stvntra

On 3/3/2024 at 9:07 PM, eyecantwait said:

Yes! 5 of us in our group did this and were able to get back to back appointments and had such a great time!

This will be our first cruise on Celebrity. Were you able to take the piece home? My boyfriend and I are going on her in September to Alaska and I want to do this!! 🙂

18 minutes ago, TheDawg79 said:

The 6 month requirement is set by certain foreign countries you may visit, not the cruise company. As long as none of the countries on your itinerary have that requirement, you are good. Bahamas is not one of them

Thanks so much, TheDawg! That is very good information to have! I appreciate your help! 

18 minutes ago, Dan83 said:

For a closed loop Caribbean cruise, one that accepts a birth certificate and photo ID, an unexpired passport will do just fine. As long as it doesn’t expire before date of return. If it were something like a transatlantic or repositioning cruise, or one that visits certain countries, and a valid passport is required documentation, then Royal is more likely to be sticklers on the 6 month validity rule. I found myself in this position for a recent transatlantic cruise. I had 3 months validity left. And even though I was legal to travel to all the countries on the itinerary with 3 months validity, I didn’t want to chance it with  Royal’s 6 month requirement. So I had to rush a passport renewal before traveling. 

Thank you, Dan! We are just going to the Bahamas out of FLL and back.  It is a quick 4 night cruise, so hopefully they won't give me any issues. I appreciate your help! 

23 minutes ago, shof515 said:

Caribbean and Bahamas have no passport validity requirements. your passport is valid until the expiration date 

Perfect, thank you SO much! This is a huge help and a big relief!

I am not sure this is in the right place, but can someone who has recently traveled on Royal Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale tell me whether or not I will need a birth certificate in order to get on the ship?  I have a valid passport, but it expires in May 2024.  I just want to be sure there is no issues when getting on the ship because my passport expires 5 months from now instead of 6.  Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! We leave tomorrow for the Bahamas, so I will need to go get a copy of my birth certificate today if it is needed.  

5 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

If it was before the final payment date, you could have cancelled for a full refund regardless if you weren’t on Early Saver — and even then, it would have just been a small administration fee to move your deposit.

Well, we weren't looking to cancel the cruise to begin with, but obviously when this all hit, we didn't have a choice.  I was told if I cancelled it myself, then I would be charged the deposit amount (again this was since it was already paid in full), and it would be put towards a future cruise, but we didn't want to do that.  Due to my husband and my work travel, we weren't sure if we would actually get to go on another cruise within the next year, so it was better for us to hold out and wait for them to cancel so that we DID get the entire amount back.  However, with that all being said, we will never pay in full before the final payment due date again, just for these kinds of issues.  We have cruised on Carnival for years now and have never had any issues, and the Coronavirus is not going to stop us from cruising again, or even for cruising on Carnival - it is clearly not their fault for all of this. 

22 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Did you make your final payment early? January seems too soon for the final payment date on a summer cruise. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at Carnival’s billing timeline but other cruise lines are usually 75 days ahead of time.

 

Even if you’re paid in full, the timeline still applied for cancellation.

Yes, I made my final payment in full early January.  Because Carnival is the one who cancelled the cruise itself, not me - I was offered 100% refund in full and that is the option I chose. 

15 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

That brings up a could point regarding these FCCs.

 

What happens if your cruise is cancelled but not yet paid in full? Is it 125% of the cruise fare? 125% of the minimum deposit? 125% of total monies paid towards the booking?

 

I believe these Alaska and Europe bookings that were officially cancelled today are in the first batch of involuntarily cancelled bookings that were before final payment.

My Alaska cruise had already been paid in full since early January, so I don't think they were necessarily the only ones cancelled.

1 hour ago, webzila said:

Looks like its official based on Carnival update from today. Alaska cancelled through July.

https://www.carnival.com/health-and-sailing-updates

 

 

• All ships sailing between March 14 and May 11
• All Alaska sailings through and including June 30, 2020
• All San Francisco sailings through 2020
• All Carnival Radiance sailings through and including November 1, 2020
• All Carnival Legend sailings through and including October 30, 2020

 

Yes, I just received my email from them so I am very relieved.  Thanks for sending this, however! 🙂

13 minutes ago, Denverdonkeys said:

I understand wanting the money back instead of an FCC. I was in that boat until they allowed 2 years for the FCC. I just want to provide that perspective to try and reduce your stress as to what to do now.

 

I don't think this will happen, especially by 5/12, but I suspect they are trying to change the cruises via a waiver from the government to potentially do a cruise without a stop in Canada. However, SF and SEA are also not the best cities to travel to currently.

 

I think you just hold pat and find out in another 3 weeks that they cancel it. I know that sucks, but at least you know you have not lost anything yet, and probably wont. The last two 30 day cancellations they have done, they have provided the new rules to be applied back to cancellations that had happened since 3/6. I think they recognize that people (like you, or me) are trying to be smart knowing our specific details, but then they are protecting the company by being slow to cancel so it does not screw up their finances too much (and everyone on this board would appreciate this to be a smaller focus!, haha).

