applequeen

Unvaccinated kids have no place in Splash Academy (or on the cruise). The only exception should be kids who are not old enough to receive the vaccine. My kids (8 and 12) have been fully vaccinated since December.

If adults are required to be vaccinated then 5+ kids should be too. It's really quite simple. 

We sail in a week and a half. I am furious that these programs will not be available for my kids. Had we been notified prior to our final payment we would certainly have cancelled. When we booked the cruise we were told (by our personal cruise consultant) that everything would be open. I feel lied to and deceived. I know I am not the only parent who feels this way. NCL gladly took our $ for a cruise with amenities that are not available. 

Other cruise lines have opened their programs. I see no reasonable reason why NCL could not have done the same. 

5 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

When the children have all been fully vaxed, I would tend to agree with you.

Until fully vaxed, they should be severely limited in where and what they can do. Cruises are mostly adults so that should be the number 1 priority.  They are probably delaying the splash academy on purpose.

Kids 5+ have been eligible for vaccine since  November! Let the vaccinated ones in and keep the unvaccinated out. It’s not difficult. 
 

My fully vaccinated kids are as safe as any other passenger on the ship. 

You bet they will be hearing from me. I am livid that it won’t be open for our April cruise. My kids have been vaccinated since November. There is NO reason it should not be available for fully vaccinated kids. I am angry because we booked and paid in full with no warning that it would closed. We would have made other plans for Spring Break. 
 

They know how to run these things. If it was a money-making activity there is no chance it wouldn’t be open. Cruise lines are logistical experts. They can get the clubs open if it is a priority. 
 

My PVP was happy to let me book knowing it was closed. I will not use her again. She knew the kids activities were important to me. 

I have flown into/ out of MCO for Disney trips. TSA screening was one of the worst I have experienced! I remember one morning one agent was yelling at me to move while the second was yelling at me to stay still. 

I guess it's the price we pay to travel. 🙂 We will have plenty of time for this trip and won't need to stress or rush. There were some earlier flights but I didn't want to take chances at MCO. 

Thanks! If we have to be off the ship around the same we'll stick with the Carnival shuttle option. I'm sure we can find something to do at the airport.

It's never been an issue in the past because we were always driving and ready to hit the road. I think we've always been off the boat by 9:00. Our last cruise was from Jacksonville and the disembarkation that day was the absolute worst I have ever experienced. We stood in a barely moving line for nearly 2 hours (self disembark so we had our luggage). I've never experienced anything like that and it's hard for me to remember what the normal process is. 

We have a 3:45 flight home from MCO. I currently have transportation booked through Carnival but I am considering cancelling and booking private transportation.

Are there multiple Carnival shuttles back to the airport? Can we take a later shuttle? I'm sure those with early flights will need the earlier seats.

What is the latest time we can get off the ship? We usually drive to the ports and disembark earlyish. 

Ha! You have music? I have total silence. 

Based on your experience I think I should just hang up. 

7 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

 

Thank you for posting this!  My tests just arrive in the mail yesterday, and have an expiration of 09-21-2021.  That would be a very short timeframe if not for the extension.

Same! Arrived yesterday. My cruise is 9/23. 

11 hours ago, Back to school said:

What’s the ship and dates cancelation?

Encore - May 2, 2022 LA to Vancouver.

I was shocked to receive an email yesterday that my May 2022 cruise has been cancelled. Since this cruise originated in Vancouver I knew it might happen but assumed that unless Canada extended their Feb 2022 cruise ban that I would be safe. 

Cancelling 15 months before the cruise when there is no ban in place for that time period seems excessive and premature. 

Does this indicate that NCL may be planning to avoid Canada long term even beyond their ban? 

I won't be rebooking anything at this point. I had $200 in deposits that I am apparently unable to have refunded (I was told that my deposit from my last 2 cruises that were cancelled had been converted to a nonrefundable credit). I am thankful it's not more money and is money that I haven't had in my pocket for 2 1/2 + years. I know there are others with larger amounts that are in limbo. I am undecided if/ when I am going to book anything else. Between itineraries, other obligations, school and work schedules, it's just too hard to find something we can get excited about. I may end up letting the credit expire and I'm mostly OK with that. If I do use it I believe it will likely be for something a trip that is more imminent once COVID restrictions ease up. 

