ShaniBell

when are you traveling and from where.  Closed loop cruises do not require a passport as long as you have your driver's license and birth certificate.

7 minutes ago, mondello said:

Yeah, but 3 of the 4 are exclusive, whether kids or money. Lido still gets everybody else. I'll have to settle for living vicariously reading your husband's updates, hope you all have a great cruise.

There are three "non exclusive pools on the Mardi Gras:

Deck 8 - Patio Pool (AFT) 

Deck 16 - Tides (Aft) and Beach (Mid)

but you're right, most folks will flock to Beach because that's where the action is.  Our balcony is overlooking Tides so if I want a dip I'll likely run down and then back up or hang up in Loft 19 (if the kid is with us) or Serenity (if she's not)

5 minutes ago, mondello said:

Yeah, I was wondering if that was the only option ($2k) or if you could book one for a day? I know Tom-n-Cheryl have the Presidents Suite booked and it is so fabulous that I can't see the need to get a Loft 19 Cabana. I figured the suiteholders would always grab 'em up and the Cabanas would never be available for others. I just know that some people will be willing to pay and actually be able to enjoy a pool. I recall too many cruises that I couldn't even find chairs let alone maybe taking a dip in the pool.

for pre-booking the only option I was getting was by the week but there is something weird going on on the website and my booking is missing...ACK so I can't check at the moment.  There were only four coming up so I don't know if that was all they had left or all they were offering and were holding some back for day use.  

Regarding chairs, there seem to be a lot more pools on the Mardi Gras.  There is a pool on 8 Aft as well as the Lido.  Havana has a pool, Serenity has one, Loft 19 has its own.  Hopefully spreading out the pools will spread out the crowds.  

1 minute ago, mondello said:

I would expect it to be sold out on sea days. Suite holders have priority for booking the Cabanas but I wonder how much more they'll be willing to spend when they already have a beautiful suite and balcony. I think the demand will be there after you get over the sticker shock. Those not booked in Excel Suites can plan and budget any amount if they want to splurge for various reasons including b-days, anniversaries, etc. You have to compare with what it costs for excursions for up to 5 guests. 2 couples could split the cost easily.

DH and I have been going back and forth on the merits today.  We are booked into an Excel Aft with a wrap around balcony for the 7/31 sailing.  We have access to Loft 19 as part of the package but the Cabana would be another $2000 that I can't see spending given the size of the balcony we have already.  We have room service but wouldn't have a server bringing us drinks.  Still can't justify the price tag given what we've already paid for the room.  

We are on the 7/31 sailing and a crew member posted that the fee per ride is $15.  I'm hoping that's not accurate.

1 hour ago, RedBeard78 said:

I noticed on the Mardi Gras Excel Suites you get complimentary movies.   Normally how much are movie rentals?

 

They also state complimentary room service.  I assume this means all items are free, excluding alcohol.   Anyone have any knowledge?

 

(i haven't had luck searching this on the forum)

We are booked in an excel suite for the 7/31 sailing.  From what I can tell so far is room service is free, alcohol probably is not but we have Cheers.  I'm interested to see what we can get delivered to our room.  My DH has a review thread going:

We'll be updating with our findings once we are on board if you want to follow along.

We have a suite on the Mardi Gras next week and were given a check in date two days ahead of other people in our party who were in a standard room.  It gave us first dibs at picking a time slot.  My understanding is that they are adhering to the arrivals times though and not allowing "priority" boarding for anyone. 

You do get priority boarding during your chosen time slot.  We could have arrived at 10:30 based on what was available on the date we were able to complete check in.  We opted for a later time so we could board with the rest of our party.  Our boarding passes say "12:00 - 12:30" and "Priority" while my mother's says "12:00 - 12:30" and I think "D7".

Hopefully I didn't make that too confusing 🙂

1 minute ago, stellarose said:

he is . an AARP card carrying member.  🙂

Have fun then!  I bought the max number of cards I could for the top $ value.  $2500 in gift cards for $2240.  I used a couple to pay for Cheers for Rob and I and will use some to pay down on board expenditures on this cruise.  Anything left over will go towards our next cruise on the Panorama in March.  You can buy 5 cards per month so we'll do that until the other trip is paid for.

6 minutes ago, stellarose said:

hubby just got the AARP card- he's in the 50 club. how does one get the gift cards?

