PrincessArlena'sDad

Sorry, should be covermore.us

For preexisting conditions to be covered, you have to purchase the insurance within a certain number of days of booking the cruise. The number of days depends upon the insurance company. I've seen as little as 7 and as many as 21 days. I found really good rates with extensive coverage with: travelinsured.com (they partner with my credit union) covermore.com (they partner with our TA)

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency at MCO. It's inside the terminal, so couldn't be more convenient. MCO has a food court where you can grab dinner. Lots of transport options from MCO to the port in the morning. The hotel is fantastic. Definitely check the price, and see if it is worth the convenience. With the late arrival time at MCO, you'll be happy to not have to leave the airport before going to bed!

Great start, thank you! We sail on Horizon very soon, so we are very much looking forward to reading more!

How much luggage will you have? You would need to make sure it'll fit in an UberXL. Also, how old are the kids? Are you sure you want to self assist on the luggage? If you take the 2:55 out of Miami, you can do Carnival's excursion South Beach Experience and MIA transfer. While a little pricey, it's low stress and provides something to do while waiting for your flight. To do Carnival's Everglades excursion, you need to depart MIA at 3:30 or later (or FLL at 3pm or later). This is what we're doing.

We had 20ft waves on the Fantasy. It really wasn't too bad. Couldn't walk in a straight line, and had to hold on to handrails while walking up and down stairs. The ship rocked up to 45 degrees in each direction at times. Show went on that night in the lounge. Ironically, they had a juggler scheduled. He did a good job despite the rocking. During dinner it was a challenge to keep the glasses from sliding off the table. It was like a real life Tapper arcade game. Went to bed being rocked to sleep. I don't think I ever slept so soundly!

What are the other flight options? Did you check FLL? Personally, I'd rather have a later flight, and not have to worry about rushing off the ship to find your shuttle/uber. Also, if the ship is a couple hours late for whatever reason, you could miss your flight.

This OBC will not be seen anywhere until you board. It could be as cruise cash, or as OBC.

Yes. This is correct. However, the TA may have rates in addition to what you can find on carnival.com. These rates could be better.

Some travel agencies charge a "booking fee." Done don't. I'm doing one of each for our upcoming cruises. You have to do the math. The TA with no booking fee was the same rate as carnival.com, but with money back. This was best for our 3 cabins on Glory. The one with a booking fee was a $50 fee, but included $250 OBC, and the TA paid gratuities for all guests in cabin, and it's a 5 person family suite on Horizon. However, to get this bonus, I couldn't book a vifp rate. Carnival.com would have been a lower fare, but i forget exactly how much. After doing the math, this TA deal was the best deal.

We had one on the Paradise years ago, it was fine for our then 3 (almost 4) year old. It wasn't much bigger than him. The cabins are not bigger than other ones. The muster station assignments essentially determine which cabins can have 5. With the trundle on the floor, it was very difficult to walk around the room. And, if you have the two pullmans down as well, it can be a very tight squeeze in the sleeping area.

18th Ave Hyatt is 5 miles away, so still pretty close. Look up Dania Pointe.

I would drive three to three and a half hours the day before. That will give you a much cheaper hotel, a less stressful drive and easy drive the day before, and allow you to not leave that early the morning of and still get to the port as early as you would like.

We're staying at the Hyatt on 18th Ave. This is the one with the free airport shuttle. I believe the one on 10th does not have a free airport shuttle. The one on 10th is closer to Port Eveglades. The one on 18th has lots of restaurant options within walking distance. Also a winery a few blocks away. There's also a movie theater, comedy club, and bowling right there. We're taking a shuttle to the port, but we're leaving from Port of Miami.

For me, it shows the cards are at a 10% discount ($450 for $500 cards, and $90 for $100 cards), but the shipping charge is $5 for $500 cards and $1.75 for $100 cards. Maybe that was why the price jumped to $455?

Were the IMAX and 4D theaters open?

Am I correct with my memory: Carnival gift cards require a paid AARP membership Princess gift cards can be purchased with a free AARP rewards account. No limit on number of carnival gift cards purchased There is a limit on the number of princess gift cards (for paid members also, or only for free memberships?)

Did AARP go up in price also?

They were. Looks like the gift cards went up in price. $500 gift cards were $450, now $455 $100 gift cards were $90, now $91.

I think that comes up when shipping address and billing addresses don't match. Is that the case with your order?

Out horizon cruise skips Bonaire. I guess we'll have to book another one that does. 44 days until we board!

I've read on here a few times that the kiosks sometimes don't like partially used cards, but guest services can redeem them without problems.

As others said, a noon departure is feasible, but dependent on everything running smoothly, including the ship arriving to port on time. If you miss the flight, will you have feasible options? How much more money would a later flight cost? Arriving in FLL, I would stick with a hotel near FLL. I think that's too late to have to deal with transportation to Miami. There are plenty of hotels near FLL that have free shuttle service; book with one of them. We're staying at the Hyatt Place on 18th Ave in Dania Beach. Free shuttle, free breakfast. Do check to make sure the shuttle service runs late at night, though. Morning of the cruise, there's lots of transportation options to get you to the port from FLL area hotels. It really isn't any more complicated than a Miami area hotel, just a somewhat longer drive.

It's not just people with ESA's, either. Some people claim their pet is a service dog, and they aren't even ESA's. When I see the dog start to jump up on the seats and tables at a restaurant, I'm pretty sure they aren't trained service dogs (and I've seen that twice this week alone). Up until recently, when it was relatively unheard of for people to take advantage of service animal policies, hardly anyone ever batted an eye at seeing a service dog anywhere. Now, because of the perception of widespread abuses, every service animal is seen as suspect. This truly is a case of a few bad actors messing everything up.

Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it'll be more fun than waiting around at the airport, even with the crowds. Given the reasonable pricing Carnival has for this, I'm glad we chose this.