sparks1093

Embossing isn't used by all issuing authorities and as long as it is legible it should be fine. Since the regulations do allow the use of copies (and Carnival's FAQ spells this out) there is no requirement for using only an original and of course the copy wouldn't have any embossing on it. As stated it needs to be issued by a government entity that shows his birth in the US. I would advise next time to not wait so long to verify what is sufficient (and I recognize that he may have just told you). And in the event that this gets moved from the Carnival board to the Ask a Cruise Question board I will add that some cruise lines won't accept birth certificates even for a closed loop cruise and they require every passenger to have a passport (and these are typically the more upscale cruise lines).

Same to you! Thanks for the info, it is always appreciated to hear first hand how things work. 🙂

When we sailed with our step granddaughter I did get a bit nervous. Mom's ex had been all for her going on the trip with us when we booked it, but changed his tune once the cruise got closer and tried to tell mom not to let her go. Fortunately we had a copy of the court order giving mom full legal custody but I still worried about him calling TSA or something claiming that we were taking his daughter against his will. He did contact the court and a couple of other things but of course since mom had full legal custody it didn't amount to much, but I was still glad that we had the copy of the court order.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned- it is likely that the child will be asked at some point who he or she is traveling with and the person asking the question doesn't want to hear the answer from anyone other than the child. You may want to discuss this with the child ahead of time so they are ready for it. My step granddaughter passed the test readily but a shy child might have difficulty answering a stranger.

I wouldn't worry about it either, but I would bring it.

A short cruise is a good way to know if one can tolerate being at sea. That's one thing I hear frequently from non-cruisers- I don't know if I would like being at sea/I don't know if I would like the motion of the ship. A short cruise could be just what they need to answer those questions without committing to 7 days.

A lot of people prefer to have it notarized, but I don't think that it matters.

Thanks for the thoughts. Could you elaborate on why you thought the buffet was horrible? We are looking at Princess because as mentioned Princess Plus brings the two lines very close together pricewise.

If the child has a passport there is no need for the birth certificate. A signed letter from the dad granting permission to travel is a good thing to have as well as the court documents outlining custody. We brought the court docs with us when we took our step granddaughter on a cruise but her mom has full custody (and we didn't need to show it to anyone but had it just in case).

If it's an option sure but the cruise line will still need to know that and the port agent would be the one to tell them.

I would say that if you do have to do a short cruise then keep your expectations reasonable. Our first 3 cruises were short, a 2 night CTN and two 4 dayers. On the 2 night people were telling us "this isn't this cruise line's best product" and our thought was "if this is them at their worst we can't wait to see them at their best" and on the 4 night people kept telling us that a 7 night cruise is very different. Yes, a 4 day cruise is not a 7 day cruise and it definitely has a different feel, but if it is all that one is able to do it's better than no cruise. In our case we had to drive to the port because we couldn't afford air so we spent 3 days on the road each way from Vermont to Miami. It all counted as part of the vacation and the kids got to see things they normally didn't.

And related, related if you do end up missing the ship don't just head to the airport if you have your passport with you, make contact with the ship's agent. You'll need to coordinate your plans with the agent so the cruise line knows what your plans are. If you were just going to fly back to the States the cruise line would need to advise CBP that you will be returning that way instead of with them. (It wouldn't be the end of the world but you would probably spend time in secondary inspection since CBP records show you are on a cruise ship.) The agent would probably have good info about flights and hotels as well.

We can put them away on vacation so the numbers don't matter too much. When we cruised last November we kept track of the bar spending and if we wanted something we would get it (like a specialty coffee). Our total was $1300 so that convinced me that Cheers is worth it, even at just under $1k. Once Princess has published their itineraries we'll take a look at the offers and do the math. We'll add the fare, Cheers, wifi and tips for Carnival and compare it to Princess Plus. I'm thinking if it's within $500 we're likely to pull the trigger on it.

Let's be honest, there are a ton of people in this country exhibiting financial behaviors that some of us would cringe at, but so what? It's their money.

Maybe, but some people do purchase onboard for any number of reasons (in the past it was probably to use up a big chunk of OBC but now we can use OBC before the cruise so that reason has evaporated, although there may be some that don't know that and still stick to the old way).

Now that I think about it I have received reminders that final payment is due about a month or so before hand and it includes the reminder that I have autopay turned on. What I don't recall seeing is an email requesting any sort of payment a year prior to a cruise (and we usually have one or two booked out that far).

Did the PVP retain his business after that?

Newbies? Last minute shoppers? It might not be many but it wouldn't surprise me to find out that it happens.

If one is buying a gift card or "gambling" at the casino it's not being refunded, it's being used for the onboard account.

A question about the thermal suite pass (and it's probably a dumb one)- did each of you have to purchase the pass or was one pass good for the cabin? I'm looking at purchasing this for our Mardi Gras sailing and it has earmarks of both (when I add it to the cart it only allows me to select a primary passenger, but if I add one with DW as primary it doesn't warn me that only one pass is needed).

It looks like we will really enjoy Mardi Gras in 2024. Thanks for your thoughts and following along!

That is a good point about having multiple ships in port. I did read a thread where the OP was at Senor Frogs (Nassau I believe) and kept looking at his ship thinking "I still have time". Eventually he realized it was another Carnival ship that was in port and his had sailed. Of course had he been mindful of the time as well he would have made the ship.

Sounds like a spam email, I have never gotten an email from Carnival about a payment. Normally when I book the cruise the card that I use for the deposit is kept on file with the understanding that it will be charged for the balance on the final payment date.

And thank you OP for paying it forward. Some great tips and tricks on CC, that's for sure. (And if we ever have unused OBC I'll remember Cherry on Top. But DW has never met an OBC she hasn't eradicated.)

We had the same experience in Freeport. For some reason the excursion ran late and the ship was on the radio to the bus as we were returning. We arrived back at the port 30 minutes after the all aboard time and very close to our scheduled sail away. DW and I were the last across the gangway, which they promptly pulled up. I know that the ship's excursions are a bit pricier than what you can get if you roll your own but I do like the peace of mind associated with them.