Woodfaerie

On 10/25/2023 at 7:17 PM, sdc67 said:

Question for any veteran cruisers who are on Nieuw Amsterdam now: is this level of weather-inspired “rockin and rollin” normal, abnormal, or really crazy?

 

I am definitely experiencing motion sickness today, which I did not have at all  on our lovely first day and night from Florida to Nassau. Gonna have to decide, eventually, if this rules me out from future cruises…

 

There was lots of rockin and a rollin for sure! Though many of my fellow passengers were green around the gills, hubby and I embraced it. It is not the norm by any means. Don't let that discourage you from future cruising but it can happen due to weather. The sky can be beautiful but the seas not!  Midship , lower deck your best bet but if King Neptune is partying, no deck is a good one!

On 10/21/2023 at 2:09 PM, billbunger said:

FUN IN THE SUN

 

The repair work has begun on the damaged azipod. There are divers working in the water as I type, going by some of the material on the dock they will be replacing some seals. 

 

Walking through the Lido I just saw granny in line for food wearing only her bathing suit and there are some passengers drunk already and others not showing up to their muster stations. Me thinks this will be an interesting three days in Fort Lauderdale. We are skipping out to Miami tomorrow so may miss some of the eye candy and boozing. It’s going to be an interesting seven 

Haha, so true! I see lots more drinking going on than I have observed on previous HAL sailings. I was approached by 3 highly intoxicated passengers asking me if they had to do the muster drill in order to "get our OBC comp"! Guess they thought I was a crew member? (perhaps their Mai Tais were talking) They apparently didn't hear the repeated overhead announcements looking for the rogue non compliers.

$250 OBC? Setting my alarm to get to the shoppes the moment they eventually open!

I received this invite in today's mail. My initial thought was that they got my name from some cruise data base, if such a data base even exists. The clincher for me was that both my last and first name were spelled incorrectly (in addition to my name or "current resident" invited)  so I know they didn't get it from some legit information that the cruise lines might sell.  Oh well, I was excited for at least a moment!

When is the cutoff to register a name?  Can it be after final payment?

I  have never bothered to enter my flight info when I do the final registraion for cruising as I always fly in the day before so I didn't think it was a big deal. The world is wonky so I figured I would supply that info for my upcoming cruise. Lo and Behold!  It doesn't recognize the airline!  Anyone ever have this issue?  (if you  are wondering, its Aveloair)

On 7/12/2022 at 1:54 PM, CruiseBro16 said:

I'm one of the few who has only sailed in an interior room. 

I have always sailed with a balcony up to a year ago.  Airfare from CT to FL has become inhibitive to affording balconies and OV.  We have become used to interiors and find ourselves hanging out on the decks much more!  I'd rather have an inside and be cruising than not cruising but dreaming of

a balcony!

I eat 2 satisfying  meals (when I really want 4), never take an elevator and walk laps around the ship as often as possible. (cardio not vacation speed)  I always bring my gym gear but that is usually a big fail as I might make it twice on a 7 day sailing.  I'll gain a solid 2-3 pounds anyway.  (it's the darn desserts ) When I get home, I just get right back into the swing of things!  

6 minutes ago, sbwmail said:

With all the flights cancelled this past weekend across the US, is anyone else concerned about missing their cruise, even though they are flying in a day early in the coming weeks?

Absolutely concerned about that possible scenario.

5 hours ago, heidiatmn1 said:

I've seen the same lately. On top of it, I'm helping a large group book and they range from first time cruisers, to 1 time before cruisers, to "a few" time cruisers and every single one of them has better rates than me right now. Puts a bad taste in my mouth like "we know we got ya anyways" so I think I'll start shopping around. There are a few lines out there I've been wanting to try but Carnival has given me such good VIFP rates that it kept me here.

It does seem as those of us with a fair amount of sailings under our belts don't get the better rates as "they" have determined we are hooked and will pay to feed our addictions.  There is some slight truth to that. I totally understand  why your less traveled cruisers are getting the better deals but holy cow, the additional costs of traveling (airfare, etc) really make me jones for some better deals.

On 10/30/2021 at 5:54 PM, sanger727 said:

There are great prices on cruises. The problem for us is air to get to the cruise. Not seeing crazy prices on airlines I think won’t cancel on me.

 

if we lived a reasonable drive from a cruise port we might be booking more.

Agree. The airfare is such a deterrent.  Averaging $350-400 to MIA. Pre-cruise hotel and associated meals with flying down a day early can add $1000 easily onto the price.  Oh and  let's include the stress of whether the airline will cancel.

Just off the Nieuw Amsterdam.  3 different crew members asked, 3 different answers. (husband is weird about statistics but crew member with the coolest uniform said the passenger manifest was 1240)  Bottom line is that me and DH had the aft pool to ourselves most of the time, there was no waiting for more than a minute to be served,  and the bar crew in the Blues Club did more dancing than serving!  It was awesome.

