13cheermom

So have to disagree with this, as I just re-fared my booking for next year for a $410 reduction as well as a $100 more OBC change to my booking. I asked the first rep. I talked to if it could be done without interfering with my EZ-Air and FCD, and was told yes. He then transferred me to a specialist who actually confirmed that it could be done, and he said it would be easy peavy. He did it within minutes and it was confirmed online as well as through email that the fare had been changed and nothing else. I don't use CVP or TA, and just call into the main #, and will continue to do this because I never have issues. I would suggest just trying the main # and see what happens.

Thanks for this tip, I would rather have the large cookies than the strawberries anyway. 😀

Yes Mardi Gras did have them and I would rather do it that way than to assume taking the bottles left in the stateroom.

I remember seeing some with the popcorn bags on lido deck while a movie was playing at night. However it was too windy to stay outside to watch a movie so we weren't really sure where they got it from. This was on the Mardi Gras at end of January. We actually never saw a movie, they were all movies we had seen prior. Always enjoyed sitting out with a blanket and watching a movie under the stars on previous cruises. Mardi Gras has too many other activities going on that kept us busy. 😀

Our mini suite had this setup, and it was the most uncomfortable couch ever to sit on. My husband said never book another couch room because it was totally unusable the entire 10-day cruise. 🤣

Thanks for the heads up! Your post made me notice the date and went and looked at our booking for this fall. The last few times it was more than the original booking price, but today it was over $410 off along with $100 more OBC. So about another $510 total, I am very happy today!

So we also contemplated our next cruise between these two ships. We just sailed on the Mardi Gras in January and had a great time booked in a cove balcony for the first time as well. Haven't sailed on the Vista class ships yet, so since they will be in PC (our favorite port) next year, considered the cove balconies on the Vista. However after sailing on Mardi Gras, we decided to re-book on the Mardi Gras for next year (different itinerary) to enjoy it again. There was so much to see and do on the Madi Gras we actually didn't get to do everything on a 7-day cruise. Have to agree with all the above that said MG would be the choice of the 2. My husband and I thought we would be comparing everything to MG, and not be happy with the Vista. If you like the private Havana area, then it might be a game changer, but we prefer to be out and about on the ship where the action is. Good Luck deciding!

So just got off a day on Mardi Gras, and are fine. We went last year on a 10-day cruise and within 2 days tested positive, (first my husband and then me several days later). Guess we were just anticipating it happening again and just planned to isolate for a week after we returned. But have been back for 11 days and no symptoms. 😁 I say just go and enjoy, be mindful of washing your hands every chance you can!

Be careful though, we prepaid the Teppanyaki Restaurant on Mardi Gras and at the time they charged us a prepaid tip as well of $13.00. This was done 5 months prior to sailing, so fast forward to January of this year, we are on the cruise, when the bill comes it has no prepaid tip showing on the receipt. We added an extra tip and was charged to our sail & sign account. When we returned home I went back and looked and saw where we had prepaid an extra tip. I have submitted inquiry to Carnival as to where that money actually went. 🤔

We had the same thing in ours show up, and we actually booked using the code bout a week after the expiration date. The fare code was about $15/pp less than the other fare codes. After we booked the code then disappeared and was no longer usable. It was almost like it was available until we used it, lol. I agree with the others try it and see.

You will love it as long as the location is good overall depending on what is above you on Deck 6. We just booked our first one on Mardi Gras couple of weeks ago, and loved it. So close to all the food options and activities on Deck 6,7,& 8. We were midship, cabin 5348, under the Java Blue Cafe and had no noise issues whatsoever. Also if you search online you can see what cabins have no life boats above them as well. We had a clear view of the ocean from all directions. You do have a hike to Lido and upper decks, but we enjoy walking stairs for exercise so worked well for us. We already came home and re-booked for different itinerary and basically same cabin for next year. Also the cove balcony room have the same exact sq. footage as a regular balcony room, the actual balcony size might be a lil smaller but worked well for the both of us to sit out there and enjoy. 😁

Just got off the Mardi Gras 2/4/23 and we ordered and enjoyed the sweet potato waffles. 🤔

Actually if you go to the "goccl" page you can find the sq. footage for all cabins. When I looked a cove balcony room has the exact same sq. ft. as a regular balcony room. The actual balcony size can vary somewhat. They reduced room size on this new class of ship all over. That being said, we booked a cove balcony on Mardi Gras and also just got off our cruise. We loved the room and the balcony was fine for the 2 of us, and is very private too. We were in 5348 which I would definitely book again (midship). Great location near stairs and elevators and under Java Blue cafe (no noise at all from above). And if ;you research you will see the cove isn't smaller than an interior (plus there is not balcony space).

