Virga

1 hour ago, famof4togo said:

Speaking of the lido buffet...and apologizes to the OP for the hijack but I "just" learned that they have a "late night" selection from I believe 11pm to 12:30am...what type of food do they serve at the "late night" lido?  I am a night owl and will definitely enjoy having another option beyond pizza and room service past 10pm....TIA

Two hot sandwiches - meatball sub and some pressed with lunchmeats and cheese - and a hot and cold pasta dish, plus some sweets.  It's nothing special, but it's a nice option when the deli is closed and the pizza line is crazy.

Still blows me away that this isn't available on the MG where the deli closes an hour early!  Best food options we've ever had on a cruise - until you want something to eat later at night!

I had never done it, but I thought that they pro-rated the purchase (you'd pay for three days, not four) but did not think they comped off your earlier drinks.

The person who walked me through the process has said that, for some reason, Cheers package purchases charge by the calendar day, but your drink purchases charge by the 'beverage day' - so a purchase after midnight on your first night would only cost three nights, but you'd have a few hours of truly free drinks before your fifteen for day 2 becomes available.

No idea if they were wrong, if I misunderstood them, if things have changed, or if maybe that understanding was accurate then and still accurate now.  I had drinks in the casino this last cruise, and prepaid Cheers on the trips before that, so I can't shed any light on it from personal experience.

Mine is also going to reset at the end of the month.  We just dumped a ton of money into the slots on our cruise last weekend, sooo hoping the algorithm sees it and spits out some less last minute deals!

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Normally that's what's done without asking;there's a topper that's placed on top of the two beds. I've never had a cabin where they just push the two beds together and then use larger sheets. 

I wonder if that's why I've never noticed it being unacceptably larger than elsewhere - and wonder if maybe somehow OP's steward forgot to install one?

On 2/2/2022 at 5:45 PM, audcc77 said:

There are a few advantages to using a PVP who you use consistently.  
 

The PVP I have calls me only when I ask her.   She points out things which I may not have considered.  
 

But the most important advantage is that she would go to bat for me if there were an issue.  
 

I realize TAs do this too but PVPs don’t need to get authority to change simple things or wait for an answer from Carnival.  
 

If you can find a good PVP, they can be very helpful.   On Carnival’s main page there is a spot to ask for a PVP.  Maybe ask for someone who has 7 to 10 years with Carnival. 

I've been trying really hard to use my PVP, because he did a great job applying the first of our Australian cancellation credits to an upcoming cruise.  Then, when the more recent batch got cancelled, our email said we had until July 31st to rebook and claim the FCC/OBC offer.  Unfortunately, our PVP insists that we only have until 31 March - and while he has dutifully gone back to his supervisors multiple times, he always returns with the same answer.  What good is a PVP if they can't/won't even get their own colleagues to follow the terms their customers are sent in writing?

I'm very, very close to just switching to a TA.  I vastly prefer booking myself, but I can't do that for these cancellation credits.  I'd rather have someone actually willing to go to bat for me get my commission!  

I've never noticed it being larger than similarly 'joined' beds on other cruise lines or in Europe, but it does bother us from time to time.  

I know you used to be able to request egg crates for on top of the mattress - not sure how that works, exactly, but you might be able to bridge the gap that way?

58 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Thanks.  I live near Spring/The Woodlands so I got a 9:30 and 9:45 am for the "24 hours turnaround" at a nearby Walgreens.  FX I actually get it back in 24 hours. If not, I will test at the port.

Even at the height of things, I never waited more than eight hours for the Walgreens results - and that was a system fluke, everyone in Florida who tested that day got their results at the same time that evening.  I usually get my results in 1-3 hours.  I hope your luck is good as well!!

My other half has been bringing his birth certificate on each cruise since he crossed the six month mark, but they just keep accepting his passport with no problems. We don't mention the date and they don't even blink when they look at it.

We'll probably try to get an in person appointment for renewal before the next trip - absolutely no interest in giving up his passport and supporting documentation for an uncertain return date.  

4 hours ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

This has probably been asked here somewhere and I apologize for asking again, but I don't know the answer.  Does anyone understand the reasoning behind different promotional prices being offered to different people?  I am booked on an upcoming cruise on the Mardi Gras.  I check the pricing regularly for price protection.  I have a friend who is looking to book for the same date that I am.  The pricing that is available to him with his VFP number gives him different promotions that I do not get.  The best rate he is offered is $200 less than my best rate and comes with $200 OBC and mine only comes with $50 in OBC.  Neither of us have sailed on Carnival in quite a few years, but I have been on twice as many Carnival cruises as he has.  Just wondering if anyone had any insight as to why our promotions would be different.

