Cruise Related

3 minutes ago, atabs12 said:

Hello,

Is a covid test required in order to reenter the US for vaccinated passengers? I understand things are very fluid right now. We are scheduled to cruise in 2 weeks out of Galveston. I could not find that info online. Thank you 

No, only if you’re doing a back to back do you require testing. 

16 minutes ago, thatoneguyyouknow said:

Did you see what flavors of hard seltzer they have on board?

Yep. Truly Wildberry, Pinapple, and Strawberry Lemonade. 

49 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Do you remember the price of beer?  Do they still sell buckets?  One more question did any bars have a "happy hour'?

No idea about the price of beer since I had Cheers. They definitely still sell buckets. I didn’t notice a happy hour anywhere unfortunately. 

There’s plenty of threads detailing experiences from embarkation to debarkation. There’s also tons of YouTube videos you may watch with information that may help your fears or maybe increase them. I will tell you this about my experience. I’m recently off the horizon this past weekend. At no point did I feel unsafe or exposed. I’m now 5 days home after the cruise and haven’t experienced a single symptom for Covid. I disembarked last Saturday. I’m also vaccinated with the J&J if that matters. If you’re unsure or you’re scared, perhaps cruising at this time isn’t for you. I feel like it’ll tarnish the enjoyment. 

Yep, that’s what I did last week. Stayed on the ship. Most awesome cruise ever! 

9 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Do you have to pay for these yummy desserts?

Sadly yes. However! Tons of amazing free massive desserts on lido. From huge funfetti cheese cake slices to gelato with cold stone style toppings! You will not be disappointed. 

I used parksleephotels and stayed at the Courtyard by Marriot at Miami Airport. Included parking, hotel, and port terminal shuttle in one fee. Was a good deal. 

Just now, SmoothFlying said:

I tried to 'search' the subject of my question on the  'topic' on this area and didn't get a hit soooo I'll ask you and if it's been asked  and answered, I apologize, in advance. We're on the Sept 11 sailing on the Mardi Gras and the wife was wondering if the showers in the newer ships still had the liquid dispensers. I thought I'd ask here instead of having to wait 2-3 weeks to ask the returning MG passengers . Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Mac

Well, on the Horizon they definitely did. Not sure on the Mardi Gras as I’ll be sailing in September. However! I did see that they don’t do the shower curtains any longer on the Mardi Gras. Small blessings. 

13 hours ago, CANTW82CRUISEAGAIN said:

2 Questions:

1) Does the casino have blackjack that deals cards from a shoe?  Or do all of the blackjack tables use a continuous shuffle machine?

 

2) Do blackjacks pay 3:2?

 

I’m trying to figure out if I should bring gambling money or leave it at home…. SuperFun21 is not great odds and 6:5 blackjack is equally bad for the player.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

 Very sorry. I’m not too familiar with the casino at all. I played some slots, put in about 30 bucks, accidentally hit max bet on some machine, lost my money. Was done. Lmao. 

14 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Are they still doing priority debarkation?

Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. I know folks that had booked flights through carnival had priority debarkation. I recall hearing about platinum/diamond having priority, but I didn’t act on it. Was relaxing in the cabin until the 8:30 kick out time. 

15 hours ago, WeBeCruisinMon said:

So you just had no sign and sail cards until 1:30? How did you obtain your card then? 

My card was waiting for me in my mailbox slot at 1:30. 

8 minutes ago, mpacker said:

 That was weird

but at least we got muster drill out of way 🙂

True enough. Most easy muster ever! 

4 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

 

See above! Mocha Chocolate Getaway. I would probably ask if they would substitute all butterscotch schnapps for the Kahlua but it looks pretty darn good as is.

Oh! I’ve had that! Definitely delicious! Darn it, now I need one, like right now, in my mouth. Thanks! 

2 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

 

Looks good. I will be visiting this location on my upcoming visit. But that choco butterscotch monstrosity certainly was attractive as well. In fact butterscotch is one of my favorite flavors.

