nslatin

Hey Don,

We get your point.  Maybe they're calling your name over at Carnival?

Where did they do the testing?

Thanks in advance for this live review.  We sail on the Encore on October 16th.  Can you share some detail regarding the testing (location, are people still in possession of their luggage, time you showed up, time to process through).  

Neal

We will be on the 10/16 Encore and have just confirmed that Tracy's Crab in Juneau will be closed.  Since we live in Las Vegas we are looking forward to the coooler weather.

On 8/19/2021 at 9:29 AM, BirdTravels said:

No. That is an NCL airport to port transfer. If you are on an NCL transfer, when you turn your bags over to the bus driver, they are delivered direct to your room. 
 

Port Valet will take your bags from your room the last night of the cruise, and check them into your airline for you. After you leave your bags outside the room, the next time you see them is at your final destination airport. 
 

The ship will give you specially printed luggage tags and your airline boarding passes. If you have to pay for checked luggage, that will be billed to your room. You never pay over weight charges, so fill up those bags. 

You can now book a reservation for the Seattle Port Valet in advance of your cruise.  It's nice to confirm that your flights work with this program and that you have a spot reserved.

You can click this link to reserve. Port Valet (maketraveleasier.com)

16 hours ago, greatestvalue said:

 

@nslatin - Are you getting off the Encore on Oct 23 and On the Bliss on Oct 24? 
 

Im supposed to be on the Bliss to Mexican Riveria Dec 12 and it was speculation they may swap out and after Birds review, I dont care which ship we go on they both seem to be amazing!!

But could they get the Enccore from Seattle to LA in 1 day for your 2nd cruise?

Yes that's what we are doing .  Flying from Seatac to Long Beach on the 23rd, and then boarding on the 24th.  Had FCC to use up.  I would be willing to lighten their load in Seattle and stay aboard, but that violates way too many regulations.

I don't think that they could get the Encore to San Pedro in time.  By my rough calculations it would be about 47 hours of hard cruising to get there.  I guess that puts that rumor to bed.  We agree, since we haven't sailed on the Bliss yet.

Bird,  

Thanks so much for this excellent review.  We are looking forward to our trip on October 16-23rd, which will be the last of the season.  Hopefully they will have all the kinks worked out for the pre-cruise testing and the Ward Cove transportation.

We will also be flying down to LA and will be boarding the Bliss on the 24th.  I am loving that rumor of NCL swapping the Encore for the Bliss for the Mexican Riviera .  Almost a b2b.

Neal

Ship - Vista

Deck - 2

Stateroom # - 2367

Stateroom Category –

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes.  This cabin is just under the front of the galley but we did not hear anything from above.  There is a storage space on one side so you do not have  neighbor on that side.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. –  The view was a typical Cove balcony.  Lifeboats above, blocking the sun but nothing else.  Unobstructed views forward, aft and down to the water.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal cove balcony.

Was wind a problem? - No.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None.

Any other comments? -  This cabin is steps from the mid-ship elevators for easy access to Reflections dining room on deck 3, Vista Casino on deck 4 and Marketplace Buffet on deck 10.

If all you prefer to drink is wine, then they also offer 6 bottle wine packages at several quality levels.  This would give you a bottle for each evening.  They will store any unfinished bottles (never happens for us) and then you can retrieve it from any dining venue.  You can also take one back to the room if you prefer. 

We once had the wine steward offer us a selection of quality wine closeouts that were heavily discounted and had them put aside for the rest of the cruise.  This may not be available on all cruises.  Seek out a wine steward and ask if there is a list of discounted closeouts. 

As per the article...

Officer Strano reportedly contracted the coronavirus on a Carnival cruise ship around early May of this year. He was subsequently hospitalized in the U.S. for treatment of the virus for over the past two months.

