CorbinCatFan

Is the Windjammer open for dinner?

As few mentioned already, I can afford to loose the cruise and air fare (even though I would hate to) but I get insurance for international medical coverage, med evac, and if needed, repatriation of remains.

Since we are taking several cruises this year, I've elected to take an annual policy for medical. 

Here we go again.  We're 46 days out until our cruise, which has a stop at Cococay.  If this keeps up, I'll be moving this cruise to next fall.

My daughter and husband used Go Port for our cruise in 2020.  They didn't have any problems.

I'm just curious to know how long from when you place your order for the test that you received them?

I'm hoping the CDC doesn't extend the 7 day cruise limit.  Our next one is a 14 day in early November on the Glory then an 8 day New Years Eve cruise on the Magic.

Fingers crossed.

Our favorite port is San Juan.  There is something magical about San Juan for us.

We also like getting our morning omelets from our omelet chef.  The DW is always disappointed on other cruise lines when the omelet chefs do not remember us or what we like in our omelets. Seems that Carnival does something right in choosing their chefs.  

I guess I'm pretty lucky.  I cancelled a May 1st cruise using the web form (100% refund) on 1-15-21 also.

I had paid for the cruise in May 2020 with an account that would be later cancelled to a new credit card  account (same bank).  I called the CC company when I cancelled the cruise to make sure that if the funds came back with the old CC number that the funds would be transferred to the new account.  They assured me this would happen without any requirements on my part.

I got the cruise refund in three payments.  The first two were posted with the date of 1-20-21on my credit card but they showed up on the CC account on 1-26-21.  The final payment showed up today (1-27-21) with a posted date of 1-20-21.  I don't know why my CC company does it this way other than waiting for the transfer to be completed.

You might check with your bank.

I retired at the first of the year.  I did go on one cruise in January but then two cruises cancelled this year.  With two booked in the first half of next year, it's looking iffy.  But I still booked a cruise for next November.  I hoping that I get all three cruises in next year.

First cruise was 1991 on the Fantasy.

So far, 14 cruises and 83 days with Carnival.

Overall, 16 cruises and 97 days cruising.

I was hoping to sail on her again before she was sold.  Time moves on but I have a lot of fond memories of the three times we sailed on her.

I am surprised that the Inspiration still had her lifeboats still on.   

4 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

I need your advice. Reading travel books and looking at an island's description on paper isn't the same as hearing someone's real life experience. 

 

I've been to Jamaica and Haiti, and my plan is to select a cruise to new islands that I've never visited before. I love scenery, the ocean/beaches, wildlife, and the outdoors. I'm not interested in visiting museums, historical buildings, or military sites. A little shopping is fine; but I don't plan to spend my time doing mega-shopping.

 

We are planning for December 2021. We were supposed to go this December but have decided to postpone, and I have very little time to decide which cruise to choose next year. The exact same ports are not available next year so I have to start over making decisions.

 

We're a family of 3 - husband and wife (50 y.o.) and 21 y.o. daughter

 

Here are my questions in no particular order:

 

1. On paper, St. Lucia & St. Kitts seem "meh." Your thoughts?

2. St. John and Grand Caymen both have a Stingray City. Is one better than the other?

3. Some of the cruises have 3, 4, 5, or 6 ports. Having never been to any of these islands before, will I regret not doing a beach day on each one? I would like to do some scuba diving, sightseeing by boat tour or kayak, jet skis, exploring/beach combing.

4. I would like to sample some of the local fruits, vegetables, and signature cuisines. Are there excursions that focus on that?

5. We would like to visit 1 rum distillery. Any recommendations?

6. We've never been on the ships below. I'm hesitant to choose the Empress, but maybe it would be more intimate and lots of fun?!?

7. My daughter and I love to hunt for seashells. Any island in particular that has lots of seashells?

 

What we are considering:

Dec 12 or Dec 19, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

Dec 18 , Odyssey of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Caymen, Aruba, Curacao

Dec 24, Empress of the Seas from San Juan to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten

Dec 26, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts

 

Any opinions are welcome and will be added to my spreadsheet. 😄

 

 

I would highly recommend that you sail from San Juan and plan on arriving a day or two pre-cruise.  December weather may interfere with air travel.  (We had a day of Christmas cruise air flight cancelled into San Juan so we had to catch up with the ship in St. Thomas.)

You can spend a full day in old San Juan by visiting the two forts, walking though the old city and enjoying some refreshments.  You can also visit the  Bacardi distillery in San Juan.

On St. Thomas you can do some shopping, visit Mountain Top, Paradise Point, or some of the beaches.  Megan's bay is one that comes to mind but I would recommend that you take a ferry or excursion to St. Johns for Trunks Bay.

Sting Ray City in the Grand Caymen with an independent excursion would be the recommendation.  We've done the Captain Bryan tour and there were no more than 20 on the boat.  The ships tour had up to 100.

