sparks1093

Speaking of food, the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is a must in the MDR. It's available every night and is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can ask for the ice cream to be held or ask for an extra scoop (or substitute a different flavor). One hack that I use is I ask for a small side dish of peanut butter. Yum. Now I've gone and made myself hungry.

I thought it was possible to select and/or change one's dining time preference in the online account section. It's been too long since our Royal cruise and I really don't remember. I do remember that when I booked the option was available.

We were offered digital copies on a flash drive (shaped like a Carnival ship, of course) for all of the prints that we had paid for and we didn't have a package. It comes with a general release that allows you to print extra copies. I can't remember the price but want to say it was under $20. Wish I had known that before we ordered multiple copies of the same picture (we cruised with step-granddaughter and wanted formal pictures for her parents and grandparents). We could have just purchased one copy of each and then printed other copies out at Walgreens or where ever.

I believe all of the steakhouses on Carnival are relatively the same although the name and theme will vary by ship. I would agree that even at $42 it's worth it. I had always resisted the idea of going to the steakhouse for 2 reasons. 1. I'm cheap. 2. I didn't want to pay that price for a chicken breast since DW doesn't like red meat that much and can't eat fish. But we tried it in November and DW even had the filet mignon (which the staff gladly butterflied so it could be cooked well done). I had the NY Strip and it was as good a steak as I've had (second only to a steak that I had in Texas at an upscale restaurant whose name escapes me). That has to be an administrative burden and a half.

We received our upsell call about 3 weeks before our February cruise on Legend. $300 to go from a balcony to a Vista suite for three people. I didn't spend much time thinking about it.

I thought that was the case when I first read it, thanks for clarifying it. (We tried the steakhouse for the first time on Legend and we will likely make it a point to have one meal there each trip. Definitely worth the upcharge.) OP I would also recommend Blue Iguana for breakfast or lunch. Made to order burritos and tacos. I waited way to long to give it a try, don't make my mistake.

I think the crux of it is it is possible to switch once onboard, but it is more difficult to do because of the way dining assignments are handled (only so many passengers can be in each dining option, as I understand it). Therefore if someone has their heart set on MTD they should make that switch before for they board, as early as they can (like, when they book the cruise).

I found RCL to be a step up over NCL in many regards. Food was a bit better. Service as well. We were on one of RCL's newer ships with entertainment not found on others so I would say for the standard stuff NCL might be a bit better. But overall the two lines are so close as to be interchangeable and we would be happy to sail with either, depending on the price. As pointed out RCL does offer My Time dining which means you can emulate NCL's freestyle concept if you choose to. We've found that it's no big deal to have an assigned time to eat and normally pick the early seating. Port days might end at 7pm but when will you likely be back on the ship? In all of our cruises I believe we've returned too late for early dining once and just grabbed a bite from the buffet. We haven't sailed with NCL since Del Rio took over and I can't say that I'm a fan of his changes but for the right price we've at least one sailing on NCL left in us.

You will also be paying the current rate for the additional guests, which may be higher than what you paid.

It didn't take long at all when we got one for our granddaughter, it was 4 weeks or so start to finish.

When we ordered room service that had chargeable items we were charged on Legend in February.

Outstanding, Carnival! Way to step up to the plate for this family in need. As the dad of a kid on the spectrum I fully appreciate the lengths companies go to in order to help those afflicted with this disorder. We were fortunate and our son was high functioning but until a proper diagnosis was made and appropriate measures were put into place our lives were, well, not good. We took our son on several cruises and he loved the environment on the ship and the staff (NCL, in this case) were more than understanding and helpful. (And our son is now an adult, a supervisory security professional and volunteer firefighter. He is active in his community, owns his own home and is in a committed relationship of many years. So for parents of these very special children don't give up hope!)

Or what is more likely to happen is they will realize that the government acted rather quickly to help them and they weren't stuck at all and none of the horror stories people told them came true. The government does an excellent job of repatriating US citizens that need assistance, both within the area covered by the WHTI and throughout the world. Heck, if a traveler has such a need they'll even loan them money to return home (a lot of hoops need to be jumped through to receive that particular assistance and one must exhaust all other means of obtaining funds but it does show the lengths that will be gone through to assist travelers).

