day. I thought that I had read or heard that if you purchase a bottle of wine with dinner, the price will be half off. Can anyone verify this for me?

Thank you!

Caryn

I don't let the decor ruin my cruise either, I notice it when I first get on the ship, but don't notice it afterwards.

That being said, if you think the Legend is garish, don't go on the Splendor or Miracle.

Just off the Splendor and MarQ was aaaaaaaaaamazing.

 

 

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We were on a cruise with MarQ before he became a CD and he was fantastic! We were hoping to see him on the Splendor on Oct 22nd, but it looks like he will be on vacation. :(

My favorites: Josh - Big Sexy and Matt Mitchum

The sale usually lasts 3 hours. I'm sure the first hour is crazy. But later the crowd thins considerably.

 

Some decent bargains. Nice (cheap watches). I usually pull the pin so the battery doesn't drain if I only wear it occasionally.

I agree with this, I go the last hour of the sale, there is still a good selection and has never been crowded. We've picked up purses and souvenirs for our 6 year old grand daughter.

Does anyone know if they offer an Interline discount? Thanks

I realize this post is from April, but you can find MSC cruises on the Dargal . com & VTG websites. They will give interline and military discounts.

If this is true, then we may have to skip Carnival all together. We're diamond, but the perks are not enough to keep us coming back, we sail more for itinerary/price and not ship. We would buy the FCV's since they were such a good deal; when they stopped them we switched to booking phantom cruise on board and transferring the obc to a different cruise once we found one we liked. We take longer cruises and in the past enjoyed the Journey cruises but now the cost has gone up and they are less attractive.

It's ok though, we leave for an Alaskan land/sea in 3 days with Princess (we're now platinum with Princess) and I we like the military obc Princess gives. We buy the certificates when we take NCL -- they do have a nice program, we have a Panama Canal scheduled with them in January 2018 (we were on the Splendor but NCL had a better itinerary, more ports, more days and less expensive). Royal also has some good sales and some very nice itineraries.

My insurance company (USAA) sure thinks it is bad. The impact of uninsured and unlicensed drivers in south Florida is reflected in our car insurance rates. When we moved to Broward County (Fort Lauderdale is the county seat) from Northern Virginia our car insurance skyrocketed even though we now have a secured parking garage (in Virginia we parked on the street). The customer service rep commiserated (she lived in south Florida too) and said it was due to the high number of stolen cars and drivers on the road without insurance or even licenses.

 

Having lived in metro DC, where rush hour is all day long, plus Rome and Athens, where driving is a competitive sport, I have to say that the stretch of I95 south of 595 thru Miami is among the most nerve wracking ever experienced. We had never seen anything like cars routinely cutting between the toll lanes and the rest of the highway by intentionally running over the rubber barrier poles (they fold) - and we've seen that every time we drive to/from Miami!

I agree with you. We moved from LI to West Palm Beach in 2015 and my insurance almost doubled. We too park in a secure garage in WPB and on our driveway on LI.

We snowbird between LI and WPB so we do that drive 2x a year. We avoid 95 when we are in the Miami area. I have driven through NYC, LA, Honolulu, DC, and Boston. Driving through Miami is far worse than any of them.

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We have mostly cruised Carnival as well, but went on RCI this past summer. Check on your anytime dining when you got on the ship. On our Freedom of the Seas cruise, we basically had to make a reservation for every night when we boarded. It wasn't like Carnival's anytime dining. However, I believe this varies ship to ship on RCI.

I did see something about making a reservation, which is fine too. I just didn't want to be locked in to a specific time every night. Thanks!

We got off the Independence of the Seas 3 days ago and we had My Time Dining. The 1st night we went down to the dining room at 6:30 and were told that they were full and to come back at 8:00 pm. When we tried to make reservations for 6:00 we were told that the 6:00 slot was full for the remainder of the cruise, so we made reservations for 8:00. The next night we showed up at 5:45 to see if we could get in without a reservation, we had no issue getting a table. Basically, we were told that the reservations are held for 15 minutes and then marked as a no show, which then opens up the table. They will give out the pagers when needed.

We loved the ice show and Grease. We didn't need reservations for the shows, we would get there at least 15 minutes early, usually 30 minutes though. We thought that the entertainment and food was better than Carnival.

