grandmarnnurse

12 hours ago, crystalspin said:

It is in error! Someone pasted the wrong description in.

 

The "obstructed view floor to ceiling window" cabins are on deck 4 behind lifeboats and tenders. They used to open and were called French Doors, but they no longer open, hence big window with obstructed view.

Thank you. I suspect, as well, that it was an error on their part. 

Hello. I am not on this cruise in August, but I just booked one this morning on the Spirit for another sailing. I have a question for anyone familiar with the Spirit. I booked cabin 6171, and on my booking it says that it is an interior with an obstructed view floor to ceiling window. How can that be if it is in the interior of the ship? 

1 hour ago, rolloman said:

The tipping for luggage drop off is a real joke. The guy who meets you at the curb "sometimes" helps you take the luggage out of the car and then loads it onto a luggage cart. The cart is typically just a few feet away.  This is all he does and then moves on to the next vehicle. Some of you boast you tip this person 20 bucks...that is insane. In reality it probably causes more harm than good. I tip but only a dollar or two per bag. If the guy sits and watches me pull the bags out of the car and still does not flinch as I roll them to his feet...he gets nothing. 

We only tip $1-2 per bag. 

Does anyone know where Muster station A is on the Ecstasy? Sailing on her next week out of Mobile.

Greg, I can’t wait to follow this review, as I’m following along in your adventures. I saw that you were in the steakhouse on the first night and wanted to see the Art at the Table. I will try to upload my video of when we did it on the Glory in February 2020, just before the shutdown.

Greg, I am so sad not cruising, but also so sad that we have had no Saint Greg live reviews! I’m hoping that will change soon, as the CDC has now given more guidelines concerning vaccinated individuals. My hubby and Inare now fully vaccinated and ready to cruise! 

4 hours ago, THIS IS US! said:

Saint Greg you Sir have a new fan. #208 the tainted guy on the plane and #248 the crab leg weapon comments cracked me up! Plus all the time and effort you put in to your research is so up my alley of how I cruise. I will be reading on for sure!

I cannot wait for another live Saint Greg review! 

3 hours ago, Viajera7 said:

Not yet because I don’t have a printer that works with my new computer and I’ll probably have to go to the library to do it. But I made reservations for the restaurants and that was working last week.

I had to chuckle when I read your comment, because it could have been me writing it. I do not have a printer, as well, and have to go to my local library to do this. And the library has become a hassle, in this age of COVID. I have to check in at the resource desk and give a specific reason for needing to use one of their computers, because it’s not allowed to just come in to browse or play games. Then they “assign” you a computer and come over to it with you to take the plastic wrap off keyboard and mouse. I will be doing my check in for my January cruise on October 26. I’m currently 117 days out. 

2 hours ago, petra75 said:

 

Hi discru, about the temperature check during the week we stayed on the scheduled was always the same, that is at buffet during breakfast time (about 7 to 11am every day), before lunch or dinner at MDRs, before dinner at buffet and specialty restaurants, so I cannot think of anybody not showing up at any of those places at least ones a day, unless they are not well of course, but if it is so I would think one would warn someone of the crew. But if one, like us, for instance always went to buffet for breakfast and MDR for dinner got the check twice a day, they don't check if you've already done that for that day. Actually when we got off for our excursion in Palermo we got checked 4 times since if get checked getting on and off as well!

About the bars: you mean if you're allowed to sit on stools or stand by the bar? If so yes, stools are distanced and there are signs on the floor to show you the right distance to stand while drinking.

     

 

 

We often do walking tours as well! The ship's one we took in Palermo was just 25 euros, I believe that for the package of 3 excursions for 100 euros you get longer excursions.

 

 

Unfortunately no ramp runners for a while, since you can get off only with ship excursions that are known to always be waited patiently by the captain!:-) Yes, the captain himself informed us that we were all aboard and could depart earlier than planned so that we could enjoy the wonderful scenery of Malta

 

We have seen many other officers around the ship, and had a word with some as well, so I don't think Covid19 changed those habits. Maybe we just didn't frequent the same places.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write a review with pics. I have a 14 day Panama Canal cruise booked for January out of Galveston, TX, if we can return to cruising. 

