sparks1093

In our experience we've only been able to book one shore excursion while in any given port and that is generally enough.

A live example is happening with Carnival right now. They are raising the cost of the gratuities and Wifi so purchasing either prior to April 1st would save money by not having to pay the increase.

Most states only allow you to have one ID, either a driver's license or a regular ID. If one lives in a state that allows two then it's an option for sure. If someone works for a government entity then their employee ID would work as long as it has a picture on it. OP, crossing my fingers that your new license does come in before the cruise. If your means of getting to the port have been paid for or cost little then if it were me I'd probably show up with what I have since the only people that can tell you for sure if that would work are in the terminal itself. If boarding is denied you are in no worse shape than you are now and best case is you still get to cruise so you can relax from all this tension. As mentioned any pre-paid items other than the fare would still be refunded.

When I am out and about (anywhere) I don't like carrying things with me that I don't need to be carrying. The vast majority of the time that includes my passport- if I don't need to carry it with me then I don't want to. That's what it all simply boils down to. I'm not afraid of missing my ship (if on a cruise), nor am I afraid of losing my passport.

It doesn't need to be a country, it could very well just be the hotel itself by it's own policy. Cruise lines often impose a stricter standard then that required by law, I can see hotels doing the same.

Yep and I believe airlines do the same thing with frequent flier miles- each traveler gets the miles, not the person paying for the flights.

The VIFP points go to the passenger that is sailing, not the passenger that is paying. Every passenger gets their own VIFP number.

Very likely. Although the database can be searched by name CBP probably doesn't want to search that database unless the passenger is actually in it since that takes time. If someone is in the pre-check database then CBP knows that they've been previously vetted and it might reduce the number of other databases they need to check for that passenger.

I was addressing the contention that a uniform looking baked good had to be mass produced but yes, it does make sense to use frozen in a banquet type setting.

We just became shareholders a few weeks ago and applied for the credit for our upcoming cruise in April. We received a canned acknowledgement and then a week or so later an email confirming that the credit had been applied. The credit has already been used to help pay for our shore excursions.

Of course not (she wishes) but the fact is that any experienced baker can produce a product that is consistent in appearance. So can any cook, look at all of the dishes that come out of the kitchen and how similar the same items look. It's what they are trained to do.

Passengers are screened by a private security firm and checked in by folks employed by the cruise line. At the end of the cruise CBP will be checking documents and may have dogs going up and down the disembarkation line and/or checking bags. TSA is not involved at any point in port security. I also doubt that I would have asked about this further at the point of encounter because most of the time they won't tell you what the issue was anyway and it would just cause further delay.

I believe most cruise lines have a Frequently Asked Question section on their website and since the questions are asked frequently it's probably a good place to start. The answers provided are in conformance with the cruise line's policies and procedures.

You beat me to it. My daughter in law runs a bakery, a one person operation, and her products are fairly consistent in size and shape.

Ah, yes, there could be a contract there as well and likely is given the marketability of the Guy Freiri (sp) name.

True enough, I did a faux booking and they just show the total of everything. Other cruise lines that I've been on break it down by passenger. (and the faux booking did show the total taxes and fees going from $235 for two people to $470 for four).

Very true, I started noticing a sharp decline in the quality of a lot of things shortly after COVID started.

The only thing that I can think of is you still need to pay the taxes and fees for the 3rd and 4th passengers, but that should show clearly in the accounting.

To a large degree this is going to depend on the circumstances but I'm going to guess that evacuation from the ship will only be the patient due to space considerations. The patient may not be transported to the next port since they will be taken in most cases to the closest medical facility that can provide care.

305 days. We try to cruise once a year and our next cruise is in April 2023, 108 days from now.

It very well could be both, but people act like the cruise lines are immune to supply chain shortages and they certainly aren't.

The contract mentions food twice. That the fare covers "ordinary ship's food" during the voyage and a section that discusses what can't be brought back into the US. Things like ingredients and quality aren't mentioned at all. A lot of things affect this, including steps taken to control costs, but I see a lot of empty spots for common items in my local grocery store so until I stop seeing that I will continue to chalk most of these changes up to supply chain issues.

This is my understanding and we'll find out in April since we're in a suite on Glory.

So you haven't given up on Carnival completely. My last Guy's burger was in February and it was the same quality as the one I'd had the previous November (on the same ship). Of course I don't sail often enough to notice small changes.

I sincerely do hope that you never find out first hand, but as I've said the risk is a low one either way.