tybrkr17

6 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like they removed the library as some guessed.

 

I wouldn't have been surprised to see the Library to for a dedicated steakhouse/chef's table venue. They have to get as much revenue out of these smaller ships as they can, especially Paradise and Elation - since they have so few balconies and suites. That is the only way to make them viable in today's market.

Agreed! It does look like they upgraded a few places that generate revenue (Spa, Cafe, Sushi Express, etc) so that helps a bit and added a Carnival Adventure Store.

I am surprised they didn't add more cabins towards the back on Deck 9 like they did the Elation. Maybe they didn't have enough time to prepare the new staterooms? Though that would be a good place to add another up charge food place like a steakhouse in the future if they do not add more cabins. 

According to Carnival's website:

Completed during dry dock: 10/08/23 - 10/29/23

• Routine hotel maintenance and cosmetic enhancements
• Deck 7: Installed Carnival Adventure Store 
• Deck 9: Bonsai Sushi Express replaced Sushi at Sea
• Deck 9: JavaBlue Cafe replaced Cafe Ile de France
• Deck 9: 1 large hot tub spa replaced 2 hot tub spas in Serenity; additional shaded area added
• Deck 12: Spa Carnival branded as Cloud 9 Spa; 2 saunas converted to 1 sauna; 2 steam rooms converted to 1 steam room
• ADA enhancements throughout the ship

Hey all -

I purchased Fly2Fun for my cruise later this year. Am I able to cancel my flights before my final cruise payment is due? I am assuming their might be a penalty which I understand but I am hoping not. Thanks :)

4 hours ago, b8nkr said:

I think you mean the Splendour. I just received the news as well. Not happy. They also deleted Skagway and replaced it with Icy Strait Point or Sitka.
 

The Splendor is also coming to Alaska as well(third ship added) but the Spirit is taking over my sailing (May 3-10)

Spirit and Splendor are sailing from Seattle this summer and Miracle is sailing to Alaska from San Fran. 

So the Spirit, Miracle AND Splendor are all sailing Alaska this year? 

I was booked on the Carnival Freedom for Alaska in May and just got the email about the ship change to the Spirit! Now we know where the Spirit is heading to after Jacksonville! I had the Spirit booked for Alaska in 2020 before it all shut down. So excited for this change, it was meant to be! 

I think its possible that they might start up in "some" capacity in 2020 but very unlikely if cases start trending upward again. I wouldn't have said this earlier but MSC, Costa, etc have started up in Europe this month so there is a small glimmer of hope. But I don't think cruising will resume in the USA until 2021. I hope so as I have a cruise in March booked. 

2 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Fascination was due to dry dock in Dec. Maybe that’s why? Perhaps the others all ready have some of that taken care of? Or it’s the itinerary. 

I was thinking latest dry dock too but I think it was just scheduled for routine maint and not any major changes? But the itinerary might have more to do with it because Fascination was scheduled for PR and that was all cancelled.

And I guess I read somewhere that Ecstasy just recently had a dry dock earlier this year so that might be factor as well. Still interesting though because she is still 3 years older. 

Any reason why the Fascination might go before the Ecstasy or Sensation? It is three years newer than the Ecstasy and I think it has the same balcony upgrades as those two. 

I would have thought the first four Fantasy class ships that would have got sold off first would be:

Fantasy (Oldest and no balcony upgrade)

Ecstasy (Oldest ship with the balcony upgrade)

Imagination (No Balcony upgrade)

Inspiration (No Balcony upgrade)

Leaving Fascination, Sensation, Paradise and Elation. (The four newest Fantasy class ships with the upgrades)

2 hours ago, tauep24 said:

tybrkr17, if you happen to sail in August will post post any reviews of the changes that are being made?

 You bet! I am suppose to go on August 22nd 🙂

1 hour ago, regoodwinjr said:

The other issue is that the airlines have been changing their flights. I have seen a few posts in regards that happening to a few people on the 8/1 Magic cruise.

I saw that as well. We usually fly in the day before the cruise, but now we are considering flying in two days before just to give us more cushion for any issues. You never know with connecting flights, etc.