Once you log in go to AARP Rewards.  You'll find the gift cards there.  You have to be a paid member to get the Carnival Cards.  

10 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

You guys will be onboard the week before us - it would be a very pleasant surprise to have you discover that there are indeed coffee makers in there. 🙂

 

Tom

I will confirm just for you 🙂  And since we will be on the cabin crawl and be in a presidential suite we can confirm there as well.  

They are stll showing on the PDF versions of the amenities for Excel Suites.

28 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

 I'd continue to check daily for cancellations if you aren't already doing that.

I check but so far I haven't found anything in that category (or better) that will fit all three of us.  There was a corner excel this morning but it's at the front of the ship, only sleeps two and does not have the balcony to die for that we currently have.

11 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

What deck did you guys book? We were in one of the aft deck 15 suites (8/7/21) until the presidential opened up. Deck 15 would be my go to on the back if given an option, if only for a bit more distance from the activities below and the increased overhead coverage - for shade and less rain exposure!

 

 

'

We grabbed the only Excel Aft Suite that was available when we booked a couple of weks ago which is on 9.  It is overlooking the aft pool area on 8 and pretty much directly over Pig and Anchor which could be problematic but I bring a white noise machine when traveling so I think we'll manage.

15 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Yay! I am excited to hear more about your, Shani's and the offspring's experiences aboard. We are all going to have just the BEST. TIME. Are you doing a cabin crawl with your roll call? I would certainly think your fancy schmancy digs would be in high demand for that.  I will be showing off my premium interior down in Steerage so's I can get invited into Tom and Cheryl's presidential suite. 🙂

We are signed up for a crawl being coordinated through one of the FB groups we are in.  I think there are 100 people expected to traipse through our fancy schmancy digs.  EEK!

I am prone to sea sicknesses so a windowed cabin is a must for me, balcony is preferable.  The suite was a once in a life time splurge and something we are unlikely to do ever again.

9 hours ago, amcankid said:

As far as your Mom, in today’s world she’s still middle aged, 

I try to tell her that but she's having none of it!  She's earned her "old" as far as she's concerned.  One look at her and you'd argue that she is firmly middle aged though.

Anyway,  I logged in last night to check her in and was only able to get a 12pm check in time.  Unforuntately, when I booked her into that spot it reverted all of us to 12pm.  AARRGGHH.  My original boarding passes (which I saved) say 10:30am.  My cousins checked in and got 11:30 on theirs.  Those of us in suites have "priority" printed on our passes, mom has D02

Since we are all staying at the Hyatt at the airport and shuttling over together we'll just get there together, probabaly shooting for 11:00 - 11:30 and see what happens.  If they let us on early they let us on early, if they don't they don't.  I'm not going to worry about any of this because....

IN FOURTEEN DAYS I WILL BE ON A SHIP!!! 

and an hour one either side won't change that fact.

1 hour ago, SaucyWench said:

So, that would have been 12:01a FL time on 7/15, right? Was your check in date 7/15?

Yes 🙂  Our check in date was 7/15 so 12:01am EST

At exactly 9:01 PM AZ time last night I was able to check us (Rob, me and the kid) in since we are booked in one of those dandy Excel suites that we paid far too much money for but I don't care 😉  I managed to get a 10:30 check in time but that will likely change for a couple of reasons:

1.  I don't know yet what check in time my cousins got
2.  I cannot check mom in yet as her room is not a suite and not eligible for check in until 7/17 so I have no idea what time her slot will be although and while I'm hoping we can take her with the other five of us with priority boarding I'm not going to hold my breath and I'm not going to make an elderly woman wait alone at the terminal while we go on board and start testing the Cheers package out
3.  We are staying at the Hyatt at MCO which is 45 minutes from the port and NO ONE I am travelling with is a morning person.  So arriving at the port by 10:30 is going to be one heck of a stretch.

5 minutes ago, SonoranDevil said:

So, I'm standing there, admiring myself in the suit when without warning, the slacks quickly fell to the floor.  Right there, in front of everyone in the shop.  Thank goodness for two things.  1...underwear was being worn and 2...my wife was the only woman in the store.  How did this happen?  Well, not having a rear end can be a challenge when one is not wearing a belt.  I don't have hips to stop my pants from falling off and similarly, I don't have a rear end to prevent it either.  I promise to bring a belt with me on the cruise.

