bdink921

We had a blast on our Bermuda cruise out of NJ.  Really loved Bermuda and will go back again someday.  That said we are booked on Symphony in May.  Not really interested in the ports except for Coco Cay which we have never been to.  Booked this cruise for the ship…never sailed on an Oasis class ship before and so excited about it!  

Thanks for the heads up! All booked 😁

On 5/16/2020 at 12:14 PM, torpeedo said:

We received below email on May 6.  So this is the end of the week they were referring to and zero.  I'm not calling my bank or card because I'm sure if they had received the credit, it would have been posted.  Another stall I guess?? Did anyone get this email and actually receive the refund?

 

 

Dear Guest, As promised, we are following up on last week’s refund update, where we shared that we needed some extra time due to volume. Your refund is currently being processed and disbursement will occur by the end of this week, which means you’ll see your refund in your account sometime next week. If you don’t, be sure to contact your banking institution for an update.  We hope that amidst this global pandemic, you continue to remain healthy and safe and we remain optimistic that each day that passes, is another day closer to joining us back on the high seas!  Thank you for your patience and understanding! Sincerely,

I did and received my refunds within 10 days.

Update...I received the refund for my second room today...1 chunk on 1 cc and in 2 chunks on the other cc.  The refund for the other cabin received last week came in 2 chunks on 1 cc.  We canceled all paid cruise planner items prior to the cancellation of the cruise and got those back within days.  Cancellation to full refund took 51 days.  I only called Royal once after waiting 30 days and went through the casino royale line because that’s where I booked the cruise. The rep was super helpful and had no problem finding my reservations.  She also told me refunds happen in 3 phases and at the time I was in phase 1.  She told me phases 2 and 3 happen automatically depending on where you are in the queue.  She seemed to be knowledgeable.  It is so sad the way many of you are getting the runaround.  While I’m so happy to have my full refund, I would rather have been on the ship right now.  We are not planning to book anything until sailing resumes and these cancellations stop for good.

I had 2 cabins booked for our Oasis cruise that was supposed to sail yesterday.  Requested the refund 5 minutes after I received the cancellation notice on 3/24.  I received the full refund for my son’s cabin over the weekend but nothing on my cabin yet.  My cabin was split on 2 different cards...not sure it that makes any difference at all.  Still waiting....

Thank you so much baileymouse!! Happy sailing to you too :cool:

Hi Radio!! We are on this cruise too!! Hanging out at our pre-cruise hotel, can't wait till tomorrow!!

Looking for some last minute advice! We're at the Residence Inn in Elizabeth right now and are boarding Anthem tomorrow yay!! Looking for some good driving directions to the port from the hotel. How's the traffic on a Monday morning? We want to get there by about 1015a so what time should we leave the hotel? Any words of wisom are appreciated!!

We did a family cruise for my parents' 60th too! We chose Freedom of the Seas out of Orlando....the dates and lower airfares made this the best choice. We had a blast! We were a party of 13 ages 14-80, my son was the only grand that came since he was too young to stay home alone.

We did the Western route. Grand Cayman we went our separate ways, in Jamaica the sisters went zip lining, in Labadee we all hung out on the beach together and in Cozumel we all did a private driver tour of the island. For a special dinner, we all booked Chops and the staff was so accommodating with pictures and a special dessert for my parents.

My husband, son, and I had one of those huge aft balconies so we grabbed cheese and crackers from the buffet with pizza from Sorrento's and a bottle of champagne to celebrate our sail away. Fit all 13 of us no problem and plenty of room to spare!

We sailed in April and managed to get a few price drops. We wanted to do Oasis or Allure but the price was much higher and flights to FLL or MIA were just too expensive. We booked about a year out. The ship was big but except for us, everyone had rooms near the elevators.

Happy planning and congrats to your parents!

Gambee love, love, love your review!! We are planning a cruise for next year and I really want to go on Oasis or Allure! We were actually booked on Allure when she was brand new but had to cancel when my hubby needed back surgery. We plan on going next summer as a last vacation before our son goes off to college. I think we'd be happy on either of the 2 but I kinda want to go out of Fort Lauderdale since we've never been there. Any plans to sail on Harmony??

We had a party of 13 on FOS. They were unable to accommodate us in the MDR so we were split into 2 tables. We had MTD but had nightly reservations though so not sure this applies to traditional dining. Some nights we were in different sections. We would just mix up the tables every night so that everyone had a chance to sit together. It worked for us, we just made the best of it. They did seat us all together in Chops on the night we went there.

foxgoodrich we had that deck 7 corner aft balcony on FOS and it was awesome!! We had the opposite side though. Fit 13 people on our balcony for a sail away party with plenty of room to spare. No soot, no noise, and no vibration that I remember. The only minor downside was that is WAS a long walk to get where we wanted to go but wasn't that big of a deal. We were sooo disappointed in our teeny side balcony on the next cruise we took. We would definitely book aft again!