Glad you gave the roll-eyes icon for that PVP's comment about "value of a cruise." I would tend to believe the higher prices are more due to the length of the cruise, the relative rarity that Carnival does the Canal (low supply = higher price) and the additional fees associated with transiting the locks (especially the newer locks). :)

We've done other Journey cruises that were a much better value. I think that they are trying to take advantage of a good thing. We were told by someone at Carnival that they did not make money on the Journey cruises. While they were popular with platinum and diamond guests, other loyalty levels not as much. The younger demographic can not take the longer cruises due to work/school schedules. The platinum and diamond guests probably don't spend on shore excursions, pictures and other added costs the way a younger demographic might.

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Wow! 2019 cruises from carnival are expensive! Parents going on Pride in a few months down to canal. That same cruise for balcony in 2019 has doubled!

We booked the Journeys cruise on the Breeze out of PC for Nov 2018 and we said the same thing. Our PVP told us that it's because people see the value of a cruise. :rolleyes:

I'd have to agree with this and with chengkp75's response. There's only two explanations as I see it:

Carnival's internal reservation system has a block in it that wont allow the Seattle-Vancouver route and the Vancouver-Honolulu to be booked back to back (regardless of whats added onto it afterwards) and it keep just kicking back this error.

OR there isn't a system problem and the rep doesn't know the intricacies of the PVSA. Nor should they really. Just keep escalating this higher and higher until you find someone that can help you.

 

Also if they seriously said that you'd be kicked off the ship and thrown in front of a judge, that's just baloney. It's like a $300 fine that the line gets and that's it. No idea where they're getting this info from. This is demonstrative of their lack of understanding the PVSA.

You're right it is a block but, the issue is that they want to continue on to Sydney, which would not be an issue if the 2 companies share the reservation system. They wouldn't technically be starting in the Seattle ending in Honolulu (which does violate the PVSA) but starting in Seattle and ending in Sydney. You can't find the Honolulu - Sydney cruise on the Carnival website, you have to go to Carnival Australia website to book it online or call Carnival Australia. The cruise is priced in Australian dollars and gratuities are included.

We tried to book the same B2B2B for September 2017 and the PVP that we spoke to agreed with us that it didn't technically violate the PVSA but, since the 2 companies didn't share the booking system the Seattle - Vancouver then Vancouver - Honolulu is flagged and you can't book the B2B.

When we did the Honolulu to Sydney cruise in 2012, there were people who did the B2B2B that the OP is describing. The difference is in 2012 all 3 legs were booked with Carnival U.S. since Carnival Australia didn't exist yet.

Anyone had a problem like the one below?

 

Tried to book three b2b cruises on Legend, those being Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to Honolulu, and Honolulu to Sydney.

 

Rang Carnival international and was told that I can't do those 3 b2b as I would be in violation of the Jones Act, or more specifically the PVSA. Won't get into the details of this act here, except to say that you can't go from one US port to another without an international stop in between (Vancouver doesn't count). This is for non US registered ships.

 

Asked them that since the 3rd cruise finished in Sydney if this Act wouldn't be relevant but they still said I could not do them.

 

Went to travel expo in Sydney, asked Carnival workers about this. They rolled their eyes and said I 100% could do it and that the US side don't know what they are talking about as their system of booking doesn't take into account the Australian part.

 

Out of interest, rang Carnival international again with this new info and was told yet again that I couldn't do it as it would violate Jones Act, Carnival would be fined and I and my family would be removed from the ship and taken before a federal judge!

 

Ummmm... anyone shed any light on this??

 

I won't be booking all three on the Legend regardless...not willing to take the risk. Might do the 2nd and 3rd legs but use a different cruise line for the Alaskan part.

It's actually called the Passenger Vessel Service Act (Jones Act is cargo). I did this exact itinerary in 2012 when the Spirit went over to Australia. The PVSA only affects ships transporting passengers between 2 US ports without stopping at a distant foreign port. There are none on the Seattle-Honolulu legs. But since the end port is Sydney, it is technically OK.

 

However the issue now, is Carnival.au handles bookings for the Honolulu to Sydney leg. Somehow, there must be someway that this can be escalated to somebody that can book all three legs, because it is legal, since you will be boarding in Seattle and disembarking in Sydney.