My husband and I have always wanted to do this trip and assumed it would be one we did without our kids. Unfortunately it's difficult for us to leave our kids for this long (childcare) so we've decided to just make it a family trip.

I booked it for June 2020...so over a year from now so that our kids will be a little older (they will be 10 and 7 1/2) at the time. We are sailing with NCL.  Both have cruised before and enjoyed it but it's always been to warmer/ beachy places that are easy to find kid friendly things to do.

Can someone give me some honest opinions on if this trip is something the kids will enjoy? I'd rather know now so that we have plenty of time to rebook to a trip that is more family friendly. 

I copied the ports below (we are sailing on the Pearl)

CRUISE PORTS EMBARK New York (New York); Halifax (Nova Scotia);Saint John, Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick); Bar Harbor (Maine);Portland (Maine); Newport (Rhode Island); DISEMBARK New York (New York)

I would absolutely book a private tour. We did both during our trip in June. I copied the link to the comments I left in the Cuba forum here. I tried to review our NCL excursion on their website (we did the Evening Stroll) but they have not published it.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2651518

Overall, last year when I sailed NCL to Cuba, ALL of the NCL excursions were really poor. Guests were loudly complaining to Guest Services, other passengers, about how expensive the tour cost and that it was not as advertised.

 

 

 

I am really sorry you had such a disappointing tour. I'm glad you had a great time on your old car tour. Did you use Old Car Tours? I found them to be amazing. So helpful and I was a solo female cruiser and they took very good care of me and made me feel very safe.

It’s sad that this seems to be the norm.

Yes.... Old Car Tours was great!

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I should add that once I noticed the price difference I did go to the excursion desk to ask about it.

The young lady at the desk told me "oh yes, that was the price if you pre-booked".... I replied politely but firmly that I needed the cost adjusted. This was the morning after the excursion and they did adjust my account to reflect the on board cost of $99.

Since it was just my husband and I traveling it was a savings of $20 but I can imagine for a larger party that $10 pp would add up quickly!

I don't typically book cruise line excursions so maybe it's normal for the cost to decrease once on board but it just didn't felt off to me. In most other things there is a cost benefit to pre-booking!

Thanks for sharing. My daughter and I will be on the Sky in Nov and were looking at this tour. We plan to do a private car tour during the day but thought this sounded interesting for the evening. We didn't want to do the club/bar NCL tours. Definitely reconsidering now. With whom did you book your private car tour? We are looking at Blexie and Havanacar Tours.

Old Car Tours Havana https://www.oldcartours.com//

We had a great experience with them. They were extremely professional during the entire process. I also left a review on Tripadvisor (basically the same username so you'll be able to spot it pretty easily)!

We stopped for some drinks during our Old Car Tours private tour earlier in the day (which was awesome). We are so glad we did the private tour...it was fun and informative and worth every penny! Our regret was that we didn't book an entire day with them!

We had a great trip... it was a very relaxing vacation but I felt that the excursion was a rip off. I realize that NCL may be limited in who they can work with in Cuba. There was a clear difference in the unofficial private tour and the official "government sanctioned" NCL tour group.

NCL didn't post my review of the Evening Stroll excursion so I'm posting it here (this is a copy/ paste of the review I submitted there...I copied it into an email I sent myself). I really felt like the experience was lacking (and did not meet the expectation described by NCL). We booked this excursion to make sure we complied with the visa requirements.

We participated in this excursion last week. You should first know that the price of the excursion onboard was $99 ($10 cheaper than prebooking).

You should also know that the actual length of this excursion is closer to 2 hours (I wish I had asked for the exact times we exited and entered the ship so that I would be able to tell you exactly how long it was). I do know that we exited between 7:00 and 7:30 and were back by 9:30. This time also included customs, money exchange, etc.

On the bus to Sloppy Joes (there really was no sightseeing on the bus....really just our guide telling us what to expect on the tour) we were told we would be getting Cuba Libres at the bar and were told that Cuban Coke is sweeter than what we are probably used to. We were told we would receive a "sloppy joe sandwich" and then could order a 2nd drink which could be anything that we wanted (mojitos or beer were suggested).

Once we arrived at the bar we were given watered down Sangria (the bar was mysteriously out of Coke) then a waiter passed around bottles of water. We were brought our sandwiches...these were good.

