hookedoncruising99

I am looking forward to out Havana cabin in September on the Vista. I think it’s a good idea for the older cruiser. My level of activity has changed over the years.

It definitely has a more laid back,relaxed, and quiet atmosphere during the day. I''d call it an oasis on a seaday

Also forgot to mention my opinion on what ship---our favorite class of ships is the Spirit Class (Legend, Pride, Miracle). That's because we enjoy the lido deck set up and they also have a lot fewer people on board than those bigger. Always seems to have a more laid back vibe and the entire aft-pool area is the serenity deck. Other than the big screen for late night movies it has a lot of what the next class up offers. However if you're looking for more bells & whistles-- the Conquest Class (Freedom, Conquest, Glory, Valor, Liberty) is a good one. Has almost all of the things to do on board as the Dream and even Vista class with just fewer people. It doesn't have ALL of the stuff the bigger ones do, but most of those extra things the bigger ones have cost extra (mostly extra for-fee eateries). If the ship is priority #1 (not ports) then decide on a class, specific ships really don't matter. As the ships in each class are nearly identical with just a different decor theme. And if you're looking to save $$ for whatever reason- try shoulder season if you already haven't (Sep-Nov, Jan-Feb, April-May). A lot of times you can book the same ship with the same exact itinerary for hundreds less than Holiday-Spring Break-Summer seasons. This is simply my preference, not looking for a heated debate ;p

You are absolutely right. I was getting the Freedom and Breeze mixed up. I was comparing 3 ships earlier. Still, how come the Freedom hasn't been dry docked for upgrades or refurbishment since 2009?

Even the Breeze is bigger than the Freedom.

Capacity (double occupancy):

Freedom 2974

Breeze 3690

Vista 3934

As mentioned- the Freedom has undergone dry docks with another scheduled in February. It's pretty standard for all ships to undergo a dry dock at least every 5 yrs.

The serenity on the Spirit Class ships are one of the very best-- it's the entire aft of the lido deck. Private entrance/exit, very own bar with a pool and hot tubs and tons of seating. There is even several booth style seats near the bar area which allows for a great place to enjoy a meal in a quiet but outside setting. Can't wait to get back on the Legend- it's been several years, now just 50 days!

I can kinda understand why it's not included in Cheers, I one time had the brilliant idea to serve fresh squeezed OJ at a brunch we were hosting, and I bought a 10lb bag of "juicing oranges" thinking that would be more than plenty for everyone. Well, out of 10lbs of oranges, I barely got enough juice to fill 6 8oz glasses, and was 2 glasses short. So, I could imagine if you had it included as an unlimited beverage, demand may exceed their current capacity to produce it, as it appears to me they just do it on a small scale at the Havana bar as kind of a novelty. Now, if they made it by the gallons like I'm sure the other cruise lines mentioned do, it could easily be included, but I don't see Carnival doing that anytime soon.

A very solid point. And honestly I'd rather have my single malt ;p I agree with not seeing Carnival switching to fresh squeezed anytime down the road- and quite frankly that's fine with me, as those are the things one chooses what is and isn't significant on their vacation and how much they want to pay for it. Cheers!

Actually, it is working quite well. You seemed to have missed the fact that this is a check in time and Carnival will not let you into the terminal before your time block has arrived. If you end up with a 1 pm check in time (unless you are a priority guest) you aren't getting in before then.

???????

Missed the fact its a check in time? I believe the whole thread was questioning why they no longer allow guests to check in more than 3 months ahead of time, I simply stated what I was told when I asked myself and that is to better help the check in process by not giving out too many slots for each block. I'm quite aware of the check in process, the check in times, and how they work, I'm not new to cruising Carnival--been on a few sailings. I also agree that the staggered check in is working out well- not arguing that or anything.

Its clear that I probably won't get an answer, which is no big deal. I'll find out in a few months.

It's the same reason they started to delay the FTTF sales. That use to be the first thing available for booking from the shore excursions, but they found themselves with ### of VIP/Priority guests after having sold a ton of FTTF and overwhelming the system. We dealt with this before a couple yrs back where the VIP check in line was longer than general line was. Now you'll notice even if the FTTF for a sailing is posted, it shows "sold out" immediately, than once its so close to sailing and they have a solid number of VIP./Priority numbers booked, they open the FTTF up.

