Virga

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Use a different PVP, or better yet use a TA.

As soon as I use up the last of my Australia credits, I will absolutely be looking for someone else.  As lackluster as he is, he went to bat for me on those and earned my (short term) loyalty by getting his superiors to honor the July book by date that was sent in my emails.  John Heald and Jacinta have been promising to help, but I was checking in every two weeks and got another promise of help, with none forthcoming.  Now that the March deadline that the website is claiming is coming in fast, I'm pretty much stuck with him until I get those credits used up =/

Unfortunately, my TA of choice doesn't offer any perks for the casino offers I've been getting, so I'd just as soon book direct so I can see everything on the website.  Eventually they'll go back to normal and I'll get to use them again.

My PVP was a big grouch about me doing this - he'd previously told me that I could put a cruise on hold and then contact him, which sounded great because I would honestly prefer to avoid him completely but want him to get booking credit so I can ask for help with a booking without guilt.  Then I actually tried it, he contacted me after the offer had expired but the hold was still active, and he was really cranky that I wanted the hold offer that he got no credit for instead of the new offer he could book me on.  Yes, I'm absolutely sure I'd rather pay $400 with a five hundred dollar credit than pay $300 with a two hundred dollar credit - sorry you're so slow, dude!

We have booked all of our casino offers this way - each of us with a TBA in our room, in the hopes of someone joining us.  No way to do what you're hoping, you'll have to go through the (fairly minor) inconvenience.

We have this for a cruise to Alaska and can't believe that we can't find anyone that wants to do this with us for the price we were charged!!

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Maybe the owner of the lodge can put you in touch with a local who would like to earn some money for a few hours work.  The local would know where to go, how to get there and how to shoot if necessary.

 

DON

That is an excellent idea - we are willing to rent a satellite phone, and had every intention of purchasing bear spray, but didn't know how we could possibly find a gun to rent.  A local guide would be perfect, and leave both of us free to take pictures at a moment's notice!  So grateful for the suggestion!

2 minutes ago, J0Y0US said:

Where did you hear about renting a car at ISP? 

 

I would be pretty nervous about logging roads unless I read a fair amount about them. 

It came up when I googled after seeing that the self driving jeep tour offered by the ship would be more than $350 for a couple hours - and we'd have to share it with another couple.  The folks that run the lodge (and rent out vehicles and boats) have great reviews from people who have done both.  The person I made the reservation with assured me that they had maps marked for good sighting chances, but we'll definitely be doing our own research before we leave as well.  I obviously can't recommend them until we've done it, but I'm pretty excited.  

45 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

How long is the Tracy Arm Excursion?  Do you transfer from the cruise ship to a smaller ship or Catamaran? You should see glaciers, possibly wildlife along the shore, most likely whales if your boat returns you to Juneau.  It’s a great excursion.

 

Remember the flights may not happen if the weather is not favorable.

 

In ISP you can walk or drive to Hoonah, a native village.  The cruise port has a cannery, some shops and a zip line.  

 

You can definitely do Ketchikan on your own.  

 

As I understand it, the Carnival Tracy Arm excursion is not from Juneau, it's actually the day the ship visits the fjord.  You transfer to a smaller boat that takes you further up the fjord, getting much closer to the glaciers than the ship can.  I'm very excited about this one, and since we've heard such wonderful things and there are no other excursion options that day, I don't think there's any chance we'll decide to cancel this one.

The possibility of a flight cancellation due to weather is exactly why I booked two different flight excursions, despite the high price.  

I'm thrilled to hear that Ketchikan is easy to do on our own - an old classmate curates a museum there so we definitely want to stop through.  We'll probably largely take her advice on how to spend the day.

1 hour ago, strickerj said:

I hear Icy Strait is a great place for whale watching; you could do that instead of exploring on your own if you're regretting not doing that. I'm not sure what's there in town to see.

 

I've also heard Juneau is very walkable; we're planning to do that there after a trip to Mendenhall Glacier.