3 hours ago, trivimp said:

One thing I haven't seen mentioned, since both you & your wife are using cpap machines, is that you may need to bring a multi-plug adaptor of some kind.  On most ships, the outlet near the desk is just that: a single outlet, not the two-outlet setup commonly used in US homes.  I travel with something like this one (not this exact model, but similar.)  Just don't use a model with a built in surge protector; the room steward will confiscate it as a fire hazard.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/EyGde-Extender-Outlets-Splitter-Rotating/dp/B08HV67YYP/ 

We both use CPAP's and I always carry two extension cords.  One is 15' long and can easily reach across the room.  I just roll it up in the morning so it is out of the way.  The other is a "Y" cord that has two 6' extensions and only one plug.  This one easily routs behind the bed with plenty of cord left.  Both cords are straight cords, no surge suppressor.

I also put both CPAP's, extension cords and misc. travel stuff in a small rolling bag that easily holds everything. 

16 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Sorry, to be PVSA compliant, a cruise aboard a foreign-flagged carrier from one U.S. port to a different U.S. port must call at a "distant foreign port" (not just a "foreign port") and no port in Mexico qualifies as a "distant foreign port."    (Nor, for that matter, do the ports in Central America.  It's why Panama Canal cruises between East and West Coast U.S. ports call at Cartagena and/or one of the ABC islands.)

This cruise was originally scheduled as starting in Vancouver and stopping in Victoria, San Francisco, Ensenada, San Diego and ending in LA.  If what you said is true then this cruise was never PVSA compliant. Your interpretation would also rule out any Alaska cruises.

I think that this cruise could not originate in Vancouver and could not stop in Victoria.  Originating in Seattle with no ports till San Francisco three days later would just have been  hard to sell.  We were booked on this trip and would have gone anyway, since we had a great deal and were also on the preceding Alaska cruise.

Neal.

Does anybody know if Carnival Casino rate cruises deposits are A) Refundable or B) Non-Refundable.

They only list three rates that are non-refundable:

Early Saver

Super Saver: 

Pack & Go: 

So which if any does the casino rate fall under?

Has anyone been able to cancel a casino rate deposit and get a full refund?

Thanks,

Neal

I just submitted my docs via email today.  On a Sunday.  And they were processed and confirmed within three hours and confirmed via email.

Also note that the discount is for cruises sailing AFTER October 1, 2020.

I have  another simple sounding solution.  Just reflag a ship to USA just like the Pride of America.

Has anyone been able to upgrade the 3 meal SDP perk to a 5 meal package?  If so how much was the upgrade?

I bring my own cord just to be sure.  Since the outlet is always on the other side of the room I unplug it in the morning and just coil it up and stash out of the way.  It usually will lay flat and has never been a trip hazard in the middle of the night.

We used the Port Valet coming off of the NCL Joy on June 8th.  This service worked like a charm.  I have attached the form that was delivered to our room with plenty of time to complete it and submit it to guest services.  I had also picked on up ahead of time at guest services since I thought had heard that availability was limited.

6 hours ago, schildiams said:

I will be sailing on the 29th and want to purchase 4 on board to apply to two upcoming cruises (the promo for double up ends the 30th.) Will I be able to get this accomplished before the double up promo ends? I already have them booked but well outside cancel period so can cancel and book on board if necessary.

The CN certs do not show up in your account until after your cruise is over.  You can apply them as partial payments once your are home.  1 for sure and 2 if the promo is still on.

http://www.parkingattheport.com/port-of-los-angeles/

If you are arriving the night before you can ask to use a stapler at the front desk of your hotel at checkout time.  We use the luggage tag holders available at amazon.

My real concern is getting on a tender early.  Once we get off the tender everything should be fine.  Anyone with any luck getting on first or early tender at Cabo?

We will be on the NCL Star cruising in the Mexican Rivera.  We arrive in Cabo at 7am on the 19th of December and have planned an excursion at 8:30am.  We also have priority tendering thanks to Platinum status. Our ride to the excursion is at 7:30am.  I believe that we should be able to make it, but I am looking for recent experiences with tight scheduling.  Any thoughts fellow cruisers?

Early bird also get you checked in 36 hours before flight, but you can't see your boarding pass till 24 hours before.