snowskier

Yes we are. The email from Carnival says all passenger passports will be collected. Will probably just take drivers licenses but feel kind of naked without passports so far from home. Would hate to think we were late getting back to ship (will not happen) and ship pulls out with our passports and without us.

I am one of those people that carries my passport -- don't even start judging that decision as there are enough threads doing that already.

Since not having your passport with you seems to be an concern for you -- stop by guest services once the ship is cleared at the port, pick up the passport and enjoy your day. Return it when you return to the ship. Never have had a problem doing this. If the cruise line does not need the passport for future ports they just tell me to keep it -- which is most the time. Then I don't have to deal with the masses at the designated time for everyone to pick them up. Pretty sinple.

Where do they draw the line -- one exception and the "fake" doctor's notes will start flying, I am pregnant will be the new norm, I am in AA will be a winner but I guarantee there won't be any more people in the meetings on the ship. How do they "police" this and make sure those with the excuse don't have a drink -- don't think they can.

Carnival has made a rule on this -- I make no judgement if it is the right or wrong rule but I do commend Carnival for enforcing it. One of the few it seems folks here haven't figured out how to "get around".

More important than the physical tablet is the data on it. If you don’t have it passcode protected, your passwords, personal info, possibly credit card info, etc is a click away. Identity theft goldmine.

Leave it out and the physical device is still right where you left it - but was the data taken? You don’t really know so all these, never had a problem in a a zillion cruises are meaningless to me.

When you see a post all about - I was on xxx cruise line and now my credit card or identity is compromised. Have to wonder if the computer, phone, tablet, etc were left out and not passcode protected.

Just something to think about.

This is one of those cases where one cruises per CC opinions - probably written by those with no first hand experience or you cruise per Carnival written policies and facts from those of us that have done it.

Pretty easy choice for me. I have used a photocopy (as others have). No problem, no supervisor needed, no additional time spent - none of the drama presented in this thread.

We do room service every morning for the exact same reason. No problem.

We have never been asked to participate in a survey or seen stats from Carnival that would give us a view of what “many people do on port days” but can say our order arrives at the time we order on port and sea days. No impact by an increase in number of people ordering.

Don’t be scared by all these stories of passports being invalidated and/or filled up. Most Americans don’t even have a passport much less even come close to filling one up. If you want to get your passport stamped during your Caribbean cruise then don’t let all these worry warts here spoil your parade. Worst case scenario is you find yourself doing a bunch of international travel (a really good thing) in the future then you may have to prematurely get a new passport which is a small price to pay if it happens. Enjoy your trip.

Wow - didn’t know I was a “worry wart”. I had to get a new passport two years early when traveling through Africa because I did not have 4 consecutive blank pages. Mine were valid stamps as I travel a lot - cruising is not my primary vacation choice as traveling by cruise ship limits one to a very small glimpse of the world. Unfortunately I learned an expensive lesson many years ago. Now I ask to have stamps on specific pages so I don’t run into that problem again.

If we have to resort to labels, I prefer to be labeled an informed traveler not a “worry wart” but if it makes you feel better I will go with your label. I believe the info in this thread will help others be informed travelers that make the best decision for them.

Interesting subject. We are booked for a Mediterranean cruise in August and it never occurred to me that the cruise line might take our passports. I do have a color copy of one page from my passport. It is laminated and actually looks like that page was torn from the passport and laminated (it wasn't BTW). My sister offered to do it for me and I thought it might be a good idea. Maybe DH should get that done too. It's not as good as the passport itself but if I had to go to a consulate in another country it sure would go a long way towards proving my citizenship.

Not sure where this worked for you but photocopies are so easy to forge they would not even look at it when I had to get a passport replaced at a consulate. Guess they are all different but my experience shows the photocopy was useless so don’t count on it being helpful.

Leaving in the horizon out of NYC

 

My aunt's passport expires on the day we get back to NYC.

 

Is that an issue.