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

I figured it would be canceled at least a couple days in advance but it was tybkr17 post about flying down to Florida and not being able to board "what if" that made me consider my "what if".  I've never arrived at embarkation and been told there is no cruise, just wondered if anyone else experienced this and if so, what happened.  Thanks for your response!

I know a few people personally that flew to their destination the day before their cruise in March, just to find out their cruise was cancelled after they arrived in Florida. This was when the pause happened. So I am preparing myself for the same situation in case a break out happens or something goes down. Like I said, I am preparing for all options in this uncertain time, but hoping for the best. Wish I lived closer to the ports so I can drive so I wouldn't have to worry about flying, on top of the cruise. I am very jealous of the people who can just drive haha but it is what it is.

I am sailing on the Horizon in August so I have my fingers crossed, however with 6 or 7 trips cancelled so far this year, I am skeptical. But I will defiantly be doing a review/vlog if the cruise happens.

We can speculate all we want, but at this time, the only one thing we know for sure is: that we don't know what will happen in August and beyond. 

I can picture my group flying to Florida, getting to the cruise terminal, and then them announcing that the cruise is cancelled right before we board. (Didn't that happen to folks when cruises paused in March?) So I have a billion back up plans and trip insurance to try to cover the unknown. The world is so uncertain right now. Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.

I will be on the Legend June 2021 - going to England, Scotland and Ireland 🙂 John H will be on the ship as well. 

30 minutes ago, trvlgirlmq said:

Hello fellow cruiser.  I think you are in another group with me 🙂 

 

I totally recommend a balcony (regular is fine, the extended aren't that much bigger) and if you want the view of the White Cliffs as we sail away you want the port side (even number rooms). 

 

I like to stay away from the Atrium area because it can get loud at night and as a light sleeper who gets up early this is not much fun.  If you don't mind some noise or are a night owl you may not care.

 

View of the White Cliffs would be amazing! Thanks for the tip.  And yeah noise does not bother me, I can usually sleep through anything if I am tired enough. And soon you next June!  So excited 🥳

Hey Cruisers - especially cruisers who have sailed on the Spirit class ships - I need your help!

I am set to sail on the Carnival Legend (Spirit class ship) next year on my longest cruise to date - 9 Night England/Scotland/Ireland cruise. This will be my 9th cruise and I always book an interior cabin. I am the type of cruiser where I like to spend the minimum amount on a cabin and use the rest elsewhere since I am normally never in my cabin (Drinks, casino, excursions, etc). So when I booked this cruise (before the pandemic happened), I booked an interior room in hopes of maybe getting an upgrade offer down the road possibly. If the offer came, great! - if it didn't, it didn't matter to me since I am used to cruising in an interior cabins anyways. 

Due to COVID19, a few of my cruises this year and other non-cruise vacations have been cancelled or postponed and I now have more money in my vacation money bucket than expected. With this cruise being the longest cruise I have taken so far - I want to "splurge" on my cabin and finally upgrade to something other than an interior or ocean view.

So before I upgrade I need the following advice/info:

1). Normal balcony or extended balcony?  Or is a suite worth the price? (I am still Gold with Carnival, so I do not have platinum/diamond perks yet.)

2.) Which deck do you prefer? (I do not mind stairs or walking long distances. I rarely take the elevator anyways so I don't need to be by one.)

3.) Port? Starboard? Aft?

4.) Any specific cabin category or specific balcony room you have stayed in and loved?

Thanks you all 😎

18 hours ago, Tracey.kinney425 said:

So I applied for and got my passport March 19th, the next day they stopped issuing passports. My passport is wrong as it listed the wrong state of birth for me. Since I can't get this fixed and don't know if I will be able to prior to my August 29th cruise, what do I need to take with me instead? I've read I will need my birth certificate but since I changed my name when I got married do I also need my marriage license?

I have a travel companion in the same boat as you and she plans to bring her birth certificate and other documents in case she doesn't get her passport. We sail on August 22nd.  Keep us updated! 🤞

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I'll be on the Horizon in October. I'll let you know!

