westview1

The only time we have been allowed to go to YTD instead of early seating was on a port day and our excursion got back 30 minutes after dinner had started. We explained the situation and they were happy to help us out.

I have 25 cruises on Carnival, 33 overall. Each cruise/ship has had things that I wasn't happy about and things I enjoyed. But overall, I still enjoy cruising and will cruise again. I think some people choose to focus on the negative and that festers and makes the whole experience less enjoyable.

Would have been happy to trade for drink coupons or just about anything but the guy at guest services just said this is what we have.

They don't just give out the drink coupons, you have to ask for them. They don't always give them out though. We put those coupons to good use.

I just got off the Dream and we got a night light with Carnival VIFP on the top. It's one of the nicest gifts we have received. It will be put to good use.

We got the croc visors on the Vista and tried to trade them in for something else. They gave us drink coupons, but, wouldn't take the visors back. They know how awful the visors are. :) On the TA, we got the USB charger, I was very happy not to get the visors again.

Can you request your number, I.e 36, to allow 9.30 disembarkation?

 

 

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You will get a questionnaire in your cabin asking what type of transport you have or if you are staying in the debark city. From there, they will determine what tags you get (unless you're platinum or diamond then you get a 1 or 2). If you want a different number you can always request them at Guest Services.

The path Carnival has chosen to handle crowd control is pure lunacy.

How they have gone from boarding and proceeding directly to your stateroom upon boarding, to staged, all while offering early embarkation for $60, at the expense of everyone else trying to get on is just poor customer service.

And makes me very happy I am one of those precious metal VIP people that don't have to put up with such nonsense.

 

Pity the lowly new cruisers, where blockades are just inserted everywhere in their path.

I have 21 cruises with Carnival and 30 overall and I think that I have checked in and then boarded right away 2 or 3 times total. The common factor in those 3 occurrences is that we arrived at the terminal after 1:00 p.m. When you get to the terminal early, you are most likely going to wait. Even my diamond status won't help if the ship is not ready to board passengers.

Well, I guess I will have to drink the Lipton or bring my own. I love English Breakfast Tea.

But wait, here's my theory, they will add another level after Diamond, and they will add in the "perk" of free flavored teas and cabin steward service 2x a day. See, they're not taking anything away, they are incentivizing you to cruise more. :D We just need to think outside the box.

We were on the Triumph in December and our day in St. Maarten was switched with Antigua due to windy conditions that were anticipated in St. Maarten. The switch was announced the day prior to our original scheduled day in St. Maarten. I had friends on your sailing and if I recall correctly St Marrten was the last port since the next day was the end of the itinerary with passenger disembarking in San Juan and others starting their cruise from San Juan. Because of this, they wouldn't have been able to switch ports. The best part was that because of the switch we were the only ship docked in St Maarten!

Worst mistake---Transatlantic, leaving Rome I realized all the carefully bagged medications for this 15 day cruise were still residing on the bathroom vanity at home! Thoughts of $100-1,000 of dollars passed through my mind. How to get meds in our first stop, Barcelona? Call my Dr. back home? Luckily, I stopped at the ship's medical center and a sympathetic nurse found all 5 (generic) meds, gave me a 15 day supply for $35! Now my wife asks, "Do you have your meds?" at least 10 times before a cruise.

Wow, that was nice. We were on the Splendor Around the Horn for legs 2 & 3 in 2013, we get to Santiago, Chile (we boarded in Valparaiso, Chile) and I realize that I forgot to pack my thyroid meds. I figured the ships medical center wouldn't have that, now I wish I had gone down to ask, you never know what they might have.

We have a packing list and check things off as we pack them. My worst nightmare is forgetting my passport. I check my purse for it every 10 minutes while I'm packing and then at the cruise port.

Hi all,

 

Australian cruiser sailing to South Pacific early next year on the Legend.

 

When I booked this cruise I was under the impression the the Legend didn't have the Guys Burger or Blue Iguana upgrades (unfortunately).

