maryandmarge

I really appreciate all the great responses I've received on this forum.    I like to get other peoples opinions on what I think to make sure I've made good choices.   

Thanks for all the responses.     I will consider all these choices when I book my next cruise.     Right now I'm just hoping that our February and March cruises will be a go.    Have a nice weekend to all.   

After recently reading a lot of the CC comments on OBC from Carnival and OBC from their TA's I have a quick question.     All but one of my past cruises we have booked thru a TA that is also considered a friend.   She has been a TA forever.     We have never received any kind of OBC or perks from her.   When reading thru the different comments it seems that a lot of the TA's have given their clients OBC.   I never knew any of them did this.     I have always done all of the research on my own and just emailed her the ship, the dates, the exact room that we wanted and she would book it.    I have no idea how much she makes on this - but I've done all the leg work and all she has to do is call the cruise line and enter it.    I'm sure we are one of her easiest clients.   Seeing that other people are getting extra perks from their TA's makes me wonder why I use her since she hasn't offered any.    Would appreciate any comments good or bad on what everyone thinks.    Thanks much -    Be safe

6 hours ago, pe4all said:

Thanks for link to article.  Had re-scheduled my Magic cruise for 3/21/21.  Hopefully drydock won't be extended and I will be cancelled for 3rd time.

We are scheduled on the Magic on 3/27/21 (from a cancelled trip this year).    I told my sisters the same this - hopefully dry dock goes as planned and we aren't  cancelled again.     By then we will have purchased air and pre-cruise  hotel too.   So fingers crossed for both of us to finally get to cruise again

17 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Think I got it...Too good to be true?

Thank you - I've been trying to figure out what that meant.     I read thru the entries and still couldn't figure it out.    Guess it was a senior moment!

We have been patiently waiting for Disney to cancel our 11/16 cruise on the Disney Magic.     My DIL works in the school system and both her and the 2 grandkids would have to quarantine for 14 days after our 5 day cruise.    Knowing this - we paid our final payment in August with the hopes that Disney would cancel and we would be able to get 100% refund.      If for some reason the cruise wasn't cancelled - we were going to take the option to cruise at a later date without a cost to change it that Disney was offering.   Looking forward to eventually cruising on a Disney ship - but probably not until 2022.    Safe travels to all.

We did a full transit in April 2018 from Los Angeles to Miami on NCL Star.  It was a 14 day cruise.      Going thru the Panama Canal was an amazing thing to see.    You just don't realize how little room there is in the locks until you are in there.    It should be on everyones bucket list.   

2 hours ago, cellfree said:

Our late October cruise was moved from FLL to departing MIA and there is a date and itinerary change also. The email we got from Carnivals said our Cabin will remain the same although  I do wonder about that. Will I receive an email from Carnival once they have it all figured out or will it just show up on my Planner with the new information? Right now it has completely disappeared from Planner. And perhaps this is all mute as November cruises may or may not go out. But would like to know more than I do now so I can make plans surrounding cruise.

We were booked on the Breeze for 3/27/21 and received a notice from Carnival that it would be switching to the Magic for the same dates - only it would leave from Miami instead of Ft Lauderdale with the same itinerary.     They said in the email that they would reassign our room equal to what we had booked on the Breeze.    Our Breeze booking disappeared for a while and then showed up with the same booking number but on the Magic and the room number was the same as on the Breeze.    I would keep watching your planner for it to show up there.     And hopefully you will be able to sail.    Stay healthy!!

Our 4/24/20 cruise on the Breeze was cancelled and we transferred money to a similar cruise on 3/27/21.    I had already paid for excursions that we cancelled 3/30 using $50 gift card to cover part of it and credit card for the rest.    Credit card was credited 5/7 but never heard anything on the $50 gift card.    I called Carnival and there was a glitch somewhere and it was missed and they reprocessed paperwork for it then.    I received it about a week later on 7/22/20.  So anyone waiting a long time for gift card credits might want to check with Carnival.   

