rtw68

Appreciate the live coverage!  Will be on Mardi Gras in 20 days, 3 hours, and 5 minutes.  Not like I'm keeping track or anything.....  

I inquired about the same thing.  My tests showed an October expiration (we are cruising in December) and they provided documentation that per the FDA the expiration is extended three months past the date shown on the package.

3 minutes ago, Quagmire789 said:

I have a different lot number but mine expire on 10-04-2021...a little worried now!

I contacted them as well.  All tests are extended for three months past the expiration date.  

Expiration_date_extention.pdf

46 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

We are sailing the Saturday after Thanksgiving and will be driving to the port early on Thanksgiving Day.  We will be ordering the emed test kits and will either test the morning before we leave home or when we arrive at our hotel.

 

If they go to the two day option it is our only choice, but we are comfortable using them after seeing the great video posted here on the boards that walks you through the whole procedure….

This is our plan as well.  We cruise in December and were planning on flying in Thursday before our cruise embarking on Saturday.  I ordered 6 of the Emed kits because I'm concerned with them selling out at some point.  Some co-workers in my area have been unable to get antigen tests here locally and have had to do the PCR.  Getting the tests done at MCO is an option, but $65 each.  Not sure how tricky that would be with thousands wanting to be tested.

If they drop the days from 3 to 2 we will take the tests with us (plan on two each) and take them in Florida (they are small enough I can put on our carry-on/backpacks).

With everyone wanting to be tested all the time, its no wonder tests are very scarce! 

10 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Pig &Anchor is open. They have the best bloody Marys but it was an issue on panorama because they didn’t open till 10 or 10:30.

I asked for spicy and boy is it!

 

Awesome!  My favorite way to start the day on a cruise!

43 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Oh really 5 years? Now that could be a different story.  Most years I guess it’s going to be 1-3 times. But this year it’s going to be 6.

It is so worth it.  My company pays for mine and I pay for the wife's.  Makes traveling a little easier (gotta get it how you can).

14 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

For those of you who followed my Panorama trip, you may remember I had a traumatic experience near the end of the cruise.

 

The day was March 5, 2020. I was in the comedy club enjoying a very pleasant evening. All of the sudden this urchin on the other side of the aisle did something that would change me in a deep and profound way from that day on…He sneezed on me. I screamed out “I’M HIT!”

 

Over the past 18 months my account of the events of that night has come into question. Let’s go through it step by step.

I was seated in the back on the left side of the aisle.

 

 

 

The perpetrator was seated on the right side of the aisle.

 

 

 

First, I was struck on the right side of the neck.

 

It bounced off my neck and struck me again between my 3^rd and 4^th ribs.

 

It then ricocheted off my ribs and hit me in my right wrist causing me to drop my beer can.

 

 

 

It then paused in midair, took a right turn, and landed on my right thigh. That is some magic mucus.

 

The other controversial part is what happened to my head on the first hit. When I was hit in the neck my head went back and to the left.

 

 

Back and to the left

 

 

Back and to the left

 

 

Back and to the left

 

 

If the sneeze had come from across the aisle it would’ve caused my head to pitch to the left.

 

That means the sneeze must have come from the front and right.

 

There must have been a second sneezer!

 

From the chairs in front of the glassy pole.

 

 

But that’s not what “they” would like you to believe.

 

The sad thing is we may never know the real truth.

Hilarious!  I could hear Kevin Costner's voice narrating that whole thing!!  Looking forward to your Mardi Gras review, we go in December.

30 minutes ago, evandbob said:

Isn't it nice when folk listen to the guidelines?

Ouch!  Well, if we didn't have FTTF we would have reported at our appointment time.  We aren't savages after all.  😛

5 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Seems like it worked out for you, but I would be wary of this practice in general. If you had done this on the Vista or Magic on 12/28, you would have been waiting for hours. 

Right.  Of course, it depends on the ship, departure port, and whether any delays are taking place due to weather, Coast Guard inspections, etc.

We have had FTTF many times over our 11 cruises, and have always been able to board as early as possible.  

Thanks for the replies, we got off the ship yesterday.  

We ended up leaving the hotel right before 11AM, dropped off our luggage, paid for parking, in the terminal by 11:15, and on the ship by 11:45am!  It was super fast and smooth.  We did enter on Deck A but didn't really see any delays in boarding.

I bet their email was taken to heart by most people since the port was not very busy.

9 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We're booked in cabin 6264 (aft balcony) on Spirit for an Alaskan cruise in May 2020. Got my very first ever upgrade offer today for cabin 8266 (ocean suite) for an extra $922 and turned it down. I mean, I get it, it's a suite. But we booked the aft balcony to hopefully be a little warmer than a port or starboard balcony so we could spend more time on it, plus the advantage of having a view of scenery on both sides of the ship. We've never had an aft balcony, so I'm just hoping I don't end up regretting this decision. 

That's a crazy upgrade price.  Even if it were cheaper, I would keep the aft balcony.  Having the ability to see the full view of the scenery (especially on an Alaskan cruise) is great!

I would!  Our passports expire in August, but I am getting them renewed in the late spring.  Passports are the safest way to exit and return to the country.

4 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

With FTTF and Baltimore, 10:30 is usually a good time.  But, with an hour delay, I would say getting there at 11:30 would be good.