What choco butterscotch monstrosity?! I uh my wife wants to know! 

If we are talking Alchemy, two things really amazed me. Smoky dirty martini with habanero olives and white chocolate deal closer. So freaking good! 

25 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

How long between when you boarded and you could go to your room?  

 

I usually like to carry on my luggage but we usually get fttf.  We check in at 10:30 and I don't want to haul my luggage around.

They had us waiting until 1:30 before we could go to our room. Pre-pandemic it wasn’t an issue, but this time, we didn’t even get our cards until around 1:30. 

10 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

This ask me anything is working out well....LOL

Lol no kidding. Totally don’t mind though. 

10 minutes ago, Bevv said:

My Benefits*	Blue First Sailing	Red 2nd Sailing - 24 Points	Gold 25-74 Points	Platinum 75-199 Points	Diamond 200+ Points
*Itineraries featured on carnival.com.au may offer different benefits.	no	no	no	no	no
Members-only offers	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Member e-newsletter	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Complimentary 1 liter bottle of water	no	yes	yes	yes	yes
Appreciation drink on 5+ day cruises (on the last evening of the cruise after 5pm	no	no	yes	no	no
Gold VIFP pin on every sailing	no	no	yes	no	no
Priority check-in and boarding**	no	no	no	yes	yes
Platinum and Diamond VIFP Party on 5+ day sailings (featuring complimentary drinks)	no	no	no	yes	yes
Complimentary beverage at Seaday brunch (on ships where brunch is not available, complimentary beverage at breakfast or lunch in Main Dining Room)	no	no	no	yes	yes
“Chocolate Delight” on 5+ day cruises)	no	no	no	yes	yes
Unique, collectible pin received on each sailing	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority spa reservations	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority water shuttle boarding (ship to shore only)**	no	no	no	yes	yes
Casino: Buy-one-get-one-free tournament entry (Blackjack or Slot only)**	no	no	no	yes	yes
$5 worth of complimentary arcade credits (guests under 18 only)	no	no	no	yes	yes
Carnival logo gift on every sailing	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority Guest Services assistance by phone	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority line at onboard Guest Services desk	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority debarkation**	no	no	no	yes	yes
Priority reservations at Main Dining Room and Specialty Restaurant	no	no	no	yes	no
Complimentary Wash & Fold laundry service (2 bags on 3 – 6 day cruises, 3 bags on 7-12 day cruises, 5 bags on a 12+ day cruises )	no	no	no	yes	no
Guaranteed seating time requested in Main Dining Room for dinner only	no	no	no	no	yes
Priority reservations at Specialty restaurants	no	no	no	no	yes
Unlimited complimentary Wash & Fold service	no	no	no	no	yes
Special event invitation from the Captain on each sailing	no	no	no	no	yes
One-time free cabin upgrade OR third and fourth guests sail free	no	no	no	no	yes
One-time donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®	no	no	no	no	yes
One-time complimentary meal for two at Specialty Restaurant of choice	no	no	no	no	yes
Dedicated toll-free number for sales and service	no	no	no	no	yes

* VIFP Club membership, benefits and points are subject to the VIFP Club Terms and Conditions, as well as additional limitations and restrictions. Learn more at Carnival's VIFP Club Terms and Conditions page

** For sailings through August 2021 – Given our focus on meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) requirements and implementation of new health and safety protocols, we will need to adjust how we deliver some of the VIFP priority benefits, as follows:

• PRIORITY CHECK-IN & BOARDING – Platinum and Diamond guests will now be given 48 hours advance access to select their preferred Arrival Appointment while completing their Online Check-In. A boarding zone will be assigned based on guest's Arrival Appointment.
• WATER SHUTTLE PRIORITY – Priority water shuttle debark will be provided subject to local guidance at the destinations we visit, which may change without prior notice.
• CASINO – We are currently unable to host casino tournaments on board and guests will be given US $25 in Casino FunPlay^®.
• DEBARK – We will do our best to offer priority debarkation, however, this may not be possible if we have unusually high numbers of Platinum and Diamond guests on board.