 

I expected a few announcements today:

1. 30 day extension to all cruises (at least)

2. Alaska season cancellation or updates

3. Radiance and Mardi Gras updates

 

It looks like they have taken a lot cruises off the board from group 2 and 3, to probably reduce their exposure, but they have not yet cancelled those yet. Unfortunately I think that is a cash flow play for the company. I don't think it is nefarious by them, just a survival thing.

 

I hope it works out for you! think good thoughts.

Thank you.  Yes, I do think it is all related to a cash flow issue as well in some regards.  It's just frustrating - especially since there is no way we can go even if they do sail that week to Alaska as my Company simply will not allow it due to everyone getting sick on the cruises, etc and they don't want to take a chance.  Considering the fact that I work directly for the Chairman/CEO of our Company and he is an older gentlemen and very susceptible, then I really have no option at this point in time.  I was told by Carnival last week that I do have until April 11th at the latest to cancel my cruise, but have fingers crossed that they will cancel it for me instead.  If not, then I will wait it out as long as possible. 

2 minutes ago, Denverdonkeys said:

What do you need to do after the cancel? It is probably safe to cancel your hotel or other things. plus most of the airlines are allowing rebooking. I think it is safe to say you will be cancelled, but what is stressing you about waiting?

 

As we were moving towards on 3/14 cruise, we knew our date to cancel hotel, parking at port, excursions, etc. was the Thursday before. We waited and then cancelled all the other stuff first, then cancelled the cruise Friday morning (by the time we got through!). They cancelled our cruise 12 hours later (and put in place the first 30 day window). We had to call back and we opted to flip from a refund to an FCC with OBC.

 

We lost $25 on parking, but didnt waste 28 hours driving to the port roundtrip!

Luckily we have already cancelled our hotel and flights without issue and didn't lose any money.  My only issue is that they currently have our deposit (which they have now raised from $800 to $1200) to be put towards a FCC or OBC to use within the next year.  But, my problem is that I don't know at this point in time IF we WILL actually be able to cruise next year, so I would rather have my entire amount back to the tune of $3500 and not just partial.  Does that make sense?  I mean, if I knew for sure we would be going on a cruise next year, I wouldn't hesitate to cancel and put the $1200 each towards either of those other 2 options.  My biggest gripe, however, is the fact that they KNOW we can't get into Canada or another Foreign port and still are refusing to cancel that cruise dated May 12th to Alaska.  They have cancelled all cruises through May 11th - so what gives with the May 12th sailing to Alaska when they know we aren't going to be able to go at this point?  Not only that, my Company won't allow us to go at this point either.  *sigh*

On 3/18/2020 at 7:28 PM, camarowesley said:

According to Carnival two days ago, the Alaska cruises were continuing as planned, but now I see that may not be true. Cruise hive is reporting the crew is having to disembark and scheduled cruises are cancelled. Makes sense considering Canada has closed their borders to large ships. Has anyone received an email from Carnival? I haven't, but would like to know one way or the other so I can cancel flights, etc.  Article link is  below.

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-crew-to-disembark-carnival-cruise-ship-out-of-service-for-some-time/38513

My husband and I have an Alaskan cruise booked for May 12th and still haven't heard anything about cancelling that cruise.  I was told that even though Canada has closed their borders, Carnival may still re-route the Alaskan cruise to a different location.  However, I am waiting to cancel as far out as I can because I want Carnival to cancel the cruise completely so that I get a full refund.  Otherwise, if I cancel now, then they will place the deposit towards a cruise credit to use next year sometime instead and we don't know if we will even be able to take a cruise next year.  I have been very frustrated with Carnival on this issue to say the least.  How is it even possible that they refuse to cancel our Alaska cruise on May 12th yet? I just don't honestly get it. *sigh*

16 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Why is not this person taking care of this issue do you?  We have cancelled many, many cabins with refunds the last 4 weeks and hVe never been hung up on.   

I wish I could tell you.  He's the one who actually told me I had only until the end of March to cancel, but when I did get through to the one person at Carnival who helped me yesterday, she said I actually have until April 11th to cancel.  He is the 2nd PVP we've used over the years and neither he, nor the first PVP was ever very helpful.  Is there a way to get a new PVP or is it just a random draw when you call to book a cruise? I would love to use someone who was good and took care of their customers.

13 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Who did you book with?

My personal Carnival PVP.

7 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

May was open last night, not sure what site you were on.  

Literally I was on the carnival website - I never look at other websites for a cruise and go directly to their specific websites to book (or through my Carnival TA).  I saw a post above that someone said the website had been having glitches including that particular issue and that there had been 3 others mention it prior, so maybe it has now been fixed since then, not sure?

22 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

I was just on the Carnival site and I couldn’t choose either April or May for Carribean cruises.

I was on the site last night and was unable to book a cruise to the Caribbean on Carnival all past September even. 

2 hours ago, luv4cruises said:

Carnival is the only major cruise line to suspend sailings for 30 days and not 60 days making it very very difficult to manage money and future cruises and adding to the stress already suffered by everyone.  I had planed a cruise with family and friends for May 2.  Some of us are in the vulnerable group.  It will be very difficult to reschedule and coordinate everyone.  In addition the restricted time frame for rebooking, limited availability , higher prices clearly put the burden on the customers / the Carnival guests.

