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They are showing on excursion page for Carnival Legend stops on October 30, 2022 and January 8, 2023.  They were sold out on day they were listed.  Who knows what system is used to make them available on any particular cruise?  Maybe reserved by another ship (Carnival Freedom) also scheduled on your date had them only available for their passengers?

The Mardi Gras is also scheduled on our stopover dates.  Only a few cabanas for so many thousands of passengers, they may be alternating availability.  Mardi Gras is also scheduled at same time as the Legend's stop in January 19, 2023.

Here is a photo posted on the Carnival excursion web site with reviews from a recent passengers.

Two September (B2B) cruises cancelled on April 10th.  Carnival refunded total for both cruises today (May 24th).  Much faster than we anticipated and much appreciated.  No refund anticipated for our NCL cancelled May 2020  cruise until at least August.  That was our dream cruise that we had been planning for years and paid premium prices with many expensive excursions.  The NCL cruise was the first time in 10 years we ever bought extra medical insurance and that was promptly refunded within days after cancellation by the 3rd party insurer.  Cruise lines would be building better customer relations by providing periodic communications directly to those waiting that they are working on the refunds.

Our May 3rd NCL cruise had been cancelled with the latest announcement of cancellations.  The original NCL Announcement indicated we could not submit a "refund" request until April 13th.  Today (April 3rd) I received an email indicating that a Future Cruise Credit for this trip had been applied to my account.  Totally unacceptable level of customer service.  The extra stress imposed by not only NCL, airlines, insurance, and hotel companies has been totally uncalled for.  Carnival cancelled 2 of our September cruises and immediately provided request forms to obtain a full refund of money already paid.  Whether we ever see it or not that is another question but at least they are attempting to responsible.

A few considerations. It is a good idea to sanitize your hands AFTER getting your food from a buffet. Just think about all the others who have handled the serving utensils after sampling food on their plates in line with their hands. Think about the arm rests in the theater (or anywhere else) as you pull the straw from your drink to your mouth during a show. It is difficult to think about all the possibilities and can reach a point where you don't enjoy your cruise at all. Handling your drink glass in the casino is another good place to be careful. Consider also that when you hand your Cruise ID to security when exiting or entering the ship, the security personnel are wearing rubber gloves but those gloves have touched ID's of of many hundreds of other passengers. The list is endless so just be observant.

I just got off the phone with NCL excursion line. They said booking on-line is not a problem and that I will see the credit added to my onboard account after the excursion. And, if I do not have expenses that take the $50 credit, a refund check will be mailed to me as I have already paid for the excursion up front. Whew...good to know.

I know the T&C state one thing but I too called today and received the same information. Works out better for us to pay now rather than on board for several reasons but would agree that is would work out for most to pay later.

After reading other's posts I was concerned also that we had booked our excursions (back-to-back cruises )before finding out about the need to call the reservation number or book on board. I called (after already booking/paying) and was told that the credit will still be applied after each excursion and credited to our on board account. The amount not spent will be returned by check after cruise. Works out better for me since I am using some of the initial costs to help meet initial spend requirements for new credit card. Getting the money back directly after the cruise works out better in this case.

There was so much soot on our balcony that it is a big deterrent from ever booking aft again (also a problem on other ships we have booked aft). The soot was into the cushions and would not come out (except on our clothes). Always had to have towels on the seats and chairs. Steward occasionally made an attempt to clean the soot from the deck but it was continuous on our cruise and we wanted to use the deck area when it was convenient for us, not hours later. We did not see a Butler until day 2. Made a quick introduction and left and saw maybe 2 other times on the cruise. The bed was too large for the bedroom and required a lot of walking sideways and had to be careful using drawers under TV so as not to hit head on metal picture frames (when standing up). Mattress was terrible and sheets did not ever fit. Loved the bathroom facilities. Will mention that since we were not seen all the time, in and out of the Haven area, we never felt welcomed. Would always have to wait for service at the pool or bar or get a servers attention while the "regulars" were waited on as soon as they walked in (that did not change even after daily use of facility). Rarely received any sort of acknowledgement from staff when entering the Haven. They would look at you from their desk and not say anything. Haven restaurant menu was very unappealing to us and service times were way too long when there were few others in the restaurant. Overall not worth the extra costs to us but if we would do it again it would be in a forward cabin.

We have had aft balconies on several cruises and have had severe problems with soot on the chairs, loungers, tables, and deck. The last one was on the Escape. Even having them cleaned daily never solved the problem and ended up with grease on clothing and feet. Even sitting on cushions that had been cleaned you could still end up with spots on clothing or skin. We absolutely loved the space and views but the soot issue was too distracting from any enjoyment. We mentioned this to the hotel director during a staff meet & greet and he acted like nobody had ever had that problem before. I rarely see anyone else mentioning it as an issue they have encountered. I have attached a photo from one of our cruises (not the Escape but same issue).

Just curious as to why you did not like the H6? Was it just the location?

Definitely the location as compared to being forward or in the Haven area itself. Being nearer too the room from the Haven area would be a much better option for us. Daily soot on balcony furniture was also a disappointment and inconvenience to enjoying the large balcony area. Since spending so little time in the Haven area we never really felt welcomed by the staff as other guests who they would see more often.

May not make any sense but thought I would mention something to consider when submitting a bid on a Haven category suite. Not sure if I can explain it any better so this is my best shot on some bidding advice.

Based upon my recent experience I would recommend you only submit a bid on a cabin category you really want. I submitted bids on the 4 Haven category suites that I was offered. A week before sailing we received notice that our bid was accepted for an H6 (AFT Master Bedroom Suite). We really liked the suite but the Aft location left a lot to be desired.