 

The Carnival Australia website is now showing the legend has both.

 

Does anyone know if the upgrades have now been done or is the website telling me porkie pies??

 

Thank you for your help!!

We were on the Legend late July - early August and there was no Guys Burgers. The Spirit recently went through a refurbishment and they added the Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana Cantina. That may be the cause for some confusion.

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/mexican-makeover-for-carnival-spirit.html?nspPage=98

John Heald posted on FB that there will be no repositioning cruises:

With all the changes I thought you might like these to see where the ships are sailing from after they change home ports. There are no re position cruises, they are what we call “deadheads” and will be for crew only as per United States Customs and Border Protection regulations.

In order for them to repo there would have to be a foreign port of call.

At first glance, this seems to be a good thing, but be careful what you wish for. Princess and HAL do much longer cruises so the top tiers could be hundreds of days and not just 200 like on Carnival. One world cruise would put you at Diamond status. I think a combination would only hurt most Carnival cruisers. I am hoping for some kind of semi combination whereby you could receive some of the perks of your respective loyalty level but still only accumulate days on each cruise brand. On HAL "short" cruises are 3 weeks or more and that's not something that most Carnival cruisers can do. It could actually alienate some cruisers if they see that the top tier is something they could never achieve.

 

We are going on our first HAL cruise this summer and they are the only CCL brand that counts you as a repeat passenger on your first cruise as long as you've sailed other Carnival brands. We will get to enjoy the embarkation lunch and a Mariner lunch later in the cruise but we won't receive any of our other Diamond perks.

 

Yes, a combination would encourage people to try the other brands but until I know the details I'll still be wary of the final outcome.

If you search cruises on HAL you will find cruises that are 6 - 8 days. We did a 7 day to Bermuda 3 years ago on HAL. You may not find anything less than 6 days, but not all their cruises are long. They don't do as many "short" cruises as Carnival, but their target market is different.

Edit: I searched and found 3 - 3 day cruises that leave from Vancouver in September. It's unusual for them, but it is possible to find them.

YAY, Bob and Caryn...I will see you in July though, before your Alaska trip.

:) we willed you then also!

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I booked a 4J for the last Med and TA...I am cruising solo and didn't think the prices were that bad. I booked ES on both and got a promotional $200 OBC on the TA.

We will see you onboard!! We just book the last Med and the TA in a porthole on deck 2. :D

My BF will wear shorts to the MDR every night except elegant nights with no problems. They are cargo shorts in good condition, no holes, tears etc.

Mo'orea, Maui, Bermuda

How do you know if there is a large booking on your ship. Sailing on the fantasy in october

 

 

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Try http://www.themecruisefinder don't forget the dot com at the end.

I have just booked a cruise out of Australia to the South Pacific on the Carnival Spirit with an extended balcony.

This will be my first cruise with Carnival, any hints, tips or just general information will be greatly appreciated. All I can find on here in American info and I hear Aust is a separate identity with so many things different to its American sister.

Thanks in advance.

We were on the Spirit for the repositioning from Honolulu to Sydney and will be on the Legend when she sails on August 30 to Sydney - we love Australia and the South Pacific.

The Spirit and it's sister ships are our favorite class of ship on Carnival. Easy to navigate, you can go forward to aft on every deck. The passenger capacity is 2549 max (according to a cruise line room web site) and it doesn't feel crowded. They added a bbq that we didn't get to try since they were finishing it up during the cruise. The water slide Green Thunder is a lot of fun, you can find videos on you tube.

Is there any specific information you want? If I know the answer I will help as best I can.

when is the best time to cruise on the Spirit from Sydney to pacific island when there not many kids and how many kids is the max on this ship?

Since the ship is based in Sydney, their summer is December, January and February. Then I would look at the Australian holidays to determine when schools would be most likely out. Maybe a Google search of Australian school holidays would help you determine when the ship would have less kids.

