Yankeegirl49

I am sailing on my first Royal cruise this Sat. I booked a balcony which I am fine with. I bid for both a junior suite and a grand suite. Yesterday I got an email saying it hasn't been granted...YET. The email said that it will be reviewed on the ship and I could be upgraded then. My question is, is this common? Do they usually do the upgrades once on the ship? 

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Where in Delaware? We live near Bayonne and it takes us at least 2 hours to get to Newark.

First time I read this I thought Newark, NJ...and shook my head in agreement because with traffic on construction on the extension, it could realistically take 2 hours 🙂. Then I realized you  meant Newark, DE. 

I did anytime dining for the first time on my last cruise in June. I did not like it.  Yes it was great going any time we wanted, but I found we usually went around the same time every night anyway. I missed being seated and having my iced tea/lemon/sweetener waiting for me rather than having to ask/wait for it. While we did request the same staff each night, sometimes we weren't able to be accommodated within a reasonable time frame. We were with other people who preferred any time, but next time by ourselves we will go back to late seating. 

2 hours ago, pe4all said:

Off the Magic 7/6.  Boy, do I miss the days of aft pools and hot tubs being adult only!  Granted, on this sailing there were tons of kids due to schools being out right before the sailing.  As a retired teacher and native NYer I kind of knew what to expect as I used to have to cruise only during school breaks/summer but back then the aft area was adults only.  On this cruise the hot tubs and pool was overrun with kids.  Yes, there was Serenity to go to, but no pool there!  I had sailed on Horizon in the winter (Havana aft wrap) and it was paradise!  Note to self - no more summer cruises unless in Havana area on ships that have Havana.

I was on the Magic for the 6/20 cruise and felt the same exact way. 

I just booked my first RC cruise after 11 with Carnival and I agree 100% about the web site. Don't know about anything else, but Carnival's site (with all its glitches) is much more user friendly and much easier to navigate. 

19 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Hi, Yankee girl. Having sailed RCI twice, I feel the overall difference is a very, very slight - almost unnoticeable unless you are really paying attention - upgrade to the condition of the ships, the sense of classiness onboard, and very slightly less issue with crowds and bottlenecks. The vibe is relaxed and fun but again just slightly less fun-oriented than Carnival, as evidenced by how Carnival uses the word Fun in all their marketing and programs. 

Thanks! Thats pretty much exactly my expectations. 

This is a great discussion and relevant to my own needs right now. I have been on 11 cruises, all 11 with Carnival. My most recent was last week on the Magic (yea, the one with "the fight") which was also my first cruise in 10 years. 
I just booked a sailing to Bermuda on RC simply because the dates/price and embarkation port worked the best for me. I am curious to see the difference if there is one. I feel like a "newbie" though because I have so many questions as to how they do things as compared to what I am used to. 
We are "beer and burger" types rather than 5 star restaurant types, we love the "fun ship" atmosphere. I expect it will be similar on RC. I truly have no desire to try the other lines unless of course there is a REALLY good deal and or an itinerary I cannot pass up. 

On 6/28/2022 at 7:51 AM, KATHYMAC68 said:

I will be on that also!

Bermuda 10/8 and Can/NE 10/13.

See you there!

I just booked the 10/8 sailing...we are also form Staten Is

I am new to RC so please bear with me. 
We are 2 people in the cabin and we do not need to be online at the same time. Am I understanding correctly that we can have one person purchase VOOM for one device and take turns using it where one logs out on their device and the other logs in on a different device? Neither of us need to be online often, we just both would like to be able to check emails, social media, sports scores etc. 

I was on the 6/20 sailing out of NYC and had a fantastic cruise. The only issues I had were in regards to fellow passengers who were very rude (blasting loud music on the lido from a huge personal speaker, talking during the comedy shows, cutting lines etc). I had zero issues with Carnival or how they handled anything. 
I had 10:30 check in so the line wasnt very long, though it took some time for my friends who had a later time. The ship was definitely full and we felt it, but we were on vacation and were in no rush to do anything so we went with the flow. There were always spots to find where you could get away from the crowds. 
Only went to 1 of the shows, the rock show on the last night and we enjoyed it. Went to a few of the comedy shows and other than people talking loudly behind us and getting an attitude when told to speak lower (security was told and they came and took care of it), the shows were great, the comedians were very funny. 
The food was what I expected, this was my first cruise in 10 years and I was aware that the quality and selection had gone downhill..and they did, but the food overall was still good. Loved Blue Iguana, that way my favorite thing on the ship. 
Staff were fantastic, from room steward to dining room staff to bar tenders and servers..all were wonderful and worked their butts off. 
Iy was the first cruise for one of the people I was with and he loved it and cannot wait for the next, so even though he had nothing to compare it to, Carnival is still doing something right.

