cmukid87

And if the price goes down again you can rebook for the cheaper price without penalties or fees.

With Southwest I would personally wait.  I never book flights more than 3 months out.  In my experience that sweet spot for pricing is 8-11 weeks for SW.

2 hours ago, Tippyton said:

The government is in no hurry to help anybody except themselves.  "The science" is much further along than a year ago, let alone 6 months ago.  It is very easy for the CDC to set basic guidelines.  Crew vaccinated, 5-10% of cabins set aside for infirmary, masks optional, travel at your own risk.

Bingo.  There are A LOT of ways to prepare the ship to mitigate the risk.  This is a multibillion dollar industry.  I'd put my trust in the cruise lines to have done their due diligence to make things work.

Our May 3 sailing was a casualty.  I knew it would be so I guess not tears shed.  We are taking the FCC and OBC and throwing it way down the road for Spring Break 2022.  Come join us on Carnival Vista!

5 hours ago, skridge said:

They are just going to keep kicking the can down the road raking in as many final payments as they can until herd immunity sets in.  Thank goodness for them they have so many people willing to part with their money for free and give them interest free loans.  

Not interest free if you are getting OBC for not cancelling but I get what you are saying.  

Got the same.  I am 99.9% confident my May 2 sailing is going to be cancelled.  I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I don't want to tie up money for final payment when it's just going to get cancelled.  I also don't want to bail from the sailing because I want the opportunity to rebook with FCC.  What to do!

2 hours ago, Bevv said:

strictly the next day. They also have limited drink selection for the first few hours, only selling alcohol that is purchased in Texas for that time. Any alcohol purchased on board that is taken off the ship by passengers is subject to Texas taxes, even if you are going straight to the airport and out of the state. 

 

Texas is pretty strict on the taxation.  You'll see a limited amount of bottles at each bar and each will have a sticker on it identifying it for tax on consumption.  Once into international waters all of those bottles get put away and the regular bottles come out.  Also why your drinks are a bit more expensive before you sail away.

99.9% positive our cruise is cancelled in May which is completely okay!

We are rebooking a longer cruise on a newer and better ship for 2022 for the same cost!

AND

We have my sister and her family bought in and SUPER excited to go with us on their first cruise.  Nobody in her family has been out of the U.S. before and we can't wait to experience it with them.  I bet they get addicted to the cruise life just like me and my family did!

11 minutes ago, dcedar said:

At least I think my questions is different. I tried searching but I couldn't find my situation...

 

I have a cruise booked. When I booked I was given $200 OBC for a birthday promotion. 

 

If my cruise is cancelled... will my $200 transfer to another booking? 

 

 

It certainly should.  Typically the OBC offered when you book is under a certain rate code.  That rate code should be able to be applied when you transfer (if the cruise is cancelled).

I have the same situation.  I have $200 obc for my room and my sailing is May 3, so more than likely to be cancelled if we are being honest.  I fully expect that $200 to stay on the booking when I transfer.

Not to headline grab but I am genuinely curious.  

We have our sailing booked for May 3 (I'm not interested in the "you probably won't be cruising anyways" dialogue).  One port of call is Grand Cayman.  It's been documented that GC isn't necessarily keen on the idea of allowing cruise passengers back this year.  Leads me to question what POC could be substituted.  

Our other POC is Ocho Rios and we are leaving out of Miami for 5 days.  Any thoughts?  Is a POC not being open an opportunity to reschedule our sailing?

11 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

Can anyone explain how the Allstate RCL gift certificates work differently than the CCL gift cards.  It seems that I’ve read people stating that they are not as easy to use.  How so?

What has been said so far is true.  

What I love about the Carnival cards is they cover EVERYTHING.  Deposit, fare, taxes, gratuities, on board spending, casino, etc.  

Just booked out of Miami in early May.  For now I'm only paying the deposit and holding out hope.  I don't know the full implications but vaccinations have started here and both my wife and myself have received ours.  

I guess we wait and see with cancellations.  Either way we are prepared to go.  Thankfully I am going to be using miles to fly which are fully refundable and we will postpone as many times as necessary.  One question, though, have recent cancellations been offered the OBC if rebooking?

18 hours ago, paulgraff said:

Save your money, you won't be able to get a refund once CCL goes bankrupt, no way a company bleeding this much cash month after month can avoid reorganization, and thats what CCL will need to do to come out of this once the world gets back to normal. 

Source?  Or is this an opinion?

Let Carnival know!  Email icare@carnival.com and let them know that we all want San Juan to remain part of their embarkation ports.  

I never got the chance to since our Fascination sailing was cancelled due to the ship being commissioned for hurricane relief but my wife and I still plan on it eventually.

