Manda2831

Thanks everyone! It seems as though the app (and the website) are being a bit glitchy today. I'll circle back and try to do it again tomorrow. When I load that page of the app now, my part to add my husband as an authorized user does actually show up, but disappears when the page loads fully. 🤪

Hi there! We just booked our first Ocean Medallion cruise and both my husband and I have downloaded the Ocean Medallion app and connected our booking. If one of us adds the credit card we want to use for our onboard account, it won't allow us to use the same card for the other one. It says the primary user needs to add the second as an authorized user, but I can't figure out how to do that. 

Does anyone know? Surely this isn't the first time this has come up, but I tried searching the boards and the threads are so long, it's difficult to search. I've also tried the search function with no good results. 

Any help would be most appreciated, as were sailing with a group and I know I'm going to get this question at least 5 more times. 

Thank you!!!

Ship - Getaway

Deck - 10

Stateroom # - 10746

Stateroom Category – BD

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes - no issues with noise at all

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Clear view with no obstructions

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal for class, but I felt like it was SUPER small

Was wind a problem? - Not at all

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None - really enjoyed it!

Any other comments? - A little bit of a walk to front of ship, but not all the way to the front - about half way between the front and the forward elevators.

I think yours is a complicated scenario.

 

My take is I think you'll need to give up the ship tour, but also need to clarify this approach with HAL.

 

While your itinerary qualifies you for single entry, when you board the ship they check your visas as well. To board the ship I expect you'll do exit procedures from China, to enable boarding, even though you stay overnight. As such, that would be regarded as exit from the country and you thus won't be able to re-enter with that visa, nor get a new one for the next day (as that would not comply). The other option is that China immigration only collect the 144 TWO visa and clearance procedures on day 2, but this seems unlikely as the two are normally done together, on boarding.

 

Why I think you still need to check with HAL is you will still be docked on the next day. Normally cruise lines require you to have a visa to enter each port you are at (e.g. so you can depart in medical emergency, or any other situation), so they may still require you to have a legitimate visa for the next day for China to board. If they are willing to accept a commitment to stay onboard, then you are fine.

 

However, this suggests a two-entry visa would then be required for many, which some pax would not expect, so I think it will have to be handled in some way, or accepted by HAL that some don't go ashore.

 

We had a similar situation with Celebrity in that we were visiting Shanghai. It was up to the documentation officer onboard the ship to approve people to stay on the itinerary as we did not have permission (visa) to exit in Shanghai. Fortunately it wasn't a multi day situation which is the extra complexity in your situation. Perhaps they will only collect on day 2, which would simplify things, hence best to check with HAL.

Thanks! I called HAL tonight and the agent on the phone confirmed that we are exempt from the visa requirement, even with the Day 2 shore excursion in Shanghai. Just to be safe, I emailed HAL and Delta, asking for written confirmation that we will be allowed to board our flight, as well as to board the ship. I think we're in the clear, but I want to have it in writing to be certain.

My husband and I are flying into Shanghai on February 28th for a March 3rd sailing on the HAL Westerdam. The ship boards on March 3rd, but doesn't actually sail until March 4th, so we've booked a Shanghai shore excursion during the day on March 4th. If we did the 144-hour TWOV, would we still be able to get back off the ship on March 4th to go on our ship-sponsored shore excursion, or would this excursion invoke the need for a formal visa?

I'm totally comfortable canceling the shore excursion if that's the only thing keeping us from doing the 144-hour TWOV.

We fly from LA to Shanghai directly, then board in Shanghai, sail to Busan, South Korea next, then 3 ports in Taiwan, 3 ports in Japan, Manila, then disembark in Hong Kong on March 17th, and fly home on March 19th.

Has anyone done this? I'd love to save $500, if possible, but also don't want to ruin the trip with an avoidable mistake.

Thanks!

What the heck is that room used for? Is it a bar? I don't think I could stay in there too long.

Karaoke Bar

There are no refrigerators in the normal inside cabins. You can call Carnival and ask if they would provide one because of a medical need, but I'm not sure if they would be able to do that. They always have ice in the room, but I know that's not a substitute for a fridge. Also, if there are 4 of you in the cabin, it will be crowded, but if you add a fridge to that, I'm not sure that you'll have much room to move at all. The inside lower level cabins don't really have anywhere to put a fridge unless it's under the vanity. I'm sure other people have run into this as well, so the best bet would be to call Carnival and ask them for suggestions.

Sorry I don't have advice on the duty-free purchases. I'm surprised that they quit allowing people to just put it in their carry-on. The poor people who own that duty-free store inside the cruise terminal are going to run into lots of problems when people get wind of this. :-(

Not positive, but I believe it was the 2nd night (St. Thomas). It could have been the night we were in Dominica though. We didn't go, but some of my friends did.

On the 11/1 sailing, there was a midnight Mexican buffet one night, but that's it. No chocolate buffet.

I'm not sure if Jet Blue is one of the airlines that they have partnered with to do this, but I'm sure if you searched the Carnival website, you could find it. We flew on Delta and the charge for Luggage Express was $20/person plus the charge for the bag fees from the airline (in our case, $15/bag), so in total, for 2 people, we paid $70 and we went to the theater on Sunday morning with just our carryons, picked up our luggage before we went through customs, walked right through customs with our bags, handed them off to the BAGS representative and got in a cab for the airport. It makes the cab ride less expensive, you don't have to lug stuff with you to the airport and you can go straight to the security line at the airport without having to do any of the USDA inspections that others have to do while waiting in line.

Guest Services prints your luggage tags and boarding passes (you have to give them your confirmation number from the airline and flight information) and they delilver it to you the last night of the cruise before you set out your luggage. You'll get a special luggage tag for your bags and get to get off the ship right after the people going on excursions and the platinum cruisers. It was a great deal and we will absolutely do it again every time it is offered. The San Juan airport definitely turns into a zoo on Sunday afternoons with people from three different large cruise ships docking that day of the week. I was very glad that we got to the airport as early as we did!

Patty, we just got off the Victory on Sunday morning and my best suggestion for getting off the ship early would be to do the Luggage Express Service where Carnival checks you in to your flight, takes your payment for your baggage and then, after you take your bags through customs, you put your luggage on a truck and they take it to the airport for you. The next time you see your luggage is when you get to your home airport. This was absolutely the best disembarkation I've ever experienced. We met in the theater at 8am and were off the ship and ready for a taxi by 8:15am. There were no problems with anything and we were the 3rd group off the ship. Make sure you turn your forms in as soon as you get them on the ship though because the longer you wait, the more likely you will be in one of the later groups. Have a wonderful time!

I flew in and out of San Juan last year for my cruise and never got anywhere near US Customs at the airport. Only had to do it getting off the ship. JetBlue considers San Juan a domestic flight. If I were you I'd call someone else at Delta.

Thanks Judy! That's what we thought, but it was weird that we were directed to International to change seats on a booked flight from San Juan. Customs when we got back didn't make sense.

This may have been answered before and if so, I apologize. I've cruised before, so I understand how customs works when you disembark. Because we are flying out of San Juan, will we have to go through International Customs (yes, I realize that Puerto Rico is a US territory, but when you call Delta to ask about flights to San Juan, they transfer you to the International department) when we land back in the continental US? We're flying on Delta from San Juan to Atlanta and then on to Kansas City and I wonder if we're going to get stuck in a line at International customs in Atlanta. Any experience with this? Thanks!