Eli_6

I renewed my husband's AARP membership but having trouble finding the gift cards on their website. ANyone know how to find them?

I reset my password and got back into my account this morning. No gift cards at all. That is a bummer. Guess I will try out AARP.

I realize the "life or death" is different from the "urgent" travel...but I doubt her trip is going to qualify as urgent travel because she doesn't have to have a passport to take her cruise. I suppose it doesn't hurt to call, but I just don't see how that is going to be urgent travel when she doesn't even need the passport to travel.

The link says it has to be a life or death emergency or urgent travel. A cruise where you don't even have to have a passport to travel is not going to fit into either category. It also says you have to have an appointment and cannot just walk in. When I had to make an appointment to get my children their passports (and we had a trip already booked to the UK so would have fit into that category), it took a very long time for me to get an appointment. I was calling and checking online pretty much daily. When I called, they said they were no longer even taking appointments because they were booked out indefinitely because they were so back logged due to Covid.

I think there has only been one ship that was delayed in a dry dock. Most of the delays were in ships that were brand new like the Mardi Gras and the Jubilee. The Venezia transatlantic is still on the website and showing on the port schedules so I think you are okay. Those of us who were worried were about a delay in a dray dock were concerned because the Pride sailing post-dry dock is not on the Carnival website, only showing up on SOME of the port schedules (albeit, some are not posted yet), and when asked if the sailing was going ahead, Carnival was being evasive.

Oh man. That is a huge bummer.

In our post-Covid world, getting a passport in two weeks is highly unlikely. I was able to do what you are talking about many years ago, but when we went to get my kids passports this past year, it took months to even get an appointment and even paying for expediated it took a month AFTER the interview.

But if you lose your license and then use your passport as a photo ID, it can then get lost as well.

Having lost multiple driver's licenses, I feel your pain. I keep my license in a compartment in my phone wallet and when my kids were little, they would play with my phone and pull the cards out. I bet that in this circumstance a picture of the old one along with the new paper one will work in the event your other one does not arrive. I have been allowed to pick up controlled substances before with just a picture of my driver's license and this is nowhere near as serious as that...I mean, if the DEA accepts a picture, I would think Carnival would. I would call Carnival to make sure. Let us know what they say. Also, I do not think you are legally supposed to have two copies of your driver's license or state i.d. so having a back up one isn't really an option. When I have gotten a new one before due to having lost one, the paperwork says that if you find your old one, you are supposed to destroy it.

Anyone checked to see if the virtual (or whatever they are called) gift cards are back up? I need to buy some for an upcoming cruise, but I am having trouble logging in and going to have to reset my password so I thought I would see if anyone else has been able to buy one before going to all that trouble.

We always just buy 1 and log on and off devices. It is easy to do. But if you want to be on at the same time then you need to buy 2. There is a way to have two on at a time, but that is beyond my expertise.

I wondered that, too.

Do we even know if the staff is getting more money in the end? Or is Carnival just paying less "salary" to them and telling them they will get more "gratuity"?

Never mind then...

Urban dictionary tells me that a cay is: the remainder of the green and smokable bud in a piece/joint. Perhaps, "Funday Cay" is named after that rather than a "key." (I kid. I kid.)

I also wish they would just make the gratuities required for everyone. I would be willing to bet that most of the people removing their grats are the first or second time cruisers that Carnival seems to be so "targeting" as of late. I know zero "seasoned" cruisers who remove grats because regular cruisers have seen the crew work their behinds off and talked to enough of the crew to know how much this money means to them.

If the trip there is the same, I would go on the Horizon because the Vista is older and keeps having propulsion issues.

Me, too.

So, if we used OBC to purchase a wifi package and the cruise sails after the date of the price increase, does that mean that we get the lower rate or will we be charged at the higher rate?

I feel like Carnival is turning into Allegiant airlines or one of those other airline that has cheap base fares but then anything extra (which you need) is $$$.

I predict this means that they are going to be increasing drink packages and certain other items as well in the near future.

Yes, that is correct.

The wifi on the older ships is crap and not worth this price at all.

A suite is a little different. It at least has a little more room. Even a balcony wouldn't be too bad. But 4 or 5 people in a tiny inside room? No thanks.

IDK, but God bless you who are putting 5 people in a cabin. The day I have to sleep 5 people (or even 4 adults) in a single cabin is the day that I stay home...or sleep on the deck.