DenaInWyo

My theory was it was some kind of system glitch.  No one at the port had any idea what I was talking about.  Son was in group B and said they called A, but no one was getting up for it.  No one but the usual suites/weddings/loyalty etc got up to get in line that he could see until they started on B.  Who knows!  They have been late getting back quite a bit (our cruise included) so maybe it ties in with that somehow.  

Yeah, it could complicate things!  Hopefully not though.  At the end of the day we'll all be getting on eventually.  I just WANNA KNOW!!  I'm way too nosey for my own good.

On 5/1/2023 at 10:11 PM, Cruising Oma53 said:

I just did an online booking that is to include FunPlay credit and drinks. Is this suppose to show up on my booking information or does everyone just assume it was booked correctly with the casino offer? Thanks for your help.

It doesn't show up on your booking, and be careful about any changes you make to your booking.  The slightest thing seems to null and void it.  Make sure if you have to make a change you are working with the casino department and not just the regular operators at Carnival.  If you have to do something like add or subtract a person, change cabins...ANYthing, ask whomever you reach initially to transfer you to the casino department and get their name after having them assure you nothing has changed on your deal.

Ask me how I know 😉

1 hour ago, kelkel2 said:

It’s possible? Maybe a big wedding? Or maybe an inspection Carnival already knows about and they know they won’t be able to process people earlier than that? 

Could be either.  You would think if it were an inspection though, only the arrival appointments would be affected, not bouncing everyone to B boarding.  Like I said, no skin off my nose other than pure curiosity of what's up.  

1 hour ago, TreyB said:

I’m FTTF and will be on and eating Guy’s burgers before you.  🤣🤣

  I'm platinum, and no you won't 🙂

I'm on this sailing as well, and it's been a little odd.  Before anyone jumps on me, I am not the slightest bit concerned or stressed about it, just really curious.

NO ONE in our roll call has A boarding group or earlier than 11am arrival.  I checked in as platinum right at midnight and got 11am, B03.  I realize my boarding group number doesn't matter as platinum.  Could there be a big group of some sort that they automatically put in A?  A glitch in the matrix?  A fellow roll call member who cruises frequently from LB said he's never NOT gotten 1030 and A.  I guess we'll find out in 12 more days!

I agree with everyone saying the food quality has gone down.  I'll be on the Panorama in two weeks and yes, I'm doing the thing they're hoping we'll all do and sticking mostly with specialty restaurants.  Next cruise is on the Celebration and I'm hoping I'm right that they're mostly invested in their bigger and newer ships.  Doing a lot of specialty dining on that one too.

I avoid the buffet in general because it's gone downhill so badly, but I DEFINITELY avoid it on embarkation.  In fact, I stay away from the Lido entirely other than a little time spent for sailaway.  Everyone gets on the ship and heads straight there and it's a circus.  Find out what other areas you can get lunch and drinks that are NOT on the Lido and you'll be much better off.  

If I recall correctly, no, drinks are not taxed.

No, cell data does not work while you are at sea, even close to land.  In fact, WIFI on the two Alaskans I've done has been the worst of all my cruises (Sprit and Miracle).  It does, however, work just as normal in port, other than Canada of course.  

I swear they frost the Lido cakes with criso-cream frosting.  

6 hours ago, elainmir said:

I did go back and look we do have 200 OBC so we'll use that for gratuity and we have 500 FUNPLAY so that'll be great.  The drinks all over the ship does that include the special coffee bar also?  I  don't know if there's anywhere that's excluded for that.  Thanks for all of the help everyone! 

It works exactly like the drink package.  You essentially have free Cheers.

Thanks!  That's what I figured but you never know if you don't ask.

Just a quick question that I already think I know the answer to but want to make sure...

I am platinum, my son and his girlfriend (separate cabin) and her mother (another separate cabin) are not.  When we tender into Cabo, can they board with me using the priority boarding?  I'm guessing no, but thought I'd check.  I haven't been in this situation before.

13 hours ago, x lindsay x said:

I think the long birth certificate line in Port Canaveral is specific to Port Canaveral. We noticed how long that line was last May when we debarked the Mardi Gras, I had never seen anything like it. We just sailed the Celebration out of Miami during President's week with over 1,000 kids onboard and the birth certificate line was short and moved super fast, we waited maybe 5 minutes in line.

 

We had to use the birth certificate line because it took 16 weeks to get my daughters passport renewed, even though the posted timeline was 8-10 weeks when we sent it in. So frustrating. 

Not so sure it is.  I cruised out of NOLA in February and that line was also INSANE.  I was super glad I had a passport.  

Just back from Progreso/Cozumel.  In Progreso it was being pretty universally ignored by locals and tourists alike, but locals I saw smoking the most.  In Cozumel there was a smoking area at Nachi Cocum, but after I was pretty much totally off by myself later in the day, no one said a thing about my vaping.  That said, I'd be careful about it.  Sounds like an excellent way for a Mexican Police officer to shake you down for some money.

On 4/11/2022 at 9:30 AM, funtoocruise said:

Has anyone been to Lucaya beach recently, what is the cost to get there and is it a nice beach to swim at ?

I am very interested in this as well.  Looking at Lighthouse Pointe on Resort for a day, but cannot find any recent reviews.  Would like to hear from someone before I drop $90 pp for four people.