The staggered check in started about 2 yrs ago but you used to be able to select your arrival time at booking. Now, the window to select your arrival times doesn't become available until 90 days out from your cruise.

Yes it did- but the reason for the check in not being available until 3 months out is so they know how many priorities they will have before opening up the check in times to everyone. Yes it is still staggered but they set aside so many check in availability for each hr block. And now instead of allowing all of the 11-11:30 blocks to fill up a yr before the sailing, they now wait to know how many priorities are booked for the sailing so they have a good estimate on how many priorites, ect will be there. ie: 1 yr out 300 non-priority guests choose 11am check in, then between that time and sailing 200 priority guests book, now you'll most likely have 500 guests ready for check in at 11 instead of 300. -----I made those numbers up just to paint the picture the guest services rep gave me.

Now by 3 months out- they have nearly all the bookings they will have with the exception of a few so they have a much better idea of how many 11a-11:30 check ins they should allow, ect

Typically unless you have a casino rate, you already will be on Early Saver. It sounds like you are like you are looking at a ViFP Early Saver rate which has the reduced deposit, 2 category Upgrade, and $50 onboard credit. This is a very normal offer and already has the price protection and there's no need to book something else and change to it to get the offer. Just remember, Early Saver deposits are nonrefundable.

You are right that the ES deposits are non-refundable, but there is a bit of a loophole to that. As long as you are able to sail eventually within 2 yrs, what you can do without losing all of your deposit is to simply "transfer to another sailing." Instead of cancelling your cruise and losing the deposit, call Carnival and state you want to switch sailings, it can be as much as 24 months into the future and can be any sailing (if it is a higher cost sailing, you'll of course have to pay the higher fare). You get charged $50 pp to switch sailings, but any deposit and/or fare you have already paid transfers. We have done this before based on a Carnival PVP's advice, and we have friends who have done it multiple times.

You can price match any offer that would be one you could get (regular advertised, VIFP, past guests, ect). As a matter of fact I was able to price match a cruise which I had booked 1 1/2 yrs ago with a 2 week exclusive "come back and cruise offer" sent to me a couple days after getting off a sailing. They even allowed me to keep my previous OBC from the original booking and get the reduced fare price with the 2 week offer for any future cruise. I didn't have to pay any deposit balance either. In the past I would almost always send in at least 1 if not several ES protection forms for every sailing. But over the past 1-2 yrs I've noticed it's become rare, I think it's because they aren't having trouble filling the ships up. There has even been a few times where my original booking had an OBC, the new offer had a lower fare and a OBC and I was able to get the lower fare but also keep both OBC.

Fresh squeezed OJ is not offered in the MDR, it is available only in the Havana Bar. It is not included in the Cheers package (no idea why as you can get a $20 pour of single malt 20 yr scotch but not OJ, whatever). Regardless we actually don't mind their OJ, yes it's not fresh but it is good quality for concentrate.

Correct you do get VIP check in (this is a great perk, you literally walk around that giant long line of people waiting to go through the various steps; initial docs check, check in) and priority embarkation. However the other VIP/FTTF perks such as room being ready, priority tendering, priority line at Guest services are not included- if that's important try and get the FTTF, otherwise wear your swimsuit on and just head straight to the pools/bars and wait until 1:30 for your room to be ready. As far as other amenities I'm not sure there are any.

It is new this year. I am one of the curiosity will kill the cat type of people and ask the weird questions like this one. I was told my a guest services rep on our last sailing that it was simply to ensure a smoother boarding process as they try to even out the numbers at embarkation throughout the morning and afternoon--good luck with that though as even people who check 1pm will be there at 10:30, but kuddos to them for trying something new to take care of the problem. She said it also gives them a much clearer idea of how many priority guests (Diamond, Platinum, FTTF, Suites, Weddings) they will have and realizing most of those guests will be there right away, not having so many 11-11:30 openings for check ins and so on. But like I said she even agreed- most people ignore their check in time and show up anyways- that's why you see so many people crowding the curbs in front of the terminals- most are hrs early.