During the cruise I was wondering if I had only submitted bids only on an H4, H5, H7 whether I may have actually received one of those rather than the H6.

My thinking (after the fact) was that if someone else had bid on any of the other cabins that equaled my bid (but they did not submit a bid on an H6), I was given the H6 by default while they received a cabin actually located in or closer to the Haven area since I may have been the highest bidder on the H6 and the other person may have equaled my bid on the other cabins without having submitted a bid on an H6.

If I had it to do over again I would not have submitted any bid on the H6 and taken my chances on only the cabins located in, or closer to,the Haven area at the same bid levels I submitted.

No regrets for having done it once but would be more selective in future bid processes.

How does the bidding work? I would love to put in suite bid on my summer Dawn cruise. Do they contact you or do they contact you with the chance of an upsell?

The new program rolling out to all ships later in February is on select ships now. You will receive (or not receive) an email notifying you about the Upgrade Advantage Program. Not all travel agents participate.

I don't want to repeat what is already posted elsewhere. Just do a search on the Norwegian thread for "upgrade advantage" or just "upgrade' to view how the program operates.

We are sailing on Sat (Feb 04) and received email of bid acceptance on Mon (Jan 30). MiniSuite to H6. Just needed to go back to check in and reprint documents and luggage tags.

Awesome, thanks so much! :) Is there a link to the Upgrade Advantage program terms and conditions? Thanks!

Here is link

https://www.ncl.com/it/it/content/upgrade-advantage-terms

Hi :) When you guys say you offer $650 each for the upgrade bid, what if you have a child in your room? Would it be 3 x $650? Thanks for any insight!

From the Terms and Conditions of the Upgrade Advantage Program:

8. If your reservation includes multiple passengers (between 2 and 9 passengers), the purchase price you accept will be per passenger but only for the first and second passenger on the reservation.

Hope that helps.

What ship n sail date. I am anxiously awaiting and have several bids in I am in a comped mini suite spa on Escape in February. I have 2 in low fair category and the rest mid-poor.

 

 

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Feb 4th on Escape. Bid on 4 Haven Suites at below "fair" on the scale. Bid the same amount for each. I don't know what the actual scale reading was since I can't access it now. Not sure if I paid too much but bid on what I thought it was worth for us so happy with the final result.

can you share what the bids were? the range they gave you to bid. and what your bid was thanks

I did not realize I was not on the same cruise. We sail Feb 4th. A little confused since we are also scheduled on the Vista on 11th. Back to back cruises on different lines. So you would receive your acceptance by next Monday if the pattern stays true.

We had already upgraded form an Ocean View Balcony to a Mini-Suite for a very small amount at initial booking. The original room was comp'd so amount paid did not seem to enter into the bid equation.

I bid below what was considered "fair" amount and bid on 4 available Haven categories. My first bids were in the "poor" range and figured I would submit a bid on what I thought was a fair value for us even if below what they considered fair on the meter.

If I was to bid max of $2000 each I would have just went ahead and booked it directly. From what I read from others, some people who bid less had their bids accepted while others (in the same cabin class) bid more and did not have theirs accepted.

I think there is more that goes into bid acceptance since they upgrade everyone down the chain at the same time with no need to wait for them to "accept" the upsell phone call. I imagine it also depends upon anyone above that accepted an upgrade also to made a higher grade cabin available.

I think that once the program really takes hold it will be hard to have a bid accepted at less than what they consider a fair price as more and more people become familiar with the program and potential savings.

Not sure if price paid for cabin enters into the equation but who knows. We had a comp'd Ocean View Balcony and upgraded to Mini-Suite for a small upgrade charge. Submitted bid below fair amount on the scale and received Haven upgrade to H6. Notified 6 days before cruise. May depend upon level of bids that are in line to fill your now vacant cabin and so on down the line for all pending bids for the cruise line to maximize income from the pending bids. Just to note I bid on all Haven class cabins that were available just in the off chance I would be accepted for one.

Just received confirmation email this afternoon that our bid was accepted for this cruise. Moved from Mini-Suite up to H6 (Haven Penthouse corner balcony with Master Bedroom). Totally surprised due to less than average bid amount but an amount I was willing to spend. Terrific deal for us and should be one of our best cruises ever.

Found this thread in the Carnival forum and felt it was equally relevant here.

I think this fits in with the general trends in consumer behaviors: It's better to get the other guy to give you their price first.

Numerous threads posted on the topic. Received offer to bid last month for February cruise and find it a very reasonable procedure. It would be nice to have bid accepted at level of bid but no major disappointment either. This allows the cruise line to maximize potential as when they upgrade me, they upgrade the next person bidding on my cabin, and so on down the line. No need to wait for someone else to "accept" an upgrade offer by phone then going down the line searching for the next person to accept an upgrade to that now empty cabin. Maximum bid amount is identified on the scale so no risk of bidding too much. Seems like it really streamlines the up sell process. As soon as everyone starts posting the price where their bid is actually accepted it will soon require everyone to place a Max bid to have a chance.

Check in to the roll call forums for your cruise line/date. That will put you in contact with others cruising with you.

Hi all, if you book through the casino would you be offered an upsell?

We booked through casino offer and booked a Mini-Suite. Received bid email for Haven category cabins.

Their website is up and working for me at the time of this post

I have been trying off and on for the past hour or so and also not having any success. I let a screen timeout and a notice came up saying they are aware of issues and "technical staff" have been notified.