ksmcdonald

Just an update all! Called NCL last night and they said they couldn't tell me the new promotion but if I was hoping for the UBP, I would be "very sad" if I waited. She also told me I could book the cruise on my current credit card and when I receive my Sapphire card, they will charge to new card and credit the old card. So I booked last night so as to not lose the better promotion.

Thank you everyone for you help!

Put the minimum deposit down on the current card, then pay the rest using your sapphire. You won't get as many points that way, but you'll get a lot.

I would do that but we want to go on the June 4 sailing and the total is due, not the deposit.

Thank you very much. That doesn't look very good to me. Maybe I should just book tomorrow.

It shows on the website that NCL is ending their free at sea sale tomorrow. Does anyone know from experience if they will just do this sale again or extend it, or will it be gone for a while.

I definitely want to book but I'm waiting for my sapphire Chase credit card to come in the mail so I can book it with that. Does anyone know if I book with my current card, will NCL change the charges over to my new card when I get it and credit the old card?

I don't want to miss the UBP they are offering but really want the 2x points for travel on my Chase card.

Looks like there will be too much shade on the lanais to get sun on the lounger.

So then the rest of the ship's passengers won't be able to walk the whole perimeter of the promenade deck? And non Havana guests will have to access the pool from inside? I thought for sure they would have two walkways. I dunno. One that dipped down then back up so that people could still walk outside but not right up on the Havana guests.

 

Yes I think you are right about the hammocks.

 

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I agree two walk ways would be better! That walk way they are showing look very narrow, and we can't see what is to the right. Maybe there is another walk way. I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out!

Or maybe this walk way will open up after 5:00 pm?

I love that they put the cabin numbers on the post outside the patio. Make it much easier to find your cabin from the outside. I did see on John's facebook that the cabins had sliding glass doors and they could be opened with your card from outside. I was wondering how to lock the slider when you left from your patio.

There are chairs on the personal patios or balconies or whatever they are called. He's not showing much. Just standing in front of them. And I heard him say there were surprises to come.

 

They look like really nice cabins but that walkway being right up on the patio is interesting. I would book one but only because I'm not hung up on needing a bunch of privacy and I don't mind people walking past looking at me. But for those who do mind, I dunno.

 

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The word is that only the people that have these cabins booked will be able to walk along that walk way. You will need a key card to enter that area from outside. It is still now totally private, just the 13 or so cabins on your side will be wondering by.

My guess on the "surprise" is that all the patios will have a hammock instead of just the suites!

Just saw the first live stream from our Vista! John Heald was in front of the Havana Cabana's on Deck 5.

I was under the impression that each person in these cabanas had a dedicated lounge chair outside their "gate" on the actual deck. Definitely doesn't look like there is enough room on the walk way for a lounger. Maybe the loungers are inside the gate on the actual patio? Would they have a sit down chair and lounger and hammock all on the balcony?

It looked very nice, but I pictured the walk way much wider, it looked pretty narrow.

Here is the link for the live stream:

No "Sea Day Brunch" but they do offer lunch in either Taste or Savor on sea days as well as a themed buffet in Moderno's on sea days. When my spin classes were at 9:00 I would usually miss the dining room and buffet breakfast times so we would go to O'Sheehans for a later breakfast. I believe they served breakfast until 11:00. It's pretty much the same stuff as the dining room and the buffet only a more limited menu but I do love a brunch too!

 

We were on the Florida/Bahamas itinerary and really didn't do anything special at the ports. We didn't get off the ship at either Port Canaveral or the private island. In Nassau we did some shopping and went to Senor Frogs for lunch. The shopping in Nassau was very pleasant if you stay out of the straw markets. The locals were very friendly and not at all pushy.

 

Have a great cruise!

Thanks for the input on sea days brunch options.

Thanks for the review. We will be on the ship early June.

One question I have is do they have anything that resembles the "Sea Day Brunch" that Carnival has? We really enjoyed those brunches!

Also, what did you do in the port(s)? Was it the Berumda cruise you were on?

My guess is that the balcony price included a second amenity such as the specialty dining package. That would be about the right amount for the service charge on the value of the dining package. Insides only get one amenity.