As for Hoonah, we'll probably get food there (the Office Bar, maybe?) and poke around a bit, but we're planning on spending the day driving the old logging roads looking for wildlife.  If we did whale watching, it would probably be from Juneau. Glad to hear it's walkable, as renting a car there looks awfully expensive.

33 minutes ago, GloriaF said:

I just searched Avis Alaska via the link provided by dfilpus (Thank You!) but the lowest price was $252.  Guess we'll be sticking with the shuttle bus.  If the price was just a little more than the bus fare of $90 for the two of us, it would be doable.  

Economy
 5 Passengers   Automatic  Airconditioning
+ more information
USD 252.18

I was looking into Turo, but after fees and insurance, we were getting close to $200 and I just couldn't legitimize it either.  I set up an alert with AutoSlash just in case prices come down with the normal car rental companies, but I'm not overly hopeful.

Finally got our excursions nailed down, but I'm fretting a bit - worrying is my superpower.  

We booked the Tracy Arm fjord excursion and the helicopter with two hour glacier hike from Juneau through the ship, booked Island Wings for the Misty Fjord seaplane trip in Ketchikan, and rented a Subaru to do our own wildlife search in Icy Strait Point / Hoonah.  We're excited about it all, but it's stretching the budget a bit.  We have enough time left that I can set aside some extra funds, but I just want to make sure that everything we've chosen is a good value. 

I had really intended to book a whale watching tour - we've always enjoyed these elsewhere - but I sold myself on booking two flightseeing tours instead.  In my mind, that hedges my bets a bit against bad weather, and is also something we likely wouldn't spring for if we returned for a land vacation in the future.  

Anyway, I think we're pretty content to explore Juneau and Ketchikan on our own - maybe hit some museums, definitely get some fresh seafood, find a short hike or two accessible by public/tourist transportation options...  Do you think that sounds like a reasonable plan?  I don't know when we'll return, so I don't want to look back wishing we'd done something - but I've already spent more than I'd really expected to before we even set foot aboard!  Please reassure me, or tell me if any of our plans should be reworked.  Thanks so much!

This is a little bit of a bummer for me, since I keep booking offers with OBC and covid credits.  Not a huge deal, we always pay the suggested and tip extra as we go, but I would prefer to be able to use my OBC for all of it.

24 minutes ago, J0Y0US said:

 

I am not sure where you are getting the $5/test figure from?

 

Also its more than just test an extra time.

 

A excerpt from the government website:

"The Plan should include a regular SARS-CoV-2 testing program that includes testing of the crew and passengers, and mechanisms to ensure passengers and crew are aware of signs, symptoms and exposure of COVID-19 for self- assessments."

 

I don't take that as a "test 1 time before you enter Canada and you are good. 

 

It would also seem Canada wants to roll back things to early in the US cruise restart with restrictions on things like capacity:

"The Plan should include specific public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The identification of different strategies should be based on a risk assessment for dining rooms, entertainment venues, recreational facilities and other places that passengers and crew congregate to prevent the transmission of COVID-19."

 

https://tc.canada.ca/en/initiatives/covid-19-measures-updates-guidance-issued-transport-canada/canada-s-cruise-ship-instructional-reference-tool

Well, we pay about than that for our tiny sixteen person lab - not any sort of special rate other than buying them by the hundred.  I pay $7 each to buy five packs at Costco.  If cruiselines pay more than that, something is amiss.  I'm equally confident that it would not be the cost that would prevent them from testing every day, if that's what Canada required.  It might be too high a burden to ask from passengers, but the cost wouldn't be the issue.

12 minutes ago, gilboman said:

Cruiselines already do this, they gather everyone like at muster and then do it. Go read up on B2B or Hawaii cruises or cruises longer than 7 days . This is standard stuff now for cruises 

 

Cruises already have plans for positive cases , I mean that's why there's quarantine sections on cruiseships 

 

Rapid tests are so quick, cheap and easy and routine. My wife needs rapid test everyday before work, we take rapid tests before going out to parties. You can even get proctored tests online for $5/pp using own/free kits from govt now here too 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a link for any of the companies that offer proctoring service when you're using your own kits?  I test really frequently, and that sounds way more time and cost effective than what I've been doing when I need an 'official' test.  

