cruiselover**

I am an AARP member and I didn't know I could buy discounted Carnival gift cards.  I looked online at the AARP website but couldn't find anything about them.  Can someone please let me know how I can get the gift cards?  I would love to save some money!  Thanks in advance for any information you can give me.

Thank you so much, Jamman54!  I was kind of hoping you might chime in on this topic.  I know you are a very experienced Carnival cruiser!  My husband and I have 25 cruises with Carnival, but this is our 1st B2B.  We are excited to use our Milestone benefit of the 25% in onboard credit.  Both of us gamble so some of the credit will be used on slot machines.  Anyway, I digress here.  Thank you for your response to my question!

My husband and I are going on the Carnival Magic in October out of Norfolk, VA.  The first week is Eastern Caribbean, so we don't need to take a Covid test under the new protocol (we are both vaxxed and boosted).  Our second week is to Bermuda, which requires a Covid test for passengers.  Does Carnival provide the test between cruises or do we need to do them on our own?  I also didn't know if there is a charge for that service from the cruise-line.  I didn't know if we should plan on taking the Covid test ourselves when the ship docks on turnover day.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks so much for any information! 

I was on this same cruise on April 30th.  I traveled with my husband, sister-in-law and her husband.  The four of us had a wonderful time and did not experience any of the problems you had.  I am so sorry that things were not up to par for you!  I will admit we didn't go to all of the food venues that you did, but the ones we did go too were enjoyable.  I consider myself kind of an experienced Carnival cruiser - I have been on 25 cruises, all with Carnival.

I do hope that Carnival will make some improvements in their on-board shops soon.  I still remember the days when they had a large inventory of souvenir t-shirts and logo items that were ship specific.  On the Horizon they had half the store as Victoria's Secret merchandise.  I don't go on a cruise to buy items I can get at my local shopping center!

We had one of these cabins on Carnival Splendor.  The view is absolutely spectacular!  Do not hesitate to book a Scenic Ocean View if it is available.  I am attaching a photo of the view from our 'little paradise' cabin.

My husband and I took our first cruise on the Fantasy in 1993.  We took our 18 year old daughter and 16 year old son.  It was only a three night cruise, but we were so excited!  My husband and son enjoyed the skeet shooting off the stern of the ship.  We all loved the midnight buffet, the horse races, the knobby knees contest, the hairy chest contest, and the lip-sync contest.  All four of us were given a deck of Carnival cards by our cabin steward and of course the chocolate mints on our pillows each night.

My daughter made friends with another teenage girl at our dining table.  The two of them went to a couple bars onboard (in 1993, 18 year old passengers could have alcohol).  Anyway, my daughter over-indulged a bit.  She went back to the cabin and climbed into the top bunk to 'sleep it off'.  After a short time, she realized she needed to visit the bathroom in our cabin.  Our cabin steward, Celio (I still remember his name after all these years), came into the cabin and made-up her bed while she was in the bathroom!  She was mad because she had to un-tuck everything to climb back into bed.  We heard all about it when the three of us returned to the cabin later in the evening.

I was hooked on cruising from the get-go.  We have now enjoyed 23 Carnival cruises and can't wait for the next one!

1 hour ago, TNcruising02 said:

I got an email for only an additional 10% off.  The discount only worked if I clicked on the link in the email.

Thanks for this information!  As soon as I used the link from the email, I got my 20% discount on my 8 night cheers package.  You are so nice to let me know what I was doing wrong!  You would think that after sailing with Carnival since 1993, I might know what I am doing - apparently not.  Your help is very, very much appreciated.  I knew I could count on Cruise Critic members!

I just received the 20% offer for cheers in my email today.  I was so excited!  My next cruise for April 2021 is already paid for including cheers, due to transferring everything from my cancelled April 2020 cruise.  Anyway, this email offer states that it is for my April 2022 cruise and it even includes my booking number and the date of my cruise.  Well, I have tried several times to buy cheers for that cruise, and the discount does not show up anyway.  I have gone as far as the payment page and the full amount still shows for my 8 night cruise.  I even tried leaving the Carnival website and clearing cookies and still no luck.  I'm sure I have tried at least 6 times today.  Does anyone have any suggestions for me?  I would be very appreciative of any advice.  Thanks in advance!

