sparks1093

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.

Probably not very likely, we have nothing to eradicate the virus, but society will adapt to it being present.

All of the above plus make sure that you keep your devices on ship time. If you use a smart phone instead of a watch make sure that you turn off the feature that changes the time automatically.

We cruised during Thanksgiving once and swore never again, but only because we missed being at home with the family. Other than that we are fairly flexible.

Well, DHS has access to all of the databases so I don't think it matters that much.

We cruised with our step granddaughter (5) in February. We wrestled with the same question and decided to get it. She might have had 4 sodas the whole cruise and when she did I suspect the servers used our Cheers for it. We have deeper pockets than we used to have but we didn't get our value from the package. We'd just go a la carte next time.

I believe they will also break bills in the casino.

If you haven't read post #30 I would recommend it. I don't see anything unusual in a teenager using a school ID if that is all that they have.

No, not logic, but a knowledge of how things work. Yes, people can make mistakes but the folks processing IDs in the cruise terminal are pros and as a subsequent post confirms they aren't the ones who do the denying, it's a supervisor one or two levels above them. When we entered the Netherlands the official looked at my wife's passport and said "you do know that you need a valid passport to enter this country, right?". My heart sunk and I wondered what he was talking about since the passport was less than 6 months old. He said that DW had not signed it and let us proceed. So yes, there are super-officious people out there but they are usually the ones that are carrying government credentials, not folks working at a cruise line check in terminal.

If the cruise line says it is sufficient why in the world would the folks in the terminal say no? The terminal personnel do everything they can to get people onboard, if they are saying no it's for a valid reason (such as having an expired ID) and a supervisor has normally gotten involved. In any event I would personally rather show up with the student ID rather than nothing (well, if we could turn the clock back almost 50 years).

You could have done it with one transaction, you should be allowed $500 of each type of Cruise Cash. 🙂 I read your other post right after posting this.