Two Rileys

Have any of you stayed at this Norfolk hotel pre-cruise and what were your impressions?

We like Park Port Canaveral because, for us, it's less stressful.   They have several shuttles that are making constant round trips to the terminals. There has always been a shuttle waiting to take us from the terminal back to the parking lot after our cruise is over.  We have had to wait a few minutes for the shuttle to take us to the terminal from the parking lot, but not long.  They have several different shuttles and specific shuttles service specific ships and terminals.  Depending on the number of people waiting on your particular shuttle, you may have to wait a few minutes for your turn to board a shuttle.

We always use Park Port Canaveral.  We like being dropped off and picked up at the terminal.  We aren't youngsters anymore and find the whole experience with Park Port Canaveral less stressful than driving to the port, fighting traffic, getting in the right lane to drop luggage, parking and walking to the terminal building.  With Park Port Canaveral we park and hand off our bags to PPC personnel, give the porter his tip when we get there and walk into the terminal.   When the cruise is over, we get our bags from baggage claim and wheel them outside where there's a shuttle waiting for us.  

Hello.  We're cruising on the Carnival Magic in September and have booked the park and cruise package at the Courtyard Norfolk Downtown.

Just wondering, if there's anyone out there who has stayed at this hotel, how did you get to the port?  On the map it looks to be about 5 blocks from the terminal so I'm not sure we could walk it with luggage.  Thinking of a Lyft or a taxi.  Have heard that traffic on embarkation day is horrendous.

Looking for experiences and/or suggestions.

Thanks very much!

We are on this cruise and we are canceling.  24-72 hours isn't enough of a window.  I've called around about getting quick PCR results in the rural area where we live.   I understand that the quick antigen tests are not PCR tests and PCR test results take 2-7 days to get around here.  And we don't live near the port so we have to factor in travel time.  We can't figure out how to get it done in the time frame allotted.

Hello everybody. My husband and I are booked on the Carnival Pride repositioning cruise in Fall of 2021.  We board the ship in Baltimore and debark in Tampa.  We want to fly back to WV from the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport as Allegiant has direct flights to our local airport.  We would not try to fly on the same day that we debark the ship and might even spend a few days in Florida before we come back home, but if we could get to the airport, we could manage whatever we needed in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area.  Would any of you know what is the best way to get from the Port of Tampa to St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport?

Thanks very much!

Hello Everybody,

My husband and I will be taking a cruise on the Carnival Glory later this year.  We like to eat dinner early so we chose the Your Time Dining option.  We've chosen this option in the past and have never had any luck with getting a table for 2 with a little privacy.  Usually, we are sandwiched in between two other tables for 2.

My question is for others who have sailed the Glory recently with the Your Time Dining option.  Were you lucky enough to snag a table for 2 with a bit of privacy and, if so, do you remember the table number and the name of the dining room?

Thanks so much!

Thank you, SteerageJoe!

Thanks for the info.  I guess I misunderstood where this is located.  I thought it was only about 15 minutes from the port.  The off-site parking areas located closer to the port are more expensive, being right at $100 for an 8 day cruise.  It’s $136 at the port so the difference is insignificant.   Parking off site might save a little money, but it comes with logistical issues so the savings would have to be more than $36 to make it worthwhile to us.  We’ll probably just park at the port like we always do where we can walk straight to the car and head home to WV.  It’s convenient and secure.  I appreciate your help.

Do any of you have any experience with this off-site parking/shuttle service?  It’s located on Merritt Island, I believe.   I found a recommendation for this company in a post on Trip Advisor, but that’s the only review I could find.   Do any of you have any actual experience with this service?   Thanks for your information.

Have any of you parked at this off-site lot?   If so, what did you think?   It is a little farther out at Cocoa, I believe.  Thanks!

We sail on April 29th and I tried to prepay parking online at the lot/garage closest to the terminal (P2603) but the system wouldn't take the reservation and I was given a number to call, which I believe is just the central reservations number for all of Premium Parking. I called and was told that reservations aren't being accepted for P2603 and the agent assumed the lot isn't available. I was told that there is an adjacent lot (P2601) with a shuttle to the terminal.