We love the port intensive Southern Caribbean itinerary as we're not much for days at sea.

We took a island tour with Cosol on St. Lucia that had a stop at Mr. Nice's fruit stand and a beach stop.  In St. Kitts we took an island tour with Royston that included a beach stop.  We took Benard's Tour in St. Maarten and had some time on Orient Beach.

In Antigua, we've done a barrier reef snorkel and beach excursion.  The excursion we've done twice is Creole Antigua Tours with Captain Glenn.  This tour includes a coral snorkel, grilled lobster lunch, tour of Bird Island, and a starfish snorkel.  

In Barbados we've have done a swim with sea turtles tour.  We've also have spent a couple of times on the beach at the Boatyard.  And we have also done a day pass at the Barbados Hilton (my favorite).

Aruba we have done the DePalm Island twice for a beach day and snorkel.

Curacao we went to the Sea Aquarium.  We were able to swim in the aquarium and feed the fish (I'm not so sure they are doing this any more).  There is also a beach at the aquarium.

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

(from facebook)

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1998/cruise-ship-2052-2632--stock-no-s2158-3024019/

 

dont know which 1998 built carnival ship this is but listed for sale $250M

 Looks like it could be the Elation.  It was built in 1998 with a capacity of 2052 passengers.

The Paradise was built in 1998 as well but the capacity is only 2040 passengers.

Most of the Fantasy class ships have been up for sale for sometime.  I was expecting the Fantasy not to be around much longer and booked a November cruise on her.  My first cruise was on her and I've cruised three times on her and was hoping for one more before she left CCL.

I really think that the November cruise will be cancelled.  I hope they announce before I make my final payment.

I see our March '21 cruise drink package is $77 pp.  I won't be buying at that price.  I'll be looking for some sales along the way or I'll just buy along the way.

We sailed on the Breeze at the end of January 2020.  It was the first month of retirement and I was planning on several more cruises this year. 

So far, we had to cancel our European cruise for next month but we're hoping to be cruising later in the year. 😉

On 11/27/2019 at 1:59 PM, kpark895 said:

 

I use zip ties.  Easy to cut off by security, if needed.  I can also tell if someone has been in my suitcase.  Cheaper than a destroyed lock, plus those little locks that come with suitcases are pretty much useless.

I use zip ties as well.  Easy way to prevent an "accidental" opening by baggage handlers.

Thanks Shaded Lady. 😊

Thanks for the response tallnthensome.

No early savers, just booked from the website.  I had two cabins booked with deposits.  I finally did get the first cabin cancellation confirmation.  The confirmation did say that the deposit would be refunded in 10-14 days. 

I'm still waiting on the second cabin.

Has anyone received a refund of the deposit?  Is it issued as a credit to the credit card?

Does Carnival send any confirmation when you cancel a cabin online?  I was expecting some sort of confirmation and a some details on my deposit refund (285 days out).

Has anyone had experience with using the website to cancel a booking?

I can't compare Celebrity to NCL but I have been on the Summit. We ate in the MDR and at the specialty restaurant.

Pros: The Summit's food selection was very good. Prior to the Summit, we had only cruised on Carnival. The food was as good or slightly better than Carnival. However, the selection was outstanding, such as Beef Wellington and duck. Now that I have cruised RCCL, I would rate the Summit as my favorite followed by Carnival, and then RCCL for food. We also did the anytime dinning which we were able to make time reservations prior to the cruise.

Cons: We elected to get the standard beverage package. It covered most wines and mid-level spirits. I was disappointed that Johnny Walker Black Label was not in that package along with Martini. I was also disappointed with the lack of bar wait service. Most of the cruise I would have to go to the bar for my drinks.

With this being said, should I have the choice again, the Summit would be my first choice from all the cruises that we have taken.

Barrachina Restaurant in Old San Juan will store your bags. You should be able to drop the bags off with the porters at the dock sometime around 11:00 AM or so.

Happy cruise.

No fishing off the balcony.

We've have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Condado, El Convento and Villa Herencia Hotel in Old San Juan.

The Holiday Inn Express is located a couple of blocks from the shopping area in Condado and was a comfortable stay.

The Villa Herencia is a boutique hotel next door to El Convento and has only about 12 rooms. Great location in Old San Juan.

Our favorite is the El Convento Hotel. It's located about half way between El Morro and Paseo Princesa. The City Gate is only about two blocks away from this location.

Agree with thenford Grey in st. Kitts- rainforest tour was wonderful if you are up for 90 minute moderate hike!

 

If you want snorkeling and water I. Antigua look into https://www.creoleantiguatours.com/ we had an amazing day with these guys a few weeks ago!

 

 

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We've done Creole Antigua Tour's lobster lunch twice and we'd recommend this to everyone. If we go back to Antigua. we'll do it for the third time.:D