On 12/24/2020 at 2:08 PM, Cushing985 said:

 

I don't agree with your last paragraph.  I would think the lines will go over and above what the CDC desires.  If there is another wide spread of COVID onboard the ships I think that might be the death of the lines.  I personally think you're going to have to bring the so-called CODID passport (or proof of antibodies) before they allow you to board.

I think my point came off poorly.  I wasn't saying "minimum" as in being irresponsible or not planning.  My opinion is that cruise lines will meet the minimum CDC guidelines ASAP to be able to get a ship on the water.  Internally they may have additional protocols.  If lines wait for proof of immunization or antibodies it might be even longer before they can get on the water.

Any beer on a cruise ship is better than a beer at home.  I can tell you that much.
Curious, though, how you have a can of that at home?

It is going to have to be a mix, I'm afraid.  Maybe eventually for those vaccinated but the start of the vaccinations are going to be extremely tough and hard to come by.  My wife is leading a taskforce for mobile COVID vaccinations for a major regional healthcare system.  Their first shipments of vaccines are in the hundreds.  Not thousands or tens of thousands but hundreds.  And those few vaccines are reserved for certain people first and general population will be a ways down the road.

Cruise lines are going to do the minimum of what is absolutely necessary to start sailing again which means they will verify if you currently have COVID or are symptomatic.

The sailing I have been eyeballing did drop for a room of 2 people.  Mock book 4 people and same price.  Darn.

Shame on me if this has been posted/asked.

I am looking at booking for April.  If I book and as we approach sailing date it is not cancelled but my group is not comfortable with the protocols or status of COVID-19 what are the options Carnival is offering?  I do not expect to get deposit $ back but can I change without penalty?  Again, shame on me if I didn't dig deep enough into the forums to find this answer.

The large balcony on Magic was perfect and the best we've ever had.  We had two loungers and a table and still had extra room.  Not only that but you are right by the stairs to go down to the promenade or up to the lido.  Last straw is often times the large balcony can be had for the same price or maybe a couple $ more than a standard balcony!

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Entitled?  Or wanting equal treatment.

 

Royal is already treating me better, leaning that way, so yes, if others get this offer and not me, I'm done with carnival. As a solo I already pay double on carnival, whereas im finding deals on other lines not at 200%. Of my future booked cruises, carnival already the worst value hence I have 1 booked on carnival and 6 on rcl.

 

This will be the straw that broke the camels back. 

 

Rcl gives me a extra pt to cruise solo, often less than 200%, free drinks for being diamond in diamond lounge. And next year anyone booked gets double pts. Wouldnt help me, as pinnacle far out of reach, but at least they didnt pick and choose, everyone gets it.

Seems like your mind is made up.

BTW this has been Carnival's marketing for as long as I've been cruising. It's always selective.  Never blanketed.

I haven't heard.  Can you explain what a "smart" elevator is?

*EDIT* Nevermind, I read about them.  Seem neat.  If it was popular on the Horizon I would imagine it would carry over.  Just an opinion though. 

19 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I think from a business perspective, this would not be a good idea. If word got out that Carnival was upselling passengers in interior cabins to balconies for $200 you would have a lot of upset passengers who paid significantly more for balconies, plus you could create an environment where people started booking interior cabins if they knew this became a standard practice, which in the long run could result in less revenue from bookings. 

You do raise a good point.  I guess in the long run it could hurt them.  I do think there is something there for them to look into, though.  Maybe not blanket upgrades/upsells but truly random and on a smaller scale.  

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Since this thread is 2.5 years old, I think it is safe to say the OP’s cruise in question took place a long time ago. 

True....but it's a worthy question once again.  

I'm all but certain ships will not be at capacity.  Maybe port upgrades (more likely upsells) will be a very common thing.  If there is an open balcony room, why wouldn't Carnival offer it to someone in an interior at check-in for a slight upcharge?  It's all revenue at that point.  If I was in an interior and was offered a balcony at check-in I'd think long and hard at anything under a couple hundred $.

I do understand there are some logistical difficulties in getting all of the information and belongings to a new stateroom but I feel like it would make them a good amount more $.  

It has been so long since I've been on a Spirit class...almost 5 years.  It was my wife (gf at the time) and my first cruise together.  I loved the size of the ship.  I didn't feel like I was ever crowded and it was an easy walk from one end of the ship to the other regardless of what floor you were on.  I would sail on her or any Spirit class ship again in a heartbeat.  The only thing they lack is a Guy's Pig'n'Anchor.

2 minutes ago, drsel said:

Another cruiser mentioned this deal for the the Carnival Spirit Brisbane departures on 9th and 16th may, but they seem to have disappeared

 

I have a lot of choices between both Spirit and Splendor all showing as available.  No Spirit in May, though, only Splendor.