eyoreblu

Would you be able to give me information on the private catamaran on St. Thomas, and also how do you get to Soggy Dollar from Tortola? Can you book off ship or do you need an excursion? Thanks in advance.

Hi there.  I have a group of 21 people ages 4-80 going on the Carnival Panorama to celebrate an 80th birthday.

Everyone loves to play games and cards and I was wondering if anyone can recommend some hidden gems/places

where we can make this happen. Would really appreciate any tips or suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Got it, thank you!!!

We are trying a Carnival cruise because of an amazing itinerary but I am not familiar with their ships at all.

I wanted to know how the Loft 19 works and if anyone knows the current prices? Can you book ahead of time

or only once on board?

Also, does anyone know if Cove Balconies can have the divider opened?

Any other Horizon tips would be greatly appreciated!

Can anyone tell me if the Aft Sunset Veranda cabins on the Equinox are able to have the divider open between two cabins?

I have two cabins booked and we wanted to be able to open up the space between, but have not done an aft cabin before

and wasn't sure if that was an option on the aft cabins.  Thanks in advance.

Thought I would post my attempts. I booked an OK category on the Norwegian Gem leaving 6/2 out of NYC. Got a killer deal for this oceanview category for a total of $2300 including all 5 perks. Got Adult Beverage Package, Internet Package, Shore Excursion Credit, Speciality Dining Package and $60 OBC. Attempted to do an upgrade to a balcony at $125 pp in the poor/fair range and for a mini-suite for $180 in the fair range. Received email today denied both. A little bummed but again, KILLER DEAL and excited for vacation!!!

Leslie

Thanks for all the info, appreciate it!!!

Leslie

Can anyone tell me how to get a slot pull set up on the Gem? Do you need a minimum?

Thanks in advance!!!

Leslie

What about tipping for excursions? US or CAD? My bank requires a minimum of $250 to return CAD and get US dollars back. Frustrating!!!

it was on our menu...we ate early - closer to opening at 11:30 as I remember...

Swear makes me wonder if we were on the same ship. Went right at noon, right after bingo! :-)

No Prawns and chips, asked specifically and told no.

Too funny!

Leslie

Just off the Regal on 3/25 - pub lunch only offered 1 day - the last day...had the 'prawns' - wife had the fish

 

Place was packed with a waiting line

Pub on last day, specifically asked server for prawns said not available. I will know to question more next time.

Thanks!

Just back from a week long Western Caribbean cruise with the Regal Princess. Had a great week because of the company, there were six of us all there for Spring Break from California. Great times and memories with the girls, but some not so happy thoughts about the ship.

Embarkation was delayed due to Coast Guard inspection and we had been given notification of that. The employees both at the check in counter and to direct people onto the ship were some of the most unfriendly I have ever seen for Princess. Not a great start to the cruise!

We were in a balcony cabin E203. Ok on size, the beds were split into a twin. For two females, we have learned to bring some wire hangers as there are never enough and we just throw away at the end of the cruise. This was my 4th Princess cruise and second year in a row on the Regal. The room stank like fish! When I complained, our room steward said he would have the carpet cleaned in the morning. Not sure if this was ever done, the smell was still there at the end of the week. I smelled one of the pillows and it was bad and did get that replaced immediately. The mattress was rock hard! We had adjoining balconies with E201 and E125. The balcony on E125 was wider and much better than ours. Would get that cabin if I could next time. No complaints about cabin steward kept our ice bucket filled and gave us two Patters every night.

Disappointed in room service for breakfast, there is basically nothing you can order. I used to order eggs, sausage and toast and now all you can get is Danish, croissant, and a breakfast sandwich with Canadian bacon. We had anytime dining and were able to make that work for us except the service was so extremely slow every night with very little interaction with the servers. We tried to engage but I just think they are completely overworked. It took us over 20 minutes to get bar service and coffee on two separate nights. Food was almost the exact same as last year and would love to see some new items changed out. Obviously I did not starve and could always find something. I did find the lobster tail to be of good flavor this sailing, along with the Beef Wellington. The buffet is the buffet and just find bites of things that I like. The international Café had amazing treats every day, but again the service staff was very unfriendly. Also disappointed that the Pub Lunch no longer includes shrimp and chips. Seems like they just keep taking away more and more!

Did excursions both with Princess and outside of Princess and had fun on all. Did a bike tour of Princess Cays and that was worth every penny, something different to do.

Overall, again, amazing cruise because of the company and cannot complain to be on vacation, but so disappointing about the level of service almost everywhere on the ship. Not just the Princess employees, so many angry people on board, makes me very sad. Overall, not the best cruise ever and one of the most disappointing, but it will definitely not stop me from cruising.