I absolutely agree with your last sentence. But people who have disembarked in those ports have reported longer lines for non-passport holders and I have no reason to doubt them. Of course I'm not about to spend $150 just to avoid a longer line once a year. 🙂

If it's on the Hub App one needs to make a note of it because once you leave the ship's wifi area you lose access. At least as I understand it.

We just booked a ship powered by LNG (Mardi Gras). Has that price remained somewhat stable?

The port agent is there in part to handle this important task when needed and is a wealth of information regarding everything the passenger needs to know- where to stay, where to purchase items, what needs to be done to get a flight, etc. etc. and should be the first stop for any passenger left behind, even if they have a passport. Of course there will be a range of competence and while the family you read about reported it as a "bad hotel" it's possible it was the only one available. The letter, as I understand it, is provided by the authorities to the airline- in the two accounts that I read the passengers were directed to go to the airport where they boarded their flight back to the US. There are certainly unknowns in the process, CBP and State don't broadcast their exact procedure, but the fact remains that no one is left stranded. Certainly if one is worried about being stressed and confused their course of action should be to obtain a passport (and of course they will still be stressed and confused and left to spend money). But there is no need to try to scare people into it. Not having the necessary funds has been the biggest issue faced by two of the passengers that I've read about- both were sick or injured and needed money for the medical treatment. Not having a passport was the least of their concerns and having a passport wouldn't have helped them all that much. Millions of people travel every year on closed loop cruises with documentation other than a passport with no issue. Don't get me wrong- I fully recognize that a passport is king of the documentation world and for many it's what they need. But for others whose travel needs are different traveling without a passport is a viable, legal choice to make.

Some people don't know (I didn't). That's one of the reasons that these discussions are helpful.

Yes, I realize that is what you meant by cheaper and I thought that I mentioned that (my original reply didn't take so I may not have mentioned that in my second attempt). But having expenses for hotel/food etc. may just a easily happen to someone who has a passport, it depends on how often flights happen from the port. You didn't read my post closely enough about disembarkation because I wasn't talking about one document versus two or the speed of individual agents, I was talking about those homeports that have a separate line for passport holders or that have facial recognition for those with passports. In those ports having a passport can certainly save one time at disembarkation, especially if most of those disembarking don't have one. As for the cruise lines not letting you board most of them only recommend having 6 months validity, mostly because they sail all over the world and don't want to have to clog the FAQ with all of the itineraries that it might apply to. I have never heard of a mainstream line turning someone away at embarkation for having less than 6 months remaining on their passport for a closed loop cruise (although some premium/luxury lines do require it and also require everyone to have a passport regardless of itinerary).

AFAIK all ports have a port agent that assists cruise passengers. From what I've read in Cozumel CBP/State Department issues the passenger a letter authorizing flying to the US and when the passenger lands they are sent to secondary inspection. This process takes a couple of hours to complete and all the passenger does is wait since the arrangements are made between the cruise line/agent/authorities. I have read nothing to suggest that this is any different in any other port without a consulate/embassy present. I've read of two instances where passengers had to leave a ship in a port with an embassy and they spent two hours or less at the embassy getting their passports (and they had to wait until the next day to go). Again, mentioning extra expenses is a better argument for having good travel insurance.

Yep, and there in lies the rub. I had enough for what our anticipated expenses were (plus extra). I didn't have enough that a hold and the charge could be absorbed. So, let's say we had $2500 in our account and the cruise line put on a hold for $1600 and then the final charge for $1600. That would leave our account $700 overdrawn. As mentioned when the hold gets released is up to the bank, and if my bank had held the hold for a week we would have been in dire straits indeed. So if one is going to use a debit card my recommendation is to have at least double what the anticipated charges are to avoid issues.

