crusin okie

We mailed ours in (standard snail mail) the first week in Feb and received them mid March approx one week apart.  Did not pay for expedited  processing.  Have not yet received our old ones.  I also noticed that the status shown on the State Dept website was inaccurate. 

Until this past Jan, all of our B2Bs were in the same cabin.  We were unable to book the same cabin for our B2B on the Jubilee.  We had read all the FAQs, as well as the experience of others on CC and FB but we were still somewhat anxious.  It went flawlessly.  It may have helped because we only moved a few cabins down the hall and had the same cabin steward.  Because the hanging clothes are moved while still on the hangers, you should have ample suitcase space to easily pack your other items.  We use a shoe organizer over the bathroom door for misc. items and I simply laid it on the bed and rolled it up before putting it in a suitcase.  The cabin steward was VERY accommodating and made some suggestions which we followed.  It is not as easy as remaining in the same cabin but it is easier than your fears may lead you to believe.  🙂  I think the best advice I can offer is to listen to your cabin steward and do as he or she suggests.  FWIW - we were gathered in one of the MDRs and the officials came to us rather than having to depart and return to the ship.  Doesn't save much time but is a lot easier, especially if you have mobility issues. Enjoy your B2B!!!  🙂 🙂 

48 minutes ago, Elsa Maki said:

We are cruising September out of San Francisco and have booked Carnival transportation from the port to the airport. How do we know which time we should pick up for disembarkation please?

When we received our transportation "tickets" while on the cruise, there was a time indicated.  It was the same time we chose when we made the reservations.  We used that time to pick our debarkation time.  It all worked itself out nicely - even with the debacle we encountered in the terminal at Galveston.   

On 4/1/2024 at 11:15 AM, dctravel said:

Just did digital disembarkation on the Jubilee. Picked the latest time we could. Had breakfast in the dining room and then went to hang out waiting for our number to be called. Happened around 9:30 (we had 16). Once we went down to leave, we walked off, grabbed our bags, followed through the digital face recognition system for passport holders, and were on the street in less than 20 minutes. Very easy.

We got off the Jubilee on Feb 3rd after a B2B - It was the worst debark in recent memory.  Not so much due to the on board crew but the folks in the terminal were absolutely clueless and allowed a bad situation to get worse by the second.  They just stood back and let the whole situation "take a dirt road".  Just my opinion.

Just now, island lady said:

 

Did you opt/pay for expedited service?  

Nope - next cruise wasn't scheduled until Oct so............

Submitted renewal applications on 2/9/24.  Checks were cashed shortly thereafter.  Have not received them as yet. 

On 2/5/2024 at 10:20 AM, shortyjoesmith said:

I would love to be able to schedule my morning coffee order in the app. I liked the door-hanger breakfast menus from before because I could get it scheduled and go to bed without having to talk to someone. I know it is silly, but I would much rather use the app than have to make a phone call to order. Instead of morning cabin coffee, I get up and go to the Lido where I can get coffee and not have to talk with anyone. I tip on room service deliveries, I would love to tip for morning coffee. ❤️☕

Initially, I felt the same on our Jubilee B2B in Jan/Feb.  The lady who answered the phone at the room service number was so friendly and the order arrived in less than 15 minutes every morning.  I changed my mind after the first two days.  🙂 

On 1/23/2024 at 3:49 PM, Drazil65 said:

You can drop off for the most part (we have not had any issue with dropping our carry on items very early) but they say cabins not available to stay until 1:30. That being said, on our cruise on MG last month we had intended to drop off and go eat but our key cards were ready and in mailbox, cabin done and door locked.  We grabbed the cards and left to eat anyway, just dont count on staying but can be possible cabin is ready.  

Got off a B2B on the Jubilee yesterday.  This is exactly what we encountered.

Got off a Jubilee B2B yesterday.  You can get either or both.

Von Lane bus service is available from Dallas to Houston for about $200 pp round trip.

Greyhound is about $70 pp round trip.

Airfare is around $275 pp round trip.

Regardless of mode of transportation, add shuttle/Uber - cost unknown.

Your choice.  Good Luck.

On 11/16/2023 at 7:57 PM, pcpackrat said:

Just a lesson to put the gummies in a haribo bag.

The dogs can't read.

35 minutes ago, 39august said:

The bed is by the balcony. For pic go to cruisedeckplans.com. Choose Celebrity, then Equinox, then deck 7 and go to your cabin. There is a video of the inside and balcony. 

There are videos and photos of similar "V2" category rooms but I don't see anything for 7210.  What am I missing? 

19 hours ago, kruzerci said:

OVC has slipped. No salmon or good fish- tilapia and fish and chips is all I have seen at lunch and dinner. 
 

