iamsteph

Approved! Thanks KDR and Firefly! 

24 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

If you are early saver put it thru again, cant hurt. And in the note section say the price is under pax 2, and state the name of the rate etc.

Thanks! I had his birthdate wrong under the booking so I fixed that, added his VIFP number to the booking, and submitted the form again. If that doesn't work, I'll call tomorrow! 

Just now, kdr69 said:

Are you talking about doing an early saver rate price protection using the form on carnival?  Booking an early saver rate is basically the only way you can do a price match from what i understand.  The lowest price guaruntee is only for booking made within the last 48 hours.

Yep! Early saver price protection using the online form. The rejection email just says the request was rejected, but doesn't give a reason. So i was wondering if it was because I was trying to match a rate that was under the 2nd passenger.

My husband and I are cruising in June 2022.  I booked the room, and today I noticed that he had a better rate under his VIFP offers.  I tried to do a price match, but it was rejected.  Can you not price match to the second passenger in the cabin? 

Me! I managed to find a balcony cabin on Carnival's website around 11:30 yesterday morning.  Currently booked for two, but if DH finds he cannot go as we get closer to the date, I'll be going solo. 

1 hour ago, Steelers0854 said:

Food Allergy Update. Looks like the good old days are gone. They don’t appear to be willing to do anything special or anything that isn’t on the menu. 
 

On Princess for example they would make DW a different dessert every evening and surprise her and they were delicious. Even on Carnival before they would customize the meals more so each evening. Now they come by with their tablet and app and they show her what she can eat. She could only get 1 or 2 entrees and that’s all. Unfortunately if this is going to be the new normal that’s probably going to push us to a different cruise line. We are going to talk with our waiter tomorrow in more detail. We didn’t want to hold up service on the first night. 
 

I do want to caveat this by saying we realize that we are asking for something that isn’t part of the normal plan. And while disappointed, we aren’t upset about it. But with our experience on Celebrity and Princess being so wonderful we will more than likely have to stick with those brands. But it’s early on so more to come!

This is so disappointing to hear 😞 Is she being limited specifically by the gluten restriction or it it a combo of all three? 

14 minutes ago, lesters said:

We book directly with Carnival on their website. It’s easy to use, applies our Casino offers and lets me remain in control of our booking. 
 

 

This.  When I booked with a TA, I didn't like how I had to get price drops through them and I felt bad because it affected their commission. After the second or third cruise, I just started booking direct on Carnival.com. I like having control over my booking and if there's a problem or I need to talk to someone, I'm not stuck with a certain PVP. 

My husband and I cruise together, but I also take one or two cruises a  year solo.  We've both had several of our together cruises cancelled due to covid, and I've had several of my solo cancelled. I currently have two solos booked and we have another together cruise booked. 

He's got amazing VIP offers right now (like, $700 for 2 people on a 7 day for extended balcony), me, not so much lol. 

He drinks, I do not. 

I've got the good RU2 drinks on us offer, he's got the RU9 (or whatever the bad one is). 

We both gamble, me (slots) more than him (tables), but neither of us more than $200 a cruise. 

Neither of us get the casino offers. 

I would really like to know their reasoning as well lol

4 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

DW has several food allergies (Gluten, dairy and egg) and so we will be including a fair amount on how meals go with her allergies.  In our experience, cruise lines go above and beyond and really make her some of the best meals she has ever had.  Its one of the reasons why we like to cruise.

I have celiac disease and love cruising for this reason: they really do go above and beyond.   I get a lot of 'feedback' from friends and acquaintances about how bad cruising is for the environment, etc. but no one really understands the stress of planning a land vacation where you have to find a place you can safely eat and even then, one careless cook can ruin your entire vacation.  I've only ever cruised Carnival but they are really great about dietary restrictions and are willing to receive feedback to improve their offerings (here's looking at you pizza guy, who cut my gluten free pizza with the same knife as the regular pizzas). 

I am really looking forward to your food reviews.  I cruise the Pride in October and was a little worried about how accommodating they could be so close to the restart, so I'm excited to hear more about your DW's experience!

On 8/17/2021 at 5:55 PM, Ilovesailaway said:

Not sure why you would drag a carry on with you when you board. I understand why in some cases people would rather carry on when flying but not sure why when boarding the cruise. Just throw a luggage tag on it, hand it to the porter, tip him/her a couple bucks and go start your cruise. You will see your bag again soon enough.

The last time I checked a bag with the Carnival, my suitcase was crushed.  They got their machine shop to straighten it back out enough I could fly home but that suitcase was toast.  

That was also about the time I hit platinum.  So now that I can drop my bag off right away, even if the room isn't ready, I just pack light and only pack my carryon and a bookbag.  Makes self-debarkation a breeze too! 🙂 

5 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Partly true. Full FDA approval for 16 and older. This also now puts Pfizer on the hook for liability now for anyone getting their vaccine.

Good, I need to know that they will be responsible for replacing my 5G chip if I start getting bad reception! 

