tamirpr

Thank you for coming back to give a review.  We are booked with Rony next Saturday.  We're really looking forward to it.  We have teenagers, so we added on the ATV and zipline also.

On 2/23/2022 at 3:34 PM, travelplus said:

The reason that  I do not purchase with the cruiseline is because I want to be in control of when my ticket tickets, the flights and dates I want to be on, whether I fly in First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy or Economy and not Basic Economy.     I arrive at least two days before my cruise departs.  Cruise Air is super restrictive.

I like to be in control also, but I've booked Fly2Fun and was able to immediately go to the airline's website and pay an additional fee to upgrade to Premium Economy for flights three days before sail date.

10 hours ago, sternfanla said:

the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test with eMed Telehealth Services - 2 Pack for Travel. this is the one that carnival has a link to.

I assume it is for 2 people?

It is.  You'll each need your own account to sign in.  I would advise buying an extra pack just in case.  Someone in our group did the test and then they couldn't find his results.  Weird.  But they didn't have any extra, so he's running around today trying to find a place to rapid test.
 

Yes. We bought the two-pack and my husband and I used it today. Super easy, by the way!

The reason this even became an issue is because when you do the Emed test that Carnival recommended, the results are posted in an app with a running ticker, 4 hours since result, 7 hours since result. This is what you show the agent, so it’s not being overcome with unnecessary anxiety to be concerned that two days before will show as 53 hours since result.  Considering the consistent inconsistent Carnival wording of two days and 48 hours, it makes sense that one could be confused. 

We leave Thursday and did the Emed home test (super easy btw!). Now husband is panicking because we did it at 6:00 am and when we check in, it will be 51 hours later. I can’t find in writing where two days is accepted. Any help?  I can’t live with this for the next 48 hours (or 2 days) 😂

3 minutes ago, omarchs said:

I was just reading the fine print of the email and it indicates “the FCC is based upon the cruise  fare paid for this voyage”.

 

I understand our deposit will be refunded, but does this mean we would just get 25% of our deposit amount paid as a FCC or would the FCC still be based on the full cruise fare w/o fees/taxes?

I just rebooked, so hopefully I can help.  Our Mardi Gras cruise rate before taxes/fees/port charges was $4156.  We had paid in $2000 so far.  We booked a new cruise.  They applied the $2000 we had already paid and also $1039, which is 25 percent of 4156.  I hope that helps!  Oh, and we also got $100 OBC each.

3 hours ago, declansdad said:

 

What would you complain about? It's not Carnival's fault.

Well, since you asked the question...I don't think over 20,000 people are complaining.  We are severely disappointed.  Even though the cruise is a year away, excursions and rooms were sold out months ago.  I know I have spent countless hours researching ports, excursions, flights, hotels; buying every Rick Steves book there is; watching You Tube videos of ports; becoming invested in roll calls and new friendships.  There was a lot that went into this.  So to just scrap it all and say, "Oh, well" I don't think is realistic.  This is fresh news to us.  Will we get over it?  Absolutely.  But today we are sad.  And it might be nice if our fellow cruisers could show just a tad bit of empathy right now.
 

I participated for the first time in the CC/Carnival meet-n-greet. I have to say, I was very impressed.

We were on the Valor and had a little over 50 people show up. It was on one of our sea days at 3:00 (I think?). The cruise director Cassie came (great CD, by the way - and I never pay attention to the CDs normally). They gave away several ships on a stick and bottles of champagne. The bar was set up with free tea, coffee and juice and platters of danishes and cookies. There was not any servers, so no cash bar.

I have done a lot of M&Gs in the past, some where we paid for the M&G and some informal. I thought this was done very well and we all had a great time for the hour or so.

We were on the sailing that debarked 10/8.

My opinion: The looks was fine. Tables are nice and not having tablecloths didn't bother me one bit. The tables are WAY too crowded, though, with stupid wine glasses that nobody uses. If they removed them, it would help. Was nice having a water carafe and bread crate on the table.

BUT out of the eight nights, we only ate in there four nights. Three nights it took well over two hours to eat. We did YTD. One night it took 1.45 but the other nights were painfully long. Painfully. The last time we went, we waited 35 minutes after ordering dessert.

The staff was hopping and were very friendly and did a great job. And this is is the first time that I actually liked the maitre'd and thought he did a great job. I don't know what the problem is, but the wait time is ridiculous.

Several in our group that had YTD eventually ditched it for the lido like we did.

We are going the first night. The free wine isn't a factor. The Valor just moved to the American Table menus and have read that the first night has been slow and a bit chaotic, so we picked that night.

We are also going the second elegant night to the steakhouse. Then we can wear the same elegant clothes and no one will know. :)

When we cruised, the Tracy Arm excursion wasn't listed on the Tracy Arm day. It was listed under Juneau (?), I think. But once you clicked on the boat, it listed it was for Tracy Arm.

