georgiacruizer

On 6/1/2020 at 1:23 PM, jordanaire said:

 

What I do is to go to Guest Services and ask to see what the menus will be for the week. Then I look them over and see what meal that we don't particularly like. Then that will be the night we go to the steakhouse. You can make reservations after boarding the ship. This has always worked for us.

I did not know this was available!  There is always 1 night when nothing on the menu appeals to me.

On 5/27/2020 at 8:05 AM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

It’s always possible. We frequently meet a gentleman when we cruise out of NO who only does walk-up He lives 15 minutes fromThe pier and when the spirit moves him he packs his bag and shows up at the pier. Says he can almost always get on and gets a single room without the supplement. I’m too picky about cabin location but I enjoy hearing his stories- and he cruises once a month!


76 past cruises
Upcoming:
CCL Dream 8/22/2020. Western Caribbean
NCL Breakaway 1/10/2021 Western Caribbean
CCL Dream 5/16/2021 Western Caribbean
NCL Star 6/27/2021 - Scotland, Norway & Iceland

I wonder how he does that actually?  Doesn't he need a boarding pass to even get into the terminal?

5 hours ago, a3593 said:

Did anyone have to re-pay the deposit when booking with a FCC? That doesn't make any sense---if I have a credit why not just make it easy and just use the credit??

This is how I avoided paying a new deposit to use my FCC:

I went online and shopped around for a replacement cruise first and put it on hold.  When booking online, click on 'Pay in full' and you will see the Hold option.  This will provide you with a booking number. Then I called Carnival's 1-800 number. My original cruise was paid in full,

1,481.28 (cruise fare + taxes, fees & port charges).  My new cruise is 1,471.28.  The rep explained that the FCC is the portion that would normally have been a non-refundable cancellation penalty, specifically my deposits which were $500 (250/pp). I was told this comes from the Admin. Team and would be applied to my balance once processed. (My $600 OBC will show up at the same time.)

1471.28

- 500.00 FCC 

=971.28

The 971.28 was transferred from my original booking and was applied immediately to my balance.  The $10 difference between the 1,481 and 1,471 will be refunded back to my credit card.

So I didn't have to put down any additional cash, and at the moment my statement looks like this until the 500 comes through, then it will be paid in full:

1471.28

- 971.28

=500.00

19 hours ago, SOUNDSGOOD! said:

I too would love some Bermuda options from Florida!   

13 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Don't ever remember seeing it....always NYC or Baltimore embarkation.  Charleston once in a  blue moon.  Boston via NCL.

Yes, definitely 'on board' with a stop in Bermuda from a FL port for a 6-7+ day cruise!

The reps that I have dealt with thru the 800 number have all been very helpful and wait times have been much shorter than I expected.  Here is a breakdown of my experience:

I used to have a PVP, but she retired.  So I went online and shopped around for a replacement cruise first and put it on hold.  When booking online, click on 'Pay in full' and you will see the Hold option.  This will provide you with a booking number. Then I called Carnival's 1-800 number. My original cruise was paid in full,

1,481.28 (cruise fare + taxes, fees & port charges).  My new cruise is 1,471.28.  The rep explained that the FCC is the portion that would normally have been a non-refundable cancellation penalty, specifically my deposits which were $500 (250/pp). I was told this comes from the Admin. Team and would be applied to my balance once processed. (My $600 OBC will show up at the same time.)

1471.28

- 500.00 FCC 

=971.28

The 971.28 was transferred from my original booking and was applied immediately to my balance.  The $10 difference between the 1,481 and 1,471 will be refunded back to my credit card.

So I didn't have to put down any additional cash, and at the moment my statement looks like this until the 500 comes through, then it will be paid in full:

1471.28

- 971.28

=500.00

19 hours ago, AshleyR223 said:

 

We are hoping our next cruise to try a cove balcony. I will miss the spa area though! I bought a pass on my last cruise on the Horizon and utilized the showers and sauna a lot. And it is true that it would make showering  with the 4 of us easier! I don't think I will splurge on this one though in addition to the balcony. 

 

 

You don't need a spa pass to utilize the gym and showers.  These areas are free to use.