Thanks! That makes sense, I never even considered I had the drink pkg and dining pkg selected as the two choices on the balcony. The inside only had one pkg.!

I did just recently do a fake booking to compare inside guarantee and a balcony guarantee. The tax and gratuity was around $12 more for the balcony than the tax and gratuity for the inside. I couldn't figure out why that would make a difference!

We'll be on the Vista in a few weeks in a Havana Cabana cabin. Happy to report back! I'm planning on posting pics and videos on my social media accounts (links in my sig!) if anyone gets curious or wants to follow along with our cruise :)

I would love to see your pics and videos! Do I just click the Like button on your facebook page in order to follow alone? Or do I have to "friend" the page?

As I said, I was not told what type of booking I was booked under--just given a price. Only found that out when I tried to file insurance.

 

Everyone--ask questions of the booking agent!! I thought I had covered the bases, especially when securing what I thought was cancel for any reason insurance!

I totally agree they don't explain things well! Just well enough to sell you the product then......crickets! I booked my cruise 15 months in advance. I go on "my cruise" to try and see what promotion/deal I'm booked under and no information anywhere! I pulled up the email from my Carnival TA and nothing on how it was booked, ES, past guest, etc. I called and confirmed what my conditions were, but is it really that hard to spell things out for us? It should show on your "my cruise" how you booked etc. and all the conditions. It is hard to remember details months later.

Something is very wrong about this post.

 

Carnival only sells one kind of insurance and that policy includes Cancel For Any Reason.

As long as you purchase their insurance prior to final payment, this above quote is 100% correct! Here is the email from my Carnival rep when I asked for details about their insurance:

Or, at least, can you describe where on the cruise manager we will be able to find the check in time selection?

I was trying to find out the same thing! But I emailed Carnival and they told me for my sailing (Vista - June 2017) it has not been scheduled yet. She told me to watch my online check-in and eventually it will give me a choice on staggered check-in times. Only certain ships have the staggered check-in. I believe ships leaving from Miami, Galveston and New Orleans.

You can cancel for a full refund before final payment. You just need to be a past guest with a VIFP number.

Now I'm confused as to which way I booked, it was so long ago. I wish they showed what you booked under on your "my cruise". Or do they and I'm just missing it?

That is why we book past guest.

What are the conditions of "past guest" promotions?

Just got a reply from Carnival in my question. Here is what they wrote:

We are not set up at this time for the Stager check in for 6/2017.

We will be offering this at a later date.

Thank you for your patience.

I don't think that you need to book through a PVP or a TA to have your bookings linked. Email all of your booking numbers, with the request to have them linked for the purpose of being seated together, to cclsupport@carnival.com. They should be able to help you, or direct you to someone that can. Good luck!

 

 

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Correct! We didn't go through anyone, just emailed the email you indicated with ALL the booking numbers!

We just booked the 6/3/17 cruise last week! We're also on the 6/3/16 cruise on her in the Mediterranean, I'll be coming back here to post a full review. We have assigned dining so are planning on being in the small dining room.

 

Is there a cruise meet thread for 6/3/17? I can't find them on my iPhone.

 

 

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Can't wait until you come back with all the details! Have a great cruise this year!

Thanks for the info! My sailing will be out of Miami on June 3rd 2017, so we have "a little" time yet!

Makes sense that the bigger dinning room would be used for Anytime Dining while in Europe if that is more popular there. I do know that usually the bigger dining room on all the boats in US is for assigned dining. I'll just have to wait and see, like so many other details we are all dying to know!

My vote, Havana! You can do the Spa cabins on many other ships, Havana is brand new!

Does anybody know which dining room, Horizons or Reflections, will accommodate the Any Time Dining and which will be for Early/Late seating? I know they usually have a designated dining room for each.

I really love the openness of the Horizons so might want to change my dining option depending on which room will be used for Any Time Dining. Not a fan of the low celings in dining rooms. It feels so closed in.

We booked 30 on the Splendor last year and everyone linked their bookings. I then emailed the dinning department and asked for three tables of 10. We also made sure our travel agent put that in the notes. What was nice is we were able to switch tables to get an opportunity to eat with different family members each night. Worked out perfect!