cruisegirl06

Is there any easy way to do this or check pricing online?

The Royal website will only let me put 4 in a room, but then I can select a 5+ room…would the price for the 5th person be the same as 3/4 (all are kids)?

Alternatively, I try to find connecting cabins, but they never seem to be available (or you can connect 2 2-person cabins and get up to 4 people…). We’ve done connecting cabins before and it’s been great - I’m just not finding them! 

Any tips are greatly appreciated! I know I can call and ask, but I’d prefer to check pricing/compare options on my own first.

We were on Koningsdam over thanksgiving and staffing (or lack of trained staff) was a big issue. There were constantly long lines in the lido, orders for pizza were “lost”, 15 min wait for a bagel with cream cheese at the deli, extremely long lines for Dive in and it took 20 min to be acknowledged at breakfast in the MDR one day and an hour to get food... I let HAL know and just got “we’re sorry”.

Club HAL was a mess  600 kids on board and only 30 could go at a time and they weren’t even running separate age groups most of the time or doing the stated activities. My kids loved club HAL in the past and my older 2 refuses to go back after the first day. Staff was friendly but seemed overwhelemed

We’ve done holiday sailings before and are fine with crowds, but crowds and short staffed/untrained staff was a mess. I won’t sail HAL again until there are better reports

It took almost 4 hours to get to Open Tenders on our Thanksgiving Koningsdam cruise. We arrived in Cabo and they didn’t start open tenders til 2:41. I was appalled - it’s usually fine within an hour or so…

As all-aboard was 5:30 we didn’t bother going ashore. 

9 hours ago, ScottishMaid said:

Please can you give as much information as possible about sign up. Is it embarkation day for the week? or on embarkation day for certain sessions? or? Our grandson is 5 and looking forward to Club HAL.

 

We are on the Koningsdam for the 17-22 December cruise and it has been booked out for weeks. Kids cruise free and it is school vacation for most. The cheapest fare of $299 per adult totals to $1098 for a family of 4 for 5 days, including port taxes, and for a while there was a private fare of $209 making a total of $918.

It seemed to change…the first night I think they let everyone in and it was chaotic, then apparently corporate said they had to limit it to 20 in 7-12s and 10 in 3-6s at a time…

At first you could sign up for any sessions the next day (e.g. on Monday you could sign up for Tuesday). This resulted in me going down every day at 9AM to try to sign my 5YO up for the next day.

Midweek I head them confirm to some other man that his kid was signed up for future days, and they let me sign up for future days then too (not sure if this was then standard protocol?)

I did go try to get her to drop in for a session where we didn’t have a space - they had 4 no shows in her age group and it was about 1.5 hours into the session. They hesitated to let her in, but eventually did.

In short - I think they were figuring it out as they went and it could be totally different, but I would ask at the kids club early and often to know what’s going on. Also be advised that they may be mixing age groups…

We sailed a holiday cruise that had a KSF in 2018 and had no issues getting kids into the club at that time. They may have alluded to that the club could be full, but there were no signups and we were never turned away. They also were running separate clubs then for 3-6 and 7-12.

7 hours ago, adoris said:

I was on the same cruise.  I know a lot of people won’t agree but……From my point of view the number of children on board was way too high and a big part of the problem was lack of supervisor by the parents.  The kids were running crazy, climbing under and running around the tables in the dining room.  On sea days both pools were packed with kids jumping and splashing….on that point maybe HAL should have one pool designated as adult only.  My solution, for myself,…….look at the calendar and don’t book a HAL cruise during Thanksgiving week.

HAL knows how many kids are booked on a given sailing. They could have put a cap on it. The fact that they didn’t and did not plan accordingly are what bothers me.  (For what it’s worth, my 2 kids who refused to go to kids club were not running amok unsupervised)
 

If Club HAL had been able to accommodate more kids and/or if more family friendly activities were available it may have been less of an issue. I have no idea why they couldn’t have played a family-friendly movie on the pool screen one day?

We have sailed multiple times on school holiday weeks on various lines, so we understand there will be more kids and that they may not be able to fully accommodate everyone all the time, but this seemed excessive. 

Club HAL was not up to usual par this past week on Koningsdam. It was thanksgiving week so there were 400+ kids, but they were only allowing ten 3-6 year olds And twenty 7-12s in at a time.  It was sign up only.

Despite it being “very busy” they frequently combined the 3-6 and 7-12s in one room, and never seemed to be doing the prescribed activity (e.g. pirate night, under the sea night, etc.) 

