korky1

1 hour ago, buchhalm said:

I just KNEW that I would get a reaction. 😉

Why do you post provocative comments to deliberately get a reaction?  I thought the whole point of this platform was for us to chat to each other and gain knowledge from each other's experiences.  Thankfully most people on here seem to come on with that in mind. 

58 minutes ago, buchhalm said:

Why would you want to go on ANY Carnival ship earlier than you have to?

We really enjoy cruising on Carnival,  same as we enjoy our cruises on P&O, . Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity .  Find pros and cons on all cruise lines.  This will be cruise number 45 for us.  Next one booked is P&O in July , then Royal Caribbean in January.   Variety is the spice of life!

Why is your boarding time so late?  Were all the earlier timeslots taken when you went online to check-in?

22 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

Really ... We have train arriving at 610 am and got a 230 pm boarding time. 

Thank you sooooo much aussielozzie for that info.  I had no idea Carnival were finally allowing us to bring a bottle of wine each.  Hubbie and I will definitely  both bring a bottle  each,  his white and my red.  Now all we need to do is convince P&O to let us do the same!

22 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Boarded 10 days ago..  Check in time was 12.  They let me through at 11.30am.  Probably helped that I was solo and there was a gap in cruisers going through when I dropped off my suitcase.

 

There was a slight delay with border control so once we arrived upstairs they asked us to be seated until the queues ahead cleared.  Probably sat for 10mins or so.  All very organised & orderly.

 

in case you weren’t aware - you can now take a bottle of wine or champagne on board per person (like Royal & Princess)

Why be so nasty Hogbay?  I have no intention of "pushing in".    More and more nowadays the cruiselines seem to allow boarding to start ahead of scheduled time if the disembarkation process has run smoothly that morning.  I think post covid theory is to let anyone who is there get on board before the terminal gets crowded with people.  We always arrive at CQ  about 11am as we have no other choice due to the limited train options from where we live.  We are happy with our 12 o'clock timeslot but it's nice if boarding starts a wee bit early. 

On 5/25/2023 at 7:26 AM, Hogbay said:

Do you want some ones permission to push in ? You have a 12 noon boarding time .

We are going on Splendour on Monday and have a 12 noon boarding time.  We can quite often  board Princess from 11am, as they start thr boarding process earlier than scheduled.   Can't remember if Carnival do the same, even though we were on Splendour in November.   Ah, the joys of getting old!

Going to Vila as part of our Carnival cruise leaving on 28th May.  Is Vils allowing ships in again after the cyclones?  If so, can the dock as usual or do you have to get a tender in?

Finally received email from Carnival today, telling us about our Platinum perks on-board and that we will have access to online checkin 2 days earlier than standard 14 days, so 16 days priory to sail date.

Considering that the cruise is now only 12 days away it is a bit late.  We definitely did not have access until 14 days prior to sail date, so perhaps somehow there was a glitch that didn't link our booking to our status until today.  

No big deal, as I managed to get 12 noon time slot which is only half an hour later than the first time slot of 11.30 which was unavailable at 14 days.

Any other Platinum members ever denied access to online check-in at 16 days before sail date?

For our November cruise, we received a similar email well before the cruise sail date and had no problem completing check-in at 16 days before sail date.  This cruise is the first time we have had a problem.

On 5/12/2023 at 9:10 PM, rkmw said:

Yes I’ve just made platinum 

 

have you got your check in time at 11.30-12.00

Happy cr

On 5/13/2023 at 6:20 AM, rkmw said:

Not sure why you can’t check in until the 14th but set your alarm for midnight tonight and pick the 11.30-12.00 time slot if you wish and then you’ll be able to print off your documents and you’ll have priority boarding

Hi R,

Firstly enjoy your cruise and please post any tips you have for me for my cruise on 28th when you return home.  I went on at midnight and finally could do online checkin.  The earliest available was 12 -12.30, group B04, which makes me think other platinum and diamond members have had the previous 2 days to go in and book out the 11.30 - 12 time slot.  No big deal, just annoying why we couldn't have the earlier access to the site, when we are entitled to it.  

Have a great cruise!

Carnival used to let you do online checkin a lot sooner than they do now.  I usually can go on line 16 days before cruise to complete checkin, select boarding time and print tickets. Two days earlier than most, being Platinum.   Says this time online checkin available 14th May, so no 2 days head start for platinum? I will go online at midnight tonight as I never go to bed before then anyway.  Will let you know tomorrow how I go.

