lowbass

We are going on a 4 night Carnival Liberty cruise to Nassau and Princess Cay leaving Port Canaveral on June 26. It looks like there might be a tropical storm or maybe even a hurricane going through the same area around the same time.

My question is, what does the cruise line do in those situations? Will they cancel the cruise? Will we just cruise around in the ocean somewhere else? Or do they plan to go to another port away from the storm?

We are taking a family cruise later this month. It will be my wife and I(grandparents). Our 3 sons and 2 grand kids. So I called Carnival today asking a couple of questions and it came up that our 2 sons would need letters from the their kids mothers saying it's alright for them to go on the cruise with their fathers??????? IS THIS CORRECT? Has anyone else heard of this or had to do this?

The grand kids have birth certificates with their fathers name on them and the father is going on the cruise with them. Why does the mother need to give her permission? The Carnival rep said the letter does not need to be formal or notarized. But still, why is that needed? What if the father has custody of the child. Does he need to bring court documents or a letter from the judge? That just seems silly to us and a waste of time.  

Has anyone done a cruise to the Caribbean islands during Carnival season and seen any of the parades?

I remember reading up on some of the islands our cruise was docking at a few years ago and seeing some info of their Carnival activities. Unfortunately our cruise missed out on their dates for Carnival. Just wondering if anyone has been fortunate to be in port and participate in Carnival.

I think the island I was reading about was St Maarten or maybe Barbados, can't remember for sure. 

St Maarten. We love it because everything we need is right near the port. You have the nice beach, shopping, restaurants, everything right there so you don't have to pay for a taxi to take you anywhere.

We did these same ports on a Carnival cruise and loved it! There's nothing like waking up every morning and going out on your balcony and watching the ship dock in a different port.

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I’m wondering what the half life is on the polysorbate 80 is 

Do you guys realize how much time, effort and ingredients it would take for Royal to make the needed amount of ice cream from scratch daily?

I don't smoke but, I'm a construction worker who works around smokers daily. Both my parents and sister were/are smokers. And we go to Las Vegas yearly and love to gamble.

SO, with that being said, we went to the casino every night of our Allure 7 night cruise last year. And to be perfectly honest, I couldn't tell you how bad the smoke smell was in the casino because I really didn't notice it. But that could just be me because I'm one of those people that doesn't let a lot of things ruin my plans.

2 hours ago, Grandma Petania said:

Thank you!  I know the other three family members would love eating there, and will be disappointed if I don't join them.

On the Hooked menu they offer a "turf n turf" entree of steak and chicken. I would highly doubt if they were to cook beef and chicken on the same grill as seafood/shellfish. But if you alerted them to your allergy I'm sure they could accommodate you or make sure the grill or pan is properly cleaned before they were to cook your food.  

16 hours ago, Gatordad815 said:

 

No this Southern itinerary doesn’t have any private stops. It departs San Juan then goes to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and now St. Maarten. Talk about a packed itinerary!

We would absolutely LOVE this addition to our cruise. Not only do we love St. Maarten, but we would much rather be exploring a different island every day than just sitting on the ship. 

On 2/10/2020 at 10:45 AM, MisterOJ2 said:

 

Nachi Cocom. It's very similar to Sancho's, but with better food, drinks, less crowds and a more chill, relaxed atmosphere.

Just a suggestion, but you might want to add a, "In my opinion", when you compare Nachi to Sancho.

I've been considering both beaches so I checked out a bunch of youtube videos comparing the 2. It's pretty much even on which beach has the better food and drinks. The only certain things are that Nachi has less people and a more relaxing atmosphere.

Taste in food and drinks is very subjective. I did see one youtube video of a couple that did a b2b cruise and visited each beach a week apart. They found the food to be equal for both beaches. But they enjoyed the greater variety of drinks at Sanchos.

7 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

La Choza is also our favorite but several new restaurants on 5 and 10 getting good reviews on TA as Robin says.

 

Royal will probably dock at International but some of their smaller ships dock at Langosta in town.

Thanks! 

8 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

 

tell your taxi driver to take you to El Centro (center square at town).  From there, walk off the main street... majority of all shops along that main road are owned by cruise ship companies, etc.  The locals do not get a dime you spend there.  Go inland 1 block or more, you will get to the restaurants and stores owned by locals.  All the restaurants there will be authentic, and be careful with the hot sauces.  They use real habaneros.  On the plaza are a few places to eat, just a block south and or west you can find great restaurants on every block...  La Choza is my favorite, but La Mission, Casa Denis, all excellent.  

 

 

Thanks! 

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Which pier? - makes a big difference, or are you willing to taxi in and out of town if at the southern piers?

Any of the ports. We will be sailing RCI so I think we'll be docked at the International port. I know Carnival's port is next to the International port, and there is a port downtown. So we're planning on hitting a beach first for a few hours, then catching a taxi wherever we can sight see, shop and eat.

I've been checking "Trip advisor" and "Yelp" trying to get some ideals for some local mexican restaurants in Cozumel close to the cruise ports. I would prefer local restaurants but I'll take any and all suggestions. Thanks.

Let's first be clear about something that might have been missed by first time or those new to cruising, "travel insurance will NOT immediately pay your medical bills if you should get sick or hurt while in another country and have to go to their hospital". Even your own personal medical insurance will probably not be usable in a foreign country. Out of country hospitals will most likely require CASH or CREDIT CARDS. 

Unfortunately many people cruising don't have an unlimited credit card and a lot don't even have a $50,000 limit. But please don't let that deter you from taking a cruise. I don't know the exact numbers but the vast majority of illness and injuries that occur on a cruise can be handled by the ship doctor. And I'm sure that many people that post to this board have never been on a cruise where there was a medical emergency that needed to go to a foreign hospital. It can happen, but if you're already in decent shape and take the proper precautions you should be fine.

