sparks1093

I believe it's only 5 minutes between drinks for alcohol drinks, I don't recall having to wait for two non-alcohol ones.

A lot of people try to flock to the pool to get a lounger, but most ships have plenty of loungers on the level above the pool deck. Many cruise lines have areas that are designated only for adults, so you can lounge in the sun without screaming kids. A lot will depend too on your departure port. Departing from the northeast means no lounging in the sun for a couple of days. Make sure that you give yourself time to just enjoy being on the ship and don't try to "do it all" the first day.

I agree with this although I would add (now that this thread has been moved from the Carnival forum to the Ask a Cruise Question forum) that one does need to verify the cruise line's requirements since they may impose a stricter standard than the one imposed by the government. Some upscale lines do require passports of all passengers and that they have 6 months remaining on them at the end of the voyage.

A US citizen born abroad will have one of two documents- a Consular Report of Birth Abroad if they were entitled to US citizenship at birth (parent(s) is/are US citizens) or a Naturalization Certificate. These may be presented with a government issued ID to board a closed loop cruise. DW was born in Germany and is a naturalized citizen, so for our first few cruises we used her Naturalization Certificate. Then I found out how much it costs to replace one of those suckers if lost, damaged, or destroyed. Back then it was around $350, now it's over $500. Once we found that out we decided to get a more durable form of ID to use for cruising and settled on the Enhanced Drivers License, since that is an option in our state. Her Naturalization Certificate now stays in our safe deposit box (along with all of her original paperwork from Germany).

Cruise lines do recommend it (I believe the State Department does also) but there are only a few countries that have this requirement and it's not normally imposed on cruisers who will arrive on a cruise ship and depart soon after. Another thing that is misunderstood is if a country does have this rule it pertains to having six months remaining on your passport at the end of your scheduled trip, so if you are visiting such a country for 2 months you actually need 8 months validity remaining. I would feel comfortable cruising on a closed loop cruise with a passport expiring a week after the end of the trip (which should be more than enough cushion if something should go wrong).

Since people will be boarding with ID and birth certificate there is no 6 month requirement. If you need the peace of mind having your birth certificate order it by all means. I think it's overkill but having a birth certificate on hand isn't a bad thing.

It must be realized that each form of ID has a primary purpose and having a backup ID doesn't help at all with that primary purpose. A driver's license allows you to drive a vehicle. Lose it and no passport or military ID in the world will allow you to drive without getting a replacement. Conversely, if you need a passport for the travel you are doing you can have all of the backup ID you want, it won't get you on your mode of transportation if you've lost your passport. There are very limited situations where different forms of ID are acceptable for what you are doing. If you are checking into a hotel it doesn't matter much whether you present a drivers license or passport or possibly other form of ID. When you are carded for buying alcohol the same thing applies. There are some exceptions in the DHS regulations that allow for using something other than a passport for travel and since we are talking about cruising I'll limit this to closed loop cruising. As I pointed out in post 46 if someone has already decided to cruise using drivers license and birth certificate deciding to get a passport as a backup ID is fatuous. Better to think that the passport is the primary and the drivers license/birth certificate are the backup. I certainly can't speak for everyone but I wouldn't be in a hurry to spend that much money on a "just in case" that has a very small likelihood of happening. Now that we've gotten to the point in our life where we have passports it is indeed comforting to know that should our passport go missing we still have something that will get us on the ship for our closed loop cruise, but if we didn't already have it we wouldn't spend a lot of money to get it.

If someone is getting a passport they are getting it as their primary ID for travel and in that case the person's regular ID becomes the backup for closed loop cruises. If one is traveling on a closed loop cruise it is a legitimate choice to use something other than a passport, even if someone else would make a different choice.

I haven't read any of the responses but for us, no, we aren't reluctant at all. We already have a cruise booked for 2024 and are looking at 2025. I look all around me and see a decline in quality in a lot of things and supply chain issues. I would expect this to affect cruising, since they aren't immune to these issues. I also see labor shortages in many industries so that would also be expected to affect the cruise lines. We don't know what the future brings, but we do know that we are going to go on our cruises and make the best of it, realizing that outside forces might diminish some of what we enjoyed about cruising to being with.

I've actually read a couple, but aside from that here's the logic that seems to be in play here: I've determined that the cruise I am taking it is low risk enough that I can travel with my license and birth certificate. I don't have any need to return home if something happens back there, I am in good health, I am only taking ship sponsored shore excursions so the risk of missing the ship is low, etc. etc. BUT WAIT- I might lose my license a couple of weeks before the cruise, yep, that's the one item of info that's going to inspire me to get a passport that I've decided against getting for this trip. That wouldn't sway my thinking at all. That you can't understand other people's different needs regarding travel documentation doesn't really matter and is a topic of discussion that has taken place in many other threads.

Possibly, but I just googled when spring break is (to confirm what I thought I knew) and a website had the dates of spring break for 354 colleges and only two had spring break in April, the rest had spring break in February and March, which is what I suspected (and while there are more than 354 colleges in the country I think that is an accurate portrayal of when spring break occurs). For an April cruise I would expect more children since April is when elementary schools and high schools typically have vacation. We've cruised several times in April and this has been our experience. (I would have included a link to the website that I found but it was a travel agency site.)

Just because the same option was available doesn't mean it's a leftover. Certainly it could be but it's also a possibility that it was prepared that day for the buffet. Carnival always has a vegetarian option available, but I don't know how much variety there is in the options.

When we went to the lido that one time the entrées were in one small section of the buffet, they weren't available throughout the buffet. The only reason that I knew they were the same as the MDR is because we went there immediately afterwards.

The definition of urgent travel, given on the website linked above, is "Choose this service if you have urgent international travel plans within 14 calendar days for reasons other than a life-or-death emergency." and yes, this trip does meet the definition of urgent travel. The only question is do they have any available appointments. Each office is going to be different (the passport agency located 18 miles from our house isn't as busy as others as an example).

I would expect the same mix of people to be onboard but I will know for sure in April when we sail Glory out of New Orleans. I will try to remember to follow up on this question.

I was told (by a trusted, well traveled high school teacher) the main reason for the practice was to ensure that the customer paid the bill at the end of the stay. He may have been wrong, but I never had a reason to doubt him. Nowadays most customers probably pay with a credit card so that isn't the concern that it used to be. I'm not even sure that hotels communicate with the immigration authorities, or that the immigration authorities in most countries even care, since the traveler was cleared upon entry into the country. The hotel keeps a copy of your passport/ID on file in case there is a need (similar to what happens in the states, I have to present an ID at check in which they take a copy of).

This is a good idea as well.

They have lactose free milk alternatives, such as Almond milk. You generally have to ask for it but I've seen it available in the lido.

It's the confluence of circumstances that is causing the angst and the same confluence could present itself regardless of documentation used.

Possibly, but I have read many accounts of passports being lost so not a good reason in my mind to get one (unless of course it is actually needed for the travel one is doing).

Passports are immune to getting lost?

I have definitely read of the paper license with picture working.

One advantage to the lido I guess is not having to pay extra for a third entrée.

We were going to eat at the lido once on our last cruise and they did have some of the entrees available. We ended up going to the MDR instead (the entrees that are always on the menu weren't available on lido, as I recall).

I consider myself at the mercy of the cruise line for the trip, so being at their mercy for a few hours on a shore excursion isn't a big deal. They've researched the tour provider so I don't have to and I don't have to waste time trying to find something that works and be at the mercy of the internet and all of it's 100% accurate information 😉. Everyone does what works for them and there is nothing wrong with that.