NDIrishO3

I laughed a little bit at your Cheeky Charli comments.  We were on the Magic in June and had a great cruise.  Ryan was the cruise director and was awesome.  I didn’t know any other entertainment staff names except for Cheeky Charli because she stood out to us (and not in a good way)!  We literally saw her twice the whole 8 days, on the docks as we were getting back on the ship in ports, and both times we thought she was way over the top and annoying enough that we remembered her name.  I think she’s just trying to be fun and enthusiastic but yeah it needs toned down a bit.

We were on the magic on June 20th for 8 days and did the park and cruise package at the Hampton Inn Ridgefield Park.  I definitely recommend it.  Their shuttle is back - they just started the service back up in mid-June.  There were no issues with leaving our car there and transportation to and from the port was smooth.  Be prepared to wait - they have to make several trips to and from the port to get everyone, and traffic can definitely slow down that process, but we weren’t in a hurry so we were fine.  In fact, we had a 1:00 check in time for embarkation and still got to the port early at 12:40 despite the shuttles running behind.

If you want to spend a few additional days in New York, we stayed there after the cruise and found that driving to the N. Bergen park and ride (about 8-10 minutes away) and picking up the bus there to Manhattan was very easy.

The only drawback to the hotel was that the entrance is a little tricky to navigate because of traffic.  We had to embrace our inner New Jersey driver and just go for it several times LOL

Do you what point level or generally how much you have to gamble to get DOU, and how they tell you?  We were recently on an 8 day Magic cruise, and my husband mentioned on day 5 or so one of the bartenders said “you haven’t gotten free drinks yet?”  He never did get them…I’m guessing it’s because although he plays for a long time, he plays at low bet tables (usually $6 blackjack).  I was curious though about how you are notified, just in case somehow he missed it!

I was on the Magic on June 20th out of New York and had a great experience with verifly.  Our embarkation was really fast and smooth - it felt like we just constantly moved through the lines without much stopping and waiting!  I heard quite a few people complain later about how long and difficult embarkation was, which was not our experience at all.  I don’t know if we just got lucky with our check in time (1:00, although we got there around 12:40 due to the hotel shuttle times), or if verifly truly made it easier, but I would definitely recommend it.

16 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Just saw this pop across. Supposedly it was the Carnival Magic forced to dock because of a massive fight onboard.

 

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/cruise-ship-makes-emergency-stop-off-of-manhattan-due-to-brawl/

I just got off the Magic today!  As a couple other people said, the headline was a little deceptive.  Today was our scheduled debarkation date and we were at the regular pier where we were supposed to be (88).  Also, early last evening the captain had announced an estimated arrival time of 6:00 am in New York so I’m not sure that we even docked earlier than expected.

Truthfully I didn’t even know anything had happened until we got off the ship and I saw it on social media.  I did notice a lot of coast guard people on board as we walked through the lobby, but that was it.

4 hours ago, firedisney97 said:

all of this, but the only thing I will say is that you don't have too use the disposable panties (at least I didn't)   I am fluffy and they do not fit me and are very uncomfortable.  

Oh that’s good to know.  I’m on the bigger side as well - I enjoy working out, I run and do triathlons, but you would never know it looking at me LOL.  That’s definitely helpful to know not to stress if they don’t fit.  Thank you!

4 hours ago, iriecruising said:

I have had the scrub with massage three times. Each time they have given me a pair of disposable undies to put on. You lay on your back the entire time for the scrub and the only awkward moment is when they ask you to sit up to do your back. Because it that point you are exposed on the top. Make sure you have something to keep your hair up and off your neck and back. After the scrub you take a shower and lay back down for the massage. If you get unlucky like I did once and there is not a shower in your treatment room, you will be provided a robe to get to the shower and back. I have terrible dry bumpy skin and I have to say the treatment makes my skin softer than I have ever felt it. The first time I was given a hard sell after the treatment. They used the info I filled out when I arrived for the treatment to sell me on products that could solve my muscle aches, stress etc.  The last 2 times I was not given a hard sell but I also left out all that info on my form those times. One thing I did notice that confused the hell out of me was the way they bill for it. I book pre-cruise and pay with a credit card when I book. When I was done I was given a receipt that included the massage, the gratuity and the option to add additional gratuities to sign. On my sail and sign account the original amount paid by credit card was credited to my sail and sign account and the new amount with gratuities was charged. It can be confusing when you see it.