A few people asked about the second drink....and the guide told them....THE WATER WAS THEIR SECOND DRINK!!! This was NOT what we were told would happen on our way there. The 3-4 people who had asked were allowed to order a beer but barely had time to drink it because we were told it was time to head to the bus. Another tour group was coming in so I'm sure this is why we were rushed.

We were taken to a second bar (where Hemmingway supposedly visited) and given watered down mojitos. I've had better mojitos at Chili's!!!!

We enjoyed the walking tour. Our only complaint was that we really only visited a few spots. It definitely was not as long/ informative as the description implies.

Earlier in the day we did a private old car tour on our own...just us and a driver and a guide. It was wonderful!!! We booked the evening excursion through NCL because 1) it sounded interesting and would visit different areas compared to our private tour. and 2) we wanted to make sure our excursion fit our visa requirements.

We did enjoy the walking tour but really felt that overall price/ value it was a rip off....definitely not the experience that is described.

I was excited to see that our ship (NCL Sun) was scheduled to dock at Mallory Squarehttp://www.cruiseportinsider.com/keywestschedule2018.html#jun next week (19th)... then I checked another calendar and saw it was listed as (*****) which I assume is Old Mole http://www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov/egov/documents/1528979720_06152.htm .

There is another ship (Carnival Victory) also listed for ***** on the same day. Can 2 ships dock there?

Any idea which calendar is more reliable? We would love to dock at Mallory Square since we wouldn't have to deal with a shuttle.

Thanks! I definitely won't be using the ship's service. I don't want to join this call badly enough to pay for it!

I know my phone will work once I get to Key West (I believe we dock sometime in the afternoon) but I am wondering what the chances are I would have service earlier in that day (around 9:00 AM). I have a work call I would like to join in at all possible.

I don’t normally work during vacation and it’s totally fine for me to miss this meeting. It’s more of a want to participate sort of thing. It’s a gotomeeting so maybe I could also use internet on the ship (but would rather not pay for it).

I just wondered what the chances are we will be close enough to shore that morning for my phone to work.

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What a happy ending! Enjoy your grand suite. I hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

 

Normally Carnival will automatically assign a PVP to everyone who has sailed with them in the past. You may have one and not know it. But you are always free to book by calling their regular 800 number if you prefer to do that. If you get any emailed or printed promotions from Carnival, you might find the PVP's name and extension on those.

 

But the upsell fairy that calls or emails you with an offer to upgrade your cabin prior to sailing is not a PVP; however, your PVP should be able to read any notes that have been placed on your booking by others. Some PVPs are better than others.

 

I hope you'll come back after your cruise and tell us about your grand suite!

You are correct, there was someone who had contacted us several times during the past few years since our last cruise (2011). We were waiting for our first child to turn 2 before we cruised again and then had another child....who is now 2. :) After taking a 9 month old we knew we wanted to wait until both were old enough for Camp Carnival.

When booking this cruise a few months ago I did try to call him (the person I assume is our PVP) but did not receive a response. I wonder if perhaps he is no longer with Carnival.

Thanks everyone,

When we are ready to book again I'll try to get my very own PVP. :) Hopefully we've worked out everything for this trip. I will say that everyone I've spoken with so far has been very helpful.

It was a "Stateroom Sales Specialist" that called.

We're on the Ecstasy on 12/8. I know it's an off week to travel but I'm starting to wonder if anyone else is going!

Thanks everyone!

I don't believe I have a PVP. I talk to someone new every time I call. How do I get one? Do I just keep calling someone I've worked with and liked.

As for yesterday... I ended up replying to the email and explained that I had been trying to get back in touch. She called me almost immediately after that and explained the deal. We played a bit of phone tag while I consulted with my husband.

In the end.....it was a deal that we loved. We started out in an interior, moved to an oceanview after a price drop. After yesterday's deal we are in a grand suite!!!

I was fine with the original interior and the price I paid....and would have been content to stay there. We'd never done an interior and wanted to see if we could be happy in one. It's ironic that we'll now be in the largest cabin we've ever had! :)

Hi everyone,

I received an email a couple hours ago about the possibility of upgrading our cabin.

I have left a message at the number provided in the email but have not received a call back. I've called several more times and keep getting voicemail. It looks like she only works until 6 today.

What can I do? I would like the chance to hear about the offer and see if it works for us!

Thanks!

Thanks! A cab does seem to be the easiest. It's vacation (as much of a vacation as one can have with small kids) and I want it to be as stress free as possible!