The vast majority of people who purchase travel insurance and have to use it are those who for whatever reason, miss their cruise or cannot go on their cruise. Once you're on your cruise if you get sick or hurt or some how have to cut your cruise short and come home then YOU must pay out of YOUR pocket and the travel insurance will reimburse you for the money you spent.  

I just want to make sure everyone, especially those new to cruising understand this.

My wife fell in love with the top shelf Mango Margaritas on Allure last year 

2 minutes ago, lovescats5 said:

People will not be able to keep it to themselves when they see what another person did or did not get, that is the nature of us humans.  I do not know how many ways I read about how to get hard liquor on board and they knew it was against policy.  So eventually the word would get out.  But as most people have mentioned, travel insurance would take care of the problem, it they had purchased it from someone.

Sorry, it's not my nature. And I'm human. I wouldn't go online and brag about it, or run tell others about it. Personally speaking, I would be very grateful to RCI and continue to give them my business. And I also would never take another cruise WITHOUT buying trip insurance. Just because I wouldn't want to go through that scenario again. That's what I think most humans would do. 

6 minutes ago, swooldri said:

This is what Travel insurance is for.  If you purchase Insurance and RCI reimburses you (without having insurance) why purchase insurance?  ???????

 

Trip insurance is also for transportation to your cruise, sickness while on your cruise, injuries which keep you from cruising. It's for a lot of things a lot less traumatic than a close family member dying right before you cruise.

6 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

RCI is a business. While we all feel sorry for the OP's situation and loss it's not up to RCI to make it right for those who choose not to buy travel insurance. I know this sounds harsh but it's reality and also not fair to those of us who do buy insurance. 

I would say that the vast majority of people don't buy trip insurance because they can't afford it or think it's necessary. Not so they can get their money back or reschedule a cruise if they have an emergency right before their cruise. 

When my wife and I first started cruising we just did 3 or 4 night cruises. And we never brought trip insurance because we didn't feel like it was needed(and it never was needed).

Now we take 7 day or longer cruises and we always get trip insurance.

2 hours ago, lazydayz said:

I am very sorry about your MIL.  Terrible for her and the entire family.

 

As a few others have said, please call again, and if that doesn't work, check with your credit card company.

 

But if none of these options work, I totally get your frustration and understand your decision not to give Royal anymore of your money. 

That's what I don't get about a lot of these replies to this post. Many here are saying "RCI does not have to be generous", "that's what trip protection is for". All true but.....

RCI is not generous and they potentially are losing 2 customers forever all for not being flexible and a little generous. 

2 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

I am sorry to hear about your MIL.  But at what point then should a cruise line offer a refund or change in sailing.  For you it is your MIL.  Next person will want to cancel or change for a grandmother.  Then the next person will expect the same thing for an aunt or uncle.  Once an exception is made it is hard to go back to what the original contract was.  I hope you get a resolution for your situation but I do not think RCI is out of line by refusing your request.

How will other people know that? I don't think OP or many people will go online and brag about having to change their cruise because a close relative died. I really don't get why people think if one person gets to do something then EVERYONE in the world will know and try to do the same thing. The only reason we know what happened to OP is because they were upset with the response they received from RCI. If RCI would have permitted them to reschedule their cruise OP probably wouldn't even post anything about their situation.

At the least RCI should ask for proof of death, then allow OP to reschedule the cruise and pay any difference. To me it's no difference if OP's spouse died 2 days before their cruise. Would RCI expect OP to still go on the cruise if they didn't have trip insurance?

On our March 28, 2020 Symphony sailing we are scheduled to stop at Cozumel on April 1 from 8am and depart at 6pm. When I checked the Cozumel port schedule I found that there will be a total of 6 ships in port that same day including our ship. One of the other ships in port will be the Harmony of the Seas with about 6,000 passengers and the Celebrity Reflection with about 3500 passengers. There's also 2 other RCI ships in port and a Carnival ship. Altogether that seems like a lot of passengers visiting the island at the same time. My wife and I normally just take our time getting off ship in Cozumel and getting a taxi to a beach and relax for a few hours. I've never known it to be this many ships in port at the same time on Cozumel. I'm wondering if it's going to be difficult to find a nice quiet beach and just relax like normal.

Anyone have experience with a loaded port and any problems trying to enjoy your day in port?

My wife and I will be on Symphony of the Seas for the March 28, 2020 sailing. We previously sailed on Allure last spring and enjoyed the pizza from Sorrento's very much. I think I remember seeing that you could order a whole pizza with your choice of toppings from Sorrento's. Is this true? We would love to do this and take back to our balcony room for lunch one day. Thanks for your replies.

22 hours ago, Nangelina said:

It's amazing to me that people can't get dressed up one night in their life and look their best.  I guess if that's what you'd look like at someone's wedding or a special social affair then by all means where your everyday look.  It's one night folks!!  Who knows, maybe you'll like it. 

Ok, I'm ready.  Give me all your snarly backlash!  I can take it.  😂

 

 

 

 

I think it's more that people"including myself", don't feel that a cruise ship vacation is a place that "requires you" to have a dress up night. You're on vacation, you're relaxing, no worries, no stress, you're here to do what you want or nothing. Why throw a formal dress up night into that scene. Weddings, special social affairs, etc are "SPECIAL", out of the ordinary events that the HOSTS requests you dress in a certain manner.

Do they do "odds bets", "parlay bets", or "over/under bets" like in Las Vegas?