On 3/5/2020 at 11:51 AM, LPYRCRUISER said:

Ports  -  LOVE Half Moon Cay. Grand Turk was good, although we didn't get a chair at the beach. The locals were charging $50 for 2 chairs with umbrellas.  We found spots at the pool and enjoyed that.  We stayed on the ship at Amber Cove.  Just felt that lounging on the ship would be less hassle and more relaxing.

 

If you ever go back to Grand Turk, keep in mind the chairs with the dark green umbrellas are under the management of the local tourism authority and are free to use.  There is a tiny sign near the beach entrance letting people know that, but alot of people miss it.  At some point, years ago, local vendors were allowed to set up their own chairs and umbrellas in the first 2 or 3 rows from the water's edge and charge $$ to use them.

1 hour ago, ronbe65 said:

How about Miami - HMC - St.Thomas - San Juan - Grand Turk-Miami ?

 

 

Yes!  This was our favorite itinerary!  Not loving the substitution of Amber Cove...

2 hours ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

The future cruise credit (after penalty deduction) will be in the name of the person who paid the deposit. 

If denied, your TA should have a form for credit transfer request. It's very easy to do. 

This was very helpful!  I called Carnival back. I also mentioned it was due to health reasons and not Covid-10 (not sure if that made a difference...) and the agent emailed me a Transfer Cruise Credit request form.

Last year I booked and paid the deposits on 4 cabins for a sailing at the end of July 2020.  We are not yet to final payment date.  I recently had to cancel one cabin for my in-laws due to health reasons.  I called the 800 number to cancel and I was told the deposits I paid for would count as a future cruise credit for my in-laws.  Has anyone also experienced this?  It is unlikely my in-laws will ever cruise again in the future.  Is it possible a Carnival supervisor would move the FCC to the name on the credit card (mine)?

17 hours ago, yogibear said:

John Heald posted over on book of faces that: Yes, you can bring a fan but it has to be less than 12 inches in diameter and has to be in your carry-on luggage.

 

Karen

Is the part about the fan having to be in carry-on luggage new?  We have brought an O2 Cool fan like this one https://www.walmart.com/ip/Treva-O2cool-10-In-Fan-W-Ac-Adapter/711601509

several times, and always in checked luggage with no problems.

11 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

 

I also doubt there will be Coke - or it will be extremely limited.  I noticed Carnival didn't have Dark and Stormy on the menu - but did have Rum and Ginger Beer (D&S is specifically dark rum).  My thought is they will serve rum & cola, not rum & Coke.  Also, in the southeastern US it is common for all carbonated drinks to be coke "What type of Coke do you want? Root beer, please."

 

 

 

I have never heard this....  Perhaps it was a thing "back in the day", but certainly not now.

On 9/16/2019 at 11:16 AM, Towel Critter said:

We just got off of the Miracle yesterday. I was surprised to hear predominantly country music playing in the buffet area all day, every day. I'm not making any sort of statement here, one way or the other, I'm just reporting. (man, if only news outlets could do that!) 🙂

 

This was our experience as well! By day 2 it began to get annoying.  We had gotten to know the trivia host, who also happened to be a DJ in the nightclub.  We asked him to speak to the person who handles the daytime playlist and see if they could please change it up a little.  It worked!  For the rest of the cruise there was more variety to the music and still some country.

The drawers are there under every sofa I have seen on the Conquest class ships.  Although the drawers are quite roomy, they are usually stuffed with spare linens, blankets and mattress covers.  They also tend to be hard to open.

We also will never sail on the Vista again.  They took a gamble on the forward theater re-design and failed miserably.  The space tries to be too many things...lounge during the day, theater at night and dance club late-night.  The floor is sloped because of the theater seating, but when all the chairs are moved out of way, the central part of the room becomes the dance floor.  Have you ever tried dancing on an un-level floor? And because of all the chair-moving that needs to take place regularly, they made them small and lighter (and very uncomfortable to sit in for a lengthy show).  John Heald happened to be on our Vista sailing, and he said himself to our group in the theater, "Carnival needs to do better."

22 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

I booked 3 cabins for 12/20 on the Magic.  One cabin has twins who will have just turned 18.  I booked it with Carnival PVP.  No problem.

I was just going to mention this...