Call me an optimist, but I feel pretty sure that cruise lines would rather sail and pay an extra ~$5pp for a rapid test than cancel or change itineraries again.  

Are you still able to add the carnival insurance to your booking?  I haven't done it, but I think my PVP said they have a cancel-for-any-reason rider available.  If they are unwilling to do it for free, you might be able to salvage a good portion of your fare that way...

We got the cowboy cut and the wagyu on our recent Conquest sailing - figuring I could help with the cowboy if the wagyu was a miss as many people have experienced.  Fortunately for us, both were cooked to perfection!  We brought the leftovers back to the room with our cheese plate dessert.

Unfortunately, the plates didn't fit in the fridge, so we improvised:

I mostly disagree in sentiment: Having spent most of our Carnival 'career' on Fantasy class ships, the rust doesn't bother us.  We happily take these weekend cruises whenever they cost less than a hotel and bartab in our hometown - and now that they're legitimately free, that's even better.  We don't find the food half as bad as you do, we always find plenty we think tastes great - but boy, you're so right about the cakes.  Why are they so terrible??  We stick to the cheesecakes, which are markedly better.

Edit: for what it's worth, after ... 20?? Fantasy class sailings and one Spirit class sailing, we were finally able to book a newer ship (Mardi Gras) and it was like a different world.  The cakes are still awful, though.

While I haven't had gallbladder surgery, I had a similar laproscopic procedure done and wished very much that I'd taken a cruise for the second week of my recovery.  By then, I was feeling well enough that I could easily get myself around, was getting antsy to do things, and would have loved to get to enjoy it rather than the house puttering I ended up doing.  

I would plan as though I could go, and reassess just before the cruise.  If you run into any recovery snarls, any insurance that covers you seven days out will cover you two days out, right?  If there's no insurance, then it's a sunk cost anyhow - might as well hope for the best!  I hope you are able to take the cruise - just take it easy!

I booked a few of these on the .com site, and at checkout there's a FAQ that clearly states that prices are quoted in USD.  The deposit is in USD, but the amount changes frequently because it's based on current conversion from a round number AUD price.  It was charged appropriately in USD to my credit card.  Had the cruises not been cancelled, the promotional OBC would have been the round number AUD they mention in the promotion details. 

I'm able to use the cancelled credits on US/Europe sailings, though the book by date for them is sooner than the July 15th that people who booked in AUD got.  I don't have a lot of room to complain, because the the cancellation credits are generous.  If we rebooked for Australia (not looking likely) the covid FCC would be applied against the new quoted price in USD and the covid OBC would be in AUD, in addition to the promotional OBC.  I assume, but don't know for sure, that if I end up booking a European sailing with one of them, they would issue the covid cancellation OBC in euros somewhere in the $600USD/$900AUD range.  

We never mind ship noise - we've always loved porthole cabins, possibly because we drink enough for morning noise to not bother us.  Our complaint is hallway runners and screamers interrupting our mid-afternoon naps - and we've experienced it on every deck, on every ship, on every line.  Often kids, but sometimes adults with kids and occasionally just drunk adults.  

3 hours ago, beerman2 said:

People have already paid thousands for a cruise , what’s another $100-$110 to get it before and start the “Party”.

I don't imagine this question is really suited to people who spend thousands on a cruise.  I think it's more for people whose Cheers package will cost as much as the cruise itself.  Saving $100 on a vacation you're spending several thousand dollars on is pretty different from saving $100 on a last minute steal.

The most I've ever spent on a cruise was less than $1800 including fare, fees, cheers, tips, and parking for two people in an extended balcony on Mardi Gras.  Most of our cruises are less than $500 for two people including everything but alcohol - Cheers often costs as much or more than the cruise!  We've been thankfully receiving casino offers that take care of our drinks lately, so we're already used to enjoying our wine from home on the first day anyway.  If those offers dry up after the plague as I expect, we might be willing to let that and a free steakhouse bottle carry us until midnight if that keeps the price down enough to let us book more cruises.  