 

Are you driving to the port?  If so, the lot won’t open until enough cars from the previous cruise leaves.  I’m betting that the extra hour is the time needed to get the previous cruise offloaded, as that will take a lot longer with everyone leaving from Deck 1, instead of the lobby.

Yes, we are.  We are staying in the Inner Harbor area and will drive over Sunday morning.  Appreciate the answer, was originally thinking around 11:00am or so, but will plan heading over to the port around 11:30am.  Was reading in other reviews how the parking lot does not permit any parking until the lot is about 2/3's empty from the previous cruise.

Was hoping that this port isn't unusually strict for even FTTF cruisers that want to arrive early and board in the proper order when permitted.

We have cruised with FTTF previously and arrived as early to the port as possible.

Received an email this evening about the boarding appointments being delayed by an hour due to having to enter the ship using a ground level gangway.

Our original appointment (which I was going to ignore due to FTTF) was 12:30 and now they are saying 1:30PM.

I believe we can ignore that and go to the port earlier (depending on when Pride is back and ready for passengers) since we have FTTF?

Hoping someone can confirm that has been through the same circumstances.

Thanks!

We purchased on a couple of our 7 & 8 day cruises.  While we didn't regret it, I felt it was a challenge to "break even" especially with a port heavy cruise.

Moving forward, we are doing "drink & pay as we go" so we have the flexibility to not drink a day and not feel bad about it.

We budget for expenditures on board in any case and based on past spend for drinks, we will spend less than a drink package (we really do not drink pop or the fancy coffees that often).

On 12/20/2019 at 7:29 PM, SMSACE6 said:

I have never sailed on Cunard, but do not rule it out completely.  However I doubt that I ever will cruise on them, due to price and itineraries, as well as departure ports.  But I don't rule it out.  Before I would sail Cunard, I would likely venture back to 'Celebrity first because they do offer those ports and itineraries that interest me.  

 

As far as snooty passengers go, I have cruised mostly on Carnival, and have met a few snoots on there as well LOL, sailed once on Celebrity, and met just a few snooty people, most were just like us, and it was a good cruise.  sailed once on Norwegian long long time ago, and cant remember meeting anyone snooty or otherwise.  

 

I think that everyone has a type of cruise they are looking for, and with a little internet research they can find what kind they look for, we all have different tastes with everything, so it is a good thing that there are multiple cruise lines out there to suit every kind of preference.  That said, you cant please all the people , all of the time.

 

At this point in my life, where I cant cruise or travel at all, I would be happy to experience any of the the cruise lines, and hope to do so again some day.

 

Speaking of "snoots," I was very shocked when we branched out and sailed on RCCL's Freedom of the seas (have been on 9 Carnival cruises) and saw some couples wearing name tags with their "Diamond" status on them, really??  It was obvious that they deserved "better treatment" given their status and interaction with the ship staff and other pax.  Had a good cruise, but we definitely enjoy our Carnival cruises to a higher degree (and we are a couple in our 50's).

We have FTTF for our upcoming Pride cruise but am not sure what time to try and arrive at the port.  It does show FTTF as our boarding group from 12:00-12:30PM.  Normally for our "warmer" cruises we try to arrive between 10:30 and 11:00am at the ports.

Enjoying your review and pictures. We were in port with Seaside at St. Maartin last week and it looks very impressive!

Definitely could see us cruising on her sometime.

Depends, around the ship I wear a Carnival lanyard I have had for a number of cruises that disconnects quickly to stick the key in the door.

I can also stick that part in my pocket when I have pockets. Don't wear the lanyard off the ship, generally have it in the pocket of my cargo shorts along with my cash/credit cards/etc.

Lanyard is betting for me so I don't misplace it, to each their own!

Washington Apple on the Rocks. Had it on Royal first but the fine bartenders on Vista hooked me up!

Frog Island Iced Tea (and a plate of fries from Guy’s)

Boy, does that sound good. Will definitely try that combination! :-)

We enjoy the steak house. Have made it a tradition every cruise to go there on the first night to kick off our vacation.

Wow, the "hoity-toity" attitude shown by some on this thread amazes me. Why are you on the Carnival site if they are only the "Wal-Mart of the Seas." Obviously, we are not worth your attention so why don't you take it elsewhere, and laugh among others.

For me, I am on vacation, I am not out to impress anyone. Do I dress poorly simply because I prefer to cruise on Carnival? No. I dress as the dress-code dictates. I have no desire to haul around extra jackets, a tux, and all the things that go with it. In my professional life, I wear business casual, and that meets the need for personal and cruising.

Maybe those that are super critical should cruise on the lines where people of "higher status" wear name tags displaying said status, so they make it clear to everyone how good they "really are." SMH....

I quit bringing a sports jacket, dress shirt and tie on cruises about 4 cruises ago. On casual nights I wear cargo shorts and a nice Aloha type shirt and on Elegant nights I wear business casual (long pants, collared shirt and nice shoes). Taking a SWAG I think 70-80% of the men do the same.

Yup!

Our Conquest cruise is on 4/14/2018 and I snagged FTTF on 2/1/2018.

Best thing to do is check around the time your final payment is due and keep checking.

I started looking on 1/27 (final payment was on 1/29). Figured some people would drop off or cancel at final payment time.