It sounds (to me) like you unfortunately booked your cruise before/after the time a 'hail mary' offer was targeted to you.  We were receiving them all summer, and the one that got us to bite was a one time use that I 'wasted' on a short Sunrise cruise.  Fortunately, my husband had also been given a great one time use offer, and we were able to use it 'well' on a MG sailing.  We didn't get any new (great) offers until our gambling from that Sunrise cruise cycled into the system. 

It doesn't actually help, but can you check your old emails for the OV8 code or other excellent offers that may have expired before you booked?  Your situations sound very much like ours (no gambling history with Carnival, no sailing since 2014, me with several more cruises than my partner) and I'd be surprised if you weren't targeted for great offers at some point - but I do know those offers all but dried up for us once we'd actually booked one each.  Thankfully our gambling was enough to get them coming again, and we're booking pretty much everything they let us book because I know these plague promotions won't last forever.  

For what it's worth, testing positive on a rapid test well after infection is relatively rare.  I'd get your documents in order, and take a home test a little early just so you know what to expect.  Odds are you'll test negative, but you'll have your docs all ready as backup.

If you are one of the unlucky souls who does keep trading positive, I'll be curious to hear how it goes for you.  I don't think I've read any first hand accounts of the process yet.

I'm personally looking forward to kicking off our Alaska cruise with sea days - but I can't imagine that I'll enjoy them enough to pay $2000 for them.  

Enjoy whatever you choose!  

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

I have changed several cruises which have the COVID $600 credit.  Each time, I made sure the OBC would transfer, which it did.  

 

I have not tried to move the OBC from a booked cruise to another already booked. 

That sounds really hopeful for me!  I don't even want to cancel the 'placeholder' cruises, I just don't want to waste $600 OBC on a Nassau weekend cruise - and I won't be ready to book our 'real' 2023 trips until after March.

Fingers crossed my PVP comes through with that in writing.  After being sent the emails that clearly say July 31st and not being able to get anyone to honor that, I don't know why I care about having it in writing, but I'll feel better when I have it.  

7 minutes ago, keene state mom said:

I think  you had until February 15 th to do that with no charge to you ... so it might be too late 

I might have presented it wrong - these are credit offers for cruises that Carnival cancelled.  I have until at least the end of March to book some cruises and apply the credits.  I'm trying to find out if later I'm able to book another cruise, and transfer the FCC/OBC cancellation credits to the new cruise, and just pay the 'placeholder' cruises in full in cash.  

Phone times dropped a lot from last week to today - but the service is just as bad.  One person insisted on transferring me to the casino people to get info on the covid cancellation FCC/OBC terms, when my call was dropped, and the next seemed really eager to help but also managed to hang up on me and send me to the survey.  

I'm really, really tempted to rebook through a travel agency.  What good is booking direct if you can't get a straight answer?

Trying to make this one less wordy in the hopes of getting responses.  So, more generally:

Has anyone applied a covid cancellation offer (FCC+OBC) to a cruise, and later decided they would rather have the OBC on a different cruise?  Were you able to do so? 

We'd still be taking the 'placeholder' cruises - paying them in full with cash - but would much rather have OBC on cruises that aren't just a weekend trip to Nassau. Unfortunately, my PVP says I only have until the end of March to book, even though the cancellation email says I have until the end of July.  I'm actually OK with booking and taking the 'extra' cruises now, as long as I know I can transfer the FCC/OBC to a more 'useful' cruise I book later down the road.  

We booked a Fri-Mon 10nt out of San Francisco, and are really excited despite the lack of a Skagway stop.  We're down in steerage, with little chance of getting a balcony offer we can switch to, but for the price we just couldn't pass it up.  Our first trip to Alaska!!

30 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

This is because the casino has purchased the CHEERS package for one guest.  

Like I said, it's not really an exception - but I'm just not convinced it's *actually* coded as a Cheers purchase, because it requires an override and a knowledgeable / understanding employee onboard.  I've heard just enough stories of people being denied that I don't think it's as simple as normal Cheers charged to the casino.  

It's definitely *functionally* just Cheers paid for by the casino - but then, my cabinmate being allowed to purchase a solo Cheers package onboard when I have DoUE is *functionally* an exception to the 'must buy two' rule the online system enforces.  

Doesn't seem to matter too much either way to the OP, unless perhaps they gamble some on land and could snag a casino match and an offer?  

It would absolutely depend on the airline for me.  On Alaska, with another dozen flights to be accommodated on, sure.  On an airline with once daily (or worse!) service? No way.  Heck, I'm a pretty loyal Southwest flyer, and I'm nervous about a West Coast -> Florida booking because their lack of red-eyes means missing my scheduled flight makes me only be able to get close-ish to home that night.  

The only exception I've heard of working lately has been the casino exception - and it's not really an exception, it's just that they're supposedly willing to count the casino Drinks on Us Everywhere as they would a paid Cheers purchase.  I say supposedly because I haven't actually done it yet, just have an email from the casino folks telling me that it's possible onboard.  

