meggymay

5 minutes ago, Fk3908 said:

Lol, you’ll be FINE. The panic that this has caused is just sad. THINK of all the folks who don’t have a middle name on their airline reservation but have it on their ID or passport. Have you heard stories of MASS amounts of folks denied access to their flight for this? Of course not. Enjoy your flight and cruise! 

Not going to lie, I am sort of panicking right now. I checked and our middle names aren't on the airline website info. Hopefully, this doesn't cause any issues tomorrow.

WOW, i'm glad I saw this post. We sail on Sunday, but are flying in to New Orleans tomorrow (NCL air). I never got a letter or heard anything about the exact match. I had our NCL PCC add our middle names to everything this morning, but i'm worried about going to the airport tomorrow.

How do I find out if my airline tickets have my middle name? (Sorry if that's a dumb question)

Hmmmm..... seems like i'm the only one having issues. I just have no idea why they keep telling me it's the wrong zip code when I try to use my cards : /   I just used one of the ones I tried to give them over the phone to get gas today, the machine asked for a zip code and it accepted it no problem.

I've just spent almost three hours on the phone with Carnival and my bank. I'm trying to book a replacement cruise since my Mardi Gras one was cancelled, but Carnival won't take my money! I've used two different cards to try and pay the deposit multiple times but every time the zip code comes back as invalid. I've used these cards for years and even recently booked an NCL cruise with it, no problem. I called my bank just to make sure and they said everything was fine, the zip code i'm giving is the one the the cards are associated with. Finally, I ask if there's another way to pay, and they tell me online with PayPal. So I go to manage my cruise on the website and there is nowhere to pay just my deposit, only the monthly payments or pay off the balance. I'm assuming that you can only pay your deposit with PayPal if you book online? The Customer service rep (5th one I spoke with) really couldn't answer that. She said maybe because it's a Mardi Gras rebooking (different ship though) they may be doing something behind the scenes that's affecting my payment. (????) I think she was just telling me that to get me off the phone, because she had no real answers.

Sorry for the rant. Has anyone ever had an issue like this before?

1 hour ago, earlethepearl said:

Lesson learned. A lot of these new kids who have just been cruising for the last 10 years or so will learn. Don’t try to be the new kid on the block. You will be embarrassed. Lol. Slow and steady wins the race. These ships will be around for awhile. Let them work out the kinks. Then you can be like us veterans and sail them for years. Merry Christmas!!  

I don't think anyone is embarrassed (???), just disappointed. 

No, she's not. First sailing is from Orlando.

14 minutes ago, VaTech8912 said:

Same here.  Thought I had given myself enough room for delays.  Oh well, thankful to have a lot of time to figure something out.

 

Right!? I even thought while booking "Glad my B-day is in Nov. so there will be time to workout any kinks."

I'm still fairly new to cruising, so I guess i'm still learning. lol

Are you going to try and book another Mardi Gras cruise, or something else?

We were booked for Nov. 7. Dang, so close.

Totally agree on everything thing but the singing waiters (I find it cringey) and I like a ship with less kids, which is why I only cruise when school is in session. 

I just really like the vibe of Carnival.  Enough of a party atmosphere to join in when you want, but not so much that you feel you can't get away from it if you just want to relax.

Loved the review Sid, you have such a natural observational writing style. I'll be on the Mardi Gras Nov 7. So it looks like i'll just miss ya, guess i'll have to beat the post cruise blues with your review.

I'm doing the Eastern route in Nov. I've never been to any of the ports before. Excited about Grand Turk and San Juan... less excited about Amber Cove, but I'm sure we'll find something to do. I've never been on a mega ship before and none of the big RCCL ones really spark my interest. Hopefully most of the new ship kinks get worked out before our sailing. Fingers crossed.

On 10/15/2019 at 6:03 PM, cebee123 said:

Seems like the OP asked to pay the “special “ rate even tho it had expired. The spa tried to accommodate him (which they did not have to do) Then he was interrupted several times due to a language barrier with his sister...who I assume was requesting his assistance. They offered her a translator (again they sound like they were trying to accommodate) Asking for a refund because his sister was requesting his assistance several times, interrupting his massage,  is hardly NCLs fault. 