2-3 stations open for dinner nightly generally the same food as lunch with a few twists. Chicken is mostly bone in dark meat. Large salad and dessert selections but primarily flavorless dressings and dessert. If you look hard, you can find 1-2 desserts per day that are dense and rich, but most are the bland and fluffy- taste like nothing cake and pies. 
 

Anything in particular you were interested in knowing?

We were on a B2B on the Beyond in Feb.  The food was the biggest disappointment of the two weeks.  The OVC was pretty much a joke.  The selections were very limited.  We have an 8 day booked on the Equinox in Oct and then 2 B2B's on Carnival.  We are looking forward to the MDR on Carnival after seeing the new menus that are being rolled out.  We first cruised X in 2019 and thought we had found a new favorite cruise line.  Probably not so any more.  😞 

On 2/21/2023 at 5:44 PM, RTR 21-0 said:

Mind me asking what your cabin #was?  We have 11296 booked. 

We did a B2B in cabin 11133 in Feb 2023 and it was very quiet.

I enjoy them both equally.  I enjoy visiting Mayan ruins and they are available at both ports.  Belize is a tender port.  Costa Maya has a rather long, hot walk from the ship to the port although the port facilities are probably a little more inviting than Belize.  Personal transportation from "Ship to shore" is available in Costa Maya but in our experience is not on a very reliable schedule.  Neither location is a St Kitts, Saint Martin, or Cozumel both both are fun places if you have a positive attitude.  After 36 cruises, I would gladly look forward to a day in either port.  On occasion, my wife does, however, choose to stay on the ship when we visit one of these ports.  Isn't it wonderful that we all don't enjoy the same things?  🙂

We have a B2B booked for 1/20/2024 and 1/27/2024.  Booked the first leg a long time ago and just decided to do the B2B last week.  The cabin we were in was not available so we had to settle for a cabin not too far away from the first one.  This is the first time we are doing a B2B where we had to change cabins.  Not really looking forward to that but, oh well.  Just happy to find a cabin as close as we did.  We wanted to find another suite for the second leg but there wasn't one close and the cost had more than doubled since we booked the first cabin.  😞  We are just concerned that the completion date will slip causing the cancellation of cruises through January.  We hope that our concern is unfounded.

We have sailed from Galveston quite a few times and I will echo the advice to arrive a day early. Whether you actually stay on the island or in a community just to the north is your decision.  We have done both and each has it's own set of pro's and con's.  

Laundry is really up to you since you aren't flying.  You can bring as much as you can drag with you. 🙂

I have been on over 20 cruises as a diabetic.  Cruising as a diabetic presents it's own challenges, none of which can't be dealt with.  If low glucose levels are an issue for you, I would suggest carrying a couple glucose pills rather than "snacks".  They work fast, inexpensive, easy to carry, and can be taken without affecting anyone around you.  Win - win.

Have a Great cruise!!  

I find this web page to be helpful in answering questions such as this.  🙂

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/category/c/25

We have done B2Bs on three different cruise lines.  On each one, the room steward knew we were B2B on the first day of the first cruise.

On 3/15/2023 at 5:19 PM, sunonfire said:

That was our experience and we had to throw the canapés away. That was such a waste. I’m glad there are some choices.

We simply stopped delivery.

3 hours ago, sunonfire said:

Was there a notice/invitation in your cabin when you dropped off your luggage for the first cruise?

Yes

Did B2B last month on Beyond.  The lunch was on Day 1 on both cruises.  It was convenient but not "special".

On 3/3/2023 at 12:54 AM, RTR 21-0 said:

Is it recommended to make reservations for the 4 complimentary MDR pre-cruise  or are chances pretty good of getting a table walking up understanding of course there could be a wait?  
 

Also, for the recent cruisers on Beyond, how have the shows been?  

We did a B2B on Beyond last month.  We had a 17 minute wait once for a MDR as a "walk up" which is what we did every night.  

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the shows as a 6.  Just my opinion.  A couple of the comedians were pretty funny.

6 hours ago, cruisin_123 said:

I'll be on the Beyond next week. My app doesn't show kids hours. We'll see.

We were on a B2B on Beyond 2/5.23 - 2/19/23.  Kids had been screaming in the solarium for hours with staff just going on their merry way.  Finally, I asked what appeared to be a supervisor of some sort (white shirt with shoulder boards of some variety) why kids were allowed in the solarium when the signed obviously said it was not allowed?  His eyes got big and he said, "What kids?"  I replied, "The screaming ones two feet behind you."  I will admit he had them leave but it was a temporary solution.