There are much better sites to find the answer to this question than CC. I would go with the U.S. Government site to find the answer.

"United States passports are valid until midnight on the date of expiration."

For a group that large, there’s no way I’d want to ‘herd cats’ every night to figure out what time everyone wanted to eat.

 

 

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Good thing it isn’t you then.

OK, the original poster may be unaware of cruise policy AND did not read the story.

The pax in question had some type of pre-existing condition. Because of that SHE COULD NOT BUY A STANDARD POLICY. At a extra cost she COULD have gotten a policy. She did have policy that was of no use. So as far as blame, this issue is totally at the feet of the pax.

ANY CRUISE SHIP HAS MINIMAL MEDICAL SUPPORT. If you got a broken toe I'm sure they could help. ANYTHING more severe will most likely get you thrown off the ship. It's rather important for the cruise line NOT to incur the cost of returning to port or making emergency stops.

ALL PAX SHOULD DO THEIR RESEARCH. The second you step onto your ship, you agree to a cruise contract. All of which can easily be found their web site. About 20 pages of things they are not responsible for and actions that will get you tossed.

Years ago story here these boards. In port male pax goes to medical with chest pains. Within an hour, security had cleared their cabin and deposited the man with is wife and a pile of belongings on the docks. They had to pay for ambulance, hospital charges and transportation home. By the way, NO heart attack

Take a breath. No need for all the shouting.

There are a significant number of people on this board that have very minimum skills when it comes to the internet. They honestly may not know to browse this site or care to. I totally respect that and do not judge them.

The awesome thing about those that are not consumed by technology, or learning all about theses boards - many times they have skills I never will. My girlfriend is not interested in social media or internet but can paint and sell her work for thousands. I can’t draw a straight line. When she looks something up, she lands on first search result that helps her and goes back to painting. No desire to perfect her skills on using CC and I have no desire to perfect my artistic skills.

Download free games to iPad so we can choose from several without carrying more "stuff". Scrabble, farkle -- lots more. This works great when playing with two. If more want to play there are plenty of games we can grab from the library or join those that have brought games on board.

Since the trip is paid for, and I'm assuming the "sick" person won't get better in time, and I'm assuming it's not a life or death situation, than the person not sick should go on the cruise, and enjoy themselves, and the unfortunate person, will stay home, get better. Also call to see if you can get a name change and a friend to go instead.

While I respect your suggestion, if someone important in my life was in this situation I would be their support both emotionally and physically and cancel as well. Relationships with my loved ones are more important to me than money or a cruise. Just one person’s way of living this thing we call life.

We did an over night in Hong Kong and am extremely happy that we did. I did call Princess before the cruise just to be on the safe side. They said it would be no problem. Once on board we did let the passenger service people know that we would not be returning that night. There were really no problems.

 

The problem I can see on overnights is if an hotel requires a passport to check in and the ship is holding your passport.

 

I have a problem on our upcoming South America cruise. I want to get off the ship in Rio and rejoining the ship in Buenos Aires. (We would miss a couple of sea days and Montevideo where we have been before. In turn we pick up more time in Rio and Iguazu Falls). For that I will need passport. On the last South American cruise, the ship held all passports to the end of the cruise. I called Princess and asked if this was possible and the agent sad it was. But I don't know if she actually knew or was just guessing.

You do not have a problem with Princess holding your passport. Simply go to Guest Services, ask for your passport before you leave the ship. They will give it to you -- they do not hold it hostage. They will ask that you return the passport when you come back on board.

I always take my passport when I leave the ship and have never had an issue or been questioned when I have requested my "held" passport.

For those that are having a traumatic reaction to the fact I take my passport with me in ports, save your judgmental comments for another thread because they just are not relevant here.

if you take a med off the ship in a country other than the one you reside in, keep in mind it may be banned or classified differently than your home country. For example, benedryl is banned in certain countries - bet no one thought of that - and ignoring this has a more severe penalty than the authorities “throwing it away” and you move on.