On 9/8/2020 at 8:23 AM, petra75 said:

Hallo everybody from Naples. On board Grandiosa life's good!

 

Another change about health I have not mention yet are menus. There are no more paper menus in bars and restaurants, but qrcode to scan while your device is connected to Grandiosa Hotspot free WiFi so you can download and read them on them. I saw someone in MDR reading a printed copy of the menu, so of course if you can't-will not use personal devices your are able to order your dìnner still!:-). I haven't seen any paper menu in bars but I believe will be easy enough to order something with the help of waiters there!

 

 

 

Some other picture from buffet, maybe they show the flow better:

 

 

 

After the narrow part where you are close but the line going the other direction of buffet line is for walking only, the exit doors are different than the entrance ones

 

 

 

Scanning a menu could be a problem for some of us seniors. We recently went to a restaurant that required that, and since my hubby does not have a smartphone, he did not have a menu. I had trouble figuring out what to do, but my grandson helped me out. Thank goodness we were with family, or we would have been without menus! Not sure I like this. 

3 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Thanks for reading and for your kind words. Until we can actually sail again, our reviews and those of many great reviewers here at CC helps ease the pain a bit. 😎

I can’t wait not only until we sail again, but when I can read another review from you and Patti. I’ve reread all my favorites from you and other favorites (Sid and Saint Greg), but it’s time for us to all gat back to the seas. It’s been a Long 6 months! 

138 days until we cruise the Freedom for a 14 day Journey cruise to Panama Canal. Then 507 days until we sail the Mardi Gras for the first leg of our B2B. 

2 hours ago, monykalyn said:

Insomnia strikes again! Thanks for the great read! Kinda surreal reading now on back at start of this craziness. 

Funny I found this as I’ve got Panorama booked for January 2022. And your description of the teen zone and pics. we recently started cruising. My son’s first cruise was a year ago (he was 13) and he said he would never go to kids club or do any activities (he’s quite grumpy about trying new things)- turns out I had to force him to come to dinners as that was pretty much only time we saw him! Couple nights he had late night teen activities and he’d come to bed after us -so much for family time- and with Panorama set up if they did have food we’d never see him lol! 
 

Hope you get your cruises later this year. Have an Eastern Caribbean booked for January 2021 and doubt that will go as planned (on NCL). Just putting off changing or cancelling...Hope lives on 🙂

We sailed in February with our daughter and her family on the Glory, and our granddaughter, who was less than a month shy of 14, was at her teen club every chance there was an activity. She loved it! We will be sailing with them again in January 2022, and this granddaughter will be 15, nearly 16 then. Not sure if she will go at that point, but maybe she will. But her brothers, who previously enjoyed the younger camps, will be older as well, 11 and 13, so they will be attending the club she enjoyed so well this past February.

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

Cruise ships are going to block of a certain number of cabins for quarantine, just in case there is an outbreak. It makes sense to stuff as many people as possible into the available cabins.

Actually, I heard the CEO of Carnival talk the other day, and he pretty much said this. That they are better equipped to handle this virus than they were in March, and will quarantine only those effected. So, it sounds like no mass ship quartine. That would be great! So, I suspect less cabins will be booked, and they will have an area for quarantine only. 

10 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Thanks! I sure hope we're cruising by January. It's weird not being able to really plan anything for my cruises. I have Freedom and Mardi Gras next year as well. Hopefully far enough into the year to be safe. Panama Canal is on my list. It would have to be the 9-day partial for me though and everything would to fit just right with the dates...one of these days...

10 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Thanks! I sure hope we're cruising by January. It's weird not being able to really plan anything for my cruises. I have Freedom and Mardi Gras next year as well. Hopefully far enough into the year to be safe. Panama Canal is on my list. It would have to be the 9-day partial for me though and everything would to fit just right with the dates...one of these days...

Yes, very weird. I usually have purchases for my cabin made by now, along with all my excursions booked. I have nothing done for my upcoming cruise. I just can’t plan, and that’s very depressing. But I do have $1200 OBC that Carnival gave me for the cancelled B2B cruises, so I will just book onboard if we go.