We are also fresh off the Conquest, and are suddenly very, very glad we had rather low expectations.  Most of our Carnival history has been on Fantasy class ships, so we're used to older ships with garish decor.  (Boy, that piano bar is something else, though!)

Because of our appropriately low expectations (and the correspondingly low price) we had a great trip.  I'd have been similarly unhappy about not having loungers (and being given a bogus reason why you can't have them) but I handle worn and functional just fine.  The service was uniformly excellent, and we didn't have any food complaints.  It was no Mardi Gras, but I really only ask for better than Golden Corral on a cheap cruise.  I definitely think I'd have found the value lacking if I'd paid full price for a premium balcony cabin.

7 hours ago, cruiserbrianj said:

I recently saw a "hack" on youtube where the couple purchased Cheers just after midnight on embark day....they could then drink a few drinks on "day 1" (anything before 6am) but since they purchased it after midnight and the next day, they technically saved a day. 

Now, they suggested bringing some wine or champagne on board to supplement for embark day and/or maybe just buy a couple of drinks.  Now, to me, that seems like too much work and not enough savings....they were also saying something about not having to pay taxes on it.  I'm not sure about all of that. 

For us though, we just want to get on and start having fun so we either prepurchase or for our next one we're just gonna use up a good bit of our OBC...that makes more sense to us (even though we aren't getting the 10% off) than coming out of pocket with it ahead of time.

That's the 'trick' that was described to me, with the same caveat that if you're paying for drinks before midnight, you eat up those 'savings.'  I don't recall taxes being a part of it, but then, I've never totally understood how they avoid taxes on prepaid purchases.  I've only ever been charged taxes on individual drinks on sailaway day, and of course if you aren't ordering drinks until after midnight, you aren't going to pay those taxes - but that's not a real perk.

Regardless, would be easy enough to ask someone on a short cruise to tell us what they see after midnight on the first night in the app.

48 minutes ago, CruizCuz said:

I agree about Pre purchasing. I have always done that in the past. However for this particular cruise, I have a lot of OBC and the new rule for using it Pre-cruise won’t have kicked in yet. So I unfortunately will have to wait until boarding to purchase. My DIL and son just can’t seem to make up their minds about CHEERS yet.  

Plus, on a four night cruise, shaving off one night saves you 25% - which is, of course, more than 10%.  The math gets fuzzier right around seven nights, when shaving off a night only saves you 14%.

Sure will be nice when all cruises can use the OBC in advance!  I'm actually surprised (but grateful!) they went ahead and added that functionality with so many people carrying cancellation OBC.  

I was able to get the 3nt menus by joining an about to sail cruise group on the Zuck site, and asking one of them to please help me decide when to make Steakhouse reservations.  Worked like a charm!  There just isn't as much chatter about the shorter cruises, unfortunately.

1 hour ago, ScottsSweetie said:

I would have thought this way, too - but we've sailed twice since the restart and currently have several great rate code offers (interior rooms as low as $26pp or balcony rooms to Alaska for $270pp).

With no casino play?  That's pretty awesome!  Our current offers are pretty darn good for short notice, and there are a few 'free' Alaska May sailings, but nothing as juicy as $270pp for a balcony in Alaska.  I'm still holding out hope that our next batch (with a recent large donation to the casino) will be really good.  We shall see!  We have a lot of cruises booked already, and still 'have' to book at least three more pretty soon.  

I'm holding out a little hope for a great deal on an Iceland cruise next year.  Worst case, we'll have a zillion weekend cruises to screw up our diet plans in 2022, lol!

Living in Miami, I'm not overly excited about a Miami themed neighborhood, but the Gateway and hints of a 'global travel' bar theme sound great!  So easy to spin for annual international holidays and the like... 

We've never had a bad cruise, I have all the confidence in Carnival ensuring our post-Thanksgiving cruise will be awesome!