Yes on other ships, however this was specific to Mardi Gras, and their only options were beer, wine, and rum punch.

Have to agree everything was pretty good here and the desert bento box was very interesting. We felt like it was a good value for the cost of this specialty restaurant. Wish we were still on the ship 🥲. We just got off the ship and I had to re-book for this itinerary in the fall.

We were also on that cruise, but my husband said it wasn't worth going and sitting just to get a free beer or 2. I agree as I prefer mixed cocktails of my choosing. We did use our free drink voucher however at the bar during the show in the atrium area. 😉 Sure do miss the food appetizers that they use to serve many many years ago and the drinks of our choice. 🥲

Well I hope the money was allocated correctly to the right area. On another note, we had prepaid for a specialty restaurant and they included the gratuity at that time (which was back in October of 2022). When onboard the ship it only showed us paying for the meal itself and no gratuity, so we added additional amount on our sail & sign account. When returning home and pulling my receipt I found we had indeed paid the tip amount, so I have sent an inquiry as to where did that money go? Guess that is why I started to ? about the auto gratuities we also prepaid that didn't show up on our account. But glad to hear that it might just be the way they are handling it now.

Yes I feel like AirTags work really well in airports and is my main point in having them. Once on the ship you lose touch while they are transferring them to the ship and your room. We usually leave our phones on until we are getting ready to leave port, so the signal is usually somewhat traceable for awhile until we switch over. However our luggage is onboard by that time. 😊

So just curious, we just got back from our first cruise since covid on MG (7 night). We prepaid our gratuities with our final payment prior to sailing. We usually give additional for room steward for the extra work the they do. However, never saw anything on our sail and sign account where gratuity were aded and marked as prepaid. Is that the way they are done now? I thought previously they showed on your account and then marked as paid. Anyone help clear this up for me?

I think the fact that the ship changed has a lot to do with the confusion. I have had ship changes twice with Princess, and I had to go back and have things corrected each time. It's sad that when PRINCESS makes a change that WE have to spend the time fixing and making sure everything is transferred over correctly. In our situation especially with EZ-Air that was a major mess to correct. Hope OP does get it figured out, there should be some verification in original booking details somewhere. I always print every correspondence and page emailed or in my account for verification, you never know when it will be needed.

This 👆, we actually had to do this when we wanted to change our room location. They charged $50/person for the penalty, which was fine for us since we already had so much OBC to use. I also miss those past guest cruise rates, it's so hard to decipher their rates now online. 😂

So not sure about NO, but for us at Port Canaveral we like to arrive early to avoid the long parking lines getting into the parking deck area. When we shuttle to port from hotel, it's not that big of a deal to arrive early. But that being said check-in early as possible to try and get the earliest arrival appt. time to avoid the crowds. Luckily got 10:00-10:30 for our Mardi Gras cruise in 2 weeks, so guess I would just rather have a seat at the terminal than just sitting at the hotel waiting. We also feel like once we have arrived at the port we are in vacation mode forsure!

Of course, everyone trying to check-in at the same time. There are a lot of newbies on here now, just thought we could keep it our lil secret. 😉

Ssshh! don't tell everyone our secrets, lol.

Also in a side note about EZ-Air payments, I called to inquire using gift cards for payments for my airfare that I booked and was told I should go ahead and pay for the cruise and airfare earlier than the final payment date to be able to use all gift cards. I have read many posts that state you can't use gift cards to pay for EZ-Air, but as long as you call in and allow them to apply all gift cards to total purchase the system will allow it. I think the key is not to request early ticketing, because the rep. said I still could receive reface pricing up until the 45 day mark and would just receive credit back to the gift card if applicable. Sometimes cc can be helpful, however with a lot of varied information it can sometimes get confusing and questionable. It's too bad OP can't enjoy additional time overseas, that was one of the highlights when we went Europe to spend several days abroad before our cruise.