 Now the only thing we are waiting for is a credit from Go-Port Canaveral for the shuttle/hotel $279 that we had booked.    We cancelled this on 3/30 and was told we would receive a full refund.    Checked a month later and said that we would receive only 70% refund but their staff was working from home and wasn't able to do it.    Now we are in miid August and everytime you check the status it comes back with the same reply.     They will email when it has been processed.    They went from having great reviews on Tripadvisor to everyone in the same "boat" - no pun intended - as me.    Just waiting.    Wondering if anyone has gotten any resolution from Go Port Canaveral.     I looked on Florida Departures but the few posts were people also waiting.  I've never disputed a charge on my credit card and wondered if this would be the time to do it.   If they would only give me a date when I can expect it I would be satisfied.      Stay healthy everyone... 

On 7/23 - Carnival showed on their website the list of Cancelled cruises to include the Magic from 3/13/21 - 5/3/21.    We had booked a cruise on the Breeze for 3/27/21 that Carnival cancelled and moved us over to the Magic leaving out of Miami with the same ports.   We were OK with the move because we had to fly in from Ohio and it doesn't matter to us where we leave from.     Then I see on the website on 7/22 that the Magic cruise was on their cancellation list.      I started the research to try and find something to replace it with.    Today on a whim I pull up the Carnival website and check and their list still shows updated 7/23 but has a different list from the original one.     Lucky for us - it looks like our Magic cruise is still a go.   So just a suggestion - keep checking that list on their website because you never know when it will change.     Another note is we have never received a notice that this was cancelled - I just saw it on their web page.   Stay healthy!!   

10 hours ago, trbarton said:

How far in advance can you register for a Meet & Mingle?  I’m on an Alaska cruise in December 2021. 
 

Tom😀

Just curious...What cruise line is crusing to Alaska in December?   I thought it was only May - Oct.

1 hour ago, Brad1972 said:

They cancelled Magic’s transatlantic cruises starting from Miami to and around European cruises during that time to leave it in Miami to take over the cruises that the Breeze was to do out of Fort Lauderdale.  I was booked on Breeze out of Fort Lauderdale April 24th 2021 they moved us to Magic out of Miami with same dates, itinerary and cabin room number.  I just looked and our cruise for April 24th is still in my booked cruises.  I even tried a mock booking and it let me.  Prices sure are higher than what I paid.

So maybe someone can answer my question on this.    We are 3 sisters - originally booked on the Breeze 4/25/20 - Carnival cancelled cruise so we re-booked for 3/27/21 with their $600 OBC offer on the Breeze.   A couple weeks ago they cancelled our booking on the Breeze and moved us to the Magic.   Like Brad said above with his booking with the same itinerary, date, and room number - just sailing out of Miami on a different ship.    They offered another $200 OBC for the inconvenience of moving us.     Now I see this notice where they are cancelling this cruise (although I too did a mock booking this morning and it still shows up) and our booking still shows up.   It shows on there if we want to re-book up thru sometime in 2023 they will give us $600 OBC.    Does this  mean they will add another $600 or am I going to lose previous OBC.    If not that would give us $1400 OBC total if we rebook.    My sisters paid on credit card but I paid with $1000 Carnival gift card (seemed like a good idea at the time because I bought them with Discover 5% cash back bonus) so for me I would probably just book out into late 2021 or maybe 2022 just to keep the OBC.   I guess I'll leave it up to them.   

Would be good to know for sure that we will have $1400 OBC on the new booking though.   Thanks for any input.    This is the place I always turn to with questions because there are so many people that follow on cruise critic.   Stay healthy.   

One of the new things listed is Magic is cancelled from March 13th - May 3rd.    We were originally booked on the Breeze for 8 days starting March 27th and a couple weeks ago we got switched over to the Magic out of Miami.     Looks like it has been cancelled now.    

14 hours ago, idiebabe said:

We received the offer, too, from HAL and it’s not a Casino Offer.  Oceanview Rooms were Free and could Upsell to Balconies and Suites for very good pricing. We booked for 2/17 on NS for 11 Nites.   Paid Port Fees/ Taxes and $200 pp.  $200 will be refunded back as OBC.   