Haha, I kid. On a serious note, I hope full FDA approval pushes my dad to actually get vaccinated. He was scheduled for his J&J the day they put a hold on it while they investigated the blood clot incidents. I think it scared him away, as he never rescheduled. *sigh* Parents, what can you do lol

Everytime that I can remember during this pandemic, when sailings disappeared, people speculated and/or were initially told by Carnival that it was due to capacity.  And each time, it was later announced that those sailings were cancelled. 

I have celiac disease and have to eat gluten free.  I find that it is tricker during anytime dining, especially if you end up with a different wait staff each night.  I prefer anytime dining, so I always ask to be seated in the same section as the night before (if possible).  The staff usually remembers me, that I'll have a special order, and it's not a problem. 

Yep, I've had something almost happen like this.  I had an ES with reduced deposit and the price I was matching to had a regular deposit.  I was assured that I didn't owe anything else, but I remembered someone else's warning on here about this.  Called back the next day and the person was like, yep, you owe more.  So luckily my booking didn't get cancelled.  

This is a good reminder!

Does anyone know if it's worth getting/possible to get both tests? The rapid test in case the PCR turnaround time takes too long, but also the PCR test in case the rapid test comes back a false positive? 

12 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

Just disembarked the Vista on Saturday. I can report that they are using the horrific edible straws (we were unaware this was a thing). If you enjoy drinking your beverage through a thick tubular piece of gelatinous origin, you're going to love it. 

Additionally (and much MUCH worse), Carnival is also using spaghetti instead of cocktail stirrers. That's right, SPAGHETTI.

 

For example, you order a gin martini with olives.... and the olives are threaded onto spaghetti instead of a pick or stirrer. Sometimes, bartenders will use multiple strands, as they quickly discovered that giant cocktail olives easily overload the tensile strength of even the highest-quality long pastas.

Trust me, there's nothing better than trying to get partially-dissolved, booze-soaked pasta out of your teeth before dinner, because Carnival has decided that bamboo stirrers aren't eco-friendly enough.

(I will be noting this on my comment card)
 

Thanks for the warning. I have celiac disease.  Just another thing to worry about now. *sigh*

2 hours ago, imola said:

My font is fine on every other page but this site,  So trying to figure out how to fix it.  Thank you though.  

On my mac, I can change the font size on each website (and it only applies to that website; if I go to a different website, the font size is back to normal).  Try Command + + (command key and the plus key at the same time) to make the font larger.  

1 minute ago, MamallamaAndDaddy said:

I don't disagree but John made sure to stress TX and FL today in his video. He didn't mention any other state. 

I'm sure official, written guidance will come out shortly. I'm vaccinated, so I was only half listening 🙂 

2 minutes ago, MamallamaAndDaddy said:

Announced by John today. Carnival FL and TX cruises require insurance for unvaccinated. They will also have to pay $150 for testing. 

Just Florida and Texas? It seemed like it was any cruise, including those beginning in Sept and Oct like the Pride out of Maryland. 

1 minute ago, pogoism9 said:

 

Looks legit, 9/5 Pride sailing is now showing as cancelled, but 9/12 is not.

John Heald just announced Pride beginning Sept 12.

Thanks, I finally found it under a drop down menu that was located in the far upper right corner.  

All, have the dining time selection and bed set up selection options disappeared from the cruise manager? I have searched everywhere in the cruise manager and cannot find it.  I used to be able to see what dining time I had and edit how the beds were set up.  Where'd it go? 

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

And you think carnival will be assessing if a card is fraudulent ? Really? I went to fair park in dallas first day it opened. That site is now closed. What phone number do you propose I could possibly give them... and I doubt I'm alone. 

 

I'd bet you a drink, my card is all I need to board. Carnival will not be able to verify cards. I think its naive to believe carnival will be able to determine if 1000s of cards are valid. I bet others besides me dont have a phone number and even if I did carnival isnt calling to verify. As I said they will take a copy of your card. Later if there is a problem they have your card on file.

 

I'm reading how they board celebrity edge and rcl adventure and will be tracking vista next week, but so far no problems and I'm sure lots dont have phone number of closed vaccine sites. 

Will they ask for proof beyond a card? Probably not.  I also did a mass vax site will be closed in the next week or so, but the medical center that ran it has my vaccine information in my account, which is also linked/shared to my PCP, which is a different medical provider.  I've also been told that the state health department has the information (it's how they ran the 'get a vaccine, win the lottery' program here).  Either way, if I get there with my vax card and they say, proof please, there's at least two official websites I can access to show proof, even if the places are closed on a weekend.  

1 hour ago, vacruisin said:

Does anyone know what time the Port of Baltimore opens for parking?  We live about an hour from the port and we are trying to decide when we should leave home.

It really depends on when the ship gets into port and starts debarking.  Once enough people have debarked, retrieved their luggage, and left, then they open the parking lot up.   What I usually do is the morning of, keep my eye on the ship tracker.  I'll plan my arrival for two to three hours after the ship arrives into port. 

Of course, any planning could be rendered moot if they're still doing staggered check-in at the time of your cruise.  

Just now, pogoism9 said:

 

Always a possibility, since both of those are ports for the Pride. Its way more activity than I have seen for Pride in the last 3 months, so I feel like somethings up 🙂

I'm on the October 10th sailing. Keeping my fingers crossed that sailing starts back up in September!