Wennfred

2 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

 

I knew everything else would still apply. I was just wondering about being able to do online check in two days early and use priority at the port. I’ve always booked under my name first in the past. 
 

Thanks for the info. 

Yes, I believe it’s 16 days prior to sail date and if you’re on the west coast then it’s 9pm or east coast at midnight to get your early check boarding time.  Most will say 10am check in but they usually hold the gate till 11am or 11:30am. That’s been my experience many times in Long Beach.

I will be on her May 2nd, first sailing out of Long Beach so stay tuned for my daily review on her.

While I understand there may be a few glitches, I understand that and I don’t require much, so I am not there to look at the negatives, I’m there to have a nice time.

Plenty of worse sailings on other so called well oiled cruises and I’ve been on many. Have to just roll with the punches. 

Just now, mz-s said:

 

The tortilla shell bowl has been gone from Blue Iguana for quite some time.

wow! I recall seeing it on Magic last November too bad. Will be on Mardi Gras & Celebration next month. Will report on that.

Thanks 

Guys Burgers is usually my first meal when I arrive, it’s basically the best burger at sea, most will have a Guys burger daily, they are that good. They also have a station with onions, mushrooms and chilli which you can dress up your burger. I don’t have the buns since I have been on a ketogenic lifestyle for the past 3 years. Plenty of keto options onboard if you are looking for low carb options. Across Guy’s burgers is the Blue Iguana which serves up mexican fare and it’s also pretty good. I often will have a chicken salad from there. A big favorite is their torta shell bowl or their tacos.

You can find Stevia packets in the buffet area but not in the MDR, so bring your own sweetener if you have a favorite.

Make sure to download the Carnival Hub app, everything is done on there especially booking reservations to go down into the main dining room to eat breakfast.

Pro-tip, you can book you reservation 20 - 25 minutes on the app prior to the dining room opening.. I rather eat in the main dining room (MDR) and get served then up on Lido where people are either coughing over the food or handling the serving utensils with their dirty hands. Always wash your hands.

Print out the first page of your boarding documents and print out the luggage tags and place the luggage tag in a plastic see through holder, they sell those on Amazon. Always Tip the Porter $1.00 per check in bag at the terminal. This will ensure your luggage makes it on board lol. They are good there in Long Beach, never had issues with my luggage.

Have fun, it’s going to be a great first cruise.

On 10/13/2023 at 9:40 AM, 1stresponder2086 said:

On Dec 9, I’ll be sailing on the Panorama.  For me, it. Is only a 50 minute flight.  Any tips for this ship?  Thank you

I must say that Panorama for your first Carnival ship is a big plus, it’s a beautiful ship with a nice layout. I sailed on Panorama 3 times when the restart of cruising started and lately have been thinking it’s time to sail on her again. Like the first reply. Always fly in at least 1 day prior. Last week just flying from San Diego to Vancouver my first morning flight was canceled which moved my 2nd flight from SeaTac into Vancouver later arriving at midnight. Enjoy the casino if you are able too because you can get a casino or bingo deal for your next cruise.

Hotels next to the Long Beach cruise terminal is the Maya hotel which is my favorite place to stay.

Bare minimum, I pay the taxes & port charges of let’s say $140. Plus gratuities & wifi and get my $100.00 to $250.00 on board credit and play on their $25 free play and I might drop and extra $50.00 and I’m done. Inside cabin is on the house and this is usually a Bingo or Casino deal. 

You’re submitting your loyalty number when you booked, your boarding papers will say Platinum on the upper right corner next to the bars code and you will get your Platinum card when you arrive to your cabin. As far as perks you will need to hunt those down yourself.

The pin & gift at Pixels photo shop, Bottle of water at any Bar, $25. Free play in the casino and you will need to call room service for the chocolate delights on the day you want them. Look for the laundry bags in your cabin.

The class was a lot of fun, you just followed what the instructor was telling you what to do.

I don’t think this is going to spread to other ships, it’s unique to Carnival Spirit.

Post here if they still have this program.

The email states, same cabin type at no additional cost.

It will take a few weeks for the change, then they will notify you with new cabin assignments.

The reason why I booked Reflection was to stop in Key West. So that part is a bummer but I haven’t sailed on an Edge class and have gone to any private island so that will be cool.

We are excited to inform you that your upcoming Caribbean cruise aboard Celebrity Reflection, scheduled to embark out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will now take place on the stunning Celebrity Beyond. You will now be experiencing one of our newest and most remarkable ships at no additional cost. Moreover, you’ll be among the first Celebrity Cruises guests to visit Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.
 

