Virga

Super curious to learn what level of play earned offers back pre-plague.  Very little play earned us pandemic offers, but I'm sure that won't continue.  Thank you for asking, OP, and thanks to everyone else who responds!

5 minutes ago, jonbgd said:

No we dont have that issue 

Im able to book dining, excursions, bvg pkg, anything  for both of us 

did you book with Online, PVP or TA? 

 

I booked 2 connecting balcony cabins with one of my VIFB offers

Its now a 2bd 2 bath bowling alley balcony suite

That one was booked with my PVP, you'd think that would work natively.  I'll call and get that stuff ordered appropriately, then, make sure there's a 0% chance of us ending up on different tours.

We have the 2b/2b bowling alley balcony suite for a November Sunrise sailing!  Pretty excited 😃

31 minutes ago, jonbgd said:

thats weird did you 2 book at different times?

if you booked 2 cabins at the same time, you should be automatically linked but with separate  booking #'s

On that one, yes, they were booked at the same time with consecutive booking numbers, so we didn't have to manually add each other as companions - it was automatic.  On others we've had to use the email address to add each other.  We can't manage to book each other for specialty dining or excursions in either case - for the important excursions, we were planning on just booking the same slots and making sure they understand when we get onboard.  Is it 'supposed' to work differently?

Hubs and I have separate cabins on an upcoming cruise, we are properly linked as companions, but it didn't let us book the steakhouse 'together.'   We'll just book onboard, we're getting on really early for once.

If you used to have to make anytime dining reservations for the MDR in advance, I think you'll love Carnival's implementation.  We've never had much of a wait, but even a wait is just fine if I submitted the request while sitting comfortably at my favorite bar!

If we traveled less frequently, we'd probably try it - we do enjoy a splurge from time to time when there's a great deal - but that upsell cost would pay for a whole other cruise. 

Any chance you have the menus from your sailing?  Having a hard time deciding on a steakhouse reservation - don't want to miss any of our favorites!

48 minutes ago, keels81 said:

Do I think Carnival will make a blanket statement rescinding mask wearing like the other lines? No, at least not until the end of March.

 

However, I do think they will continue to let the ships police themselves on mask wearing in accordance with ports of call, overall ship capacity, the guidance of the on-ship Public Health Director (which includes their findings on the 3x weekly testing of crew, infected/recovery numbers among crew and overall staffing levels) and ultimately what the captain wants and tells ship security to enforce.

 

Even John Heald mentioned just last week that it was the first time since Omicron that the crew on the Breeze was allowed to get off the ship in port. I, personally, don't like wearing the mask indoors or the whole "sip and cover" bit, but I'm willing to do it for the safety of the crew and until they can get to their expected "normal" life on the ship -- which means being able to go ashore, or safely (and healthily) sign off to fly back to their home country for their break. 

It's funny, but early on, I really believed that we'd all settle into rolling restrictions based on metrics: easing restrictions when rates are low, increasing caution when an area was at risk of hospital overload.  I thought people would willingly roll with this as needed to keep their community medical infrastructure intact and get to enjoy as much normalcy as possible in between, so it would be easy to implement.  I was wrong, of course, but it kind of tickles me to see Carnival implementing this basic idea with a fair amount of success.  

12 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Amen! I see the benefits of wearing a mask as i have not gotten sick since November 2019.  All  my PCR tests have come back negative and I wash my hands,, use hand sanitizer, wear my mask over my nose and mouth.

 

Here is a case study I visited Las Vegas in October 2020 and did not get sick. I tested negative after my return and had no temperature throughout my stay . My temperature stayed within the normal range.

 

I went to Hawaii this past summer for  2 weeks. My Parents and I went to Israel and I visited my Grandparents one in New Mexico and two trips to LA. 

 

My point is that by following the protocols we have less chances of contracting COVID. If for some reason I get a breakthrough case at least I know I am doing everything within my power to protect myself and other people as well.

 

I agree with you that masking should not be political. While other counties in California are ending indoor masking for vaccinated individuals our county Santa Clara who was the first one to lockdown in March 2020 is  still keeping indoor masking for now which I am happy about as it will help me to not get sick before my cruise.

I am also one of the people who has not taken ill, and I credit my KN95s and general avoidance of indoor gatherings.  I have an elderly father who fought cancer in 2020, so I have been extremely careful - but haven't been completely able to entirely avoid risk of exposure/infection due to my work, nor willing to continue postponing my proven mental health medication (travel.)

We have taken several cruises and many flights, even attended a few outdoor concerts.  I visit a couple dozen hospitals a week for work, stay in shady motels all over Florida, and am occasionally forced to use gas station bathrooms.  I've been testing frequently for almost a year now - either my body (+ the vaccine) threw off the infection so well that my levels remained undetectable to the test, or I've managed to keep viral particles out of my body.  Either way, I don't know that it would have been possible without high quality PPE and well measured risk assessment when deciding what activities to participate in. 

No, even my excellent masks aren't 100%, and the poorly fitted or loosely woven masks frequently worn by others are even less effective, but they reduced my risk every time I left the house.  Careful selection and timing of activities reduced my risk further, and those things plus frequent testing helped minimize the risk of my worst fear - transmission to others.  