I work as a massage therapist at a spa (on land) and someone knocking on the door during a treatment and interrupting someones massage for a $30 difference is unacceptable and completely ruins the relaxation and flow of a massage. If OP is correct and the spa agreed to honor two deep tissues, knocking on the sisters door during the massage and demanding more money is ridiculous.

The title of this post is hyperbole, but i'd be pissed off about the situation too.

On 10/15/2019 at 3:18 PM, MoniMommy said:

I paid in full when I booked. I don't think is any other option when you are beyond final payment. One person on our roll call has reported being able to call and pay the difference in price for a higher category. Some in our roll call called an upgraded from ocean view to balcony because of the price drop. Gratuities on drink package for 8 days will be 158.40. Gratuities on soda package would be 12.72. Gratuities on the 2 "free" dining packages would be 39.60. I am traveling with 2 minors so I will save on drink package gratuities. The cabin is $49 less and the gratuities are 210.72. So i would hope to get the upgrade for 162.72. Of course an even better deal would be to get the upgrade for free. If I wait the cabin could go lower. It could also go higher. I could never be a poker player. 

Is that 158.40 in drink package gratuities for 1 person? I paid double that, but it was for 2 drink packages. Did I get screwed?

1 minute ago, schazzy said:

 

We found it to be pretty crowded at times in certain places, especially the Lido deck and the casino. But then again, we were on an Ultra cruise and the ship was sold out. Oh, and if the CD is doing something in the atrium, forget being able to get through there.  

Yeah that's what i've been hearing. I just picked that one because i'm in SC too and it's a fairly easy drive to the port.

4 hours ago, 72islandcruiser said:

thats what I would say, of the doctors cave (it does not include lunch or beverage) but beatiful and relaxing beach. Easy to get to from both falmouth and montego bay port

 

Sorry, I should have specified that i'll be at the Ocho Rios port.

Can anyone recommend a decent beach club in Jamaica that is fairly easy to get to by taxi from the cruise port? I was looking at Bamboo beach club, but I tried to email them and it came back as undeliverable. 

I'll be on the Sunshine in less than a month (yay!). Did you find the ship to be way overcrowded? I've heard that it is, but I hope going in off season might thin the crowds out a bit *fingers crossed*

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'm really excited about the balcony! Too bad the cruise isn't till a year from now, lol.

37 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

We had a cove balcony on the Dream. Loved, loved, loved it! Like you all, sitting on the balcony was one of our favorite things to do too! We were on deck 2 midship and didn't get any spray at all. This was back in July with calm seas. We never got wet 1 time. One suggestion: look at the deck plans and see what's above you. We were right below the galley, and heard 'bowling balls' every night around 1am-3am and woke me up every night. I'm a light sleeper though. Wife never was bothered by that noise. I wouldn't suggest a cabin below an area prone to traffic and/or machinery movement. Here's a pic from our cove balcony. The lifeboats shielded us from the blinding sun.

 

According to the deck plans, I'm right under the ladies restroom. Not sure if i'll hear toilets all night. lol

3 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

 

This should help you out 😉

Thanks!

@watermelonqueen99  Did the balconies stay relatively dry?

Edit: Apparently I don't know how to tag people.

I'm loving this live blogging. We'll be on the Sunshine in Nov. I'm wondering if it's as over crowded as people say it is.

I just booked a surprise trip on the Mardi Gras next year for my husbands birthday. We've tried the regular balconies and the extended aft ones but we haven't tried the cove ones yet, so I went ahead and got one for this trip. It was a spur of the moment thing. Then I started reading about how people seem to either love them or hate them. I'm worried that the whole thing is going to get covered in sea water everyday and we won't use it much (sitting out on the balcony is one of our favorite things to do). Our cove balcony is the very last one, towards the aft. I'm pretty sure there isn't a life boat above it. Do you think since we'll be far back we won't get the ocean spray from the bow? Has anyone had a cove that stayed dry for the most part?

I'd discuss this with my husband but then it would ruin the surprise. lol