I will be *hopefully* on the Horzion in August. Probably not going to happen (I have had three cruises cancelled so far this year) but I will let you all know as well. 🤞

UPDATE on Spectrum of the Seas Sailings:

Dear Royal Caribbean Cruises guests,

Royal Caribbean Cruises is highly concerned about the recent outbreak of a new coronavirus. According to the requirements of relevant government departments, in order to further meet the current needs of epidemic prevention and control, and to ensure the health and safety of our guests and crew, we have launched the following free cancellation and re-registration policy for voyages departing from China's home port before February 8, 2020 (inclusive) ,details as follows:

Royal Caribbean Cruises will suspend the operation of Ocean Spectrum on February 4, 2020, and provide a free cancellation policy.

The Ocean Spectrum voyage departing from Shanghai on February 8, 2020 will provide guests with a free cancellation policy.

Guests can choose any plan to plan future cruise itineraries according to the situation:

1. Free cancellation and full refund

2. Reschedule to other Royal Caribbean voyages departing from China's home port from March 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Ferry tickets and port taxes and fees will be refunded and replenished, and extra credits will be given on board. as follows

    a. Change of short voyage (≤5 nights), each cabin will receive 200 USD on board

    b. Change of long voyage (≥6 nights), each cabin will receive USD 300 on board

3. The Royal Caribbean voyage departing from China's home port (including but not limited to Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong) from May 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021 will be rescheduled. Will receive an extra $ 100 on board

4. Refund of full port taxes and fees; get future voyage credits excluding the equivalent of tax tickets. The voucher is valid for one year from the date of issue, and you can get an extra $ 100 onboard consumption credit for each cabin in the room where the voucher is used

* For specific usage rules of future voyage credits and on-board consumption credits, please contact the staff for details.

* This refund policy also applies to pre-order voyages suspended from China's home port before February 8.

https://www.rcclchina.com.cn/Rccl.CustomPage/RcclNews/Detail?newsId=1121470&offset=0

On 1/22/2020 at 5:28 PM, Tee & Chilli said:

Anyone changing plans due to the coronavirus? Has Royal issued a statement or offered a FCC? I'm not booked just wondering how cruise lines are handling this.

I sail on the Spectrum of the Seas out of Shanghai on Feb 13th and haven't gotten any updates or emails about anything yet. I will let you know if I get anything before I go. 

I doubt anything will be affected. Shanghai isn't quarantined and I bet they will just screen for any sick people before you are allowed to board. And I also heard if you have been in in the Hubei area (like Wuhan) areas in the last 30 days, you will also not be allowed to board. 

2 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

Just tried to do my pre-application for the 144 hr TWOV on-line at the Chinese government site for my upcoming cruise in Feb/Mar and got a Error404.  I was able to enter all the information and save it but got the message so I will be holding off before submitting until I KNOW it saves properly.

 

Here is the website for those who need it:

 

https://gaj.sh.gov.cn/crj/ka144/enlogin/enindex

 

 

Can you pre-apply for the other TWOV's as well besides the 144 hr? 

On 1/6/2020 at 1:02 PM, Hoyaheel said:

 

If Celebrity won't allow you on board without a visa, that is their decision. But I'm confused. TWOV (transit without visa) can be used back to back - provided each case is eligible on its own. But you've already been told that South Korea-Tianjin-South Korea is ineligible, so you knew you need a visa anyway.

 

 

Just to make sure - I would be eligible for a B2B transit visa for my Best of Japan round trip Shanghai cruise?

A.) USA

B.) Shanghai (Board Ship)

C.) Japan

-------

A.) Japan

B.) Shanghai (Disembark Ship)

C.) USA

(Note: Both times in Shanghai will be less than 24 hrs.)

59 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Yes that was the disturbing thing about it IMO,if it could be said that the whole mess could have been avoided by having a visa the solution would be simple but the fact that some people that were refused entry had visas rather throws the whole thing up in the air.

We had no idea of Golden Week when we booked the cruise,it was something that just came up on the forums in the months leading up to it,along with warnings of parts of the Great Wall being closed the previous years as the crowd situation had reach dangerous proportions apparently we had an idea that we may encounter some problems but certainly not in the manner that we did.