 

We would like a full refund, releasing our money to re-book when the timeframe and cost work for us. 
 

I ask why did the other cruise lines suspend sailings for 60 days and Carnival only 30 days?   Are their guests not entitled to the SAME options as Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess and other cruisers?   

Agreed.  We want a full refund as well.  And on that note, surprisingly enough I called Carnival directly just now and have gotten through to THREE different agents in a matter of seconds and EACH SINGLE ONE OF THEM hung up on me when I asked for a refund and one claimed their entire system went down and told me to hang up and call another agent and the third one has now put me on hold - SERIOUSLY!!!!???? They are willing to help me when it comes to my cruise but the second I mention cancelling I get this treatment. THIS AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE CARNIVAL!!!!

Thank you CC Rider 69 - I hadn't seen that.  (sorry, I don't know how to reply under your post directly - it seems to have changed over the years of how to do so) Hopefully that will take care of the issue for me and others.  That would be a huge help for sure!  I appreciate your response.  Have a great weekend and stay well. 🙂

Good morning - I have a quick question and would like to hear if anyone else is experiencing these same issues:

Our Alaska cruise is May 10th and they have yet to cancel that sailing, which is frustrating, because my company has imposed a mandatory quarantine for 2 weeks if I do go.  I was told by my PVP that if I cancel now I will lose my $800 deposit (though my cruise was already paid for in full) and can use it as a credit towards another cruise in the future.  Or, the only other option I have is to re-book it to use between now and the end of March 31st next year - BUT I only have until the end of THIS month to cancel or re-book which is VERY frustrating to say the least.  My husband and I have been wanting to take this Alaskan cruise for 2 years now and finally had the opportunity to do so (Booked it last year) but now we aren't even given that option for next year if we do postpone the cruise as it has to be used by the end of March and there are no Alaska cruises in March.....  

I guess our dilemma is should we just cancel and lose the $800 or wait it out a little longer to see if they do cancel the cruises through May before the end of this month?  I guess I am a bit frustrated as Princess Cruises (also owned by Carnival as you know) have cancelled ALL of their cruises for the next 60 days - why does Carnival not do the same thing?  Royal Caribbean is allowing everyone to cancel their cruises and use their full cruise credit towards any cruise through the end of 2021. 

Sorry for the vent - wasn't my intention, just very frustrated.  Also, we are keeping ourselves quarantined and working from home, so that is not what this is about - I know there are a lot of other problems out there and people who are really sick due to this virus - I guess I just think they should all cancel the cruises for everyone's sake through July or August at least and let everyone have the opportunity to use their cruise credits through the end of next year like Royal Caribbean has done.  

3 days until the Freedom!!! :)

I am planning to book for spring. Are you allowed to carry on any wine? Royal Carribean allows 2 bottles for example. Also, in a nutshell how do the credits card points work. I applied for a card and am hoping to use points to offset food and drinks on cruise. Thanks.

Yes, you are allowed 1 bottles of .750 ml each adult in the cabin. However, make sure you bring your own wine bottle opener as you will be charged $15 corkage fee if you take it to dinner to be opened at your table. But feel free to take a glass or two to dinner with you as that is allowed. :). I have the carnival card and it has came in handy many times over the years. You earn 2 pts. Per charge while on the ship, and I think it's 1 pt. Per charge on any other items. We just used it for our upcoming trip and have received $100 bar credit, $10 photo credit, among others. But word of warning - you have to have at least 2500 pts to redeem or you won't be able to do so for any upcoming cruise and you can not redeem anything that is within a 2 week window of your cruise (I learned that the hard way in June when we took our last cruise). Let me know if you have any other questions and enjoy your cruise! We leave 2 weeks from this Saturday for our 20th wedding anniversary cruise - as long as the hurricanes will start behaving themselves, that is!! :)

Everyone knows when it is HURRICANE SEASON ....... Why book a cruise then?

Sometimes that's the ONLY time people can book a cruise. We've cruised several times over the years in Hurricane season due to the significant difference in price, as well as just the timing of our vacations and never had any problems with hurricanes. However, we are due to leave out of Galveston on the 23rd of September and headed to Jamaica and are praying for a great but safe trip - after all it is our 20th wedding anniversary and while I want it to be memorable, I do NOT want it to be memorable due to a hurricane. Continuing to pray for all involved and in Harvey, Irma's and Jose's path.....

Don't worry- lots of people driving to Galveston from places north of Houston have reported that the highways are clear... I hadn't heard about Hwy 59 being damaged, but if it is, and not repaired by the time you come in, there are lots of ways to get to the island...

 

You might want to use this site before you leave to plot out your path... http://static.drivetexas.org/#10/29.6904/-95.3270 it will tell you exactly the state of the roads you need to take so you can detour if you need to.

Wonderful - thanks so much, Shaded Lady! I will definitely check into that website for sure! :)

If you have to, you can always detour to I45. Last I heard it was clear to Galveston again.

Thanks so much, Bruner1! I keep checking the roads just in case. :)

18 days to the Freedom - Whoop Whoop!!!