While it is nothing new it is good to bring it up from time to time for new cruisers. We had several holds placed through the week and the final charge didn't actually hit the card until about 3 days after the cruise. For debit card users this can be critical because holds will actually take money off your account balance until it is released. The last time we used a debit card (and it was the very last time because of this) the cruise line put a hold on our card for what was on our account the night before the cruise. They then put through the final charges the next morning. When we stopped to get gas shortly after leaving port my debit card was rejected and when I checked my account it was overdrawn because both the hold and the charge reduced my account balance below zero. So there I was in Miami and had to drive the family to Vermont on a shoe string since the money I had anticipated to use was no longer available. Fortunately I had a credit card with a small limit to cover gas and we were staying the first night at a friend's house. And also fortunately by the time we stopped again for gas the hold had been removed and we had money again. So, as I said, it can be dicey when using a debit card and I no longer use it for paying cruise expenses.

We have cruised 11 times- 4 with NCL, 6 with CCL and 1 with Royal. We have two cruises booked with CCL, one in 2023 and one in 2024. We've liked each experience and any differences between the three lines were minor. We pick the itinerary we want and the port we want to sail from, then look at what cruises are available. Generally the cruise line offering the least expensive cruise will get our business for that sailing. Since we will be routinely get the drink package now we also look at lines which offer the drink package as an amenity. So, if Princess were offering a cruise at $3300 for the week for two with the drink package included and Carnival was offering a similar cruise for $2500 we'd like pick Princess since adding the drink package to Carnival's fare would put them in the same ball park. Our goal is to also cruise with as many lines as we can so if a cruise line we haven't sailed with is within a few hundred of the least expensive we'd have to think about that. We will now be flying to the cruise port instead of driving so our cruise line options have increased a great deal.

We cruised in November and February with no issues.

This is a good post but a few clarifications are needed. First, you say that a passport makes it cheaper to return to the US, which can be confusing. While it might mean not having to stay in a hotel for an extra night the actual cost of the flight will be the same whether or not one has a passport. Having to incur extra expenses makes a better case for having good travel insurance than it does for a passport. Yes, an emergency can happen to anyone, but many emergencies are driven by the choices we make. I read of someone getting injured on a 4 wheeler on an excursion. Emergency. Had they chosen not to partake in something hazardous while on a cruise the emergency would have been avoided. Of course we don't know the person's skill level with 4 wheelers so we don't know how prudent the decision was to take that particular excursion. Another family that I read about the dad missed the ship because the family split up and he was waiting for the rest of the family at the wrong rendezvous point. Emergency. Had the family stayed together or been clearer in their communications with each other the emergency wouldn't have happened. You also say that passports don't make embarkation/disembarkation any easier or faster. That isn't always the case. Since we've had our passports check in has been a little easier and faster since they use our passport photo and don't have to take one (not an appreciable savings in time, but a step avoided). Some ports do have separate lines for those who have passports and those who don't, so passport holders tend to clear Customs faster at those ports. And some ports have facial recognition apparatus that makes the process faster. While it wouldn't influence my decision to get a passport since we only cruise once a year it might influence some. Finally, you say that passports without 6 months remaining on them can't be used for cruising. This is a common misconception. None of the islands in the Caribbean that are visited on closed loop cruises (that I'm aware of) have any requirement for validity for passenger passports. Since many people on the same cruise may not even have one it would be silly to impose such a requirement. Some countries doe have a 6 month requirement for visitors but they are only a handful. Most countries have a 3 month validity requirement, but again this requirement is for visitors by land and air. I would feel comfortable cruising on a closed loop cruise with 1 month remaining on my passport. You do bring up an excellent point- the question of traveling without a passport is a double edged one. First, may a passenger travel without a passport? Yes, if certain conditions are met the passenger may legally and licitly travel without a passport on closed loop cruises. Those conditions are going to vary a bit from person to person. Some US citizens are naturalized so they would need to use their Naturalization Certificate. Some were born to US parents overseas. They would need to use their Consular Report of Birth Abroad. Second, should a passenger travel without a passport? The answer to that is going to depend on a lot of facts that we don't typically know. What are the passengers risks? Are any of the risks avoidable? What is their comfort level with their risks? How often do they travel and what means do they use for traveling? The list goes on and the same answer doesn't apply to everyone.