Anyway, I trust the cruise lines to act in their own best interests - if they pore over the data and decide that they can lift some of the restrictions without risking a true plague cruise, I'm content with the risk reduction offered by my additional measures.  If they don't, I'll be grateful for their help keeping those risks at an acceptable level.  

For what it's worth, I've never feared Covid infection - I've only ever feared transmission.  I'm somewhat proud to look at the sad numbers and have reasonable confidence that none of those deaths resulted from an action I took.  

I'm so excited!  We're booked on her third sailing, I think, and I haven't known if it's realistic for her to be ready on time given the state of everything.  This is a really good sign!

21 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

It’s a shame that you aren’t Platinum yet. I started cruising on Carnival in 1998 and have been Platinum since 2010 and still dont have 75 days.

 

they must have changed the rules on you before you made 10 cruises which used to be the minimum requirement to make Platinum 

I'm also platinum thanks to the old rules - but this will be the year when I'd qualify by days!  My husband will finally qualify too - I took a couple cruises before I met him, so he's seven days behind me.  It'll take a loooong time for us to earn diamond three nights at a time!

I have a bunch of complaints about my pvp - it took him most of a decade to understand that I vastly prefer written communication, he's always on his line or otherwise lets it go to voicemail when I do break down and call, he used to call me seemingly every time I'd visit the website, and when I book myself to catch a sale when he's unavailable, he always makes me feel guilty.

That all said, I've been trying harder to book through him lately because he's been VERY helpful dealing with the covid cancellations, despite me not booking all of those cruises through him.  He is more than willing to help me with any cruise.  That (much appreciated) professionalism means I will just put exactly what I want on hold to let him collect my deposit so he gets the booking credit.  I still don't really like him, but he worked hard and well for me when he wasn't sure he'd ever get anything out of it, so as far as I'm concerned, he's earned my future bookings as a tip.  I'd be pretty put out in OP's shoes - that is a pretty lousy way to prove your value to a customer.

1 hour ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

I saw a cheers included offer but the pricing was about the same as buying it separate.  Was yours an actual free cheers?

The drinks on us everywhere offer from the casino is, to my knowledge, legitimately free, not counting your gambling losses.  There are also non-casino rate codes that bundle in Cheers, but the marketing algorithm decides whether that's darn close to free (RU1?) or more expensive then purchasing Cheers separately (RU9).

Also, for the OP, the casino people told me in writing that my cabinmate would be allowed to buy cheers for just themselves onboard, but did mention we wouldn't be able to do it in advance because they couldn't only sell one if there are two adults in the cabin.

16 minutes ago, CaribbeanJen said:

We sail 2/18 for a weekend cruise and I am also wondering about the menu- etc.  Hopefully we can get some answers!

That's us too!  Pretty excited, we had expected to cruise all winter but paused for Omicron.  I'm just realizing we've never been on a Conquest class ship, so now I'm doubly excited!!

I'm sailing on her soon, for a 3nt weekend cruise.  I'm having trouble finding much recent info on these sailings!  We have free drinks in the casino, so we're not buying cheers this trip - hoping for an embarkation and port day happy hour.  Also want to book the steakhouse but have no idea what night to choose because I can't figure out which nights will be which menu.  

In and event, we've never had a bad cruise, so we're bound to have a great time.  I hope you do as well!

3 hours ago, sc4125 said:

Exactly.  I've been on over 30 cruises and have been in many different types of cabins from interior to wrap around balconies (love those), but never tried a forward balcony.  I have never had a bad cruise and know this will be a blast.  Love the Mardi Gras - will be boarding again in 4 days, so looking forward to the Celebration.

We've never had a bad cruise either - not one.  With an attitude like that, you'll have a blast even if you don't spend as much time on your balcony while underway as expected.  Here's hoping you come back and report that the design made it easy to enjoy the balcony from your lounger the way you'd hoped 😃

I've never booked one, for the exact concern you're expressing here.  I've had enough wind from hump balconies, the idea of being right up front worries me enough that I've never taken one of these 'premium' balconies over a normal one.

So I've been trying to make sense of the book by date for my cancelled Australian cruises - the email says I have until 31 July, but my PVP says I only have until 31 March.  So far:

*Asked John Heald online, his assistant said they don't know, and that I'd have to contact the call center folks.  I replied asking for an email address, but haven't received a response yet.

*Called the number I usually call my PVP at, but don't enter his extension.  I'm put on automated hold, answered by a sales rep who transfers me to a department that is asking people to please call back later/tomorrow. 

*After this happens twice, I pick another Carnival number and am able to start the process on hold with customer service - better than being hung up on, at least!  After 97 minutes, I am connected.  To a gentleman who has been on hold two and a half hours waiting for a Carnival representative.  We chat for a bit in the hopes of a representative noticing what they've done, but no dice - we wish each other luck, and I'm twenty minutes deep again.  That poor guy!  

Duplicate, my apologies

What are people being told regarding their book by date for cancelled cruises?  The email says I have until July 31st to rebook and get the OBC offer, but my PVP says that only applies to rebook an Australian cruise - if I want to book something in Asia, Europe, or the US, I need to decide that AND book by the end of March.  Does he have that correctly?