This was the first time for us to receive an offer and we also booked this same cruise and were able to upgrade to a "obstructed view" balcony because of lifeboats on the floor below us.   We decided if something bad happens and they quarantine everyone to their rooms the extra $600/ea we paid for balcony for the 11 days  will at least allow us to get fresh air.      Agree it was a great deal that we are hoping to be able to take advantage of.    Everyone stay healthy.   

19 hours ago, airdale said:

I still have not received any emails from Carnival, BUT our friends that we are cruising with have received theirs.  HUM?

I was scheduled on the Breeze  out of FLL for 3/27/21 with my 2 sisters.   Both of them received emails earlier this week saying that we are being moved to the Magic and will sail out of Miami.   The emails said they would be notified on 7/10/20.     I'm the one who makes all the arrangements and if I hadn't seen it on Cruise Critic I wouldn't have known anything about the change.  These forums on Cruise Critic are my go to place for information.      So today is 7/10 and none of us heard anything back from Carnival.    I have been trying to go into the original booking all week and it would not recognize it until just a few minutes ago when it popped up with all the new info on it.    Same booking # - just shows us on Magic now leaving out of Miami.    We are booked in the same room as we were on the Breeze.     I'm happy with either ship as this is the first time we are trying a larger ship (compared to the 2000+ capacity).  So hopefully this will all be behind us and we will be able to travel at that time.    Everyone stay healthy!!    

On 6/30/2020 at 2:01 PM, maryandmarge said:

I thought about upgrading to a balcony yesterday when we put this on hold with Holland.    It would have been another $500/per person for the 11 day cruise.    Decided to think about it and now its not offered - so I guess it wasn't meant to be.   I'm happy with our deal and hopefully we will both be able to take advantage of these great offers.    

Checked again and the balcony was available the next day for an additional $600 per person.   It is in the partial obstructed view from lifeboat on deck below but after thinking about it we decided if something happens and they quarantine everyone to their rooms we'll be happy we paid the extra $$ to be able to go outside and get fresh air as opposed to being in a oceanview.   So room, taxes and port fees, and insurance, less the  $200 OBC came to $880 for the 11 day cruise.     Now keeping fingers crossed that ships will be sailing again before February.      Happy July 4th to everyone - stay safe. 

3 hours ago, VTcruisenut said:

WE missed out on the first offer we got when I posted this, HAL  had major lay-offs and I couldn't get thru to make the required payment.  However, I got an offer last week, we booked a 7 day leaving March 31st.   It was Free for oceanview (which I have never had) you pay $200 to hold it and get the $200 as on board credit when you sail. plus port fees and taxes.  Great deal!  However, we upgraded to a balcony (again, I have never had) for $299 pp and port and taxes and still get the $200 on board credit when we go.  We are hopeful!

I thought about upgrading to a balcony yesterday when we put this on hold with Holland.    It would have been another $500/per person for the 11 day cruise.    Decided to think about it and now its not offered - so I guess it wasn't meant to be.   I'm happy with our deal and hopefully we will both be able to take advantage of these great offers.    

This is the first time I've ever received a casino offer.   Which shouldn't be a surprise because I'm not a big gambler - just play the slots for an hour or so in the evening on a cruise.    I was able to book an 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise Feb 17, 2021- guaranteed oceanview room - 2 people - $200/per person - $181/per person port expenses - $99/ea cancellation insurance for a total of $960.   On top of that we each receive $200 OBC credit to use.   We have been spoiled because we've always gotten a balcony room but the difference in the cost just made sense to go with the oceanview room.   Plenty of places on the deck of the ship to go out and sit and read and people watch.       It's 8 month off so I'm hoping things will be closer to normal at that time.     The inside cabins are going for $1200+ so it seemed like a good time to take a chance.    Who knows - I might never get another offer like this one.    Just wanted to post this so people realize that you don't have to be a big gambler to get offers - I think its just a random pick.      