I wouldn’t take any med into any country without checking their laws and I would keep anything allowed in original packaging. What are the chances of an official in a country that requires original packaging going through your “list” of meds in an organizer and matching them up - zero.

I am with those that say - why not respect the law of the country you are visiting.

If you are the one that gets busted - just tell the authorities you asked on CC and they said don’t worry about it.

Great question.

You are not allowed to bring fruit, meat, cheeses, etc off the ship in port, however you can bring pre packaged granola

bars, protein bars, crackers with cheese , nuts and prepackaged cereal. Anything that is pre packaged is fine. Nothing from the buffet though.

 

Since you'll be visiting a foreign port, why not experience the food from the culture you are visiting? It's actually very, very good.

Why can't one take the prepackaged cereal or crackers from the buffet? How do they know that is where it came from? What is different about prepackaged stuff from the buffet?

My kids have done well when they fall into different age groups, but none are particularly shy or introverted. They have often combined those 2 age groups for group activities, so siblings have that to look forward to. I think it best to prepare them for separate groups and then if they do combine or allow your 9yo to move down, then its a bonus. The 9yo may enjoy the 9-11 group more so than the 6-8 so keep that in mind as well.

The other kids in the group might appreciate the 9 year old being with the appropriate age group as well. Keep in mind this isn't all about your kids -- it is about all the kids being with the right age group.

 

So 7 days and under 1 bottle and 7+ days 2 bottles?

 

Yes I know this makes me sound like an alcoholic but I do like wine and I do like certain types to take on a cruise. :)

Really? Two bottle of wine in 7 days makes you sound like an alcoholic? If this is the sole basis for the self-diagnosis I think you can write alcoholism off and move forward.

It can still be "nice". Embark together -- just have them go with you at 12:30 -- pretty easy solution.

Sorry to hear you have so little snow in 3 days -- we were dumped on a couple days ago and again today. We were skiing in powder to our knees this morning and it kept coming down all day. After no snow in November and most of December we were given a terrific Christmas present the last three days with awesome amounts of the white stuff,

I would be upset as well if we only had a foot in 3 days -- hope it improves and you get some decent snowfall before long.

No need to make this complicated. When the drill starts, just ask one of the crew that is working the drill where the special needs area is and they will tell you. You will not be asked to justify why you are in the room -- Carnival respects your privacy and does not challenge you. Once in the area, you will be asked if you need assistance if there is an emergency, just say yes or no and leave it at that. If all goes as planned you will be released from the drill before the general masses to provide a chance for those that are in wheelchairs, with walkers, etc. a chance to get on the elevators without getting trampled.

Where does Princess have a cruisetour operating in December? Booking a pre-cruise hotel from Princess is totally different from what the OP is asking about.

 

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If you go to the Princess site and look at December cruise tours you will have the answer to this question. Perhaps someone will do this for you but the internet is your friend so give it a try.

If a phone boarding pass becomes required I won't be sailing with Princess anymore. I also won't take their tracking device and be tracked like a doggie. They will need to keep two systems intact, those of us that won't accept their intrusive tech and those who will.

You use the internet -- that is how you got to this site. You are being tracked like a doggie. The internet is very intrusive technology. DUH

I’m saying I hate using my printer. Would like to just show them my phone.

Not sure if the others responding here have actually done it or are just offering their opinions. I have shown boarding pass on phone many times when checking in for a Princess cruise. Haven’t had a problem yet.

Hi everyone!

 

My Dad wants to pay for one of my excursions on the Carnival Magic. I wasn't sure of the best way to go about this. Would it be easier for him to sign on through my account and use his CC information to pay for it? Will I have any issues with him doing that? Can he buy me some cruise cash and I use it that way? Or would it be better if he just wrote me a check? Our cruise is in January so I want to make sure it gets booked sooner than later since it's a more popular excursion.

 

Thanks everyone!

Make this easy -- pay for the excursion -- have dad give you the money. Don't have to involve Carnival or anyone else.