How do you get your checkin time if you can't get into online checkin?

6 minutes ago, rkmw said:

I’m cruising on the Splendor this coming Monday 15th and I printed my boarding pass & luggage tags 29th April so that’s 16 days

This is weird. I wonder why it is now 14 days for us?  My profile shows I am platinum with 114 sail days so we should have 16 days too.  Are you platinum also?

16 minutes ago, rkmw said:

Not sure why you can’t print yours off at 16 days, I could print mine off at. 16 days with no problems 

Which cruise could you print yours at 16 days?   We could do that for our cruise last November but not this one on 28th May. Website says online checkin not available until 14th.

I have checked in but says can't print boarding pass till 14th. We have been platinum for a few years now   no idea why we can't print our boarding passes yet.  Normally could print them today as sailing on 28th means we are 16 days out today.

Oops.  I can't count.  It is 14 days.  Perhaps they have brought back priority boarding for platinum and diamond and therefore they wouldn't need to let us select our boarding time 2 days before most others can.  Like to get on as early as possible - just one of my many quirks!

We sailed on Splendour in November.   Boarding passes could be printed 14 days before departure date, but we could print ours 16 days before sail date because we are platinum members.  

Sailing again on 28th May but carnival site states can't print boarding pass and select boarding time until 14th, which is 12 days before sailing.   Anyone sailed recently with Carnival experienced this?

Just booked our first RCI cruise in quite a while.  We are diamond members and believe we now get 4 free drinks each a day.  I assume they will be same as we used to get early evenings in the Diamond lounge, spirits and wine but no cocktails.   Is this correct?  Did you enjoy this new system?   Sounds better to me as I believe you can order from any bar at any time of the day,  would be great to hear from anyone who has experienced this.

Sailing on Pacific Adventure 24th July.  Just received an email from P&O about transfers from Central to White Bay $15 PP .

Any experience in using this?  We were thinking of just getting a taxi but not sure if there is any advantage in using the P&O transfer instead. 

I am leaning towards just sticking with a balcony cabin.  Couldn't tell you the last time hubby or I took a bath.  We will probably persevere with the teeny shower as we are teeny Irish leprechauns LOL.  The mini suites are definitely not mini suites like we have had on other cruise lines. They are about the same size as Carnival Splendour balcony cabins and same size as deluxe balcony cabins on Majestic Princess, minus the shower over the bath.  Still, we like Pacific Adventure so happy to sail on her any time.  

We have done 4 cruises recently, two booked through the cruise lines own websites and 2 through an online independent cruise website,  All 4 were for guaranteed cabins.  The 2 booked through the cruise lines own websites gave us pretty decent upgrades whereas the 2 booked through a cruise website didn't.   Don't get me wrong, I am happy with any cabin within the category I have paid  for but of course free upgrades are a lovely and welcome bonus.  Has any one else experienced this or is it just a coincidence? 

Planning a cruise on Pacific Adventure.   Last time on board had a balcony cabin and the shower was probably the teeniest space we have ever had on any cruise ship.  I found it  a tight squeeze and I'm only 5 ft tall and weigh 55 kilos LOL.Thinking of booking a mini suite next time as bigger shower inside a bath.  Any one had experience in mini suite on Adventure or Encounter?  Looking at pictures, the mini suite seems to be about same size as Carnival Splendour balcony cabins. 

Unless we live in dream-world, we all know that cruising is a unique experience in that we are a group of thousands of people who are all going to be living and intermingling with each other for usually at least a week and quite often for a lot longer.   My husband and I have done 45 cruises since 2009, the shortest being for 8 days and longest 28 days.

Therefore, we know thrre is always a chance of catching narovirus, cold, flu and now covid, regardless of whatever precautions we do or don't take to lower our chances.

Like everything else in life, we all have different levels of risks we are willing to take.  My husband and I are happy with the minimum preventative measures of regular hand washing or sanitising.  Other people prefer to also wear masks and face shields.   Some people may no longer feel comfortable about cruising and may decide to no longer cruise at all  The good thing is we can all make our own decisions.   Our nest cruise is  12 nights on Carnival in late May.  Very much looking forward to it.

I wish you all many wonderful cruises in the future with many great memories and new friendships on board.