Hope you enjoy the treatment!  

Thank you so much!!  That is exactly the info I was looking for.  I really appreciate it!  Thanks for the payment heads up as well - I prepaid so now I know not to worry if I see it on my sign and sail.

3 hours ago, evandbob said:

Best to do the salt scrub early in the cruise, before any sun burn!

 

 

Ha yes I purposely booked it for the first full day for that exact reason!  I’m a former lifeguard who has spent probably YEARS outside if you add it all together, but that Caribbean sun is brutal on my Ohio skin and blonde hair.  We are leaving out of NYC so maybe a little bit of northern sun at the beginning will help me ease into it, unlike my last cruise years ago out of Ft. Lauderdale that just dove right in!

I have a salt scrub booked at the spa next week (on Carnival).  This sounds dumb, but the thing that makes me most nervous about spa treatments is not knowing what to do or wear.  If you have had one, can you talk me through what it will be like - what do I wear, do they give me a robe, do I leave undergarments on, am I on a table with a sheet like a massage, etc?  I do know they will try to sell me products afterwards so I’m prepared for that LOL.  Thank you!

Question about submitting the form and getting the FCC and OBC deal.  We’ve decided we want the FCC, just haven’t decided which future booking to make (and might wait awhile to decide, to see what the situation looks like).  I know the new one needs to be booked by 12/31.  Can I go ahead and submit the form for FCC/OBC now?  Does it just get attached to my VIFP number for when I do rebook in the future?  Thanks!

I started a separate thread on this asking for help, but I just got off the phone with Carnival trying to redeem an upgrade offer and it seems like their reps either don't know, or have been told not to say, that they are doing this.  I have an upgrade offer for my June 15th Sunrise cruise out of NYC.  I know it's likely to be cancelled, but I figured on the chance that it's not I'd love to have the balcony upgrade.  I tried to do it online and got an error message.  I tried calling last night and the rep told me I couldn't do it because the ship was full.  I tried to explain that I think it's not full, they're just limiting capacity so there should still be room to switch an existing reservation, and she just told me no and seemed annoyed by it.  This morning, I called the specific phone number in my upgrade email to try again.  The woman I talked to today was much more interested in trying to help, but still said I couldn't do it because the ship was full.  I explained what I had read in the article, that it's not really full but they are limiting capacity so they've probably reduce the number and it LOOKS full when trying to book it, but that when I log in to look at the upgrade offer I'm seeing quite a few rooms I can choose from.  She asked where I saw the article, I told her and quoted her pieces of what the Carnival spokesman said, and she told me it's not true and Carnival wouldn't do that, and again said I couldn't upgrade because the ship is full so there's no room.  I'm kind of frustrated - the offer is still sitting in my cruise manager and I can still go in there and see a bunch of available rooms, but I can't get it switched!  The most frustrating thing though is that the reps either don't know or have been told not to say that they are limiting capacity.

So I have an update after calling the more specific number today.  It sounds like the Carnival reps either do not know, or have been told not to say, that they are limiting capacity for most May/June sailings.