13 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I was gonna say something snarky like "hmm, imagine that, for a cruise out of NY/NJ" (NYC and Jersey do have a self-promoted image of being "gruff", shall we say), but sadly, it appears that rude people are everywhere.

 

It doesn't help that there are current events happening that are putting a lot of folks on edge more than usual.  I know I've been a bit off-put recently.

I am a lifelong New Yorker and I have never seen the rudeness en masse like it was on this cruise. "Gruff" is one thing, but some of what I observed went way past gruff and way past the typical new York attitude. 

I got off the Magic this morning, as stated above, we weren't forced to make an unexpected stop, we just docked a little earlier than usual. 
I didnt see or hear anything but I am not surprised this happened. Carnival staff was wonderful, overall the cruise was great...BUT...many of my fellow passengers can use a lesson in common courtesy. There was lots of entitlement, lots of people who thought they didnt have to wait in line, lots of people who thought they were the only ones on the cruise and lots of people who thought rules didn't apply to them. Still had a wonderful time and a great vacation, but the rudeness was out of control. I felt bad for security who had a busy week.

Just got off The Magic this morning. I don't know the exact number of people on the ship but it was CROWDED. Be prepared to wait in lines for most everything. With that said, the staff was fantastic and did what they could to keep the lines moving. If you go with the expectations of crowds it will be much easier to deal with. I had a fantastic time overall. 
The muster is as stated above, quick and easy.

I am on The Magic tomorrow as well and also have a credit as do others on our sailing. I assumed it was something to do with the port charges. Don't spend it all in one place 😁!

I got the email for the 6/20 Magic sailing a few hours ago. The assessment was in my planner.

Thank you

I know if you purchase Cheers and are leaving from NY it does not start until 6am on day 2. Does free drinks in the casino work the same or does that start when the casino opens? Thanks.

2 minutes ago, Gaprofitt said:

Insurance?  This is on Carnival.   They made no effort. That's the issue. 

They gave you your money back and a free cruise, they did all they needed to. This is literally the point of having insurance no matter who it's on or what effort was made. 

48 minutes ago, coldinerie said:

I'm in the same boat (pun intended). I did test positive and did get my test at a Walgreens.  I am 12 days out (with no symptoms) from my sail date and good to go.  There is no place to say we need a Dr. note on the website.  What does that really prove? We called the Dr and they told us to stay home and self-monitor our symptoms (which were mild bc we are 4x vacced). Dr really did nothing for us. 

 

So, why the Dr. note?

 

 

According to the web site and John Heald (who has stated this multiple times on his FB page) all that is needed is the positive test and your health assessment stating you have no symptoms. A letter used to be required, it is not any longer. 

6 minutes ago, WheresWalter said:

 

I second the comment about how busy the parks are. We were going to drop in this weekend but it's crazy busy. If you can take a cruise, you will be better off. I'm hopeful Carnival will work with guests to get them on the Mardi Gras for comparable pricing and I believe the Magic sails out of Port Canaveral as well. I could swear we saw her sail by us on sailaway day when we sailed Mardi Gras in March.

The Magic is in Norfolk now

4 minutes ago, mrsfecura said:

Yikes!!

I just saw your signature....I am also "Staci (with an i) in NY. 

1 minute ago, d12j28 said:

Saw something on another site that said the Freedom was on fire. No injuries reported. Can't find much about it at the moment. Anyone seen or heard anything???

Yes John Heald conformed it on his FB page. He didn't post about it but responded to someone asking. 

2 hours ago, bar1068 said:

Curious how you were able to get Cheers for $100/day for 2. Thats less than the cost of the package before the 18% gratuity is add in, even purchased before the cost went up..

They said they used OBC so I am assuming that was their out of pocket cost.

This is perfection, well done!

2 hours ago, velmasue said:

TESTING REQUIREMENTS (UPDATED 05/04/22)

Except where destination requirements differ*, guests who are up to date with their vaccines may take their test within three days prior to sailing. Up to date means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, including any booster dose, when eligible. 

 

Above from Carnival's website.  Trying to figure out if this means you would have to have the 2nd booster also if over 50 to be eligible to take test 3 days before cruise?  

According to John Heald on his FB page, they are not considering the 2nd booster as part of the requirements. If you have the first you can test 3 days before.