Just recently came back from road trip from Ohio to N Topsail Beach, NC.    Had a beach house rental across the street from the ocean and a small canal in the back yard with a dock for grandkids to fish and catch crabs, baby fish, eels, etc. in their small crab pot.   It was fun for them to be able to check the pots to see what we might have caught as the different things checked out our  bait of hot dogs and chicken.  We drove straight thru stopping at drive thru Chik-fil a for lunch and gas stations.    We took most of our groceries with us and spent 95% of our time at the house or walking along the ocean shore.   One night we walked the beach in search of the ghosts crabs that we chased with our flashlights.    We did get take out a couple of times to support the local businesses in N. Topsail.   After retiring the end of February - and then not being able to go anywhere - this was a great escape from what is going on.    

If you are looking for a nice area that isn't all commercialized then check the N. Topsail Beach area.    

Still nothing like being on a cruise ship - but it sure beat sitting at home in Ohio.

We had a 4/25 cruise on the Breeze cancelled by Carnival.    We had excursions booked for the 3 of us at a total of $683.88.   I had a $50 gift card and put the balance on my credit card.    I received the credit on my credit card on May 7th.   Still waiting for the $50 credit that is due to me on a gift card.    Because of the 90 day refund that we keep hearing about I'm not checking with Carnival for this until July.    Hoping that it comes thru before then.    We re-booked in March of 2021 with the 600 OBC  and most of our credits transferred to our new cruise (all except the $287 we paid for insurance with Carnival).    I will also check in July to make sure that the credit for that also gets transferred.   I know its taking a lot of patience to wait this out - I'll just be happy when we can all go back to cruising safely.    

1 minute ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Follow Terab85's advice. Also, when you reach that point with your (mock) booking, if you click the Carnival logo in the upper left corner of the web page to take you back to Carnival's homepage, I always get a box that pops up asking if I'd like to hold the cabin. You can also contact your PVP and ask them to extend the hold. I didn't even know that was an option until ours offered to do it for us last year. He extended our hold to 5 days.

I put a 48 hour hold last night on a new cruise that they wanted $662 deposit.    I have until 7:30 tomorrow night or it will be cancelled.    I had to do it without my TA because their server is down and she couldn't do it.     Now I have to figure out how to get the one I'm cancelling credited to the one on hold so I don't have to pay the deposit.    She told me I would probably have to call Carnival - like I would get thru today.  Yeah Right.     On the form they gave us to fill out the second section  shows a place for new booking number and says that you will get the higher OBC if you fill  it out.    I have a booking number - but I didn't cancel my original trip before now - I wonder if I put the new number in there if it will work??    Any ideas?     

I also have the Free Drink offer on my VIP number.    I did a mock booking taking advantage of the "free" drinks offer and then did a mock booking not taking the free drink offer and the price comes out to and additional cost of  $217/ea for the 3 of us to have the "free" drinks.    So like NCL - not really free.....    We aren't big drinkers so this doesn't seem like a good deal to us.   For others who are drinkers I'm sure it's worth the extra cost.     Stay healthy...

28 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

Sorry to say Canceled our May 3rd cruise today. Re booked for August out of San Juan. Last time we tried San Juan was Sept 2017 and was chased by 2 hurricanes for 10 days. Cost was right on credit from May sailing and the Airline ticket was reasonable after their credit and no fee's. Good luck to all

 

When did Carnival cancel your May 3rd cruise?   We are on the Breeze on 4/25 and I haven’t heard of any cancellations after 4/9.   Did I miss something?

We are booked on 4/25 on regular balcony room on the Breeze for 7 day Eastern Caribbean.    My log in still shows our cruise is still scheduled.    I'm pretty confident that this is not going to happen.    Even if it did - we have made the decision not to cruise until this all has past.     I'm like others and have been looking for something to re-book later this year.    Yesterday I checked into Alaska late Aug.    I was surprised to see that I could book an AFT facing balcony for 7 days round trip Seattle on 8/25 for  less than $70 more than we paid for the Caribbean.    One of Carnival perks offered (good until 3/23) was 2 days are free which is why the pricing was so low.  Of course the flights aren't as cheap going from Cleve to Seattle as they were for Cleve to Orlando.    Maybe they will extend this past the time I hear ours is cancelled - maybe not.    It's just a waiting game right now.    

Stay healthy!!   That's the important thing at this point.    

11 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

If that is the case and they don't offer any FCC, I will just request a refund and take my time in scheduling something at a later date.

That is our plan also.