Also, they don't take reservations for it until January 1 of the year of the cruise. You have to email instead of reserving the traditional way via the website. I don't have the email address anymore. Sory.

I would tend to assume so, but when we were at a port that had a platinum/diamond lounge, we were bored waiting for them to start boarding...and my husband actually asked the question to the Carnival employee staffing the lounge. He was told that if parents are platinum and the kids are not...the family is NOT able to wait in the lounge. Seemed counter-intuitive...but I can't say that the "rules" always make sense to me. So, I was wondering if anyone had actually been in that circumstance.

Yes, wrong info. We are platinum and kids aren't. We've taken them through ports at Tampa, Miami and Port Canaveral. They have always stayed with us during boarding and no one has questioned it.

Also, make sure you go to the casino. The platinum perk of $5 arcade card is one you can use for them. You can get up to two cards each adult. We have three kids, so we have always been able to get them each a $5 card. A few times the casino has given us four since each card is eligible for two.

We do NOT take them to the past guest party, though. They go to kids club.

Wow! That is dangerous. Hope your hubby is okay!

I live in Lakeland & will be travelling I-4, but the training class is in Winter Haven which is why the 1 hour drive. I'm just a worrier by nature. I've been trying to learn to go with the flow - so this will be a real test!!

Eww. Yeah. That's a solid hour. At least you know you won't hit traffic if you take the Parkway from WH to I-4 in Plant City. At that time of day, I can't imagine you'll hit traffic. At least there's options via Crosstown if something is hinky. Good luck! I would be a nervous wreck!

And your supervisor sucks for not letting you leave at 1:00! :mad:

I live in Plant City. It's cutting it close, but it won't take you an hour to get to the port in Tampa. I think you'll be okay.

We have been to St. Maarten before and did a tour, done Maho, done Orient. We are looking to just find a great hang-out type of beach bar/restaurant. Can anyone recommend a place? Other than Senor Frog's.

We had a somewhat similar experience once. The solution from guest services was to cancel auto tips and do individually. This was before they added tips for entertainment staff, etc. The head waiter was horrible. We ended up giving the tip (and more) to the bread/water guy and asst waiter, who really were the people who took care of us, and some to the head waiter. We didn't stiff him, but he did receive significantly less than the other two. We always overtip the room steward, so he was taken care of just fine.

Gratuity is gratuity. It's not a paycheck. I'm not "paying" for service that wasn't rendered. That doesn't even make sense. That is the only time we have ever had to remove tips.

As someone said, if you are in a land restaurant, of course you reduce your gratuity for subpar service. We've pulled busboys to the side on several occasions and tipped them because they did such a great job. It's the service industry. It's how it works.

They might convert it for you. I think it depends on the steward. It makes it difficult to make the bed. You might rethink it once you get in there. We did a cruise with the five of us in an inside once...once. Be aware that the roll-away is not a full-size roll-away like at a hotel. It is a mini cot on the floor. My 10yo son took up the whole length of it. We would have had zero floor space if the beds were pushed together.

We learned on that cruise is was soooo worth it to get two cabins. lol :)

I just want to say that it's refreshing to see someone recognize their limits and pull the plug on something they might not be able to do. Part of our problems as a country is people not being able to tell themselves no.

As an aside, would it be possible to look at a different cruise? Maybe one that is shorter and less expensive? You could transfer what you've already paid in. Best wishes and I hope things turn around for you so that you will be able to go on the cruise. :)

So glad you enjoyed it! I completely agree with you. Best excursion Carnival offers, hands down.

Gracious! Good for you for having a good attitude. If I missed St. Kitts AND Grand Turk and was substituted with Nassau...well, I wouldn't be very happy. :mad:

To the poster about bedbugs. Are you sure it wasn't sea lice? They're prevalent right now down here in Florida and the carib. The bites are similar.

The first night go to the meet-and-greet. They will meet friends and then off they go. They rarely actually hang out in the club. Usually it's a meeting spot to meet up and then go get ice cream and pizza. :D

Of course you will need to establish rules ahead of time and check-in times with you on the level you're comfortable with. My girls have both made great friends they still keep in touch with. For us our rules are no cabin decks, no giving out our cabin number, no going to anyone's cabin, check in every hour or so. That way you can meet the kids they're hanging out with too.

They do have some organized activities at night that my girls always went to, like dance parties or scavenger hunts. Just reinforce to your daughter that nobody else knows anyone either. The first night is always awkward but by the next day they're all best friends. :) Good luck!

I do not eat seafood and had the american table menu last year on the freedom.

I was able to find something every night that I liked. I only ordered the grilled chicken once.

I'm am a pretty picky eater but I really enjoyed dinner every night.

 

 

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Thank you! Good to know. :)

I'm a little nervous. I just found out the Valor is going to get the American Table menus for our sailing in a month. I'm allergic to seafood. Looking at the menus on Zydeco's site, it looks like it's heavy on seafood. One day out of seven appetizers, five had seafood. :eek: I hope I'm not stuck with grilled chicken every day. :(