imnocleaver

Yep! I've had this problem. It was a couple of months ago. You mean they still haven't fixed that pricing change problem? It took me a long time to get it resolved just once on the phone. I wouldn't want to have to deal with it again and I DO want to look at specialty dining options but as of now I can't even access my reservation through "my cruises". What a pain.

 

Gina

Nope, not fixed. At least not as of last week, and it didn't really sound like they had any plans to fix it. Since I am a bad person, I usually adhere to the "misery loves company" adage, but not in this case! :D

Sorry you've had to deal with this, too.

Well, I was just about to start a new thread with my experience, but probably better that I paste it here with the other website shenanigans. Here goes:

Earlier this week, for the third time in the past couple of months, I noticed the amount due on my reservation magically increased by over $1700. This time, though, I got a little panicky as I realized that this meant I now had a balance due well after final payment date. After calling and emailing, I went to sleep with visions of cancellations dancing in my head.

The next afternoon, I once again was able to get the issue resolved and, this time, was told what I had begun to suspect: that each time I accessed my reservation and clicked on anything (make a payment, browse excursions, etc.) the price would change, and not in my favor. The rep said that “IT is aware of this and that they have been having this problem with many reservations since switching special fares and promotions”. (Not sure if this means the overall structure or how they handle them internally, since rates and fares change all the time.)

I expressed concern to the rep that since I may want to add additional items such as specialty restaurants or excursions, it will change the fare, show a balance without me being aware and, subsequently, cancel my booking for non-payment. I could show up at the port with no cabin. (Rather than having to go back and forth with “I said this, and then they said this”, below is a recap of the rest of the conversation.)

REP: Oh, that could never happen.

ME: Ummm, yeah, pretty sure it could.

REP: No, it will show that a payment was made on it, just not the full balance due, so it won’t get cancelled.

ME: Well what can be done with my reservation to make sure this doesn’t happen since I may have more changes?

REP: Unfortunately, nothing can be done.

ME: So, I guess I need to call if I need to make any changes, rather than doing it online?

REP: You can call, or you can just make any changes you want, then call us every time you change anything and we can reapply the special pricing.

ME: That’s not really a solution, but okay.

REP: I would recommend making any changes you want, then, when you’re all done, call us before the cruise to get it corrected so that it will be right when you go.

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So, if you book things yourself, you may want to keep an eye on any future cruises you have booked, especially if you make any changes or payments.

Some people use their free time to check for price drops, but only the lucky few get to check for price increases! I feel so special.

I'm just the opposite, I wished they do longer cruises out of Galveston. More of a Eastern or Southern Caribbean itinerary every once in a while. They could pair it with a shorter 4 day and do a 10 day then go back to 7 day.

My parents were told just last week by an RCI rep that this is exactly what Royal has planned beginning either next year or 2016 (can't remember which). They plan to add and alternate longer 10 to 14 day cruises to enable them to hit the southern Caribbean and possibly a partial transit of the Panama Canal.

We took our oldest son on a cruise not too long (within a year or so) after he was diagnosed with type 1. Although he wasn't on the pump, I agree with everyone else: bring twice as many supplies as you think you need. I would add to check your glucose levels twice as often as you think you need to!

As for the carb-counting, we brought the Calorie King bible, er, book, with us on the trip, but not to meals. We would reference it in the cabin if needed and took it with us while in port. Honestly, anything he ate during the day was always similar to what he ate at home, so he was familiar with how much insulin he needed. This was not intentional...preteen boys just seem to eat what they know. Once a teenager, this morphed into EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. But I digress...

We ate dinner in the MDR, so we would look at the menu ahead of time and have him try to at least get some sort of idea what he planned to eat that night. That way, he had a ballpark of how much insulin he would need to take. He would then proceed to eat something completely different and we would take a wild guess at the carb count and wing it (this is where the testing twice as often comes in handy :D).

Now that I read this, it appears we might be an example of what not to do, but we had a great time, he gained a lot of confidence and we did not kill him in the process. In our book, that is a successful trip.

Mine was on the Carnival Mardi Gras out of Ft. Lauderdale in 1987. It was a gift from my parents, so my older sister was sent along as chaperone.

I believe we got in far more trouble together than we ever would have separately. Here is a sample conversation, that I remember to this day:

Me: You know, it's funny...I haven't gotten a hangover on this trip, and I've been drinking!

Sister: That's because you don't GET a hangover if you stay drunk the whole time, idiot.

:eek:

Ah, youth. Oh, the fun we had!;)

Hi All,

 

Looking at a Cove Balcony on the Dream. We have never sailed on such a low deck before. Please offer your opinions. Did you like that deck? Any drawbacks? Positives? I'm confused.

Thanks Much

Bella

We had a Cove on Magic and loved it.

The positives/drawbacks depend on what you prefer. As far as the view goes, we enjoyed being closer to the ocean and having the up-close and personal views of the marine life as well as the land-based mammals (we had the best view in the house for the running of the drunks :D ). Some people like the view better from the top decks, though. Also, my husband gets a little green around the gills sometimes, so a lower deck with less movement was a plus for him. IMO, the privacy is fantastic, and we had just the right amount of sun/shade overall. Some may want more sun.

A universal drawback is the fact that many are underneath some seriously noisy areas: galley/MDR/lobby. There are a few rooms that are underneath the Shore Excursions and Guest Services desks. If you can get one of these, DO IT! These will have considerably less noise. Just the occasional door slam.

Hope that helps!

Do you think I can still get credit with the new VIFP loyalty? I traveled with my Grandparents way back in 1980. There is a picture of me holding a life preserver that says Carnival Mardi Gras.

 

Does anyone remember the "mirrored" rooms where we had to go to blow dry our hair or use our curling irons?

You can still get credit! I did a few years ago by emailing scanned images of my boarding pic from the Mardi Gras + a current driver's license. I am not entirely sure how these two items "prove" it was me in the picture, so I feel they must allow this simply to have a good laugh every time someone sends them evidence of their '80s hair. :eek::p