Our 5 YO is super relaxed and loved it, but my 8 and 11 YO refused to go back after the first night claiming they “weren’t allowed to do anything” (more there is frequently tween attitude with these 2, so I’m curious what actual restrictions were…) 

Staff seemed friendly and like they were trying to do their best with the situation, but compared to what we’ve seen at other kids clubs it left a lot to be desired.

Also of note, there were never any movies rated less than pg-13 on movies by the pool (a family-friendly matinee at some point would have been nice), it was hard to get kids menus in the dining room and there were never crayons available in the dining room. None of these were a huge deal, but they would have been easy kid-friendly concessions to make…

It is currently Saturday morning and DH was just now able to get our water to work properly and toilet to flush. We had maintenance in our room a lot of yesterday because we only had hot water, and as of when they left we still had NO water in the toilet and couldn’t flush properly since the “maintenance”. I think our room is just unlucky, but it is frustrating to not have our bathroom functioning properly for all of yesterday.

I see that kids under 12 pay half price for smaller portions off the specialty menu (which my 11 year old will love) or can order from the kids menu for free. However, if I book online I have to pay full price for everyone - is this adjusted on board or am I missing an option for kids?

Also - if we want to book a table for 7 so extended family can join us do we need to wait until we’re onboard? 

Thanks all for sharing - we had been planning on Pinnacle for our next trip, but  if this is happening it’s not worth it. We don’t have HIA and the idea of an upcharge to have a soup/salad along with an appetizer at a restaurant we would be paying nearly $50 for really rubs me the wrong way. 
 

Sorry, HAL…I’ll be eating in the MDR this night instead and spending $0 extra on my dinner…

As of now it’s just at Pinnacle, correct? We’d like to try some specialty restaurants if any are operating without silly surcharges, especially for those paying for the meal…

We’re sailing a cruise with standards protocols. From what I read here, there is no testing required regardless

of vaccination status - am I interpreting this correctly? I haven’t read anything about them changing requirements so this seemed odd…

If we bring bottles aboard and pay corkage, are we able to drink them anywhere (e.g MDR, specialty restaurants)?

Can I pay the fee with a giftcard?

My issue was related to mariner number too. Somehow my new booking was linked to a different mariner number - a quick call to HAL and it’s all sorted out 

4 hours ago, cruisetoscrap said:

 

When we went over 16 years ago we used Randy's Happy Horses.   Now it's Maria's Happy Horses.   We will be on the tour next week but she's been above and beyond when responding to emails.   The price is even the same for people just doing transportation as it was 18 years ago, $15. 

Perfect - I’ll look into this!

Is it possible to do horseback riding without a prebooked tour - or can anyone recommend a horseback riding tour that also allows for those that don’t want to ride to just hang out on the beach and relax?

last visit we did a tour that included a quick (maybe 10 min?) ride, but my 8 year old would love to do a longer ride this year (30 min - 1 hour)

1 hour ago, Melly4Tea said:

I am on a different cruise in a few months, and I've had trouble with the app locating my booking. I opened a ticket with support. I have heard that the app seems to work for half the cruisers, and not the other half. I'm wondering what the obstacles are for the half that I apparently fall into. Hope they can get it resolved. I will update here to share some insight on the problem, if they provide that info.

Like you - I can’t get my boarding to link the the app, but I can find it on the website. I’m hoping I don’t “need” the app to be working, I’d rather not be glued to my phone while on vacatiob

Thanks to everyone for the insights! Our kids are 5, 8 and 11 - it’s good to know current status, and we’ll obviously keep an eye on the boards/emails from HAL so we can plan/prep them accordingly. 
 

Glad to hear it’s somewhat “normal” in the club. We cancelled a cruise last year (on a different line) and went with a land-based vacation because we didn’t want to deal with all the restrictions while on vacation. We are excited to get back to cruising!!

2 hours ago, iceman93 said:

On our cruise this summer, Club HAL required masking at all times and did not do meals or snacks like they used to (only water for the kids).  But as far as I know there were no vax requirements beyond the cruise itself, and definitely no reservations required.

Thanks for sharing! Do you remember -  was masking required on the ship in general at that time or just in Club HAL?

We’re cruising in November, and I’d love to hear any recent insights on Club HAL. Specifically I am wondering if there are any Covid restrictions in place (e.g. proud of vaxx, masking, reservations needed?).

I am not trying to start a debate here, I just want to know what to expect for our upcoming trip.

 Thanks!!!

We applied for my daughters passport in early May and are still waiting for it… we cancelled our cruise due to kids COVID restrictions and now it looks like our backup Mexico trip is in jeopardy thanks to the passport delays… oye!

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

"It is wrong to string families along and require them to pay in full knowing they will not allow them. This is a cash grab"----No truer words were ever written. You nailed the essence of what they have done.