I want to thank all of you for your responses.  I appreciate it very much.  Earlier today I was in touch with my PVP and he was able to book the cabin I wanted as a replacement for my (cancelled) 4/25/20 cruise on Carnival Magic.  I am booked on the Carnival Mardi Gras for next April.  I wanted to have two cabins side by side since we have another couple traveling with us.  It was difficult to find two balcony cabins next to each other and that is why I wanted to hold a cabin.  Anyway, it is all worked out and my PVP was very helpful in sorting everything out.  Now I just have to be patient and wait another year to cruise!

I have never placed a hold on a cabin when I have been on the Carnival website.  I have always just booked my cabin for my upcoming cruise with my Personal Vacation Planner and haven't needed to save a cabin.  Today I find that I would like to hold a cabin for a future cruise while I wait for the official word from Carnival on my current reservation.  Anyway, can someone please tell me how to place the 'hold'?  I would really appreciate your help!

I am really frustrated that Carnival is postponing their announcement.  My husband and I have the Carnival Magic booked for April 25, 2020 and I have been on pins and needles waiting to hear if the cruise is cancelled or not.  We can cancel by March 31st and get a full refund based on the information Carnival sent us earlier this month.  I was hoping to find out today that onboard credit was going to be offered along with the refund for another cruise.  I can't stand the idea of waiting yet another few days!

I have a question about the Milestone benefits.  I have my 24th cruise booked for this spring, my 25th cruise is booked for spring of 2021, and I just booked my 26th cruise which will be in spring of 2022.  Will I be able to get my 25% onboard credit for the cruise in 2022?  Since the wording of the Milestone 'rules' state you must book within 18 months of the date on the letter from Carnival's Milestone Desk, I won't really be in compliance with the rules.  I won't receive the letter until after the cruise in 2021, but I am already booked for 2022.  What does Carnival do under those circumstances?  Thanks in advance for everyone's help.  I hope I am explaining all this so it is understandable.

I was very excited to read about this special offer for Mardi Gras.  I am booked in a balcony cabin for April 2021 and just did a mock booking to see about the $200.00 onboard credit, etc.  For some reason, it doesn't show up for me.  Does anyone know the code number for this promo?  I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks in advance.

I've been a Platinum cruiser since the program started in 2006 or so.  I personally think the luggage tag looks nice.  I will be happy to put it on my carry-on bag next cruise.  I agree that it isn't my favorite logo item from Carnival, but that doesn't bother me.  There have been some logo items that I have really enjoyed - the Tervis tumblers that I use every single day at home and  the sling bag that I take on every cruise to use on lido deck and when going ashore.  There are many other logo items that I have liked too.  My main reason for cruising isn't for my 'free' logo item, but for the cruise itself.  I think we all need to remember that Carnival is using these items as advertising for them.

Does anyone remember when the Platinum/Diamond program started that you could get a tour of the bridge, etc. at no cost?  I never did it and now I'm disappointed that I missed out on that.  I think it is $95.00 or so for the same tour.  Guess what?  I still haven't done it.  That is a huge cost difference over the years, but no one mentions that.

Thanks to all who responded to my question.  After finding out that the lunch box is $24.99, I have decided to use my money for something else!  Who knows, maybe this item will be the next Platinum gift and I will get one on my next cruise.

I look at John Heald's blog, but not every day.  I noticed he was showing a Carnival themed soft-sided lunch box that can be ordered from a link on his page.  Well, the link was apparently posted on August 29, 2019 and I can't seem to go back that far to access it.  Does anyone know if that lunch box is still available?  If so, does anyone have the link to use?  Thanks in advance for any help!

I really like the packing cubes for vacations, but only if I am not flying.  I have had luggage get wet on the tarmac several times now, so I prefer packing all my clothing in the 2 1/2 gallon plastic zipper bags.  I guess I could put my clothes in the packing cubes and then put plastic over them, but that seems a bit too time consuming.  Anyway, until you have experienced wet suitcases, the packing cubes are fine.

I am so sorry - I made a mistake with the dates for 2020.  The charter group boards Carnival Magic on March 28, 2020 and gets OFF the ship April 5, 2020.  I guess you'll be waiting in the terminal a while before you can begin your cruise.  You at least might get the $50.00 per passenger in onboard credit to enjoy for your anniversary 'grandmarnnurse'.  My husband and I didn't get any compensation in April 2015 for our delay.