 

But like you said, if you can't get it resolved, cruise to Alaska on another cruise line.

I agree with Debbie. Because you have to book the Honolulu to Sydney segment through Carnival Australia (which is a separate entity from Carnival U.S.) and the other 2 legs are booked through Carnival U.S. is the cause of the issue. The U.S. booking system isn't able to "see" the Australian booking so it will flag the cruise as being illegal. Only Diamond desk pvp's at Carnival in the U.S. can book a cruise that is sold through Carnival Australia. Unless you are diamond, when you call Carnival U.S. to book a Carnival Australia cruise they transfer you to Carnival Australia.

If you really want to book the cruise, you could try escalating the issue to a supervisor, but I'm not sure they could help you.

I was on the last Med and the TA in October/November and while overall I love the ship, the theater was a big negative for me. I can't really comment about the lines on the buffet since I don't eat there often and when I do, it's usually later in the evening.

Things I liked about the Vista were the Alchemy Bar, Ocean Plaza, and the Atrium. I didn't notice a lot of crowding in the public areas.

I would go and form your own opinions.

I've never had a cove balcony, but our friends brother had one and they complained about the furniture getting wet from the sea spray during rough seas. It kind of turned me off to wanting one, but I don't know how often that would occur. :confused:

I just took my 25th with Carnival, we're hoping the Horizon itineraries are good and will use the obc then.

Just my opinion, but having a reservation for a show is better than standing in a long line on the Vista and never getting close to getting a seat.

Or getting a seat and not being able to see the show, the sight lines are bad.

No, on the Escape earlier this year, ALL of the shows were reservation required regardless of the venue.

I believe that you're right. That is what I have heard from fellow cruisers on my last NCL cruise.

I've not been on NCL in four years. I've read above how people have to pre-book seats at shows. When did they start this? The two NCL cruises I've been on, suite guests could pre-book seats in special sections through the concierge, but us minions just showed up and grabbed a seat. Has that changed? If so, I may not head back to NCL...

On the larger NCL ships you will need to pre-book the shows. I have been on the Gem and the Jade within the last 6 months and you didn't have to pre-book.

I wouldn't be surprised if Carnival started to do pre-booking shows on the Sunshine and Vista. The theaters are horrible on those ships.

I totally agree with your assessment and find they are more alike then different and each have strengths.....the biggest difference I see is that Princess has more diverse itineraries and goofier looking people instead of goofy activities...:)

You're right about the itineraries. It's the main reason we started looking at other lines. There is a limit on the number of times I can go to Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas etc. We have been to Alaska twice with Carnival, this year we are doing the land/sea with Princess. I meant to mention that but felt my post was a little long winded.

I am diamond on Carnival and platinum on Princess. I have found that most of the people who disparage Carnival have never sailed Carnival or have sailed a short cruise during peak season.

When you sail Carnival makes a big difference. If you sail during summer, spring break or the week between Christmas and New Years you will see many families and 20 somethings, which will bring the party atmosphere. We generally take longer cruises, more than 10 days, so the age demographic is usually older.

The newer Carnival ships have a more subtle interior. A few years ago they switched interior designers so no more large grapes in the dining room, pink zebra stripes etc. Some ships still use table cloths, if they have switched over to the American table, then no tablecloths. The only issue I have with no tablecloths is that the glasses may slide if they sweat.

I have 25 cruises and 256 days sailed on Carnival. I have never seen a fight break out. I have seen drunk passengers on both lines. I have met rude people on both lines. I have witnessed seat saving on both lines. People are people, it doesn't make a difference what cruise line you choose. That being said, in general, I find the staff friendlier on Carnival. On my last Princess cruise there was an older man who wore denim overalls to dinner every night. Carnival has a more casual dress code for dinner, but some people like that, others will still dress for dinner.

Does Carnival have more goofy activities? Yes. But if that's not your style, you can go elsewhere on the ship and find something more to your liking. The shows at night, Carnival is OK, I find Princess has a little better quality for the fly in entertainment, not the production shows.

On our most recent Carnival cruise (Dream) we were asked if we wanted cabin service in the morning or night, we told our cabin steward both, and we got both.

There are differences between the 2 lines. Is one better? I can't say, that's really a personal opinion.

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