7 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Thanks!

Greg, I know we all miss cruising, but I also miss reading all your reviews. I guess I may have to go back and reread all of the reviews I’ve already read. Boy, I wish we could cruise soon, but Im afraid my 14 day Journey cruise to Panama Canal on the Freedom in January will be the next on the chopping block. I had my B2B on the Magic in April cancelled, and I transferred all my FCC to the January cruise. If this one gets cancelled, I will transfer all FCC to my B2B on the Mardi Gras in January 2022. 

9 hours ago, 2Shoes2Go said:

Years ago, Carnival Fun Squad, or Entertainment, on each ship, made a video (VHS 😂) of highlights from each cruise. The video was full of music and candid shots from the cruise. They were preordered and sold on the last day and were fun! This could be done for these Sailabration Cruises. We’re on the Pride one. 😀

I almost forgot about those videos! I do believe I might have one or two......but no VHS player any longer to view them! 😂😂

On 6/28/2020 at 8:54 PM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Jumping in on this thread to see if anyone has had experience flying into NOLA the day of the cruise -

 

And taking the cruise-ship offered bus from the airport over to the cruise-port ? or - better to just grab a cab ??? 

 

Sailing out of NOLA (hopefully !) on December 6, 2020 on the Breakaway

 

Last time we sailed out of NOLA we did all of the sights, etc. - this time our flight gets in plenty early enough - so we don't need to spend night prior in a hotel in NOLA..

 

Thanks 

Hmm....I hope you’re not flying out of a northern city. We fly out of Buffalo, and we would never risk flying in the day of cruise. Anything can happen to delay or cancel your flight. Way too risky. I have not tried flying in the day of since my first Carnival cruise in 2000. Unbelievably stressful. I haven’t done it since. We fly in at the very least, one day prior, but often more days, for a better “cushion”. 

On 7/10/2020 at 5:46 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

Unless you've already booked at a lower price. 

 

I’m already booked on a cruise for January 2021. It is a 14 day Journey cruise that was open for bookings BEFORE this pandemic hit, so it’s pretty full. What will they do about us? Perhaps they hope people will cancel, out of fear of cruising, to give us a reduce capacity? 🤷‍♀️

5 hours ago, dalmation lover said:

My cruise out of Galveston 11th April was cancelled 30th march and I applied for a refund. My cousin and I had 2 cabins booked , we booked through a UK TA. I received my fun shop purchases on 4th June. It is now 110 days. I have received 2 emails from Carnival confirming my refund has been paid to my travel agent. I have tried resolver, reply was the TA has not received refund. Tried chargeback 2 weeks ago and still waiting for the company to act. To tell the truth , I am very angry. I am only going to book direct in future. Really happy for all you cruisers that have received your refunds. Rant over.

I can’t stress this enough, book only directly by yourself. I know a lot of you swear by TA, and even some had no problems getting your refunds, but the vast majority booked with a TA have had all kinds of issues, some still waiting for money for cruises in April. I booked direct, and had no issues. They said it would take 90 days to me, and it took 60. And I received every single penny back to my account. 

13 hours ago, MSBfan said:

 

Crooooze...it appears my last $600 refund is going to come via GC(even though I only used $400 worth of GC). All the reps I spoke with today, 3 of them, say it was submitted on 6/16 for disbursement. I wonder how long this should take?

Well, as I said in a previous post, all my refunds took until the end of May to land on my cc, but were dated as processed on April 8.

40 minutes ago, Gina.SSF said:

I’m a longtime reader of the CC boards, but I’ve never had a reason to post until now. I called in mid-March to cancel my June 6 cruise aboard the Vista. Although I was originally told to expect all my cruise fare back within two weeks, I patiently waited the 90 days from my cancellation. On day 92, I called my TA, Costco, and they talked to Carnival and told me that while the cruise line was “no longer giving guidance” on wait times,  a note about my case had been sent to the “accounting department.”

 

We’re now past 110 days from the time of my original cancelation, and I called Costco again. They called Carnival, and I was told that my refund didn’t even ENTER PROCESSING until I called on day 92 to check. I’m now being told to expect my refund sometime this month.