The restriction exists when booking online, but it can be done easily by calling Carnival to book (and then you don't have to rearrange cabins/keycards after you're on board)

I booked 3 cabins, 1 for DH & myself, other 2 had 1 DD each plus a friend and they are all between 18-24.

On 8/26/2019 at 6:36 PM, georgiacruizer said:

On the Miracle, they held 50% off drink specials on most cocktails a couple of days during our cruise.  It turned out it wasn't 50% off the price...it was double the size of the drink for the same price!  We were served our drinks in a pitcher with a big straw for the same price as a glass!

On 8/28/2019 at 2:31 PM, Kellyann said:

We're on the Sunrise 9/16 and wondering how you know when they are offering this special.  Is it listed on the Activity sheet or is it posted somewhere within the Red From Pub?  Thanks for info.

On 8/28/2019 at 11:47 PM, JandPB said:

 

This was the port day happy hour. When we were on the Miracle we would hustle back on the ship from port to grab a pitcher or two. Quite the good deal. We loved the Red Frog on the Miracle.

The time for Happy Hour was listed in the Fun Times (so we knew when it was coming).  I think there was also a sign outside the Pub advertising the 50% deal.

On the Miracle, they held 50% off drink specials on most cocktails a couple of days during our cruise.  It turned out it wasn't 50% off the price...it was double the size of the drink for the same price!  We were served our drinks in a pitcher with a big straw for the same price as a glass!

For those who haven't seen it, the duffel bag is navy blue, has a round base with a drawstring top and the bottom 3-4 inches is a separate, zippered, insulated section.

I know that definitions vary, and what you describe above may indeed be a "duffel bag" to you. To me and possibly a few others, it is a beach bag. We got 2 of them last week.

 

On an earlier cruise, I received what I would call a "duffel bag". It was maybe 36" long, cylindrical in shape, perhaps with a 16" diameter and had canvas "handles", no drawstrings like the "beach bag".

I politely disagree. If you google "Drawstring duffel bag" you will see similar bags. The one from Carnival sits about 18" tall. A "beach bag" is larger, generally rectangular in shape with large handles and is relatively flat with an open top.

We used this one recently and it traveled just fine in our checked luggage. It was quiet.

https://www.amazon.com/O2COOL-10-inch-Battery-Operated-Portable/dp/B00ATSHMIQ

We were on the Horizon last week and received two beach duffel bags. We asked the room Stewart if we could exchange one. I wanted the blanket and they actually had one left. Just ask at guest services or your room steward to exchange for something else.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We did this exact same thing! (except on the Glory). Now we have one of each. The blanket is not quite as thick as the ones they lend out on deck for the dive in movies, but it's still super soft.

For those who haven't seen it, the duffel bag is navy blue, has a round base with a drawstring top and the bottom 3-4 inches is a separate, zippered, insulated section.

Does everyone have luck with using baby powder to remove sand at the beach? I’ve never tried it.

I have used the baby powder to remove sand and it works like a charm! They sell small travel size baby powder so it doesn't take up much room.:)

This did not work for me when I tried it. I simply ended up with a mixture of sand and baby powder on my feet, lol. Perhaps it depends on the texture of the sand and/or level of moisture? Or maybe I didn't use enough powder. I wonder if corn starch would work better?

An alternative to shakes would be getting soft serve and adding lemonade, stir and have a frozen lemonade. Or if the kids have bubbles, soft serve plus soda of choice for a float. Not a milkshake, but a way to work within the rules and the kids still have a frozen drink.

We will have to try the lemonade next time! We just used milk (vanilla or chocolate) from the Lido buffet at breakfast. Try adding some flavored vodka or rum, yum!

We had the same situation on this last cruise. I called Carnival and the rep reassured me that the teens, aged 17 and 20, could enter the terminal in the Priority line with us, and he would put a note on our booking. I asked if it was necessary for their boarding passes to say Priority, and he said no, it was all covered in his notation on our booking. Well, come our day of departure from Miami and the employee standing outside the terminal at the entrance to the Priority line does not have a computer or tablet to see said note, and balked at letting my children board with me and my husband. We had to explain the above, she spoke to a supervisor, and we eventually were all able to continue in the Priority line.

Not to be confused with the sweet shop Cherry on Top (which does cost extra).