 

Do they realize that short term cash grabs like this that end up pissing off customers can in the the long run cost them these same customers?

This exactly! As a family with 3 kiddos

under 12, there’s no way I’m making final payment not knowing if they could go and not knowing how long a refund will take. I also refuse to stay in limbo seeing how often things are changing - I want to do everything I can to be sure our family has a nice vacation this summer.
 

I had been hoping they would just cancel for kids and offer families with kids the same refund or future OBC offers that all other cancelled cruises got - in that case we probably would have rebooked for next year and we still had would have a cruise to look forward to once things settled down a bit. But, given how this has all been handled, I’m in no hurry to rebook.

IF Carnival does not intend to sail with under 12s it would be better to just say it and let families know sooner so they can make alternate plans.

Have there been any updates on under 12s? It’s getting awfully close to the latest final payment extended date and to cruise time for many. Has anyone heard of confirmed/ approved exemptions for the under 12 set?

2 hours ago, Torchwood said:

I rebooked and kept my obc, plus they moved my deposit so no out of pocket.

What OBC were you able to keep? We would entertain rebooking if we can keep the $100 they were going to give it the cruise sailed or the $600 that all the cancelled cruises got. We’ve got under-12s and I’m not willing to chance the unknown protocols for them or that we might win the 5% lottery…

9 hours ago, jfaaborg said:

This is for my July 27th on the Miracle out of Seattle, WA

Guest Protocols for Carnival Miracle – July 27, 2021 Sailing

Dear Carnival Guest: We are very excited about our upcoming restart and are looking forward to welcoming you on board!   We know you are awaiting more details about pre-cruise and onboard protocols and procedures and we want to thank you for your patience while we finalized our plans.   Our Have Fun. Be Safe. protocols and procedures have been designed to maximize the health and safety of our guests and crew while delivering a fun and memorable vacation experience.    Please take note of our Have Fun. Be Safe. guidelines we expect to follow: Guests, including children who are age-eligible for vaccines, will need to be vaccinated and show proof of vaccination in advance of boarding. (As a reminder, fully vaccinated is defined as receiving the final dose of a vaccine at least 14 days before embarkation.)  For your reference, any vaccine approved by either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO) meets this requirement. According to current CDC guidelines, vaccinated guests on your sailing will not be required to wear face masks or physical distance while on board.  However, masks are required at the cruise terminal during embarkation. Vaccinated guests may participate in Carnival sponsored tours or independent activities.  We are in the process of finalizing our Alaska tours and expect more availability to be added in the next few weeks. Please check back on Carnival.com by the end of the month. All guests are required to follow the protocols and requirements for each destination while ashore.  These restrictions are under the control of local government and are subject to change without advance notice.   We encourage you to come prepared for potential requirements ashore which may apply to health screening/testing, masks, physical distancing, organized tours/independent activities, etc.   A Know Before You Go email will be sent to you the week before sailing with additional information on embarkation related matters.  Please watch for and read that email carefully, as it will be specific about vaccination verification and other details. With everyone’s cooperation and support, we are ready to deliver a fun and healthy cruise vacation to our guests.  We look forward to our great team welcoming you on board soon. Sincerely,

Christine Duffy President, Carnival Cruise Line

Thank you for posting this! We have under-12s on and August sailing and we’re curious what the guidance would be. We’re not willing to do Carnival excursions -  we know our ports and would just be doing beach days on our own, so it’s good to see their plans (at least as of today…).

I also think it’s tough they’re asking for final payment before they approve your exemption and it may take a bit before they know. I appreciate that they are dealing with complicated and changing logistics, but most people can’t easily adjust their vacation plans at

the last minute because they aren’t sure if they’ll get an exemption.

For those that still want to sail - we hope you have a great time! We’ll be keeping an eye on it and hope to be back onboard soon once things settle out a bit more!

So, essentially, if you have under-12s - is it a forced cancellation without the OBC given to those who had their cruises cancelled?
 

I’m hoping Carnival gives more info soon.

8 minutes ago, Lisa3635 said:

Yay! I’m so happy for those with kids under 12 that haven’t already canceled, gives me hope they’ll do the same for The Horizon. It’ll be interesting to see what the mask requirements for kids will be. 

I’m curious to hear what the protocols are too - I can’t imagine my 3, 6, and 9 year olds would be happy to be masked when none (very few) of the adults are. They are used to masks in school / daycare / etc., but I think this would be a different kind of strange…I’m also curious to hear what’s happening with Camp Ocean. 
 

We’re not booked until August, and I’ve already made back up plans, as it’s not sounding like an ideal time for cruising with kids - but I want to know what the plan is before we make a decision.