We are excited to inform you that your upcoming Caribbean cruise aboard Celebrity Reflection, scheduled to embark out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will now take place on the stunning Celebrity Beyond. You will now be experiencing one of our newest and most remarkable ships at no additional cost. Moreover, you’ll be among the first Celebrity Cruises guests to visit Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.
 

Celebrity Beyond will be sailing out of FLL replacing the Reflection on 3 sailings so if you are booked on Reflection, you should be getting an email today with this information.

Birth certificates without a seal is called a Informational Birth Certificate and these are not an official document.

Only Birth Certificates with a seal are official and that “copy” come from a government agency.

You are mis-leading by saying that the website says a “Copy”  and the other person said a copy from your personal printer., nope, it has to be a “Copy” from an official government agency and those come with a seal.

This is nothing new and has been posted for many years way before you entered cruising or this website. I have never posted mis-information on here so you need to check your behavior.

When I started cruise way back in the 80’s the cruise rep would first look for the seal and then feel for that seal on that Birth Certificate.

Have the correct documents because there’s going to be that one cruise terminal and Rep that will follow the rules.

This is all I will say. 

And yes, it’s written in English on Carnival’s website. The copy issued by the Govt agency will arrive with a seal.

Birth Certificate Information 

The following are acceptable: 

• An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics 
•  
• A clear, legible copy (photocopy) of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. 
   
• This explains the seal:

One of the main things that will help you determine if your certified birth certificate is official is a government seal. Look for the seal and if you can’t find one it means you have an informational copy only. Requesting an certified copy of your birth certificate won’t be difficult and you don’t even have to go to your vital records office, you can order a birth certificate online. All copies must be obtained directly from the agency that issued the original document (hence the seal), so a photocopy is not a valid copy.

https://www.usbirthcertificates.com/articles/how-to-determine-birth-certificate-official/amp
 

but don’t listen to me, listen to these other people that don’t have a freaking clue.

Go ahead, listen to these people and drop $4000. to be left behind because you failed to bring an official birth certificate document to the cruise terminal.

When you get a copy from the government agency it comes with the raised seal. That’s why they stress it has to be official.

Ive been cruising since 1983 and this topic has been posted tons of times since,  not only on CC but on other cruise forums as well. 

From the website below:

For instance, Carnival states that a copy of the birth certificate doesn’t need to be notarized or certified while Royal Caribbean says that “all documents must be original or a notarized copy.”

For cruising purposes, we recommend your birth certificate be a notarized copy with some sort of official seal.

https://www.cruzely.com/guide-to-using-a-birth-certificate-to-cruise/#:~:text=For instance%2C Carnival states that,some sort of official seal.

13 hours ago, TexasTrini said:

This will be our first time on a Carnival ship and I'm thinking about doing the SkyRide, but I'm curious as to how much effort is required to get around the track.

 

I'm not in very good shape, but I can jog short distances and speed walk longer. I really want to try this ride. I'd like to hear from anyone who has tried it. How was your experience?

I was curious about the effort myself but gave it a try on Panorama and it was quite easy and safe.

In reference to Birth Certificates, make sure it the original or a copy issued by the state department and with a raised seal.

3x on Panorama since the restart, great beautiful ship, great staff and great foods. It’s one of my favorites and I have done many, off to both XL class in November, not sure how I’m going to deal with the crowds but I just have to see for myself.

great review on Panorama, thanks 

Awesome! I will take a look at that, unfortunately I cruise solo so I would pay double occupancy. The good thing is that I get around 250.00 OBC for the Shares and also 250.00 military OBC as well. That would be cool.  It gets expensive to cruise alone.

The mistake I made on Diamond Princess is that I didn’t not play in the casino and I hear now that Princess has the best casino deal. One guy I follow on YouTube is cruising this whole year none stop and he just booked 10 zero fare cruises on Princess where only pays for port charges & taxes and gratuity only. It comes out to $50.00 per day.  
 

I’ve only got a free bingo deal offer on Carnival. So next time I will drop some coins in the machine at the casino and hope for some free deals.

20 minutes ago, warren buffet said:

interesting. i did the hawaii princess star with wife in 2017 and am doing it again on the emerald on june 1. yes. i like calif ports as well just to save on airfare and hotels. And the time to book and travel to the formers

Signature update: 34 including next week on Holland and more to come from the list I posted.  I was thinking about doing that Emerald Princess to Hawaii also on June 1st.

3 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

There are definitely some good deals to be had on the FIrenze right now. Strike while the iron is hot momma always told me. 

Yeah I didn’t pull the trigger because I will already have sailed on her May 2nd. 

But for those prices you can book B2B on Firenze.

Pretty good deal, not sure if this will be flagged  and deleted. Right off the Carnival site.