Having been on both my answer is clear: Freedom. Unless you are someone who strives to be on the newest ships, the Vista doesn't offer much more than the Freedom does other than tons more passengers and more lines. The new Vista class ships are really just a bigger version of the Conquest Class ships (Freedom) by simply adding more staterooms, a lot more. The Vista has more "for-fee" dining venues but as far as the included dining venues they both have the same, even the BBQ. Believe it or not, unless you pay extra for one of the exclusive Havana rooms, the Freedom even has more pools and hot tubs. We spent two weeks on the Vista and most of our memories are standing in long lines for just about everything (on and off at ports, food, bars, shows). At least in our case, we would have to get in line at the comedy club very early on just to ensure we got in--1,000 more people but the same # of venues and all the same size. Unless it's a matter of an itinerary offered on the Vista and no other ship, we have no plans to sail a Vista class ship again.

You will have plenty of time. I would go with an Uber- that ensures immediate departure from the port once you're ready and a straight shot to the airport. You'll probably find yourself sitting there trying to kill an hr or two as well.

The shop would most likely report a large purchase and give you a declaration form to mail in.

 

This happens in situations in a casino when one wins a large jackpot- once you’re over the taxable amount the casino is obligated to report and withhold.

Perhaps that's the answer. What's really crazy about the duty question is even U.S. Customs either don't know the answer, or this is one of those situations where the convenience of Customs clearing passengers in Canada out weighs any excess tax owed on ship purchases and it's a scenario they just avoid because their answer was "you will clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Canada Place in Vancouver, BC, Canada during embarking your ship as once the ship sails it's considered to be entering U.S. territory. At that time you will declare all items you purchased for yourself or as gifts while in Canada." ----I told them I knew that but what about the duty free items purchased between Canada and Hawaii on the ship, never got an answer back after emphasizing on that point. As I said earlier on the thread- this is out of mere curiosity and now the curiosity has grown after exploiting the fact even U.S. Customs acts as if they either don't know about this gap or just ignore it.

Just remember that no matter where you shop, duty free does not necessarily mean you are getting a bargain. Some people think duty free and tax free items are automatically a good deal when they may not be so if you shop around. Caveat emptor.

Indeed and I agree. But that's not why I'm asking, I'm merely curious about how the duties are handled since the shops would be selling those items post-customs. If I buy anything even duty free it's shot glass for a couple bucks. Though I have found their booze is about 1/2 price for what we pay at home, but it's not worth the hassle.

And the allowances are pretty high anymore.

I agree and it certainly wouldn't be an issue for me with my shot glass and t-shirt I'll be grabbing, just curiosity is killing the cat here. I do know people who do go over the allowances even just on the ship with jewelry and art. Just on our last sailing we had a few people in our group who went over the duty allowance just on watches they bought on the ship. Most typical allowances are $800 pp, which is way more than I'll ever need of course.

The shops will be open- they aren't going to pass on the opportunity to sell you something.. Can't answer about duty free.

 

You will be able to disembark, (carrying your bags off) and potentially head home or elsewhere anytime after the ship is cleared on your first day at Honolulu. They will probably use the zones on the final day just as a method to control the flow.

I figured the shops would be open regardless- a lot of $$ involved in all that. Was just curious with how they handle taxes because someone (certainly not me) could spend a small fortune in the jewelry shop and skirt around a lot of excess duty. Perhaps an honor system huh? ;p

Disappointing to hear that very little to nearly nothing was done to update the cabins. Typically its simply a place to sleep and shower for us but with a long journeys cruise coming up we'll probably spend a little more time there. We have been on 3 ships over past year which had gone under recent dry docks. 1 of them had updated cabins which had the new thermostats, lighting, updated shower heads, new larger led TVs that were interactive (free on demand movies-which would be nice on a spirit class ship with no dive in screen), new furniture, ect. The other 2 had no updates other than possibly new matresses. The cabinets/closets were busted up, drawers that wouldn't shut, busted light fixtures, ect. Not expecting a week at the Ritz but it shouldn't be on par with a low end budget motel either.

