crzndeb

Can someone please tell me how the cruise points are done for solo travelers? It makes zero sense to me based on the last few cruises I have done. is it the same on all ships?

It just started a few months ago...if you are in a regular cabin, and let's say your cruise is 7 days, you will get 14 days. However, some of the ships now have single occupancy cabins with no supplement, and you will not get extra days on those. Suites may give higher days for a solo, but on that I'm not 100% sure. The RCI thread would be a better place to ask on that.

If you have sailed in the last couple of months, and did not get double credit, call RCI. Several solo cruisers have slipped through the cracks.

Maybe for those close to a port, that only need 1 more day to their next level of a loyalty program.

Some of the RCI ships have allotted single cabins, and you will not pay a supplement. However, you also won't get double points. I know the Serenade is one ship, and hopefully others can chime in on others.

Debbie

Hello fellow cruisers.

 

OK, I have a pretty good grasp on the PVSA and MOST of the nuances. What I have not found a definitive answer on yet is how long between getting off the ship and getting back on is allowed.

 

SO, does anyone have experience with this? Has anyone been allowed to board the ship a day later and it not been considered a continuation? 2 days? a week?

 

I really don't know if there is a definitive answer as the PVSA doesn't define continuous (nor do recent additions and addendums). But if anyone has knowledge on this subject I would appreciate hearing it.

 

Thanks,

 

Bob[/

 

Without a specific itinerary, you have opened a can of worms. Normally, it would be 24 hours, but I don't know of any cruise that this would pertain to. As others have said, changing ships voids any ship that starts in one US port and ends in another US port without stopping at a distant foreign port.

 

A ship overnighting in a port doesn't make it right, because the manifest is not cleared whether you stay on shore or not.

 

Unless you have a specific cruise in mind, why worry about it?

First, how late is late? I live north of Seattle, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with hotels around the airport. Did you plan on wanting to go out and walk around, or just a place to sleep after your flight?

Bumbershoot doesn't begin until Aug. 30. Hotels in downtown Seattle always raise their rates in the summer due to tourism and all the cruisers.

You seem to be resurrecting several old threads to answer., this one excluded..do you look at the dates?

And yes, you can carry off what you don't drink...if you are flying, I transfer it into a plastic bottle..lighter in the suitcase.

10-10:30ish but out of your cabin a couple of hours before that.

Check the date of thread

Pretty much everything goes on your S&S card. About the only time I use cash is in the casino.

Check date of thread...2nd older one I have seen you resurrect

I'm pretty sure they have a shuttle. Call and ask.

Again, agree with everybody else about age demographics, but there will usually be some 30-40 year age range. Carnival Miracle has a 16 night Hawaii, Long Beach-Vancouver. Don't count out Carnival on a longer cruise. It will be an older crowd. Also, check Princess. They have a few longer, that might fit your needs. I saw a couple starting on westcoast going to Asia.

Just use a travel search engine, and plug in the details.

Debbie

Carnival is very frustrating with their loyalty program. I still like to cruise with them sometimes - especially with their extremely competitive pricing, but as far as trying to move up the tiers with their loyalty program, I feel like I am trying to run on a treadmill that is too fast for me.

 

I have fewer cruises on Royal, but feel more welcome with their loyalty program.

I'm with you..though I don't base my cruises on loyality, I do prefer RCI's program...I am Platinum on Carnival (10 cruise, 98 days) and Emerald on RCI (62 days)...since I am getting close to Diamond on RCI, and as a solo traveler, I now get double points for sailing solo, I will lean towards RCI. I much prefer free drinks nightly to free laundry, which I don't use. But it's a personal preference.

Though some are questioning the OP, I think it sounds very logical. I'm sure there will be something very similar coming out soon.

I am taking the Legend to Australia this year, and will probably look into the Vista TA in 2016. So I will continue to sail with Carnival.

Yeah I realize that but thats a steep markup on a bottle of booze.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Of course it is. They want you to buy drinks at the bar. Check some of the other cruise lines that this is available. They are even more expensive.

If you have a normal 1.5 oz shot out of the liter bottles, that's about 22 drinks. Figure the cost of those drinks, with a 15% gratuity on each of the same drink at the bar, and you have the reason why some, like myself, will buy a bottle from Bon Voyage.

It's about choices. Some smuggle, some buy the Cheers program, some get bottles from BV, and some just buy their drinks at the bar.

Carnivale in 1985...

Here's a great link...Enjoy

http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/martini.htm

I didn't get the charm when I did this on the Spirit to Australia, but the bartender was a grump, and I didn't know to ask.

But I am definitely going to do this again on the Legend to Australia.

Debbie

I quit watching the news several years ago...to much doom and gloom. I wonder if people would watch a news program that was just about happy stories?

Wars are always going on somewhere.