I completely agree with 'grandmarnnurse' that the charter groups must follow the same rules as the rest of the passengers.  I was really hopeful that Carnival would not let the charter group that just finished their cruise on the Carnival Magic repeat their behavior from the Carnival Breeze, April 2015 cruise.  On John Heald's blog today, he wrote that the oncoming passengers each received a credit of $50.00 due to 'unforeseen circumstances'.  Well, if this same charter group was a problem in the past, why did they let them return again?  They are costing the cruise line a heck of a lot of money and upsetting a lot of passengers with these delays.  I checked for 2020 and this same group will once again be on the Carnival Magic on April 5, 2020!  Look out all of you boarding the following week.  History may just repeat itself again.

The cruise I had a problem with was Carnival Breeze - April 19, 2015 (I just checked the date so JaxsMama and I must have been on the same cruise).  Anyway, My husband and I got to the cruise terminal around our usual 10:30 or 11:00 AM and sat and sat for a few hours before boarding.  Along with the problem that the previous passengers weren't debarking in a timely manner, we heard there were some areas of the ship that needed extra attention with minor repairs and more thorough cleaning.  I cannot verify that information - it's just what we were told.

I would recommend that anyone boarding this Sunday to plan on waiting a bit.  Hopefully, the Carnival crew can get this weeks passengers to debark on time, but if not, at least you're getting a head's up.  Since you have small children, JulianneBK, I would have snacks with you for the cruise terminal if your boarding time is delayed at all because that would also mean your lunchtime is delayed too.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you do not have an issue like I experienced in 2015.  Since this particular charter group has been able to book Carnival a  couple times I would think the cruise line has corrected any problems.

Oh my gosh!  I was on a cruise a few years back (Carnival Breeze) and I experienced huge delays for this same charter group  getting off the ship just like you stated, JaxsMama.  My husband and I were moved from one area of the terminal to another and then to another - we didn't board until after 2:00 and we are Platinum.  Lucky for me I had a few snacks with me in my carry-on bag.  Guess what?  We are going on Carnival Magic, but our cruise is in a few weeks so we shouldn't have a problem.  I hope all goes well for the cruisers boarding next Sunday!

As 'Icecream1964' stated above - it is best to always have more than one credit card.  My husband and I each carry a credit card but with different account numbers.  If one of us were to happen to lose our wallet, we would have the other person's credit card to rely on.  We just increased the limit on each card too.  We have friends who cruised and had a medical emergency.  They had travel insurance, but needed to pay upfront for expenses first.  It was very, very costly and they had to use several credit cards to cover the expenses.  I learned from that and have planned accordingly.

I just sailed on the Carnival Splendor in October 2018 from Long Beach to Hawaii.  We lucked out and had fantastic weather each way.  Two other couples sailed with us and the women wore a light sweater several days.  I was fine and didn't put my light cardigan on until we were flying back to Pennsylvania.

As far as rough seas, etc. we literally had smooth sailing each way on the Pacific.  My husband and I have cruised the Caribbean over 20 times and were told the Pacific could be a lot different.  Luckily we had wonderful, calm seas.  There were some winds on the day we were to tender/water taxi to Kona, so we didn't get to see that port.

The most important tip I can offer is that Hawaii's ports are very different than in the Caribbean.  I have always just walked off the ship and could shop or visit a bar/restaurant in the Caribbean.  In the Hawaiian ports, the ship docks in very industrial areas.  You need to take a taxi or shuttle to get to the beautiful spots you want to see.  My husband and I spent quite a bit of money for rides.  I'm not complaining - just stating facts.  I had a wonderful cruise and the days at sea were never boring.  I hope you have a fantastic time too!

I was on-line yesterday with the Carnival Fun Shops (August 17th) and I had no issues at all paying for my Cheers! package with gift cards. My husband and I went to the grocery store to buy the gift cards since they were offering double gasoline points. We came home and just half an hour later, I was redeeming my cards on-line. Whatever issue Carnival was having with gift cards, must have been resolved.

I have a question for those of you that have been on the Hawaiian journey cruises. I understand that there are two of the 'cruise elegant' nights as well as the one '80's throwback formal night'. How dressy is that 'formal' night? I wasn't planning on packing a fancy dress, but taking black long pants with a dressy style top. Will my husband be alright without a sport coat? I don't want to look out of place on our vacation. Thanks in advance for your help. We have been on 21 Carnival cruises, but have not experienced the journey cruises before.