ZoeyVictoria

We had a boardwalk balcony on the Harmony and it was our least favorite cabin in 80+ cruises. We were closer to the center and on deck 14, but the noise was never-ending. The outdoor movie was the worst part for me. We really enjoyed Central Park balconies, but the Boardwalk was not for us.

We live within driving distance of all of the Florida ports and have made friends on cruises who we would have loved to help out with rides. Our cars are too small and our amount of luggage is too large to allow that to happen.

Was yours mailed or online? I noticed they closed the online application option for most of February, after I used it to apply on January 19. I will come back with my “received” date once it happens, since I used the new online method. We are just three miles from the Cortez bridge, but go to Palmetto to Wal Mart and Detwiler’s because we enjoy the drive through the downtown area. Also the Covid testing center at the Convention Center, back in the good old days of required testing 😂

No, we just chose the largest gap in between our cruises in hopes of not having to cruise without passports (ten weeks). On our last cruise in January, he took his passport card with him (just in case), but used his birth certificate to check in, to make sure it was the “correct” version. No problems with the b/c.

Sorry yours is not perfect, but I do feel better knowing we aren’t the only ones - thanks!

I know there are frequent questions about the processing time for passports, this is a slightly different question. How long should it take for a new passport application that was mailed for the status to show up online? My SO had a passport card and mailed in his application for a passport book three weeks ago. We cannot find the status online. I applied for a renewal of my passport book online about the same time and could see the “in process” status almost immediately. Should we be worried about his application? If it was incomplete/incorrect, would it be mailed back to him?

Thank you so much, that info is absolutely helpful! We are just a few cabins away from 5348, and we prefer easy walking access (stairs) to decks 6-8 over the upper decks. Add in not having to fight for elevators when returning from ports, and it sounds perfect!

I have a cove booked for the first time on the Celebration in October, because (1) That many people can’t be wrong, and (2) regular balconies are available on every ship on every cruise line - cove balconies are unique.

Look at the body language in that crowd. Not a single one looks happy. I don’t blame them!

Thanks, I will change it as soon as I receive the passport.. I applied for the online renewal on January 19, will sail on March 27. I have never taken a cruise without a passport and prefer not to start now!

My passport is currently in the renewal process. Check-in for Freedom of the Seas opened today, and I selected birth certificate and drivers license. If my new passport arrives before the cruise, do I need to amend check-in, or can I just leave it as it is?

I was not fond of the square interior on the Mardi Gras. I keep my hair dryer and accessories in the bottom drawer of the desk/vanity. When I pulled out the (extremely heavy) stool to sit on while I dried my hair in front of the mirror, there was not even enough room to open the drawer (on my right side). The next time we sailed on the MG, we booked a premium interior. It made a world of difference and we believe it was well worth the extra $140. The bathrooms in the two different interior cabins were identical.

Has anyone heard what the charge will be for the adult area?

“Gelatinous” is such an unappetizing word, but a perfect description of so many of the desserts

I cannot even remember the last time I was impressed by the food on a cruise ship. We cruised fifteen times in 2022, on three different cruise lines, and the food was uniformly mediocre on the majority of them. The only memorable, truly excellent foods were some of the lunch spots on the Mardi Gras and a few specialty restaurants. We have accepted mediocre cruise food as “normal” and don’t get excited about it one way or the other. Just another Covid casualty, similar to staffing and supply shortages. We hope it will improve in the future, but believe it will be like this for a while. @royal29. A few of the really horrible foods were memorable, and those pale, sickly sweet potatoes on the Christmas sailing of the Jewel are at the top of the list!

I played and won the bingo package. Then I found out that the bingo game was held at 6:30 p.m., so it would have been impossible for us to have dinner in the MDR with the new friends we had dined with for the week. I did stand in the line of “bingo package winners” to ask questions, and the first thing out of her mouth was, “For just $23 you can upgrade to a bigger package!”. I stated I would not be able to attend because of dinner, and she asked me if I wanted to buy a $2 bingo marker 🙄

I have manually entered gift cards onto the kiosk successfully, but only the ones with the full value available. The card that was partially used was not accepted by the kiosk, but Guest Services was able to load it without a problem.

We took the pasta class on the MG and thoroughly enjoyed it. We have signed up for the pizza class on the Celebration in October. One difference I have noted is that the classes on the MG were on sea days, now the Celebration classes are held on port days. So pay attention to the itinerary when signing up for classes. We had to choose between pizza class in the middle of the day and Cozumel. Not first-hand knowledge, but someone on CC had taken the pie class and said the baked pie was delivered to their table that evening.

We have been on 19 cruises since the restart and have followed masking protocols (worn when required only). My SO had a mild case of Covid after number 12 (7 nights on Princess in May-June), but I remained negative and felt fine. We don’t mask, but we wash our hands extremely frequently and I am very, very careful about not touching food after handling salt/pepper shakers, chair arms, or elevator buttons. So far, so good, but I will not be surprised if I eventually pick it up. On our last cruise, I mentioned to my SO that the very few masks that were being worn were more noticeable to me than they had been since the very beginning.

You know how it goes - the answer I received from one person on one day may not be the answer given by another person on another day 😂. Something to watch out for, in any case.

I asked a similar question and was told by Club Royale that a cruise must be originally booked using any casino offer, then they change the offer code to the free cruise when it is available. A booking made without a casino offer cannot be converted to the free cruise.

This is my first time as Prime, but I called and asked about that. The bottom line was that I had to use another casino offer to book the cruise first, then I could call in April and change to the free cruise offer. Booking a cruise without a casino offer would not have worked.

I submitted my online renewal this evening. The emailed submission confirmation stated it is currently taking 6-9 weeks to process routine applications, 3-5 weeks for expedited.

I believe it is merely an indication that C&A status is not a consideration when cabins are assigned.