I had to chuckle a little when I read the title of your post. My most recent cruises were on Carnival and Royal. While I was on those boards planning our cruises, I ran across many threads with people discussing the 'changes' and how disappointed they were. I was so nervous that we weren't going to have a good time when in fact we enjoyed both of our cruises very much. Our next cruise will be on the Gem and we are beyond excited to try something new. Relax, happy planning, and congratulations!!!

Just a couple questions, we are on the Pride next Sunday 4/19.

 

Did either of you park at the port? If so, what's the best time to get there and what time did they start boarding? We are staying only about 15 minutes away on Saturday.

 

This is our first time on the Pride, we are 51, 50 and DD 10. I probably won't see your reviews before we go, is there anything we must know or do?

 

Thanks

Just off Pride too. We got to the port around 1030-11. Had to wait in a line of cars for a few but not bad. Parking was $105 for the week. We had FTTF so we boarded around noon I'd say, give or take a few. Very quick. When we arrived people were still getting off the ship. Left the parking lot around 945 after the cruise and there were a few cars lined up waiting to get in. HTH

Is it true that if you book this hotel you get full access to Atlantis and the water park? Also, if you room is not ready will they still give you the access?

 

Thank you in advance! We are cruising on the Sunshine in August and can't wait!

Yes you get full access to Atlantis for up to 4 people. We did this a couple of years ago. Kept checking prices and changing our reservation to get a better deal. Ended up paying only about $130 total which is far less than the ship's price for the excursion. Took a cab to Comfort Inn, checked in and out at the same time, never even saw our room. They are used to this there. Got our vouchers at check in and went right across the street to Atlantis. Enjoyed the Waterpark, beaches, aquarium...had a great day. Took a cab back to the ship, plenty of cabs available. Hope this helps!

So looking forward to our Pride cruise! 1 week to go!

We are at 15 days til we sail on the Pride!!!!!!!

Loving your review!!!! We are so looking forward to sailing on Pride in April...can't wait to finally see some sun and warm weather :D

Awesome review!! Our first cruise was on Disney Wonder and we were so nervous to try Carnival. We LOVED our Carnival Glory cruise. Glad to see you enjoyed the Breeze. We're looking forward to our next cruise on the Pride for spring break.

To answer the OP, we found it least expensive to either book DCL the day the fares are released or (which is what we did for Wonder) take the kid out of school and cruise at non-peak time with a special reduced fare.

when I went to take my first Carnival cruise, I was petrified! Carnival so exceeded my expectations.

This. We were so impressed with our first Carnival cruise on Glory. We really weren't expecting much but had wonderful service all around and thought the food was great!!!! That paired with a pre-cruise stay at Disney World and some fabulous excursions made that trip our favorite to date. Then we sailed on Freedom of the Seas. I had wanted to sail on this ship very badly. My expectations were so high that this would be the Best. Vacation. Ever. The ship was beautiful and our balcony was HUGE (13 family members had a sailaway party on that balcony with plenty of room to spare!!!) but we found the service to be lacking (a couple of times just so rude) and it was a real turnoff. Wouldn't stop me from sailing on Royal again but it was a bummer.

We booked a tour in Coata Maya through Native Choice to the Chacchoben Ruins. Excellent tour, fantastic guides. We really enjoyed our day with them.

Ha ha! Only been on one Carnival cruise so Glory wins the prize :D. Seriously though, we had the best time that cruise. Great crew, awesome service, great ports, really friendly fellow passengers (cept the lady and her hubby who immediately left our table in the MDR when they saw us coming with our son who was 9). We were glad because we ended up with the best tablemates but we ran into that couple EVERYWHERE! We just booked the Pride for next April and can't wait!

I just came across your review a couple of days ago!!! OMGosh what a fabulous trip!!!! Our dream trip is a 'heritage' trip to France, Germany, and Italy for DS high school graduation (we have time, he just started lol). Did you find it better getting around by ship or did you enjoy staying in one place for a few days and doing day trips? We love cruising but I'm torn with the limited time in each port.

Wow! Awesome review!

We were just on FOS in 7708. We absolutely LOVED our balcony. The rest of my family certainly had aft envy :). I'll try to post a few pics...

I loved getting room service coffee in the morning and just sitting out there watching the sunrise. We had a nice little breeze but it was never too windy even though at times it was like a hurricane on deck LOL. I also liked that it was covered, we were able to be out on deck the very few times it rained. Didn't notice any soot at all. We were part of a group of thirteen and everyone was on our balcony for a sailaway party with plenty of room. We grabbed some champagne from the bar and some snacks from Sorrento's and the Cafe Promenade. Best room we ever had!!!