vacation44

I called the pre-cruise concierge. However, I was not told then it was just a "request " and not an reservation. When I noticed we did get receive any confirmation in our cabin, I went to our concierge, and she was able to get the reservation for them.

One year? It was still four years a few weeks ago?

Did either of you go to CGB? If so, how was your experience and how much was the transportation?

Thank you very much for taking the time to report your experience. We plan on just walking around too when we stop there in February so your post is very helpful to us.

When we were on the Epic a few weeks back, they sold 20 passes. I was able to buy seven of them.

The Epic is the only ship that offers passes to the Haven sundeck.

Wow. We paid $59 per pass a few weeks back for our family members not staying in the Haven with us. Worth $59, but not $219. But I was surprised it was only $59.

It is a must for us! We will cancel our February 2025 Viva cruise if we cannot secure passes before final payment. Already have two backup plans.

We are thinking of going here when we are on our February Encore sailing so very happy to see you report on this.. As it as easy to get to as I have been reading and are there lots of chairs and umbrellas to rent? How long did it take to get there?

As long as there is a cabin available, you can request a FCC if your cabin went down in price. It is an one shot deal so the timing is important. FCC needs to be approved and is issued after the cruise to be used in 12 months. Have a wonderful trip!

We have them for the Encore in February 2024 and the Joy in June 2024. To the best of my knowledge they are not yet available for the Viva. I agree, it is absolutely wonderful to have them in advance and not have to participate in the mad rush.

Ditto......

You are very welcome. Yes, that is what I am saying. I would book ahead of calling so you have your starting price to compare with the end price. Then a group can be created. For us, we were all on the Epic a few weeks ago. On that cruise I booked three cabins for two passengers each. When I got back, I gave the reservation numbers to my PCC and he switched the cabins immediately to qualifying cabins (club balcony suite) as the ones I booked (club balcony suite with large balcony) did not qualify. He then sent me new confirmations. Then, I told our extended family to contact him. Once he had the five qualifying cabins, he created a group booking and sent me new confirmations which had the discounted fare and $100 OBC on each cabin. Also note that the price went down twice for our June 2024 group and I was able to reprice all of the cabins and keep the 15% discount as we were still further than 450 days out. Make sure you buy the cruise next certificates while on board next week for the additional net savings of $250. Which ship are you on? Have a wonderful time!

No, everyone does not have to book and pay the deposit right away. You just need the minimum cabins and passengers booked to create the group. The sooner the better as the biggest discount is 15% but it needs to be booked by a certain number of days out---well over a year. Then the additional cabins can be included but the discount might be different depending how far out you are. I would price check before too so you have a comparison.

I get it. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, we have one also booked for June 2024. That was really difficult setting up. I was very persistent with the PCC I was then using. There were certain perimeters that had to be met and not all cabins qualified. We ended up getting 15% off and each cabin got $100. It was a real savings as I had already booked the cabins so I had an original price to compare with the new group price. Now after final payment, we will also be entitled to around $1500 as a direct cash refund which we will divide up. Now the one I set up for June 2025 was a whole different experience. I have a new PCC, which I have been using for the last six months, and he is on the ball. He set it up as soon as he had five cabins instead of waiting for everyone to contact him as we have at least two more to add.

In my case I am talking about traveling with extended family occupying eight cabins. This can qualify for a discounted fare.

Update on our June 2025 group booking......the group was approved and we saved $697.70 off our already booked cabin plus an additional $100 OBC (per cabin). Since we are paying for three of the cabins, I am very happy with the discount. This does not include the additional kickback after final payment.

Thank you for taking the time to share what sounds like a wonderful family vacation. My daughter and I loved the rum cake martini on the Epic last month, but then tried the chocolate martini. No more rum cake martinis for us.

I do not think free room service is included in these cabins.

Really looking forward to reading about this next adventure with your dad. As we will be on the Jewel this August as first time Alaskan cruisers, I recently re-read your prior Alaskan posts. They were just as enjoyable to read again. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.

Thank you.

Are men allowed to wear nice shorts in the Manhattan room on the Encore? Last year we were on the Joy and shorts were allowed; however, a few weeks ago on the Epic they enforced a no shorts allowed for men rule. Notice I said "men" because we say plenty of women wearing shorts.

Thank you for asking this question as I was a little confused by the signs too.

Looking forward to reading about your cruise! Have a wonderful time.

Wow--what a challenging start to your cruise. Your above advice is spot on. I am looking forward to hearing how the Chase card travel insurance works out as my young adult daughter also uses that card for her travel. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip and thank you for sharing your experience, both good and bad, with us. Note to self: avoid San Diego departures