Italy52

I disagree with that. We do not drink nor do we purchase drink packages. Swapping out allows us to get soda and water without purchasing them. It is an earned perk and therefore should be available to all.

All the more reason to allow Elites to pick ahead of embarkation. Doesn't seem right that you shouldn't be able to enjoy one of your perks.

@Coral, beautiful hiking trails. Were you nervous about the possibility of any bear encounters? Or, were there plenty of people on the trails? In looking at your food menu, my husband was so excited to find "Labatt Blue" as one of the beer options --- it is hard to find in Vancouover. Also, assume that all your costs are in CAN$$?

Princess needs to get their act together --- cruisers are getting more and more frustrated by the lack of continuity among ships and their procedures. This year we went on the Discovery twice, we will be on the Royal in June and the Crown in July --- can't wait to see how the Royal and Crown "swap out" works.

Interesting --- It took us 2 days to get our "change out", it finally arrived at 9 PM the 2nd day after a couple of calls to Room Service. Maybe a lot of people are using the Crew Call Chat method thereby causing a back up with Room Service requests?😁

When we were on one of our Discovery cruises I asked the Loyalty host why not let us order pre-cruise to save time and last minute switching out and she just stated that it wouldn't be possible to customize numerous orders -- Don't agree, but it is what it is I guess.

Wow! We sailed the Discovery in February and April and had no problem switching out our Elite set up (other than it taking two days to get someone to do it). We will be on the Royal in June so will see what happens to us then.

@Coral--Yeah, you made it! Enjoying every minute of your journey. Your pictures are wonderful. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Agree with your post. We are doing the 11-day cruise on the Crown but in July. One of the reasons we chose the cruise was for the great port options and times. Our Victoria stop is 9 AM - 10 PM.

I looked at our itinerary and it does have an indication that we might need a water shuttle in about 4 ports --- we are going to Alaska for 14 days.

Do you happen to have a picture of what it looks like?

I requested mine through my TA and it is on my Travel Summary. I look forward to hearing if you got your hand held shower head. Wish the ship had an Alfredos as well. Yeah! Glacier Wind. Hope you have a great time. You said it! The cruise is all about Alaska! And yes, will have to compare notes.

@tawlaw1526Thank you for your post and suggestion, I appreciate it very much. When you made your initial request for the shower wand, did you do it through the app, prior to boarding? Just wondering if it made a difference when it was ordered. And yes, I do need it for medical reasons. The one time I wasn't able to get a hand-held shower head I had to use a cup and it took forever to wash my hair.😒 I heard the crew on the Crown was very good. Glad you had a good experience as well. I guess I will find out if the buffet works for me once on board. If not, there is always a few outdoor venues as well for food. I will survive --- We love Alaska and won't let anything spoil our trip.

Thank you for responding, I appreciate it very much. Our cruise is not until April of 2024 but I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity since we are first time Carnival cruisers and might have to tender for something (that would be our biggest concern). I have been checking about once a week but wasn't sure if I was just spinning my wheels since there might be a specific timeframe that it was offered prior to cruising. Will continue to monitor my excursions.

I am amazed at all the responses about Faster To Fun as obviously people are using this service. I am a newbie to Carnival and asked the question as to when we could purchase this perk (30 days out, 60 days out???) and yet I can't seem to get a response. Is there some where I can? Thank you in advance.

@Coral. We are not super fans of sailing on the Crown. We are light eaters and prefer the buffet for food. However, we know on the Crown that our choices will be very limited and the layout not the best. I did see someone else's video of the Crown buffet and it looks like I will be bringing my own cereal for breakfast. 😁 The fixed shower heads will also be an issue for me as I am short and subject to ear infections if the water gets inside them. Ear plugs don't work; this is why the hand-held shower heads work better for me. I had my TA request a hand-held shower head; will see if it is there upon our arrival. So far, I have had a 50% success rate when I have requested one. As I mentioned in a past discussion, the itinerary is the biggest draw for us as it contains lots of our favorite stops. This might be a "one and done" on the Crown for us but we are willing to take the chance for a good itinerary. Hope you are able to post and share your experiences. Safe travels.

Newbie to Carnival. When is Faster To Fun available for purchase in relation to our booking?

Coral, when do you leave on your cruise? Hope you have a great time on the Crown.

Alaska is beautiful, I hope you enjoy your cruise. Good choice to arrive a few days early for a couple of reasons: explore Vancouver, refresh yourself before the cruise and less worrying about delayed flights should they happen. The Pan Pacific is a very nice hotel and great location for embarking on the ship.

We are on the Crown to Alaska in July. There are a couple of things that I am not too keen about but willing to adjust because we really like the itinerary. We have sailed multiple times to Alaska on various ships and have never had a bad cruise. We are looking forward to having a great time.

We were on Princess last year and had to tender in Skagway. Things went very smoothly so hopefully, it will be the same for us this year.

Is Princess cancelling any Skagway stops for their big ships? We are on the Royal in June.

After reading your post I can understand your frustration with RCI. I am sorry the cruise will not be what you had hoped. May your voyage be filled with wonderful new memories. As for Skagway, we are OK if we skip the town -- we prefer ISP. I know ISP is not for everyone, but it is for us.

Your post has peaked my interest. We are on the Royal Princess, sister to Discovery and we have Skagway on our June 13th itinerary. Our dock, I believe is the front RR. We have not received any notification of a change but realize that it could come.

I don't think I can recall ever seeing two large Royal Caribbean ships (Q & O) at once in a port. I thought maybe they were referencing one RCI and perhaps another cruise line large ship. I will take your word for it. Thanks.