Huh, awesome find! I didn’t even notice it in my cabin. Now I feel like I gotta go scanning every QR code I see. 

1 minute ago, TNcruising02 said:

Me too.  Also, the Good Morning Morgan looks interesting.  I think it will be nice to have something different for a change.

Yep! Definitely loving all the options available on the Mardi Gras. I keep wondering to myself if I should try to make it a goal to try at least everything once, twice if I like it. 

1 minute ago, Jamman54 said:

We  were on the Sunrise for a B2B pre covid and had pizza delivered to our cabin a few times. I also had pizza delivered to me twice at the  Sports Bar. For those deliveries I sent them a picture so they could easily find me. They promise delivery in a half hour, but all our deliveries arrive in 15 minutes or less. 👍👍👍

I personally love the pizza delivery, very awesome addition. I knew I took advantage of it! Now you can get all sorts of delivery. Pizza, wings, philly cheese steak, so on so forth. 

1 minute ago, barcuss said:

We are sailing on the Mardi Gras on 8/7. Does anyone know if the rooms have a mini fridge for us to be able to put can soda or other items? We are on Deck 14 with a balcony if that is a factor.

Yep, there’s a fridge. With see through doors even!

1 minute ago, wemjam said:

Very informative!  Thank you

 

Hoping they have diving for my husband as an excursion... he keeps telling me "that's where Bimini Road" is when we talk about excursions to do there.

 

Waiting to see what will open up in our ports for the Horizon Sept 12th, since they made the switch there are no excursions currently available yet

Whelp, I’m fresh off the Horizon and we made port in Bimini. There was about 10 excursions from Carnival. Ranging from beach chair rentals to deep sea fishing to more beach chair rentals. Honestly not a whole lot. Kinda what you’d expect to see at a beach type place. I don’t recall seeing diving though unfortunately. 

12 minutes ago, Dmg00 said:

I’m on the Horizon in September, I cannot seem to pre-book Bonsai Teppanyaki? Any advice? Also our itinerary changed are there shore excursions for Bimini, Half Moon Cay, and Amber Cove? Are they all just beach days and do any of these places have swimming pools? Also, if mask mandates happen I will cancel what happens with my prebooked Steak House, Wi-Fi, and massages that I’ve already paid for? Sorry so many questions I’m just concerned about this itinerary change. 

You’ll have no issues booking Teppanyaki once on board. And for the most part yes, all three ports are beach days with the exception of Amber Cove, it’s very much a beach day, but there’s a town not too far from Amber Cove and you can explore it and book an excursion to do so. There’s also excursions for the other ports as well, but it’s your typical beach type stuff. Not sure about Bimini and pools, however there is a resort there, I assume they have one, no idea if it’s open to cruise guest or not. HMC has an incredible beach and amazing water, so no need for a pool, but if that’s your thing, they do have one. Not sure about Amber Cove unfortunately, didn’t spend any time there. As far as mask mandates, mask were required in every port except for HMC, but mask were required on the tender to the island. Amber Cove and Bimini both require mask indoors and outdoors. If/when you cancel, all your prebooked things will be canceled as well, or you can just do it yourself prior to canceling your cruise. Hope I answered all your questions lol. 

6 minutes ago, wemjam said:

Ok, is it just ME or does none of this sound appetizing at all?  Is this new - Breakfast at Guys?  Don't think I have seen that at all before.  I am wondering if in an effort to spread people out and give us more places to eat they did this?

 

This would be a hard pass for me.

Kinda eyeing that prime time turkey thing myself. All about that French toast bun. 

46 minutes ago, mollygirl said:

Question on Platinum perks, did you have a list in the cabin when embarking listing all the perks and how to get them?  Or is it up to you to figure things out??  Thanks!

There was nothing in the cabin indicating where to get platinum gifts. Honestly I totally forgot to grab my stuff.