1 minute ago, Elaine5715 said:

Same issue with straws or ducks, if they end up in the ocean, they end up being swallowed by sea creatures.

Having read a little more, I think my position is changed somewhat, but this is what I would have written when I was writing the initial response: But realistically, how many grams of ducks end up in the ocean vs straws or ducks?  Further, at what percentage?  And after that, what percentage ends up hurting sea life?  Straws and bags, like that old soda can packaging, are well established to be devastating.  They dwarf ducks in amount of harm done, mostly because they're *intended* for single use, but partially because their design causes immediate harm.  

BUT: I hadn't realized that people were doing this at this kind of scale - someone mentioned hundreds??  That's pretty crazy, and since obviously at that point the final destination for these is mostly trashcans and occasionally the ocean... Well, if I were an active participant before, I couldn't be anymore.  The one we collected now lives in our nostalgia box (with his St Patrick's cousins we've collected for years) and I guess I thought that's where most of them went.  I'm definitely a 'pick and choose' environmentalist - I keep my AC set to the very low temperature where I'm most comfortable, for instance, despite that being pretty energy intensive in Florida - but I do begrudgingly give up things when I learn that their value is too massively outweighed by the damage they do.  I'm still not sure I'm convinced that the total amount of duck plastic involved is all that much, but at the point that the duck plastic is being treated as single use, it's being done wrong. 

I realize this went off on a tangent, but TLDR: in less crazy quantities, little harm is done and great joy is brought.  Arguably, a fair trade overall.  When the quantities are getting silly enough that they've just become garbage, the harm side of the equation gets heavier and it does bear thinking about.

I have seen this happening in a couple of my Facebook groups - thought it was cute but not my kind of thing at all, so I just kind of ignored those posts.  Then my other half found an adorable pirate duck and was so gleeful about it that I suddenly understood the appeal.  Still not my thing - I won't be planting the ducks anytime soon - but I will smile widely and tell my husband to keep his eyes open next time I discover we're going on a cruise with duck planters.

Not quite certain that I understand the straw comparison - I thought the problem with straws was their single use nature and very light/thin structure, making it easy for a zillion of them to end up in the water to be broken down or eaten and ending up as microplastics, often harming wildlife in the process.  Greatly reducing our reliance on single use / 'disposable' plastics is a laudable, realistic goal - I don't think anyone with more than a couple brain cells is trying to argue that all plastic products should be outlawed completely.  The ducks obviously fall somewhere in between, but anyone with a lick of sense must realize that things like grocery bags and straws are responsible for far more environmental damage than the ducks.  

34 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I had one (don't remember which ship),  I thought it was a nice change in layout.

Since we (thankfully!) don't suffer from motion sickness and don't have to worry about what direction things are rocking, we often book the 'oddly shaped' rooms just to get to see something a little different.  The bowling alley balcony cabins we always look for are similarly rotated, and also have an extra (huge!) closet that we really only use for our empty bags but greatly appreciate.  Heck, we book these weird layouts so frequently that our 'normal' MG layout felt like a fresh change.  

3 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

You do know that having someone use your casino card at a land casino, can void any payout, lose perks and lose your card?  The fine print says "benefits cannot be shared".

On board, your casino card is your sail and sign card and one only card is active per person.  

While that's technically true, we've never experienced it.  At Caesar's properties, my hosts know that the card in the slots will be my husband, and the card in the video poker will be me.  Admittedly, his handpays are much less frequent than mine, he plays penny slots at maybe fifty cents a spin while I play $5-$50 a deal VP.  It's possible we've just gotten lucky, but my hosts always seem eager to keep me/us coming back.  

That is the one excursion that we are absolutely, definitely going to take.  I've heard absolutely magical things about it - well traveled souls proclaiming it to be the best excursion they've ever taken.  

We are still waffling about flightseeing, though I expect sometime soon I'll find myself willing to shell out for a flight excursion that includes a glacier hike. This is all alien to my Florida bones, and I think I'd regret worrying about the cost when we got home if we didn't do these special explorations.  It would be like going to the Galapagos and not taking any of the day tours!

21 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

The casino deals for Alaska are always in May.  I got decent deals for August 2022 for Alsaka but I also booked back in 2021 before Alaskan sailing resumed.

I booked our 15 July Miracle about a month ago - free Oceanview (well, $200 deposit returned as $200 obc) and a decent chunk of freeplay, plus my $600 cancellation obc.  At the time, the only sailings on the whole schedule that weren't 'free' for at least an interior were a very few holiday sailings.  I absolutely should have speculatively booked something for Europe in 2023, and I wish I'd taken them up on their $600pp balconies on this Miracle sailing.  Some dates even had $1500pp suites, which is now what they're asking for the oceanviews.  

All of these offers were made before Omicron, when it looked like we might have actually hit a point where things would only improve.  I don't have much hope I'll get anything like those again on my budget, but we don't mind making the attempt.  If it doesn't work... Can I get an extra card with both of us gambling as me?  That's our MO at some land casinos, it is not worth keeping top status for both of us.