I have asked on other threads and googled the world over for answers but never have got one, either because I couldn't find it as the situation only occurs 1-2 times a yr or nobody clearly understood my question. This is by no means life or death, just curiosity is all. So here I go:

We are cruising on Carnival this fall from Vancouver to Hawaii, ending with an overnight in Honolulu. I understand that we actually go through US Border/Customs at the cruise port in Vancouver, Canada at embarkation and declare any goods purchased in Canada prior to boarding. So my questions are:

1. Are the shops on the ship still open during the cruise? If so are they still duty free? I know this question would typically make no sense, however since the passengers already clear US Customs at the start of the sailing, I don't understand how you could make any duty free purchases on board since you won't be clearing Customs again, thus not declaring them and/or paying any duty taxes for items over the allowed limits (jewelry, alcohol, ect).

2. With debarkation in Honolulu- since we won't be going through Customs and we will have been there overnight with on/off 24/7 privileges, how does debarkation work? Is there still a formal coordinated debark process with zones read and such? Just wondering how this works since anyone can come and go on an overnight stop- does everyone have to be back on the ship by 9am the day the sailing ends and then await zone numbers?

Looks like Blue Iguana will be going where Off the Grill is and Guys will be going on the opposite side of it. Doesn't look like anything major is being replaced. I'm sure they'll just relocate the Off the Grill to a different area of the Lido Buffet.

Guy's Burger Joint replaces the Off The Grill. It wont be relocated to another place on the ship. A few months back on his FB page, Heald stated that the dry dock would include Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, and an Alchemy Bar among other upgrades/refurbishments. Any further information will be released by Carnival PR & himself once the dry dock is completed. It's quite safe to assume the pool side bar in the Mid-Lido will be upgraded to the Red's Rum Bar & Iguana Tequila Bar which has become Carnival's trademark of the lido deck on all ships. Considering it already has Red's Pub on board is a huge plus as well- great atmosphere day or night.

Now my own GUESSING: It's one of the few ships left with a Chopsticks corner in the buffet, which could be taken out and not surprise me at all. They have been eliminating the chopsticks and tanduri ovens over the past few years and replacing them with fee based stations (seafood shack, sushi, ect). It is also one of the last remaining ships with an on board chapel- expect that to be replaced with something. The Alchemy will almost certainly go with the current Atlantis Lobby Lounge is or the Foyer Lounge a deck above- simply because that's where the have put the Alchemy on all the other ships (lounge bar near mdr). The basic 2.0 upgrades will be put in without a doubt (Rum Bar, Burgers, Cantina, Alchemy, ect), I am hoping the rooms are given a refurb- the last 2 ships we've been on had recent dry docks but the rooms were skipped and still had broken furniture, old tube TV's.

I've noticed with all of the re-positioning, Carnival is left with no ships starting May '19 in FLL. Granted they haven't posted Splendor, Freedom, or Triumph itineraries yet, but none of those ships sail from FLL or are being re-positioned to FLL....unless they are planning a later announcement. It's hard to believe they wouldn't sail out of FLL considering the $$ they have invested there.

Also- looking at the May '19-Apr '20 itineraries that have posted (except for those ships listed above and Horizon set to be in Miami at the time) no ships are set to have a southern itineraries (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). Knowing Horizon is to have a 6 and then 8 day sailings (same as Vista had there) it will probably do the 8 day southern then 6 day western. But I can't believe they wouldn't also have at least 1 other ship sail this popular itinerary. I know over the past few months they have announced re-positioning of many of the large ships to do shorter 4/5 day cruises, I certainly hope this isn't the outcome of that, as I'm a huge fan of the southern carib port of calls.

*****UPDATE**** I see they have not announced where Triumph is going once it's replaced in NO by the Valor, since there is no re-positioning cruise for Splendor, and its doubtful they move the Freedom back from GAL, I'm GUESSING they re-position the Triumph to FLL, considering there isn't any other ships and who can imagine FLL without Carnival? Fingers crossed--I want my 8 day southern!

Thanks- yes going under the bridge is unique. It was about an hr to open water as well.