My question is to anyone who has sailed from Mobile within the last couple of weeks. Is the lot/garage next to the terminal closed?

My mother is going with us and she has mobility issues and uses a mobility scooter. I'm just trying to work out the logistics.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks so much! I'll check that out!

Hi All!

While I don't worry about Irma impacting our embarkation on Saturday, and I know that the ship will sail away from the storms, but I have some worry about my car being flooded by storm surge if the storm hits while we are gone. We always use Carnival parking and have always parked in the warehouse.

Anybody have any thoughts about that? Thanks!

Hello,

My mother owns an EV Rider folding mobility scooter. I know the gangway ramps are pretty steep in Charleston and she's a little concerned that her scooter will not be powerful enough to handle the grade. Do any of you have any experience boarding the ship in Charleston with this type of scooter? Thanks!

This is to anyone who already has a Go Go Folding Scooter. Thinking about one for my mom for cruising. Some of the ramps to the ships at embarkation and debarkation are pretty steep. Have any of you had any issues going up the ramp on your Go Go Scooter?

Very helpful. A lot to think about.

I went back and re-read my post and realized I wasn't clear. I'm sorry. We would not let them travel alone. We would be going with them and there may be some other travelers, too. There is no way they could do a cruise alone (or any other trip for that matter). I was just looking for any experiences and/or suggestions

A friend who has always loved cruising has been recently diagnosed with dementia. He has cognitive and short-term memory issues, though at the present time his long-term memories are intact. Some days are better than others, but, of course, we don't know from day-to-day how he will function the next day. Depends are a must. He is mobile and does wander and, while he couldn't manage elevator buttons (he would just start pushing buttons) or the remote control for the television, he can figure out how to unlock a door. If he were to be found wandering around the ship, I do not believe that he would be able to tell anyone his cabin number, though he would be able to tell his wife's name. His wife (and caregiver) is adamant about taking him on a cruise. She has health and mobility issues as well. He was always the one to take care of her, but now the situations are reversed. We usually travel with them and realize it would be a team effort to take him on a cruise, but I'm a little hesitant. I don't know how he would handle the crowds and chaos of embarkation and debarkation or even trying to get lunch on the Lido deck. I'm just asking for your personal experiences and any suggestions if we DO decide to attempt this.

Hi All. My husband and I are booked in an inside cabin on the Dawn that leaves New Orleans this weekend. We received an upsell email offering us a Family Suite for a very good price. For those of you who have stayed in a Family Suite, what are the advantages of being in such a cabin? There is no balcony but there are floor to ceiling windows and I do like that. There is a butler, but I really don't want a butler hovering about. It is just my husband and me and we are very easy to take care of. Leave me some clean towels and make my bed and I'm happy. What would be the other benefits of upgrading to a Family Suite?

We will be sailing on the Dawn next weekend. Is the parking at the Julia Street Terminal in a parking garage or in an outside lot? I've read the directions and looked at Google Earth pics, but can't figure it out. Thanks for the info.

Thank you for all of the responses! Very helpful!

My husband uses a C-Pap machine. Do any of you know if distilled water is available for purchase once onboard? I see the bottled water packages, but would really rather have distilled. Thanks.

Cocoa Beach Shuttle. We usually have 8-9 people traveling in our group and they always take great care of us. A couple of years ago, they picked us up at the Orlando airport and took us to our Cocoa Beach hotel. The next morning they picked us up at our hotel and took us to the ship. After our cruise, they picked us up at the cruise port and delivered us to a hotel in Orlando and the next morning, we took hotel shuttle to the airport. The "package" was very reasonable for all of those transports. Tell them all of the transportation you need and they will give you a price to cover it all. Very convenient.

Just off the Valor - Platinum Gift was journal with pen. Disappointed, but we were flying and certainly didn't have to worry about how I was going to get it home