 

I’m very frustrated with the Carnival response, and I really wish I had filed a chargeback in March instead of trying to be patient and understanding. If the cruise line was issuing slow but steady refunds, like by sail date or cancellation date, that would be one thing, but the refunds are seemingly being issued at random. That's definitely no way to treat customers. 

I think the problem is HOW you booked your cruise. Those of you that used a third party company, like Costco, or a TA, are having more issues getting your refunds than those of us that just booked directly through Carnival. I just book my vacations of all kinds myself because I prefer total control. I had all my refunds within 60 days. 

5 hours ago, skrufy said:

The best Beignets are at Cafe du Monde, 800 Decatur St. The place gets crowded but it’s worth a short wait. 

We made that cruise this past February. Let me just say that the hotel was fine, the location right there near Bourbon St. But we’d never stay in that area again. The streets were filthy! Vomit and urine here and there, with bums/drunks curled right up on the sidewalks! The further you get from Bourbon, the better. If we ever cruise out of NOLA again, we will stay elsewhere. We did take a streetcar into the Garden District, which was very nice. As for breakfast, we ate every morning at the Ruby Slipper. It was the very BEST meal of the day. Since my hubby does not eat seafood, we had a very hard time finding a restaurant within walking distance of our hotel that had food he’d eat. The many famous restaurants we passed were primarily seafood, and those with a steak would cost us $45-65 just for the steak with sides being extra! And the beignets, we never did get to Cafe Dumond, but did have excellent beignets at Cafe Beignet in the Musician Legend Park on Bourbon, which was our haven in the chaos of Bourbon. We could sit in there, have a coffee and beignets and listen to some jazz.

9 hours ago, Brad1972 said:

I’ve been checking every day and usually multiple times a day for weeks now since this thread started for our April sailing on the Breeze and it still shows not available.  Seems like every ship and sailing it’s been released except late April Breeze sailings.    Right now we’re waitlisted for 6 pm dinner seating and our PVP said 8 pm dinner seating it will be the same.  Only option we have is YTD.  I don’t like YTD cause we never get the same server or table.  There is 6 people in our group again and last time we tried YTD they tried each night to seat us separated cause they didn’t have a table available to seat 6.  Kept pushing to seat us with other passengers instead of with our own group.

On my last cruise, in February, we traveled with our daughter and her family, and we always choose YTD, as it really is the best choice—eat whenever you want, not at a pre scheduled time when it may interfere with plans, or you are not hungry yet—-and we NEVER had trouble getting seated together, all 7 of us. I have mentioned to John Heald on his Facebook page that going to strictly YTD with NO SHARED TABLES may be the way to go in a post COVID world. Not sure if they will go with just YTD, but I’d bet the days of sharing a table with strangers is gone. It makes more sense to step up to the hostess and ask for a table the size of YOUR party. And who wants to eat early if you’ve been eating more food than usual all day? I just wish they’d go with just YTD, and do away with all this waitlist BS. 

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Been sailing with Carnival since 2008 and have never had a waitlist for dining! Oh well. We called last year before sailing and asked for a private table as the trip was to celebrate a graduation and we were granted it. Hard to believe the Early Dining is completely full if FTTF is not even available yet, much less if say a Diamond or Platinum Member books tomorrow and requests the Early Dining time. That being said I understand what you're saying. Guess I'll just have to keep an eye out!

9 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Ahh, that's good to hear! Thanks so much!

9 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

We were waitlisted for our Dec. 2019 cruise for Your Time Dining. I didn't even think that was possible. I can understand it for Early or Late. Those are two set times per night and there's only so many chairs. But with YTD, it's spread out over a 4-hour period each night. I didn't think it was possible for that to fill up. But after a few months, we got an email that we'd been confirmed for YTD.

I guess I won’t start looking for FTTF for my Mardi Gras cruise until 2021, and I know I won’t have it for my January Journey cruise. As for your dining choice being waitlisted, I cannot stand how Carnival does that. Personally, I think it all should become YTD. Everyone goes when they want to, like NCL. Then there would be no more waitlisting people.