I was looking on the passport website to try and figure out what I need to do to update my name due to marriage. I noticed something about a passport card. It is a heck of alot cheaper to get then a passport book. Can you use this as part of the passport requirements to travel? I was going to use my husbands and two kids birth certificates but this seems better to have, if it can be used to travel on the ship instead. Anyone know??

You also could have booked in your maiden name or whatever name was on your existing passport. That way you wouldn't have had to do anything...then when it comes time for your passport to expire, change the name then.

I see you opened 2 threads on the same subject, so here's what I put on the other one:

Where are you from? I live in the PNW, so I usually prefer tropical climates for my cruises. I did my first Alaska cruise in 2012, as part of a B2B2B, because I wanted to board in Seattle.

But I probably wouldn't do it again, because it is the same scenery that I live in, minus the glaciers.

If it's not something that you don't normally see, choose Alaska...it is really beautiful.

Carnival, McDonalds, Walmart, Microsoft, Google. Everyone loves them. Everyone hates them. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Some of us have been cruising since the 90s or earlier. I value those opinions. Folks just starting or 2 cruises (both on Carnival) have nothing to compare to. The same can be said for this board from one year ago.

Isn't that the truth? LOL

I started cruising in 1980 on Sitmar. The whole cruise industry has declined in the last 5-10 years. It doesn't stop me from cruising. If I don't like the way something is going, I change what I do. It's all about choices, and I'm sure glad we have them.

And I cruised 20 years before message boards...the anticipation was exciting, and there were no expectations.

Where are you from? I live in the PNW, so I usually prefer tropical climates for my cruises. I did my first Alaska cruise in 2012, as part of a B2B2B, because I wanted to board in Seattle.

But I probably wouldn't do it again, because it is the same scenery that I live in, minus the glaciers.

If it's not something that you don't normally see, choose Alaska...it is really beautiful.

I saw on videos that they were adding new coffee machines. Were these the espresso/cappuccino machines, or just plain coffee? I ask, because they added espresso/cap machines on the Spirit during the repo to Sydney, and they were free.

Was looking forward to the same thing on the Legend to Australia.

Thanks

I am 21 and booked on a carnival cruise. I am traveling with my boyfriend, his brother, their mom and step dad and step dads parents. Since my boyfriend is also 21 they would not book us until we were in a room with someone 25 or over.

Was your BF's brother under 21, and booked in your cabin? If both you and your BF are both 21, you can book your own cabin. If you were told differently by a Carnival agent, they were wrong, which is pretty par for the course.

Again, on Carnival, the only time somebody 25 or older needs to be booked in the cabin, is if there is somebody under 21...if there is 1, 10, or 20, 21 year olds, they can book a cabin on their own.

Also, I think some would be be surprised that costs may be closer than they think, especially those with high bar tabs and high casino losses.

You can bring your own alcohol on Disney ships, and no casino. For some, a Disney cruise may even be less. LOL

kat - looks like the lifeboat pretty blocked the entire view. Fresh air is nice, but I'd really like to see water!

 

If you're at the doorway railing, can you see water at all or is it strictly boat?

I could be wrong, but I think you might be looking at the 7A balcony category. Those are on deck 5. The first 3 lifeboat/tenders come up to the balcony railing, and the rest sit flush with the balcony floor. I had cabin 5232 on the Spirit repo to Australia in 2012, and I had a view of water sitting on balcony, looking straight out, but not looking straight down.

The 4k's are on deck 4 and completely block the view, unless you happen to have one between the lifeboats, and then there is some view of the water. I have cabin 4123 on the upcoming Legend repo to Australia...it is between lifeboats.

Debbie

Hello

 

I am taking my first cruise March 3rd, 2014 and I would like to know how to save money on alcohol for the cruise. Its a 5 day cruise and I just don't want to spend that much money in alcohol. Can someone please help me? What's the best way to save?

Yes, you can order liters of alcohol from the Bon Voyage Dept. or room service when you board. They are pricey..$65-80 for a liter, but if you get a drink at the bar, that will run you $6+ for shelf liquor to $8+ For premium...plus 15% gratuity on each drink.

You can carry your mixers on board, and take a larger cup for drink, so you don't have to keep going back to room.

If you don't finish the liter, you can take the rest home with you...save a water bottle to pour the rest into if you are flying.

Except several people in this thread have said that the way to get around this law is simply to book the legs on two different ships, even without a day/night in between? :confused:

Correct...you don't need to spend a night if you are changing ships. The law pertains to the SAME vessel transporting a passenger between 2 US ports.

I'm not sure of the time frame for booking but I don't think a ship that overnights in a port makes it legal, since you are technically still on the ship...does that make sense?

I can't think of any other scenarios that would come into play. Plus, most of these questions come up in the spring and fall, when ships are repositioning to and from Alaska. And most of the questionable sailings only come up once.