markkw07

Your choice, your $$$, you can do whatever you want. Cruising is a unique experience, so if you and fam are good without, then so be it! Have you been to an airport lately? Let's not even talk about ALL the issues the airlines are experiencing at the moment, very closely related to staffing issues and pilot shortages and LONG lines just to check in and get though security! Enjoy whatever it is you find where you don't have to experience any staffing issues or waiting in long longs! 😁

Great Question, I sail on Mardi Gras at the end of August..so would like to hear the answer if anyone knows?? I mean this is CC...with all the "know it alls" on this site...SOMEONE has to know?? right?? 🤣🤣

Understand your pain and frustration! True, you can enter the US on a plane without a test, but still need to be tested for a ship. Agree makes ZERO sense, but alas as the public, we don't have much say in the matter. I don't believe any of the major cruise lines in the US have dropped the pre-testing requirements yet. I am 100% FOR dropping the pre-test, but I can understand the hesitation from the cruise lines, since they are volunteering to participate in the CDC program for sailing, It's a touch situation since the CDC can make it very difficult for the cruise lines if they don't participate, although its stated as “voluntary” participation so it's not “required” but we all “know” what that really means.

Depends on the ship. On Encore, there are single carts and double carts. There is a posted schedule when they operate the single and double carts. You can sign up on the big interactive screens around the ship, and it clearly shows the times for the single and double carts. Pick the time/date, swipe your card and good to go!

EU Healthy Gateways Ends Pre-Cruise Testing Requirements For sailings beginning August 1, 2022, vaccinated guests sailing on a cruise originating from any port EXCEPT a U.S. port; Canadian port; or Piraeus, Greece are exempt from all pre-cruise COVID-19 testing requirements.

NOT for US ports, READ the entire announcement BEFORE posting misleading information! 🙄

Oh Wow!. Sad to see these pics. I was on Pride many moons ago. The ole girl is definitely getting up there in age and needs more TLC! Launched March 29, 2001. Some of these things are just unacceptable, and Carnival has to do a better job with preserving their older ships. Yes, that takes more time and more $$$ but that's the tradeoff with older ships. Hopefully they give her some much needed love soon!

Do people eat burritos with a corn tortilla? I guess you could, but don't see that too often at least around here(the large western state that is below Oregon and above Baja)

That's the whole idea about the check in time. So you don't have 100s of folks just arriving whenever and milling or waiting around, clogging up the paths or taking up space for the people who ARE supposed to be there and checking in. Nothing worse than someone standing in the way or taking up space, and then when asked, "oh I don't check in for another 2 hours" $E#%$#@%@#$%$#% why are you here?

I guess at this point and time, we can look at this is a "glass half full or half empty" scenario. At least the restaurants were open and serving, although lines can't be adjusted based on ebb and flow and popular times when people eat. Staffing during the "peak" times is something that can be adjusted if the necessary staff is available. But def can see the issues here. I was on another cruise line a few months ago, where certain restaurants were closed all together and did not open at all. So, things can always be worse! I think we just have to understand the time we are in and just accept these issues are going to be ongoing for a while, at least until staffing is back at 100%, because they sure are going to bring the ship capacity back up to 100%!

Appreciate the clarification on your initial sentence. There are several threads and posts where people are just reading 10 words into it, not reading the ENTIRE announcement from NCL and assuming this applies to ALL cruises, to which as you pointed out the EXCEPT part of the announcement, and the key words of US Port and Canadian port. People have to learn to read everything 100% before posting or saying things that are simply not true, at least at this point. We ALL want the pre-cruise testing to go away for ALL points of embarkation, but sadly it's not up to us or the cruise critic "know it alls" 🙂 🙂

MMMHMMMM...Well there is clear video of all these individuals that took part in this. So, being that Carnival has names, pictures, and all personal information, for everyone on the ship, it's just a matter of going through and looking for these people, which I am sure is already in the process of being done. This type of behavior is unacceptable and uncalled-for no matter what the circumstances are. There is zero excuse and zero tolerance for this. There should be a permanent ban handed down for the individuals who took part in this. In a world where cameras are everywhere, people gotta be a lot smarter with their actions.

True! Until they stop cancelling booking, which now are into August, then I would not anticipate any additional openings of any bars/restaurants. I was on POA in April, and they barely had enough people to run what they did have open. It does not seem any better from then until now, based on the feedback that is coming back as of late. 100% props to the crew, though, most were working hard to get the job done. The bad part about all this is, the crew presently on POA is going to get burnt out as this continues, so makes me wonder, however long these people signed contracts for, will they be back? Will they resign up for another period of time? I am not sure what the contract lengths are for POA, is it the same, as the other ships? 6 months? 12 months?

If the Price is Right!, Def Go for it!

Yes, there are already numerous posts about the POA and ALL the issues she is having. I sailed on POA back in April 30 - May 7. Yes, there are severe staffing issues and pretty much everything "is a mess" BUT, we made the best out of this situation. Most of the crew, was working as hard as they could to accommodate everyone to the best of their ability. Yes, you will read posts about crew members not wanting to be there, "rumors" of crew members walking off the ship, crew members barely doing anything, crew members with " bad attitudes" the list goes on and on and on....all of course is what people saw, heard, read, experienced, witnessed..whatever..I'm not going to get into all that. Everyone can have their own perceptions on how things are and how things REALLY are, so again not going to debate anything that people have said. If you plan on sailing on POA, just be prepared for any and everything and go with the flow. You can rant, rave, complain, bi%#%ch, yell, scream, post negative reviews, refuse to go on NCL ever again, write to Jack Del Rio, ask to see the captain, demand a refund, complain more, all to which is not going to help anyone, much less yourself, have a better experience than anyone else on the POA. Mahalo:)

Hi Willdra and W! Following along on your review and living vicariously through you both. I am "scheduled" for Mardi Gras in August 2022, so only a few months to go!.. Looking forward to it and getting some pointers and observations from you both! Glad u had a wonderful time! Mark

Did you book direct through NCL or did u book through a 3rd party site or travel agent?

Our edocs check in time was 10-1030, we actually arrived at the port around 930, as the Ubers were fluctuating prices from our hotel, I dont remember the exact costs, but at the time we decided to go for it while it was $10 less than what it was 30 mins before that, ( if you use Uber/Lyft alot, this makes sense). The port was pretty empty, and we just waited in a que line right before they check your vaccination status. I just booked 1 table for everyone in our group, so that was easy. They did ask for a ship card when I booked the reservations, I booked 1 table for 5 people at each restaurant. I don't think it should be an issue if you're booking 1 table for X people, but if you're trying to book for other people that aren't present at the time, not sure how that works, but again I would ask them to see what options you have. If you have a dedicated concierge, I would def ask that person and he/she should be able to take care of all that for you. They can always tweek the reservations once you make them.

We did not make a reservation for skyline until the night we actually went, which was later in the cruise. We only ate in Skyline 1 time. I would definitely ask them at the specialty dinning reservations if you would be able to do that. I don't see why not?

Hello, I just sailed on POA, April 30- May 7, we had the same constraints with the restaurants. We booked AS SOON AS we stepped on board. They were doing the reservations at the East Meets West Restaurant on Deck 5 across from Guest Services. We were able to get our desired dining times, however we were in Group A to board the ship. As the day went on, I would think prime dining times would be getting taken. So, best advice, book ASAP once you get on board. As you already know, Cagney's and Jefferson's Bistro are the only restaurants available.