In your case, up against paying for two Cheers pax even you only want one, you might be better off buying liquor for the suite and getting fewer drinks at the bars?  I know it's not optimal, but when you're trying to balance dollars vs ethanol intake, it's worth considering.

I haven't managed to get it working in the covid era, though sometimes (randomly, it appears, even on the same cruise) I'll occasionally (sporadically) start being able to receive and send texts.  I'm a Verizon customer, for what it's worth.

So we have a handful of Covid cancellation credits from Australian cruises that didn't pan out, and made the mistake of assuming that the emails we received when they were cancelled were accurate.  The first one had a select / book by date of 31 March, the next 31 May, and the most recent 31 July. 

Unfortunately, my PVP said that thatv is only if I'm rebooking Australian cruises - that domestic or European cruises must ALL be booked by 31 March.  I asked him to please verify that the email I received was inaccurate, and he came back saying that admin had confirmed that the rules state 31 July for Australian cruises, and 31 March for domestic cruises, with no mention of European cruises either way.

I immediately called Carnival, and after 97 minutes was connected to another passenger who had been waiting even longer - ugh.  Tried again and the representative assured me that I had until July.  That's when my PVP came back with the confirmation from admin that I only have until the end of March.  So I called again, and this time was told my PVP was correct, that the book by date is different depending on the region I rebook in.  That representative believed that I couldn't use the credit on European cruises at all, and transferred me to resolutions who kindly (?) added notes to one of my reservations specifically permitting me to use it for a European sailing.  

I asked John Heald to please shed some light on this, and he assured me that he'd see to it that the right people were make aware of the discrepancy.  I have not heard back yet, I figure I'll give it a week (he responded last Tuesday) before I see if he heard anything back.

In the meantime, though, I realized that if these credits can be freely moved between cruises, it's no skin off me to book some 'extra' cruises now and transfer the credits later when I'm booking for 2023.  We don't mind locking ourselves in on wherever couple weekend cruises, but I want the OBC on cruises where we'll be booking excursions or pricey drink packages.

Does anyone know how this works?  I reached out to my PVP but he's likely pretty busy with least minute cancellations.  Alternatively, does anyone have anything concrete about the book by dates for the cancellation credit offers?  Thanks so much!

While you might not have seen a drop in casino attendance, I'm pretty darn sure that Carnival noticed a drop in revenue - or they would have taken this perfect opportunity to stay smoke-free.  I am actually one of the (electronic) smokers who believed that the numbers would even out in the wash, and we'd never see smoking casinos again.  I think their return to smoking is legitimate proof that they didn't see that happen.

In fairness, this wasn't an ideal time to 'run the test' - health conscious (smoking averse) gamblers are likely abstaining from cruising (and confined close quarter spaces like casinos) at higher rates then their less concerned brethren, and strict masking rules are obviously going to result in lower attendance.  I'm more accepting of masks then many, but on vacation, I definitely tend to lean towards activities and locations where I don't have to stay masked.  For me, it's half about comfort and half about limiting higher risk situations generally.  Either way, I'm certain that Carnival will be taking every bit of information they gleaned into consideration - but I'm also certain that they only brought it back because the initial numbers were clear.

My other half likes to buy rounds of shots, it's a little infuriating.  Never have those shots counted against his fifteen - thanks to one particular football game, he's in the (maybe?) unique position of being able to confirm that you can in fact purchase enough drinks to TRIPLE the cheers limit.  If he's already hit his fifteen (not sure where the ten is coming from, unless there's been a recent system change) then I'm the one ordering shots for the rest of the evening, and the bartenders never seem to be concerned with finding out if he's going to be a recipient or not.  There may (must?) be different ways for then to ring things up - and I'm sure their willingness to do so has everything to do with how sloppy a heavy imbiber is.  

3 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I'm assuming that all of these great offers(and they are) the people get are strictly because they belong to the Carnival Player's Club. I haven't signed up for it but I believe I should.  Now, just to find out where. 

 

Good thread! 👍

We never actually signed up in the way that means filled something out or registered - we just donated some money to the slots and the offers appeared a little over a month later.  

If you hold status with a land casino group, you can contact them directly to get a match / offer - I assume that would get you 'registered' without play.  

48 minutes ago, shortyjoesmith said:

To get your booking linked where you can book the steakhouse or excursions, go to the Booking & Order Detail page and then on the right side of the screen select Manage another booking.  You will need the booking number and last name.  Then everything will be listed on your page and you will be able to add those other things as you want. 😄

It took me a bit to figure this out a few months ago but I kept trying, thinking there must be a way.

 

Angie

I just went to try this, and realized that our next trip is too early to use OBC for reservations anyway.  I'll get my PVP to apply a cancelation credit to my Alaska sailing and give it a try.   Thanks!!