I don't know how much you blame RCI for deciding to have the cruise set around that date,did they realise,can't help feeling that if they were doing their jobs properley they would have known that it was a bad time for travel to & around China,whatever I was rather surprised to see that Quantum is scheduled to do a similar cruise in 2020,exactly the same date,although I would guess that it would have been scheduled well before our experience.

It would not have crossed my mind when booking either- especially if I had a visa or planned to get one. Or just using the transit Visa because up until then, I dont think there has been a incident like that before? Glad you were able to make  your whole cruise. 

Everyone I spoke to said we shouldnt have an issue obtaining a transit visa as its pretty routine and for these reasons:

A.) We are not arriving during a Chinese Holiday (it will be 3 weeks after the Chinese New Year)

B.) We will be arriving in Shanghai - I've read that Shanghai is a little more tourist friendly.

C.) We are taking a cruise where there will be hardly any Westerners (unlike yours) and most of the passangers will be Chinese - so there shouldn't be an insane amount of people applying for a transit visa for the cruise at the airport.  

But nothing is guaranteed, even with a visa - so worst case scenario - we use the money we saved in getting a tourist visa and purchase a flight to Kobe (our first stop, and I've looked at flights just incase we have to book them). We would miss the first sea day, but at least we wont miss the whole thing or any stops. 

One last question (I promise) - did it seem like they were targeting people just on your ship, or were there others who were also denied who were transiting in another way? (like other flights, different ship, train etc).

4 hours ago, snaefell said:

Absolutely,that was one thing that kept going around in my mind before we went,this is a country like nothing we'd known before & things will be different,one of the reasons we went down the Visa Waiver route is our age,too close to 70 & having always wanted to go out East but spent years doing USA road trips instead this was to be our one & only visit out East so paying for a Visa for more than the one visit seemed crazy,sadly after the nightmare start we loved the people & the place,Golden Week traffic meant we only got 20 minutes on the Great Wall but the sun was setting & it was magical,& we would love to go back again but no way would we want to go through that again,this came as a surprise to all it would seem,the 'system' had worked well previously but the huge invasion of foreigners seemed to be too much!

As for cabins,right again,the cabins either side of us were empty for the first few days!

The people who were denied at the airport and then joined the ship later, did any of them they say they had tourist visas that you spoke to?

7 hours ago, snaefell said:

We were on the Quantum repo cruise from China to Singapore in October which is where I think this story comes from.

Unlike the cruise you are are talking about & unlike Quantums previous cruises out of China the passengers were nearly all US,Australian,European,I believe there were only about 100 Asian travellers on board,this large influx of Foreigners seemed to bring about a strange reaction from the Chinese who seemed to randomly refuse people entry into China,families & couples were split,people were given 24 hours to get out of China or face arrest,we saw many people in tears as we waited for our turn to apply for the 144 Visa Waiver,not a nice experience,not knowing if it will happen to you.

In all I believe around 400 people were refused entry,we got through thankfully but after landing at around 0820hrs it was passed midday by the time we reached the luggage hall & were ready to leave the airport,our transfer taxi long gone.

The worrying thing about it for me was,it transpired,that a number of those refused did have Chinese Visas,so having a visa does not guarantee anybody any peace of mind.

There were exceptional circumstances at the time,it was Golden Week in China,not any old Golden Week but a 70th Anniversary Golden Week where they were celebrating 70 years since the countries inception so maybe that along with the exceptionally large foreign influx on the day caused the problem,in the end it was not fun!

Thank you for sharing your story! I will be flying into Shanghai from San Francisco to get on the Spectrum of the Seas on a 7 night cruise. I am hoping that since its a different airport, and that I am not coming in around a Chinese holiday, and that I am not coming in with a lot of foreigners going on the same cruise (since it will be primarily Chinese passengers)... I might have better luck than those people - even with a Visa lol. Traveling to these countries is always a risk - nothing is guaranteed, even if you are 150% prepared or you think you are.  I am just going to try to make the most of it and take it as it comes. 

I am sure that was the talk of the cruise when you were on it, especially with all those cabins empty!