Thank you to the experienced cruisers pointing out that "the ship will always wait for you" isn't exactly the truth.  The other part of that truth is that if you are on a popular independent tour with 20 other people from your ship, they are just as likely to wait for you as one of their own excursions if you are in contact with the ship.  They DO NOT want the bad press of leaving people behind.  The ONLY difference is whether or not they pay to get you back to where you need to be.  At the end of the day, as pointed out, there is only so long they can wait for ANYone, ship tour or not.  I've long since given up on arguing with anyone on this point though.  It's a waste of time.

(I get really tired of the ol' "they HAVE to wait for you" baloney)

The website is definitely having issues.  I'm trying to get checked in (since last night) and it shows everything as checked off, but still incomplete, and a boarding time isn't even an option.  Saw someone else having the same trouble.  Sigh.  Huge company, been online for years, and their website is still frequently borked.  

11 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Until last weekend when SW cancelled hundreds of flights for god knows what reason, thousands and thousands of people have flown all around the country and overseas and NOT been infected with COVID.  Airlines are even more strict on monitoring mask wearing and have upgraded their air filtering.  If you fly in the day before your cruise and get tested right before you leave home, you're within the 2 day window.    Just get vaccinated if able (check with your doctor if you have concerns) wear/bring N95 masks and social distance in crowds (which means don't lollygag around strangers, just keep moving.)

I think you missed my meaning.  I'm not worried about catching it because of flying.  Well, not more than anyone would normally be.  I'm saying that there's no way I'd leave home without testing first on the risk that I was positive prior to leaving.  Several of our roll call members last cruise came up asymptomatic positive prior to leaving home.  It would super suck to have to quarantine in an expensive city or make a very long drive.  

I'm fully vaccinated, an RN, and well versed in PPE and the meaning of social distancing.  But thanks for the tips 😉 

Small side note:  This is also why I won't cruise unless I can test before I leave home.  I have to fly to any port, and I can't imagine getting alllll the way to Florida, testing positive, and having to figure out how to either spend an expensive ten days there, or drive ALLLL the way back to WY.  THAT would be the pits.  People who test at the port and have to fly in are pretty brave.  

Another vote for Spirit class ships.  I've only been on Miracle and Legend so far but both were my best cruises.  Ironic that for being "small" ships, the common areas are so much larger than the big ones.  There's just a different vibe too.  You're more likely to run into the same crew and passengers and the social part of things is a lot more fun.  The food in the MDR on Miracle was the best we've had on a Carnival ship.  Not one single complaint about any staff, ever.  

I've never had a bad cruise, but my least favorite so far has been the Vista.  Not likely to sail on that class again, or anything larger than Conquest class, for that matter. Vista really gave us the feel of being packed onto a box at sea, milked of our cash, then booted off for the next herd.  And I'm weird..I like the décor of the older ships.  Vista felt like an office building.  JMO, I know lots like her.

We just got back from the Miracle to Alaska last week and the buffet was indeed, horrible.  I tried a few things once, and from then on at at other places.  The deli, pizza, Guys etc were all fine, just the buffet itself.  It's never been all that stunning, but it definitely has reached new lows.  On the other hand, the MDR was the best it's been for us in years, in both food and service.  Along with that, the buffet is the only complaint I had about the whole cruise.

But yeah, the buffet has gone downhill.

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Why only mention texas and florida. Does ny or Baltimore or new orleans or mobile have a different unvaxxed percentage than florida or texas or you just want to get on the let's bash texas and florida list. I get tired of people who dont know other ports have the same protocols. Read the protocols. 

Because Carnival isn't sailing from those ports yet?  Sheesh.  I had no bashing in mind.. just mentioned the two ports with ships running. But I'm out on this thread.  Definitely some people here who need a vacation.

12 hours ago, tm_aw_love said:

Try again... the Carnival site specifically states that for the Miracle out of Seattle, exemptions will be 'accommodated only as required by law.'

 

https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols

 

 

Then I stand corrected.  But it's going to be a hell of a lot closer to 100% than TX or FL.  They aren't doing kid exemptions, and they are definitely not openly welcoming unvaxxed people.  And on that note, would NCL not also be "required by law" to allow some?  

And, as it's been pointed out already in this thread, the CARNIVAL ship, Miracle, is sailing 100% vaccinated out of Seattle as we speak.  Which I'm super happy about.  13 days!

On 7/31/2021 at 1:40 PM, csr10236 said:

Thank you so much for your explanation! That helps me more than you'll ever know. We're set to sail on Monday the 30th and fly into Hobby on Sunday and land at 12:30-ish in the afternoon. So it seems we should be okay especially since people will be aware of the cruise line schedules. Also, thank you for posting the cost. While a shuttle would be less expensive we did want to get to our hotel as soon as possible and not have to make multiple stops along the way to pick up or drop off other people.  Hopefully we'll be okay port to Hobby on our way home too. We have a late flight out and keeping my fingers crossed our flight leaves on time. We, too, are flying on Southwest from Los Angeles and we have a direct flight both ways. Always worth the extra cost cause I'm terrified of my luggage not making a layover.

I'm with you on shuttles.  I've done them a couple of times, for cruises and for other things, and I just hate them.  I hate waiting for everyone, making the extra stops...  It's worth it to me to just get my own private ride and go straight there when I'm ready.  I'm not the most patient person when I'm all Cruise Hyped 😄