DebJ14

It is legit. I got mine refunded as a Gift Card because that is how we paid the deposit. It was for a cruise booked for November 2020. I pulled the plug before Carnival actually cancelled the cruise officially, and figured it was gone for good. It actually started to tempt me to book the Carnival Jubilee, but when push came to shove, I couldn't bring myself to pay the deposit after watching multiple You Tube videos. I couldn't stand the background noise, flashing lights even though I could turn it down. At 72 we have no need of roller coasters, slides, ropes courses and kids running loose. Haven't been on Carnival since November 2019. We have sailed RCCL 3 times since they finally allowed the unvaxxed to sail. I guess we will stick with the Regal Princess we have booked and just eat the $200 once again.

They just don't want to have to chase you down to make a payment. It makes sense to make it earlier than the due date in case the site goes down, or the CC is declined or the TA will be off. I would arrange the specific payment date for final payment at the time of deposit. The agent can also have the Princess site automatically process the final payment as long as it is the same card as the deposit. I have had the hassle of people paying with debit cards with small daily limits. In that case it was arranged in advance that I would be processing a payment every 24 hours starting a certain date until it was paid in full. Talk about a huge PITA!

If it is a credit card payment the TA needs about 5 minutes MAX to process a payment on the Princess TA site. I always told my clients the date it was due, got the card info, and ascertained what out what date they wanted me to process the payment, as long as it was prior to the due date/time. Sometimes it mattered to them if a credit card was closing around final payment time, but I rarely had to wait until the due date to process a CC payment.

We had them on our GS on the Voyager of the Seas in January and OS on the Mariner of the Seas in May.

We just got our letter from Christian Dellosa. He is the Suite Lounge Concierge on the Mariner.

According to my doctor not 100% is removed, so best to stick to naturally GF. The government allows 20ppm to still call it GF. Some of us are sensitive to that very small amount.

My horrible experince on the AOS was in Feb 2023. Previous sailings before Covid were fine on that ship. Our recent good experience on the VY was in Jan. 2024.Horrible experience on the Navigator, but that was 2014 and several good experiences on the Voyager and Mariner back in 2009 and 2013, but I don't consider those. Everything changed with the introduction of the new menus in Jan 2023. Fingers crossed for next week on the Mariner.

If there are any GF snacks that your wife particularly likes, I would bring them. Unfortunately, the suite lounge does not have an GF crackers to go with all the cheese they put out every night during the evening happy hours. I bring a box of GF crackers and a few snack size baggies and slip them into my purse before heading to the suite lounge for drinks.

There are some items that are naturally gluten free, so you need to stick to those. If newly diagnosed then you may not be aware. Fresh eggs, plain meats (no gravy or sauces), steamed veggies, baked potato, salad (but always be firm about a GF dressing and no croutons) fresh fruit are all naturally gluten free. I was diagnosed 17 years ago. Many cruises since and I have been glutened twice on Royal, both times in the MDR and both on first nights. However, I had my most positive experiences in the main dining room with waiters and head waiters that went out of their way to insure a good GF meal. Because GF dinners in the MDR are ordered the night before, room service in a suite is probably not an option for dinner. You didn't say which ship. Those with Coastal Kitchen may fare better. On the older ships where suite guests have breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants, we have fared OK. We try to make a connection with the waiter the first day, explain our dietary needs and then try to stick with that waiter for every breakfast, and if having dinner there, requested that person as our waiter so we did not have to go through the whole song and dance all over again. Worked great on the AOS, but not on the VY. Ships vary and so does their ability to handle gluten free. Since Covid we had a horrible experience on the Adventure, except for our waitress at breakfast and one dinner in Giovanni's Table. The Windjammer had zero entrees or vegetables marked GF on the Adventure and, only a couple of desserts. On the Voyager, the Main Dining room was great, but our dinner at Giovanni's Table was a disaster. Breakfast at Chops was just ok. We had multiple waiters in Chops at breakfast and they never remembered from day to day that we were gluten free and were always pushing the pastries. For lunch in the Windjammer we stuck with salad every day. We do get room service breakfast on the days we have an early excursion. That has always been fine. I always get bacon and eggs and coffee. Hubby usually orders the GF toast. I am allergic to yeast, so bread, even GF, is out for me. I never order the scramble eggs from room service in case they give me the powdered eggs, which are often not GF. We always go with scheduled dining in the MDR. Our last cruise on the Voyager, our waiters had 3 tables of GF and went out of their way. You need to notify special needs ahead of time so that the ship is notified. They need to know how many GF people to expect, otherwise that have been known to run out of GF bread and pasta when they are suprised with larger than usual numbers. special_needs@rccl.com is where you need to send the notification. They always respond, first with an automated email and then a full explanation of how it is handled. On embarkation day we check with our Maitre"D to make sure it is noted. The head waiter usually comes over that first dinner for introductions and make sure to remind the waiters. Also check with the head waiter and chefs in Windjammer and they will give you a tour of the GF options or they will make something separately in the back for you. In the beginning it is really hard to have to be forceful and make your needs known. Also, the longer you are off gluten the worse the symptoms of being glutened get. She will have to take responsibility for herself. My doctor always says, "When in doubt, do without." Also, research GF alcoholic beverages before you go so you can request a specific Vodka. Rum and Tequila is always GF.

One day we each used 2 vouchers at the pool bar, went to the Suite Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails and then to Giovanni's Table for dinner. When we told the waitress we wanted to use a voucher each for a glass of wine, she came back and said they were all used up for that day and that she would have to charge us. We said fine, and had Maria deal with reversing the charges the next day. That is how we found out the bar waiter was using our vouchers in the Suite Lounge. Others heard our conversation with the Concierge and chimed in that they too had been denied drinks in other bars and knew they had not used all their vouchers and it opened up the floodgates. She had to fix many accounts, and was still fixing them at debarkation and promised she would take care of everyone.

I have always had a Suite Card. The Concierge on the AOS explained that due to staff shortages, she had to pull bartenders from other bars and they didn't seem to get the concept of FREE drinks in the Suite Lounge. Those who were first timers or did not qualify for coupons actually got charged money for their drinks. She spent lots of time fixing accounts. On VY an officer said they were instructed to keep track of how many drinks were being consumed in the Suite Lounge. I jokingly said it was either to figure out a way to have more cutbacks and/or raise the prices on the suites. He did not disagree with me!

On our last 2 cruises they definitely asked for the cabin number in the Suite Lounge or for the Sea Pass to get the folio number On the AOS in 2023 the waiter mistakenly used up our Diamond vouchers, so they were unavailable to use in the MDR or by the pool. Thankfully, Concierge Maria fixed the problem for us, but seemed unable to set the bar waiter straight, so she had to fix it multiple times. On the Voyager in Jan. 2024, the drinks from the Suite Lounge appeared on the bill as $0.00.

Same here!

That was also our experience in Bermuda. We take our passport cards off the ship in ports. The Drivers Licenses stay in the safe along with the passport books

Absolutely nailed it. We never heard a peep from the family in the connecting cabin, but the people on the non-connecting side ran their TV loudly all night long.