I was researching cruises and just for the  heck of it, decided to see if there was actually a discount when I entered my VIFP number.  I had 2 window open, one I was logged in with my VIFP,  the other not logged in because I was researching as  Josephine Stealthmode.   The sailing with my VIFP number showed the Pack and Go (cheapest rate for that particular sailing)  as not available but the more expensive options were. Under  the Stealthmode / non VIFP, the Pack and go was available.

Now why on earth would booking under under a non VIFP offer me less expensive options  than using my VIFP number to book?  Inquiring minds want to know.

On 10/13/2021 at 12:05 AM, RGEDad said:

Yea - 2 Cartons is a pretty good excursion...Three cartons - wellllll - now we are talking helicopter time...

haha!  we just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam where he picked up 4 cartons!  I'd say a helicopter ride AND one of those fancy pay to eat diners on board!  

13 hours ago, RGEDad said:

Yup: they do, down in the ships Stores..

Here is a Photo of the Nieuw Amsterdam Shop and you can see them on the shelf..

 

I think I saw some folks taking out Title Loans on their cars to buy some on our September Alaskan cruise. Boy am I glad I kicked that 40 years ago...

 My husband still smokes so its like, "you go ahead and spend your hard earned money buying your cartons of cigarettes. I'm going to spend mine on an excursion, cya when I get back!"

Does Holland America sell cartons in their ship stores?

9 hours ago, L1211 said:

Dessert was also nice.  
Chocolate melting cake-10/10.  Always a winner!

Bitter snd Blanc bread pudding- 5/10.  It was Dry- don’t recommend.

 

I feel like I have gained several pounds merely by living through your dessert pictures!

On 10/4/2021 at 10:58 AM, L1211 said:

Suite guests had a separate lounge and boarded first at 10:45.  A group hit the line at 10:50.  Here we go! 

The walkway to paradise!  

I can identify as I was supposed to be boarding today but failed the 72 hour questionnaire just 2 days ago due to covid exposure.

Any way you crunch the numbers, whether the OP was right or wrong,  it sucks the big wazoo to have your vacation and all that is involved with that stripped from you. We all know there is more involved than just unpacking and putting your clothes back in the closet. 

On 9/24/2021 at 5:22 PM, 5000 said:

original OP:

 

because it starts in Seattle and ends in Miami   ...   adding airfare  brings it UP in cost to the cruisers!

The air fare for my rescheduled cruise is up to  $740 for 2 of us from CT to MIA.  I paid $313 total when I first booked but since an exposure to covid took that cruise away from me, I rebooked only to see airfare skyrocketing.  I envy Floridians who don't have to pay airfare.  It adds on so much more money especially if you have to get a hotel for flying in a day early, which we always do as a safety measure.

On 9/23/2021 at 2:30 PM, ontheweb said:

And there is even a very good chance given all the negative tests that followed in the narrative told by the OP that that positive test was a false positive.

That was our thought. Not one person had a positive test of all those she came into contact with.  (8 persons total)  And everyone was tested 4-5 days after her positive so that was the proper window to wait. 

On 9/23/2021 at 12:46 PM, Keys2Heaven said:

I guess I'm arguing semantics then. What difference does it make if someone were positive 10 days or 14 days ago if they no longer have symptoms and test negative? In fact, I'd argue that I would probably prefer to cruise with someone in this situation as their antibodies are much higher than someone who has been fully vaccinated more than 6 months.

This was our feelings exactly which is why we held our breath when we started the 72 hour questionnaire.  We had hoped that there would be some additional questions since it was a YES for exposure for me.  No follow up questions like did we have a negative at any time after the positive.  In fact, I did my questionnaire first and it didn't even let us get to DD questionnaire. I guess since I couldn't board, there was no purpose in completing the roomies questionnaire. 

On 9/22/2021 at 6:03 PM, Moviela said:

Email. reviews@carnival.com has the ability to make things right in special situations.

 

I am booked a year from now to see Grand Turk, and look forward to it. I hope some sense of normalicy returns to travel by that time.

Thank you for that email. I didn't know it existed.  I love Grand Turk.  Some very cool fish to see snorkeling or  you can head into Margaritaville and have so much fun with the DJ and her/his adult contests.  Its all free except if you want to pay for a few premium chairs with umbrellas, a cooler and a personal server.  

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Here you go. I find this a great stress reliever. And it even has a cruise ship (though Princess, not Carnival.) Enjoy.

 

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay feat. Jack Johnson | Otis Redding 50th Anniversary - YouTube

 

oh man , that was awesome!!! great medicine, thanks Web!

At this point, I would be happy with a sandbar! Just get me out on the ocean.

7 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

GT was changed from our Nov cruise to Amber Cove about 2 weeks ago. We sail Nov 20.

heading out on the 29th. I'll take Amber Cove. Lazy River tubing. I can deal with that. Thanks for the info.