The woman I talked to was at least more helpful than last night, in that she did put me on hold to check it out, but when she came back to the phone she said I was not able to upgrade because the ship had exceeded the cabin count so there were no cabins available.  I explained to her that I could see all of the available cabins and even select one online, but was getting an error message at the end when finalizing it.  I told her that I knew that Carnival had stopped new bookings on most sailings in May and June, so had probably limited the cabin count, but that I can see multiple empty cabins so could I please take the upgrade and switch to one.  She asked me where I got the information about limited bookings and I quoted pieces of the CC article to her, including that a Carnival spokesperson had said they were limiting the number of passengers and not allowing new bookings, etc.  She said that it wasn't true and that Carnival would not do that.  I asked why the cruises were not showing up any more as available cruises to book if you were looking for a new cruise.  She said once ships are full, they are taken out of the listings so that is why.  What she didn't seem to get, though, is that according to the info out there, the ship isn't really full!  They've limited capacity for May/June, so they aren't selling any more rooms and it LOOKS full because they've lowered the cabin/passenger count, but there are empty rooms available (I can see 8 of them in the deck/section I am looking at alone - Deck 7 middle - and haven't even looked at the other available sections!) so why can't I take the existing upgrade offer to move from one room to another?  I was very nice the whole time, I hate when people are rude to customer service, but I tried to explain the logic and didn't get anywhere.

While I'm pretty sure it's going to be cancelled anyways, and I was originally fine with sailing with an interior cabin so it's okay to stick with it, I'm frustrated that they sent me an offer (even now, it's still showing up in my cruise planner!) but now won't let me redeem it even though it looks logically like I should be able to.  And it's frustrating that the reps either don't know or are not admitting that Carnival is limiting bookings.

I'm sailing on the Sunrise June 15th, and still holding out a bit of hope that it won't be cancelled.  I have an upgrade offer in my cruise manager for a balcony for $160 (apparently it came in my email on April 1st but I didn't notice it until today!).  I went through the steps to book it, it gave me several decks and rooms to choose from, and I entered my credit card.  Then I got an error message saying this sailing is no longer available to be booked.  I know that they are not accepting any new bookings (I read the recent article on limiting capacity), but clearly there are open rooms.  So I just called customer service and explained the situation and said I'd like to take the upgrade.  She said that I can't take the upgrade because the cruise is full so there's no open rooms.  I told her that I could see open cabins, and I know they are limiting cruise capacity but I can see open rooms when I try to book it so it's just moving from one room to another.  She just repeated that the cruise is full and no rooms are available (and seemed kind of annoyed by my pointing out that I can see open rooms).  I booked online myself so don't have a PVP.  Do you think it would be worth calling back and trying to get someone else?  Or will they really not move any rooms with limiting capacity even though there are open rooms?  I know the cruise is likely to be cancelled anyways, but on the off chance that we do go I'd love the balcony!

ETA: I just noticed there's a specific phone number on my upgrade offer, different from the general customer service line.  I tried to call but that number said closed at 9:00 p.m.  I'll try calling tomorrow 🙂

8 hours ago, jaynjay said:

out of curiosity, NDIrish, did you get it taken care of? 🙂 

No...I found a PVP by googling so tried emailing her (I’ve booked directly on the website before so don’t have my own), but didn’t get a response.  I kind of gave up trying because I have a bad feeling it’s going to be cancelled 😭.  I’m not going to cancel it, but I’m afraid the decision may be made for me the way things are going...

Thank you!  That was my understanding as well, and when I submitted the first drop back in January I made sure it wasn’t a guarantee rate because I knew that would take me out of early saver (and even checked afterwards and my booking still has my original room number).  I just submitted the form again with a big explanation paragraph asking them to double check my rate type because I was positive I booked under early saver.  We will see if that works!

EDIT TO ADD: I got another rejection almost immediately.  I guess I’ll keep trying to call but this is frustrating!

Hi!  I booked a June 15th cruise on the Sunrise in January with early saver.  I submitted a price drop form online a couple weeks later and it was approved.  The price just dropped significantly again so I submitted another form this afternoon, and I got an automatic email back saying that I wasn’t qualified for a price drop because my booking wasn’t early saver.

Did I somehow get switched out of early saver with my first price drop?  I made sure that my request was the same room category, not a guarantee booking, etc.  I thought once you were early saver it stayed that way and you could submit multiple price drops - I did so for my last cruise (which was in 2013) with no issues.

I tried to call but just got the message that they are having phone issues and it didn’t give me the option to wait on hold, just said call back later.

Thanks!