Jamesatgsu

My sons are always in different age groups, due to being 2.5 years apart, and we don't cruise in the time where there is a 2 year gap instead of 3. The first time they actually ended up being combined because the cruise combined the Sharks and Stingrays, which worked out great. Since then my oldest has been in Circle C and my younger son a shark. We board Sunday for the first time having the Circle C and O2 split as they are 12 & 15. To me it has been a non-issue as both kids make their own friends onboard and don't need to socialize with each other most of the time. And I find that they actually spend most of their time outside the clubs doing other things onboard.

5 minutes ago, geneparmesan said:

From Carnival's FAQ on FTTF. They emphasize twice that you need to "select" an Arrival Appointment, but it doesn't say if you must adhere to it.

I think that is same as before. Hopefully get an early slot and it doesn't matter. I plan to show up at 10am regardless of my arrival time.

4 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Interestingly, the details page for FTTF does not list how many tickets are left (unlike other excursions, which will say the number of tickets or more than 10).

At checkout it showed more than 10 available.

1 hour ago, staceyglow said:

They could easily solve that by making FTTF nonrefundable once you check in.

Or make you check-in again if you cancelled.

I will be checking in on it for my December 18th cruise. I plan to buy, but if I don't get real priority boarding, I will cancel it. We do have a tender port, but are considering an excursion that may make that not worth anything. 

You take a big risk getting tested. My wife got tested because she felt like trash and wanted medications. 

1 hour ago, JMKreno said:

I think that those hours are the same as before? If I recall, they always had a morning session (9-12), mid day (2-5), then evening (7-10)? I always remember having to pickup for lunch/dinner and only occasionally had a dinner session. We have a 6 yr old who will be on our cruise on Wednesday, other than no night owls (which our 6 yr old never really wanted to do on Royal's equivalent back in October). We're there still enough activities for kids to enjoy? Do you have to schedule time or is it drop off during those hours?

Before you had to pick them up at 2 and could drop them off at 5 for kids dinner. The reason for breaking up into morning and afternoon sessions is they are limited to 95 kids (which wasn't an issue). 

My 5 year old loved it and no need to schedule a time. 

1 hour ago, syesmar said:

Prayers for your wife’s recovery!

I have wondered if in the near future ships will have to test everyone before disembarking in the US? I understand what a hassle that would be, and the complications that would arise would be a logistical nightmare. I’m just thinking out loud of what could happen, in light of the spiral of the last 2 weeks.

Best wishes to all!

NCL tested us before getting on and before getting off back in June. They were taking nearly every precaution possibly. 

Yep. Frustrating thing is I'm not sure what is and isn't a discounted rate. 

We just got off yesterday. My wife tested positive onboard. The cruise director was indeed replaced in Curaçao. It was very clear covid was a major problem on this cruise. It was so disappointing. And they definitely left me feeling like you are better off not testing, which shouldn't be the case. 

It was closed. They also split up camp into morning and afternoon sessions (9-12 or 2-5) the had evenings 7-10. On port days it was while we were in port for the most part. 

I'll let you know Saturday

Ugh. Really regretting not booking the December cruise I looked at when I had these chance now that my 5 year old could go. 

Just bumping this up in case anyone knows of any happy hours on the Mardi Gras.

32 minutes ago, WestTexasBySea said:

Is just the card required or do I also need the digital certificate. The website is not clear if it is both or one or the other?

 

Proof of vaccination, as follows, will be required at the terminal in advance of boarding:

• Original vaccination record issued by the country’s health authority that administered the vaccination (i.e., U.S. CDC's Vaccination Record Card). Copies or photos are not accepted.
• A digital COVID-19 Certificate (QR code acceptable), a record of COVID-19 vaccination from a healthcare provider (original digital email accepted), a personal electronic health record or government Immunization Information System record is also acceptable.

It is an either, as some places (Europe) have digital COVID passports.

You should be. It was a bit different for us last go around because we went to Greece, but there were several people that had issues with flights getting there and almost everyone seemed to have problems getting home (we got stuck overnight in the Toronto airport).

Thankfully I'll be driving, and always arrive the day before just in case disaster happens. For those of you too far to drive, I'd have travel insurance and make sure I was coming in as early as possible the day before the cruise just to have more chances to make another flight.

#1 - They generally won't let you use someone else's sign and sail card. On the plus side, you generally can get 2 non-alcoholic drinks at the same time in my experience. The 5 minute limit has only come up when I've ordered alcohol.

#2 - Yes you can order drinks with Cheers package in any restaurant. They will generally just take your folio number down to process the order. 

#3 - I wouldn't count on getting the Starbucks drink, but rather whatever they might have at the restaurant. Tea & Gatorade should be no problem.

4 hours ago, SquishyMarie said:

This is just a question. A child under 2 doesn't have to wear a mask or be tested for covid, so why do they still have to do bubble tours? I just want to understand that. If the child is a threat why not make them test as well? 

Because it is incredibly difficult to manage masks on them and hard to get the swab up their nose. 

I know it as frustrating, but you've known for months this might happen, and I think you'll enjoy your cruise much more on RCL with such young kids. Hard to get full value of a cruise if kids can't spend any time in the kids club. Now you'll have the option. 

4 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Sometime yes, sometimes no. Some people have even brought larger box wines. Officially the max size is 750ml, but officially often doesn't mean squat.

I've seen many people bringing 1L sized bottles. 

We got ours pretty quickly. Hate it for those still waiting. 

On 10/5/2021 at 5:08 AM, mondello said:

I heard there was to be a video component to the muster drill that guests would watch in their cabin. However, seems to have gone by the wayside, haven't heard of any ships using the video?

On NCL it was watching a short video before the cruise and then checking into our station once onboard. It was glorious. Hopefully we never go back to huddling into rooms, waiting for people who are trying their best not to attend.

I've always gotten to the port between 10:30-11:00, and have never waited in a long line (granted I have usually had FTTF).

On the Dream out of NO, with no FTTF, we got there around 10:45 and were on the ship 15 minutes later. On the Victory out of Miami, my cruisemates didn't have FTTF for their rooms, but were on the ship less than 10 minutes after us and we got there slightly after 11:00.

Twice on NCL, once out of Port Canaveral and the other out of Athens, and it was 15 minutes max waiting around 11:00.

I didn't cruise before the advent of staggered boarding times, but I know my dad told me about how terrible the lines were when he went, but we've never seen it. Often it looks worse on the outside because of people that show up before their time and are forced to wait outside. All that said, no question that the afternoon is even quicker. 

30 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Not allowed to board exactly why?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2803835-denied-boarding-when-2-weeks-is-not-≥-14-days/

TLDR version - Wife got Vaccine on Thursday 9/9/21 Sailing was on Thursday 9/23/21. Fully vaccinated is 14 days after vaccination, but apparently that means 14 days before sailing day, which wasn't clear. I too would have assumed he was ok.

But the 48 hour/2 day question has been given way more attention because it effects everybody, and has been made clear to be based on the date only, so 12:00am Saturday and 11:59pm Saturday would be exactly the same.

I always wear a pair of dress pants, usually with a button up shirt and jacket, but will usually wear a polo for the other formal night when there are 2 of them (simply I don't want to wear the same thing twice).

Last time I did see one diner in shorts, but they generally draw the line with shorts and hats. Jeans don't seem to be a problem as long as worn with a polo or jacket, despite being against the rules. In the past I've seen people who showed up underdressed be offered their meals to go if they didn't want to change or directed to the Lido deck.

Has to go in your checked luggage. I brought some back from Greece no problem with nothing but clothes protecting it. 

You could always bring a box or something that would be better suited at protecting it.