My BF got a similar email, we each have 106 days sailed. I'm worried that I haven't gotten mine yet...:rolleyes:

I hope they announce the cruises before my Baltic cruise on the Legend. I leave 7/25 and would like to have this settled before then. I think I'll probably be traveling solo this time, but my sister may join me for the Panama Canal transit. Too much to try to coordinate while cruising in Europe.

 

Caryn, when we last talked - on the Splendor - you were job hunting. Any luck - esp finding an employer who understands your need to go off on long cruises :rolleyes:?

 

Karen

Well they finally announced the cruise and we are booked!

I have 2 jobs, a seasonal full time position with a local non-profit, I really like it,and since it is seasonal, I'll be able to go on next cruise and a p/t cashier/clerk at a national drug store chain, so 'll work it out with them. You gotta do what you gotta do ;).

Hi Carynh

 

What a fabulous day Patrick's tours was least of all the renewal of Annie's vows.

 

I need a lesson on cruise critic as I'd love to embed some my photos as my pictures taken at that bbque are some of the best I've taken and the photos of the sharks amazing.. I still can't believe I got in the deep water outside the break to snorkel with those large sharks swimming on the ocean floor.. I knew they weren't dangerous but still living in Australia we have a healthy attitude to sharks!!!.

 

And snorkeling in the underground garden was so beautiful..I'd do it again in a heartbeat

 

But I also had the most amazing time on my Mediterranean cruise in may on the legend .. Wow I have been so fortunate

 

The fun part of living in a different time zone means I turn on my ipad and have all these comments to read.. It's like connecting with friends

 

Dianne

Dianne - That was the best excursion we have ever done. The vow renewal was beautiful, snorkeling, and the food! I have some great pictures of the sharks and the stingrays. We loved Sydney and can't wait to get back!

I haven't been on CC in awhile and I wonder if they changed the way the pictures are embedded. I remember that it wasn't that hard, but today it was difficult and I'm very comfortable with tech. I just gave up trying to embed that picture.

We had a great time on the Splendor repositioning from LA to NYC, the landscape was beautiful and it was great to see Karen (TravelerK) and Guy Imoto again but the cruise to Sydney is still our favorite, the roll call and the friends we made, the excursions, and our arrival into Sydney were fantastic. It was just a great experience.

We are truly fortunate to be able to take these cruises. :)

Caryn

Patrick, click on the picture to see it better.

**Rant** Why can't I embed the picture, I've done it before, but today it's not working. **End Rant**

Anyway, you can view my pictures by clicking the link under my countdown.

Hello to all the familiar names.

 

The Panama Canal transit just depends on how many stops they decide to make. I did the transit on the Carnival Paradise in the fall of 2011, and it was a 14-day cruise.

 

The cruise from Honolulu to Sydney last fall was 17 days (16, actually, since we crossed the International Date Line).

 

Maybe they'll sail directly to Honolulu from Tampa. Or start the transpacific in Long Beach, with some Hawaiian port stops. Or maybe they'll add some stops in New Zealand this time. Or . . .

 

This waiting is killing me :(!

 

Karen

Me too!! We're waiting "patiently" :rolleyes: for the cruise to open up. We loved Sydney and want to go back and maybe go to Melbourne this time. We would love to see Bora Bora (and Patrick) again.

Can someone explain to me how this work. Ok so I buy 100 shares of stock that go into my 401 plan. How much OBC do you get??? Is it per cruise, per year, per what??? When you book you say" Hay I have shares !!" Ok so I'm a bit slow. Please can you explain in unintelligent terms. Just dummy it down for me.

Thanks

The obc depends on how long the cruise is here is the break down:

• $ 50 on board credit per stateroom ($25pp) on any cruise of 6 days or less
  
• $100 on board credit per stateroom ($50pp) on any cruise of 7 - 13 days
  
• $250 on board credit per stateroom ($125pp) on any cruise of 14 days or longer
  

You need to send the proof of ownership be sent into Carnival before you cruise. We've sent in a current statement from our e*trade account.