Please feel free to ask away!!!

So this is clear as mud. Insurance is with third party insurance. Called Princess, and no additional supplement for the single passenger, they just move the money over like someone suggested, will refund port fees and taxes. BUT since the cruise is not actually cancelled they cannot issue a statement with the penalty so the person who cannot go may not be able to get reimbursed for their insurance. They said I could email customer relations and ask for a breakdown and it would be up to the insurance company if they reimburse or not. Heavy sigh.

Leslie

Ugh, we are a group of 6 with 3 cabins. Leaving Sunday from Ft. Lauderdale. One of the people in our group has thrown out her back and can not come. She had insurance so that part is ok, feel so bad for her. The other person in her cabin wants to come still but she had separate insurance and they don't think they will pay the supplement if charged since it wasn't the same policy. Booked separate policies so each could pay their own amount. I am so worried that Princess is going to want to charge the supplemental and she cannot afford that!!! Has anyone had any experience with this??? I was told they might waive it???

Not sure how to post picture. If anyone can help we would be glad to share them.

To reserve the cabana go to the sanctuary as soon as you board. There was a short line to book the sanctuary however there was an attendant who helped us with the cabana reservation without waiting in line. Cost was $40 for Half day and $80 for full day. Worth it in our opinion!

Thanks!

Great report, we leave in a week and an half! Where did you reserve the Retreat Cabanas? There are 6 of us and we were thinking of doing this for the sea days. Price???

I slept on one last year on the Regal in a mini-suite. It was a pop up bed/mattress, not a fold out and it was just fine. I had started on the twin bed but my cabin mate's first cruise freaked her out so we switched and I slept on the sofabed the whole cruise. I would sleep on it again!

Leslie

Any pictures of the cabanas? How many people will it hold? Are there multiple together???

Thanks!!!

We are booked for the June 2nd sailing out of NYC. Can anyone tell me exactly where the port is and possible hotels to stay at near there? We have so little time in NYC but want to do the tourist stuff to see as much as we can see. Thanks in advance!

Leslie

Please help me understand! We have three rooms on Regal for end of March. Will the Ocean Medallion be available then? What exactly does Ocean Medallion entail? Are these cabins traditionally more? I just want to make sure we don't miss out on some on board credit that we might be able to get!!!

Sorry, totally confused about all this!

Leslie

We were on Carnival last year and did a catamaran tour that included stingray City plus an hour or so at Rum Point. You may want to consider a cruise line tour.

 

Sent from my SM-G530T using Forums mobile app

We were considering this excursion from Princess. Would you recommend and would we have enough time at Rum Point to do a jet ski rental for an hour?

New to Carnival here. Couple questions about the drink package with Carnival Imagination. I believe it is $49.95 per person per day. Do they require you to purchase for both people in cabin? Any way to just purchase for one? Also, are there any exclusions on the package? Mixed fruit drinks like Miami Vice included?

Thanks so much in advance.

Can anyone please tell me what juices are complementary on board the Regal? We leave Sunday and really want cranberry juice, not sure if we need to pick up any before we get to the port.

Thanks in advance.

Leslie

I booked early, as soon as we could on the NCL website, I think 90 days in advance? I noticed Cagneys was off the table very early even on the website so glad that we booked it. I would recommend booking if you have any idea what you want to do. Every restaurant was amazing. We sat outside on the waterfront both at Cagneys and at La Cucina and just loved it.

Leslie

How far in advance did you book dining and shows?

 

thanks!

Booked through NCL. It was not cheap, I think that it was 179? We had two time slots, did the 7:15 am and were back just before 11 am. It was perfect, stayed in Jost Van Dyke for about an hour, and just as we were leaving it started to get crowded with other catamarans. When we arrived, we had time to go in all the shops at the cruise port in Tortola. Even had time to have a glass blown necklace made custom. Watch the video on the NCL Excursion site. I was worried about getting wet and we never did, but we did purchase in St. Thomas, waterproof cell phone pouches (should have gotten before we left!) and those allowed me to take tons of pictures while on the small boat. He even took us to the small island where they filmed the Corona Beer commercials.

Leslie

Tortola - did the Ultimate Adventure Jost Van Dyke this was so worth every penny! Took a small rapid inflatable boat (RIB) with 7 of us completely around Tortola. Stopped at Jost Van Dyke for an hour. Such an awesome beach.

 

Thanks for your review - we leave mid-December! Can you tell me more about your Tortola excursion? Was it private? Who'd you book through? Did you have to charter, or only purchase your tickets? How about time frame? the short day in Tortola scares me for doing too much. Appreciate your thoughts!