 

 

He's all mine ladies...all mine 🤣

4 hours ago, darth frosty said:

We love Chris!

 

We're Very happy for him...(hopefully he will be aboard for our Nov 27th cruise! )

He did a live video this morning and said he was on the MG until September to cover for Mike and would be returning as originally scheduled in January.

2 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

SonoranDevil and ShaniBell.  Looking forward to your review(s).  You realize of course you're heading into uncharted territory on this cruise.  New ship, New options, new check-in procedures.

 

Waiting to read and see .

Right!  This is an Uber Planners worst nightmare!  I find new and exciting things to obsess and stress about just about daily at this point.  

24 minutes ago, helene109 said:

I we are on Mardi Gras 8-14! Deck 9 Suite and I just learned that when you reserve specialty dining they want the $ upfront.

 

looking forward to your review!! 
thank you!!

When you reserve online ahead of time you have to prepay.  If you reserve onboard the charge is added to your sign and sail.  If you are in an Excel Suite the concierge can arrange the reservations as long as you give them a day's notice.

1 hour ago, Wanna_Cruize said:

 

We're on the Panorama on the first cruise out of California 8/21, so any hints you can give me, I'd appreciate. We're trying out Havana just to see what it's like, but DH doesn't know that I upgraded to a Havana Cabana instead of the Havana Interior I had told him.

 

I'm also following this thread to hear what you think about the Aft Excel suite, it looks amazing. I'm sure your spreadsheet will be very happy in the excel suite....

I wish I had more to share.  The trip was short and ship is huge compared to anything we'd been on.  We were looking forward to a more thorough exploration of the trip back in December which never happened.  In the short amount of time we were onboard we touched on a fraction of what was available.

1 minute ago, Wanna_Cruize said:

Following. I imagine you never made it on your Panorama trips, because of Covid? 

We did not.  The December 2020 cruise has been postponed to March 2022 at this point.  We did do the three day inaugural but that was it and I realize now that we didn't ever do a review of that ship.  Shame on us!.  This is the first cruise since that short trip.  We had a total of three cruises cancelled thanks to Covid.

Me again 🙂  From a logistics standpoint, we are flying into MCO the night before.  I'm a little nervous as our flight arrives late (11:45 pm) and there is little room for error should our flight be delayed or cancelled.  We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency at the airport.  I haven't booked our port transfer yet as I'm waiting until I know what all of us have for check in times.  Between the six of us we have three cabins booked.  Our suite and my cousins' Ocean Suite are eligble for check in on the 15th.  My mother's balcony room isn't eligible for check in until the 17th.  Once I know what the check in situation looks like I'll book our transfer.  Since we are a group it makes sense to book a private transfer vs shared shuttle but we'll see.

I also haven't booked any excursions, specialty dining or spa appointments which is highly unusual for me.  This is partly due to a lack of a particular interest in the specific ports combined with a general hesitance to prebook anything right now and having to worry about refunds should things not go as planned thanks to our friend Covid.  I am also dealing with some back issues that are limiting my abilities so a lot of what we do will depend on what my back allows on any given day.  Since I am the resident Uber Planner and keeper of The Spreadsheet this is an unusual approach to vacation planning for me.  I usually have most days planned out well in advance and am not one who generally wings it.  I'm not terribly concerned as we will have access to Concierge services who can likely get us reservations that we want without too much difficulty.

I am looking forward to a week long trip on a new ship with fewer port days and more sea days.  The only other cruises I've been on have been either short or port heavy (Alaska and Hawaii).  Having this much down time could be one heck of a blessing or a major curse.   

Hi everyone 🙂  I'm the aforementioned wife and vacation planner.  I will leave the major writing to my spouse as he's better at it and has more patience for it as well as a much better memory than I have.  I'll interject here and there to clarify, answer any questions I think I can and tell him (and you) how things really went down when his better memory has failed 😉

Kidding of course, Rob has a flair for writing that I lack and is much better at providing details of our travels.  I'm excited to step foot on a brand new ship and breathe in that new ship smell.  Between the six of us and our varied ages I'm sure we'll cover a good amount of ground although I suspect much of my time will be spent on that balcony.